If Anna Kournikova would like to get back into competitive sports, may we suggest the Association of Volleyball Professionals Tour? That's beach volleyball, in case you didn't know; two-person teams square off on a 15-event circuit with stops from New York to California. But that's not important right now. The fact is, the AVP Tour isn't fooling anyone; it's probably a safe bet that a good majority of pro beach volleyball fans are there strictly for the, um, view. After having gone broke in 1997, pro beach volleyball is now on steady legs, with 15 tournaments this season; among them stops in New York, Chicago and just about every beach in California. And that includes Lake Tahoe (technically the MontBleu Resort and Casino on the Nevada side) this past weekend, where Deadspin associate editor Rick Chandler was in attendance this weekend. The team of Walsh and Misty May-Treanor rolled through undefeated for their 34th consecutive match victory to claim the $30,000 championship purse. Walsh, of course, won a gold medal with May-Treanor at the 2004 Olympics and was a member of two NCAA Championship (standard volleyball) teams at Stanford. And it must be reported that many feel that Walsh has the most fantastic rear in all of sports. Check out the infamous "butt-grab" incident from the '04 Games, after the jump. Oh, and in other butt news, the team of Michelle More and Suzanne Stonebarger (aka Team Gorgeous) were ousted in Thursday's first round in part because More was stung in the rump by a bee. So yeah, even winged insects know the score. Crocs Tour Pro Beach Volleyball [AVP.com] (UPDATE: We have just been informed that the Tahoe event also had a men's division. Imagine that.) This image was lost some time after publication.
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Tottenham ended a run of four games without a win in the Premier League in comfortable fashion on Saturday, Son reaching a landmark in the process.
After Kane s penalty put Spurs ahead, Son doubled their advantage with his 100th goal for the club, the England international unsurprisingly the provider.
It marked the 13th time the pair have combined for a goal in the Premier League in 2020-21, tying a record in a single season.
Toby Alderweireld converted Son s corner to make it 3-0 early in the second half as Spurs moved within four points of Liverpool and Manchester United at the top.…
Chelsea great Frank Lampard has taken his first step into management with his appointment at Championship club Derby County.
Lampard emerged as a frontrunner at the weekend and swiftly became the favourite when he revealed Derby s interest. He signed a three-year contract on Thursday.
The Rams were on the lookout for a new manager after Gary Rowett departed for Stoke City in the wake of Derby s play-off semi-final defeat to Fulham.
Lampard ended his playing career in 2016, as two brief spells with Manchester City and New York City followed his remarkably successful 13-year spell at Chelsea.
While some are likely to point at his lack of experience, the 39-year-old is confident in his abilities after learning from the likes of Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelo…
Steven Gerrard has backed Aston Villa s decision not to sell Douglas Luiz to Arsenal on deadline day and does not foresee the failed transfer being an issue for the Brazil international.
Arsenal were widely reported to have made a move for Douglas Luiz on Thursday due to injury problems in their midfield.
It was claimed Villa were firmly opposed to a sale at a price Arsenal were willing to go to, though.
A bid of around £20million was said to be lodged, but Villa were instead holding out for £40m for a player in the final year of his contract.
Even with Gerrard s men bringing in fellow midfielder Leander Dendoncker from Wolves, no deal could be done, perhaps leaving Douglas Luiz a little disappointed.
Knowing the boy and the player, I doubt it …
Thomas Tuchel declared Bayern Munich are dying for revenge after their humbling by Manchester City as he revealed Manuel Neuer is stepping up his comeback from injury.
The Bayern head coach oversaw a 3-0 defeat at City in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
It was only in the last quarter of the game that City brought down the hammer, taking advantage of generous defending from the Bundesliga leaders.
Many would suppose the tie is all but over, yet Tuchel does not see it that way, with Bayern looking to make their home advantage count in the second leg next Wednesday.
It s important not to lose focus, Tuchel said. The task seems almost impossible, but nothing is impossible in football. I can feel that we are dying for revenge …
Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury on Saturday.
The 20-year-old has added to the club s woes after colliding with Aston Villa s Antonio Luna during the 3-1 Premier League defeat, and it looks like it could see him out for a while.
Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed that the promising youngster will definitely miss the UEFA Champions League play-off match against Fenerbahce on Wednesday, with reports in the British media claiming that he could be out for as long as six months.
He is out, definitely out (for the Fenerbache clash), Wenger was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail.
It s a knee problem. It s a bad injury.
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Barcelona can enter the New Year just one point behind Real Madrid, if they can surpass Cordoba in La Liga on Saturday.
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The meeting will be the sides first in La Liga, with Barca winning their Copa del Rey tie in 2012-13 7-0 on aggregate including a 5-0 win at Camp Nou.
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That was similar to City s EFL Cup match at Manchester United last month, when the defender asked to be withdrawn at half-time as he did not feel ready to play in the second half.
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LA Galaxy have confirmed the signing of Landon Donovan, with the former United States international coming out of retirement to rejoin the MLS club.
Donovan retired at the end of the 2014 season having lifted his fourth MLS Cup with Galaxy, while he also had two loan spells in the Premier League with Everton.
The forward, who won 157 caps for United States during a 14-year-international career, is the all-time leading scorer in MLS history.
The 34-year-old rejoins Galaxy for the last few weeks of the season, with the team joint-second in the Western Conference and Donovan said he believes it is a win-win situation although he expects a mixed reaction.
He s back.
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy)
I am very happy to announce that I have decided…
Erik ten Hag expects his Manchester United players to show a stronger mentality and earn the right to wear the shirt after they crashed out of the Europa League with a whimper at Sevilla.
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United shot themselves in the foot, Harry Maguire robbed for the first goal after taking a pass from David de Gea to gift Youssef En-Nesyri an early opener.
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