Post by bigfan on May 2, 2006 9:11:10 GMT -5
Bruins look like next VB champs
Frank Burlison
Long Beach Press Staff columnist
You know there is a real shortage of sports content in May when ESPN2 is televising the U.S. Paintball Championships.
I kid you not.
I was flipping around on my remote Monday, trying to find an NBA playoff game and there it was: The U.S. Paintball Championships.
What next?
How about the U.S. Costco Shopping Championships, in which shoppers compete to see who can get through 30 minutes in a Costco without buying at least $100 worth of DVDs, bottled water, toilet paper, canned tuna and pitted black olives?
the way, I saw a Baby Grand piano, priced at about $13,000 and some change, in the Laguna Niguel Costco Monday afternoon. And, no, it wasn't a Kirkland brand.
If you don't get that joke, you don't shop at Costco.
I'm obviously still a volleyball neophyte.
Based on the way the Long Beach State team dominated the UCLA Bruins in Game 1 (winning 30-24 after taking an 18-10 lead) in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament title match Saturday night at UC Irvine, I thought the 49ers were safely among the four teams that will compete in the NCAA Championships at Penn State Thursday night.
The Bruins then won the next three games to earn the trip to State College this week while Long Beach's season, and the 49er careers of Tyler Hildebrand, Duncan Budinger and Robert Tarr, came to a close.
UCLA's best player was a junior bearded outside hitter from Chatsworth, Paul George, who looked more like a guy who should be standing in front of a podium in a UCLA lecture hall, discussing economic theory, instead of spraying volleyballs in between, and just out of the reach of, Long Beach defenders.
MPSF regular-season champion UC Irvine, as expected, got the at-large bid and the No. 1 seed in the semifinals (it will face Penn State while the Bruins take on IPFW).
Based on what I saw of the Anteaters (swept by Long Beach Thursday night) and the Bruins (which beat Pepperdine in the semifinals, 3-1, before beating the 49ers two nights later), I'm thinking UCLA coach Al Scates is bagging his 19th NCAA title Saturday night.
By the way, how tough is it going to be to replace Hildebrand, a three-time All-America, as Long Beach's setter next season?
Frank Burlison
Long Beach Press Staff columnist
You know there is a real shortage of sports content in May when ESPN2 is televising the U.S. Paintball Championships.
I kid you not.
I was flipping around on my remote Monday, trying to find an NBA playoff game and there it was: The U.S. Paintball Championships.
What next?
How about the U.S. Costco Shopping Championships, in which shoppers compete to see who can get through 30 minutes in a Costco without buying at least $100 worth of DVDs, bottled water, toilet paper, canned tuna and pitted black olives?
the way, I saw a Baby Grand piano, priced at about $13,000 and some change, in the Laguna Niguel Costco Monday afternoon. And, no, it wasn't a Kirkland brand.
If you don't get that joke, you don't shop at Costco.
I'm obviously still a volleyball neophyte.
Based on the way the Long Beach State team dominated the UCLA Bruins in Game 1 (winning 30-24 after taking an 18-10 lead) in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament title match Saturday night at UC Irvine, I thought the 49ers were safely among the four teams that will compete in the NCAA Championships at Penn State Thursday night.
The Bruins then won the next three games to earn the trip to State College this week while Long Beach's season, and the 49er careers of Tyler Hildebrand, Duncan Budinger and Robert Tarr, came to a close.
UCLA's best player was a junior bearded outside hitter from Chatsworth, Paul George, who looked more like a guy who should be standing in front of a podium in a UCLA lecture hall, discussing economic theory, instead of spraying volleyballs in between, and just out of the reach of, Long Beach defenders.
MPSF regular-season champion UC Irvine, as expected, got the at-large bid and the No. 1 seed in the semifinals (it will face Penn State while the Bruins take on IPFW).
Based on what I saw of the Anteaters (swept by Long Beach Thursday night) and the Bruins (which beat Pepperdine in the semifinals, 3-1, before beating the 49ers two nights later), I'm thinking UCLA coach Al Scates is bagging his 19th NCAA title Saturday night.
By the way, how tough is it going to be to replace Hildebrand, a three-time All-America, as Long Beach's setter next season?
