Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs were knocked out relatively early at Beijing '08, but they managed to reclaim some respect today by beating the reigning two-time beach volleyball gold medalists in their first post-Olympics tournament.

In what can described as nothing less than a marathon match, Branagh-Youngs were able to triumph over Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in a whopping one hour and 45 minute final, winning 21-19, 10-21, 25-23.

Perhaps it was the post-Olympics fatigue, the talk shows, or Dancing with the Stars. Maybe their minds are on babies and not volleyball. Maybe it was the festering bitterness in Elaine Youngs' uber-competitive heart.

It remains to be seen how the landscape changes now, if it is actually changing at all. In any case, the Misty-Kerri match win streak has ended at 112, their first loss in over a year.