2008 Olympic Gold Medalists

2008 Olympic Gold Medalists
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Friday, April 23, 2010

Ft. Lauderdale AVP

Hello everyone. Have not blogged in ages and frankly it has been kind of nice. Just hanging with kids and the wifey enjoying life at home without all the travel. But, since the season has started and I am on the road trying to fill up the time, I figure I should get back on it. This year I don't think I will go as in depth as I have in years pass. Just give you any interesting tidbits about the tourney and maybe a game or two.

In Ft. Lauderdale Phil and I played very well in pretty windy conditions. We mostly breezed through the first 4 rounds and into Sunday. On Sunday we played John and Sean in a close good match. Back and forth with everyone siding out pretty good for the most part. In the end we won in two.

In the finals I have to clear something up that I have heard. I have heard it said that the players didn't want to play because they were afraid of getting injured. All the players were fine with playing. Not one of us ever said we would not play or that we should not play. We all said we would do whatever the AVP wanted us to do. After a couple minutes of back and forth, Matt Gage, the tournament director, said he thought we should not play. I was shocked. I have never heard Matt Gage say he thinks we shouldn't play. Lightning can practically be hitting the courts and he has always said, "keep playing, it is just a little lightning!" Then a minute or so later the management team at the AVP said, "you guys aren't playing." That was it. The players did agree it would be ugly volleyball for TV in that kind of rain and that the balls would be awfully heavy and tough on the shoulders. But everyone would have played. Ended up a tie for first and a split of the Prize Money.

7 comments:

Barnstable High 1978 said...

Thanks for coming out of Winter hibernation Todd. Good to hear from you again. I thought you might go back underground after the Lakers lost to the Thunder. Regarding Ft Lauderdale I read somewhere that if that counts as a tournament win for all 4 guys you will tie Tim Hovland and he might be upset about that. I'm not sure Hov would even know how to turn on a computer so maybe he doesnt even know. There was also speculation that the Final will be played at a later date but if the checks went out it might just be for the W in the record book.

Anyway I was wondering if you guys feel safe traveling to all of these countries that might not be very stable or have poor infrastructure (see Haiti) and limited first responders? I know I dont even want to go to Canada never mind places like Brazil and Mexico.

I am still stoked over the AVP matches from 1989 thru 1994 that were shown on ESPN Classic last weekend....reminded me why I got so into the AVP and Beach Volleyball...those days were glorious....Good luck to all and bring home the FIVB GOLD! Scott from Cape Cod

Marco said...

Todd,

I totally understand how spending time with family, and getting away from the game was important to you. You have given so much of your time, that your time off was well deserved.

Anyways the time off has seem to payoff for both Phil and yourself. Two firsts in your fist two tournaments of the year, that is awesome to see that your still at the top of your game. Now you get to come home and enjoy the Ft. Lauderdale and Brasil titles at home.

Good luck in the Santa Barbara this upcoming weekend.

Arsenal 12

Unknown said...

Todd,
Looks like you guys played well in Brazil with the exception of the match you lost. The finals looked like a trouncing, looking forward to watching it on wednesday. Good luck in Santa Barbara.

Garret

Jonas Eriksson said...

You can watch the final on universalsports.com rightnow. At least I can here in Sweden, dunno if they have any sorts of geoIP-filters to block out the US (but that would be kind of strange).

Regards,
- Jonas

Unknown said...

Todd,

I just watched the Brasilia Final. You guys looked really sharp. I was impressed with your hitting performance - a lot of variety in your swings and shoots. I especially liked your sharp cut shots.

Phil has improved so much since you guys got together. I liked his patience and willingness to shoot over Alison. AND he had a few 10-foot line hammers! His hit down the line brought me out of my seat - I'd like to give it a nickname like the "Phil Line"..."The Brasilia Bounce". Awesome.

I'd love to hear more about your analysis of the match. It seemed like Alison was having a lot of trouble getting Emanuel close to the net. Of course, Phil does that to people but I'm curious if the wind was a big factor. Even Emanuel's diggable if he's 10 feet off.

Good work. Keep the streak going!

Dave From San Diego

Todd Rogers said...

Scott- Counts as a win for all 4 of us. Hov has 60 and I had 58 to start the season. Technically tied with him after Florida and Brasil. Feel somewhat safe flying to all these countries. Kind of depends where. Also, if I were to die I think I wouldn't mind dying in a plane crash. No injuries, just bang, your dead.

Todd

Ketch Allen said...

"Just bang, you're dead." -Todd