Bulls vs. Celtics

With the series tied at 2-2, this one is shaping up to go right down to the wire. With three of the four games coming down to the final posession, it's one of the best series in recent memory. Some might recall when Golden State upset the heavily favored Mavericks in the first round back in 2007. The Celtics and Bulls are two of the NBA's most historic franchises and have combined for 23 of the past 51 league titles. ESPN sports reporter Bill Simmons is already calling the series "one for the ages" and is thoroughly enjoying the rivalry. The Bulls won a double overtime thriller last night to regain the momentum but the veteran Celtics will not be deterred. The young Bulls will look to take down the heavyweight Celtics and begin a new era in basketball.

March Madness

With selection Sunday now coming to a close, the 64 team NCAA tournament bracket is finally set. Some teams went home devastated today, and others anticipate their appearance at the big dance. Among the big winners, Louisville, UConn, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina all secured top seeds in their regions of the tournament. Memphis, although seeded an excellent number 2 seed in the Western region undoubtedly felt slighted by not being granted a number one. Memphis coach John Calipari said that he would use the "disrespect" for his team as a motivator, getting them ready to play. Look for the Tigers to go deep into the tournament, with a possible final four appearance. Many analysts and fans felt that the commitee was successful in selecting the correct teams for the tournament. There were, however, a large number who felt that Saint Mary's College should have recieved an invite. Some of the top analysts, including Dick Vitale, thought that the Gaels should have taken precedent over the Arizona Wildcats as the last eam accepted into the tournament. Despite this descrepancy, there was a great overall satisfaction with the selections throughout the sports world. To show off the sports psychic within you, go to http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/bracket

Worst to First

The GBN sophomore lacrosse team won the Northbrook Lacrosse America indoor league last Thursday. Our team easily beat Loyola in a 12-4 victory that was even called early because the Loyola kids just couldn't take it any more. What is even more impressive about our championship run, is that in the first session of indoor earlier this year, our team finished dead last. However, with some key additions and the will to win, we finished the second session with an overall record of 5-2 and a league championship. The indoor season is over now as the school season starts up next week. However, one thing is certain, we'll be back next year in the Libertyville indoor league, looking for another title.

2009 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Last night was full of great dunks from some of the best leapers in the game (except LeBron James for some reason). Despite the obvious talent, two men stole the show, Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson. These two showed off some of the craziest dunks ever, including Dwight Howard replicating the infamous Dr. J/Michael Jordan free throw line take-off slam. However, Howard only managed to take off with one foot inside the freethrow line. I know, completely unimpressive right? However, in my opinon that wasn't even one of the top two dunks of the night. The from the 5'7" Nate Robinson came when he jumped over the 6'11" Dwight Howard and threw it down. And for Howard, his best of the night came when he rolled out a 12 foot hoop, donned the Superman cape, and dunked it with seemingful ease. I think he could have gone to 14 and done a 360, but maybe that's for next year. When it came down to the voting, 52% of people all aound the world (including me) voted for Nate Robinson. KryptoNATE won the contest over Superman. Have an opinion on the result? Tell us what you think in the poll on the sidebar.

In case you missed it, here are some highlights:

Zebras Screw Cardinals

Many football fans expected the Pittsburgh Steelers to not only win Super Bowl XLIII but to dominate it. However, the Arizona Cardinals gave them a run for their money, as the game was not over until the very end. An end that I must say, was not a terrible call by the game officials. As the the ball was knocked out of the hands of Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner with 9 seconds on the clock, the officials ruled it a fumble and awarded the ball to the Steelers. When the replay was showed, however, it was clear to me that the arm of Kurt Warner was moving forward as the ball was knocked out (not to mention the ball went five yards down field). By rule, the arm moving forward with the ball would deem the play an incomplete pass and the Cardinals would have the ball on the Steeler 29 yard-line (do to the unsportsman-like conduct on the Steelers after the play) with 8 seconds to play. This would allow for plenty of time to run at least one or maybe even two plays. It is not the poor call that upsets me most, however. Instead, it is the negligent amount of time taken to review the play. The referees should have stopped the game, given the replay booth as much time as needed to get the call right, and then decide whose ball it is. I mean this is the Super Bowl after all! But no, the refs and the guys upstairs decided that it was already past their bedtimes and they wanted to make it home because they were having Dominoes pizza. In no time flat the Steelers were up at the line, taking a knee, and ending the game. Now I'm not saying that the Cardinals would have won anyway, but now we're not even going to find out are we? It just doesn't seem right than the guys in stripes decided the Super Bowl.

So Close You Can Almost Feel It...

Honestly, when the Bear's lined it up four weeks ago against the Jaguars, Bears fans knew it was a tall task for the Bears to win out to finish the season to have any hope of making the playoffs. However, after an easy win over the Jags and two overtime wins against the Saints and Packers the following two weeks, hope all of a sudden came back. Coming into the final week of the season the Bears, with a win againt 7-8 Houston, had to have either the Vikings lose, or have the Bucs lose to the Raiders at home and have the Cowboys lose to the Eagles for them to make the playoffs. Amidst all the talk of what all the other teams had to do, the Bears seemed to forget about the one thing they had to do... WIN! Although the Vikings went on to win their week 17 matchup, the Buccaneers did lose to the 4-11 Raiders and the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia. The Bears, however, could not keep up the end of the bargain and lost to the Texans 24-31. After leading 10-0 to start the game, the Bears fell apart as they have so many times and lost to the Texans by a greater margain than the score indicates. Set up by the most unlikely of circumstances, the Bears would have made the playoffs if they had simply won the game that they dominated the start of. A disappointing end to an average season.

Origin of the Christmas Tree

The idea of bringing evergreens into the home started long before Christmas was even a holiday and Catholicism was even a religion. The Egyptians used the the plants to symbolize life's triumph over death. Later, the Romans would use them to celebrate the winter solstice by decorating their houses with the greens and would exchange gifts. Other groups, such as the Druid priests in Great Britain, used evergreens during winter solstice rituals and even placed the branches above their doors to ward off evil spirits. All of these examples share the same basic principle as the Christmas tree, but obviously none actually are. So that begs the question, where did the first true Christmas tree come from?
A popular story that many credit for the beginning of the Christmas tree comes from the life of Matin Luther. The legend goes like this: "One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth" (Christmas Tree Tradition has Ancient Origins).
While no one is exactly sure where the Christmas tree came from, it is obvious that it is prevolent in today's culture and a huge part of Christmas.

Sources:
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/origin-of-the-christmas-tree-faq.htm
http://www.christmas-tree.com/where.html