Delray Beach Open Is a Tennis Lover’s Dream Come True by Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong

Delray Beach Open Is a Tennis Lover’s Dream Come True

There is only one place in the U.S.A. where tennis fans can catch a glimpse of some of the biggest young guns of today and some of the most successful pros of yesterday. The Delray Beach Open in sunny Delray Beach, Fla. offers the amazing combination of an ATP World Tour event and an ATP Champion’s event in an action-filled 10 day span. This is truly a tennis lover’s dream come true.

The ATP World Tour event features some of the best, young, up and coming players competing today as well as some of the most succesful players in both singles and doubles.

This isn’t the same game you may remember from years gone by. Pro tennis today is all about power and those who can control it. It is not unusual to see these young players crushing serves at over 140 mph.

American John Isner and Croatian Ivo Karlovic have recorded serves at over 150 mph.

Australian Sam Groth has set the world record with a serve tracked on radar at an astonishing 163 mph!

A tennis court is only 78 feet long. Imagine a ball rocketing toward you at 150 or 160 mph.

What is equally astonishing is that there are talented players today that have the hand-eye coordination to hit these balls back.

The list of past contenders reads like a who’s who of tennis Grand Slam champions: Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro,  Lleyton Hewitt and the Bryan Brothers who are entered again this year.

Mike and Bob Bryan are American twin brothers who have been called the most successful men’s doubles team in tennis history.They have won 100 titles together including 16 Grand Slam titles The brothers have finished world No. 1 a record 10 times and are the first doubles team in history to hold all four majors and the Olympic gold medal.

The ATP Champions Tour event is not just a hit and giggle event. These guys are competitive. To even qualify to take the court, they have to be  either a World No. 1, a Grand Slam singles finalist, or a singles player in a victorious Davis Cup team. They may not hit the ball as hard as the young guys anymore but they make up for it with guile, spin, and entertainment. Don’t be surprised if you see Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic climb into the stands to take a selfie with a pretty lady.

Even though the Delray Beach tennis center can facilitate 6000 spectators, the fans are spread out over five courts and another couple of practice courts. It never feels crowded and you always have a good seat.

One of the biggest assets of the Delray Beach Open is the intimacy of the venue. You may find yourself within 10 feet of those balls speeding by at over 100 mph.

The Delray Beach Open by The Venetian® Las Vegas is televised nationally on the Tennis Channel and internationally in over 125 countries. More than 50,000 spectators attend the tournament each year.

The Delray Beach Open by The Venetian® Las Vegas is being held February 13 – 22, 2015.

For more information, visit http://www.yellowtennisball.com 

Article by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong. Copyright Sunny Harbor Publishing. PO Box 560318 Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321044607552. Email: SunnyHarborPuboishing@yahoo.com. This article appeared in lgbtSr.org magazine.

Arlo Guthrie – Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour by Steven Skelley & Thomas Routzong

Arlo Guthrie – Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour

By Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong
Sunny Harbor Publishing

When we told people we were invited to the opening concert of the Arlo Guthrie Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour, we received an interesting variety of responses.

There was, “Who is Arlo Guthrie?”

And, “Didn’t he have a song in the 1960’s or something?”

And, “Arlo Guthrie! I love his music.”

But our favorite was, “Oh my God! I had such a crush on him when I was a teenager!”

For those who may not know or who may have forgotten Arlo Guthrie is – possibly because of certain substances you may or may not have sampled in the 1960’s at Woodstock or elsewhere – Guthrie is a 1960’s singer/songwriter and the son of folk music legend Woody Guthrie.

Arlo Guthrie had a hit record with his smooth rendition of “City of New Orleans” but his iconic musical masterpiece is the 18 minute long “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.”

“Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” is a fabulously funny, true life experience that all started when Guthrie went to a restaurant owned by his friend Alice for Thanksgiving and offered to take out the trash.

One absurd thing happened after another and soon Guthrie was in handcuffs, then in jail, then watching the police take hundreds of photos of the trash, then in front of a blind judge who couldn’t see the photographic evidence and finally in front of a Vietnam Draft Board where he was banned from fighting in Vietnam because of his trash arrest record.

The 18 minute song is a study in the absurdities of life and Guthrie is a master at milking every delicious moment. You just can’t help but laugh throughout.

The Arlo Guthrie Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour launched in Daytona Beach, FL and will continue through 40 cities.

We were there on opening night in Daytona Beach at the Peabody Theater with hundreds of eager fans. Gray-haired Guthrie sauntered onstage and segued effortlessly from song to story to joke and back to song again time after time. Fans laughed, clapped and sang along. The concert even ended with a singalong.

Guthrie’s stories of his appearance at the legendary Woodstock concert had some audience members laughing so hard they were in tears.

We asked Guthrie how he felt about being so obviously adored by his fans.

In classic laid-back yet introspective Guthrie style, Arlo said, “I didn’t think the show was as good as I had planned it to be but it was the first in a long tour so we’re still working out the bugs. It’ll get much better in a week or so. Never-the-less, we had a pretty good time even with all the goofs and lighting problems. It was great to see and hear so many people having a good time, not only remembering, but looking forward to the challenges of social change and the basic evolution of civilization.”

The comment about social change and other similar comments throughout his career are why some critics have labeled Guthrie a radical and an anti-war protestor. They are wrong. Guthrie is not anti-war or anti-conservative. He is famously and intellectually “anti-stupidity” in whatever its form.

At one point in the concert, he even said, “I am not anti-war. I’m just anti-stupid.”

Five decades removed his idyllic teen years, Guthrie is still the idealist.

“If the world was meant to be wonderful for everyone, it would have been so by now. It’s time to realize that the world was made for the imperfections in everyone. That’s why snowflakes are all different and why beauty looks different everywhere you go. I believe we are made and divinely inspired to love one another. Love doesn’t need laws, or a college degree, or some fame and fortune. It only needs to be valued in ourselves and in others. That’s what the world was made for as far as I’m concerned,” Guthrie said.

We asked Guthrie what he thought about the ongoing battle for LGBT equality.

“For me as for many others, equality means being treated as if you are normal – like everyone else. That’s as true for LGBT folks as others for whom real equality has been elusive. It requires us to not only take into account that everyone has equal rights, but also special insights and valuable contributions that can only be made when we acknowledge the uniqueness of others whatever their personal stories may be,” Guthrie told us.

If you’d like to enjoy this socially conscious, witty, talented musician for yourself, you can catch the Arlo Guthrie: Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour at one of the following venues (See all locations and dates HERE).

Article by Steven Skelley and Thomas Routzong. Copyright 2014 Sunny Harbor Publishing. Contact Us: Sunny Harbor Publishing, PO Box 560318, Rockledge, FL 32956. Phone: 321-446-7552. Email: SunnyHarborPublishing@yahoo.com. This article published in lgbtSr.org