Fast. Fun. Fearless. Three words that describe what the month of May has felt like for the team here at Tidal League. For the past 31 days, we have been fearless in charting new waters, and because of it, we have had an incredible amount of fun, regardless of how fast the days have been moving.
During the pandemic, I discovered "Ted Lasso," the Apple TV+ gem of a show. I can't remember exactly when, sometime after baking bread and before Tiger King, but from the very first minute, I was hooked. For months after, I would promote the show to anyone who asked, telling them, "It's the thing that's been missing from your life, and you didn't even realize it."
How can you describe the Eastern Conference Finals? For fans of the game, it has been a rollercoaster of emotions. With the Miami Heat emphatically going up 3-0 in the series, I don’t think many expected the Celtics to come charging back. What was valiant came to a close in front of their home crowd in Boston. Miami is a team that lost their first game in the play-in tournament to the Atlanta Hawks, to now fighting in a 7-game series for an NBA Championship; I think it is fair to say that nobody saw this coming. #HeatCulture
Amazon Studios has been working hard to prove they can compete with the larger and older movie production houses we rely on for our big-screen entertainment. Their most recent project, “Air,” hits all the marks and is a great film overall.
We have hit the European stretch of the F1 calendar. We are praying for people in the Emilia-Romagna region, but we missed a week of F1 due to their flood!
This week has begun the changing of an era. It's been a wild time in the NBA universe over the last month or so, to be honest.
WARNING This post contains spoilers for Season 4 of HBO's "Succession." For four seasons, we have watched the Roy family backstab, cheat, rise and sometimes fall every Sunday night on HBO's "Succession". Whenever the topic comes up, inevitably, I am asked, "So, which character are you rooting for?"
As a child, it would be an understatement to say I was a huge Nintendo fan (hence the Mario article I wrote earlier). Growing up, I spent over 100+ hours on the Ocarina of Time. I wouldn’t say that’s solely my love of the game, but I wasn’t good enough / too young to actually understand. But man, did I enjoy playing the game every second I got a chance. I want to say my uncle got me this N64 in 1998 for Christmas. This was the first system that I would actually go on to own. The only game I was given was the Ocarina of Time. Mind you, I had a sister and a cousin who lived with me, so we all had to share this one system and one game. Luckily for me, my sister was not a gamer (only when it came to Pokemon), and my cousin would only play at night (he loved to be outside). I remember spending 2-3 days figuring out how to get the sword in Kokiri Forest, the iconic sounds involved with opening chests, etc. I then played Majora’s Mask immediately as it came out. Safe to say I was a little bit older and beat that game within a reasonable time. I even made the dreaded mistake of picking a GameCube over a PlayStation 2 solely because of the Zelda franchise. I wouldn’t say I continued playing all games like Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. But it holds a precious space in my heart. When the switch dropped, and Nintendo decided to revolutionize the gaming world with Breath of the Wild, it caught my eye. I have played the game and enjoyed the ability to roam and make decisions in this open world. I am so excited for their newest launch as of last week, Tears of the Kingdom. Whether that is the open exploring, lack of dungeons, the ability to build vehicles, or so much more. Gamers all over the world must be incredibly excited about this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a massive spike in sales for the Nintendo Switch. The people who grew up with Link and Mario are now adults 25+ (like myself). Ultimately, we aren’t buying Nintendo Switches because of their lack of great games but because of the ones from our childhoods. Especially the Zelda franchise holds a special place in our hearts.
Los Angeles Clippers shooter Terance Mann is in the chair and talking all things inked with Matt Mangano in this third episode of "Sessions." From the jump of this authentic conversation between Matt and Terance, we hear the inspiration and process of what goes into the designs Terance looks for. "I think of it almost like a puzzle," he tells our host. "Putting pieces together that make sense and that matter to you." I've never been one to understand people whose entire bodies are a canvas for tattoos. I don't have any bias towards them and have always respected getting tattooed as a way to express self and individuality, but I couldn't get behind leaving no space on your body uncovered in ink. Personal preference, I'm not too fond of clutter or too many things in a room, so I would always equate my sense of style to tattoos (less is more). Hearing the simple thought process of Terance's tattoos being a puzzle made it click for me (almost like pieces of a puzzle coming together), and just like "that," Terance Mann changed my mind—every image, connecting to the other, telling the story of that individual. Our stories aren't simple and uncluttered, so our ink shouldn't necessarily be either. Terance talks about what draft night felt like at Barclay's Center in 2019 (long and freezing up in the stands) "...by like pick 35 people were ready to go home." We hear about Terance's start and Tattoo Artist Cameron Baxter's start in this business. The guys talk about the idea of what it means to be successful either in the NBA or when you start having NBA players as clients and what reality actually looks like. This episode has a lot of exciting reveals and looks into Terance's life, but the biggest for me is that Terance did not want to be tattooed at all not so long ago. This attitude remained until some meaningful experiences and losses happened in his life, and Terance looked for ways to make meaning out of them. Tattoos became that for him. Tattoos started to take shape and form the complicated and beautiful journey of Terance Mann's life. This episode of "Sessions" made me appreciate the power of tattoos and the passion of this basketball player. To watch the full episode tap here
I’m writing this article about a moment during one of our Run Your Race streams. Do I expect this article to do it justice or capture the moment? No, I probably do not, but I will try.
This one is for all the football fans out there! A couple of weeks back, the 88th NFL draft occurred in Kansas City, Missouri. NFL fans across the globe tuned in to see the future of the league get their names selected. We were in for our fair share of surprises and draft-day storylines that only added to the excitement of the new season.
For the past few months, The Gentlemen Smuggler's Cannabis Brand, Tidal League, and I have been discussing the opportunity to visit Charleston, South Carolina, meet with Barry "Flash" Foy in person as well as visit some of the locations the smugglers used to evade detection while smuggling cannabis into the United States.For the past few months, The Gentlemen Smuggler's Cannabis Brand, Tidal League, and I have been discussing the opportunity to visit Charleston, South Carolina, meet with Barry "Flash" Foy in person as well as to visit some of the locations the smugglers used to evade detection while smuggling cannabis into the United States.
For the last 14 years, there has been a dominant player in the gaming space. I am talking about the controversial topic of League of Legends. This game has been a mainstay in the gaming community and esports for over a decade.It’s important to understand that only a few games have withstood the test of time, including Counter-Strike, Call of Duty and League of Legends. I was introduced to the game in 2016 and instantly became hooked due to its complexity of play and ability to play the game in many ways.It is a game of chess to a point; there are five different roles to play, along with 150+ characters you can choose from. The greatest thing about it is it’s your interpretation of how you want to play the game (you aren’t boxed in).
Saturday May 13th was an historic day for Canada, WNBA Fans and the WNBA itself, as Toronto became host to our first ever WNBA game. A sea of orange and white could be seen all across downtown with fans of all ages flooding in from the GTA and further welcoming some of their favourite WNBA players to the city. Myself and the Surfing the Sea team canvased Jurassic Park, catching up with fans, setting up games and handing out WNBA prizes to lucky winners. The atmosphere was more than electric and it only got more exciting inside the sold out arena. Cheers erupted as the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx made their way out of the tunnel, with “Bring the WNBA to Canada” and “future season ticket holder” signs spotted all around. Canadian's showed the League that women's basketball is equally as important to the game in Canada and men's. The game remained close throughout as former Raptor Serge Ibaka and current OKC Thunder guard Lu Dort heckled from the sidelines, it was a star-studded event to remember. Topped off at half-time with a spectacular performance from Canada’s Queen of R&B, Jully Black, Toronto really proved why it deserves an WNBA team of it's own. Head over to our Instagram and TikTok to watch our team ‘Surfing the Sea’ with WNBA fans outside of Scotiabank Arena!
My friend Jen and I used to play a game - the "whose life sucks more?" game. The gist of it was if one (or both) of us was having a bad day, we would state the reason why (our) life sucked more. Pretty straight forward - nobody really won anything - except the ability to brag that their life actually was the suckiest - it was more permission to wallow in whatever thing was getting us down - failed job, failed romance, failed diet, etc. and usually ended in us finishing a bottle of wine and laughing because clearly if you have a friend who will play the "whose life sucks more" game and share a bottle of wine with you, neither of your lives actually suck. We continued playing the game until my parents died - and then that would be the reason I gave each time, whether I was having a bad day or not, which in all honesty was not a fair game move on my part - but I've never really liked losing. :) All joking aside, the game stopped when we realized that we had much more to be thankful for than to be upset about. I guess that comes with age, with experience. This week on "Coming Out The Closet" Patrick Cooper talks about just that, "getting over it". For him and his friends, part of getting over it, means allowing themselves a five minute pity party on whatever has got them down, and then moving on. This episode really resonated with me, not just because it reminded me of the game Jen and I used to play, but because it felt like a pretty appropriate message for me to hear considering I had just told Hong that I couldn't write the blog post that he originally asked me for. It was too hard of a subject for me to cover, and I simply could not get over it - even though I sat in front of the screen for hours, trying my best to. The episode was a good reminder for how I want to live my life - how I have tried to live my life. Maybe I'm not ready to just get over my inability to write about that particular subject, but I have managed to spend the years since playing the "whose life sucks more" game not letting anything really get me too down. Like Patrick says in the episode, it's a choice we make to stay positive. Sometimes it isn't the easiest choice, but letting something weigh you down, actually takes the choice out of your hands, and I refuse to give away my power that easily. For the full episode tap here.
Although the Fujifilm X100V remains the newest entry in the X100 series, it is in its third year, having been initially released in February 2020.With the previous entry, the X100F, having been released in 2017, there’s more than enough reason to speculate that a successor to the X100V may be around the corner. On the other hand, with the unbelievable TikTok-fueled hype that pushed after-market prices to more than twice retail and forced Fujifilm to stop taking orders due to demand, the company might not see a reason to move on from the hottest camera on the market so fast.The question becomes: is the X100V worth getting in 2023?
When the tide is high, we surf the sea, and for those within the Tidal League universe, one thing is for certain, the tide is always with us. I'm incredibly excited to share Tidal League's latest show brought to shore – "Surfin the Sea". First things first – what is Surfin the Sea?
I hated baseball as a kid.Even watching the lone Canadian team in the League, that I could remember, win back to back World Series in 1992 and 1993 only made for exciting October baseball, and if I'm being completely honest, only those series games against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies respectively.Yes, baseball was boring, but since my dad was a huge baseball fan (who cheered for the Blue Jays and the Red Sox, even though he prefered the style of play in the National League) there was always a game playing on the radio or tv at my house.
We are live and rolling with our first ever show to do a live stream. As we continue to build out the Tidal League Network, we continue to work with our incredible content creators and creative partners, and Theo Pinson fits the bill perfectly.
I had the pleasure of spending time down in Miami this week just before the race weekend tipped off (Boo hoo, but business calls first and that's what I’m about). If anyone is wondering I had to go fly down to Dallas my second home lol and start our live stream with Theo Pinson and the "Run Your Race" Podcast.
The 2023 NBA playoffs have already been a whirlwind with both upsets and dramatic storylines. Once again Stephen Curry showed why he is one of the best players to ever dribble a basketball.
Filming for Sessions season 2 has begun. Host Matt Mangano and I traveled to San Antonio, Texas to interview Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan as he added
Asafa and Alyshia are back fresh from Carnival and their ages are showing. This episode starts with a recap of
Baku was an entertaining weekend to say the least. Before we jump into the weekend itself, it was quite refreshing / nostalgic /
Last week our highly anticipated project in partnership with Slam Media, "League Biz" wrapped up it's first season after featuring
Las Vegas, Nevada Dubbed the fight of the year, our partners over at “Touch Point Marketing” invited us to this Boxing spectacle at
Man. Where does one begin? When you bring two juggernauts like David Fatoki and Mark Starkey to the table to talk Biz,
We are finally back into race week and I am as excited as ever. Baku is one of the most interesting courses,
To have what you have not, you must do what you have not done.For the team and I, that meant flying out to Las
The Tidal League Media Network is pleased to welcome two new advisors to our team. Tony Rome and Hamud Mbarak, both of whom bring unique skill
SPOILER ALERT So we typically as a team try to do some team bonding once a month or so. Typically that relates to a movie
It has now been almost two weeks since we’ve had our last F1 race in the land down under. We over here at Tidal League
Last month, Asafa and Alyshia Powell reached a major milestone - hitting 100K subscribers - and we here at Tidal League couldn’t be any happier.
An episode full of emotion this week on “Ready Set Go”. Luis Puertas sits down with our hosts to discuss his journey from Veteran to Paralympian.
On March 24-26 I was invited to Cannexpo in Toronto by Rev. Kelly Addison and Thomas O’Neill to host “The State of the Industry”.
Women's History Month may have just ended, but at Tidal League it doesn’t mean that it’s the end of our celebrating the efforts the women of the past,
The Trifecta Monica McNutt. Polo Kerber. Cassy Athena. This trio reflects the landscape of basketball as we know it. Each of them all so dynamic,
In June of 2021 when we first began working with Ahmad K Smith on another project, we instantly knew he would be someone to watch.
Slip on your shoes, put on your tunes and get ready to twirl, because the big dance has arrivedand we’re going dancing, baby!By we, I mean,
Believe it or not, tattoo culture in the NBA has really only been a thing for a little over a decade.
The LeagueBiz train is picking up speed. All-aboard and welcome to episode 2, blog post 2. But in order for you to gain entrance
The first time I met Josh Okogie he was 21 years old, playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves and coming off of the unprecedented NBA Hiatus caused
This project is one that we hold dear to hearts here at Tidal League. From ideation to episode one, with the 1 himself, Tracy McGrady,
The NBA trade deadline is always an exciting time for basketball fans, and this year's deadline was no exception.
Patrick T. Cooper is a renowned fashion and lifestyle expert who has styled some of the biggest celebrities and athletes worldwide.
In a show that has always been about finding balance, this week's episode of "Tipping the Scales" takes on a topic that can really
Since the start of the Tidal League Media Network, I have been silently awaiting content and collaborators that take us away from sports.
When Theo Pinson asked John Wall to jump on his podcast, I wonder if either of them realized the amount of discussion this innocent
Number 25 on the Phoenix Suns, Mikal Bridges joins Theo and AJ in today’s episode, for honestly what is one of the most hilarious conversations yet.
What motivated Haley Rosen, a former professional soccer player, create the amazing Just Women Sports?
An appropriate guest for a show called Fast Lane Lifestyle this week in Elaine Thompson-Herah, she is currently the fastest woman alive in the 100m dash,
Minnesota Timberwolf, Karl Anthony Towns is best known for his spicy personality, his shots that seem to come from half court
Tidal League is extremely excited to welcome Patrick T. Cooper to our network. From wardrobe stylist to CEO, Patrick is a proud African American man
Connecticut Huskies Alum, first team All-American, 2011 NCAA championship Most Outstanding Player award winner,
Onell Crawford, known as “the most connected man in cannabis” is bringing his knowledge, experience and contacts within the cannabis space...
In this week’s episode of “Run Your Race” Theo Pinson rides solo in his conversation with Olympic Gold Medalist, and 3 time NBA Champion, JaVale McGee.
Cameron Johnson spent five years in college and underwent four surgeries, and then became a first-round draft pick.