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Well, it was a pretty bad week in the Big Brother House. No Wednesday episode, no head of household, no veto comp, no typical live eviction. Even the head-to-head competition that Cameron and Jared were meant to do and the final comp that Cam did on his own were pretty straightforward and uninspiring.

I just returned from Orlando, Florida, with Justin Gatlin, the world’s most decorated sprinter. Collaborating with greatness is never taken for granted, and when I have the chance to be around an individual like Justin, I ensure it’s purposeful. Justin’s story is one of resilience and triumph, from his early success in winning the 100M Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens to dethroning Usain Bolt in 2017.

You would think that making it to a Super Bowl for the second time and winning in a matchup against your brother would bring you as much fame and adoration as possible. Maybe, but for Travis Kelce, what has put the Kansas City Chiefs tight end on the map is a potential romance with Taylor Swift.

As some of you know, we went to LA to do a recording of “Run Your Race.” This time, one of California’s very own, Stanley Johnson, joined the show. I can say that back in 2012 / 2013, I was big on watching hoop mixtapes to see who was up next on the circuit. Stanley Johnson is someone that I heard about for a long, long time. The “Stanimal” from Mater Dei would be the next great two-way wing in the league, with an NBA-ready body. He played for arguably the best AAU team of all time, the Oakland Soldiers.

No one in the world expected a different result after our first race in Bahrain this year. Red Bull Oracle Racing have finally been crowned the constructors’ champions. Max is also a podium away from locking up the Drivers Championship for the third consecutive year. If you guys are avid readers here, you know that I don’t like Max and Christian Horner, but you also know that I respect greatness and give flowers when they are due.

I'm a couple of days late on this post because, believe it or not, I only just had time to sit down and watch Thursday's double eviction episode.

After an exhilarating third-place finish in this summer’s FIBA World Cup--capped off by an oh-so-satisfying win over the Americans in the bronze medal game--Canada’s men’s basketball team is off to the Olympics for the first time since 2000.

We made an LA trip that you’ll hear about more in-depth in the upcoming weeks and newsletter (so make sure you subscribe).

Last week, September 11, 2023, during the Toronto International Film Festival, Spike Lee sat down to discuss his latest documentary, NYC EPICENTERS 9/11-2021½, precisely 22 years after the 9/11 attacks.

Oh how the mighty have fallen… not reallyWell, for the first time this year, Red Bull Oracle Racing has not won a Grand Prix. This ends a massive streak for the team as Max’s dominance (record as well) of 10 races in a row has finally finished.

What an insane week in the Big Brother house and let me tell you, I am not impressed by any of it.

We’ve always had this incredible show that is consistent, entertaining, and represents my hometown of Toronto! The show I am talking about is "Hip Hop Hoops". 

Myles Turner is someone our network is quite familiar with; we’ve had Myles on multiple shows, whether on Inked NBA, aka Sessions, or one of our original shows, the Tidal League Podcast. ‍

The preseason is over, 53-man rosters are set, and fantasy drafts are complete. For football fans, this past weekend was everything they have been waiting for as we were treated to a dramatic Week 1 full of surprises, upsets and nail-biters. What you expect to happen never seems to come true in week one, as some of the best teams from last year, like the Chiefs, Bengals and Bills, will all be starting the year 0 - 1!

Canada won its first-ever medal at the FIBA Men's Basketball World Cup with a 127-118 overtime win over the U.S. in the bronze-medal game on Sunday.

In a world where the youth are always considered the future, the media makes it seem like we have no time to prove ourselves before we’re “past our prime.”

Brandon Gardner (BG) of the University of Southern California (USC) enhanced smiles in partnership with KEEN Los Angeles in the City of Montebello helped Tidal League finish the summer off with our last sponsorship on August 27th. Brandon, Mr. New York State Basketball is a true leader on and off the court.

The NFL has been on our radar for quite some time, something we always knew was important for our business as we grow. As with anything at Tidal League, we always look at our pillars of Sport, Culture, and Storytelling; finding the right partner was the most important aspect of this new venture for us.

Sponsored by H&M for this episode (not really), Patrick T. Cooper is back, and even though his look may not be super fresh for this episode (his words not mine), his take on today's topic really is. Fresh and refreshing.

Max Verstappen has officially created history, becoming the first driver to win ten races in a row. It is a historic feat that speaks to how dominant he is and gives credit to the team out of Milton Keynes. Red Bull has created an incredible car and paired it with an incredible talent, leading to one of the most lopsided F1 seasons of all time. Ironically, he took it away from a fellow residential constructor in Sebastian Vettel, who was also racing under the Red Bull flag. Kudos to Max, as he is clearly the best driver today.

This week's Big Brother post will simply be a love letter to Ciri Fields. Since 2006, I watched and cheered for this woman on reality competition shows.

The World Athletics Championships wrapped up this past weekend, and we saw our fair share of dramatic finishes and surprises. The sprinting events continued to be the most captivating in Budapest as the rivalry between US teammates Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles built up early anticipation for the 100m. Sha’Carri Richardson showed out on the women’s side, dominating in the 100m but falling short in the 200M to Shericka Jackson, who retained her 200M title.

Tidal League had the amazing opportunity to sponsor two clinics on August 14th and 19th. Trey Green of Xavier University and AJ Storr of the University of Wisconsin Madison. Both are leading in their creative space and conference on and off the court.

Last week Amazon Prime droppeddddddddd...sorry, I fell asleep there for a second.

Man, what a welcome back to the grid we had this week. Obviously, the summer break is tough for DIE HARD Formula 1 fans, and we are craving F1 content. Usually, what we are left with are quite a bit of random rumours of upcoming “empty seats” and which drivers will be signing to which team. Some of the hottest topics this break were Lewis Hamilton’s return to Mercedes, Guanyu Zhou’s return to Alfa Romeo, and what Red Bull would do with Sergio Perez. Nonetheless, we were treated to one of the best races we’ve seen in quite a while. I think the beautiful thing to start with on Zandvoort is just the banking of the track. Watching cars fly at high speeds around banking corners might be one of the most satisfying things you can watch in Formula 1.

Well, it doesn't happen often or successfully, but in only the third week of competition, the house came together for the biggest blindside I have seen in ages.

Recently our team watched the critically acclaimed and much-anticipated movie of the summer, “Oppenheimer,” directed by the legendary Christopher Nolan. What was hyped as the cinematic masterpiece of the summer left our team divided and showed a fun glimpse into each of our personalities when we broke down what we liked (or didn’t like) about this feature film.

Summer break is officially over, and you know what that means -We are back and racing on the grid. Let’s make one thing very clear; I don’t expect anything to change coming back.

One of my favourite movies, when I was a kid was the cult classic "Goonies," so much so that when I found myself on a road trip along the west coast of Oregon, I had to search for haystack rock and pay homage!‍

Oh, Big Brother, why do I let you reel me in with your promises of blindsides and crazy game moves, only to have the original plan followed at the last minute?

The latest entry into A24’s growing catalogue of horror movies that are actually good is the creepy teen paranormal adventure Talk To Me. This Danny and Michael Philippou directorial debut made some noise at Sundance earlier this year and was hyped up endlessly on Twitter as “the scariest movie of the last X years” leading up to its release.

Yes, you read that title right. Man, like Sharky, rolled through to the 6ix for the August long weekend, and boy, it was special. His energy and character are as genuine and special as you see and feel on screen. Amplifying his aura were his two brothers in commentary – Liban and Lyes. The SDS boys moved like Barca’s attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez through the streets of the city, flocked by fans of both Shark Nation and SDS wherever they set foot.

Our loyal audience and readers will know that I’m an avid / ambassador of esports. More specifically, I am a lover of League of Legends and its professional scene. I think the most beautiful thing is that you have five athletes (yes, I said it) all control their character and play towards a common goal. ‍

It was not a comedy show about nothing.

Our fan favourites from previous seasons may have unleashed the BB Multiverse, but it is clear our houseguests are only interested in playing the same game.

I heard something earlier this week which really made me sit down and think - perhaps even with a noticeable amount of anxiety. As content creators, we can spend countless hours making a clip no longer than a minute, only for it to be forgotten after it's been scrolled over. If it's even watched in the first place. 

This is the last of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League Series. This may not be the comedy show that Devonte Graham or a controversial episode like Bruce Brown, but this was one of Theo’s gems. During the COVID season, Jared Harper shared a New York Knicks uniform with Theo back in 2020-2021. The two instantly bonded and helped each other through a year filled with many DNPs and laughter.

Ever since I was a young child, I have loved music. I remember being 8 or 9 and purchasing two cassette tapes from a flea market; USA for Africa "We are the World" and Wham! "Make it Big."

Man, what a special week we had with one of our creative partners in Dayton, Ohio. If you guys haven’t been following our socials or mine, specifically, I’m talking about the Brown Ballers, aka India Rising. This team represented India and brought together a group of all players from the Indian diaspora. Representation has always mattered, and I think that’s important in every aspect. But even more important than representation or a “DNI” play, it really is about proving that anyone can do anything they want regardless of background or race. Growing up of Asian descent, I was always supposed to be a “model minority,” which means a doctor, an engineer, or an accountant. Whenever I said I wanted to be a DJ or anything in sports entertainment, people would look at me like I was crazy. Led by Gautam Kapur and Navin Ramharak, that’s the mission they are on. I spoke to Gautam quite early, and he was like, “The world better not think this is some DNI feel-good story. We’re here to compete.”

This past month at Tidal League, we had our most significant production to date; the filming of LeagueBiz Season 3 in Las Vegas during Summer League. It consisted of 1 prep day, four production days, 11 episodes, 15 cameras, 19 lights and 27 guests. LeagueBiz is, first and foremost, a round table talk show format series. One of the problems we faced with this format was creating a beautiful-looking environment for the talent to be in while being lit professionally and achieving our many different, desired angles for the project.

Last night marked the start of the silver anniversary for CBS's legendary reality tv competition, "Big Brother." It also marked the 25th time I have sat down to watch this addictive and highly entertaining show.

Disclaimer; We’ve already done a podcast with Devonte’ Graham last year during the offseason. You guys now might be wondering why are we doing a second one? His wifi was all jacked up, and we had to do justice to Devonte’s race. This Las Vegas NBA Summer League Run Your Race camp was a lot of fun. We got to witness Theo Pinson in his bag and display how talented he is as a creative partner here at Tidal League. Now when I tell you that he was funny all trip, this was the funniest podcast of all. The guys cracked open a Casamigos bottle and just had a great conversation. The public won’t get to witness some of it as we had to make some cuts. But damn, are you guys in for a treat. They talk about the contract Devonte’ signed and the hilarious three-point contest where he hit the side of the backboard. We’ve also had the pleasure of having his mom on one of our other podcasts before. Dewanna King had Devonte’ when she was 14 and raised him to be an exceptional human being, so a big shoutout to her. Devonte’ also was teammates with Donovan Mitchell at Brewster Academy. He was there because Appalachian State would not allow Devonte’ out of his original letter of intent. This one is light-hearted, funny and bound to have you in tears at one point (it had Theo there). Make sure you give it a listen.

Initially, I wasn't overly interested in the Barbie movie when I first heard about it last year. Even after my favourite Canadian Ryan was cast as Ken, and some of the fab neon fashion photo stills were leaked, even Simu Liu being cast as Ken wasn't enough to make me pay too much attention.

This was the last week before summer break for the 2023 F1 season. What better place was there than Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps? Spa is one of the most legendary circuits due to its length, speed, elevation, and propensity to rain. Due to the nature of the track, it’s considered a pretty dangerous track to race at (we’ve also had some deaths on this course). ‍

It was the comeback of all comebacks yesterday when our Canadian National team came from behind to beat the Republic of Ireland in their first world cup appearance.

As an individual that watched a lot of TV and would consider themselves cultured of the late 90s and early 2000s, this movie is a must-watch if you were a fan of the series “Transformers: Beast Wars.” I grew up as a massive fan of Cheetor, Rat Trap and Depth Charge. Now I know we see Cheetor even though he played a minor role, but NO RAT TRAP? I think everyone can agree that Rat Trap was the HOMIE and carried a lot of the humour and comedy of the TV Show. Here’s to hoping there is a sequel so we can have some of the most crucial characters we grew up with join the series.

I guess after three intense weeks of McLaren performance, you have to give them some credit and say that they are legitimately the second-best team on the grid.

Run Your Race" was back with a second special episode for the week and a very special guest, Grant Williams. Williams, fresh off a solid NBA Finals run with the Boston Celtics in the 2023 playoffs, Vice President of the NBA Players Association, and newly signed to a massive contract with the Dallas Mavericks, sat down to discuss all things basketball with host Theo Pinson (our co-host AJ Richardson gets another fine for missing a recording, but we know he's out there taking care of business so it's nothing by love).

Soccer continues to be the most played sport in the world but like never before; we are seeing the sport reach new heights across North America.

For some people, gaining weight is accompanied by many physiological changes. Stretch marks are a great example. Ah, the human body. So beautiful, so poetic. On my worst days, I think to myself, “Gee, I wish I had known this before polishing off my Game Day Box from Pizza Hut.” You know, the ones with the carb-loaded drawers that pull out and everything? Those. On my best days, I wish I wasn’t congratulated for losing weight.

I've loved teen drama, probably more since my teenage years than during them. It's been a while, though, since I have been inspired enough to look past some of their more corny and irritating aspects and get hooked. That was until I finally binged the first season of Amazon Prime's "The Summer I Turned Pretty," based on a series of novels by YA author Jenny Han.

11 days in the desert…two back-to-back projects…and celebrating “5” with the entire squad. When you pause and take a moment to reflect on what feels like light speed, it’s absolutely special what a small group of people can achieve when united in vision and purpose.

2023 NBA Champion "Brucie B" Bruce Brown of the Indiana Pacers is Theo's guest today, and the shade comes fast and furious between these two friends and doesn't let up. This conversation had me laughing from minute one and messaging the team to say for the millionth time that Theo Pinson is one of my favourite creators (period, not just on the network).

Here we go again! I did not expect to sit down and type this article last week after finishing my Lando Norris piece. This weekend we do kick back into action with the Hungarian Grand Prix, and then we are off for a month for the Summer Break! Danny Ricciardo has long been a “fan favourite” of many F1 fans worldwide. The veteran Australian Driver is one of the more experienced drivers and has the smile and personality to light up the whole grid. We last saw Danny on the grid in 2022 with McLaren. I can’t say it was a pleasant sight as he continued to look below his “reputation.” I will preface this conversation after Lando’s last couple of weeks; he’s reaffirmed that he is just a tier below Max when it comes to speed. I may be reaching, but he is FAST. Danny struggled over his two years at McLaren and “lost his love” for the sport. Well, it has come full circle for him as he has secured a seat with the team he debuted with AlphaTauri (formerly Toro Rosso). As he re-signed with Red Bull after his stint with McLaren, I don’t think anyone thought we’d see him on the grid this early. It was more of a “commercial” contract. This meant Danny would do marketing, brand and other appearances (hence his personality). It’s interesting because it was thought around the grid that he wanted a seat with a Mid to high-tier team last year. Well, as we know, he did not get his wish to go to one of the worst teams in the league. He would have been better off at Williams last year, as their car is currently performing at a higher level. Like most people in F1, I believe this is an “audition or bid” for the second seat at Red Bull for when Sergio Perez’s seat becomes available (or If they decide to swap them). It only makes sense; Red Bull is where Ricciardo felt at home and built his brand and name. Marko Helmut remains one of the most “ruthless” individuals in F1. His track record continues to provide short leashes for his “junior” drivers. Whether that is Nyck de Vries, Alex Albon or Pierre Gasly, they’ve all had their seat yanked quite quickly. In this case, I believe Nyck performed terribly throughout the year. It doesn’t help that the car has been abysmal and continues to go in the opposite direction from its solid performance in 2021. He continually has lost to Yuki Tsunoda in both race pace and qualifying. We’ve seen some good performances from Yuki this year, and I can’t say the same for Nyck. There were a whole lot of Q1 eliminations and poor race days. I think Nyck needed a year to get used to the seat and show what he could do. On the flip side, Nyck de Vries is not “young” like some may think, even though it’s his rookie season. He is a 28-year-old rookie with multiple world championships in Formula E. I’m excited to see what Daniel Ricciardo can do and if he can find his grove and “love” again.

‍‍Our recent trip to Las Vegas was an unforgettable experience that we'll never forget! ‍We had the opportunity to meet some of the most talented people in the entertainment industry, including the Tidal League team and Theo Pinson of the NBA, who was hosting the Run Your Race podcast. We captured some incredible content for our projects, including side interviews with team members, mini skits in the studio, and footage of NBA players. We also showcased the fantastic personalities within the Tidal League team and the incredible catering that kept us going throughout the long days.

Some may call me crazy, and I’m okay with that, but Silverstone is the crown jewel of the F1 circuit. Yes, I know many people love Monaco for the show and what it comes with, but there is absolutely no way, hands down, that the British Grand Prix isn’t the best event of the year.

‍First, thank you to Theo Pinson and everyone who helped out at this basketball summer camp. Whenever Tidal League, and especially I, get a chance to give back to the community and youth, it’s a special time.

How often do we hear someone refer to the "mental game" of sports? Usually, it's used as an excuse when a favourite team or player isn't performing to their best ability as we know and expect them. "They're too much in their heads" or "They've got to get out of their heads and just play" are everyday things I hear throughout the various sports seasons.‍The mental game concept has changed quite a bit over the past few years, with athletes citing their mental health as taking priority over their obligations or desires to play.

I often spend most of my free time-consuming film and TV, but occasionally I venture outside of the screen realm to the stage. On a recent trip, I attended a performance of “Guys & Dolls” at the Bridge Theatre in London. ‍Long story short, it was a spectacular experience.

IN MY OPINION, Apple TV+ has a lot of catching up to do with dramatic original content. Clearly, they are winners in my mind when it comes to feel-good comedy (hello Ted Lasso) and dark comedy like "The Morning Show" - they even have nailed campy comedy with shows like "Schmigadoon" and "The After Party."

It will be 20 years of "The Fast and Furious" franchise releasing by the time we are done with it in 2026. Man, have we seen the series progress and all our favourite characters’ age? I grew up with a love for the JDM car scene and a love for all those “import tuners.” Some of my favourite cars include the Skyline GTR R34, the Toyota Supra, Toyota MR2, Mazda RX-7, and you can’t forget the tofu car, the Toyota Trueno AE86, a Corolla shoutout to initial d.

Last week Tidal League Media Inc. celebrated its 5th birthday as a company. Founder Kurt Benson posted his reflections on what this milestone meant to him and his journey to five years on our blog page. I've also been around the company for most of that time, meeting Kurt and his then-partners in March 2019. At that time, Tidal League was in the events space and were planning a large-scale NBA-focused event in the offseason here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where the company is still based.

We have officially started our Formula 1 European tour, and it’s been in full effect. We start at the Red Bull ring in beautiful Austria. This is one of the fastest and shortest tracks in all of racing, and man is it jam-packed. To list the obvious, it’s just below 70 seconds per lap with only ten turns and 3 DRS Zones. The whole time it’s action-packed with overtakes.

In my last blog post, I wrote about my early experiences with the Fujifilm X100V, a camera I was excited about then and still love.

The final episode of Season 1 of “Sessions” dropped this week with James Bouknight of the Charlotte Hornets. ‍Bouknight linked up with Mark Johnson aka “Jeezy Tattoos” and our host Matt Mangano down in Miami for this one. You might recognize Jeezy from past episodes that featured some of his NBA clients, PJ Washington (Charlotte Hornets) and Garrison Mathews (Atlanta Hawks). On this episode the guys chopped it up about everything from first tattoos to Hornets basketball.

Deep breath…. over the last few months this day has been something that I’ve spoken about almost daily, something that our team should all be extremely proud of. When I started Tidal League “5” years ago, it was merely an idea to surround myself around “hoop”. There was no map or blueprint to building a business from scratch, let alone a global media network. I knew that regardless of the outcome it would be perseverance and resiliency paired with incredible teammates that would drive us forward.

A week ago today I landed in the Rock, at the invitation of my brother, JD.What transpired is difficult to put to words, but I’ll summarize it as follows.What I experienced was the reception into family.What I witnessed was a celebration of community.

I will start by saying I am a HUGE Spider-man fan. So to say I was excited for an animated Spiderman is an understatement. I’d also like to say that I prefer animated Spiderman over the block buster films we’ve seen such as the OG 2000s Spiderman, the Amazing Spiderman and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s interpretation on the matter. ‍

It came as no great shock to hear the news of Adam Silver slapping Ja Morant with a 25-game ban for the start of the 2023/24 NBA season. The wannabe tough guy has been on what seems like a PR manager’s worst nightmare of a rampage this past season. But my own personal issue doesn’t sit with Ja himself; I have no say, no influence and no real interest, for that matter, in what a millionaire athlete waves around in his free time. My issue lies within the social media uproar, lack of common sense and, quite frankly, extreme ignorance of the severity of the situation.

This is a day that is etched in so many players (and their families) minds. It's a day of promise, excitement, and sometimes heartbreak.

It is officially over; my time in Dallas officially came to an end last week. I spent almost a month and a half doing our Run Your Race broadcast. I enjoyed my time in Dallas with Theo and Kam. Y’all gotta make sure you give both of them a follow @214.kam and @tpinsonn. 

As some may know, I am a recovering Montreal Canadiens fan. They have broken my heart one too many times (including just two short years ago when they somehow made it into the Stanley Cup final) for me ever fully to embrace them, or hockey for that matter, fully ever again.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal has been the stage for some memorable moments in F1 history, as well as a few controversial ones. ‍I will say that typically I’m not excited for this Grand Prix. It’s never done anything for me, but I was pretty excited about this weekend. We had Aston Martin come with upgrades, Mercedes second weekend (Monaco doesn’t count; it’s not a traditional circuit), and Ferrari continues to develop its car.

"Surfing the Seas" NBA Finals experience "was a movie, like the kids say, a feature film," says host and personality Jordan Sodhi. "Pure excitement" getting the opportunity to travel to Denver and Miami to interview fans on the ground and produce content that Tidal League fans have been getting used to since "Surfing the Seas" began.

On Saturday, June 10th, we stepped into the most iconic stadium in the World, the revolutionary Madison Square Garden, to watch the co-main events Xander Zayas vs. Ronald Cruz and Teofimo Lopez vs. Josh Taylor. With Puerto Rican Day the next day, we walked through the same halls, so many famous people walked, with Puerto Rican flags everywhere and the atmosphere buzzing. We entered the arena and instantly felt the building's electricity run through our bodies.

We are halfway through Pride Month, and even though our society is getting better for members of the 2SLGBTQI (the Canadian acronym referring to; Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, and the plus reflecting the countless affirmative ways in which people choose to self-identify), there is still a lot of shame around men coming out in professional sports.

Today we got a treat for you on "Fast Lane Lifestyle". We have the fastest man to ever run the 200M in the United States, Mr. Noah Lyles joining. Some may even argue that the throne is his for the taking, as the golden age of sprinting has arguably ended.

We are nearly a month into the 2023 WNBA season, and it continues to impress and be fun. ‍I haven’t been able to catch many games due to the nature of our business and doing our live stream with Theo Pinson covering the NBA Playoffs, but the ones I’ve seen have been a treat.

In this week's episode of Fast Lane Lifestyle, Alyisha is joined by two girlfriends, Cortia and Barbie, for some good old-fashioned girl talk.‍In a world that can sometimes feel like a giant boys club, why does the gender that makes up almost half the population always seem left out? Why do we struggle to lift each other up, ask for help, address things that bother us directly or even receive compliments? ‍These are some of the questions that the ladies address in this episode. We get a purely female perspective, but what's always so engaging with Fast Lane Lifestyle is we get the cultural view as well. How different is Afro-Carribean culture compared to that found here in North America? Do women of all races and locations feel the same insecurities or face the same pressures? It's fascinating that regardless of our differences, our gender is the great unifier.

Back in May, when I saw via his Instagram account that Arturo Holmes was shooting live at the Met Gala, I was beyond excited. One of the first comments I made to him was, "Is this going to be on the pod?" this week, the episode I had been anxiously awaiting dropped, and it did not disappoint.

We are hitting the final stretch of our Run Your Race live stream broadcast.‍For this one Theo didn’t hold back and brought on one of the best players in the NBA; Second team ALL NBA this year, the one and only, Donovan “Spida” Mitchell.‍It was a great conversation from the banter (Theo poking some fun at Donovan and his Cleveland Cavaliers being eliminated this year at the expense of Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks) to some serious player focused talk, this stream had it all.

That’s another week in the books for Formula 1. My first thought that comes to mind with the Spanish Grand Prix is; I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. F1 made some changes to the track this year and made it “fast.” It was a great decision on their part. The entire qualifying session and the race on Sunday were a lot of fun. As we head into a small break (this was a triple header), there were obviously some big takeaways this weekend. First off is that Max Verstappen is on another planet. He is making Sergio Perez look like a junior driver. That’s 4 wins on the season for Max; I’m curious to see if he breaks his records of wins in an entire season from last year this season. I’m not even going to speak about Charles Leclerc with Ferrari, as we have continued to live up as the punch line of the grid. Lando Norris had an outstanding qualifying and messed up his whole weekend during Lap 1 of the race. Zhou and Yuki had a strong showing, even if Yuki got a penalty. Mercedes Car has me encouraged for a team that has redesigned and come back to the drawing board after a disaster of a car. They’ve done a great job bouncing back. This car was only down about a .4 per lap as opposed to the usual 1 second, and they still haven’t got a chance to break down the car and add what it needs. It also doesn’t have its correct chassis and front end; we’ll have to wait until 2024. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell looked very strong this weekend, reaffirming my confidence that they are the best driver pairing on the grid in 2023. As my closing statement for the blog… I found it an exciting tactic, too, as how Toto Wolff put the life model of the W13 in the middle of their facility to motivate the team. It’s a winning team, to begin with, so I think losing, to start with, doesn’t sit well, and it seemed a little harsh (some people may not take well to it). Now it wouldn’t bother me; I would be motivated to return to the mountaintop. Well, until the next race, my friends!

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?