No, you will not find advertising on these pages! No sirree!

There are a couple of things I wanted to address quickly…

1 – Why my “Featured Articles” are really nothing more than top ten musical playlists; and only two of them, at that.

Well, really it’s quite simple. The image that is displayed must be uploaded to the server every time it’s changed. I do not have back-end control of my blog and therefore rely on my site administrator to handle all things associated with the server. Since, I have never paid him a dime for his help, I feel bad constantly asking for assistance changing things on a blog that brings in absolutely zero revenue.  (Which will be covered in point #2)  A musical playlist can remain on the front page for considerable time because it’s not a pertinent, news headline or current volleyball related scoop. Instead, it’s just a list of songs that I thoroughly enjoy listening to while attempting to assimilate a mood that is conducive to piecing together the likes of a novel. And that is 100% truth. I cannot write a single word unless I am listening to something that brings me back to a time when a certain feeling was felt. I’m a sucker for nostalgic moments, just ask my wife. It’s probably more of a curse than anything, but at least it’s one that is easily remedied; I just make sure I’ve got my iPod and headphones ready, and packed alongside my leather notepad. Now, the mixed-up letter image that accompanies each “Featured Article” is just an artistic collaboration I picked up off of colourlovers.com. I even used the same artwork for my Twitter page. And it fits the sizing of the stretched out thumbnail that came with my blog template perfectly. Oh, before I forget. I tried to change the title of “Featured Articles” to “Featured Music,” but was foiled by the template I used to create this blog. What ensued was quite odd, but not entirely unexpected; all of a sudden, the thumbnail section no longer existed and the “Home” page looked completely empty and overwhelmingly dull. So, I changed it back. That’s that. “Featured Articles” = “Musical Playlists and Colorful Letter Based Artwork”

2 – My blog is a blog. Or “weblog.” By definition of the term.

I write what I’m thinking on subjects that mostly involve volleyball, and that’s it. It’s a personal volleyball/random thoughts journal, if you will. Key ingredient missing? Advertising. There is no advertising! I have not and will not add Google adsense. I feel like Adsense not only cheapens the feel of a blog, but also eradicates it from the category of “blogs” altogether. What makes Adsense even worse? Most of the time, it leads consumers to horrible “volleyball related” websites that want nothing more than to steal your hard earned cash for volleyball merchandise you can most certainly live without. Listen, if you want to play the game, you need a ball, lines (if you play at a beach that doesn’t supply their own), antennas (if you’re training to be professional, otherwise hit around the post and make them dig it), sunscreen (preferably with an SPF rating over 30) and either a pair of board shorts or a sexy bikini (depending upon your sex, please don’t confuse the two). That’s it. Stop wasting your cash on anything else. And that’s why I don’t advertise. I’m keeping it real. Going broke as well, but that’s what volleyball players do. How good would my column be if I was loaded, living in a house on the strand walking my dog that’s no bigger than a mailbox? Seriously.

Back to advertising on blogs. If you advertise on your blog, your blog is no longer a blog. That’s it, end of discussion. Sorry. I have no problem with displaying some sponsors or brand logos or discussing them in a blog regarding sponsors, but that’s where I draw the line if you still want to call it a blog. Otherwise it’s a website and you’re doing it for profit. Which, obviously isn’t me. I need to be broke and a tad bitter to produce even a single ounce of rhetoric.

3 – I noticed that most volleyball fans honestly only want to talk about one thing, or, umm, team; Misty and Kerri. 

That’s basically it. Maybe a little Todd and Phil mixed in, but mostly just Misty and Kerri. Which, I have vehemently shied away from throughout my writing days. Well, except for that one article I wrote about what would happen if they didn’t win the Gold Medal in Beijing, but other than that, not so much. Reason being – everybody else can’t stop talking about them. Just take a look at a copy of DiG Magazine over the last six years. Or should I call it “Misty and Kerri Magazine?” Hell, they’re the topic of discussion even now and they’re not even competing. “When is Kerri due with her baby?” “Is Misty rehabbing her achilles correctly?” “Why doesn’t Kerri even look pregnant?” “Why is Misty living where?” “How and when did Kerri start her new active clothing line?” “Did Misty’s husband get traded to the Tigers?” “Could Kerri still win a tournament with 7.8 lbs of sunshine beneath her belly?” “Why didn’t they let Misty continue competing when she could have won Dancing With the Stars with a boot on her foot?” And… “Will they ever play together again on the sand in an effort to win a record 3rd Olympic Beach Volleyball Gold Medal?” Well, here’s what I got for you: Misty is over it. She has no interest in playing anytime soon and I wouldn’t expect her back on the sand in the next two years. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her setting for the indoor national team before she ever comes back to the beach. Word is, the position has already been offered to her, and who knows, maybe she regrets not attempting to represent the U.S. in the gym way back in Sydney? She could try to earn her third Gold Medal through that route as well; Karchy style. At the moment, she’s living in Florida. Her father, Butch, is also in Florida applying for a coaching position at a Catholic High School, most likely to be closer to his daughter. And no, I’m not kidding. The great Butch May will be coaching high school girls this fall. Their record will improve exponentially overnight, I’m just guessing here. Also, don’t plan on seeing her at all this summer as the tour crosses the country. Frankly, she’s earned that right. My advice to her is, enjoy it, and appreciate it. Now, as far as Kerri goes, I cannot think of more of an opposite to Misty. I saw Kerri in Riverside and she looked like she was ready to play in the final; despite the 8-month lump protruding from her mid-section. My guess is, as soon as she and Casey welcome their first child into the world, she’ll be doing plyo’s with her baby bjorn as a weight vest; and back on the sand with a new partner by the end of the summer. Not guaranteed, but almost guaranteed. I’m comfortably sitting at 90% with that prediction. Who will she play with? Well, Matt Fuerbringer likes to think Rachel Wacholder will also conveniently make a return around that time, but my money is on Nicole. Rachel looks like she is thoroughly enjoying motherhood and I wouldn’t expect to see her on the sand anytime soon, possibly ever again. Unless, of course, the phone rings and there’s a Mrs. Jennings on the other end; that would change everything. As far as Nicole goes, that seems like the obvious progression. Elaine is near the end of her road, an amazing road at that, and Nicole is on pace to be the best player on the planet, as long as the Kerri and Misty keep sitting out. Yeah, Branagh/Youngs took 4th place this past weekend in Brazil, but give them some credit, Brazil is not the easiest place to play Brazilians, and they lost to a great Brazilian team in the cross-over. No small feat.

Just for a moment, I want to at least discuss Todd and Phil while we’re here, talking about the future. Here’s my prediction: Todd will walk up to Phil and hand him the reigns after this year. He won’t retire for another 3-4 years, but he will not make another Olympic run. Phil will instead pick up Rosie and begin his quest for a second Gold Medal. Todd will call Sean Scott and renew their partnership for the duration of his career, and Sean’s. Sean will, of course, go back to Todd because, Todd is, after-all, still Todd, and he knows how juicy the sets will be in sideout. Phil and Rosie will be absolutely ridiculous when they’re on, and still better than everybody in America when they’re off. Olympics or bust for those two, and with a good coach on the sideline directing the ship, they’ll be wearing Gold through Parliament Square in 2012. Jake Gibb will also attempt to make another run at it, but at this point, I’m not sure with who? Olson? Medel? Reid Priddy? Somebody new? It’s a crap shoot. Young left-side defenders are a tad scarce, especially ones that can sideout against the best blockers in the world and come out victorious.

4 – Speaking of Todd, he also has his own blog.

One worth checking out I might add. It’s more, “I just played in Brazil, but my real passion is gardening and eliminating television from my children’s lives,” than anything revolutionary for the volleyball community, but nonetheless, it’s still enjoyable to read words being typed out regularly by an Olympic Gold Medalist and one of the best volleyball players ever. Also, while I’m at it, check out Angie Akers’ blog. And a favorite or mine, Kinda Good’s blog. Oh, and Braidy Halverson’s got a new blog. And sorry, John Moran has a beach volleyball blog too; that, oddly enough, looks an awful lot like Todd’s, but I’m willing to look past that because he covers some great volleyball related topics too. Only, he uses Adsense, so, despite it’s location on “blogger,” it’s more of a website to me. Either way, there seems to be quite a few writers in our midst, or, at least bloggers. That doesn’t mean I want you to shy away from the friendly confines of hansstolfus.com, just that maybe there’s something else out there worth taking a peak at.