Press Clippings: This film is part of the annual Sebring Film Festival and details the winning drive of Juan Manual Fangio and Sterling Moss in 1957. The video is from the King Ross archives and does an excellent job of showing Sebring in is early form as a military air base. An excellent look back at very historical race.
The Fine Print: Embed via YouTube, provided by King Ross Archives. All rights belong to their respective rights holders. Thank you for sharing.
Game, Set, Match: Bud Collins, Tennis Enthusiast, Player, Journalist
Transitions: Bud Collins (17 June 1929-4 March 2016). Bud Collins died last over a week ago and with his passing, the game of tennis lost its’ biggest, best, and most enthusiastic booster.
For decades, Bud Collins was the TV journalist and personality who covered the really big tennis events: the French Open, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open. He was known for his very distinctive dress code–part east coast Preppy and part west coast rock star–, loud slacks, pastel sweaters, bow ties, blazers, shoes with no socks (the best way to go) and his truly encyclopedic knowledge of the game of tennis(he wrote the definitive history of the sport, Bud Collins Tennis Encyclopedia ).
Collins was a lighthearted personality but he had a deep and serious streak and he cared deeply about the sport of tennis, especially American tennis, at a time when others did not. One of his great gifts was a unique ability to make the game understandable and exciting and human and dramatic to people who might not have given it any attention at all. He was a tennis lifer, of the very best kind, and he had the historical perspective and on-court knowledge to deliver some of the very best commentary to ever accompany a sports event.
Collins was a writer, producer, editor, and TV personality and in a world in which the sportscasters and writers tried to blend into the background, Collins did not. He was different in appearance, in attitude, in perception and delivery. He wrote very well, made interesting and most-often prescient statements, and also played the game very well, winning a national tittle in Mixed Doubles and making it to the finals for the French Senior Men’s Doubles in 1975. He also coached tennis, and was once head coach at Brandeis University; one of the members of his men’s team was Abbie Hoffman, who would go on to become a very effective activist and protestor. Hoffman no doubt learned a thing or two about competition against heavy odds from the coaching he received from Bud Collins.
Collins had a four decade career as a sports journalist, working with the Boston Globe as a writer and with CBS, NBC, and ESPN as a television commentator. When NBC rather unceremoniously dropped him from their coverage team after Wimbledon in 2007, Bob Ryan, a fellow Boston Globe reporter eviscerated the network while on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters Show” (I still miss it and, in particular, Dick Shapp), noting that Collins “still had his fastball” and graciously praised the Boston Globe for keeping Collins on as a writer and reporter. A month later, Bud Collins was back on the air..on ESPN. He was one of a kind and he was a very kind one at that. Please read Victorino Matus’ superb remembrance in the Weekly Standard, which is a mere click away, to get an idea of Collins energy and empathy.
Bud Collins set a wonderful standard both on and off the court and he will be missed in a thousand press boxes and newsrooms throughout the world. He was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
A Bud Collins ClickPak
Collins The Fleet Street Hero (Source: TheIndependent.c0m)
The Passing of Bud Collins (Source: TheNewYorkTimes.Com)
There Won’t Ever Be Another Bud Collins (Source: ESPN.Com)
John Feinstein’s Tribute to Bud Collins (Source: WashingtonPost.Com) (read it, it’s great).
The Fine Print: Image via Getty Images. Click through to see all the advantages they provide to bloggers and website runners.
The Weekend Concert Series: Chris Isaak
The Hunt for New Music: Chris Isaak is a major talent. He has a style that’s a little bit country rock, a little bit Elvis, and a lot rock & roll. With his country & western style suits he’d be right at home on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry or in Madison Square Garden. Not easily defined–musically or in terms of talent and that’s a good thing–Isaak has a lot of creative bandwidth as a song writer, an actor, a performer, and a producer.
The very best way to get a handle on Chris Isaak is the most straight forward: just listen to his music. We’ve made it very easy for you, with this superb concert from Sound Stage ,which features great HD Video along with sharp editing and superb sound.
As always with the Weekend Concert Series: bump it to the flat screen (Chromecast works great) and run the audio through your sound system (we recommend McIntosh amplification and Wilson Audio Speakers). One other thing: turn it up.
The Fine Print: Embed via YouTube. Originally on SoundState. All rights belong to their respective owners. Alex Nikitenko made this concert available. Thanks to all–especially Alex–for making it available.
The Man Who Changed The World's Most Popular Game
Paying Attention: The bet here is this: you’ve never heard of Jean-Marc Bosman.
Why should you? He was a not-big-time soccer player for a not-big-time Belgium soccer club. But he revolutionized the sport. It cost him his career, but he changed the economics of European Soccer by winning the right to freedom, i.e. the ability to play for another team. Free agency, in other words. Without a penalty to the team who signed him up. This weekend, as we head into the final rounds of FA Cup, and the Euro Cup, remember that all that multi-national talent running around on the field and the huge payrolls that glamorize the big European soccer clubs came about as a result of the determination of one soccer player: Jean-Marc Bosman. He was the one with the nerve to really change the game. Here’s his incredible story, via this link to bloomberg.com .
http://www.gettyimages.com/
The Fine Print: With this post, we are starting the process of using Getty Images. They make it easy to use them, have a huge archive, and the price is right for a non-commercial blog. Naturally, they own all the rights but they are sharing and that’s very appreciated. If you have not tried Getty…do it. ..highly recommended.
The Man Who Changed The World’s Most Popular Game
Paying Attention: The bet here is this: you’ve never heard of Jean-Marc Bosman.
Why should you? He was a not-big-time soccer player for a not-big-time Belgium soccer club. But he revolutionized the sport. It cost him his career, but he changed the economics of European Soccer by winning the right to freedom, i.e. the ability to play for another team. Free agency, in other words. Without a penalty to the team who signed him up. This weekend, as we head into the final rounds of FA Cup, and the Euro Cup, remember that all that multi-national talent running around on the field and the huge payrolls that glamorize the big European soccer clubs came about as a result of the determination of one soccer player: Jean-Marc Bosman. He was the one with the nerve to really change the game. Here’s his incredible story, via this link to bloomberg.com .
http://www.gettyimages.com/
The Fine Print: With this post, we are starting the process of using Getty Images. They make it easy to use them, have a huge archive, and the price is right for a non-commercial blog. Naturally, they own all the rights but they are sharing and that’s very appreciated. If you have not tried Getty…do it. ..highly recommended.
What's On The P-List?
Paying Attention: The richest female athlete in the world, Maria Sharapova, admitted this week that she had taken a “banned substance” –meldonium–and was more than likely going to receive a suspension from professional tennis. Sharapova is an Olympic medalist and one of the few players to have won all four of the grand slam events in tennis: the Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and U.S.Open. The drug Maria was taking was one that she had been taking since 2006 and it was just placed on the “prohibited list” by the World Anti-Doping Agency on 1 January 2016. Maria said she got an email that detailed the latest banned substances but didn’t open it/read it.
The penalty for using a banned substance is very severe. It can range from a year (or less) to four years, five years, or even 10 years. For an athlete of Sharapova’s age (29) and sport (tennis), a ban of more than a year mean an effective end to her playing career. In other words: she could be through with tennis because of her intake of meldonium. Not good for her and very bad for women’s tennis, as Sharapova is one of its’ very biggest stars. She’s already sustained suspension of endorsement contracts from some of her biggest sponsors: Nike, Porsche, TAG Heuer. Bad for everyone.
So, precisely what is on the prohibited list? You don’t have wait for a ban on your own amateur or professional career to find out; Here’s a link to the “2016 Prohibited Substances” list. You will be surprised at all the substances and drugs you cannot take if you are an international athlete. Don’t take chances. Do like I did: sign up for updates to the list and read the list. You can’t be too careful when you’re a world class athlete (or even a neighborhood class one).
A ClickPak on Maria Sharapova and the World Anti-Doping Agency. Serious stuff. Serious consequences.
Sharapova not the only athlete taking Meldonium (Source: NewYorkTimes.com)
What is Meldonium and What Does It Do? (Source: NewYorkTimes.com)
The Sponsors Bail: The economic effects of taking a banned substance (Source: NewYorkTimes.Com)
Sharapova Can’t Avoid a Lengthy Ban (Source: USA Today)
What’s On The P-List?
Paying Attention: The richest female athlete in the world, Maria Sharapova, admitted this week that she had taken a “banned substance” –meldonium–and was more than likely going to receive a suspension from professional tennis. Sharapova is an Olympic medalist and one of the few players to have won all four of the grand slam events in tennis: the Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and U.S.Open. The drug Maria was taking was one that she had been taking since 2006 and it was just placed on the “prohibited list” by the World Anti-Doping Agency on 1 January 2016. Maria said she got an email that detailed the latest banned substances but didn’t open it/read it.
The penalty for using a banned substance is very severe. It can range from a year (or less) to four years, five years, or even 10 years. For an athlete of Sharapova’s age (29) and sport (tennis), a ban of more than a year mean an effective end to her playing career. In other words: she could be through with tennis because of her intake of meldonium. Not good for her and very bad for women’s tennis, as Sharapova is one of its’ very biggest stars. She’s already sustained suspension of endorsement contracts from some of her biggest sponsors: Nike, Porsche, TAG Heuer. Bad for everyone.
So, precisely what is on the prohibited list? You don’t have wait for a ban on your own amateur or professional career to find out; Here’s a link to the “2016 Prohibited Substances” list. You will be surprised at all the substances and drugs you cannot take if you are an international athlete. Don’t take chances. Do like I did: sign up for updates to the list and read the list. You can’t be too careful when you’re a world class athlete (or even a neighborhood class one).
A ClickPak on Maria Sharapova and the World Anti-Doping Agency. Serious stuff. Serious consequences.
Sharapova not the only athlete taking Meldonium (Source: NewYorkTimes.com)
What is Meldonium and What Does It Do? (Source: NewYorkTimes.com)
The Sponsors Bail: The economic effects of taking a banned substance (Source: NewYorkTimes.Com)
Sharapova Can’t Avoid a Lengthy Ban (Source: USA Today)
Babe Ruth Quote
“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up……”
Live from Daryl's House: Rob Thomas
The Hunt For New Music. Once in a while, you find a great source of new music. Maybe it’s something that’s been around for a while and you were late to the discovery party. Maybe it’s an entirely new band or sound that came to you in an entirely new way. One of the very best sources for New Music we’ve found recently is the TV show Live From Daryl’s House. The show’s premise is simple: Daryl Hall, the “Hall” of “Hall & Oates” is a consummate singer, songwriter, and musician and he is a master of his craft. Early in his career, he was a studio rat in Philadelphia, where he and John Oates (his partner) learned their chops and paid their dues working in Philly studios, notably with Gamble&Huff, the powerhouse soul/blues/pop producing team. Daryl loves music and he never stands still, and one of his projects was to invite musicians to his place in upstate New York to play together. He invited all types of musicians, with all kinds of sound and styles, because he’s got a very broad bandwidth. The show that is Live at Daryl’s House started off as a podcast and then the decision was made to video it and turn it into a 30 minute show. It’s a cable show (on the VH1/MTV network) and there are 70 rocking episodes so far. The format is simple: the musician(s) arrive, they chat, they jam, eat, jam some more. The repertoire of music includes standards, favorites, Hall & Oates hits, the guest musician hits, and anything else they like. The house musicians at Daryl’s House are all terrific and the musical performances superb. Not surprisingly the video is very well done but the sound is something special: just superb. Daryl’s guests have included everyone from Aloe Blacc and Mayer Hawthorne to Booker T , Sammy Hagar, Ben Folds, Shelby Lynn, Joe Walsh, Grace Potter, and Sharon Jones. If you know anything about music, you know those names. This post is the first in a series of posts featuring performances from Live From Daryl’s House and showcases Rob Thomas, the former lead singer of Matchbox 20, performing “Someday”. All of these shows are great. As always when music is featured here, the mantra is: kick it to the flat screen, run it through the stereo, and turn it up. It’s good music. Enjoy.
The Fine Print: Embed via YouTube. Upload from LFDH. (thanks guys). All rights Reserved by their respective artists.
Live from Daryl’s House: Rob Thomas
The Hunt For New Music. Once in a while, you find a great source of new music. Maybe it’s something that’s been around for a while and you were late to the discovery party. Maybe it’s an entirely new band or sound that came to you in an entirely new way. One of the very best sources for New Music we’ve found recently is the TV show Live From Daryl’s House. The show’s premise is simple: Daryl Hall, the “Hall” of “Hall & Oates” is a consummate singer, songwriter, and musician and he is a master of his craft. Early in his career, he was a studio rat in Philadelphia, where he and John Oates (his partner) learned their chops and paid their dues working in Philly studios, notably with Gamble&Huff, the powerhouse soul/blues/pop producing team. Daryl loves music and he never stands still, and one of his projects was to invite musicians to his place in upstate New York to play together. He invited all types of musicians, with all kinds of sound and styles, because he’s got a very broad bandwidth. The show that is Live at Daryl’s House started off as a podcast and then the decision was made to video it and turn it into a 30 minute show. It’s a cable show (on the VH1/MTV network) and there are 70 rocking episodes so far. The format is simple: the musician(s) arrive, they chat, they jam, eat, jam some more. The repertoire of music includes standards, favorites, Hall & Oates hits, the guest musician hits, and anything else they like. The house musicians at Daryl’s House are all terrific and the musical performances superb. Not surprisingly the video is very well done but the sound is something special: just superb. Daryl’s guests have included everyone from Aloe Blacc and Mayer Hawthorne to Booker T , Sammy Hagar, Ben Folds, Shelby Lynn, Joe Walsh, Grace Potter, and Sharon Jones. If you know anything about music, you know those names. This post is the first in a series of posts featuring performances from Live From Daryl’s House and showcases Rob Thomas, the former lead singer of Matchbox 20, performing “Someday”. All of these shows are great. As always when music is featured here, the mantra is: kick it to the flat screen, run it through the stereo, and turn it up. It’s good music. Enjoy.
The Fine Print: Embed via YouTube. Upload from LFDH. (thanks guys). All rights Reserved by their respective artists.