September 30, 2005
September 28, 2005
Tennis racquet strings...fishing line...guess it makes sense...
Gamma has been a verable force in tennis string for years. Now they are growing their fishing line business. I guess that makes sense as a natural product & line extension. Gamma began producing fly fishing line four years ago when it introduced Frog Hair products. This year is is launching its Edge and High Performance lines this year.
They all have the patented irradiation process company founder Harry Ferrari developed 30 years ago for tennis racquet string.
While fishing line typically is made by first melting copolymer and then drawing it like taffy until the desired pound test weight and diameter are achieved, Gamma molecularly alters the copolymer using an energy more powerful than that used in microwave ovens.
From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, September 27, 2005, by Deborah Weisberg
www.gammafishing.com
September 26, 2005
September 23, 2005
Choosing a racquet for your kid
A friend of mine asked me what kind of racquet he should get his 7 year old. I wasn't sure, so I did what everyone else in the free world does, I Goolgled it. I found a great site called Mansion Select that gives great advice. It shows which racquets are best by arm length, height, and skill level, and then recommends specific racquet. The recommendations skew towards Head and Wilson, but that's not such a bad thing in my opinion being a fan of both.
Check out the site
September 23, 2005
September 20, 2005
Nikolay Davydenko Signs Full Prince Sponsorship
The fast-rising Russian star becomes head-to-toe Prince - and is hitting the courts with the O3 technology. He first played with the O3 Tour at the Hamburg Masters Series in May and got to the semis. A week later, he won the St. Poelten event in Austria, then went on to make his semifinal debut at the French Open!
Sounds like a good win for Prince and Nikolay!
Read the release posted on SportsFeatures.com
September 16, 2005
A Ball Machine That Actually Hits Realistic Shots
It slices...it dices...it can cut through an aluminum can and then gently slice a tomato. Well, maybe not that last thing, but check out the Serve Lift ball machine from Playmate Tennis. No more mind-numbing repetition. This baby can help you with your serve return, you can also adjust the height and lateral direction. This means it can feed you slices, overheads, and wide or inside serves. Not cheap at $3,995, but maybe you'll be able to play on the tour with such a great practice machine!
Check it out
September 13, 2005
Congrats to the 2005 US Open Champions!
Congratulations to the US Open Winners, one and all. We wish we could highlight all of them, but we're just going to mention the singles today. Of course, congrats to Federer and Clijsters, who are gracious champions who deserve the win. And of course to the runners-up, Agassi and Pierce, for showing us geezers that there is life after 30!
As a side note, although the WTA lists Pierce's sponsors (below), apparently she is playing without a clothing or shoe sponsor. I also heard James Blake did not have a racquet contract. C'mon guys, these are high-profile pros who are great for the game, let's get on the phone to them with an offer!
Here's a rundown of the finalists' equipment:
Federer
Shoes: Nike Nike Air Zoom Vapor Speed
Racquet: Wilson Wilson nSix-One Tour 90
Clothing: Nike
Agassi
Shoes: Adidas Barricade II
Racquet: Head Head Flexpoint Radical
Clothing: Adidas
Clijsters
Racquet: Babolat Pure Drive
Shoes: Fila X-Point
Clothing: Fila
Pierce
Racquet: Yonex Ultimum RD Ti-80
Clothing: Nike
Shoes: Nike Air Commit
September 9, 2005
September 2, 2005
The Best of the Blogpire
It's September and Summer is slowly wrapping up around the Blogpire. The students are back in Boston and causing traffic madness wherever you go, the nights are a bit cooler, but we all know we've got a few weeks left of some really nice late Summer weather and some great late Summer blogging.
Single Serve Coffee has news of the Keurig Elite B40 & Special Edition B60 Available at Keurig.com and their Single Serve Coffee.com Monthly Round Up for August 2005
Just The Chips looks at Phil Gordon's Little Green Poker Book and the PSP World Series of Poker
Kitchen Contraptions reviewed the simplehuman Wall Mount Paper Towel Holder and also has a great Monthly Round Up for August 2005
Shaving Stuff found Hitachi's +10 Razor of Goodness and also has a terrific August Wrap-Up
What's All the Racquet found The Coolest Tennis Gear in Forbes Magazine and 5 New Racquets from Dunlop, Head, Prince, Wilson & Yonex
TV Snob has been watching Photonic Textiles on their pillows and has great Roundup for August 2005
Shirt Snob continues to find Great deals at Max Studio and has their round up for August
GPS Lodge find a bunch of new reviews: GPS Review: Garmin V and an UPDATE: Geocaching.com Contest Details for September plus their Monthly Round-up for August 2005
And The Cooking News finds out that Hurricane Katrina May Affect Coffee Prices and some very cool cooking tips that Asian flavors add to recipes
It's Wireless...It's Indestructible...It's the...THE PLAYMATE PC
Exciting times. This marks WATR's first entry on ball machines. We found a really cool one, the Playmate PC from Playmate Tennis.
Gone are the days of ball-machines being metal bathtubs with a canon attached, shooting the same mind-numbing shot over and over again, this is some state-of-the-art stuff, complete with a wireless controller. The remote lets you to save and recall all your drills and positions. Not to mention, it handles 8-shot combinations - great for individual practice of group lessons. Wireless, Waterproof, 8 Programmable Shots, 8 Shot Delays, Saved Drills, Random Shot Sequence...and it holds 300 balls.
And it hits freakin' topspin and backspin!
Awesome...but not cheap at $7,995.00
Check it out
September 1, 2005
The Coolest Tennis Gear in Forbes Magazine
There is a great article in this month's Forbes magazine that covers the new tennis gear out in the market.
From racquets to balls to strings to ball machines to footwear and apparel. Some of these have already been covered on this blog. Look for the rest of them soon!
Read the article
Who knew Tempur-Pedic technology is used in racquets?
According to i-MemoryFoam.com, NASA developed the first generation of memory foam in the 1970s. We all know it best from the infomercials of its commercial evolution Tempur-Pedic mattresses. It is still used mostly for bedding, but we also found out it is sometimes used in tennis racquet handles as well.
Digging up the obscure and useless trivia on tennis equipment...we are...What's All the Racquet.
Read the article.
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