America's best not done yet

Just when you thought you'd seen enough of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, they've saddled up for one more event this year (not counting an exhibition this weekend in Milwaukee).

Upon returning home from Finland, where they won their record-breaking ninth FIVB title of the season, Rogers and Dalhausser were part of an announcement from Hahana Beach in Cincinnati: the event scheduled there for Labor Day Weekend will go on despite the AVP's collapse, and will include most of the AVP's top stars.

Joining the world's top-ranked team will be fellow 2008 Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, though that duo will not play together. May-Treanor will be with Nicole Branagh, whom she's teamed with all year as Walsh has been sidelined due to pregnancy. Walsh, who hasn't played since last September, will play with Brooke Hanson, the woman with which Walsh planed to make her comeback before the AVP folded.

Also signed up are Jen Kessy/April Ross, Angie Akers/Tyra Turner, Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan, and Dianne DeNecochea/Brittany Hochevar for the women, with John Hyden/Sean Scott, Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena, and Jake Gibb/Casey Jennings on the men's side. Gibb's normal partner, Sean Rosenthal, had previously committed to a local Southern California event, so he'll team with Jennings, who has called off his partnership with Brad Keenan.

Rogers said Thursday over the phone that he wouldn't normally play in an event like this -- technically called the 2010 Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship. But he is impressed with the event's promoter, Reach Event Marketing president Bob Slattery, who's responsible for building Hahana Beach, a 6-acre complex that will make its grand opening for this event. It includes a restaurant/bar and six sand volleyball courts open year-round to recreational and youth leagues, and is a model other Midwest cities can follow to promote the game of beach volleyball.

The Labor Day Weekend tournament will feature a total purse of $40,000 per gender, as opposed to $100k for most AVP stops. The winners will likely split $10k, as opposed to $20k for AVP. There will be eight teams total per gender.