Rick's Appearance on Kenosha 'Sports Extra' on am 1050 WLIP 11/22/17

Always great to join host, Pat Hegewald, to talk sports and tech.

I joined him for about 30 minutes on Nov. 22 for Kenosha Sports Extra, and we wrapped up with some of my top sports tech picks that could make excellent holiday gifts.

Have a listen:

Notes:

a.   Impact Improver - portable swing aid  
www.impactimprover.com   $39.99  take with you on the road.

Simply attach the the Strike Shield and start swinging.  The Impact Ball STICKS to the Strike Shield. With every swing, you know exactly where you made contact with the ball.  You get instant feedback, instant fun, and a better game!
Golfers get feedback they can use to make adjustments or consult with their local pro.
The Impact Improver also saves you time, money, and allows you to practice in the comfort of your own home, hotel room or wherever.  The Impact Improver is reusable, there is not sticky impact tape residue to deal with.  And the Impact Improver fits on YOUR club.
Great for beginners, children and avid tournament golfers.  
Each unit comes with One Strike Shield, Three Impact Balls, One Facilitator Tool, One Uber Cool Zipper Storage Case.


b. Copper Tech Gloves   -  golf, fishing, gardening and more...

www.coppertechglove.com

We've all seen Brett Favre and the copper infused products commercials.
Does copper work?
Copper infused into a comfortable golf glove. Help relieve pain and many that couldn't play golf can now, with the Copper Tech Glove.

 
c. Bermuda Sands apparel
www.bermudasandsapparel.com

No matter what climate you live in, Bermuda Sands apparel has you covered!
New hues of deep reds, ocean blues and lavender purples. Look good and feel good with these performance and lifestyle pieces.
Golf and more. The apparel evolves as technology changes! Bermuda Sands is a family-owned company with over 40 years experience in apparel manufacturing.  Our garments utilize premium materials, designed and sourced in the US, and produced in Central America.  

Bermuda Sands offers a wide variety of men and women knit golf and polo shirts, layers/outerwear, skorts and our water repellent STORM DRI™ collections. All of our garments remain true to the traditions of golf apparel in design, pattern, color, and fit.

d. Blast Motion Products

Sensors to help just about anyone in sports like Basketball, Baseball, softball, golf, etc
The industry’s most accurate motion capture sensor integrated with analysis, coaching, communication, and management tools.
Now you can have sensors like the pros for just over $100.
Combined with the Blast Vision Ball Flight app gives you the power to visualize the results of your baseball, softball, or golf swing, simply by using the camera in your mobile phone or tablet. You’ll get many key features of a professional launch monitor to help you understand the effect of your swing, without the expense and you can use it anywhere. Blast Vision analyzes and auto-clips real-time video to provide accurate launch angle and ball speed exit velocity, with estimated carry distance. You’ll have access to real-time feedback, session reports, and ball flight spray charts, helping you to identify important performance trends. Best of all, it’s easy to set up and there’s no charge to try it out!
www.blastmotion.com

Kindle Pick of the Week: Playing With the Enemy

Note: Thanks for the tip from my friend, Pat Hegewald

As the 2017 baseball season begins...

It was true in the 1940s, and it is still true today: if you have talent, someone will notice. In Gene Moore's case, that someone was the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Gene Moore was a farm boy living with his family in Sesser, Illinois, a town so small even map makers ignored it. As a teenager, when he wasn't in school or helping his Pop on the farm, slopping the hogs and doing other chores with his older brother Ward and five sisters, Gene was playing baseball with the guys on the town team. Some were twice his age. The older fellows didn't mind having the Moore kid on their team because he could hit the ball farther than anyone else, he was the best catcher anyone had ever seen, he could throw men out from his knees, and not a ball ever got past him. Gene was 15 years old.

Word quickly spread across the United States about the country boy who could hit the ball a country mile. The Dodgers wanted to take a look at this farm kid, barely old enough to shave and still awaiting his first kiss, but brash enough to call the pitches from behind the plate and motion to the infielders and outfielders as to how they should position themselves for certain hitters.

Headed for baseball stardom with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Gene's destiny was interrupted by Pearl Harbor. After playing ball for the Navy in the Azores and North Africa, Gene and his team were sent to the States for a special-and top secret-mission: guarding German sailors captured from U-505. Unable to field a team, Gene convinced his commander to allow him to teach the enemy how to play baseball while he and his teammates waited for the war to end so they could be called up into the Major Leagues. But Gene's future changed irrevocably in Louisiana. His life . . . and maybe our national pastime . . . was forever altered.

Inspired by true events, Playing with the Enemy is the riveting story of a depression-era youth and his brush with destiny. Author Gary Moore, Gene's son, did not learn of his father's remarkable odyssey through World War II and the hardships of minor league baseball until the day before Gene's death. Confronted with evidence of a possible career in baseball, Gene finally broke his decades of silence and spent the next several hours relieving himself of the heavy burden he had been carrying. The stunning news sent the author on his own odyssey as he researched his father's life and interviewed dozens of people.

The astonishing story of Gene Moore's life in and out of baseball is an exciting and often heart-wrenching saga that will capture the heart of every red- blooded American who can still smell the fresh-cut summer grass or remember how it felt to tie on the cleats while dreaming of making it to the big leagues. Jammed with memorable characters from an extraordinary time in our country's history, Playing with the Enemy is a story that will be read and reread for generations to come. And it is one you will never forget.

Pat also wrote the theme song to go along with the book...  you can hear here: http://www.playingwiththeenemy.com/song_001.htm

"Field of Broken Dreams"

Son of a working man
Born in the heartland
An infamous day
Changed the course of his life

The call of his duty
To fight for his country
He followed his passion
In a world filled with strife

(refrain) Life is worth living
No matter which road is taken
And nothin’s as good or as bad as it seems
As one door closes, another will open
And children find answers
In a Field of Broken Dreams

Destined for greatness
Allied with tomorrow
This young man reaches
For a shining star

When chasing a dream
Crosses doing the right thing
Self becomes selfless
And fate
Remains afar

(refrain)

The break in his soul
Turned his hopes into shadows
And the reason he lived
Became a reason to cry

And in that dark moment
When life starts closing
A letter long lost
Tells a silent goodbye

(refrain)

Fate knows no conscience
And history tells the tale
And nothins as good or as bad as it seems
But life is worth living
No matter which road is taken
And a son learned a lesson
In a Field of Broken Dreams

Order your CD here: https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mattmeyer

My Appearance on Kenosha Sports Extra 1050 WLIP 12/14/16

Thanks to Pat Hegewald for inviting me on!

Three parts to listen to:

Thanks again to Pat!