You asked for it, Atlanta ...

Doubles League EXCITEMENT is here!!!

The FIRST 100 teams to register receive two $10-dollar Dicks Sports Gift Certificates!
Leagues begin October 4th.

Visionary Tennis Announces Totally Flexible Doubles Leagues

EXCITING, flexible, five-match seasons with prizes riding on every game, set, and match.

The format will work like this:

When the schedules come out, you will find you and your partner placed in an eight-team league that is divided into an upper flight of four and a bottom flight of four.

You will have a full three and a half weeks to play the other three teams in your flight.
You will have only one deadline by which you must have these first three matches completed.
You may play these first three matches any time you wish and in any order you wish.
The key to success is planning ahead. Get all three matches scheduled quickly — then just play them and have fun!

The next part of your five-match schedule is the exciting part:

When all the scores of the first three matches have been reported, your online schedule will now reveal your opponent for your final two regular-season matches. These two opponents will come from the opposite flight of your league.
Again, you will have just one deadline by which you must play these two remaining matches.
You may play them when you wish and in any order.
Just play them and have fun!

When the last regular-season match from your league has been reported online, the system will now highlight the top three qualifying teams from each eight-team league; these will be the teams heading for the season-ending Tournament of Champions.

Welcome to the post-season EXCITEMENT: all Tournament of Champions qualifiers will receive a 500-PlayerPoint bonus!

Along with your PlayerPoints awarded after every match, league winners will also receive Visionary Tennis League Champion bagtags.

Enjoy the flexibility! Enjoy the fun!
Click here to register now!

Got YOUR partner lined up?

Online registration is open now.
Remember, the first 100 teams to register receive two $10-dollar Dicks Sports Gift Certificates.
Click here to register now!

Registration open for Fall Singles Leagues

The September 22nd registration deadline for the Fall Singles season is quickly approaching.
Hurry and signup at www.VisionaryTennis.com. Leagues begin September 25th.

Do you know any EXCITED doubles players?
Win a $50 Dicks Sporting Goods Gift Certificate PLUS 1000 PlayerPoints

Words cannot express how grateful we are to everyone who helped Visionary Tennis grow a whopping 54% since our first season. A big part of that growth happened because you took the time out of your busy days to tell a few friends about us.

As you know, Visionary Tennis is about to launch the most EXCITING doubles leagues in America right here in Atlanta, Georgia. The registration deadline is October 1st. Additionally, Fall Singles registration is open through September 22nd.

Beginning at midnight tonight (Friday), we will track every referral you send between now and midnight, October 1st. (If you have already referred someone for a Fall season, we will count that referral as well.)

Simply tell your friends to register at www.VisionaryTennis.com by midnight on October 1st.

We will give your friends 100 PlayerPoints for joining our leagues, and give you, the referrer, 25 PlayerPoints for the referral.

But that's not all!

At the end of the contest on October 1st, we will total all the registered referrals and award a $50-dollar Dicks Sporting Goods Gift Certificate to the person with the most new registered friends — PLUS a whopping 1000 PlayerPoints, too!

Second place will receive a $25 Dicks Sports Gift Certificate!

Winners will be announced in the November issue of VISIONS.

Want some help? We do that too.

Just go to www.TheMostExciting.com and type in the first name and email address of those friends you would like us to contact for you. We promise not to SPAM them — we will merely send them our free introductory e-packet, explaining all the EXCITEMENT, plus the most recent issue of the VISIONS e-newsletter.

Not registered for Doubles yet? If you love tennis, then join the fun...
Click here to register now, OR click here to tell a friend!

Have a great season!
The Visionary Team

P.S.  Remember — for the easiest way to tell your friends, just go to www.TheMostExciting.com.

The most exciting leagues, and the best prizes, too!

Play a match and post your score online — league rankings are updated instantly, and both you and your partner will receive the coveted PlayerPoints in your personal online account.
League players have already been awarded over 250,000 PlayerPoints, which have been cashed in for tons of prizes, including:

• Head and Dunlop Tennis Racquets
• Massage and Spa Treatments
• Dinners at Great Restaurants
• Private Tennis Lessons
• Over 500 "I'm A Player" tee shirts
• Over 1000 "I'm A Player wristbands
• Cases of Penn Tennis Balls
• Ball Hoppers, Hats, Grips and Strings
• and the list goes on and on ...

This season, the prize Redemption Center will be filled by participating sponsors such as:
Dicks Sporting Goods
I Play Tennis
Mambo Italiano Restaurant
Fishbone Wood Grill Restaurant
Netcord.com
Concourse Athletic Club
... and many more.

Doubles Tournament of Champions details:

Mark the weekend of December 2 & 3 on your calendar. Racquet Club of the South is the place to be.

It will be two days of fun, games, prizes, exciting tennis, and the, quickly becoming legendary, "Really Big Trophys". The top three teams from each eight-team league will be invited to play in the tournament.
Every league member is invited for the fun, games and prizes.

Picture you and your teammate on the winner's podium!

Summer Singles Tournament of Champions details:

Historic Bitsy Grant Tennis Center will host the Visonary Tennis Summer Singles Tournament of Champions semifinals and finals on Saturday, November 4th. Sunday, November 5th will be the rain date.

Preliminary rounds will be played throughout Atlanta during the months of September and October.

The top three players from each eight-player league will be invited to play for the legendary “Really Big Trophies” and 5000-PlayerPoint bonuses.

Every league member and their friends are invited for a day of fun, games and prizes.

Our Partners, Sponsors and Supporters

Nothing of real value can be accomplished all alone — it takes the hard work and support of many! Visionary Tennis would like to extend warm thanks to all those who have helped us turn the vision of America's most exciting tennis leagues into reality.

Advertise in VISIONS!

Reach a wider audience of tennis players and fans through this newsletter! Visionary Tennis welcomes all inquiries and will help style your promotion to best suit your needs. For more information, please contact Mimi Cain at 770-329-1219, or email mimi1951@comcast.net.

Message from the Editor

Summer is gone, September is here ... and so is our doubles league. How excited everyone must be to part of another first for Visionary Tennis. After spending a few days at the US Open and watching not only a lot of singles matches, but many great doubles matches too — it makes me want to play every day! Being at the Open is awe-inspiring and really makes one want to go out and be the best tennis player that one can.

Please tell all your friends to come out and be a part of Visionary Tennis history. Atlanta has ALTA and USTA, but now we have another incredible doubles league that we all can say will be the best yet!

For more information about Visionary Tennis' Doubles League (and singles too) please visit read Rocket's column above or visit the website.

Good luck to all. Work hard ... play hard ... and just have fun!

MiMi Cain
VISIONS Editor

Lifestyle & Leisure

Morning Matters

Story by Carolyn O'Neil, as told in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's “Better Health” section.

We're told breakfast is the healthy way to start the day, but when "Let's go out for breakfast!" turns into an overstuffed omelet, hash browns, bacon, sausage and biscuits slathered in butter, you've moved into the budget-busting calorie category.

A three-egg ham and cheese omelet can rack up 500 calories or more on its own. Hash browns can add another 250 calories; sausage links, 100 calories. Then there's the big biscuit with butter at 450 calories. So without even adding the cream in your coffee, say good morning to 1,300 calories - well over half of the day's caloric needs for most active adults.

Here's a meal that will lighten your load. A veggie omelet ( you could lower calories even more by ordering egg substitute) with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, a 6-ounce glass of (preferably fresh-squeezed) orange juice, a slice of whole-wheat toast thinly spread with butter (or no butter) or your favorite spread, and fresh fruit. You can splurge on one slice of bacon (36 calories), and you'll still be at a more acceptable 650 total calories.

Yes, they ate big breakfasts back on the farm, but most of us today don't have to plow the north forty before noon. If you've been skipping breakfast more often than not, your mother's words should be ringing in your ears: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Wiser words have never been spoken. Eating in the a.m. recharges your batteries, giving fuel to your brain and your muscles, making it less likely you'll succumb to a mid-morning attack of the munchies or a huge lunch because you're ravenous by noon.

Carolyn O'Neil is a registered dietician and former CNN Food & Health correspondent, and co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous. Check out more tips and recipes on her website: www.dishdivas.com.

Chef of the Month — CN Li  — Azel Restaurant, Duluth

Our June Chef of the Month is such an inspiring story; Li never set out to become an executive chef, but as we all know, dreams sometimes do come true!

Chef CN Li was born and raised in China. As do so many there, he dreamt of someday coming to America for a better life. About 20 years ago, Chef Li and his wife left China and settled in Columbia, S.C. Speaking not a word of English, they somehow acclimated to life outside of their homeland. A kind owner of a Japanese restaurant hired Chef Li to be his dishwasher. He gradually worked his way up the 'food chain'. Meanwhile, his wife became a full-time student and eventually earned her degree in English.

In 1992 they relocated to the Atlanta area. Chef Li was ready to venture into the world of cooking. In order to excel at what was becoming a reality, he studied French cuisine in San Diego, then went on to Boston to learn East-West fusion cooking.

Two years later, along with business partner Emily Fu, he opened Natori, a sushi/seafood restaurant in Duluth. Fast forward to 2006, where they recently opened Azel, an upscale seafood/sushi/steak restaurant in the Duluth area.

What an accomplishment for someone who came to the United States with little money and no English! In Chef Li's spare time, he enjoys a fun day of golf and hopes to start taking tennis lessons. We congratulate Chef Li, and wish both him and Emily much success for many years to come.

Recipe of the Month: Spinach-Veggie Dip

The perfect appetizer for any tennis match or party. Simply Delicious!

	1 package Knoor’s Vegetable Soup
	2 cups sour cream
	1 package frozen spinach
	1 loaf round pumpernickel bread
	celery & carrots, cut into small pieces (enough for ten people)
	Cook spinach without water, then squeeze out all water after cooking.
	Mix spinach with sour cream and soup.
	Cut off the top of the pumpernickel then scoop it out so that it resembles a bowl; fill with the dip and serve with vegetables.
Restaurant of the Month — Azel Welcome to the Wonderful World of East Meets West! You are about to experience the finest cuisine prepared by Executive Chef/Owner CN Li.  Chef Li uses only the best ingredients, perfectly prepared, to produce true East-West dishes that excite diners through their balance of flavors, contrasting ingredient, textures, and temperatures, and that reflect a happy mingling of Chinese, Southeast Asian, Japanese, French and American culinary traditions. Once inside Azel, one feels the elegance of an upscale Buckhead restaurant — designed in dark red and green hues that wind around a fish tank and highlighted with recessed lighting.  Just sit back and enjoy a relaxing and pleasurable meal, whether you’re at a private table or the sushi bar.  The open sushi kitchen allows you to observe the chefs as they skillfully prepare your dishes.  A showstopper is their Sushi Boat, but don’t miss their long list of sakes (or the rest of their full bar). Azel offers something for all tastes.  For beginnings you can choose Prince Edward Island mussels in white wine cream sauce, calamari with sweet Thai chili sauce, crab cakes, and many other offerings including sushi appetizers, soups and salads.  The entrées range from Ginger Marinated Sesame Seed Salmon, Blackened Seared Sashimi Grade Tuna, and Grilled Sake Miso Marinated Sea Bass to Tempura Soft Shell Crab and Shrimp, Sautéed Sea Scallops & White Shrimp over linguine pasta. For those who favor ‘American’ cuisine, feast on Roasted Breast of Free-Range Hen, Roasted Half Young, Duckling Grilled Rosemary Crusted Rack of Lamb, or Azel’s famous  Braised Five-C Spice Beef Short Ribs and sumptuous 8-oz. Filet Mignon. Azel is open 6 days a week, Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, and Saturday dinners start at 5pm, with a live jazz quartet beginning at 7pm. Each month Azel will surprise their patrons with half-off special cocktails during the week. Whether you have a special occasion, business meetings, or holiday party, Azel offers you a Seafood, Steak, Sushi experience you’ll remember forever. 9810 – C Medlock Bridge Road, Duluth, 770-622-9829 azelrestaurant@hotmail.com www.azelrestaurant.com
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T Don't forget to make your reservations now. Come to the OPEN and see your local favorite, Robby Ginepri.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The Last Word...
Somewhere along the path of ‘growing up’, the essence of play becomes more and more elusive, like a dream’s receding memory. Many of us give in and allow the sheer fun of life to be discredited, forced to cower behind a wall of ‘reasonable expectations’. But once in awhile, something rekindles that spark, awakens that child to come out and play. It is that moment that gives us all hope. Visionary Tennis is all about that moment, and about bringing it back to you again and again and again. We want you to play. We want to remind you that ‘playing tennis’ really is just that. It’s not a job, it’s not a discipline — it’s a game.
Know anybody else who’s into sports as much as you? Why not forward VISIONS to them and spread the word!
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