HWN and going Private

Lot of people have been asking about what events I will be playing in the AVP HWN. So here goes.

I have a tentative schedule for HWN. I will play in 8 of them and Phil will play in 9 of them. Both Phil and I miss the first one as we both will be in Brasil. Both of us will be at the next three in Grand Rapids, KC, and Indy. I go to the following 3 in Minn., Omaha, and Cedar Falls. Phil goes to the next three in Columbus, St. Louis and Cleveland. I go to Portland and Salt Lake and then Phil does the last three in Reading, Uniondale and Charlottsville. First three weeks are kind of gnarly travel weeks for me with Brasil and the two HWN. The last HWN events are not so bad as Portland and Salt Lake are fairly close and Salt Lake even has a direct flight to SB. Should be fun.

As far as the AVP going private goes....well it is good and bad. Good in that the AVP should never have become a public company. It was spun as a good thing and that the AVP could raise money from investors ect... This was true, the bad part was that there was no volume being traded. If no one is trading the stock it can't go up or down. The average day was like 5000 shares, maybe less. Don't feel like checking my figures on that one. In reality, the investors got fleeced. The institutional investors especially. The players were fleeced as well but that is common knowledge. The bottom line is the AVP is way too small to be a public company. So going back to being a private company is better for the AVP than being a public company. The funny part is that the AVP is essentially spinning going private the same as they spun it when they went public. The wording is even similar. From a player or investor perspective it was better when the AVP was public from the perspective of you knew exactly what they were doing. You knew what funds were coming in and where the money was going. You knew how much management was being paid and what stock or bonuses they were getting. Now that the AVP is private again, it is very difficult if not nearly impossible to find out all that stuff. It makes it very easy to manipulate money to the advantage of a few people. So good and bad depending on what perspective you take.

Happy New Year

To everyone: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! in a couple of days anyways.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Ours was good but offset by some sad news. We have 3 Labrador Retrievers. One of them, our old 11+ year male named Scout has cancer which we found out 3 days before Christmas. Great family dog and has essentially grown up with the kids and been around for our entire marriage. The vet gave him maybe 2 months to live if that.

Over the past 2 years he has really slowed down. He used to log about 20 to 45 miles of jogging a week in his prime. That was back when the wife was putting in about 30 miles a week and I was jogging 2 or 3 times a week for 5 miles in the fall. Dog is a stud. In fact, Sully our younger male dog, is Scout's puppy from the second litter that he sired. About 2 years ago I noticed Scout and the older female, Kayla, were starting to struggle to keep up with me on my jogs. She because of fatty tumors inhibiting her running motion and he because of old age. We believe strongly in getting our dogs out and exercising them. He has lived a good life considering he went to the river, beach or hiking almost every day of his life. Unfortunately he is struggling now as his internal organs are filled with cancer. As long as he isn't in pain we will keep him with us. I guess you could call this an early obit. I Love my Bubba dog.

Holiday Update

Just wanted to say hello to everyone and update everyone what's going on with me. Had a fairly relaxing last couple of weeks in comparison to before Thanksgiving. Been enjoying a lot of time with the family. We put our tree up at the beginning of the month and I put up the lights around the house. We are pretty much ready for Christmas here. Have a roaring fire going most everynight although the weather had been really nice here for the most part. Finally this weekend we are getting some cold weather for our area. Actually dipping down around the freezing point at night. I know a lot of you probably are not even getting a high of 32 degrees and are laughing at us. Personally I love the cold mornings but I suppose that all becomes relative to what your idea of cold is.

Been working out in the weight room since the beginning of November and it has been going pretty good. Feel strong and no major pains. Just some feel good soreness from the lifting. Started up at the track this past week doing our long sprints, jumps and stadium stuff. Good Lord I love to hate the track workout. It sucks but once I am done I feel like I have actually accomplished something. Been doing a lot of cardio work as well. Jogging and the stairclimber are great workouts for this time of year. Throw in some surfing and I have a well rounded off season training regiment.

Going to Omaha, NE for the Women's Final 4 this coming week. I am giving 2 presentations on the sport of Beach Volleyball to a lot of indoor volleyball folks. The NCAA is considering making beach volleyball an NCAA sport in the coming years. Would be really good for the sport in my opinion. Not to mention give opportunities to some schools that may not normally have a shot at an indoor championship as well as giving some well rounded beach volleyball players a shot at a scholarship that they would probably not have received in the indoor game. Looking forward to it.

On a professional beach volleyball level, still waiting for the FIVB and AVP to come out with some sort of schedule. Usually the FIVB has a schedule out by this point in time. Kind of shocked they don't have something out. The only thing I know is that Phil and I will be playing in the World Championships in Stavanger, Norway at the end of June beginning of July. Not shocked at all that the AVP does not have their schedule out. I don't remember the last time they actually posted a schedule the year before or even 2 months before the season started. Hopefully they will at least let the players know in a timely fashion so we don't have to pay through the nose for a ticket to Florida 2 weeks in advance because they could not confirm the stop any earlier.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

We had a nice mellow one here in Cali. Like it that way.

Sorry but my blogging is kind of sporadic these days. Volleyball news is slow in developing right now and there isn't much to talk about. If something pops I will let you all know.

Track Workout

I just started working out in the weight room yesterday, November 3rd which made me think that it was time to Blog on my track and beach workouts with our trainer Sandy Combs. Something I started last year was getting in the weight room a little earlier than in years past. I found that when I ease into my workouts my body responds much better than when I just jump in. If I start in December and we jump in hard I am sore all over. Yesterdays workout was about trying to get the muscles accustomed to lifting again. I can feel it today but not to the point where it is painful. I also got in a surf on my new quad fin at a place I call sticks and rocks. Fun little chest high or so skate park.

This year and the last 2 years I will be starting up on the track with Sandy in the beginning of December. Much like my weight lifting, I used to start come the new year, but I have found that I am much better off when I ease into it a little more. Phil has started the last 3 years in January as he is visiting family in Florida over the Holidays.

The track workout is the single hardest workout I do or have ever done for that matter. It is hard on the body and the mind. For this workout it is essential that I warm up really good. I usually jog a half of a mile then do a light stretch. Then I stride the field (100 yards) a minimum of 4 times. A strider as we call them is basically an elongated stride for 100 yards. It is faster than a jog but not a full sprint. Probably about 75% of a full sprint. I will usually do a little more stretching before getting into the track workout.

The workout in December will start off with 3 or 4 400's. I usually start off at 80 seconds per 400 with a 2 minute rest in between. We will up the 400's to 5 a couple of weeks in. Depending on how fast I am doing them, Sandy will slowly bring the time down to 75 seconds per 400. A couple of months down the road the 400's turn into 300's with faster times but an extra minute rest.

From there we go to a jump circuit. We do a bunch of jumps of which some of the are one legged hops, side jumps, forward frog jumps, bounding, sprint the stadium stairs and then do two legged rebound jumps up the stadium stairs. We also throw in ab work without a med ball and then add a med ball as we get into the workout. This workout changes as we get closer to the season. Basically we start out with quantity and and narrow it down to quality jumps. We end the track workouts usually around the end of April or into May and go to the beach to do a similar type of workout.

On a side note, everyone remember to vote today or don't complain about your politicians!

AVP Banquet

Last week was the AVP Banquet and I thought it went off quite well. It was the quickest most efficiently run banquet I think I have ever been too. Phil, Courtney Guerra and I all carpooled from Phil's house down to the Manhattan Beach Marriot where the AVP Banquet was being held. We got there around 7pm or so and socialized with friends and sponsors. At 8pm the banquet started and we had a nice dinner while Geeter MC'd the event. He talked about the season and the Olympics while ragging on everyone for eating while he was talking. Happens every year Geeter, get over it! :)

When Geeter was done and we had watched video highlights of the year, Leonard got up and talked about the year and going forward to next year. Then Geeter went into the awards. As you all know, Pedro Brazao got rookie of the year. Nick Lucena got most improved and tied with me for best defensive. Then Phil basically stood up on stage as he got best blocker, best offensive and MVP. All of them most definetely deserved.

Then the women got their awards and if you don't already know them they were Whitney Pavlik for rookie of the year, Nicole Branagh for most improved, Kerri Walsh for best blocker and like Phil, Misty swept the best defensive and offensive awards as well as MVP. That is probably my best run on sentence since 3rd grade!

By 9pm the banquet was done. Short and sweet. We hung out to take some pictures for about 20 minutes and then hopped back into Phil's sweet Scion. Easy drive back home by that time. I got home around 11:30 or so.

Weights

One subject that there is a ton of stuff that I could talk about but it is either very specific to me or I don't want to give all my secrets away is of course weight lifting.

Stuff that Phil and I are doing in the weight room really is very specific to our weaknesses and what our schedule is like. I get a lot of people asking me for tips on how they should lift or what lifts they should do. Certainly I can give basic principles and lifts but what works for me may not work for you. I have weaknesses that need to be addressed and are done so in the weight room. If I told someone this is what I am doing, they might not be addressing what their weaknesses are and therefore will probably not get out of the workout what I am getting out of the workout. For reference, Phil and I do a similar workout but not the same. He does some exercises that I do not need to do and vice versa.

Also, we do some Olympic lifts and that need a platform to be able to drop the weights on. Most gyms do not have platforms to be able to do this. Also, the Olympic lifts need to be monitored by someone when you are first starting out. It is very easy to do them incorrectly and therefore hurt yourself. Lifts that we do like this are pulls and snatches. I would not suggest that anyone be doing these unless you have someone there to watch your form or have been doing them correctly for quite some time.

That being said, I think there are some lifts that anyone can do that will help your performance. Squatting is a great lift in general and very specific to volleyball. I won't say how much weight you should do because people have bad knees and backs and I don't want anyone to hurt themselves. Also realize that Phil and I are lifting heavier or lighter weights depending on the time of the season or offseason. It is constantly changing and that is specific to our beach volleyball schedule. Another thing that all volleyball players should be doing are shoulder exercises. Specifically rotator cuff exercises either with a band, free weights or cables. Maybe even all of the above. There are a lot of great exercises out there. If you are swinging at balls you need to make sure that the whole shoulder girdle is strong and won't give out on you.

Lastly, you need to be making sure your core is strong. This means lots of abdominal work. There are a lot of ab exercises you can do. We do stuff with med balls and free weights as well as no weight at all. We vary it over the course of the year in order to keep it fresh. Doing the same sit ups every day you workout can get stale. Not to mention that every exercise works the muscles a little differently.

Nothing really ground breaking here but then again I am all about the basics and Bob and Sandy, my trainers, are all about the basics as well. Essentially every volleyball player needs to work on 3 basic areas. Leg strength in order to jump higher and squats are great for that. Arm/Shoulder strength to hit the ball harder and protect your shoulder. And lastly your core area specifically your abdominals.

Almost a Second Marriage

A partnership in beach volleyball is much like a marriage with the exception of you don't bye your partner a nice diamond ring. Unless of course you really want to play with that guy or gal!

I have been very fortunate in the partners I have had. Dax and I essentially grew up together. He is much older than me (1 year) so he took the veterans roll. :) Dax and I have known each other since we were about 7 years old or so. We started playing when we were still in High School and our partnership was based more upon the friendship we developed over time than a purely business relationship. We got along together great because we have similar interests and were kind of growing up and learning the whole "AVP thing" together. We also shared the same family values and were both married which helped a couple of young guys on tour make the right decisions. In the end, he had a great opportunity to play with current gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana and in truth his game at that time had passed me by. We had a difficult 2001 with the rule changes, the AVP really struggling and going to Europe for 9 straight weeks. I think that it was the right decision as our performance on the court was starting to effect our friendship and going in different directions would be best for both our friendship and our volleyball careers. The one thing I will say is that if the court had not changed along with the rules, I think Dax and I were poised to be a dominant team. But we shall never know.

From there I played with Sean Scott for the next 4 years. I played professionally with Dax for 5 years but we had been playing together for about 6 years before that too. With Sean I was switching sides and going from the left side to the right. I struggled with that for most of the 2002 season. I figured it out by the 2003 season and played at a much higher level from there on out. Sean and I developed a good friendship as we travelled to AVP and FIVB events. We shared a lot of stories and good times and I still consider him a good friend to this day.

Playing with Phil the last 3 seasons has obviously been great. This is due much in part to our success. The reality is that when you are successful like Phil and I have been successful it becomes easy to get along. Doesn't make sense to get annoyed with little things in the hotel room when you just won an FIVB Grand Slam or an AVP event. Not to mention that you are on such a high that almost nothing would bother you anyways. Phil and I have experienced very little in lows and have had very little in the way of winning droughts. I know we had a mid-season drought of about 5 or 6 tourneys in 2007 but much of that was on the FIVB. We have faced very little adversity over our 3 year partnership. I consider that a blessing and hopefully that will continue through the 2009 season and beyond.

All three of the guys I have played with are very mellow guys. In that respect they are very much like me. None of us are "high maintenance" guys. We are content with chilling in the hotel and reading a book or shooting the you know what. We don't need to constantly be moving and doing something. Certainly I think it helps to be a Type B personality rather than a Type A when on the FIVB tour and maybe even on the AVP tour as well.

I consider Dax, Sean and Phil my friends. Regardless of what happens on the tour or has happened in the past, all 3 of these guys will remain my friend over the test of time. All of us have gone through a lot together and that is something that none of us will forget. Hope I answered your question Drew.

Olympic Games 1

I have been asked a lot about aspects of the Olympic Games. I will do my best to give a snapshot of what some of it was like and how I prepared myself.

One of the questions was how I prepared myself for the Olympics and specifically while I was in Beijing. In truth, there is no way to adequately prepare yourself for the Olympics. You can think you are prepared, but unless you have actually been there and gone through them, I don't think you can ever be completely prepared. There is nothing like competing for your country. Most of the tourneys we play in are really for money. On the AVP you are competing for yourself and whoever you are playing with. There is no bigger picture. On the FIVB you are representing your country in all of the events but you are also competing for money just like on the AVP. You are trying to make a living by playing on the AVP and FIVB circuits.

In the Olympics, there is no prize money to be won. Yes, you can cash in after the Olympics if you have done well but that is not the foremost thought on most people's mind. After all, if you take a 9th in the Olympics, chances are you will not see a penny. It is really the only tournament where you are totally competing for your country and not yourself. In retrospect, it is really easy to compete only for yourself and only for the cash. There is really very little pressure on. When you throw in the hopes of your country it changes everything. If you start to actually think about the 20 to 60 million people watching and reading about you, well, the pressure could certainly get to someone. Not to mention that you really do have the hopes and dreams of America on your shoulders. When you get stuffed straight down people cringe and go Ooohhhhhh. When you scoop and put away a ball they jump up and cheer. I have had a lot of people come up to me in the last month or so and tell me they felt they were playing with Phil and I. It is pretty special but not something you can truly prepare yourself for.

While in Beijing and actually playing I just kept my mind on what I was trying to accomplish. When we first got there I was just trying to get my bearings. Learn where everything was so I wasn't completely lost. I ate well everyday. I brought a lot of supplemental stuff. Whey Protein, some jerky, Goji berries, and vitamins and minerals to make sure I did not get sick. I ate at least 3 square meals a day. Eating wasn't a problem as we ate either at the Hilton Hotel where we stayed or at the BNU which was where the USOC had set up shop for all the athletes and coaches. Both places were serving great food and it wasn't tough to be hungry. I slept very good as well. The beds at the Hilton were top notch and super comfy. You could draw the blinds and it was pitch black inside the room. I was never so nervous that I could not sleep. Usually I thought about what I needed to do in the next game and that actually put me to sleep. I always felt like we were as prepared physically and mentally as we could be having never actually played in the Olympics.

I have talked a little about our daily routine in previous blogs. Essentially our morning started off with a good breakfast. Then we either went to the beach venue to play a match or have a quick 1 hour practice session. After our matches we would go to the BNU to lift and stretch. We would eat lunch there and then come back to the hotel. Usually we would do emails or what not in the late afternoon. We also went to some of the safe houses and went shopping for gifts for everyone back home. Then we would have dinner, usually at the hotel, and then chill for the rest of the evening. For me that usually means a book or a Sports Illustrated Magazine. That sums up pretty much everyday. Whenever we had an early morning match the next day we would always try to make sure that afternoon/evening the day before was very mellow. That is the scoop.

BLOG Possibilities

Since I am now on break I wanted to let everyone know that I will try and catch up on past blogging particularly from the Olympics. I also wanted to ask all of you if you had anything specific you wanted me to blog about? Figure I would throw that out there and see what you guys want to know more about.

GOB

Congrats to John Hyden and Jen Boss for becoming the God and Goddess of the Beach. Both played well and were very deserving.

I believe John did not lose a game in route to his second straight crown. He went 7-0 on the weekend. I was in his second pool and he played very well with me. In my first game I played with Nick Lucena against Rosy and John. I played left and just was not consistant enough siding out to give us a chance. We scored some points but then I would inevitably give a couple up to give them the lead back. We lost 21-18 and 21-14. That put me and Nick in a tough spot to even have the chance to get out of pool. In the next game I played with John and we won 18 and 18. I was back on the right side and sided out okay. I also had a bunch of blocks and felt good up there. In the third game I played with Rosy. We started off strong making plays and were up a couple of points. I gave up a couple though and that started us down hill. We ended up losing in overtime as Nick came up big with a couple of aces at the end of the game. In the second we never got it going at all and they sided out really well. I think the score was 21-16.

It was tough to really get the juices flowing for any of the matches. I played as hard as I could but just did not have it this weekend. Fortunately the season is over and I am pretty sure that everyone including me is happy to see it end. It seemed like one of the longest seasons I have ever played. Now for a break!

Glendale GOB

Sounds strange saying that the God of the Beach is going to be in Glendale and not Vegas. Been a long time since the KOB/GOB was not run in Vegas. I think it was in Florida way back in the early 90's before it moved out to the Hard Rock in Vegas.

As always, there should be some interesting games on both sides. My first match is on Friday night with Nick Lucena vs. still to be determined. I am hoping that it works out where 2 other little guys are in our pool. I think that would be a lot of fun to play in and I think it would be a first.

Should be smoking hot too. I think the high for everyday will be between 100 and 105 degrees. Thank goodness we don't have to play a ton of matches. Last tourney for me and I could not be happier about it. I am ready for that offseason.

$1,000,000 Tourney

The AVP regular season is now over and it ended well for Phil and I. Just as the first AVP tourney started with Phil and I vs. Sean and Nick in Miami, so the last one ended. Fitting book ends for the season.

Manhattan Beach was a 32 team double elimination tourney. One of the few we have had this year. Phil and I for the most part struggled through with flashes of really good play and some not so good play. With the amount of money on the line, teams were really playing with a lot of heart and grit and were taking the losses hard and were stoked on the wins. One good finish and some guys could double their earnings for the year.

Some of the "winners" for the big pay day were Wong/Olson, Fred/Ring, and Prosser/Stolfus. All 3 teams got their biggest payday of the year and finished well ahead of their seed. Obviously you could make the case that Phil and I, Sean and Nick and Casey and Matt all did nicely too. We did, but over the course of the year all 3 of those teams have been pretty consistantly "there." I also thought it was a consistant finish for Dax and Billy but certainly a nice payday for Dax in his last AVP tourney.

Two teams that did much worse than expected were Rosy/Gibb and Loiola/Brazao who finished 9th and 17th respectively.

For Phil and I the first day was a good day to get back in the deep sand. Our first match was against Heagy/Leeseberg. The first game we took it to them from the beginning. The second was closer but we steadily pulled ahead winning 21-11 and 21-15. In our second match on Friday we played Morrison/Tramblie. They played really well. Ty really mixed up his shots and hits well and kept Phil and I off balance. He had some tremendous hits from about 8 feet off the net that surprised us. I didn't think he could bang it that hard from that far off the net. We ended up winning that match 21-16 and 21-16.

On Saturday we played Dax and Billy in our first match. We came out smoking hot in the first game and were up like 11-3 to start the match. It was ugly as everything was going our way. They steadied out from there to the end and we ended up winning 21-12. In the second they played much better. Billy was stuffing my line and Dax was scooping and delivering. They beat us 21-18. In the third it was close to start and then we started to pull away at 9-6 and 12-8. They scored two points in the end but then we closed it out on a long rally, 15-11. We waited all day for our next match vs. Stein and Willy. I think we played our first around 10am and our second at about 5pm. Phil played really well. I was okay at best. We ended up winning 21-15 and 21-14.

On Sunday we played at 12:30 which was nice. I got to watch a little football in the morning. We played the winner of Olson/Wong and Hyden/Keenan. Olson/Wong won in 2 games. We had a battle againsts them and were actually down most of the 1st game. They were playing well and I made some hitting errors that gave them free points. We came back at the very end and pulled out the first game, 23-21. In the second it was a battle. They were up the sideout 17-16 when Wong had to call a medical as his hamstrings were cramping. When we all came out, they were good and we were bad despite Wong's cramping. They won 21-18. In the third Kevin struggled and we went up 4-1 and 8-2. At 10-2 Wong called it a day and retired.

In the finals against Sean and Nick we played a pretty good game. We won 21-16 and 21-16 but I would say that the games were closer than that. It did seem as though we were up most of the time but that they were always right there. They had some good point chances but were unable to convert. If they had, I think the match would have been much tighter. I think both teams were mentally weary. Fired up to try and win $100,000 and a plaque on the pier, but mentally and physically drained after a long season. I have been impressed with Nick and Sean's consistancy. They have been in the top three 11 out of 17 events with really only 2 poorer finishes. Those finishes were a 7th and a 9th. I know they both would have much rather taken a couple of 1st place finishes rather than 6 second place finishes but I still feel they had a tremendous season.

Lot O Dough on the Line

Lots of cash on the line this weekend in MB. Hopefully Phil and I will have enough left in the tank to truck all the way through Sunday. Pretty sure we will both be fired up. It's MB after all. Then again, everyone is going to be fired up to win the moolah and the title.

I expect it will be a zoo as always down there. Particularly with the cash prize, MB, and of course this is the last regular tourney of the year. I would think everyone would want to get out to get their last fix of beach volleyball before the season comes to a close. Where better to do that than at the granddaddy. See you all down there.

San Francisco Silver

Wish I could say San Francisco Treat but Jake and Rosy were the ones who got the treat this weekend. We lost to them 15-13 in the third game. Hard fought battle all the way through.

The tourney was only a 12 team tourney so the top 4 seeds received bye's in the first round. We played the winner of Dax/Billy vs. Jose/Pedro. Jose and Pedro won in 2 close games. We played them on a rather chilly day. The SF wind was in full force. We were fortunate that the sun came out from the fog for a couple of hours while we played. Otherwise it would have been freezing cold. I didn't take my shirt off at all for that match. Phil and I won in 2 games that were not really close. I think the scores were 8 and 13. We played well and they did not.

That was our only game on Friday. On Saturday we had only one game if we won it and we did. We played Brad and John and beat them in 2 games. The first was close as we won by 2 points. The second we scored a lot of points and ran away with it like 21-12 or something like that. The first game we were up a bunch of points but then I shot the ball a few too many times and John was on it and converted them. We pulled it out in the end though. Saturday was a pretty nice day too.

On Sunday we played 2 matches in fantastic weather for SF. The fog burned off early and the wind was present but not terrible. Our first match was against Stein and Willy. Both of the games were tightly contested. The first we were up and they made a late run to get back in the game. We pulled it out with a sideout and won 21-19. In the second, they were up a bit as Willy stuffed Phil a couple of times and they were serving pretty tough. We came back though and were able to score a real one for the game and 21-19 win.

In the finals we played Jake and Rosy. In the first game Phil pretty much served them off the court. He had a lot of aces but also caused havoc on their passing. I think the score was like 12 or 13. In the 2nd game we were down a bit and came back but Rosy sided out for the game 21-19. In the third game I had a lot of scoops but no putaways and that was really the game. If I had put those balls away then we would have had a comfortable lead. I did not and they won with a Jake Gibb sideout, 15-13. Congrats to them and on to the Grandaddy!

AVP San Francisco, Sept. 12-14

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are currently competing in the
Men's $200,000 AVP Crocs Tour San Francisco Open presented by Fuze Beverage Part of the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout presented by Bud Light - September 12-14, 2008.

FORMAT:
- Top 12 Teams - Men's & Women's
- Double Elimination
- Top 4 Teams get a first round bye
- TOTAL of 21 Matches - Men & Women

Ticket Discount Code here: VWW (save $5-$10 on GA tickets)

You can keep up with their match scores Here: AVP

Comeback City

That would be in the city of Santa Barbara. Crazy comeback. Phil was awesome in the end after I just about petered out. By the way, if you have posted in the past month I have pretty much caught up with answering them. I have only 2 more to go and those are the 2 big ones. Will get on them though.

Always sweet just to play in SB much less win it. We played great all weekend. We beat Aaron and Scott 11 and 18 in our first match. Then we took down Ed and Ryan in our second one 15 and 16 or so. In our last match on Saturday we played Dax and Billy. Really good game on center court. They won the first 28-26. Billy was hitting really well and blocked solidly too. Dax was banging and using craft to sideout. The second was tight until right at the end when we won 21-16. The third was even up to about 6 and then we scored a bunch of points to finish 15-8.

Center Court was the most packed I have played on in a long time. Think an inch of sand on an indoor court and you have what we were playing on. Great for jumping but horrible for the body. I woke up Sunday morning and was soar as all hell. Give me the deep stuff any day over that packed garbage. I say move SB to East Beach where the sand is friendly.

Today we played 2 matches. Our first was against Jake and Rosy. It was a good match. The first went into overtime. I had a chance to win it and hit a weak line hit that Jake stuffed. We pulled it out though. The second was really tight as well. In the end we scored a couple of points and Phil stuffed Jake for match 21-18.

In the finals we played John and Brad. They have been knocking on the door all year long. They have played in 3 finals, all of them against us, and have been very very close in 2 of them. This one they probably should have won. We split the first 2 games. They were good games with back and forth action. Brad was getting up pretty big on the hard pack but of course so was Phil. The third game was the barn burner though. Came out and was down 9-4. Started off okay at 3-2 but then it went down hill quickly. In the end it was 9-14. I sided out with a chop shot down the line. Then Phil went back to serve. He kept it in at John. Brad gave him a tight set that Phil blocked. Controversial as John felt that Phil hit the ball first. I asked Phil and he said he though it was at about the same time. So we switch to the bad side down 14-11. The next one goes to John. It was a good pass, good set, but Phil stuffed it anyways. The next one went to Brad. Shaky pass and a tight set and Brad hit it out. The next one went to Brad and it was again a shaky pass and tight set and Phil was all over it. That tied it at 14 all. The next one Phil swatted Brad on a line shot on a tight set to put us up one. We traded a couple of sideouts and then I dug Brad in the angle. The ball went past the endline and Phil chased it down. I gave John a high free ball so that Phil could get back to the net. He proceeded to stuff John for the match and the win it 20-18. Pretty darn amazing and a great feeling for Phil and I.

SB Weekend

Sorry everyone. Been swamped. That will pretty much be my standard line for the next month or so. I have a lot to catch up with and will do so as I can. Have a lot I want to share about the Olympics, Cincinnati, Oprah and what not.

Really looking forward to this weekend in Santa Barbara. So nice to play an event and sleep in my own bed. Get to hang out with my family and friends at the beach. Does it get any better than that? Lots of stuff going on during the event for Phil and I. Plus a little retirement party for Dax too. Make sure if you see him this weekend you wish him Happy Birthday. (He turned 36 and yes I am trying to throw him under the bus! What are friends for if not that?)

Should be a blast. Hope to blog again soon. :)

Update on things

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will blog several times about experiences, matches, ect... in Beijing. I figure it is worth doing a couple of blogs rather than trying to fit it all into one.

Also, I didn't answer any comments while I was in Beijing but have started doing so now. I have to go back aways and I hope to get all caught up by next week sometime. Hope to see a lot of you over the next several weeks as the AVP hits Cinci, my home town of Santa Barbara, San Fran., Manhattan Beach and Glendale, AZ.

Todd brought home the Gold

Around 100 people greeted Todd Rogers, Olympic Gold Medalist in Beach Volleyball, at the Santa Barbara Airport.

Photos at: http://www.toddjrogers.com/

(Thanks to Ken Delgado and Fritz Olenberger for the photos.)

GOLD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser (USA) defeated Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz (BRA) in the Beijing Olympics Men's Beach Volleyball Gold Medal Final, 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4)

Gold Medal Match

22-Aug 11:00 Rogers-Dalhausser USA [2] vs Marcio Araujo-Fabio Luiz BRA [4]

("LIVE" on NBC TV PrimeTime - THURSDAY 11:00PM EDT, 8:00PM PDT - Check your local listings)

...and on to the Finals

"Today was a good day" to quote a famous rapper. Got up early for our match at 9am vs. Georgia. Felt great in warmups and I really think that translated into the game. Phil was awesome at the service line as well as at the net. I would have to say he set the tone for the match when he came out bombing his jump serve and stuffing down the left sider for Georgia. Once he got hesitant it made my job very easy to run down his shots.

We started off game 1 up 8-1. The only way they got that first point was because I got stuffed after I scooped a ball. We sided out and Phil went on a 7 point run from the service line highlighted by a couple of aces and a bunch of blocks. From there on out it was more a question of what was going to be the final score of the first game. The points just kept coming in bunches and I think the first game score ended up being 21-12.

In the second game we again came out strong with a sideout and then went on a 3 point run. I think we switched sides up 6-1 and just continued to stretch our lead. I think it was 17-8 at one point. We gave up a couple of sloppy points on lazy passes and bad shots but the final score was 21-13 I think.

All in all it was a very solid effort by Phil and I and now we get to play in the Gold medal match vs. Marcio and Fabio.

Todd & Phil in the Gold Medal Finals !!!

Rogers-Dalhausser USA [2] def. Geor-Gia GEO [15] 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) 0:42

Into the Semis

I have been having trouble finding time to keep everyone up to date. I wanted to blog everyday but it just seems like there is to much to do to get it all done. Also, wanted to let everyone know who is posting that I am reading your post and I appreciate all the support. Have not had the time to post back though but certainly will once the games are over.

Good times the last couple of days. We had that battle against Swizterland and the next day I went to the airport and picked up my wife. Very happy to see her and have her here in support. No kids though. It was a decision that I agonized over for awhile but felt it would be the best call not to have them here. After being here for a couple of days I am glad I made that decision. My kids would not have had a very good time. They would have loved watching me play but they would have been bored out of their minds most of the time. Not to mention that all the venues are a fair distance away from one another and you have to spend about 30 minutes or more in a cab to go to most of the venues. If I actually play for another 4 years and happen to make it to the 2012 games, then I would definetely take them. Long ways away though and I have no desire to even think that far down the road.

On Monday morning we beat the German team of David Klemperer and Eric Koreng. Very athletic team and a couple of very good guys in general. I have the utmost respect for both of them as players and people. Phil played very well. Probably the best he has played so far. I played okay but struggled to pass a bit which made it tough for Phil to set me with consistancy. This of course led to errors, blocks and digs for the Germans. We were fortunate that we won the match in 2 games.

Today we trained in the morning at the site and then Melissa and I did a little shopping at the USA House. They have some great stuff there with the Olympic Logo and USA on them. Winding down the day now. Time to take a steam, have some dinner, and hit the hey for tomorrow's 9am match vs. the Georgian team.

Todd & Phil vs Geor-Gia (GEO) - Semi-finals !

Round of 4:

Semi-finals

51 20-Aug 09:00AM Rogers-Dalhausser USA [2] Geor-Gia GEO [15]

= 19-Aug 09:00PM EDT, 6:00PM PDT


52 20-Aug 10:00 Ricardo-Emanuel BRA [3] Marcio Araujo-Fabio Luiz BRA [4]

More details at: http://ToddJRogers.Com/

Todd & Phil vs Klemperer-Koreng GER

Round of 8:

18-Aug 10:00 Rogers-Dalhausser USA [2] vs. Klemperer-Koreng GER [8]

10:00PM Sunday EDT, 7:00PM Sunday PDT

More details at: http://ToddJRogers.Com/

Olympic Draw

Well I was totally wrong on how the draw worked! We ended up being the 8th seed and will play Laciga/Schneider from Switzerland. The winner of our match will then play the winner of China and Germany (Klemperer/Koreng).

The Swiss are a dangerous team. They are both former blockers and both have big jump serves especially Martin Laciga. He is not afraid to go for it at any time within a game. They both pass okay and set very well. Martin likes a shoot set to the pin and Jan likes a bit of lob set but not quite out to the pin. They are probably 6'6 and 6'5 respectively.

The last time we played them was in Norway where we beat them in 3. In that game we won easily in the first game. They were trying to bomb their jump serves and missed a lot of serves. In the second game they served me jump float serves and caught me totally off guard. We battled and I actually had a dig and chance for putaway at 20-19 but Jan stuffed me and then proceeded to stuff me 2 more times in a row. In the third we won 15-11 or 12.

Looking forward to playing at 9am tomorrow morning. The women have started us off strong so hopefully us men can continue that trend.

Round of 16 : Todd & Phil vs. Laciga/Schnider SUI

16-Aug Sat. 09:00 Rogers-Dalhausser USA [2] vs. Laciga M.-Schnider SUI [20]

(Fri. 9:00PM EDT, 6:00PM PDT)


More details at: http://ToddJRogers.Com/

Rogers-Dalhausser USA [2] vs. Conde-Baracetti ARG [14] - RESULTS

Match just finished...

RESULTS posted to: http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

Match will be on television tonight during NBC Prime Time Olympic coverage.

Beijing Update

Been a bit lax in blogging and I apologize for that. Things have been up and down here for those of you that have not been following the progress of Phil and I. Lots of stuff to talk about but I will stick to the 2 matches we have played so far as well as the one we play tomorrow morning. You can also check out www.volleyballtribe.com which is a website that myself and some friends have been working on. I will put some stuff on a blog there as well.

In our first game on Saturday night we lost to the Latvians in 2 games. 21-19 and 21-18. I give them credit as I felt they played a solid game. Our game was very poor however. Our serving and block defense were atrocious. I think I dug 2 balls and Phil blocked 2 balls. Not sure on those numbers but it was how I remember it. Phil was like a tree getting chopped away on by a lumber jack. The right side guy must have chiselled off of him a dozen times or so. Then if the ball did get by him I would shank it into the stands. Our sideout game was average at best. All in all it was a terrible game for us. Felt like we were in a bit of a fog. The silver lining in the game was that we lost by 2 and 3 points respectively and we felt we played poor and they played well.

In our second match on Monday night we played the number 1 Swiss team. We played well pretty much the whole game and I think gave up a total of 4 real points on 2 aces, a chuck set, and I got scooped on a cut shot. The scores were 15 and 10 I think. Totally different Phil at the net. He shut down the right sider for Switzerland in a big way and when the ball actually got past him, which was not very often, I gobbled up most of them. It was nice to play at the level we know we can play at. We both served well and sided out well too.

Tomorrow morning at 9am we play the team from Argentina. Big game as the winner of the game will for sure move on. The loser will have to wait to see what happens in the other matchup in our pool to see if they move on. I look at it as the start of single elimination for Phil and I. If we win we are definetely out of pool play and there is still a chance that we could win our pool and keep our seed. We just have to take care of our business first though.

A Visit From President George W. Bush

During an American training session Saturday at Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground, U.S. President George W. Bush (center) with players Todd Rogers (left) and Phil Dalhausser

You can find Photos, Match scores, Pool Standings, and Upcoming Matches via Todd's web page: http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

Beijing II

WOW!!!! What an opening cermonies. Really glad I walked. It is a pretty overwhelming experience when you walk down the tunnel and come out into the massive stadium with 100,000 people or so cheering. Great to see a bunch of American flags throughout the stadium. Swells you with pride.

The entire American delegation was also treated with meeting President Bush, the first lady and former President Bush. Right before we walked we went into a private hall and the President gave a short speech and then took his picture with every team. He spent a lot of time with each team which was really cool. Becoming old hat to hang with the President. :)

Have our first game today against Latvia. Not sure what exactly to expect. Figure I will just treat it like any other match and go from there. If anything, I am trying not to get to excited and be too jacked up for the match. I tend to play ohhh not so good when I get too jacked up. Start hitting balls out and stuff trying to crush everything. As you can tell though, I am excited and ready to go after a 2 week hiatus from playing. Will update you tomorrow on how it went.

Beijing

Got into Beijing last night with Phil. Kind of amazing as there were almost no cars on any of the roads. They have literally taken the vast majority of cars off of the road to clean out the pollution. Doubt that would ever happen in LA.

Spent our first night here in the Olympic Village and today we are moving to the Hilton which is close to the venue. This morning we went to the venue and hit the ball around. Nothing major. Just pass, set, serve kind of thing. Whenever I fly on a long flight my joints protest big time the next day. The nice thing is the humidity warms you up and gets you sweating really quick. Was good to touch the ball at the venue.

The Venue itself is very nice. Center court looks very cool and I can't wait until it is packed with people and we are playing. Should be very exciting. They have about 7 or 8 courts all around center court for players to practice on.

The air here is difficult to clarify. In that I mean that it looks really bad but the humidity makes it seem much worse than it actually is. The humidity is almost like fog. I will say this, today the sun looked like the moon through the fog, smog, haze or whatever. Pretty trippy.

Going to go hit the gym now. Just had lunch at the BNU which is the american headquarters. Very nice and the food was top notch. The gym is supposed to be very nice here as well. About 55 hours and counting until our first match!

Olympic Pool

Our pool, as all the pools are on the men's side is pretty solid. I would say that no one has an easy pool. Some are easier than others but that is how it should be based upon how you are seeded.

In our pool we have Swiss #1, Argentina and Latvia. We play Latvia first on Saturday night. We have played them only once before and that was in Brasil last year. It was very windy in that match and they played really poorly. They have gotten a ton better and gave Matt and Casey all they could handle in Paris. They are young guys around 23 or so. They are really fiery as you might expect. They are not very big. The blocker is probably 6'4 and the defender is around 6'1. They both jump well though and I expect a much tougher match against them than what we had in Brasil last year.

In our next match we play Argentina at 9pm Monday night. This will be a bit weird since Phil and I have not played them since I think 2006 in Austria. We beat them there. This year Martine Conde has been injured and only played in Marseille and Switzerland and then sat out Austria while Baracetti played with Salema. They are a very crafty team with great shots and use the whole court. Martine is a silly good defender. I expect them to be at 100% and going all out like we will be.

In our last match we play Heuscher/Heyer at 9am on Wend. morning. We have played them in Australia, Italy, Paris?, and Russia. We have won all the games. They can serve tough and get us in trouble. They can both block as Heyer is 6'8 and Heuscher is 6'5 with hops. They play very up and down defense. Sometimes they are on and sometimes they are not. Obviously I hope they are off against us.

Should be a fun pool and am looking forward to competing against those guys.

Olympic Beach Volleyball - Match Schedule

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser will begin Olympic Beach Volleyball competition in Beijing, China on Saturday, 9-Aug-08.

You can view their match schedule at: http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

Missin' San Diego

Unfortunately Phil and I will not be playing in the San Diego event this coming weekend. Phil wanted to rest up for Beijing to make sure he was ready. I would have liked to play to stay in the groove but will enjoy the extra time I get to hang with the family. Plus I can get some extra workouts in that I would not have been doing if I had been playing in San Diego. For all of you that were coming to watch Phil and I play, I apologize. Would have liked to see you all but it will have to wait until next year if the AVP goes to San Diego.

Meeching in Long Beach

There was certainly a meeching given out in Long Beach but it wasn't Phil and I giving it. Instead we were on the receiving end.

The tourney started off well for Phil and I as we received a bye and then downed Baxter and Prosser fairly handily. We played well the whole time. Sided out and scored points consistantly and I think the scores were around 15 each game. In our last match on Friday we played Matt and Casey. The first game was tight and they actually served Phil for the first 2/3's of the match. It was all tied up at 14 when they switched to me. They scored a point off of me but then we got it back and Phil went on a mini serving run. At 20-18 they scored another point but then Casey missed his serve and we won 21-19. In the second we started off fast and never looked back. I think the score was 14 or so.

On Saturday we played Wong and Olsen at 8am in the morning. They too started out on Phil and got a couple of points. We got some points though too so it was pretty much even. They switched to me and then we started scoring even more points. We played well in both games and the scores were around 17 and 15. In the semis we played Sean and Nick. We started off really strong but then I got in a funk. Hit several balls out with no one up and allowed them back into the game. Nick and Sean lost their first round game so had to grovel through the losers bracket. They were clearly both a little beaten up. We pulled out the first game 23-21. In the second we pulled ahead and kept rolling. I think the final score of that one was 21-15.

In the finals we played Jake and Rosy and as I said before, we got meeched. For those of you that have not figured out what that means, essentially it means we got crushed, worked, destroyed and were utterly beaten down. We started off well by going ahead 7-4 but it was all downhill from there. Usually one of us plays well even if the other is not so hot. In this game we both were terrible. I would be willing to guess that our combined hitting percentage was right around .100. That is tragic. They played steady ball. Didn't do anything over the top but were steady. We earned a few points but they didn't give us any and we would have needed some serious charity if we were going to take that match. Hopefully it will be the Beijing final but of course I would like to switch the winner and loser. :)

All in all it was a decent weekend. The loss was tempered by a great weekend with my daughter Hannah. She came down with me to on Thursday night and we stayed in the Queen Mary Hotel which happens to be the Queen Mary ship. She was really excited about that. We cruised through the ship and looked for spooky ghosts on Friday evening. Plus she sat in our box and "coached" us. Very positive coach I must say. Love that little girl.

AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Long Beach, California

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are currently competing in the
$210,000 AVP Crocs Slam Bud Light Long Beach Open
July 25-27. Men's Final on Saturday, July 26th.

You can keep up with their match scores at: http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/


FINALS ON NBC TV

Sat 7/26/08 1:30 PM* Pacific MEN's FINAL
Sun 7/27/08 1:30 PM* Pacific Women's FINAL

* - Check your local listings for times

New York Part II

After the tourney we moved to a Hotel in the City by Battery Park. Our trainer, Bob Alejo set us up at a great restaurant called Lukes that he used to frequent pretty much every day back when he worked with his baseball guys in New York. Luigi is a part owner and set us up very nicely. Thank you to both of you.

On Sunday we went to the Yankees game vs. the A's. Pretty good game. Yankees won 2-1 on Giambi's homer in the 7th I think it was. Pretty cool since he was the one that left us the tickets through our trainer Bob's request. Thank you very much Mr. Jason Giambi.

At the conclusion of the game we got the grand tour of the park courtesy of Joe, one of the security guys for the Yankees. Also a good friend of Bob's. We got to go on the field and I took some video footage of it. We also got to go to Monument Park which is just outside of left field and between the two dugouts. Very cool to see many of the greatest baseball players in history memorialized in plaques. When we were walking back Coach Girardi was playing ball with his wife and kids. Didn't want to bother them as it looked they were having some quality family time together. All in all a very good experience and I have thank Joe for taking the time to give us the grand tour.

We took the subway back to our hotel and then caught a cab to the airport. We jumped on a flight to Washington D.C. that night. A bit delayed but got to the Capitol Hilton around midnight.

The next morning I woke up around 6:30 so as to get ready to go to the White House. All the athletes left the hotel around 8am and drove to the East Gate of the White House. We went in and were instructed as to where we would all stand and what would happen. At 10am we filed out of the White House and onto the Rose Garden Lawn to take our places. About a minute later out walks the President. He greets some of the athletes and then speaks for about 15 minutes about Beijing and the Olympics. When he was done he posed for some pictures with the group of us and then shook everyone's hand and asked about what sport we were. It was very cool. He then left and we all filed out to the East Garden figuring we were pretty much done.

To our surprise, a Presidential aid came and told us all that the President would like to see us in the Oval Office. So we all filed into the Oval Office to greet the President. Everyone shook his hand, had a picture taken, and also spent about 30 seconds talking with the President. He asked many of us, including myself, where we graduated from. He gave us a little historical tour of the Oval Office and in particular the President's desk. Cool for me as I had just watched National Treasure II - Book of Secrets on the plane ride to New York. In it they showed the picture of JFK Jr. peeking out of the desk with the President behind him. They also mentioned how FDR had had the door put into the desk in order to hide the fact that he was in a wheelchair. So when President Bush mentioned the history of the desk I fully understood what he was talking about.

Everyone started to file out as we had all had our "moment" with the President. As about 6 of us (including Phil and I) were remaining he began to chat again and ask questions. The 6 of us stopped and continued to chat with the President. Then we continued to file out. I was literally the last person in line and was about to leave the Oval Office when the President stopped me and began to chat again. I looked around the office and the only other person in it was one secret service guy. We talked for about a minute before I left. He asked me about Beijing and the beach volleyball venue and told me how much he was looking forward to coming to the Olympics and watching us all perform on behalf of the United States of America. It was very surreal moment for me. There was no one in there but us two and a secret service man. It was the first time I have ever truly felt a bit awestruck. I think and hope I conducted myself properly. Hate to be on the President's you know what list. :)

That night we had a wonderful dinner at the White House. It was a much larger gathering than the one earlier in the day. Everyone greeted the President and the First Lady and had a picture taken with them. We then sat down for a great meal. Phil and I were at the same table but across the way from one another. At the table was Margaret Bush who is the sister-in-law of President Bush. She was our hostess and a very good hostess she was. Also at the table was the CEO of McDonalds as well as a man from NBC and several people from the USOC. At the conclusion of the meal everyone filed out into the Rose Garden for a short concert. The band was called Seldom Scene and sung a variety of Blue Grass Music. They were a bunch of old coots but they were really really good. One of them must have at least been in his 60's if not in his 70's. I would guess that all of them were in their 50's or late 40's at the youngest. They played 4 songs and then at the request of the President they played a Chuck Berry song for their encore. That ended the night and we filed back to the vans and the hotel.

I have to say that the President was a very cool guy. I think he is really good in small group and one on one conversations. He has that twinkle in his eye and comes across as just another one of the guys so to speak. He made me feel very comfortable when I spoke to him. Of course he is just one of the guys who happens to be the most powerful man in the world. All in all a fantastic visit and one that I would do again if ever invited again.

New York Part I

I am going to blog about this past weekend in two parts. The first part will be about the tourney on Friday and Saturday. The second part will be about Sunday and Mondays events.

Obviously the tourney went well for Phil and I. We didn't lose a game the entire tourney and had two games that were won by 2 points. On Friday we played the quali team of Duncan Bundinger and Clint Coe. They were two guys who went to Long Beach State and who I coached against while I was at UCSB. The first game we blew them out as they missed most of their serves. The second game was closer and became really close when Duncan served an ace and forced a bad pass by me at 18-20. That tied the game up at 20 all. He served another really good serve down my line that I dove and passed and was able to squeak one off of Duncan's block. We ended up taking it 23-21. I expect both of them can make the AVP if they put their minds to it. They are good volleyball players and could easily become good beach volleyball players too.

In our second match we played Tramblie and Morrison. In the first Phil must have blocked Ty about 6 times. In the second Ty made some errors, Phil had a couple of blocks and I had a couple of digs for points. We won 14 and 12 I think. In our third match that day we played the Brazilians, Jose and Pedro. Phil served well and got them into passing and setting trouble. He had a couple of blocks and I sided out well and we won like 14 and 15.

On Saturday we played Olson and Wong in our first match. Phil had a few blocks and I had a lot of digs and we both sided out well. We won 16 and 14. In the semis we played Stein and Willy. The first game was back and forth and we had a sideout to win the game. They had been serving mostly me and Stein tried to sneak a serve into Phil's short angle. He was ready for it, passed it well and crushed it in the angle for a 21-19 win. In the second game we played really steady and were ahead for most of the game. We finished strong to win in 2 games.

In the finals we played Sean Scott and Nick Lucena. Phil started off the match with 3 blocks. The first was on a line shot of mine that Nick scooped and Phil stuffed his line. The next was on Sean Scott and then the next was on Nick again. Good start for us and we never looked back. I had 15 digs or something like that and felt really good on defense. Didn't matter if it was a hit or shot, I felt like I was going to dig the ball. I also sided out very well as they served me most of the balls. We played really well and hopefully we can continue that on into Long Beach this weekend.

Todd & Phil attended White House Dinner

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser attended a dinner at the White House on July 21.

You can find Photos, Videos, and Text of speeches from the President on the Todd Rogers webpage:

http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are currently competing in the
AVP Crocs Slam Brooklyn presented by Cushman and Wakefield,
July 18-20. Men's Final on Saturday, July 19th.

You can keep up with their match scores at: http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/


FINALS ON NBC TV

Sat 7/19/08 2:30 PM Eastern MEN's FINAL
Sun 7/20/08 2:30 PM Eastern Women's FINAL

Win in Chicago

Phil and I pushed through a tough weekend to win in the Windy City. Wasn't very aptly named this past weekend but I suppose that is probably a good thing for beach volleyball.

We played at Oak Street Beach for the first time ever. Normally we play at North Avenue Beach but there was something else that had reserved the beach so we moved to Oak Street. Always a little reserved when we go to a new spot, especially when the old spot is awesome. Oak Street Beach was very nice though. The sand was great and like always, the crowd was fantastic.

Phil and I played Scott Davenport and Jonathon Acosta in the first round of play. We smoked them in the first game 21-10. The second was a battle though as Davenport was siding out really well and I was not. We won 23-21 but only after they had a serve for game at 20-19. In our second match we played ALB and Carlucci. We were dragging a bit and needed something to fire us up. Fortunately the ref provided that by blowing a call and we fired up on him and took it out on ALB and Jeff. I think the scores were about 14 and 16.

In our third match we played Nygaard and Mayer. They played well in the first game and won 21-18. Mayer was scooping me and putting balls away and both he and Jeff were siding out well. In the second game Phil and I upped our service game as their was a good side to really bang your jump serve from. We scored more points by putting pressure on their passing game and won that won 21-14. In the third we traded a few sideouts before we went up a couple of points midgame. We took it strong to the end and won 15-11.

On Saturday we played Rosy/Gibb and had a battle. The game started off in a drizzle but by the end the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds in what would become a really nice day. Phil and I won the first game but were behind the entire second game. The ref made a very poor call which would have made the game 18 all but instead put Rosy and Jake up 19-17. They were able to win 21-19. In the third game the calls were reversed as Jake was called for a mystery double hit and then a ball that Phil "dug" but that was probably on the sand was not called and we won that point. Jake and Sean could not recover from that and we won 15-11 or so.

In our semifinal match we played Sean Scott and Nick Lucena and won in a 3 game marathon. Sean tends to play very slowly as he towels off a lot and generally slows the play of the game down. We won the first fairly handily but in the second Nick served really well. I know he had at least 4 aces in that game and also accounted for a couple of other points on very good serves. They won that game 21-16 I think and we had to go 3 games. In the third we played well and won 15-10. The game was long though as Sean took a medical timeout which is 5 minutes long. I think from start to finish the match lasted 90 minutes. This gave us only 25 minutes until the start of the final against Jake and Rosy.

In the finals we started off slow or more likely I should say I started off slow. The first point was an ace up the middle. The second was a shank and error by me. Another ace and then a scoop by Rosy on a line shot. Bamm we are down 4-0. The final score of the game was 21-13, we won. Phil went on a run from the service line serving bombs and stuffing balls. Basically everything went our way after we were down 6-10. In the second game we didn't start off as slow as in the first and continued to play strong. Phil was really very good in the finals. He served and blocked exceptionally well and when he plays that well, I just have to make sure I don't screw it up. The second game was 21-16 and we took home the Chicago title which Phil had not won yet and really wanted. Good weekend. Now off to Brooklyn, New York.

AVP Beach Volleyball Chicago Open

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are currently competing in the AVP Crocs Slam McDonald's Chicago Open presented by Nautica, July 10-12

You can keep up with their match scores at - http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/



FINALS ON NBC TV
Sat 7/12/08 2:30 PM Eastern MEN's FINAL
Sun 7/13/08 1:30 PM Eastern Women's FINAL

Cards Almost Derail Us In Russia

What happens when you get three very competitive people in a heated card game? You get a very slow start in the finals of the Moscow FIVB event that could have, but didn't, cost us the match.

My first trip to Russia ended up being a pretty good one as we took home the Gold in the city of Moscow. It was our third gold medal in a row on the FIVB Tour and put us on the top of the list for Olympic Qualification.

We started pool play on Thursday vs. a wild card Russian team. We were slated to play at 9am and Phil and I got to the site at 8am to start warming up. About 15 minutes before the match was supposed to start we still did not have an opponent. I joked to Phil that the Russians were trying to pull a mind trick on us and show up at the last minute. I was only partly right. One of the guys showed up maybe 10 minutes before 9am. His partner didn't show up until about 3 minutes after the match was supposed to start. Hence, they were forced to forfeit. I guess the guy who was late lives in Moscow and stayed at home the previous night. It took him 3 hours to get to the site because of a ton of traffic. The traffic was created by road closures due to the Russian President being driven from the airport. Felt sorry for the guys but the FIVB is a stickler on the rules. In our second game we played the Swiss team of Heyer/Heuscher. It was a competitive game that felt like we were always a little bit ahead but could never completely pull away. We won 18 and 18 to complete the day 2-0 in our pool.

On Friday we played the Italian team of Lione/Varnier. It seems like we have played this team about a million times this year. We won 12 and 14 to win our pool and get the bye into the next round.

On Saturday we played Marcio/Fabio from Brasil. We have struggled with this team over the past couple of years. This was the first time that we had played them this year as they have really been struggling. I don't think they have improved any of their Olympic finishes from last year but they did so good last year that it looks like they will still get by their compatriots, Harley and Pedro. All comes down to Marseille for those two teams and Harley and Pedro have to win the event and have Marcio and Fabio take a 3rd or worse to pass them. We played well and beat them in two straight games. In our second match we played the top Russian team. This is another team that we have met a bunch of times this year. We beat them in two although the first game was a little touch and go at first. Kolodinsky, also known as the Bazooka, came out smoking aces at Phil. I think we were down 5-2 on the first side switch and he had at least 2 aces. We were able to climb back in at the break down 10-11. At that point a thunderstorm rolled in and the rain started dumping down. It was raining so hard that the Bazooka and Phil could no longer jump serve. Whenever you looked up to hit the ball it felt like someone was pouring a pitcher of water in your face. That helped us a ton as Kolodinsky was forced to float serve. He never got back into that jump serve rhythm once the rained stopped and we rolled to a 16 and 15 victory.

In the semis we played the German team of Brink/Dieckmann. A very good, if not the best overall jump serving team on tour if not the world. In the first game we took advantage of a mess of hitting errors by Brink and won 21-16 or so. In the second game they caught on fire with their serves and we couldn't match them point for point. They won that one to force a third game. In the third we came out strong but they tied it up with some strong serves. The game was tied 10 all when Dieckmann hit a couple of balls out and gave us the lead and the momentum. I believe we won 15-11.

In the finals we played the number one Chinese team affectionately known as Tiny and Big Pimp (Wu/Xu). There was a lot of time between the semis and the finals so to kill that time Phil and I played cards with our PT, Kelly. We started up a game of Gin Rummy about an hour and a half before the finals. I came out strong and was smoking Phil and Kelly. Phil took some chances and came back to within 10 points of me. We were mostly oblivious of the time as Tiny was watching us play and we figured he would leave to warm-up when we had to play. Tiny asked me what time it was and I looked and it was 25 minutes till go time. He ran out immediately to go warm-up but we were in a heated battle. Phil had layed some high point cards down almost immediately to start the game and I had to catch him. We continued to play for another 10 minutes before Kelly finally went out. I needed one card and I would have passed him to win. Tough loss for me. So we both ran out and started to pepper and try to get warm. It was about 50 degrees with a slight drizzle so it wasn't very easy to get warm. Needless to say the first game wasn't all that close. They were ahead the entire game and we could never quite get past them. I think we lost 21-16. The second game was a better game for us as we were ahead most of the game. We won 21-19 on a side out by Phil. In the third we played very well. I sided out well and Phil blocked really well as we won 15-11 to win in Moscow.

FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Moscow, Russia

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are currently competing in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball event in Moscow, Russia, July 1-6, 2008.

Competition is underway.

You can keep up with their match scores at
http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

For some, it is coming down to the wire

Watch for some good games coming this week and potentially on into Marseille in 2 weeks. As always you have all the teams vying for the last spots to get into the Olympics. For them, Russia and Marseille are huge as they are all dropping small point tourneys and can improve drastically in either event.

On the men's side you have 5 teams within 180 points of each other vying for the last 3 spots. They are in order of highest points: Italy 1, Latvia, China 2, Canada, and Japan. Canada is not here in Russia and only Italy 1 is in the main draw. The other 3 teams have to qualify first. Right now Japan is outside looking in but with a 17th place finish they will jump into a tie with China 2. Italy 1 is looking solid and would need some crazy stuff to happen for them not to be in. Latvia looks solid as well. You never know though. I think one of those last 3 teams needs a 9th to clinch it here. I will be looking forward to seeing how they are all doing as the tourney progresses. There are a few other teams that with a 5th could jump in the mix but it is unlikely.

The high level battles are very interesting as well. On the men's side you have Brasil battling it out for the 2nd spot. Marcio and Fabio can clinch it with a 4th here in Russia if Harley/Pedro take a 5th or worse. They are both dropping a 480 so can only improve if they get to the semis. On the German side you have Julius and Christoph in with David and Eric looking very solid. But, if Jonas and Urbatzka can get to the finals again it could make it very interesting coming into Marseille. They are 410 points behind but are playing very well right now. David and Eric need a 5th to improve. We shall see.

On the women's side the battle to get in is with roughly 5 teams. From top to bottom they are Switzerland, Japan, Georgia, Mexico and France. They are all split by 150 points and all dropping anywhere from 80 points to 160 points. Mexico is currently out at #25 right now but they are dropping 80 points and if they can get out of their pool they will move ahead of all 3 of the teams that are ahead of them. Plus they are playing pretty good ball right now. France needs a 9th to move up into the Olympics. Again, should be entertaining to watch and see what happens.

The higher level battles are taking place with 3 countries: USA, Brasil and Germany. The USA stuff has been really interesting over the past 3 weeks. Rachel and Tyra hurt themselves badly in Germany but came back strong in Paris to make it interesting. Now though they need to win here in Russia to keep their hopes alive. Same thing for Matt and Casey actually so both teams are not looking great to make it to the Olympics. Both teams do have the talent to win though but would need all the other teams from the USA to do poorly. The real battle with USA is with Boss/Ross and EY/Nicole. Boss/Ross are 80 points behind and with only a 5th and a 5th by Ey/Nicole they would pass them. Boss/Ross are dropping 360 points where as EY/Nicole are dropping 480. The Brasilian team of Shelda/Ana Paula have a shot but need good tourneys in both Russia and Marseille. I think they need about a 2nd or 3rd here in Russia and then a similar finish in Marseille to make it happen. That is of course without Renata/Talita improving their position. Shelda/Ana Paula are certainly good enough to get those finishes but they need help if Renata/Talita are to finish poorly in both of those tourneys. Lastly are the Germans. Goller/Ludwig are in a very solid position and would have to do poorly and have the other teams make the finals to put them in a bad position. Okka/Stephie are in the drivers seat over Brink-Abeler/Jurich. They are ahead by 370 points and both are dropping 300 point finishes. If Okka/Stephie take a 9th or worse then Brink-Abeler/Jurich could make up some serious ground by getting into the semis. Lot of work to be done there though.

So that is it in a nutshell. This weekend should clear up a lot of Olympic spots and it makes the tourneys more interesting. Kind of like playing fantasy football. Even the most boring game can be entertaining if you have a guy on that team on your fantasy team.

A Sword for the Fantasy Buff

For those of you that don't know, my favorite genre of books to read is Fantasy/Adventure. Currently I am re-reading Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber. (Read it when I was about 12 or so.) Bought the omnibus edition which is all 10 books put into one massive tome! Got about 70 more pages to go out of the more than 1200 in the omnibus. Therefore, it is fitting that Phil and I won a sword in Norway. Maybe I should take up sword play as a hobby in the offseason.

The sword really was the driving force behind our victory. Both Phil and I talked a lot about winning the sword. Last year we saw Fabio with his sword and were quite jealous. They are real swords. Not sharpened thank goodness. Although the tip of the sword is very sharp and could mess someone up with a good thrust. The lady who gave it to me just about skewered me through the eye with it when we were on the podium.

The tourney itself was as always one of the best on the FIVB tour. The weather is a bit sketchy but that is Norway for ya. The fans here love there beach volleyball and are very knowleadgeble about the sport. They support their Norwegian teams with passion but also support other teams once the Norwegians are out of the tourney. They are loud and have fun but are never negative like some countries fans that chant ahole when you are about to serve.

In our pool we played the 32nd ranked Norwegian team on Thursday morning. They are a young team that received the Wild Card and had never been in the main draw. We pretty much whooped up on them winning 10 and 11. They are physically impressive with both of them being tall and physical but extremely raw. In our second game we played the top Italian team and beat them in two 13 and 15 or so. Ricardo Lione was playing with a heavy heart as his father had just passed away the day before but played well nonetheless.

On Friday we had only one game and it was to see who would win the pool. We played the Swiss team of Laciga and Schnyder. We beat them in 3 games. The first game was not close as we won 21-14. They then switched tactics and served me jump float serves instead of trying to just bomb their jump serves. It worked. We were in a battle the whole second game. We were up 20-19 when Phil touched a line shot and set me a good set. I tried to be aggressive and bang it but got stuffed. I proceeded to get stuffed on the next 2 balls and we had to go to game 3. In game 3 I mixed it up well and we won 15-11 or 12 to win our pool and get the bye in the first round of playoffs.

Saturday the playoffs started. We had the bye as I mentioned in the last paragraph and our first game was not until 2pm. The weather had been surprisingly good the last several days and Saturday was no exception. It wasn't really warm, about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but there was no rain and the wind was very slight. In our first match we played the Japanese team of Shiratori and Asahi. They had beaten a Norwegian team to get to that point and it was a big victory for them. They are now tied with the Canadiens for 25th in the Olympic standings and both teams are only 40 points behind the 2nd Chinese team to get into the Olympics. We beat them 14 and 17 and were in control for the majority of the match. In our second match we played the first Chinese team. They are trying to get into the top 6 for Olympic points as that would put them as the first seed. If they are 7 or below they become the 6th seed in the Olympics. I started off slow on some tough jump serves by Tiny but Phil played really well especially from the service line. He and Tiny were both bombing their serves and became a story of who would serve better to win the match. Phil won over Tiny and we won 16 and 19 scoring a real point on an out hit by the right sider to win the match.

On Sunday the weather took a turn for the worse. Woke up to rain and wind and it wasn't looking good. It did slow down however and there was very little rain while we were playing. It was kind of windy but inside the stadium court it was much reduced because of the blockage by the stands. We played the 2nd Dutch team in the semis. It was their first semi ever but they didn't play like it. The first game was a good game going back and forth. We pulled it out by a few in the end though. The second game we were the beneficiaries of some no touch calls on Phil and won pretty easily. Congrats to the Dutch on their best finish ever. This team keeps getting better and better and could be a real threat come Beijing.

In the finals we played Germany's Reckerman and Urbatzka. It was the third week in a row that we played them in the playoffs. The last two we beat them to give them a 5th and 9th respectively. They played really well in the first game and really should have won that game. They were up 18-14 serving. We sided out and then scored two points to get it back to 17-18. They sided out but so did we and we scored another point to even it up. They had one set point at 20-19 but we sided out and took the next point to go up the set point. It took us 8 more set points but Phil got a block to seal the victory at 29-27. The second game we were always a little bit ahead of them. We would very between 1 and 3 points ahead and then they would always bring it back to a 1 point difference. At the end it was 15-14 us. We sided out and then went on a mini run with Phil making a couple of big blocks. It ended on Urbatzka's angle bang being an inch out and we were the winners of some sweet swords!

FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam Stavanger, Norway

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are currently competing in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball event in Stavanger, Norway, 24-29 June 2008.

Competition is underway.

You can keep up with their match scores at
http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

Gold under the Eiffel Tower

Gold is much shinier than silver. At least that is how I look at it. Phil and I completed a very solid tournament under the Eiffel Tower this past week. We didn't lose a game this past weekend in winning our third FIVB tourney together.



The week started off with a easy flight on Monday direct from Berlin to Paris on EasyJet. I had a great lift Monday morning in Berlin and than had Chris, our USA massage therapist give me a full deep tissue massage. Painful but helps a ton in the long run. Arrived in Paris in time to find our hotel and have a nice dinner before the sunlight ran out.



On Tuesday we had a very interesting day. We had to get our Russian Visa from the Russian Embassy. We figured we would wake up, have breakfast and then catch a taxi to the Embassy. At about 8:30am we went outside and walked to a main street to find a taxi. After walking and waiting for one hour and not finding an empty or available taxi, we finally went to the site to see if the promoters of the event could help us out. There we were told that today was a strike day for taxi drivers. The Embassy is only open from 9am to noon and there is a long line to get in. We had figured we get there at 9am and wait for 1 hour or so to get in. It was already 10am and we were still at the site. A french women helped us out and tried to get us a taxi. After another 30 minutes she said there is no way because of the strike. Phil and I left the site and were going to try the subway. The french women had given us directions via the subway. As we were walking we saw a taxi that had no one in it stopped at the light. I asked if he could take us and he said no but was very hesitant. Phil jumped in and offered him 50 Euros and he was in. He told us he was on strike so he made Phil move up to the front seat and then put a hood over his taxi sign. He was super nervous and it took him 2 minutes to buckle his seat belt. It was kind of funny for Phil and I. He got us there, took his 50 and sped away. We got to the Embassy at 11am and there was a huge line. In the front of it though was Rachel, Tyra, their coach Kerri, Jake, and Sean. We got in the back of the line and Jake came back to us and told us to come hang out with them and try and get in with them. It worked. If it hadn't, we never would have gotten in. We were very lucky to say the least.



We got out of there at noon and took the subway back to the site. We grabbed some lunch and then did our little plyo workout we do. Watched a couple of games and then chilled for the rest of the day. Wend. we hit the gym and peppered the ball around a bit. Watched the American women go 8-0 in pool play. Foreshadowing of things to come if you will.



Thursday we started playing. Our first match was against Li/Zhou from China. We started off a bit slow but ended the first game strong. The second game we played well the entire game and ended up winning the match pretty easily. In our second game that day we played the Brasilian team of Franco and Benjamin. Pedro Cunha, Franco's regular partner, has been hurt since Italy a month ago and he has been playing with Benjamin. We played very well and won in two fairly easily.



On Friday we played the Russian team with the Bazooka. The match was a good match and both teams sided out very well. Not a lot of points scored. In the end, we scored a point or two more than them and won 18 and 17. That meant that we got the bye in the playoffs and that was our last game for the day. Watched a couple of matches and then grabbed some dinner.



On Saturday we played the same German team that we had played in Berlin. Urbatzka and Reckerman are pretty talented team that is very dangerous. We played well and I would say they were not really on their game. We won 13 and 18. In our second game we played the Russian again. They served Phil the majority of the match with the Bazooka unloading a couple of bombs at him. Phil sided out well other than the bombs and we won 17 and 16. We still had one more game to go against the Brasilian team of Harley and Pedro. We had lost to them in Australia and Italy but we were able to get a little revenge in Paris. We won the first 21-16. We were in control in the second and had a bit of a letdown. They actually went up 21-20. We sided out and switched sides. I scooped Harley on the next two plays and put the ball away for the 23-21 win. Both Phil and I were pretty tired as it was a hot and humid day playing 3 games. Seems like forever since the last time I played 3 games.



On Sunday we played the finals at 4:15 against the Netherlands. Phil and I played very well to win 16 and 17. The first we started off really strong and continued through the game. In the second it was much tighter until the end of the game when we pulled out some big points and were able to pull away. They served Phil a lot of tough jump serves but he was up to the task diving all over the place to pass the ball. He also jump served really well and had some blocks too. I felt great on defense and felt I was touching almost every ball. It was a fun final and we had a good time. Felt great to win out here on the FIVB tour. Hopefully we can do it again this week.

FIVB Beach Volleyball Gram Slam Paris, France

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are competing in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball event in Paris, France 17-22 June 2008.

You can keep up with their match scores at
http://www.ToddJRogers.Com/

Silver Lining in Berlin

Tough tough loss here in Berlin in the finals. Just couldn't grab it in the second or third games. Overall a solid tourney. At times we played great and at times we played well enough to win.

In pool play we beat Germany #5, Spain #1, and Italy #1. We played well in pool play. Against Germany it really wasn't in doubt as we won 21-15, 21-9. Young team that will be good in the future but was a bit overwhelmed playing in the Main Draw. Against Spain we controlled the first game and won 21-18. In the second we were down 14-17. I sided out and hit a jump serve Ace. I banged the next Jump serve and got a bad pass/set and they made an error. I missed the next serve but followed that with a sideout. Then Phil hit a good jumper forcing a bad pass okay set but we scored the point. Then Phil hit two aces in a row to finish it out 21-18. vs. Italy we played very well in cold rain on Friday and won 21-13, 21-14. We played well the whole time and increased our lead as we went.

We got a bye in the first round as we won our pool. We played the winner of Franco/Cunha from Brasil and Laciga/Schnider from Switzerland. Switzerland won so we played them Saturday morning. They started out well with their jump serves. They both blast them and they don't care who they serve. Both Phil and I probably gave up 3 aces or shanks each. Fortunately, we more than matched them with aces. I would say that Phil had about 6 and I had about 4. We won 16 and 9 I think.

In the next match we played the team that beat Matt and Casey. The German team of Reckerman and Urbatzka is a good team. We started out serving Urbatzka and he sided out like a god. They were serving me really tough float serves and I was spraying them to kingdom come. We lost 21-16 in the first. I started off the same way in the second game and we were down 3-8. I pulled it together and Phil played really well. We also started serving Reckerman and got a lot more points by serving him. I think the second game was 21-18. In the 3rd we started off up 3-0 and never looked back. I think they only scored one point on a dribble ace. Final score was 9 or 10.

In the semis we played Spain #1 again. They beat a bunch of very good teams to get to this point. They beat Marcio and Fabio from Brasil, then Jake and Rosy, and then Germany #2, Klemperer/Koreng. They started off playing great and really never played poorly in the entire match. We were serving the right side guy and he was siding out very very well. They won the first game by a couple of points. In the second game we started serving them both about equally. Phil and I picked up our sideout game and matched them back and forth. We won that game. In the third we were actually down 11-8. I sided out to make it 11-9. Then Phil touched a high line shot that I ran down and he put it away. I think he stuffed the right side guy on the next play to tie it up at 11 all. They sided out and then I sided back out to make it 12 all. Phil then touched another high line shot which I ran down and he put away to put us up 13-12. Then we traded sideouts. Phil ended it on the next play with a good serve that the guy passed perfectly but had to go to the sand to get. His partner gave him a slightly tight set and Phil stuffed him for the 15-13 victory.

In the finals it was a great battle that unfortunately we came out on the losing end. I actually had a lot of fun that game. The weather was nice for the finals but then started dumping during the medal ceremony. In the first game it was neck and neck. Both teams had game point chances. The last point I scooped Ricardo's cut shot and put a line shot down for 27-25. In the second game we came back after being down 12-9 at the break. We had some pretty good point chances in the end but were unable to convert and they sided out to make it 21-19. In the third game it was back and forth. We went up 11-10 and they sided out. Then Ricardo hit a perfect jump serve down the middle. Phil had been taking middle but thought I was going to take it. I thought the ball was out and called out. Ticked the line and they were up 12-11. The next play they served me. Phils set was a bit tight but I played it off Ricardo and Phil made an easy cover. Emmanuel made a great dig and it came back over the net. Phil took it but was stuffed by Ricardo for them to go up 13-11. I sided out on the next play. Ricardo sided out with a deep angle bang. Then I sided out again to make it 14-13 them. The next play Emmanuel sided out with a chop angle cut shot thing under Phil's block and that was match.