Toronto Jazz Festival & Wimbledon Update #6

Jazzy Treats!

If you enjoy listening to the cool sounds of jazz- this week in Toronto is for you! Everyday/night this week you can find ticketed and free venues to satisfy any jazz craving you may have. According to Downtown Toronto Jazz, the Festival attracts, “in excess of 500,000 loyal patrons annually over 10 days. Attractions include more than 350 performances with over 1,500 musicians performing at approximately 40 locations around Toronto”. Many of the events are free of charge so it’s an easy bet to find a great location near you! Looking at the schedule of events leading into the weekend- there are many musicians that I would like to hear. Musicians that are playing this week (that makes me feel at home) are Philly’s own, The Roots- now I know they will put on a great show!

Wimbledon Update #6

Were you watching the match between Federer and Tsonga? Tsonga came out with the win in 5 sets! What a match!! Nadal and Fish will be underway soon, and I think that will be an epic battle between them. (I would love to see Murray vs. Fish in the Semi’s)! Djokovic squeezed out the win against Tomic today, but for a minute there, I thought he was going to loose his ground! Many more points to play, but the Quarter Final matches are off to a great start!

Image Source: http://diakidirena.blogspot.com/2010/09/100-great-jazz-songs-of-all-time.html, http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/photos/2011-06-29/201106291309356856873.html

I’m back in Canada- Great Weekend Eh?!

 

Canoe

Where do I start?! Thursday night I had an amazing evening with the NHL officiating department at Oliver & Bonacini Restaurant, Canoe. If you are looking for a space for a private event, I highly suggest you check out the O&B restaurants. It was an evening filled with wonderful stories from the league (from the officiating team), laughter and exquisite food. I was also able to dine with the NHL's Senior VP and Director of Officiating, Terry Gregson, and I must say he is delightful!

Family Treats!

DK, Me and GK! 

On Friday, I flew back to the US for my cousin’s wedding! The ceremony was held at Musket Ridge golf course with an outdoor ceremony that took my breath away. Reverend DK held an amazing ceremony that had the family smiling, laughing and tearing up at perfect moments. Music was played by a classical guitarist- but when you can incorporate The Beatles music into the mix- you know the evening was off to a great night. The food was delish and the atmosphere was filled with the love of (bride and groom)- Casey and Greg. To top off a great night, the ceremony ended with a 20-minute firework show that not only took us by surprise, but also was the perfect ending to a perfect day. The family wasn’t about to stop there- so we ended up taking the 3 family buses back to Casey’s Bar where we stayed until the early morning.

Wimbledon Update #5

 Pironkova

If you have been keeping up with Wimbledon- today has been filled with upsets! Fish is the only remaining American in the mix, as the Williams sisters are officially out of the tournament. Pironkova had an amazing match (above) winning 6-2, 6-3 over Venus Williams. Federer and Nadal are still playing at his point, but it’s such a great day to watch all the remaining matches! 

Image Source: http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/photos/2011-06-27/201106271309186562312.html , http://www.oliverbonacini.com/Gallery.aspx

Wimbledon!

“40-Love” New Treat!

Today is the first day of Wimbledon, and tennis fans around the world are not disappointed! The day still continues now (the roof is out because of the rain) but out of 14 Americans playing we have a 5-5 record thus far (more matches are still left to play). It has been a great first round for Venus Williams, Fish, and Sweeting; and still high hopes for Roddick, King, and Glatch.

A great match to start the day was 19-year-old Jersey girl, McHale (USA), who defeated 28^th seed Makarova (RUS). I watched the match and happy to see McHale pull this one out. Just to add to the flavor of this blog there is also a first round match coming up with Falconi (USA) playing Dubois (CAN) today. I hope they show some highlights of this match!

But the surprising story in Wimbledon is the match up between Isner and Mahut! Do you remember watching the longest match in tennis history (played on court 18) last year? Well, if you don’t, it was an intense match and a test of human endurance and mental toughness that spanned 3 days and took 11 hours and 5 minutes over 5 sets! It was an 183-game match 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 with Isner taking the win. Mahut served the first ball of the match at 6.13 p.m. local time on Tuesday June 22. It finally reached its conclusion at 4.48 p.m. on Thursday June 24. Can you believe it?! Well, against all the odds these opponents play again in what will be an epic match that at least will stir up some nostalgia from last year. The question everyone seems to be asking is will they play on Court 18 again or move to a larger court (like Centre Court, Court One, or the new Court Three)? Lots of tennis left to play but this first day is living up to be a great start to the week! 

Image Source: http://a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2010/0624/scencore.jpg