Rakeem Christmas Excited For Syracuse, Needs A Jacket

Is there a worse thing you can offer a group of young, fine-tuned athletes just barely getting into their prime than all-you-can-eat McDonald's? I suppose hooking a ranch dressing IV directly into the veins of those athletes would be worse, but only barely. And yet, that's what the good people of McDonald's were doing to the All-Americans at their game last week.

That's just one of the things I learned reading Rakeem Christmas' article for the Virgin Island Daily News. Christmas, a St. Croix native, is writing a series of articles for the paper as he prepares to join Syracuse next Fall.

The other thing I learned? Rakeem doesn't like the cold and doesn't like to wear a jacket.

It's been such a great experience - except for the cold!

We were staying at the Westin downtown, which is right by Lake Michigan, and it was freezing. My Aunt told me to travel with a jacket but I didn't. Sucks trying to be cool.

Rak, I hate to break it to you, but, you're gonna want to pick up a Omni-Tech Columbia Winter Coat before heading up to see us. Promise.

I also learned Rakeem's e-mail address. Oy.

Rakeem will be in Portland for the Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on the Fox Sports Network. Watch it. Or don't if you don't get FSN, which explains why you miss all that great Pac-10 football.