Jay-Z was at his best on Thursday at the United Center. It was the start to a great weekend for Mr. ChiCity. A big shoutout goes to my sister Laura who took me for my birthday.

It was one of the better weekends I have had in a long time and one filled with memories that I’ll remember for even longer. It started Thursday night at the United Center as my sister Laura treated me to a belated birthday present. The present? Money seats to the Jay-Z show. Hova put on one hell of a show, and it was the best concert I’ve ever been to. It’s rare when a performer plays about 97% of good songs in one show, but the Jigga Man came through. We had great seats, which made it even better. One of the highlights of the show was when Jay-Z gave a shoutout to LeBron James, who was in the house taking in the show. LeBron was in town to dismantle the Bulls the following night, and it was good news for the Bulls that the weather was beautiful for The King. James will be the most sought after free agent in NBA history this July 1, and the Bulls are doing everything in their power to bring him to Chicago. James spoke glowingly of the Bulls roster, the city, the love the fans showed him, and seems to be considering listening to the Bulls come this summer. I’ve been saying for months that the Bulls have the best nucleus of talent for LeBron to grow old with, and if he wants to win multiple titles,….Chicago is the right place for it to happen. James teaming with Derrick Rose would make the Bulls instant title contenders. Don’t count it, no matter if the Cavs win the title or not. I firmly believe it’s the Bulls or Cavs for LeBron. He knows the Bulls would compete for the NBA Championship for the next 6-8 years with him in the fold.

Bulls fans showered LeBron with love on Friday. Will "The King" leave Cleveland? The Bulls and the entire city hope so.

This weekend was also the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The 1st two days of the tournament have always been my favorite, but what transpired over the course of the 1st two rounds was incredible. If you decided to look at my tournament bracket you would, one, get a good laugh, and two, see just how big of a crap shoot the whole thing is. I thought going in that there were 6-7 teams capable of winning the title, but after this past weekend, it’s wide open. Kansas losing was the highlight for me. KU fans can be more annoying than Boston RedSox fans when it comes to their team, and to see them get bounced by Northern Iowa was a treat. Now Northern Iowa returns to St. Louis as the fan favorite, which could be an added lift for a team that should have had a higher seed. Guard Ali Farokhmanesh is becoming a household name even though 94% of the country can’t pronounce it. Number 12 Cornell routed number 4 Wisconsin on Sunday keeping their Cinderella run going. Of the 32 first round games, double-digit seeds won won eight of them. One game I did have right was Old Dominion beating Notre Dame. I’ll bet against a Luke Harangody led team any day of the week. The Big East looked anything but dominant with only 2 of their 8 teams making it to The Sweet 16. Syracuse and West Virginia have been fantastic, but the other teams from that conference have played poorly. Finally, my hat’s off to Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. Izzo is going to The Sweet 16 for the 9th time since he took over in ‘95. He is one of, if not the best, coach in college basketball, and the way his teams play defense  never counts them out. It will be tough for them without Kalin Lucas, but Izzo’s bunch won’t lay down.

Those are the story lines that stood out to me in a crazy opening weekend of the tournament. What this weekend also showed was in this single elimination tournament any team can beat a higher ranked one on a given day or night. I wish the BCS turds took notice and implemented a playoff for college football. Sure, if Northern Iowa played Kansas in a 7-game series, KU would win in 5 or 6. That’s what makes this so much fun. I officially tore up my bracket when Villanova lost on Saturday to St. Mary’s. It was at that point where I said F-it, I could care  less about my bracket— I want to see the top teams go down. FYI- Scottie Reynolds played his way right into the D-League with his performance in the 2 games ‘Nova played. I thought he would perform at a higher level, but he failed to take over when his team needed him to. People say they want the top teams to advance because it makes for better games when the top seeds play in the Elite 8 and Final Four, but after this weekend’s action, who couldn’t enjoy watching these games?

If Jay-Z and The NCAA Tournament weren’t enough to make my weekend complete, Saturday marked our annual Fantasy Baseball draft. This year’s “festivities” took place at our Alma Mater Illinois State University. Since most of our league decided to go and get married, we  all only get together a few times a year. I’m kidding, all of the guys have wonderful wives. They all out kicked their coverage, and that is no B.S. What made the trip extra special for me was that it gave me a chance to hangout with my brother Anthony as well. He is a senior on the ISU baseball team, and getting to share in Kansas’ misery was phenomenal. He followed it up with a 3-4 Sunday that included 2 doubles and a grand slam. Anthony also got to see us in our element…talking sh*t to each other, making fun of each others fantasy teams, a classic dart tournament, Bears arguments, and more. I knew it would be a long day of ball busting when I made my first pick of the draft. We’ve done this keeper league since 2001, and even though some league members have changed, the bad drafting has not. I was awarded the 1st pick because of my horrible 2009 squad. We essentially start the draft in the 6th round by keeping 5 players, and when I made The Braves future ace, Tommy Hanson, my 1st pick and heard….”And you’ll take 9th place” I said “Here we go.” The constant ball busting is what makes a fantasy draft– that and Epper making Ed Lynch- type selections all afternoon. There are a few loaded teams with Sulls, Shu, and The Blade’s teams looking strong. Epper and D-Ball will compete for last while I will wallow in mediocrity, if I’m lucky. I honestly couldn’t care about the actual draft. For me, it’s the chance to see some of my best friends all in one place at one time. When guys who aren’t in the league come to hangout, you know it’s a rare and special occasion.

Highlights of draft Saturday include……

– The Blade, Epper, D-Ball, Scott, and Vinny arriving 30 minutes late. In related news, Oprah sucks, Chicago weather is for the birds, gas prices will be going up, and the sun set in the west. You know it was going bad for D-Ball when after the 4th round and 1st smoke break, he already hated his team.

– Sulls’ eating again was second to nobody on the planet. His 3 McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches was nothing to the meat lover’s pizza he housed at Elroy’s, order of cheese balls he popped like Skittles, and Lord knows what else. Sulls put on another classic display that few could top. Nice work Dingy.

– Matt writing down every pick. Matt deserves dude of the draft for writing down every pick of the draft. It was entirely too loud in the bar, so hearing people’s picks made it difficult, but kudos to Matt for keeping tabs on things. He’s the anti Jerry Angelo. When I tried taking Adam Lind in the 16th round, Matt calmly said…”Um Lou, he went about 4 rounds ago.”

– The dart tournament at the Pub II. Guys paired off into teams of two and played some of the worst darts ever seen by man. It was quite a sight watching darts fly off the board, which lead me to ask if they were playing blind folded. They weren’t, and when the dust settled, the team of The Blade and Shu took the title. Dubs was like ‘92 Jordan in Game 1 of The Finals vs the Blazers. Unconscious. The Blade surprisingly shook off a shoulder injury he’s been dealing with since college to help win the dart championship. What did they receive for their winnings? Um……Not a damn thing, although the team named “Cold and Deep” do have sh*t talking honors until the fantasy football draft. Poor Scott will have to hear, “Hey buddy, do you remember how good we are at darts” until the 2011 draft.

– The Party Bus. How we got a party bus to drive us around for a night on the town is beyond me. Anyway, it made the night for me, personally. Tex, the bus driver, is one of a kind. Whatever he gets paid, it’s not nearly enough. Thank you, Tex, for driving 15 guys around all night. It’s much appreciated.

It will be tough for us to top the 2010 draft, but early talk has centered on us venturing out to sunny Las Vegas for the 2011 draft. If you have never attended one of our drafts, plan early on joining us no matter where we go. I’ve heard if it is Vegas, MTV has already lined up to try and film it, and make a reality show, Jersey Shore style. Now that would be fantastic television.