Post by Phaedrus on Sept 2, 2008 21:34:21 GMT -5
No women's coverage. I guess winning a silver isn't good enough for these guys.
vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1144606/index.htm
Beach Coverage
IN RAIN and in shine, U.S. beach volleyball was good as gold in Beijing. Since this most Californian of sports made its Olympic debut in 1996, the U.S. men and women have never swept—until last week, when Golden Staters Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh defended their title, and a pair of Santa Barbarans, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, put the Americans on the top of the podium. Said Dalhausser, whose nine blocks fueled the three-set win over Brazil's Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes in Friday's championship match, "It feels good to bring U.S.A. volleyball back."
The 6'9", 200-pound Dalhausser is beach volleyball's new prototype. Nicknamed the Thin Beast, he boasts a standing reach of 8'9". If opponents try to dink over him, the 6'2" Rogers is quick enough to run the ball down. Dalhausser came up big against Brazil in the gold medal match: His three blocks of the 6'8" Magalhaes turned the momentum of the decisive set. "Brazil's been dominant for the last seven years," said Rogers, "but Phil and I made our statement here."
May-Treanor and Walsh have been making statements since they joined forces in 2001. They're the first duo to win two gold medals, and in Beijing they extended their streak without a loss to an astonishing 108 matches.
The steady rain that fell throughout Thursday's gold medal match against the Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie proved no problem for May-Treanor and Walsh. Afterward a jubliant Walsh said, "Athens was lightning in a bottle. This is more soulful."
vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1144609/index.htm
Men's Coverage
JUST DAYS after his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was murdered, Hugh McCutcheon returned to the scene of the crime. He was accompanied by his sisters-in-law, who had flown to Beijing from Minnesota upon hearing that their father had been fatally stabbed—and their mother, Barbara, critically injured—in an attack near Beijing's Drum Tower. The threesome held hands. "When you're in a different place, it's hard to picture what it's all about," McCutcheon told SI 18 hours before the team he coaches was to face Brazil in the men's indoor volleyball final. "They wanted to get a context where it happened."
These Olympics were all about context, a fortnight when life got in the way of sport. The more celebrated American volleyball coach heading into the Games was "Jenny" Lang Ping, who starred for China's gold medal team at the 1984 Games and would lead the U.S. women to a surprise silver medal. But a random act of violence had thrust McCutcheon into a role even less deserved than desired. As capably as his players dealt with Brazil's towering middle blockers, he handled his family's misfortune with uncommon grace; he was forthright and never trafficked in grief. He missed the team's first three games to spend time with his wife, Elisabeth, and her family, returning only when Barbara was well enough to be transported to the U.S.
After the U.S. dispatched the favored Brazilians to win its first gold since 1988, the coach's emotions—"The best of times, the worst of times," McCutcheon said—bubbled over in a tunnel at the gymnasium. Shortly after the game he boarded a plane for Minnesota, where Bachman will be buried this Friday.
The triumph belonged to players like four-time Olympic setter Lloy Ball and opposite hitter Clayton Stanley. The tragedy was McCutcheon's. But so, too, was the tribute. "The gold medal," said Brazil coach Bernardinho, "is in good hands."
Read more from Michael Farber about the U.S. volleyball teams at SI.com/Olympics.
vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1144606/index.htm
Beach Coverage
IN RAIN and in shine, U.S. beach volleyball was good as gold in Beijing. Since this most Californian of sports made its Olympic debut in 1996, the U.S. men and women have never swept—until last week, when Golden Staters Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh defended their title, and a pair of Santa Barbarans, Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, put the Americans on the top of the podium. Said Dalhausser, whose nine blocks fueled the three-set win over Brazil's Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes in Friday's championship match, "It feels good to bring U.S.A. volleyball back."
The 6'9", 200-pound Dalhausser is beach volleyball's new prototype. Nicknamed the Thin Beast, he boasts a standing reach of 8'9". If opponents try to dink over him, the 6'2" Rogers is quick enough to run the ball down. Dalhausser came up big against Brazil in the gold medal match: His three blocks of the 6'8" Magalhaes turned the momentum of the decisive set. "Brazil's been dominant for the last seven years," said Rogers, "but Phil and I made our statement here."
May-Treanor and Walsh have been making statements since they joined forces in 2001. They're the first duo to win two gold medals, and in Beijing they extended their streak without a loss to an astonishing 108 matches.
The steady rain that fell throughout Thursday's gold medal match against the Chinese team of Tian Jia and Wang Jie proved no problem for May-Treanor and Walsh. Afterward a jubliant Walsh said, "Athens was lightning in a bottle. This is more soulful."
vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1144609/index.htm
Men's Coverage
JUST DAYS after his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was murdered, Hugh McCutcheon returned to the scene of the crime. He was accompanied by his sisters-in-law, who had flown to Beijing from Minnesota upon hearing that their father had been fatally stabbed—and their mother, Barbara, critically injured—in an attack near Beijing's Drum Tower. The threesome held hands. "When you're in a different place, it's hard to picture what it's all about," McCutcheon told SI 18 hours before the team he coaches was to face Brazil in the men's indoor volleyball final. "They wanted to get a context where it happened."
These Olympics were all about context, a fortnight when life got in the way of sport. The more celebrated American volleyball coach heading into the Games was "Jenny" Lang Ping, who starred for China's gold medal team at the 1984 Games and would lead the U.S. women to a surprise silver medal. But a random act of violence had thrust McCutcheon into a role even less deserved than desired. As capably as his players dealt with Brazil's towering middle blockers, he handled his family's misfortune with uncommon grace; he was forthright and never trafficked in grief. He missed the team's first three games to spend time with his wife, Elisabeth, and her family, returning only when Barbara was well enough to be transported to the U.S.
After the U.S. dispatched the favored Brazilians to win its first gold since 1988, the coach's emotions—"The best of times, the worst of times," McCutcheon said—bubbled over in a tunnel at the gymnasium. Shortly after the game he boarded a plane for Minnesota, where Bachman will be buried this Friday.
The triumph belonged to players like four-time Olympic setter Lloy Ball and opposite hitter Clayton Stanley. The tragedy was McCutcheon's. But so, too, was the tribute. "The gold medal," said Brazil coach Bernardinho, "is in good hands."
Read more from Michael Farber about the U.S. volleyball teams at SI.com/Olympics.