2008 Olympic Gold Medalists

2008 Olympic Gold Medalists
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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Salt Lake HWN

Good times in Salt Lake City. Flew in early Saturday morning from SB. Took a nap and got a little cardio workout before heading to the gym. The girls played and somehow Jen won despite being ill. The men played and I came out the winner. Pretty much everyone blocked really well when they played with me. That is pretty much why I won. Casey was a beast at the net having at least 4 blocks if not 5. We went to a nice late night dinner at Radizio Brazilian Grill. Lot of protein via lot of meat. It was delicious. Then flew home midday today.

Have to say that Salt Lake is really beautiful this time of year. The snow all over the mountains surrounding the city is really pretty. Little cold but not terrible. Around 30 degrees or so and it was snowing when I arrived. Going to get lots of rain here at home now. We need it though.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Portland HWN

Had a great trip to Portland and the playing was good too. I took my daughter with me so we could go see the Spruce Goose which is located about 1 hour outside of Portland. We left on Tuesday afternoon and got in that night. I had media all day on Wend. and Hannah was a trooper. Wend. night we had courtside tickets to the Blazers game vs. Oklahoma City. Literally our feet were on the court and I could have tripped a player if I stuck my foot all the way out. Was a good game as both teams are really athletic and fun to watch. I really enjoy watching Roy play as he is so smooth. Just looks effortless. Also really enjoyed watching Westbrook from Oklahoma City. Guy is a silly athlete with mega hops and quicker than a cat. Lot of dunks and fun plays. Hannah really enjoyed it too as they put up a Happy Birthday note on the big screen for her as she just turned 10.

On Thursday we went to see the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. We spent 5 hours there. It was very cool and Hannah loved it. When we came back it was about time to go to the gym to get ready to play. Hannah hung out in the box like she always does at tourneys and was a good kid the whole night. Didn't get to bed very early and she struggled the next day but it was all good.

The games were fun. Lauren Fendrick won it for the women and Rosy won it for the men. Really good games on the men's side. All of them were won by 2 points and the last one was 25-23 Jake and Sean beat Casey and I. In the 4's Fendrick's team was Jake, Nicole and I vs. Rosy's team of Casey, April and Jen. It was a battle but Fendrick's team pulled it out 16-14. All in all it was a good time with an enthusiastic crowd. On to Salt Lake City now where we will be playing on Valentine's Day during All-Star weekend. Hmmmm.... Hope there are a lot of lovebirds who love beach volleyball and don't like basketball.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

No Travel!

Just have to say I am so stoked I don't have to travel today and all weekend long. I can hang out with the family and do my workouts ect... Not to mention get caught up on all the things I have been lagging behind on the last 3 weeks while I have been in out travelling.

Monday, February 2, 2009

HWN #3

Back home from another long but fun weekend in the midwest. Tired as all you know what. Already went over Minnesota so want to talk about Omaha and Cedar Falls.

Omaha was a good stop for the HWN tour. There was probably around 4000 people at the event. Nicole won the women's event and I won the men's event. The women played an extra match as Rachel, the libero for the Cornhuskers, played a 2 on 2 exhibition with them. She played with Nicole and lost to Jenny Kropp and Jen Boss 16-14. Rachel also played the 4 person game with us. She is a good player. Great ball control as you would expect from a libero for one of the best teams in the country. In the 4x4 she passed and played great defense as the guys hit and blocked. My team was Tyra, Anthony and Rachel. Nicole's team was Stein, Matt, and Jenny Kropp. My team was down most of the game. We had a match point against us at 20-19 but Stein hit a quick set out by a foot to send it into overtime. After a couple of sideouts we pulled out the victory 24-22. Pretty exciting match.

The bus ride that night started at 11:30pm and we got into Cedar Falls at 4am. Long bus ride and hardly anyone slept. The buses are sleeper buses and really cool but it is just hard to sleep on a moving bus. Slept till 11am and then had to do an appearance and have lunch at a restaurant. That night Hans Stolfus flew in to play and Anthony Medel stepped out. The women's match was won by Jenny Kropp again. Hans was fired up to play and won all the men's matches. In the 4 x 4 game the women hit and blocked. Kropp's team was Stein, Jen Boss, and myself. Hans had Tyra, Nicole and Matt. Kropp's team lost 21-16 so Hans was the grand champion. Cedar Falls was a good stop as there was close to 3000 people there and they were into it.

That night we jumped back onto the bus for a 2 hour ride to Des Moines as we were flying out of there rather than Cedar Falls. We got in a little after 1am. I had to get up at 6:30 to catch an 8am flight home. Flight went great and I got home at 1pm in plenty of time to go to the store and fire up the BBQ for the superbowl. My brother in law and his two kids came over and we Q'd and watched the game. They are all huge Steeler fans so we were all happy when the Steelers pulled it out with 35 second left. Great ending to that game.

Fortunately now I get a week off from the HWN before going to Portland and Salt Lake City the following week.