From the shoes we wear on our feet to the high definition televisions in our living room, wearable devices, the sports universe is a breeding ground for technology. Writer and Photographer Rick Limpert will examine this each week on The Tech of Sports – With guests which include athletes, inventors and journalists that cover the intersection of sports and technology.
Rick is talking about a special release of wine this week with wine educator, Elizabeth Clark of Adelsheim Vineyard.
Perfect for the start of the NBA season and the upcoming holidays:
Portland Trail Blazers and Adelsheim Vineyard Released 50th Anniversary Commemorative Wine Sept. 24
The Portland Trail Blazers and Oregon’s Adelsheim Vineyard are releasing a 50th Anniversary Trail Blazers Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It will be extremely limited and released to the public on Sept. 24th. The label is a special homage to the Blazers 50 year history including iconic images of the Coliseum, Moda Center and Rose Quarter. It also incorporates Blazers jersey designs throughout the decades. $50 a bottle. Available via https://www.adelsheim.com/blazers
Clark talks about how this all came about, the detail in the design of the label and the Blazers.
Clark is an experienced Wine Educator and Experience Curator with a demonstrated history of working in the wine and spirits industry. Skilled in Food & Beverage, Public Speaking, Customer Service, Menu Development, and Culinary Skills. Strong operations professional graduated from Apicius International School of Hospitality.
Sports travel makes up a sizeable percentage of business for many hotel and resort properties around the country. So it’s time to cater to sports fans and those that work in the sports industry.
Nick Kuhns, General Manager of the new Embassy Suites Seattle Downtown-Pioneer Square agrees with that statement as he joins Rick this week to talk about his beautiful property, adjacent to the Seattle Seahawks’ CenturyLink Field. He joins Rick this week to talk about his property, sports travel and competition among hotels and resorts.
Situated in Seattle’s original neighborhood Pioneer Square, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Downtown is the perfect hub for your next Northwest experience.
This is possibly the nicest Embassy Suites I’ve ever seen. The spacious suites offer sleeping and living areas, a queen-size sofa bed as well as a 50-inch HDTV, kitchenettes and innovative technology. The views are impressive and the staff is ultra attentive. Dine at a Seattle institution, 13 Coins, or meet friends for a hand-crafted cocktail at Zephyr Bar – located right in the lobby. When it’s time to unwind, stop by the Health Club, which includes a heated indoor pool, hot tub and sun deck.
Kuhns brings a ton of hospitality experience to the table.
With nearly two decades of experience in the hospitality and food and beverage industries, Kuhns is responsible for overseeing all operations at Embassy Suites Seattle Downtown-Pioneer Square as its General Manager, positioning the property to achieve its occupancy and revenue goals as well as ensuring maximum performance throughout each department. Prior to this appointment, he served as Assistant General Manager at Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City. He has also served as the Director of Food and Beverage at Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa in Clearwater, Fl.
It was a pleasure to talk with Nick and if you travels call for being in Seattle, his Embassy Suites is the place to stay.
Joined by Dave Baarman, from The Wireless Power Consortium this week, at the Smart Kitchen Summit. But we’ll be talking more that just how wireless power affects your kitchen. We’ll of course, talk sports.
Established in 2008, the Wireless Power Consortium is an open, collaborative standards development group of more than 500 member companies from around the globe. WPC’s member companies are large and small competitors and ecosystem partners representing brands from all parts of the industry and all parts of the globe. Our members collaborate with a single purpose: worldwide compatibility of all wireless chargers and wireless power sources. Many stadiums and arenas in college, minor league and professional sports are now offering wireless charging stations for their fans.
As wireless charging continues to evolve beyond consumer handheld devices, there are myriad of other new applications, such as laptops, tablets, drones, robots, connected car and the intelligent cordless kitchen. The WPC maintains and develops standards for a variety of different wireless power applications. This includes:
The Qi standard, for smartphones and other portable mobile devices. Qi delivers up to 15W today. A future extension will also deliver up to 60W to enable laptop charging in addition to charging smartphones and other portable mobile devices with wide positioning freedom.
The Ki Cordless Kitchen standard, for kitchen appliances, for delivering up to 2,200W.
The Medium Power standard, a simple low-cost solution delivering 30 – 65W for power tools, robotic vacuum cleaners, e-bikes, and other battery-powered devices that don’t require compatibility with the Qi standard for mobile phones charging.
With more than 5000 different Qi Certified wireless charging products in the market, the WPC uses a network of independent authorized test labs around the globe that test specific properties for safety, interoperability, and usability.
Have a listen and as always, let me know what you think.
Robbie is the General Manager and COO of Sea Pines Country Club on Hilton Head Island.
Recently recognized as one of America’s Healthiest Clubs and one of only 179 Distinguished Clubs in America, Sea Pines Country Club provides a lifestyle that is far from the ordinary but a feeling that is just like being home. Considered the epicenter of the community and a retreat from the daily hustle, the Club’s world class amenities provide a sanctuary for members with diverse interests where creating lifelong friendships becomes the commonplace.
Robbie is doing a great job leading the charge at Sea Pines Country Club and is beloved by its members. He’s making big changes and the members are reaping the benefits.
You too can be a member at Sea Pines Country Club.
Whether you are a long-time Island resident or a new arrival making your first entry into the community, you will find a spirit of welcome and warm hospitality that brings a well-rounded fulfillment to your life on Hilton Head Island. Membership has its privileges. At Sea Pines Country Club, you will find them to be abundant and unparalleled. Planned for the entire family, our Club enjoys a reputation as Hilton Head Island’s best full service private club.
To request additional membership information and schedule your personalized tour please contact Nic Booth at (843) 671-2335 or nbooth@seapinescountryclub.com
Find yourself, find your home and come discover the healthy, the distinguished, the private side of Sea Pines.
This is a sports book, but also more than just that.
Rick is joined this week by Andra Douglas, who has a new sports book out!
Black & Blue: Love, Sports and the Art of Empowerment
A native of central Florida and a graduate of Florida State University and Prat tInstitute, Douglas has been a National Champion athlete in rugby and women’s tackle football, a Vice President/Creative Director at Time Warner, the founder of the Fins Up! Foundation for Female Athletes, a non-profit to benefit at-risk teens, (www.womensgridironfoundation.org), the owner of the New York Sharks Women’s Pro Football team for 19 years (www.nysharksfootball.com) and a known artist. She lives with her parrot, ‘Pie’ in New York City where she spends much of her time working from her rooftop studio in Greenwich Village on her mixed-media artwork. (www.andradouglasart.com)
In the Deep South, football is a religion and even as a young girl, Christine dearly loved the game. Her passion to play, not just watch, was apparent. But even by the time she reached her teens, society’s message that women are second-class citizens – and the South’s particular interpretation of that — had seeped in. She chafed at what the South told her she should be – the classic belle, demure, deferential, yielding to men — versus what she knew or dreamed she was capable of being: fearless, inquisitive, strong, accepting life’s every challenge with poise, determined to be a success. ‘Black & Blue’ is the book about what happens during her poignant, often hilarious, sometimes discouraging but ultimately successful and profound journey from her small-town beginnings to New York City, where she moves sight unseen with encouragement from her mother and aunt to attend Pratt Institute and pursue her artistic talents.
It’s a book about coming of age, and the vivid characters who touch Christine along the way, starting with her father, who never had a son and coddled her love for things Southern girls weren’t “supposed” to do, and her grandmother, who knew firsthand how the South could suffocate nonconforming girls and encouraged Christine to be herself with some quietly rebellious (and subversively funny) shows of solidarity, like taking Christine to buy her first football. This book is also a backstage insight into a world few people know much about — the wild west world of women’s pro football, where shysters abounded in the early days of the game and the array of women who play tackle football come to the sport for their own reasons, same as Christine did.In some ways this book is A League of Their Own meets Semi-Tough. When the unexpected dream opportunity to finally play tackle football comes along, Christine purchases the New York franchise in a grass-roots women’s pro league because the team is in danger of folding. The responsibility of owning a sports franchise, however, is overwhelming. Christine’s longtime partner ultimately leaves her and Christine’s family is critical of her devotion to the club. Even the team’s players second-guess her decisions and motives at one point. She is painfully reminded of childhood and retreats inward, leaving her infighting team to fend for itself as she battles some dark questions until something more devastating happens. Sarah, a close friend and popular teammate, is killed in a car accident on Christmas Day. Christine, dogged now by memories of how Sarah had so much she still intended to do, begins a voyage to re-empower herself and regain her lost passion and belief. Along with her surprised players, Christine and the Sharks embark on a rollicking quest for the national title that is ostensibly about football. But it’s a meditation, too, about how being different requires of all of them to examine themselves and choices they’ve made.
Carlos Monroe, Jr. is a professional boxer who currently holds the WBA Latin American Middleweight Title in the Middleweight Division.
Born July 22, 1994 in Chicago, Carlos moved to Atlanta at age three where he spent the rest of his upbringing. He practiced Tae-Kwon-Do as a child and began boxing as a teenager with Xavier Biggs at the Decatur Boxing Club.
Monroe returns to Atlanta on September 28 for a night of boxing.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, Atlanta will host the World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental Americas Middleweight Boxing title bout on with Atlanta native Carlos Monroe fighting Javier Maciel in the headline fight. Eric Moon will fight Mike Guy for the American Boxing Federation (ABF) title, followed by six other bouts.
Missy Dugan, CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, says: “We are so thankful to partners like this that support the nearly 3,000 kids that attend our Clubs each day and help them reach their full potential. Through sports, youth build skills that will serve them now and throughout their lives including self confidence, good sportsmanship, discipline, and an appreciation of healthy living and exercise.”
When: Saturday, September 28
7:15 p.m. – 8 p.m. – Pre-event reception with live jazz from the renowned Joe Gransden Quartet.
8:00 p.m. – Fights start
Where: Buckhead Theater, 3110 Roswell Road, Atlanta, GA 30305, 404-843-2825, Link to Venue Info: http://www.thebuckheadtheatreatl.com/venueinfo.
As an amateur, his record was 90-15, winning the Golden Gloves in Georgia and Florida 11 times and earning top three placements in various PALs, Ringside, and Olympic Qualifier tournaments.
Since starting his professional career with E3 Promotions in 2017, Carlos has earned a 16-0 record with 13 wins by knock-outs.
He trains with a competitive stable of other pros in Miami under Mike Tyson’s former trainer, Stacy McKinley. Carlos is passionate about using his platform to benefit youth development, foster care support, and supporting his family.
Accolates
16 – 0, 13 KOs
9 time GA Golden Gloves champ
2 time FL Golden Gloves champ
2012 PAL National Bronze Medalist
2013 Ringside National Gold Medalist
2014 WSB Qualifier Bronze Medalist
2015 USA Boxing National Tournament Olympic Qualifier Silver Medalist
2016 Medical DQ Olympic Trials Go Pro
2017 Went Pro (E3) with Starkey through Biggs
Thanks to Carlos for joining Rick this week on “Tech of Sports.”
