Post by bigfan on Jul 23, 2010 12:10:04 GMT -5
www.presstelegram.com/moresports/ci_15583059
By Doug Krikorian Columnist
One week from her 33rd birthday, Misty May-Treanor concedes that she may be making her final Long Beach appearance this weekend when she and Nicole Branagh compete in the AVP tournament that commences Saturday morning.
"It could very well be," she says when asked if this might be the farewell year of her peerless beach volleyball career in which she has earned two Olympic gold medals and an unprecedented 105 victories on the sand. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet."
But you get the distinct impression listening to May-Treanor that she's seriously considering soon departing a sport that has made her rich and famous but that also still demands so much of her time.
"I'm not going to see my husband (Texas Rangers catcher Matt Treanor) for a month now because of my schedule, and I don't like that," she says. "On Sunday evening, Nicole and I are flying over to Europe where we will be for two weeks competing in tournaments in Austria and Poland. And then we'll be back for a tournament in San Francisco."
"As you get older, the travel becomes tougher and tougher, and there are other things now that I do in my life. I'm working on a Master's degree from Concordia University. I'm also putting on volleyball clinics with my friend Christi Phillips.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm still pretty focused on volleyball, and when I'm out on the sand I play as hard as I ever have. It's just that now I also have other priorities."
It's so different now for Misty May-Treanor than it was here at the AVP event in 2008 when Kerri Walsh was her partner and when the high-profile tandem was the most dominant force on the tour.
It was a freak of nature when May-Treanor was on the wrong end of a score in those days - she and Walsh put together winning streaks of 89 and 50 - but that hasn't been the case this AVP season as she and Branagh haven't won a title since the opening tournament in April in Ft.Lauderdale.
Oh, they haven't exactly embarrassed themselves - they're second in the AVP tour standings - but the top team, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, have won four straight AVP events.
May-Treanor and Branagh might well end their drought in Long Beach in the next 48 hours, since Kessy-Ross are away competing in an FIVB international tournament in Marseilles, France.
I asked May-Treanor how difficult has it been for her to accept the losses after so many years of constant victories.
"It's not like I've lost sleep over it," she says with a laugh. "I knew there would be an adjustment period playing with a new partner, that we'd have to work out the kinks, which we're still in the process of doing.
"I also knew it would take some time for me to come back after not playing last year and recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. I'm not having any problems with it now. It's not sore, but I'm still not back physically where I once was."
Still, even though Misty May-Treanor is hinting at retirement, the London Olympics are only two years away and one wonders if her fierce competitive passions eventually will inspire her to attempt to win a third gold medal.
"That would entail a tremendous amount of sacrifice, and I'm not sure I want to go through that again," she says. "I still train hard, yes. As hard as I did in the past, no."
May-Treanor says she saw her husband a couple days during the recent All-Star break, and that she speaks to him daily via phone.
"Our schedules are in constant conflict, and that's been the case for more than six years," she says. "We both don't like it, and we know it won't be like that forever."
Of course, Misty May-Treanor will make still another overseas journey later this year.
"In late October we'll be competing in a tournament in Sanya, China," she says. "And then in early November we'll be in Phuket, Thailand. So, we still have a lot of traveling to do. At least this weekend it'll be a short trek for me."
Indeed, it will be, since Misty May-Treanor still has a home in Long Beach.
By Doug Krikorian Columnist
One week from her 33rd birthday, Misty May-Treanor concedes that she may be making her final Long Beach appearance this weekend when she and Nicole Branagh compete in the AVP tournament that commences Saturday morning.
"It could very well be," she says when asked if this might be the farewell year of her peerless beach volleyball career in which she has earned two Olympic gold medals and an unprecedented 105 victories on the sand. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet."
But you get the distinct impression listening to May-Treanor that she's seriously considering soon departing a sport that has made her rich and famous but that also still demands so much of her time.
"I'm not going to see my husband (Texas Rangers catcher Matt Treanor) for a month now because of my schedule, and I don't like that," she says. "On Sunday evening, Nicole and I are flying over to Europe where we will be for two weeks competing in tournaments in Austria and Poland. And then we'll be back for a tournament in San Francisco."
"As you get older, the travel becomes tougher and tougher, and there are other things now that I do in my life. I'm working on a Master's degree from Concordia University. I'm also putting on volleyball clinics with my friend Christi Phillips.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm still pretty focused on volleyball, and when I'm out on the sand I play as hard as I ever have. It's just that now I also have other priorities."
It's so different now for Misty May-Treanor than it was here at the AVP event in 2008 when Kerri Walsh was her partner and when the high-profile tandem was the most dominant force on the tour.
It was a freak of nature when May-Treanor was on the wrong end of a score in those days - she and Walsh put together winning streaks of 89 and 50 - but that hasn't been the case this AVP season as she and Branagh haven't won a title since the opening tournament in April in Ft.Lauderdale.
Oh, they haven't exactly embarrassed themselves - they're second in the AVP tour standings - but the top team, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, have won four straight AVP events.
May-Treanor and Branagh might well end their drought in Long Beach in the next 48 hours, since Kessy-Ross are away competing in an FIVB international tournament in Marseilles, France.
I asked May-Treanor how difficult has it been for her to accept the losses after so many years of constant victories.
"It's not like I've lost sleep over it," she says with a laugh. "I knew there would be an adjustment period playing with a new partner, that we'd have to work out the kinks, which we're still in the process of doing.
"I also knew it would take some time for me to come back after not playing last year and recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. I'm not having any problems with it now. It's not sore, but I'm still not back physically where I once was."
Still, even though Misty May-Treanor is hinting at retirement, the London Olympics are only two years away and one wonders if her fierce competitive passions eventually will inspire her to attempt to win a third gold medal.
"That would entail a tremendous amount of sacrifice, and I'm not sure I want to go through that again," she says. "I still train hard, yes. As hard as I did in the past, no."
May-Treanor says she saw her husband a couple days during the recent All-Star break, and that she speaks to him daily via phone.
"Our schedules are in constant conflict, and that's been the case for more than six years," she says. "We both don't like it, and we know it won't be like that forever."
Of course, Misty May-Treanor will make still another overseas journey later this year.
"In late October we'll be competing in a tournament in Sanya, China," she says. "And then in early November we'll be in Phuket, Thailand. So, we still have a lot of traveling to do. At least this weekend it'll be a short trek for me."
Indeed, it will be, since Misty May-Treanor still has a home in Long Beach.