Tag: avp

olympic sports

Beach volleyball circuit goes inland

Posted on by Beau Dure

Beach volleyball has come a long way from California. The North American AVP tour went coast-to-coast with a few stops in between. As with a lot of Olympic sports, Europe has been a gracious host for many events.

But if you check the 2011 FIVB tour, the first since the AVP’s demise (IMG and USA Volleyball will team up for a short domestic series), you’ll find:

– A lot of events in central Europe

– A tour of the beaches of China and Scandinavia

– The lone stop in Brazil, a hotbed of beach sports, held in far-inland Brasilia

– No events on anything the Western world would consider a traditional beach

Just check the map:

[cetsEmbedGmap src=http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Mys%C5%82owice,+Silesia,+Poland&msa=0&msid=216226103722865113343.0004987dd06b168fd6659&ll=25.482951,15.46875&spn=129.776613,346.289063&t=h&z=2 width=450 height=350 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 frameborder=0 scrolling=auto]

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olympic sports

The battle for beach volleyball’s soul

Posted on by Beau Dure

When we last checked in on the AVP Tour, the rest of the season was in jeopardy. Now it’s gone.

We also noted last time that beach legend Karch Kiraly had some sort of low-key tour going on as well, and he was touting old-school volleyball with larger courts, a different ball, the old 15-point must-serve-to-score scoring, etc.

With the AVP on hiatus, the city of Manhattan Beach (Calif.) scrambled to save its prestigious event. They’ve done so, with one hitch — they’re going old school with the rules.

Count Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh among those who are unhappy and refusing to play. And a few jabs about the international game being here to stay are included in the midst of Hans Stolfus’ emotional, comprehensive blog post about the AVP situation. (HT: Manhattan Beach Confidential)

Take it from a soccer journalist — niche sports divided do not stand.

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olympic sports

Beach volleyball hitting another ebb in USA?

Posted on by Beau Dure
Beijing beach volleyball venue
Hey, Beijing! Karch Kiraly cares not for your temporary "beach." (Photo taken at 2008 Games on my "eight venues in a day" tour.)

The AVP Tour never has it easy. Beach volleyball still draws snickers over the revealing attire (as if track and field athletes wear three-piece suits). Alien vs. Predator stole its initials. And it’s a sponsor-driven sport subject to the whims of the economy.

This summer, the AVP is hitting another difficult stretch, just as it did in the late ’90s. Two weeks ago, players were told the rest of the season wasn’t guaranteed. The tour is trying to nail down a deal with new investors, but it hasn’t come through just yet. Next weekend’s scheduled stop in San Francisco has been pushed back to September.

And in a development longtime soccer fans will find all too familiar, the tour has some sort of competition in the Corona Light Wide Open. Be warned if you click that link — you’ll need to go through a clumsy sign-in screen to assert that you’re at least 21.

Beach legend Karch Kiraly is involved with the Corona event, and he doesn’t mince words about what the AVP and the FIVB, which organizes the international tour and Olympic play, are doing wrong. He must not be interested in TV, touting sideout scoring (points awarded only when you’re serving) over rally scoring (every point counts). That’s a sure way to make matches last eons, wrecking any semblance of a schedule and thereby irritating would-be broadcasters. His blog says the action in Chicago will have a women’s final that “should go off about 3 p.m. Sunday, with the men’s final after that.”

He’s also upset that the game is played on a smaller court than it was in his day, and most curiously, he scoffs at the idea of playing away from natural beaches. (Frankly, from my vast experience diving into sand for truly awesome digs in my early 20s, I prefer doing so without scraping the hell out of my arms on seashells, but maybe that’s just me. You have to level the sand and groom it, anyway, so what’s the difference?)

But before dismissing Kiraly as some beefier version of Dana Carvey’s Grumpy Old Man, it’s worth checking out one point he raises: The AVP is charging admission and trying to be a “major” sport.

Perhaps the AVP is overreaching, but the beach volleyball horse long ago left the old-school California barn. It’s an international sport now.

So perhaps the real question should be how much professional beach volleyball one country can sustain.

Most international sports don’t have a U.S.-based tour featuring top U.S. players. Winter sports have World Cup circuits that may pass through the USA, but any other competition in the country is second-tier. USA Track and Field has a series of meets — some on the Diamond League list, some not. The ATP and WTA tennis tours spend a few weeks in the country.

Given that, it’s a bit of a miracle that the AVP has lasted this long as a full-fledged professional circuit. And still, only a handful of U.S. pros are making decent money. Many of those players are also doing double duty on the FIVB tour.

Coincidentally, U.S. players are having a rough week at the Grand Slam FIVB event this week in Stare Jablonski, Poland. No Americans made the quarterfinals in the women’s competition. Jen Kessy and April Ross didn’t advance from group play. Neither did Olympic champion Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh. Things are a bit better on the men’s side, where top-seeded Phil Dalhausser-Todd Rogers have advanced along with Jake Gibb-Sean Rosenthal.

(Update: Seems a USA Volleyball registration error compounded problems for the U.S. players this week.)

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olympic sports

Can four-woman beach volleyball make a comeback if Gabrielle Reece is involved?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Four-on-four beach volleyball is one of those sports from ESPN’s distant past you’d expect to see on ESPN Classic alongside AWA Wrestling and various forms of billiards. And yet it has almost been scrubbed from history. Even though someone has made an effort to document the exploits of Team Paul Mitchell and Team Sony Autosound, it’s not even explicitly mentioned in the Wikipedia narrative taking the game from a couple of informal tournaments to current Olympic status.

Today, it’s all about two-player teams. Even the college “teams” that play in the Alt Games play the demanding two-on-two version. (Those of us who couldn’t hack two-on-two even when we were in decent shape in our 20s can testify.)

But the AVP is bringing back the four-on-four game along with its most famous player, Gabrielle Reece, who was probably the one female beach volleyball player mainstream America could name before the emergence of Misty May (now May-Treanor) and Kerri Walsh in the Olympics.

Reece says she sees it as a transition for college players to get out to the beach. Yet it could be better suited for older athletes who simply can’t cover that much ground any more but still have the skills to play an attractive game. Reece is 40, but she’s surely in better shape than those of us who celebrated that birthday behind a computer keyboard.

Should be an experiment worth watching.

In case you’ve forgotten May and Walsh’s rise to fame, here’s a blast from the not-too-distant past (and a fun interview):

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olympic sports, rugby

Monday Myriad: USA, Russia split

Posted on by Beau Dure

Going quickly today with two big projects in the last four days before the World Cup:

– Beach volleyball: Olympic champs Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser won their 50th title together at the AVP Huntington Beach Open. Their records this year: 17-0 AVP, 23-5 FIVB. (Universal Sports)

The women’s side has been a bit less one-sided, with world champions Jen Kessy and April Ross winning twice on the FIVB tour but not winning this season on the domestic AVP circuit until Sunday, when they held off Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh. For all their accomplishments, Kessy and Ross had never won near their hometowns in southern California. May-Treanor and Branagh haven’t beaten Kessy and Ross this season but seemed to be closing the gap in Sunday’s three-setter. Gold medalist May-Treanor is playing with Branagh this season because Kerri Walsh is out on maternity. (Universal Sports)

– Tennis: Rafael Nadal (no surprise) and Francesca Schiavone (big surprise) are your French Open winners.

– Poker: Men “The Master” Nguyen won his seventh World Series of Poker bracelet in the seven-card stud World Championship.

– Rugby: USA 39, Russia 22 at the Churchill Cup. The Eagles shook off some rust in the first half and pulled away in the second. (USA Rugby)

– Volleyball: Not as good for the USA vs. Russia — the U.S. men dropped their first two matches of the World League in Ekaterinberg, Russia.

– Triathlon: Sarah Haskins finished fifth in Madrid to move up to fourth in the World Championships Series. Jarrod Shoemaker finished ninth to move up to 10th in the series; Matt Chrabot finished 14th to remain in the top 10 at ninth.

– College softball: Maybe it seems like UCLA and Arizona are in the championship series every year, but this year, they’re the fifth and 10th seeds. And Arizona had to battle back through the losers’ bracket after losing 9-0 to Tennessee. And even though UCLA has 10 titles and Arizona 8 (next on the list: Texas A&M with 2), they haven’t faced each other in the final since 2001. Game 1 is on ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET.

– College golf: Augusta State is the upset winner in the men’s tournament. Yes, Division I. (AP)

– Table tennis: A U.S. women’s team consisting of 41-year-old Olympic veteran Jun Gao, three 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old finished 16th at the World Team Championships, clinching a spot in the 2012 world event. (USOC)

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cycling, olympic sports, rugby, soccer, tennis, track and field

Friday Myriad: French finals, final Cup tune-ups

Posted on by Beau Dure

One side effect of the World Cup: These are the last MLS weekend games until June 25. They’ll play a few midweek games June 9-10, then break.

This is an eclectic weekend. How often do you see beach volleyball on two channels? College rugby on a major network?

If you’re an MMA fan, this is your one weekend off before a dizzy stretch with five cards (UFC PPV, Ultimate Fighter finale, WEC, Sengoku, Strikeforce) in nine days.

FRIDAY

7 a.m.: Tennis, French Open men’s semi, #5 Robin Soderling-#15 Tomas Berdych. Tennis Channel

11 a.m.: Tennis, French Open men’s semi, #2 Rafael Nadal-#22 Jurgen Melzer, possibly on delay. Might also see women’s double’s final, Williams sisters vs. Kyeta Peschke-Katarina Srebotnick. NBC

11:55 a.m.: Soccer, France-China. Start the panic in Paris if this one goes awry. ESPN2

2 p.m.: Track and field, Diamond League, Bislett Games, Oslo. Universal Sports.com

7/9:30 p.m.: Softball, Women’s College World Series, winner’s bracket games. ESPN

8 p.m.: Hockey, Stanley Cup finals Game 4, Philadelphia-Chicago (Chicago leads 2-1). Versus

SATURDAY

8:30 a.m.: Soccer, USA-Australia. How well have the final 23 acclimated to South Africa? We’ll find out. ESPN2, with live coverage right here at SportsMyriad.com

9 a.m.: Tennis, French Open women’s final, Samantha Stosur-Francesca Schiavone, and men’s doubles final, NBC

12/2:30 p.m.: Softball, Women’s College World Series, elimination games. ESPN2

4 p.m.: Soccer, Toronto-Kansas City. How far can Dwayne De Rosario and Stefan Frei really carry TFC? Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com

4 p.m.: Rugby, Sevens Collegiate Championship Invitational, San Diego State-Tennessee, Army-Navy, California-Dartmouth, Ohio State-Penn State, NBC

7/9:30 p.m.: Softball, Women’s College World Series, elimination games. ESPN

7:30 p.m.: Soccer, New York-Chivas USA. The Red Bulls rebounded nicely with a big home win Wednesday, stopping the plummet out of the playoff places. FSC

  • 7:30 p.m.: D.C. United-Real Salt Lake. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com
  • 8 p.m.: Los Angeles-Houston. Galavision
  • 8:30 p.m.: Dallas-San Jose. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com
  • 8:30 p.m.: Chicago-Philadelphia. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com
  • 9 p.m.: Colorado-Columbus. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com

10:15 p.m.: Boxing. Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman bout tops card from Yankee Stadium. HBO

10:30 p.m.: Soccer, Seattle-New England. Two teams with high expectations try to shake off the early-season misfortune. Direct Kick/MLSSoccer.com

SUNDAY

9 a.m.: Tennis, French Open men’s final, NBC

1/3:30 p.m.: Softball, Women’s College World Series, unbeaten teams in each bracket vs. other surviving teams. ESPN

2 p.m.: Beach volleyball, AVP Huntington Beach Open women’s final, ESPN2

3 p.m.: Cycling, Dauphine Libere prologue (delay), Versus

4 p.m.: Beach volleyball, AVP Huntington Beach Open men’s final, NBC

4 p.m.: Rugby, Sevens Collegiate Championship Invitational final, NBC

6 p.m.: Soccer (WPS), Chicago-Atlanta. Missing St. Louis Athletica? See several of their players in action for the visiting Beat. FSC

7/9:30 p.m.: Softball, Women’s College World Series (if necessary), winners advance to best-of-three championship. ESPN2

8 p.m.: Hockey, Stanley Cup finals Game 5, Chicago-Philadelphia. NBC

OLYMPIC SPORTS

  • Beach volleyball, track and field televised (see above)
  • Volleyball: U.S. men open World League play at Russia
  • Triathlon: World Championship Series, Madrid; UniversalSports.com
  • Modern pentathlon: Final World Cup before the final; Saturday/Sunday coverage at pentathlon.org. Americans Margaux Isaksen (ninth) and Will Brady (21st) in good shape to reach 36-athlete final.

MISC

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