2008 Olympic Gold Medalists

2008 Olympic Gold Medalists
(click on picture to see larger picture)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

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.

7 comments:

jboehman said...

Checked out the volleyballtribe.com web site...seems to be invitation only, but the tagline is "Connecting Volleyball Players and Fans Around the World!"

Are there plans to open this up to the public?

Anonymous said...

I heard your name mentioned by a commentator on Saturday and have since been keeping up with your Beijing adventures. Thanks for the blog and the personal insight to the games.
As a fellow CCS and UCSB alum, I wish you the best in your medal endeavors.
-- Gina Reid

Anonymous said...

Hi,my name is Candy,I am a chinese girl. Welcome to Beijing.
I watch your game on tv. I think the beach volleyball is so cool, i like it very much!
I like Dalhausser and i will support you!
Good luck!You will win the game!

Anonymous said...

Hi Todd,

I'm completely surprised at how on the edge of my seat I am, hanging on every game that you and the other American teams are playing. I feel a personal connection with you and Phil, from seeing so many of your matches and being able to get to know you through this blog.

I'm just wanting to mainly let you know how proud and excited I am of you living the dream of being in the Olympics. Please know the huge amount of excitement, goodwill, and love that you have behind you from your fans here in the US!

I also hope you're able to have fun and savor the incredible fact that you're in the FRIGGIN' OLYMPICS! How awesome.

As always, thanks for sharing through the blog. It brings the sport and your matches even more alive for me, and I imagine for lots of your other fans as well. All the best to you guys in your upcoming matches!

Drew

giveuscleanhands said...

What can I say.. Professor, you and Phil were textbook out there! I didn't understand their tactics at all, but like ya said in your interview - they are mostly defense players. I liked how they served to you a good bit, gotta show 'em that big Phil isn't the only one who can get kills!

Keep it up bro!

~Tyler

Anonymous said...

Fantastic game against Argentina! Cheering for you.

Todd Rogers said...

J- I believe they opened up the day after you posted. I made sure they knew people were trying to check it out.

Gina- Go Gauchos. Thank you.

Candy- Thanks for your support while I was in China.

Drew- Thanks man. While I was in Beijing I didn't really realize what was going on over here in the states. Since I have been home it has really hit me.

Tyler- Thanks. That Argie game was a lot of fun for me. No block up about 50% of the time. Can't ask for more.

Todd