The Volleyball Network

Live Updates, 2/8/10

// February 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

We are a bit weird today. But we got Todd Rogers on. You may know him as Reid’s former AVP partner (for 1 tourney) or as an Olympic Gold Medalist. We’re gonna talk Cal State Northridge, Super Bowl, who knows what else??

Reid played against a team named, “Too Mean” or something like that. It’s a Russian team. David Lee is in Reid’s head. He was the MVP of the all-star game, speaks better Russian than Reid, the fans love him…Reid’s jealous.

Barney loves Dan’s little song he wrote for a contest…Listen to it on our show!! He also loves “Wizard Fight”.

And have you seen this rally???? Insane!
http://www.legavolley.it/Webtv.asp?id=523&idcat=-1&search=

Joy MacKenzie Fuerbinger is the new USAV board member. Fellow board member Reid is excited about her involvement because she is very conneted to juniors development. She runs a very successful juniors program in Southern California and is often seen training her players on the beach.

Friend of the program Brook Billings was supposed to be playing for Iran, but got an offer to play in Dubai. Now he’s trying to get out of his Iran contract, but it’s a bit tricky…Listen to the show to see where that goes…Trust us…

And the AVP announced last week that they have pinned down Rockstar Energy Drink as official energy drink of the AVP! Love it.

TODD ROGERS Interview
Todd is a bit unhappy with the beach vb task force with relation to the USAV…this wasn’t discussed in the meeting 2 weeks ago and now David Schreff is in charge, who arbitrarily in charge of forming the task force. Ryan Morgan’s role as liaison in this…He is representing all the players in this issue. It sounds like Todd is doing the dishes while talking. Haha. Anyway, Todd and Phil have talked about 2012 and another Gold Medal run in London. His family is in complete support of him in that regard. This season, Phil will probably lightly check out other partner options. But Todd is healthy, so…Todd hasn’t even started training with Phil this year, but he will. WOAH! He IS doing the dishes!!

Live Updates, 2/1/10

// February 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

And we’re back! Some good stuff on the show today including USC women’s head coach Mick Haley and his take on NCAA sand volleyball.

But first…Barnett got his motorbike back. ExciteBike!! Reid is on a plane…Dan made it to the show 1 minute before airtime! We’ve got a musician on the women’s national team, www.JaneCollymore.com! Love it.

Do you have an inside scoop on the juniors scene? Let us know, we’ve got some Flip cameras to loan out. TheNetLive@gmail.com

The Coach who blasts a player in the face with a volleyball. WHAT THE HUHHHH????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drq9pXKWm0Q

Kerri Walsh is on Twitter! Woot! Check it at twitter.com/kerrileewalsh XOXO

About this weird volleyball robot…Barnett thinks it’s velcro tennis. Pretty much. And there’s a play where the robot beats the girl. BOOoooOoOOOoMMmMM!!!!

The AVP + USAV board meeting…Lots of AVP players were there to show their support for the beach side and develop a better support system for the beach side of USA Volleyball. There will soon be a managing director who (we think?) will serve as liaison between the beach and indoor sides.

USA player Brook Billings is off to play in Iran, we’ll see if we can get some information on what that’s like.

MICK HALEY INTERVIEW
Mick was passionate about getting sand vb in the NCAA. He’s not as excited about the sand game as much as he’s excited about creating more volleyball opportunities for women. His premise is that they made an error turning down a 13th scholarship last year. he believes that would have made them the biggest sport in college. Now, this could put volleyball at the top of the list. It will get more elite athletes to play, and it will create more touches for players. He is proud of USC’s role in this. He thinks this will help men’s NCAA volleyball. The more women that men see the more they want to play. Colleges must realize that the men’s side can cultivate itself and pay for itself. The attendance is there in SoCal. He doesn’t see it as a doomsday initiative for men. With more opportunities for women it will help expand the game in all aspects. He hopes that the NCAA will realize that popular Olympic sports deserve equal opportunities.

As far as who coaches the sand team, USC will hire a 4th coordinator/coach to help with both sides and manage tugs-of-war with athletes. Some of his recruiting has been geared towards indoor and sand. But many of the best indoor players have made the best sand players. 6-12 athletes will train on the sand. Track & Field (distance running) and Cross Country use the same participants and they have a coordinator for each side. The goal always is to win a national championship in both disciplines.

Training environments…Most people don’t want to train off-campus. Iowa has an indoor facility with 2 softball diamonds. Nebraska has sand courts which are also used by football players as a low-impact exercise environment. Washington DC schools are considering getting together and constructing a sand facility for practice and competition. The initial startup will favor warm-weather schools, but as it unfolds the facilities will catch up.

“What do non-supporting coaches think?” It all comes down to recruiting. He hasn’t heard many worries about athletes tug of wars. Just financial considerations and recruiting. The Big 10 has been resistant to change, as evidenced by their football teams. The Pac 10 vote was 7-4 in favor of sand vb. Big 10 voted 2-8 (I think). But he thinks the Big 10 will come around soon and the SEC could make a turn very soon, just like their indoor teams. There are 6 Pac 10 schools who are making plans to create a sand program. Mick can’t name schools right now, but a lot of schools are waiting to see what the rules are…

The CO-OMPETITIVE TRIVIA SLAMDOWN, won by Barnett…Google the answers!
1. What’s the name of the new Mikasa product endorsed by Phil and Todd?
2. What 5 colors are in the Olympic logo?
3. Name one guy on the New Orleans Saints defense.
4. Which insanely famous host has more followers on Twitter…Oprah Winfrey or Ryan Seacrest?
5. What’s is the name of the new & last movie starring Heath Ledger?
6. What’s the largest storage capacity for the new Apple iPad?
7. The New Orleans Saints cheer, “Who Dat!” is short for what Saints cheer?
8. Re-opening this month, What’s the name of the Michael Jackson movie that ran at Epcot Center and other Disney theme parks from 1986–1998?
9. Who did Federer play in the 2010 Australian Open this weekend?
10. Name one of the nominated songs for Grammy’s “Song of the Year”

Going Live at 10am Pacific

// February 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Be there as Kevin and Dan return to the Home Court with another great show. USC Women’s Head Coach Mick Haley will join TNL to talk about Sand Volleyball, more Trivia and maybe Reid Priddy will show up. Be there Live and call in 347-677-1525 or email TheNetLive@gmail.com

Live updates, 1/20/10

// January 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

We’re coming at you today from the women’s national team practice in Anaheim, CA. The team is warming up and the coaches are s opig out the scene.

Live Updates, 1/11/10

// January 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

AVP star Casey Patterson

Reid wants you to check out volleyball-videos.com for…well…uh…figure it out!

THE FREE RIDE
Did you know that Al Scates was the first men’s collegiate volleyball coach to 900 wins. In his 48th year has a record of 1,185-253. And we’ve got a new women’s indoor professional league! The Women’s National Volleyball Association is coming to the USA. Not much information on this developing league, but we’ll get it to ya! There have been 4 or 5 of these types of leagues in the past.

The AVP schedule is still under construction. Boston, Seattle, and Malibu are all rumored to be event sites, but unless AVP lands a title sponsor they are all uncertain. CEO Jason Hodell talked about the AVP and NCAA sand volleyball with CNNmoney.

VOLLEYBALL ACTION
NAIA school Cal-Baptist takes out THREE top-10 teams this week. #7 Long Beach State, #8 UCLA, and #4 Pepperdine all went down to Adiel Tiedjop, Levi Cabral and company. Read more about it!

Live Updates, 1/4/10, John Speraw Interview!

// January 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Whoops. Barney just spilled a full glass of water on this computer. Dan is cleaning it up. Reid had a volleyball match on Christmas and it’s -40 degrees in Siberia. Barnett got a driving wheel for his Playstation3. Dan got some ornaments. We’ve got UC Irvine men’s head coach John Speraw on the show today!

THE FREERIDE
The Kindle is the biggest holiday online gift of all time! You can even get Lloy Ball’s book! Barney LOVES Avatar, Reid can only see it in Russian, so…And how about a holiday-shopping “man-stroller”? We can play vb all day but when it comes to walking around for 2 hours in a mall…NO WAY. This brings to mind vb bench players STANDING during the match. This is ridiculous!! Baseball has the bull-pin where you can even GRILL lunch, watch the match on TV, make some calls, whatever. Basketball has the cushy chairs (if your young, you might be on the floor), Hockey sits, Football has the option to sit….In 2010, I want to lobby for a “bench in the box”

JOHN SPERAW, Interview
John explains if his title-winning 2009 men’s UC Irvine team was his best ever…He says it was his best DEFENSIVE team. They had 6′9″ setter Ryan Ammerman blocking as good as anyone in the country. He recruits talent with character and now has great support from the school because they see it as a great opportunity for the school to get its name out in the community. He can now afford more quality coaches and a director of operations in addition to an increase in scholarships. He thinks the men’s teams this year are very deep. 14/20 of last year’s all-americans are returning. USC, Stanford, BYU, UCLA, LB State are all great teams with very little turnover. He’s actually not sure if his team should be ranked preseason #2. He would rank them at #8. In October UC Irvine hosted the World VB Challenge that pitted their men’s team against some of the best professional teams in the world. It was a great exhibition and has plans to be an annual event. John thinks that men’s vb can give a lot more schools exposure like UC Irvine has been doing. The NCAA Men’s “tournament” is still at 4 total teams and it’s going to take budgeting on the NCAA level to expand it to 8 teams.

Reid’s and Lloy Ball’s teams faced off this week and in a 5th set Lloy went off and beat Reid He says it was his most devastating loss he’s ever had (woah). He had the opportunity to win the Russian Cup and didn’t get it done. He’s lost matches that cost him $50,000 and still…

Live Updates, NYE 2009!

// December 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

We figured we oughtta give you guys one more show before we enter a whole new decade (although technically the new decade begins in 2011 but who’s counting?). Reid will be celebrating the new year while on the air in Siberia. Woot!

Did you all see the Penn State vs Texas Women’s National Championship match???? Destinee Hooker is 6′4″ and possibly the best athlete to ever play women’s volleyball. She’s also a world class high jumper. At points it was PSU vs Hooker. And Alisha Glass, starting setter for all 3 PSU championships, is perhaps underrated… Lipscomb University head coach and The Net Live friend Brandon Rosenthal was surprised with how sloppy PSU played early on and how much Texas took the foot off the gas in sets 3 and 4 (after being up 2-0). He thinks the Texas libero was the most underrated player in the match. What a great final match of the year! Reid mentions that Hodge, Hooker and Fawcette all hit at a pace comparable to men’s speeds.

On to the 2009 Netty Awards!!!!

We’ve compiled our lists of the best and worst of 2009…

1. Most Influential Volleyball Event
Dan: American Volleyball Coaches Association Convention
Reid: NCAA Title Match, Penn State vs Texas
Kevin: USAV board meeting with AVP at the VB Hall of Fame

2. Team USA Player of the Year
Dan: April Ross
Reid: Penn State (best team in the USA)
Kevin: April Ross and Jen Kessy

3. Headline of the Year
Dan: Leonard Armato “Resigns” from AVP after buying it out of bankruptcy
Reid: Penn State, Russ Rose wins 3rd Straight Title
Kevin: 2 NCAA Coaches Get 1,000th Win (Dave Shoji at Hawaii & Russ Rose)

4. Issue that will be influential in 2010
Dan: NCAA Sand Volleyball…will it happen??
Reid: Commercial Viability and Sustainability of Volleyball
Kevin: Kerri Walsh Being Pregnant (again)

5. Biggest Disappointment of 2009
Dan: The constant bickering between seemingly every volleyball organization on the planet!
Reid: USA Men’s team NOT qualifying for the Grand Champion’s Cup
Kevin: Matt Anderson, USA Men’s Team. Lots of expectations, few positive results

6. Person of the Year
Dan: RUSS ROSE
Reid: John Speraw, UC Irvine men’s head coach. 2 titles in 5 years
Kevin: Jason Hodell, AVP CEO

Live Updates, 12/14/09

// December 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Big show going on. Russ Rose in the house. Geeter coming on soon.

Barney did an endo over his motorcycle on a picnic table last week. Broke his collarbone in a hundred places it looks GROSS. Reid is cold in Siberia. His team wants to win in better fashion (better passing). He also got a bear/dog german shepard animal. Dan and his “Creative Alliance” of friends wrote short stories and had them judged by Jeff Nygaard and Todd Rogers…

FREERIDE!!!
Penn State faces Hawaii while Texas faces Minnesota in the Women’s NCAA tournament semifinals. Hawaii is the 12 seed, Minnesota the 12. Would an 8-team Men’s tournament be successful? Probably, because right now it’s a singe weekend and often the semifinals are beatdowns (Sorry east coast teams).

Have you heard of the pregnant girl doesn’t want to be babied story? Quite an unfortunate situation.

South Bay standout Lara Dykstra commits to Nebraska as a sand volleyball recruit. Love it! Get on the beach boat!

GEETER!! Tells us that Texas got a huge win vs Nebraska. Texas may be the ONLY team to beat PSU and only because of their athleticism. Even when PSU is out of system they can make something happen. Hodge vs Hooker matchup…Geeter picks Hodge barely, but Hooker can just take over the match, though a little less dynamic. Geeter apologizes to Hawaii coaches, he doesn’t think they’re strong enough to beat PSU, nor Minnesota even with their new setter Taylor Carico. It’s destiny for PSU/Texas…But he’s got Texas for the win in 5 sets!!

Lots of partner shuffling around on the AVP. Misty May is playing with Nicole Branagh, Kerri Walsh will miss most of 2010. She is pregnant again. On the men’s side, one of the tour’s best players, Matt Olson, is partnerless and looking. Any suggestions? Rooney? Fuerbringer and Jennings are finally done-zo. We’ll see who does better for the remainder of their careers!

RUSS ROSE
He’s got 999 career victories…100 consecutive wins…The 2nd tourney match against Penn his team was flat emotionally, overconfident, hence his upset comments directed at his star players. He’s excited about reaching another final four appearance. There are veteran players from the last 2 championship teams, which helps the level of play each match. He doesn’t know too much about Hawaii because they’re not on TV much, Shoji is a great coach with great assistants, their players are extremely impressive as well. They play bigger than they are and their volleyball IQ is typically higher than most college players. They beat Michigan and PSU had dificulty with them. Jump Serves…most top teams are going more towards a jump-float instead of the topspin rip. The best jump servers were always the best all-around players, so sometimes they are backrow players. As far as scoring and different rules for college…Russ doesn’t really know why they change rules. He got stuck one year when the rules changed to rally-score, because his team wasn’t created to focus on rally ability. He doesn’t like the let-serve rule. Recruiting…Russ looks for a good attitude, kids who can play hard, be accountable, etc. He’s into telling his players the things needed to play at the level he wants them to play at. It’s about scoring points and there’s a lot of ways to win. It’s as important to score as it is to not make errors…He’s upset at AJ for not pressing the “record” button on the first take of Danny Kinda’s peptalk to his team in 2007, hours before they won the national championship.
Danny Kinda Fires up PSU

Today’s show, 12/14/09

// December 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Geeter does his thing.

After that we’ve got AVP tour announcer and volleyball personality Chris “Geeter” McGee. He’s gonna talk with us about the NCAA tournament and the craziness going on with AVP partnerships (the players, not the sponsors).

Links on stuff we could quite possibly talk about…
• The Women’s NCAA Championship Bracket is almost complete!
• Beach volleyball standout commits to Nebraska
• Haneef-Park, Joines Tamas A Tall Order on Dr. Phil

Kevin will play hurt

// December 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

A source close to someone, close to Kevin has reported that allegedly there has been a motor-biking accident. Though unconfirmed, it is believed that Kevin will suit up for tomorrows show. Reid and Dan are expected to do the heavy lifting but Kevin will be ready if called upon. The above photo is also believed to be Kevin’s collar bone seen in 3 pieces…again, details pending whether this was due to the accident or other extenuating circumstances. Tune in tomorrow morning for The NET LIVE streaming at 10am @ The Volleyball NETWORK or in HiDef on demand on iTunes.