Wasn't what we came to Norway for and we were certainly dissapointed. 3rd is not bad but again, not what we wanted.
In the first round of playoffs we played Venezuela. They are a very athletic team. We came out strong and they missed probably 7 out of their first 10 serves and 2 of those went to Phil. I think there plan was to bomb serves and hope to get us in passing trouble. It backfired a bit. We won 21-9. The next game they sided out better and got their serves in. We ended up winning 21-17.
The next round we played Latvia. The left side guy was the same guy we lost to in the Olympics. Both Phil and I were pretty fired up to play them and I think it showed in our play. We won 21-11 and 21-11 and played very well.
In the quarters we played the Spanish team of Gavira/Herrera. The first game we were a bit sloppy but pulled it out 24-22. In the second game we cleaned it up and won 21-14 or something like that.
In the semis we played Brink/Reckermann who are always a very dangerous team. They sideout exceptionally well, can bomb serves and have good block/defense. I struggled in that match and we lost in 3 games. To their credit they played well but I just didn't have it unfortunately. They ended up going on to win the whole thing. Congrats to them. They played great and earned the victory beating Jake/Rosy, Emanuel/Ricardo, us, and Harley/Allison. That is a tough road.
In the bronze we played vs. Klemperer/Koreng from Germany. We trained with them for 3 weeks in the beginning of the season so we know each other pretty well. We came out strong and they struggled from the get go. We ended up winnning pretty easily in the first game and pulled away in the second to earn the bronze.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
It's pretty exciting to see two German teams in the top four. USA and/or Brazil usually dominate the last round of tournaments. Despite your loss, do you find it good for the sport that another continent (country, obviously) is among the contenders?
Congrats on the bronze, Todd. Hope you guys have a safe trip home...best of luck in Manhattan, I'll be following you online.
Thanks for the update and congratulations on the Bronze!
Re your last post - take this with 'a grain of salt' - as bias as the business can be - if at all possible...leave the politics alone during the season, just focus on playing - and yes, it's easier said than done!
Good luck at Manhattan!
I'm the first to acknowledge that I don't understand the FIVB seeding rules, but their actions seem counter-intuitive. You and Phil are seeded 4th in Gstaad, but you played in the medal rounds and won the Bronze at the World Championships. Emanuel and Ricardo did not play in the medal round in Norway, but they are seeded 3rd in Gstaad and were seeded below you in the World Championship. Can you explain that seeding? OR does it defy a rationale explanation?
To Anonymous.
It's very rational actually. If you happen to know how works the ATP ranking in tennis, it's basically the same thing.
Rogers/Dalhausser won the last world championship, so they had top defend their points this year in Stavanger. Unfortunatly their third place made them loose points.
Ivar- Absolutely. I said in the press conference that I think it is great to see European or Asian countries do well as it shows the growth of the sport in the world.
Steve H.- Thanks.
UBV- Thank you. I understand that line of thinking but I feel as though I owe it to my fellow players and to the sport in general. If I were younger I would expect one of the older guys to stand up and, as the Beastie Boys said, "Fight for..the right." Kind of a paraphrase there. I am that older guy now and want to try and do the right thing.
Anonymous- Nick has it mostly right. You take your 4 out of your last 5 finishes during the past 365 days. For us this meant that we only had a 4th in Brazil and a 3rd in Stavanger. We have dropped all of our 1st's from last year. So our seed average is a 3.5seed which is slightly worse than the Brazilians who have 5 events from which to draw from.
Thanks Nick.
Todd
Fighting for your rights is awesome as long as it doesn't become a distraction from what you have to do on the court - (as you probably remember fighting for rights during the season messed up a few top players in the AVP during the 80's and early 90's)
As strange as it is, winning gains more respect and influence than wisdom and understanding.
And if push comes to shove, don't hold anything back and "give em hell"!
Have fun – Play - it’s a game first then a business – and as Chevy Chase said – “Be the ball” ;>)
Post a Comment