Phil and Todd's season won't be matched

When 2008 Olympian Sean Rosenthal returned from competing in Switzerland a little less than a month ago, I asked him for his opinion on the most recent unprecedented performance by gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. His response could not have been more accurate. Well, at least for those with adequate volleyball vernacular.

"What they [Dalhausser and Rogers] are doing right now is absolutely ridiculous," Rosenthal stated mid-laugh. "It's not that they haven't lost a tournament at home, it's that they haven't lost a match. And to win five international tournaments at the same time is even crazier."

With their victory Sunday at the FIVB Kristiansand Open in Norway, Dalhausser and Rogers now have eight - a men's record on the FIVB that may never be broken. That is, until next week in Finland, when they'll go for nine. And my guess is they'll get it; lord knows they're the hands-on favorite.

Norway also marked Dalhausser and Rogers' 16th FIVB World Tour title as a team, moving them into sole possession of second place in career team victories behind only 2004 Olympic gold medalists Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos.

What's the mood like for the rest of the athletes in the player's tent during each run to the tournament championship for the world's best team? Well, let's just say for the first time countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil are coming together with one common goal in mind: defeat the USA - namely, the "Beast" and "Professor," although I'm not sure if those monikers get lost in translation upon clearing customs.

And yet, despite the players' top-secret table-talk and collaboration of ideas, no one has been able to crack the code consistently in 2010. In fact, only one duo has managed to defeat them more than once this season and that is the aforementioned Rosenthal and partner Jake Gibb. Whether they're willing to sell out a couple of compatriots remains to be seen, but they know as well as anyone, even with the best game plan in the world, victory against Dalhausser and Rogers is most certainly not guaranteed.

The last team to display this type of freakish dominance was Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. Their 112-match winning streak will never be broken, let alone touched, and their legacy will live on for eternity... but make no mistake, what Todd and Phil are accomplishing right now isn't far behind. The men's game requires a level of strength and athleticism that is incredibly difficult to duplicate week-in and week-out. Ask any other team at this stage in the season how they feel and the answer will be one of the following: fatigued, worn out, mentally and physically exhausted, or just plain tired. Dalhausser and Rogers look as fresh as a daisy, and that has been the difference.

For most players, news of the AVP's financial shortcomings has become a mental distraction, a burden of stress, uncertainty and doubt. Case in point: two 25th-place performances in Poland a week ago out of top-five-ranked Jen Kessy and April Ross, and Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh. With their domestic tour's future in question and associated personal sponsorships on the verge of disappearance, our two most consistent women's teams wore their prospective insecurity on their bikinis in Stare Jablonki. Both teams bowed-out after pool play; marking the first time in May-Treanor's storied career she left a tournament venue in last place, something that has even prompted retirement talk in the press.

For Dalhausser and Rogers, it seems to have somehow had the exact opposite effect. Travel back-and-forth between the U.S. and Europe for events has ceased and more time on the FIVB has allowed Todd, still the brain behind the operation, to learn and bank even more info on his international competitors, which he then translates to Phil so he can continue his utter worldwide domination at the net.

Bottom line: Dalhausser and Rogers' accomplishments cannot afford to be lost in the shuffle that is the devastating news of the AVP's demise. If we miss it now, we'll have lost our chance to witness history, because no team is going to have a year like they're having ever again. Well, except for maybe them in 2011...

Hans Stolfus was an eight-year pro on the AVP Tour.