So, I was wondering what all there would be to do in Atlanta, Georgia. It turns out that my good friend Tammy won two round trip plane tickets to Atlanta and hotel accommodations for a three-night stay. She won the trip through a drawing at work that was part of the annual convention and seminar event. The point of all this, which might be obvious, is that she invited me to go with her and not being one to pass up a free trip I accepted. Meanwhile, I had never been to Atlanta before and was wondering what all we might want to do there.

About the only aspects I was aware of before looking into the local entertainment and cultural aspects of the city was the fact that the Atlanta Hawks were their NBA team and the Braves were their baseball team. And of course the Atlanta Falcons are their football team. There, that was the extent of my knowledge about Atlanta, Georgia. However, now I can say I’m actually much more familiar with it, well and of course I have been there and explored the city by now, but I also did my homework before arriving.

It turns out that in addition to all of the major professional sports teams, Atlanta really has a lot of dynamic cultural institutions and entertainment options. We also had a great time at some of the local nightclubs. We love to go dancing and sort of mingling with new people and our first night in town we went to a place called Compound. It’s on Brady Avenue and is really a cool and kind of chic, but not pretentiously, in its own way. We also went to happy hour at a place called Loca Luna just because Tammy liked the name. The happy hour was great and they’re known for their appetizers. This has just been a light sampling, but we had a fabulous time in Atlanta and I recommend it as a vacation destination for anyone.

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I don’t follow sports. At all. Well except I do follow Lance Armstrong…but that’s another story for another time. First time I lived in Chicago was during the 2001 World Series, played between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks. Everyone wanted the Yankees to win after all that the city of Manhattan had been through the month prior. I did too, however I was a bit torn. I was homesick after the Sept. 11 attacks and the fact that my team…from my home town was playing? well I had a bit of a heartbeat when I would hear that they were doing well. Perhaps that’s why, even though the Yankees ALWAYS seem to win the series, that my heart was torn…I wanted New Yorker’s hearts to keep on beating.

A few years later I was back living in Chicago. I had gone to see the Cubs play many times. And although I had never been to a Sox game, when they played the final games of the series, you could feel it…you could see it in the face of the “everyman”. The White Sox are a working man’s team who have dealt with their share of scandal. But they were playing ball…my goodness, They. Were. Playing. Ball! That final game I was in my apartment. My roommate had been watching the game from a downtown Chicago hotel lounge. He called me up and said meet me at Quencher’s. That was our local neighborhood bar. And me…no sports enthusiast, said…”you bet”! I had my snow boats on before I hung up the phone.

The crowd at Quencher’s, on Fullerton and Western is an artistic crowd, full of musicians and poets and painters. But when I walked in, all eyes were glued to the TV sets brought in for the occasion. No one there that night gave two thoughts to sports, but this was something more. This was the spirit of a town, that was rising up against all odds, against everything that was supposed to happen. When the game was called, and the White Sox won the World Series, everyone in that small pub hugged each other with tears in their eyes. It was just a brilliant night. A brilliant, a cold, and a wonderful night to be living in the city of Chicago.

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Bjorn Borg ruled the tennis courts in his heyday. However, though his career as a professional tennis player was a phenomenal and outstanding one, it was also very short. What are some of the moment in his career that make him such an unforgettable player and immense influence on tennis as we know it today? Right before he turned 18, he triumphed at the Italian Championship. And then, when he had turned eighteen and only a few weeks later, he won the French Championship as well. At the time of both these wins, he was the youngest player to win such glory. Even today if her were at the upcoming Austrialian Open, he would still be quite a star.

Further glory occurred when he turn nineteen. He won nineteen single matches in a row during the Davis Cup in 1975 with his 3 to 2 win against his Czech competitor. During his many tournaments, he provided new accomplishments for future generations to try and break and hold for themselves. He provided tennis with some of its greatest moves and moments ever seen and raised the level of tennis players, setting standards for years to come. Those playing in the soon to be held Australian Open Tennis Championship still after all these years have a lot to live up to.

Perhaps what made him such a great player was his strength. He had an extremely strong upper body, and though a slightly bowlegged run, he could run very quickly and with great agility on the tennis courts he graced. His style has been described as kind of rough and jerky, which suits his burly looking appearance.

His greatest rivalry was against John McEnroe, whom some claim put him out of business and ended his professional tennis playing career. However, though great rivals on the court, they have a healthy dose of respect for the other and their playing styles. They function as ying and yang in many ways, from their playing styles, to their looks, and to their personalities. Born was called the ice man precisely because he was so cool and level headed during his games and interviews, whereas McEnroe made a name for himself through his talent but also through his temper.

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The Balearic Island of Ibiza, located in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain is an extremely popular tourist location. This is due in large part to its thriving club and night life scene, though there are many other reasons while increasing numbers of visitors arrive on this island every year. And the tourism industry on the island is making concerted efforts to attract more families to its shores and to do this they emphasize the aspects of the island that are attractive to a more diverse population of visitors. Everyone, well, almost everyone, enjoys a great time at fabulous club, but there are too many things to do on Ibiza to limit your activities to this nocturnal abandon.

Tourists who stay with their families in the luxury Ibiza hotels often spend their days enjoying the numerous historic ruins that are found on the island. There are also great golf courses that offer spectacular views to compliment the game. The pro shops are fully equipped for all visiting golfer’s needs and the club restaurant provides the perfect post eighteen hole meal.
Water sports are another common and extremely popular activity on and in the waters right off the shores of Ibiza. There are plenty of opportunities for water skiing, swimming, snorkeling, diving, kayaking and canoeing. There are also sail boat rentals available, and on clear days its fun to watch the many sails floating across the clear waters. There are also options for scuba diving lessons on the island, as well as for many of the other sports and activities. So, while Ibiza is the perfect place to enjoy your favorite water sport, it is also the perfect place to learn it. Other hotels here

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Tennis has just not been the same without Rafael Nadal. Nadal has not played competitively since his loss to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open at Roland Garros Stadium. Tennis fans were shocked that the clay court master and all around tennis champion did not dominate on clay. That was until he pulled out of Wimbledon due to tendonitis in his knees. He has said in articles that he has been unable to train at the level he needs to be at his most competitive and effective.

Meanwhile, while Nadal has been on the bench, Federer has been making all of his tennis dreams come true. And he looks to keep that streak alive with US Open tennis as well. Federer picked up the only tennis Grand Slam title that eluded him at this year’s French Open. He also picked up another Wimbledon title after beating Andy Roddick in the longest set in the history of the match.

But the question is still going to be there when we look back in tennis history. Could Federer have done it if Nadal was in good health? He could not before, so perhaps those victories don’t mean as much unless you are competing against the best and beating them. Not to take anything away from Roger though. Despite the fact that Nadal missed one of the major Grand Slam tournaments, he is still holding on to his number 2 in the world ranking. Although, Andy Murray is on his heels.

The two will meet up again at the Montreal Masters aka Roger’s Cup for the first time since Nadal had to drop out of the competitive circuit. It will be interesting to see if Nadal is able to shake off his injury and compete to the best of his ability. I really do hope they end up in the final together.

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To be honest, I’ve never been to a Crush game. A friend of mine did give me four tickets for one game last season, complimentary Sports Tickets were given to the entire staff at her school, so the tickets weren’t special and I couldn’t even go game night, so I ended up giving them away. What I mean to say is, ‘winning’ the tickets would qualify as special. Yes, I’m shameless, I would really like to be awarded tickets to a Crush game.

It’s not because I’m tight with the wife of one of the players, but because I’m an amateur sportswriter, and I would love to see a Crush game live and then write about it. If I won the tickets, I promise to write a good relations story about Crush and post it in my blog, which gets a thousand hits a day. Arena Football will be my first attempt at football sports writing and I think I’ll be able to put a whole new spin on the game and bring in more season ticket holders with my story.

So, that’s my plea, my shameless plea. I deserve to win free tickets to the game, so I can write a sports blog about Arena Football which focuses on Crush. Just to seal the deal, I would like to reiterate that I am the best friend of one of the player’s wife. If that’s not a better reason than writing a sports blog, then I don’t know what is. I

I have never been to a Crush game. In all honesty, I did receive four tickets last season, but was not free on game night, so I gave the tickets away. But even though I did get complimentary tickets so did nearly the entire staff at school, so it was not special. And the tickets did not come from Lani herself, so it really doesn’t count, does it? I’m begging you, please let me win those tickets.

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I first saw doggy-sports on ESPN, where they would have competiting dogs jump as far as they could into a pool of water. Purina sponsored the sport, it’s called Dock Diving. I was never so fasinated in all my life. It was great to watch these dogs just do what they love to do, take a running jump for their favorite toy and jump as long as they can to try to catch it. Fortunately, they do get to land in water. The owners were fun to watch just as much as it was fun to watch just how far dogs can actually jump.

So, when the opportunity came to purchase some Special Sports Tickets for some other type of dog competitions, I ‘jumped’ at the chance. I managed to get tickets for a dog sports event that covered 3 types of agilities. It’s called Flyball. It’s a realy race with 4 dogs on a team. The course consisted of a starting line, some hurdles spaces about 10 feet apart and a box. The first hurdle is approximately 6 feet from the starting ling and the box is about 14 feet from the very last hurdle. It seems like the whole course was about 50 feet in length. The dogs are supposed to jump the hurdles and then step on a spring loaded box that will propel out a tennis ball. Then the dogs supposed to catch the tennis ball and jump over 3 more hurdles. When the dog crossed the starting line then the next dog on the team of 4 goes next. The first dog team that has all 4 dogs run with no errors wins.

I have to tell you, that was the best live sports event I’ve been too, seriously. I’ve been to professional sports like baseball, basketball and football, but I’ve never enjoyed myself so much as when I attended this Flyball Dog sport. I figured out why too, it’s because the stars of the show, the dogs, have no egos. They are in pure heaven and their enthusiams is an amazing site to behold. The dogs truely do it for the ‘love of the sport’. Oh, okay and maybe a treat and a hug.

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The U.S. Open tennis tournament is the last of the Grand Slam tournaments and it signifies the end of tennis season. However, it signals the beginning of the Olympics this year. The U.S. Open is played at the end of August through the beginning of September. The 2008 Olympics begin on 8/8/08, which is supposed to be lucky.

You can catch all of the U.S. Open tennis tournament coverage on the Tennis Channel. They always have superb analysis and commentary. I can really understand what they mean and why certain things that happen are significant. John McEnroe is often a commentator and anyone who listens to him can understand his love for the game.

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No matter what the vocation, education is a must and careers in golf are no different. Golf is a far-reaching industry that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in one capacity or another. Because it is an industry that centers on a sport, it has many elements that are sometimes not found in other types of business. Therefore, attending a reputable college such as San Diego Golf Academy can help one get all the skills they need for a successful career in golf. There are many vocations throughout the golf industry that help make it the alluring business that it is.

Though some would assume golf schools are simply places to improve one’s swing, in all reality one can learn the ins and outs of management or learn to become an instructor. While management skills can be useful for a golf course, instructors find jobs in schools, golf resorts and can even give private lessons. Because golf is so popular, graduates can take their credentials and find a job in any city on the map. With a fully accredited curriculum, students of a golf school can find themselves eligible for financial aid.

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I love warm weather, summer vacations and the tennis season, which actually begins in January because that is when summer is in Australia, but the majority of tennis tournaments are closer to May, June and July. The French Open highlights from last year showed a defeated Roger Federer and a jubilant Rafa Nadal.

Maybe this year’s French Open tennis winner for the men’s singles will finally be Roger. He desperately wants this title so he can retire with a career Grand Slam. He is definitely the King of Grass but he does lack when it comes to clay court tennis.

One reason that I want to see Roger winning during the French Open tennis coverage is because he seems like a great guy. He is good friends with Tiger Woods and I believe he is involved with several charitable organizations. Either way, he is an amazing athlete and I want him to finally win.

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The Roland Garros tennis tournament is coming up and this year’s event is sure to be as exciting as last year’s. I always catch up with the French Open scores and the highlights that I miss on The Tennis Channel. But I try to not miss any of the important matches.

Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in ‘06 and ‘07. Federer is undoubtedly wanting to win this Grand Slam tournament. Nadal is known as the King of Clay while Federer is known as the King of Grass. This is because Nadal is the best on the clay court and Federer is the best on the grass court.

For the women, Justine Henin-Hardenne has won the past 3 years and she is aiming to set a new record by winning 4 consecutive French Open tournaments. If she does this, she will break the record of 3 consecutive wins that she shares with Monica Selles. On a different note, Monica was recently on Dancing with the Stars.

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Its the time of year when a young tennis player starts thinking about the upcoming tennis season! One of the highlights for me is the French Open. I am a big fan of this tournament because of the clay courts. I play a lot on clay courts and believe me it is a completely different game!

To follow the tournament (mid May to early June) you can follow the action on the main Roland Garros website. Another option is to watch The Tennis Channel wich has French Open tennis coverage.

My dream is that at some point in my life I will be able to head over to Europe and take in both the French Open and the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Hopefully I can manage to save up enough to take this trip of a lifetime.

I will be interested to see who makes it through to the finals this year. My money is once again on Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin who seem to be able to adapt to the surface so well. Look out for a great French Open this year!

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