2008 Olympic Gold Medalists

2008 Olympic Gold Medalists
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Thursday, July 31, 2008

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.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

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.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

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

Thursday, July 24, 2008

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.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

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.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

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/

Friday, July 18, 2008

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

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

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

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

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.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

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.