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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Jun 19, 2015 15:52:48 GMT -5
I think half of Socal has been wondering why Summer and Lane waited this long. I think they have the ability and potential to be a top team, but they need to put the training time in, be patient as they learn each other's games, and hiring a strong coach would be a very good idea. I think that team has a couple of very complimentary pieces (Summer's footspeed mitigated by Lane's speed, Lane's smaller hitting window and Summer's hands) but its hard to see them growing into one of the best teams in the world. I havent seen Summer much this year and in the few clips she did look improved, but I just don't see her as the athlete some of her competitors are. I probably brought this up before but I think Canyon Ceman is a good comparison. Solid skills, great hands, athletically limited. Difference is Summer doesnt have Canyon's bionic arm. If Summer is a blocker, and I think she probably is, arent there 4-5 US blockers who are much better at the net? (Jen, Kerri, Lauren at least) And arent there also a bunch of other tall girls who she isnt much better than at the net? April, Kim, etc. So what is it she does that makes her better than them or what potential does she have that makes her seem like she will grow into a superior player. Similarly about Lane, I have seen a few matches this year and she really struggled to get the ball down. In one she failed to side out on good passes 7-8 times in a row. The other team wasnt making spectacular plays just ordinary digs and blocks. They have youth but right now I would take Kessy Day over them in almost every respect (Including Most Likely to Qualify for Rio) Summer's biggest issue is staying focused on her strengths and not some Quixotic attempt to play behind a block full time. Summer is an excellent blocker, and she's one of the best in the world at pull-dig-transition, which are two things that don't do her any good if she's playing behind someone. She's a deceptively good athlete - great footwork, hand-eye, and timing. Lane is an explosive athlete who is still figuring it all out but even so has managed a number of very good finishes in the past few seasons, despite playing with a partner who - to be blunt - isn't all that good. Carico/Ross have a very high ceiling as a team, the question is can they reach it? We'll see. Another new pairing: Amanda Dowdy and Heather (Hughes) McGuire, going with the Twin Towers approach.
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Post by albatross on Jun 19, 2015 16:28:36 GMT -5
All of the Brazilian men are out in the second round. Wow.
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Post by wang pu on Jun 19, 2015 19:09:27 GMT -5
All of the Brazilian men are out in the second round. Wow. Allison and Bruno have been pretty underwhelming this season. Is there any reason Bruno and Pedro have not gotten back together?
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Post by donnyb on Jun 19, 2015 20:19:30 GMT -5
Pedro would be crazy to leave his partner now. That dude it going to be good in a year or so. And he's huge and a point scoring machine when his serve is on.
On another subject my surprise team is Mexico. They played crazy good today.
Also if I didn't know the USA teams I would have to say nick and theo looked to be our best team. There ballin. Not a lot of mistakes and theo getting some blocks and nick getting some sick digs.
I will be curious how tomorrow pans out. I could see one of the USA teams making the finals in this one maybe. There is a few good teams not at this event tho.
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Post by guest2 on Jun 20, 2015 2:24:24 GMT -5
US men would have to really F up to avoid the first finals appearance of the year. The highest ranked teams in their way is Australia. Should be an all US Semi. Could Nick be the best US player right now?
Still in all a bunch of embarrassing US losses early on
Fopma Branagh carrying the flag for the women? jk Kessey/Day now have to be a huge favorite for Rio 2
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Post by sinjin on Jun 20, 2015 6:19:44 GMT -5
anyone have a feed this morning ?
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Post by sinjin on Jun 20, 2015 6:37:49 GMT -5
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Post by klazk on Jun 20, 2015 11:44:04 GMT -5
Womens draw set up for all 4 semifinalists to be Brazilian teams. Really hope that doesn't happen.
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Post by donnyb on Jun 20, 2015 11:48:34 GMT -5
The chances are good. I guess since the men's didn't have any Brazil teams they had to make sure they did in the women's. Lol
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Post by antireebok on Jun 20, 2015 13:32:16 GMT -5
is todays play being streamed anywhere?
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Post by geddyleeridesagain on Jun 20, 2015 13:42:01 GMT -5
Ross/Pavlik forfeit their last pool match. Injury? Already eliminated and decided to get out of Dodge early?
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Post by donnyb on Jun 20, 2015 14:09:19 GMT -5
Probably just got out of dodge. Lol
I say we have Phil and Nick play together. Nick played really well this weekend and beat some good teams. Even theo played well but nick and Phil renite would be awesome and I think they could make some noise
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Post by stevek on Jun 20, 2015 15:23:04 GMT -5
Looks like we'll see the men's bronze and gold on NBC, with USA in each match if you can believe it. Right now Lucena/Brunner are tied with Austria 14-14 in the first.
you can stream on the NBC sports app as well. If you don't have cable, I'd wait til the gold medal match as you only get 45 minutes free before they make you log into your cable/satellite.
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Post by stevek on Jun 20, 2015 16:11:55 GMT -5
Of course, the gold medal match has now started but they are showing tape-delayed semifinals on NBC. Let's hope that fix that shortly.
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Post by beavis on Jun 20, 2015 21:45:21 GMT -5
"Ross/Pavlik forfeit their last pool match. Injury? Already eliminated and decided to get out of Dodge early?"
They called off play yesterday at around 5:30 because of lightning strikes - apparently they are really paranoid (and rightfully so) about people getting lit up around here because St. Pete is like the lightning strike capital of the world (according to one of the security dudes), and they never started back up Friday - they decided to just start early Saturday, so April booked.
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