Play and Flay

There's a unique event happening at the Leach Amphitheater in Oshkosh this Saturday, June 30 - the Wisconsin Rock War. It's basically a battle of the bands. Now that in itself isn't unique. But what is unique here is that the winner of the event Saturday gets to open for Godsmack at the Leach on July 21. It's a pretty neat feather to have in your cap to say you opened for Godsmack and we know that the 9 qualifying bands are excited about the chance. Nineteen in all applied for the chance and they're from throughout Northeastern Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, the other unique event now on sale is the Get Cooking! Food Show with celebrity chef Bobby Flay. Flay has several shows on the Food Network and will do two live cooking demonstrations in the Resch Center. The other aspect of the show is the Marketplace in Shopko Hall where dozens of vendors will display their connection to the food industry and in some cases, offer free samples! This promises to be a cool event for everyone who loves food and that pretty much puts me at the top of the list. We're still looking for some vendors too, so if you're connected to the food industry somehow, give us a call!

These guys were good

Like the PGA tour slogan goes, these guys were good. I'm talking about the players from the Team USA volleyball team. They played two matches against Japan at the Resch Center on June 1 & 2. Unless you've seen world class volleyball before, you have no idea what you missed. Even if you're not a big volleyball fan, the chance to see these guys was incredible. They spike the ball at speeds approaching 90 mph and some serve it at speeds exceeding 70 mph. Some are six foot nine and some leap 40 inches. It wasn't your average bar league volleyball. Team USA defeated Japan both nights 3-1 in a best of 5 match.

I had a chance to hang out with some of the players as I took them to do media interviews and transported them for a promotional appearance at The Bar on Green Bay's east side. The guys actually enjoyed watching the rec volleyball that night at The Bar and were impressed with the quality of play. They also enjoyed appetizers and playing video games before I had to remind them it was time to go.

Most of the players play professionally overseas and do quite well financially. That season is now over, so they come back to the U.S. to compete on the U.S. men's national team. The age of the players range from 23-33 and most played collegiate volleyball on the West coast where volleyball is big.

It was a one-of-a-kind event at the Resch. We know it wasn't the most ideal weekend in the world to hold it with graduations, the state track meet and so forth. But, that is when the event was available and decided to go for it. We're glad we did.