Wellness center open for community

Every New Year, millions of people make their new year’s resolutions for the upcoming year. Many of these for adults are about getting in shape and heading to the gym several times a week. In the local area, many people head to the YMCA in Lagrange, Cardinal Fitness in LaGrange, or the recently opened LA Fitness in Broadview. But as of January 11, adults are now welcome to exercise in Riverside-Brookfield High School’s wellness center.

The wellness center features 40 cardiovascular machines: 10 treadmills, 10 bikes, 10 ellipticals, and 10 stair-climbers. The machines are made by Life Fitness and all are in good condition.

The membership for the wellness center will cost $30 for district residents and $50 for those who live out of district. The membership is a six-week offer that goes through February 17, 2011. However, the Wellness Center is only open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 6:00- 8:00 PM for adults.

The Wellness Center is an affordable option for district residents. The membership for the YMCA in LaGrange is $40 per month (excluding fee for joining) and an LA Fitness membership costs $9.95 per week. These gyms do offer more equipment, but for cardiovascular equipment, the Wellness Center is a good financial option.

Students are still welcome to work out before or after school in the Wellness Center for free with their student I.D, so this offer is pretty much just for adults.  To sign up for this fitness experience, people that are interested can go to the RB school website (www.rbhs208.org)  and click on the athletics page. There is information about this offer at the top and a link to sign up and pay for the membership.

A championship to Chicago?

The goal of every team and every player in sports is to win a championship. A team’s success is defined by how many championships they have won, and a player’s legacy is not complete until he has led his team to a championship. The Blackhawks achieved this goal by winning the 2010 Stanley Cup, their first since 1961. The parade that followed was evident that the city greatly appreciated what this team had done. But with their early struggles and the loss of key players like Dustin Byfuglien and Kris Versteeg, they are not looking like the Stanley Cup favorite.

So I ask, which Chicago professional sports team has the best chance of winning a championship in 2011?

First, we visit the Bulls. With the addition of Carlos Boozer this offseason, the Bulls believed that they could compete with the best of the Eastern Conference with a lineup featuring Boozer, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah. But the injury to Boozer has left the Bulls without big-time scoring threat out of the post, and the team has gotten off to a 5-3 start. The season is very long and with Boozer expected to come back in a month, the Bulls will inevitably begin to click with all-star candidate Rose and Boozer.

Senior Jake Johnson believes the Bulls have the best chance of the Chicago teams. “The Bulls (have the best chance). They have the best young talent in the nation,” said Johnson who believes the Bulls have a best chance of all Chicago teams to win a championship in the future.

But can they compete for a championship in 2011? I don’t think so, though it’s not because they lack talent. It is because of the talent of other teams. The Bulls cannot compete with the Celtics, Magic, and Heat, who are without doubt the class of the East. The Bulls could make run to the second round, and possibly to the conference finals, but a championship is probably out of the question.

The Cubs or White Sox? Not in 2011.

At the halfway point of the NFL season, the Bears are 6-3 and they are a half game behind the Packers in the NFC north. They have not played that great in spite of the start, and at times have looked worse than the lowly Lions. But if the offense begins to start clicking along with the solid defense, the Bears could make the playoffs. They still have to play the Packers again and the Vikings twice, so if they play well in the division they could make the playoffs. I think they will find a way into the playoffs, but no more than that. The NFC is not that strong this year, so that will give the Bears room to sneak into the playoffs.

That leaves us with the Blackhawks again. Sure, they are not looking like last year’s squad which never seemed to struggle. They have obvious flaws like the inconsistency of the defense and a few offensive players (Patrick Kane).

But the question I asked was which team has the best chance of winning a championship in 2011. And the answer to that question is the Blackhawks, regardless of their play thus far. They have the best chance because they will make the playoffs, and in the NHL more than any other professional leagues, once a team gets in the playoffs they can make a run. Rarely does an 8-seed beat a one seed in the NBA, but last year in hockey, the 8-seed Canadians beat the top-seed and went all the way to the eastern conference finals behind a hot goaltender. If the Hawks can get some momentum going forward, they could make a push similar to two years ago when they got off to a slow start, but reached the conference finals.

So in 2011, it looks like the Blackhawks have the best chance of all of the Chicago teams of winning a championship, and it would be a historic championship if they would have to repeat.

Illinois tops local college basketball preview

Before March Madness can begin and people begin predicting the champion, the college teams have to play through the regular season to get to play in March. This year, several area teams look poised to make a run to make the tournament (even Northwestern) and other teams (Illinois) look to reach the Sweet Sixteen and beyond. Here is a preview of the local Division One basketball teams.

Illinois:

The Illini did an excellent job in recruiting this past year. They landed McDonalds All-American Jereme Richmond, as well as freshmen Meyers Leonard and Crandall Head. All three of these players look to make an impact right away, though Richmond (6-8 forward) is a projected starter as a freshman. He will join a frontcourt that also features seniors Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale. Both Tisdale and Davis improved immensely during their junior campaigns. The backcourt also has a lot of talent beginning with point guard Demetri McCamey. McCamey is predicted to be a first-team all-Big Ten player after averaging fifteen points and seven assists as a junior.

Prediction: The Illini finish third in the Big Ten and lose in the sweet sixteen.

Northwestern:

 Northwestern is still searching for that elusive first NCAA Tournament appearance. Last year was supposed to be the year that the Wildcats would break through and make the team, but their inability to win on the road in the Big Ten caused them to fall just short. This year the Wildcats return point guard Michael Thompson, sophomore guard Drew Crawford, and star junior John Shurna. Shurna appears ready to have a breakout season after averaging 18 points as a sophomore. Many predict Shurna to join McCamey on the first-team All-Big Ten team.

Prediction: Northwestern finishes sixth in the Big Ten and ends its tournament drought, but loses in the second round of the tournament.

Notre Dame:

Though Notre Dame loses top point scorer and double-double machine Luke Harengody, they have four productive seniors ready to avenge their defeat in the first round to Old Dominion. The aforementioned seniors, Ben Hansbrough, Carleton Scott, Tyrone Nash, and Tim Ambromaitis, provide the scoring and leadership necessary to compete in the Big East. In addition to playing in arguably the toughest conference in the Nation, the Irish face tough nonconference opponents in tenth ranked Kentucky and twelfth ranked Gonzaga.

Prediction: The Irish will finish eighth in the 16 team Big East and will lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament. 

Big Ten Outlook:

Michigan State will be the class of the Big Ten with star Kalin Lucas returning. A solid supporting cast that includes Draymond Green and Durrell Summers will give Michigan State the power to make another Final Four run. A strong Ohio State team will finish second, followed by Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue. Purdue went from a possible Final Four team to fifth in the Big Ten with the loss of star forward Robbie Hummel. Northwestern will finish sixth, Minnesota seventh, and Penn State finishes eighth with star guard Talor Battle. Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa round out the Big Ten Conference.

Others:

Depaul will once again finish in the cellar of the Big East and it will probably be another couple years before they can actually compete in this difficult conference. One reason to be optimistic is new head coach Oliver Purnell, who came over from Clemson… Illinois State needs to have a new group of players to step up as they lose their three best players from a year ago. Their top returner (Jackie Carmichael) averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds per game. Illinois State is traditionally near the top of their conference, but will most likely be at the middle of the pack in the Missouri Valley Conference when it is all said and down…Southern Illinois is another former Illinois power in the Missouri Valley conference on the descent. Like Illinois State they don’t appear to have as much talent as in years past and will likely finish in the middle of the MVC. Leading scorer Carlton Fay is back from a year ago which brings reason for hope, but the transfer of Kevin Dillard (second leading scorer) to Dayton is troubling for the Salukis.

18-game NFL season? Ouch

The NFL season is the shortest of all the professional sports leagues, and for good reason; it is the most brutal sport by far. Currently, the NFL season is 17 weeks long with each team playing 16 games with one week off? In addition to the 16 game season, each team plays four preseason games, where the starters play very little for each team.

 Recently, the NFL has toyed with the idea of installing a new 18 game regular season that has just two preseason games because they believe that the preseason drags on and fans get tired of it. The NFL is already making a lot of money from revenue, but they believe that they can make a significant amount more money in an 18-game season.

Though every fan wants to see more football and see their team’s starters play in games that count, this is not a good idea for the players. In a league that is so adamant players that players be cautious after a concussion, it is surprising that they would push an 18-game season on the players. Already, quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Jay Cutler have had to miss games because they got concussions the week before. Fans would see even more concussions and players missing significant time due to other injuries if the season was expanded for two more games. The players are so big and so fast that the season needs to be short because of the beating taken by players week in and week out. The NFL has been talking as if this is a done deal recently, but they aren’t sure when this will be installed.

Several players and former players have spoken out against this idea. Notably Steelers receiver Hines Ward and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning have expressed their displeasure with this idea. Both are veterans and know how their bodies feel week after week, season after season.  Ward believes that an 18 game season will shorten careers. He said that every year, his body is just one big bruise by the 13^th game, and he can’t imagine what it would feel like during the 18^th game of the season. I agree with Ward that careers would definitely be shorter. It is such a violent game that each additional game adds a risk of injury. And with players already banged up, the risk of injury increases even more.

Manning is more concerned with the shortened preparation time for his team. He says the training camp and four preseason games are necessary for his team to click in the first week of the season. The quality of play could go down in the season with 18 games. The games would be sloppier because the teams are not as prepared at the start of the season. Also, the end of the season could have more no name players because of the additional injuries. I think the games would not be as good with the two additional games.

This 18 game season would be good for fans who want more football and of course for the NFL to make more money, but it would be bad for the players. The health of the players is what is most important and the cons of an 18-game season outweigh the pros greatly.

Sometimes change is good, but in this instance, change could cause a lot of pain.

Cutler unseated as Bears defeated

The Bears entered Sunday night’s game against the Giants as one of two 3-0 teams left in the NFL. When all was said and done, they left with two injured quarterbacks and their first defeat of the season. Jay Cutler was unable to endure the Giant pass rush and was knocked out of the game at halftime with a concussion.

The Giants had nine sacks in the first-half, setting a new NFL record. Three of those sacks were by Osi Umenyiora, who also forced Cutler to lose a fumble. Cutler was unable to get anything going when he was in because of the constant pressure. He finished the day with just 42 passing yards, three fumbles, and an interception.

Todd Collins was the second quarterback in the game for the Bears and he left the game even more quickly than Cutler. The thirty-eight year old quarterback has not been the every day starter for a team since 1997. He also threw his first interception before being knocked out of the game by a vicious hit.

Third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie finished the game as the Bears were defeated 17-3.

The defense led by Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher played very well despite the Giants having good field position for most of the game. The obvious concern for the Bears was the offensive line, which gave up ten sacks total. Every time Cutler seemed to drop back, he was instantly swarmed by the Giants defense, who was led by Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora with three sacks apiece.

The immediate concern for the Bears is the health of their prized quarterback. Cutler left the game with a concussion, an injury that is being treated very seriously around the NFL because of the severity of the problem. This is an injury that sidelined Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb for a week, though his may have been worse than Cutler’s. Lovie Smith seems to think that Cutler will be ready for Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

Though this defeat was very hard because of the injuries and offensive line woes, the first quarter of the 2010 has been very successful up to this point. Most people had the Bears 1-3 up to this point with losses to the Packers and Cowboys as well. Instead, the Bears find themselves in position to make a run to the playoffs.

The Bears face off against the Seahawks and Redskins after the Panthers before they head into their bye week. These are all winnable games if the Bears play like the first three weeks rather than last Sunday.

The Office faces questions in new season

One of the most popular comedy TV shows around is back for a seventh season on September 23. The Office has been making people laugh for six years, and the seventh season will continue to do the same. The premier of season seven begins at 8:00 on NBC. The first episode is titled “Nepotism” and is the first of 25 half-hour shows in the season.

Season seven is the most anticipated season for the Office because of Steve Carell, who plays boss Michael Scott. The entire cast is back for season seven, though that will not be true for the next season. Carell has announced that this will be his last season on the hit-comedy, and that somebody will have to replace him as regional manager of Dunder Mifflin. It is not clear who will replace Carell, but whoever does will have big shoes to fill.

Office fan and Senior John Schraidt is not optimistic about the change. “I’m upset because he’s a good actor.”

Many different actors have been rumored to be the boss to replace Carell, but there has not been any confirmation on any rumors. Some actors whose names have come up include Harvey Keitel, Danny McBride, Rhys Darby, and a far-fetched candidate, Will Ferrell. They will officially introduce the new boss on the last episode of season seven. There is also a possibility that a current character will replace Michael, but it is unlikely that Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is the one to replace Michael.

The Office is based off a British TV show also titled The Office. The American version has been more successful as it is looking at a minimum of eight seasons, whereas the British show only lasted two seasons.

Like most TV shows, there was hesitation by NBC to air the show at the beginning.  They thought it wasn’t funny enough and that the actors seemed to be trying too hard. But after six solid seasons it is obvious that their views have changed. Now, there is little doubt that the upcoming season will be a successful one.

SEE Team students follow in Darwin’s footsteps

Every student at RB learns all about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution as a freshman in biology. They learn all about his findings at the Galapogos Islands with the finches. But for a few RB students, they decided to take this lesson to another level with a SEE Team sponsored trip to the Galapagos Islands.

Three RB students took advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity of visiting the famous Galapagos Islands. Seniors Caitlin Clark and Emily Cain, along with Sophomore Katie Maxwell were joined by teacher Jennifer Waldock on the ten-day trip.  This trip was offered to any member or former-member of the SEE team (School of Environmental Education), an alternate education plan that is offered freshman year that puts an emphasis on the environment. In past years, the group had gone to New Orleans to help with rebuilding the city, but they decided to change it up this past summer.

“After three summers doing that, we decided as a team to try something new,” said Waldock. “The Galapagos Islands are such an ecologically significant location so we thought it would be a perfect fit within the SEE Team goals to travel to the islands and study the rich plant-life and animal populations.” 

The group arrived in Quito, Ecuador on June 14, and spent the first day exploring the capital. They took a tour of Quito and saw many old churches and buildings including the Ecuadorian Statue of Liberty.  They were also shown the exact spot of the equator in Quito.  “Quito was different. The architecture had a nice mix of modern and old buildings and churches,” said Cain.

The next day, the group traveled to the main destination, the Galapagos Islands. It took about an hour and a half by plane to get to San Cristobal, one of 18 islands that make up the Galapagos. They would spend the remainder of the trip living on San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabella, the three main islands on the Galapagos.  

Since there are only about 20,000 people in the Galapagos Islands and tourists are limited, the islands are not overcrowded. Tourists and scientists aren’t the only people present on the island, there are towns home to natives on the island. ”There are developed towns on the islands, which I don’t think many people realize,” said Waldock. The sole reason that so many people want to go to the historic islands is the unique wildlife.

Maxwell said seeing the different animals was the best part of the trip. “The wildlife was very unique. It was interesting how (the Galapagos Islands) were the animals’ home, not the people.” On the trip, the students encountered penguins, sea lions, iguanas, blue-footed boobies, and of course, Darwin’s finches. In the highlands of San Cristobal, they saw many tortoises and were allowed get within a few feet of them. Even more animals were seen underwater when the group went snorkeling right off the islands.

Most of the activities that the RB kids did in San Cristobal involved the wildlife because there is no other place like the Galapagos and is a once in a lifetime opportunity. They went on day hikes on the islands and even hiked up a volcano on the island.

The food there was very different as it is South America, but the RB group agreed that they liked the change. They ate cold soups, fruit as a meal, and even had popcorn for a meal. Foods that they didn’t expect to be good, turned out to be a treat.

The group also went to the Charles Darwin research center and learned even more about his monumental findings. Now they can go back to RB and say they truly experienced Darwin’s evolution.

Bulls await hectic Summer of Lebron

Only one more month to go until the long anticipated free agent signing period begins. This will be the biggest sports story of the summer because of the numerous elite players available in the free agent pool. The most talked about is obviously Lebron James. Questions about where James will go after the 2010 season have been being asked for the past two years. The most talked about teams for James include the Bulls, the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Miami Heat along with the option of resigning with the Cavaliers.

Reports have surfaced that the Bulls is one team that James is looking at really hard. He would love to play in a big market like Chicago, but it is intriguing that he would consider playing in the shadow of Michael Jordan. It was assumed that James would not want to play in the shadow of Jordan in Chicago, but recently he says that he is interested.

Where James goes will dictate where the other major free agents go. Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, and Amare Stoudemire are a few other players who have the option to sign with another team after July 1. Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki may also become a free agent or be used as trade bait for Lebron James, if the Cavaliers decide to do a sign and trade.

There is a possibility that one team can get two of these free agents, and that team will immediately become a championship contender. Any team that adds James and Bosh or James and Wade will become the frontrunner for the 2011 NBA Championship. The possibility of Wade and James, arguably the two of the three best players in the NBA, on the same team is just scary. The aforementioned Knicks and Bulls are two teams that have enough cap space to land two max-salary free agents.

Though the Bulls have the room to land two of the big available free agents, it does not necessarily mean that they will. They have to worry about getting one first, especially after Dwyane Wade told reporters and other free agents that the Bulls aren’t loyal to their players. Hopefully, this doesn’t sway others like James away from the Bulls.

Teams can be begin to sign free agents starting on July 1^st. All NBA fans will be watching to see where James and others will go. Bull’s fans especially will be watching because they realize that the Bulls control their playoff destiny this summer.

World of excitement

There is another event that comes every four years taking place this year besides the Olympics. To some countries, this is even more important than the Olympics. This event is the World Cup and will take place in a new venue: South Africa.

It begins on June 11 with South Africa vs. Mexico and the first round play continues through June 25. After the first round concludes, 16 teams advance from eight groups to the next round of play, which is a single-elimination bracket. The champion of the World Cup will be crowned July 11.

The last World Cup was four years ago and came with plenty of excitement. The championship featured Italy and France, two teams with soccer-crazed fans. The game was tied when extra time was added and France’s star player, Zinedine Zadane, began to get frustrated.

Zadane let his emotions get the best of him in this tight game and head butted Italian midfielder Marco Materazzi. Zidane was given a red card and gave the Italians a one man advantage. The game went to penalty kicks where Italy easily disposed of France with the newfound confidence given by Zidane getting ejected. The 2010 championship game will have a hard time living up to this instant classic.

The US team was very successful last summer when they had to qualify for the World Cup. USA was in the 2009 Confederations Cup, where it took on world powers Brazil and Spain. The US showed that it could hang with the best teams in the world as they defeated Spain and lost to Brazil in the championship in a hard fought game.

The USA squad is ready to make a run in the World Cup and they begin in Group C along with England, Slovenia, and Algeria. The US will have their hands full with the English national team, but most are predicting them to finish second and advance to the round of 16. Many analysts believe that if the US doesn’t get out of its group, the World Cup will be considered a failure.

There are many teams that are capable of winning the World Cup. The obvious favorites are Spain, Brazil, and Argentina. Argentina has arguably the best player in the world in forward Lionel Messi, who is picked by many to win the Golden Ball, which is awarded to the best player in the tournament. Other contenders are England and Germany. England has another player who is among the world’s best: Wayne Rooney.

The US is a dark-horse in the tournament if they play like they did last summer. If they can do this, the US has a chance to surprise world powers again.

Though soccer is not as popular in the US, it is the most popular sport around the world without any doubt. People from all counties will flock to South Africa to take part in this grand event. Every game will contain crazy fans who care about their country so much. People in the US should recognize this great event and just watch a few games to see how important and crazy the World Cup really is.

Bulls down 2-0 after sneaking into playoffs

The Chicago Bulls were able to win their last two games of the season to edge into the playoffs. They sneaked past two playoff teams – the Bobcats and Celtics – to ensure the eighth and final playoff spot. The Toronto Raptors were left out of the playoffs by one game. The spot both teams were fighting for seems to be who would lose in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bulls face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, led by probable MVP Lebron James. James was the MVP a year ago and will likely make it two years in a row unless Kevin Durant somehow edges him out. The Cavaliers cruised through the regular season and finished with the beast overall record in the NBA at 61-21. They could even afford to rest Lebron James the last four games of the regular season.

Unfortunately for the Bulls in Game 1, Lebron was not rusty at all. He finished with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. The Cavaliers cruised to a 15 point lead at the half. The Bulls came out in the second and outscored the Cavaliers by two points in the third quarter and managed to cut the Cavaliers lead to 7 point with about four minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Derrick Rose led the comeback as he finished with 28 points and 10 assists. But in the end, it was too much James and point guard Mo Williams. James converted a three point play and Mo Williams (19 points) hit a three pointer which sealed the Bulls fate in Game 1. The Cavs ended up winning 96-83.

The Bulls had to play again in Cleveland on Monday night. This time the Bulls seemed more prepared in the first half than they did in game one. Instead of trailing by double digits, the Bulls found themselves down by just two points at the half, and were tied with the top-seeded Cavaliers after three quarters. The reason for this was the improved play of Bulls center Joakim Noah. After Shaquille O’Neal pushed him around in game 1, Noah was able to find his offense and defense and finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

The fourth quarter was a different than the first three quarters for the Bulls. They trailed 96-93 with about four minutes left before the best player in the NBA took over. Lebron James went on to score the next 11 points for the Cavaliers which included a long three pointer. James finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting an efficient 70% from the field. The Cavaliers outscored the Bulls by 10 points in the fourth quarter to take Game 2 by a score of 112-102.

The series heads to Chicago for games three and four. Though the Bulls have home-court advantage, the Cavaliers had the second best road record in the regular season. The Bulls need to play perfect basketball in order to defeat the Cavaliers because game 2 was close and the Bulls played about as good as they are capable. If the Bulls can manage to win one or two games in this series, it should be considered a success.

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