Golf can be a game that is both frustrating and rewarding. Regular players will know that  those two emotions can often occur in the same round. Regardless of their level of natural talent though, golfers can take a few simple steps to improve their golf game. Even after a few hours of tuition and practice, they will notice a significant difference. Read the rest of this entry »

The professional sports teams in Arizona rarely provide for a dull moment. Last week, however, was one of the exceptions to the rule. The weekend of October fifteenth and sixteenth was exceptionally quiet. Not only were the state’s NFL team, Arizona Cardinals, off for the week, but the Diamondbacks , the state’s MLB team, who had recently claimed the divisional title and began (as well as ended) their post-season efforts were sorely missed from the schedule.

And if that’s not enough, the seemingly endless conflicts over between the players and owners of the NBA seem to have what should be the beginnings of the current season in a perpetual state of suspended animation. We as fans have already endure the stress of the potential black out from the frustrating results of the meetings that occurred earlier in the year. And many of us held out hope that an agreement would be reached and preseason games would not be affected. That’s obviously gone with the wind as well. And it seems that at least two weeks of the regular season have been shaved from the schedule.

This obviously leaves the players, as well as the owners, extremely frustrated, but what does it mean for and how does it affect the fans? Many of these people are struggling against their own enormous economic problems, and can barely afford a professional basketball ticket. It’s difficult for even the most obsessed fans to maintain a sense of commitment to the players’ cause, or to lend any hand of empathy. Many people are looking into money mutual financial assistance just to survive, while the NBA is bickering over outrageous entitlement to profits. It’s beginning to seem more like a bunch of spoiled children, on both sides, who have no idea how fortunate they are in the first place. And while that’s not to mitigate the respect deserved to professional basketball players, it does emphasize the outrageous rift in salaries between professional athletes and those of other professions.

So, what does this all of this mean for the players of the Phoenix Suns as well as for the fans? Phoenix is an incredibly committed basketball city, and Suns also draw a solid fan base from outside of the state. Anyone who loves Suns’ basketball is upset over the current situation, though most fans have tried to maintain some sense of rationally based support for the team. Then there are players like Grant Hill, who is probably the team’s most important defensive player as well as one of its strongest leaders and a great offensive contributor as well. He’s currently a free agent and the longer the black out exits, the more likely it begins that he could slip off into the sunset. The troubled instability of the NBA continues to trouble the fans. The fans want basketball, they just don’t want to have to get a lender to pay for a ticket.

Professional sports in Arizona has some interesting, and in part troubling, aspects. The MLB team, Arizona Diamondbacks, continue to lead the Western Conference and are currently four games ahead of the Giants. While the Giants seem strong with their never ending line up of pitchers, their injuries, and lately mistakes, are really getting in their way. Looks like the Dbacks just might be Goliath this year. Well, that’s the good news. On the slightly more disturbing end, the quiet news of Grant Hill’s free agent status is really shaking some hearts. Yes, female Suns fans tend to adore him, but the same thing is true for male fans, though it manifests slightly differently.

Everyone knows the charmed, though also injury laden, history of Grant Hill. Still, it’s fun to bring it up every once in a while. He was a star back in his college days at Duke University and among the highlights from his collegiate career include that legendary in-bound pass during the 1992 regional finals game against Kentucky. As the story goes, Duke was down in overtime, 103-102, and with just 2.1 seconds remaining, Hill lobed in the pass, heaving it across 75 feet of basketball court mind you, right into the hands of Laettner. Laettner dribbled once and made a jump shot to win the game. Every basketball and Grant Hill fan is familiar with this story, and it’s easy to watch his pass over and over again on Utube. That’s just one of the great highlights from Hill. Meanwhile, his tenure with Phoenix is at an impasse. That might not be the best way to state it. The lingering free agent status is not due to conflicts with Phoenix, it’s on account of the major impasse between interested parties in the NBA, ie, the players and the owners. Let the Transglobe Smart Cars impart some advice while transporting negotiators to their meetings.

So, when will an agreement be reached? Will professional basketball be played this year? Where will Grant Hill finish his career? All signs continue to point toward staying with the Suns, though a sundry of teams have shown interest, and why wouldn’t they? Boston and New York are a couple of examples and the latest rumor mill puts Miami into the mix. Hill could definitely provide the much needed leadership and stability the Heat is greatly lacking, but he wouldn’t be in the starting line up and would probably not be appreciated fully. With the Heat’s axis of evil, James, Wade and Bosh receiving just about as much celebrity pamper as a city can muster, there seems like little room could be made for a new star. But that’s not the biggest argument against Hill signing with Miami, he thrives in Phoenix. Well, okay, he can thrive anywhere, but still. He is an inextricable part of the Suns and he and Nash make an incredible leadership team. No doubt any leading Canadian property management company would love to see their Golden Sun back home again, but he too is destined for the Arizona sunset. The Suns have a chance to go all the way, and Hill is a vital element in the picture. He can win a ring and he can do it here. Stay in Phoenix Grant Hill!

There are high expectations for this weekend with the NASCAR Brickyard 400 and the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix. The Brickyard 400 will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana and is one of the most popular and prestigious races of the season. The Hungarian Grand Prix will be held in Budapest and is expected to be a great race.

The Stewart-Hass Racing team comprised of Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart is coming into this race with a great amount of momentum following their win in New Hampshire. Both are Indiana natives so this will be their home track. The team is looking for a win and has described this weekend as “the most intense weekend of [the] year, next to the Daytona 500.”

Another racer looking to steal the title is Juan Pablo Montoya. He is coming into this race with a new crew chief and is looking to become the first driver to win both the Brickyard 400 and the Indianapolis 500. He was the winner of the Indy 500 in 2000. Montoya has been a leader at previous Brickyard races and was very close to winning the previous two races but small mistakes, including a call for a four hankook tire replacement which put him in 32^nd place.

Car racing seems to be the world’s sport, while different countries have their own ways of racing and own leagues, it seems to be a universally enjoyed sport. People seem to come together to watch the races and there is always an element of surprise when it comes to who will win. Another aspect of racing that people enjoy is the cars themselves, the designs as well as the wheels and tires. It is always exciting to see a car with an American racing 20” Lincoln navigator tire wheel package. So as the saying goes,it’s anyone’s race.

With such major races coming up, this weekend is sure to be an exciting one for racing fans as well as racing history. It will be exciting to see who takes home the title and to see how well each team performs at such a prestigious race.

Since I was a kid I love to watch the Indianapolis 500 on TV every May. The cars racing around the track, the anticipation of a potential crash, the power and the noise. it was all very exciting to me as a kid. Well the excitement has hardly worn off in my adulthood. Dreaming and wanting to go to the race in person has been a life long desire. Well now this coming Memorial Day we are heading to Indianapolis, IN. We are going to the Indianapolis 500 races. After years of wanting to go and much time spent thinking about it we are finally going to be going! Having just obtained the tickets to the race we are now going to book out Indianapolis luxury Hotels room. With wanting to go for so long and finally getting the opportunity to go, we are going first class all the way.

Since we are in Colorado we thought it would be really cool to rent a van and all of us would drive up and meet in Denver. From Denver we will head out to Indianapolis. Being that the drive is a little more than one thousand miles we should be able to make it with a full day of driving. Being that we will switch drivers off and on we should be able to make it one very long drive. Not really wanting to stop over night on the way I think this will be the best to just keep on the road and get ourselves there.

This is going to be one heck of a party, six guys in a van for twenty four hours driving half way across the country. We are staying in suite all together and going to the races. It should and will be so much fun. I now can not wait for May to get here.

What’s better than the smell of fresh cut grass? Oh yeah, the smell of fresh cut grass and fierce competition.  That’s Wimbledon, baby!

One of the tennis grand slam championships, Wimbledon is one of the most important and prominent events in tennis history.

It all started with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, the club was founded in 1868.

The club was first founded under the name the All England Croquet Club, but after a name change in 1877 the club was renamed, and then the first Lawn Tennis Championship was instituted.

By 1882, croquet was dropped from the name entirely and the club was exclusively for lawn tennis.  Although, the name was restored back to the original for sentimental reasons in 1892.

Wimbledon is one of those events that no matter how you watch it you feel like you have been transported back into a time of ladies and gentlemen just enjoying some good old fashioned English sport.

However, the club is maintained and kept up with the needs of its members and of those spectators who flock every year to centre court to watch the best in tennis play.

Throughout the years Wimbledon is still one of the premier tennis tournaments in the entire world. It is the only professional tournament to be played on a grass court surface and is seen as a specialty surface much like the clay of Roland Garros stadium and The French Open.

The facility now has a retractable roof and places to house broadcast cameras, and even after all of these years and all of the location changes it is still one of the premier places to hit a tennis ball in the entire span of the globe.  Once you go grass, you may just never go back!

As professional golf continues its expansion into Asia and the Middle East, the newest championship “The Race to Dubai” will feature a $2 million prize. The Euro Tour is sponsoring the event along with Leisurecorp (which is owned by the government of Dubai). The Euro Tour has expanded in 2009 to include tournaments in Hong Kong, China, South Africa, South Korea Thailand, Australia, Malaysi and Indonesia as well as matches in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“The Race to Dubai” will end at the Dubai World Championship in mid-November. The tournament is the richest in the world. In addition to the top prize, cash awards will be earned by the top finishers, down to 15th place which will receive $250,000. The Dubai World Championship is scheduled to be played at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Golf is a growing interest in the Middle East. In Dubai, the influx of western tourists has led to the creation of numerous golf resorts. Likewise the large number of business travelers who find themselves in the city seek out courses as places to close deals as well as relax. Just about any 5 star Dubai hotel will be able to direct guests to the nearest course, if there isn’t one attached to the hotel grounds.

Dubai will be the home of the first golf course designed by Tiger Woods. It is estimated Woods may earn as much as $20 million once the course is completed at the Al Ruwaya Golf Club in Dubai.

The U.S. Open tennis tournament will begin in a couple of weeks and I am very excited, as are most tennis fans. Rafael Nadal won the French Open and the Wimbledon. I bet he also has his sights set on the U.S. Open.

But what really has me excited it the fact that the U.S. Open overlaps with the Olympics. This means that tennis season is extended because it will be covered and the players will not be on the schedule they are used to, which could lead to some upsets.

I think not having an adequate break in between will be a catalyst for many as they get injured. And as the professional exit the Olympics they will have to attempt to rest up and recuperate from any injuries, then jump into the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

But no matter what happens, the 2008 tennis season is going to be interesting…

No, “Censorship and the 2008 Summer Olympics” isn’t the title of a new educational book that will be used in schools this fall, nor is it a drama laden young adult novel. Still, with the Olympics being held in China this year, for those following the event it has been neigh impossible to escape from dramatic circumstances or situations.

The latest controversy in Beijing takes place in the Olympic Press Center. According to a story featured in The New York Times, there are allegations of Internet access to certain websites being blocked. The article mentions that such actions would be in direct violation of promises made by the Chinese government to allow uncensored access to information for all members of the media.

One of the major websites that the media had trouble accessing was the official site for Amnesty International. The human rights group has been very forward about their disappointment regarding human rights issues in China and the lack of significant progress before the start of the games.

Court two is known for the upsets that come out of the matches on it at the Wimbledon tournament. And the United States’ only hopes for winning the tournament are with Venus and Serena Williams. Both are scheduled to have all of their tennis matches on this court.

I think that they will be okay though. They have been playing consistently and improving at every match. I just hope that it’s not these two playing each other for the title. I bet it’s extra difficult for them to play each other and I bet it’s very difficult for their father since he doesn’t want to favor one over the other.

I always catch the French Open tennis tournament results on the The Tennis Channel when I have to miss some of the important matches. They always have great commentary and the hosts of many of the shows are or were professional tennis players.

I like the French Open coverage a lot because I am always busy toward the end of May since I teach and that is when I have to finish everything up and get grades done. So, I catch up on what happened in the evening.

I also love the Roland Garros tournament because it inspires me to grab my racket and hit the club for a set or two, and just get some exercise. I’m hoping the French Open tennis coverage is great again this year because I have a ton of papers to grade.

I love this time of year. The French Open tennis tournament is my favorite of the Grand Slam tournaments. I love it because I feel that the athletes that win it have superior skills compared to those that cannot win it. This is because of the clay surface that it is played on.

Clay surfaces slow the ball down and produces a high bounce in comparison to the grass and hard surface courts. It takes a special set of skills to win this and many of the world’s greatest tennis players cannot attain this championship.

As of 2007, the last 8 French Open men’s singles champions were won by men that did not win any other Grand Slam tournaments.

The Wimbledon coverage will begin once again later in June. This is my favorite of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments since the courts are made of 100% rye grass. This makes the running game much slower and I think it makes the athletes work harder.

The Wimbledon follows the Australian Open, then the French Open but it’s before the U.S. Open. The funny thing about this British tournament is the irony it has to the Brits. No English man has won a single’s event since Fred Perry did in 1936 and no English woman has since 1977 when Virginia Wade won.

I love this time of year when all of the tennis tournaments are coming up and we really get to see who is the best since all four events use a different kind of court. And though I like the clay used in the French Open, I think that Wimbledon will always be my favorite.