Beach Volleyball

It is an event within an event, the first stop on the new National Volleyball League's six-city tour. Marking the third time professional beach volleyball has come to the Preakness, tournament director Jimmy Mason said that the atmosphere at Pimlico is perfect for beach volleyball, which got its start in Baltimore when the sport's Olympic Trials were held downtown. The fans who attended Saturday's event are much like many of the horse racing fans were come to one race a year, the Preakness.

Kevin Cowherd Ravens 20, Chargers 13 Maybe it's the sunshine. Maybe it's the palm trees. Something comes over the Ravens on these West Coast trips. The Jekyl and Hyde Chargers have lost five of their last six, but still have a shot at the playoffs. This one will be close. And ugly. Edward Lee Chargers 28, Ravens 17 The Chargers may be reeling, but historically, they have feasted on the Ravens in San Diego. Quarterback Philip Rivers is no Byron Leftwich, and he will take advantage of the Ravens' re-tooled secondary to find tight end Antonio Gates and wide receiver Malcom Floyd for big plays.

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Volleyball MAV First Rites of Summer Three Howard County volleyball players — Jamie Carey (Howard), Elyse Smith (Mt. Hebron) and Lindsey Scepura (Mt. Hebron) — teamed up to win the MAV First Rites of Summer 18-U Junior Triples beach volleyball tournament at Rehoboth Beach, Del. on May 12. Softball Maryland Chill After a slow start in the first pool play game and tying the PA Avalanche in the second pool play game, the Maryland Chill 14-U Purple bats got hot in elimination play last week.

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Volleyball MAV First Rites of Summer Three Howard County volleyball players — Jamie Carey (Howard), Elyse Smith (Mt. Hebron) and Lindsey Scepura (Mt. Hebron) — teamed up to win the MAV First Rites of Summer 18-U Junior Triples beach volleyball tournament at Rehoboth Beach, Del. on May 12. Softball Maryland Chill After a slow start in the first pool play game and tying the PA Avalanche in the second pool play game, the Maryland Chill 14-U Purple bats got hot in elimination play last week.

One of the many competitions taking place in the Infield at Pimlico today -- along with the bikini contest, a 64-team cornhole tournament and some kind of competitive eating event you couldn't pay me to watch -- is the National Volleyball League’s inaugural event. It was created after the AVP tour ran out of money, I'm told. The 16-team double-elimination tournament, the first of the new beach volleyball tour’s six-stop season, started at Baltimore’s Rash Field on Friday and is wrapping up at the Preakness as I type this blog post.

Alas, Kegasus will not be the most athletic, um, sentient being in the infield at Preakness. Olympic Gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers will compete in a National Volleyball League (yes, that's a thing) event on May 18-19. The pair will be making their domestic debut in advance of the London Games. Dalhausser, who's nickname "The Thin Beast" must be among the best in sports, will be recognizable to many sports fans. One, he's a thin beast. Two, he's got a bald dome that really sticks with you. Summer Olympic contenders Jen Kessy and April Ross will also compete on Preakness weekend, in what might be, according to a release, the only domestic appearance by American teams prior to the competition in London.  America's best known beach duo -- Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh -- has reunited but is not scheduled to appear in Baltimore.

The eventThe U.S. Olympic beach volleyball trials begin today at the Inner Harbor, with preliminary sessions today and tomorrow and Olympic qualifying matches this weekend. No matches are scheduled for Thursday, which will serve as a rain makeup day if either of the first two sessions is postponed or interrupted by inclement weather. But matches will be stopped only if the weather is severe (heavy rain or lightning), so fans should bring umbrellas if there is a chance of light or moderate showers.

The sand has yet to arrive, but 27 teams have signed up to compete in this year's U.S. Olympic beach volleyball trials in Baltimore. The competition is scheduled for June 4-9 at the HarborView complex.Former two-time Olympian Karch Kiralyi and partner Kent Steffes will lead a field of 16 men's teams looking to qualify for the final two spots. Liz Masakayan and Angela Rock are considered the favorites among the 11 women's teams vying for two spots.The top American teams on the FIVB (international)

The 1996 Olympic Games may be six months off and 800 miles away, but Baltimore still may get a chance to play a small role in the centennial Olympic celebration.Baltimore has submitted a bid for the first U.S. Olympic beach volleyball trials -- scheduled for June 8-9 -- and appears to be a front-runner to play host to either the men's or women's event.The decision will be announced, perhaps by week's end, by International Marketing Group, the national sports marketing giant that represents the Association of Volleyball Professionals, the governing body of professional beach volleyball.

Unlike some volleyball players on the Toyota Pro Beach East Tour, Jason Hodell and Jason Bartholow have families and full-time jobs. However, if last year's results from the Baltimore stop are any indication, this pair should not be taken lightly. Hodell and Bartholow are teaming up again in this weekend's tour event at Rash Field after finishing second a year ago. Toyota Pro Beach East Tour Today and tomorrow; Rash Field; seating is free to the public Schedule: Today: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; tomorrow: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (final around 3 p.m.)

Loyola men's basketball Jones, Laster, Tuohy join 2012-13 class Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos announced the addition of three players to the Greyhounds' 2012-13 freshman class: Jarred Jones (John Carroll), Eric Laster and Sean Tuohy Jr. , whose adoptive older brother is Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher . "We're excited to have Jarred, Eric and S.J. join our program," Patsos said. "With Jarred, we are bringing in another player who knows what it takes to be successful in the Baltimore Catholic League, one of the top high school conferences around, and Eric certainly had a terrific senior year in Delaware.

Alas, Kegasus will not be the most athletic, um, sentient being in the infield at Preakness. Olympic Gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers will compete in a National Volleyball League (yes, that's a thing) event on May 18-19. The pair will be making their domestic debut in advance of the London Games. Dalhausser, who's nickname "The Thin Beast" must be among the best in sports, will be recognizable to many sports fans. One, he's a thin beast. Two, he's got a bald dome that really sticks with you. Summer Olympic contenders Jen Kessy and April Ross will also compete on Preakness weekend, in what might be, according to a release, the only domestic appearance by American teams prior to the competition in London.  America's best known beach duo -- Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh -- has reunited but is not scheduled to appear in Baltimore.

While the city reviews proposals to invigorate the Inner Harbor, the Greater Baltimore Committee unveiled a vision of its own, highlighted by a pedestrian bridge that would link the north and south shores, allowing visitors for the first time to walk a complete circle around the downtown waterfront. Leaders of the business group also proposed light and water shows for the harbor, and three different ideas for turning Rash Field on the south shore into a world-class park. The bridge would be built high enough above the water that most sailboats and water taxis could travel underneath.

It is an event within an event, the first stop on the new National Volleyball League's six-city tour. Marking the third time professional beach volleyball has come to the Preakness, tournament director Jimmy Mason said that the atmosphere at Pimlico is perfect for beach volleyball, which got its start in Baltimore when the sport's Olympic Trials were held downtown. The fans who attended Saturday's event are much like many of the horse racing fans were come to one race a year, the Preakness.

One of the many competitions taking place in the Infield at Pimlico today -- along with the bikini contest, a 64-team cornhole tournament and some kind of competitive eating event you couldn't pay me to watch -- is the National Volleyball League’s inaugural event. It was created after the AVP tour ran out of money, I'm told. The 16-team double-elimination tournament, the first of the new beach volleyball tour’s six-stop season, started at Baltimore’s Rash Field on Friday and is wrapping up at the Preakness as I type this blog post.

The Sun's Olympic correspondents, Rick Maese and Kevin Van Valkenburg, are blogging back and forth to each other at baltimoresun.com/olympicsblog. An excerpt: To: Kevin, et al. You might want to check out this link. Match.com, as you might or might not know, is a popular dating site. Not that I know anything about it. (For the record, I am NOT the same rmaese3641b who enjoys Scrubs, Wes Anderson movies, seaweed salad, the Sunday Times crossword puzzle and California Pinot Noir.) Anyhow, where was I?

The makeshift beach is in and the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball trials begin today at a temporary 4,500-seat arena built for the occasion near HarborView. Now, it's just a matter of filling all those seats and enjoying Baltimore's Olympic moment in the sun.Ticket sales have not been brisk, but organizers remain confident that the trials will be both a financial success and an impressive civic event. Though only about 4,000 of the 19,000 available tickets have been sold for the five-day qualifying tournament, they point to past beach volleyball events as proof that it appeals largely to a walk-up crowd.

It was a huge undertaking, especially under the circumstances. The U.S. Olympic beach volleyball trials were awarded to Baltimore barely three months before the event, and still the Maryland Sports Corporation put up a stadium and put on a show.Maybe attendance could have been a little better, but the five-day beach festival/pre-Olympic tournament at HarborView apparently will break even, which would make it a big success for the nonprofit Maryland Sports Corporation."All in all, I think we're going to be right where we thought we'd be," said MSC president Barbara Bozzuto.

BEIJING - The U.S. finally got untracked in the track and field competition at the Olympics yesterday. After a sluggish start over the first weekend that included no gold medals, Americans won five overall medals yesterday, including a 1-2-3 sweep in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski also won a silver medal, and Stephanie Brown Trafton won a surprise gold in the women's discus - the first for a U.S. woman in the event since 1932. The U.S. hurdlers talked about the slow beginning for the track team at the Olympic Village and during the warm-up period for their final.

The question has been put to Mr. Flip: In the Olympics, why do the female beach volleyball players wear little bikinis while the men wear sleeveless tops and long shorts? Mr. Flip hadn't really thought about this much while enjoying the athleticism of Misty May-Treanor as the sweat drips down her tanned, toned body and she lightly brushes off the sand that has covered one of her upper thighs. ... One moment, please, while Mr. Flip composes himself. Yes, Mr. Flip supposes some viewers might enjoy seeing the male competitors play shirtless.