The AVP is offering the biggest single prize in beach volleyball history to date - $1 million dollars (holy crap!). Based on points gathered through the regular season, it will work like this:

• Cincinnati (Aug. 29-31): Top 24 teams compete
• Santa Barbara, Calif. (Sept. 6-7): Remaining 16 teams compete
• San Francisco (Sept. 12-14): Remaining 12 teams compete
• Manhattan Beach (Sept. 19-21): Remaining eight teams compete against eight open qualifier teams for the $1 million bucks
  

For a sport where the top two or three teams are lucky to make a respectable living as professional athletes, we may be witnessing a landmark moment. Assuming this kind of prize money persists, we should see more competition, more drama, and more interest in the sport.

Hopefully.

Story: http://www.avp.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080422&contentid=33999

Crocs, target of ridicule by those of us with taste in footwear and major sponsor of the AVP, is now the target of safety inquiries in Japan.

Japan's trade ministry asked Crocs to redesign their footwear after fielding 65 complaints about kids' Crocs getting stuck in escalators.

I don't know about you all, but when I was a kid, I was terrified of getting sucked into the escalator at the end. Now it looks like these fears are being realized!

In the US, the Washington Metro posted warnings about Crocs-style shoes on its escalators, so the phenomenon isn't apparently limited to Asia only.

This, in addition to Crocs' closing of its factory in Quebec, may not bode well for the company that currently buys naming rights from the AVP Tour.

Story: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=4694425&page=1

Crocs, ugly-ass footwear maker and major sponsor of the AVP, has closed its original factory in Quebec due to "slowing sales," putting 669 people out of work in the Francophonic city.

Quebecers officials are pissed, but, hey, that's the global market for you. Relocate in China, and with a little baksheesh, you might even be able to legally turn the rivers Crocs Blue, or Yellow, or Red!

Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/business/20suits.html?ref=business

The 2008 Dallas AVP Open turned out to be a rubber stamp of last week's finish in Miami. Both the women's and men's top seeds, Misty May-Treanor & Kerry Walsh, and Phil Dalhausser & Todd Rogers, were winners for a second time in a row on Sunday.

May-Walsh have enjoyed tour dominance for several years now, while Dalhausser-Rogers, now playing their third season together, may be beginning a stretch of dominance themselves after they emerged as Tour champions last year.

Story: http://web.avp.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080420&contentid=33966

Well, looks like one of the new AVP Beach Girlz, Mandy Jiroux, has already been making the blog rounds lately for some "racy photos." Gee, that's original. Snore.

Jiroux, 20, is a backup dancer and friend of teeny bopper sensation Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana. These girls apparently make goofy YouTube videos, and use acronyms like BFF, LMFAO, ROFL, LOL, etc. Oh, the kids today ...

Pretty pedestrian stuff, but worth a peep (more photos).

The AVP season opener in Miami was also the debut of the Beach Girlz, an apparently ad-hoc all-girl pop group conjured up by the AVP just a month prior.

According to the AVP:

The Girlz have already recorded two songs. One is called "This Is The Life", and the other is a remake of the Beach Boys classic "Good Vibrations."

"It's similar to the Beach Boys, but we're the Beach Girlz now, the new generation," New said. "It has a bit of a rap sequence, and we've made it into our own style."

You know, the sport is sexy enough for most folks. But ok, sure, drop in a couple of hot singing girls. That's cool. Starbucks went crazy and got away from their roots, too.

• Half-baked idea to get butts in seats? Yes.
• Adding to already circus-like atmosphere of AVP events and possibly upstaging athletes? Yes.
• Potential publicity goldmine for AVP? Possibly.

People love the terrible acts on American Idol, so I wouldn't rule anything out. If these girls are produced well, and the AVP knows how to promote them (hint: Internet -- call me), then you may just have something on your hands.

photo: avp.com

Yes, it was a tough event to photograph. The All Sorority Volleyball Tournament (ASVT) 2008 went down yesterday here in sunny Santa Barbara, CA. The weather was hot, the kids were drunk, and the clothes came off.

Oh, and there was volleyball, too. (See all photos)

Ball jokes! Hardy har! Anyway, for any of you purists that were hoping the AVP would switch from the giant, yellow, puffy, and downright cartoonish official Wilson volleyball, to something respectable and vaguely resembling leather, your hopes are dashed for another five years:

AVP, Inc. today announced a five-year contract extension with Wilson as the “official game ball” of the AVP. The long-term deal extends through the 2012 season of the AVP Crocs Tour.

Link: sportsfeatures.com/index.php?section=pp&action=show&id=46109


Also (slightly) related is this graphic I found of Kerri Walsh looking kinda tarted up on Wilson's Web site. Girl is naturally hot, fellas. Go easy on the makeup.