The road to Manhattan Beach

The main draw of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open was the largest in recent history. With 64 teams competing to get to Sunday, there were some pretty astounding plays and matches. Team Gorgeous (Suzanne Stonebarger and Michelle More) faced the number 12 seed on center court in the contender's bracket. The format is double elimination and since they had already lost earlier in the day to Fontana/Kropp, they had one chance left to make it back to the semi-finals on Sunday. At a 10th seed, they were favored to win and so we were astounded the first game concluded 16-21 to Smith/Van Fleet. The second game was a nailbiter with More/Stonebarger pulling out a victory at 24-22, which meant going to a third as it was all tied up one game a piece. The third game played to 15, and Team Gorgeous won handily with 15-10.

Another qualifying team played out of their minds on the women's side yesterday. I only caught one of their matches because I was catching up with Liz Masakayan who was coaching Angela Knopf, one-half of this newly formed team, the 26th seed Knopf/Zartman. I paid attention in particular to Chrissie Zartman who is all of 5'3" (comme moi) and easily one of the smallest professional beach volleyball players competing. Through the course of the day, they faced four higher-ranked seeds and pulled out victories in each one: 23rd, 9th, 16th, and 22nd.  It was only in the final women's match of the day were they eliminated, when they lost to More/Stonebarger in a quick 38 minute, two-game set (15-10). Still, a 7th place finish in a field of 64 is cause to celebrate. (Photo by Ken Delgado.)

Olympic Gold medalist Kerri Walsh also announced yesterday that she will be returning to compete in the AVP Hermosa Beach Open. It will be the first tournament since the birth of her son, Joey in May and gave her about a month and a half to train and prepare. She will be teaming up with Rachel Wacholder, who also recently gave birth to her son, Koa in April. Misty May-Treanor who was injured last year in the post-season while participating in 'Dancing with the Stars' is very healthy and cleared to do everything, according to Kerri. She goes on to say about Misty's decision not to return this season, "When she said she wasn't going to play for a year, she definitely meant it. She was born into this culture, and she definitely needs a break. She's really enjoying her time off, and I think she's "breathing" for the first time in a long time." For the detailed Q&A with Kerri, click here.

Other photos from the day taken from the camera of my iPhone include: Anthony Medel jump serves in game 2 of the match up Medel/Stolfus vs. Keenan/Lucena.

Joey Jennings at his first press event.

Olympic Gold medalist Todd Rogers serves in their second match of the day.

Casey Jennings at the net in the 9th match played on center court on Saturday, which began at 8:30 a.m. and concluded at 7:30 p.m.

Punchlines

Have my standards fallen so low that I would...
...pay $30 to see a Mexican donkey show?

Saturday in the sun

I'm pretty excited for some beach action today. But since it's like three in the morning, I decided to check out some old footage to tie me over. Here's what I could dig up of some fun behind the scenes footage of the AVP Beach Volleyball tour over the years. 

Misty May-Treanor dances with the Beach Girlz

Casey Jennings gives a valentine to Mike Lambert

Geeter does the worm

Behind the scenes montage from 2007

Punchlines

Once I stuck...

...my nose in somebody else's business. Not doing that again.

A perfect day

If asked to describe your perfect day, what would it be like? What would you do? What would you want to happen to you or for you? Where would you go? Who would you spend time with? I've posed this question from time to time, and it really is intriguing to me as I gain insights into friends and acquaintances about what makes them tick. This exercise really is an opportunity to let your imagination soar. 

For example, my friend Chris envisioned running a marathon, playing in the finals of the World Cup and winning, scaling Mount Everest, performing in a concert like U2 to a stadium filled with adoring fans, getting into a little spy adventure to solve a crime, and having a nice steak dinner. He's an achievement-oriented kind of person, don't you know? On the other hand, since several of these elements may never be achieved in his lifetime - granted running a marathon and feasting on a nice steak is certainly attainable - this leaves the definite possibility that he will never have a perfect day.

Some friends emphasize a full day leisurely spent with family and loved ones. This speaks volumes about how much family means to them and at the same time perhaps something they don't get enough of during their daily grind. Still others will describe a day filled with hedonism: sex, food, massages, drinking with friends, etc. Most responses are a combination of achievement, time spent with loved ones, and indulging the senses. Perfect days such as this seem very achievable and makes one realize, "Hey, why can't I have a perfect day at least once a week?" Why not indeed.

Feel free to post your thoughts on what would make up a perfect day for you.

Punchlines

Glad I made it through this Monday.

After the arrest that morning, the rest of the day really could have gone south after that. Luckily, Crossword was there to bail me out... again.