Live Updates, 2/1/10

// February 1st, 2010 // 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”

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