Now that summer has finally arrived in Calif. (about 7 weeks late) it's time to get out the suntain lotion, a water bottle (and a beer for afterwards) and the real-leather volleyballs and head outside to bump, set and spike on your opponent.

For those of you who don't play the great game of volleyball you probably at least saw beach volleyball on television at one point.  During the greece and Bejing Olympics it was one of the most popular sports (and the only one I know of with official cheerleaders).  You probably recall Misty May and Kerri Walsh winning the gold at both of those Olympics, and if you stayed up late enough you probably saw Todd Rodgers and Phil Dahlhauser win the gold at Bejing in a huge comeback.  Dahlhauser absolutely took over the whole match with his blocking and hitting, just refusing to allow their opponents to score.

Other than the Olympics the only place to see beach volleyball on TV (or live) was when NBC broadcast the AVP matches.  These were really enjoyable because the network almost always only broadcast the finals and you would see the best players at their highest levels (andevery once in a while you'd get to see someone get "six-packed"). Plus you got "Geeter" McGee announcing and no sports announcer gets more animated than Geeter, he even does "the worm" across the court.  But last year the AVP lost its sponsorships (from Crocs, Johnsonville and Jose Cuervo) and the league eventually folded.  Attendance and ticket sales weren't enough to cover the prize money/admin. costss.  Thus, we now get no chance to watch volleyball on TV and the players are off on foreign soil, while at home indoor volleyball participation grows exponentially amongst the youth.

 My suggestion is the former AVP players get together and seek out sponsorships by some of the following: Google/Facebook or large high tech cos. (high tech matches with the younger generation which makes up most of the AVP fans), Speedo (some of the players were sponsored by Speedo and wore Speedo suits), Wilson Sporting goods (the leading outdoor volleyball maker), or even Victoria's Secret (men watching women running around in bikinis will be inclined to go buy their wives lingerie).  Here's hoping the AVP can re-organize and get back on TV.