Even though summer is winding down, it’s not too late to pick up a mallet and learn how to play croquet, a decidedly preppy sport. Besides, its a great excuse to buy some preppy sportswear and throw a cocktail party. Croquet has deep roots, dating back to the 1600s under the name “Pall Mall,” or ball and mallet. Croquet became a hugely popular pastime in England during the 1860s since it can be played by both men and women. It was not until the 1870s when the sport of tennis stole croquet’s thunder. Hence Wimbledon’s All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

But how do you actually play?
Croquet sets typically come with 6 mallets, 6 croquet balls, 9 wickets (metal hoops), and two stakes to accommodate up to 6 players. Usually played on a recently-mowed lawn, the playing area consists of a large rectangle, 50 by 100 feet. Arrange the nine wickets and two stakes in a diamond pattern. Each player (or team of two) is given two croquet balls and a mallet. If six players are playing use the additional ball. Each player has one shot unless their ball goes through a wicket or hits a stake, than he or she receives a bonus shot. The turn ends when the player runs out of bonus shots or hits a stake. One point is awarded for hitting the ball through each wicket and stake in the designated order. The first side to score 14 wicket points and 2 stake points with each ball is the winner.

As mild mannered as this sport may seem, croquet can be extremely competitive. Blocking the opponents’ balls and ruining their shots is fair game. For more information about backyard croquet or to learn about other variations of the game, check out the U.S. Croquet Association web site. (Source U.S. Croquet Association)

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This year Wimbledon has seen its fair share of drama, Venus Williams and Roger Federer defeated in the quarterfinals and Venus and Serena losing the doubles competition in the quarterfinals to Russia’s Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina. And on Friday to the great dismay of  David Beckham, we watched Rafael Nadal take down Andy Murray in three sets. That being said we have been able to witness a fair share of new talent  including Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova and Czech’s Tomas Berdych.

Breakfast at Wimbledon:
This year’s singles matches between Serena Williams & Vera Zvonareva and Rafael Nadal & Tomas Berdych will be action-packed. I have always wanted to have a Breakfast at Wimbledon party, however I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination.

Here are a few of the dishes that I would serve:

• English Breakfast Tea
• Scones and jam
• Eggs Benedict
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Asparagus
• Strawberries and Cream
• Mimosas

Cheerio!

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June is winding down and with that comes my favorite time of year, two weeks of tennis bliss, the Wimbledon Championships. I can not resist watching the splendor at the All England Club. I love the beautiful green courts, tennis whites, and the Ralph Lauren clad umpires. This year we have already been treated to a visit by the Queen and the perseverance of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut as they battled it out in the longest tennis match in history.

Style Snaps to the following players:

• Serena Williams: simply yummy in her Nike Strawberries and Cream tennis dress

• Venus Williams: aka Miss Tina Turner

• Maria Sharapova: my style favorite for her beautiful Nike Rose Petal dress
  

And finally if you are new to tennis, here are a few terms to keep you abreast on the matches:

• Ace: When the tennis ball is served and not touched by the receiver, usually happens in the blink of an eye

• Advantage: If a player wins the point from a deuce and requires one more point to win the game. It shows up as Ad:player on the scoreboard

• Break: When the receiving player wins a game.

• Deuce: The score is tied, 40–40

• Forced Error: If the opponent hits a challenging shot forcing the receiving player to miss the ball.

Next week, I hope to watch Venus and Rafi win this year’s championship.

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I am saddened to see so many of my favorite lacrosse teams, like Delaware, Loyola, and JHU, knocked out so early in the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. Sorry, Regis, I am rooting for Maryland in the semi-finals. I hope they take Notre Dame down! The tournament wraps up Memorial Day weekend, when the final four teams battle it out in Baltimore to win a place in Monday’s championship game. If you can’t make it to the game, you can still check out all of the action on ESPN2.

With the off-season approaching, I hope the coaches check out LacrosseRecruits.com, this web site shows off the skills of some of the area’s hottest lacrosse players. This year they partnered with the ever-preppy Vineyard Vines and created the “2010 LacrosseRecruits.com Summer Circuit” T-shirt. Pink Whales and lacrosse sticks, how can you go wrong? If you are not on the tournament circuit this summer, you can buy one of these fab t-shirts at LacrosseRecruits.com.

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Ladies, it’s that dreaded time of year, when guys around the nation check-out to drink beer and draft their fantasy football players. This late-August ritual is precursor to an unbelievably long season of watching our guys spend the next 16 plus weeks yelling at the tv with laptops in hand, keeping tabs on their players. When they are not watching games, they spend their time reading football gossip blogs and watching college football, hoping to get the one-up for next season. The thought of all of that football makes me want to scream…and not for my favorite team (go Ravens!).

It’s just a damn shame that Project Runway doesn’t air on Sunday afternoons.

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