Despite this sequence here where Phil Dalhausser did his best impersonation of Mr. Met, the U.S. men's team of Dalhausser and Todd Rogers came from behind to beat Brazilians Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes and give America a sweep of Beach Volleyball gold medals. And you'll be happy to know that the men's celebration was just as silly and contrived as the women's the day before. Hmm, how did they ever do it without Bush there patting them on the ass? The Americans won 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4), giving the U.S. three of the four men's gold medals since the sport was introduced in the 1996 Games.

• Decathlon News! Bryan Clay became the first American since 1996 to win the decathlon, finishing with 8,791 points, including 522 in the 1,500 meters. Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus took silver at 8,551, and Leonel Suarez of Cuba was third in 8,527. Can you name the American who won in '96?

• Bolt Wins No. 3. Jamaica won the 400-meter relay in 37.10 seconds, with Usain Bolt, who ran the third leg, getting his third gold medal. Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater are are the rest of the team. The time is a world record. Trinidad and/or Tobago won the silver, and Japan took the bronze.

• Michael Phelps Is A Poor Sport. Just look at his shameful treatment of second-place finisher Milorad Cavic at the conclusion of the 100 butterfly.

• Baseball Been Berry Berry Good To Them. Cuba made us look like the San Diego Pades, hitting four home runs in a 10-2 slaughter. Baseball won't be part of the 2012 Games in London, and may not be reinstaed after that either. Undefeated Korea rallied to defeat Japan 6-2 on Friday for the right to face Cuba in the gold medal game.

• U.S. Beats Tiny Landlocked Nation In Water Polo. Tony Azevedo scored three goals and Merrill Moses stopped 16 of 21 shots to lead the U.S. over Serbia 10-5 and advance to the gold medal match against Hungary, an 11-9 winner over Montenegro in the other semifinal. The U.S. clinchjed its first water polo medal since 1988.

Walsh and May-Treanor are 14-0 in Olympic play, but don't count on them being 15-0 in London. The pair are retiring, each looking to start families. "I was taking this as my last game," May-Treanor said. "I was putting everything into it." A Chinese team also won the bronze medal, beating Brazil.

Odd moment following the match, as Walsh — being interviewed on NBC — blurted: "Can I say something else? I'd like to thank our President for all he's done, and all the support." Yes, I'm sure that day of Bush playing grab-ass at the beach volleyball venue really turned the tide.

May-Treanor/Walsh Take 2nd Straight Beach Volleyball Gold [USA Today]

Their latest conquest came at the expense of Brazil, as the Americans advanced to the semi-final.

Ana Paula and Larissa, 26, lost the first set in each of their three preliminary matches, ultimately coming back to win two of them. They finally clicked in the round of 16, cruising by a tough German team in straight sets, but their first-set woes continued Sunday against May-Treanor and Walsh. And very few duos come back on a team that's now won 106 consecutive matches.

America advances to the semis after surviving a scare against Belgium, and now having ousted what was expected to be their toughest competition. I can't wait until volleyball becomes a one-on-one sport. Think of all the medals we'll win then!

Michael Phelps this. Michael Phelps that. What, no love for Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, possibly the most dominating force in the Olympics this decade? The Americans clobbered Cuba on Tuesday in straight sets to all but assure hem a spot in the medal round, and really, was there any doubt? The only crisis the pair is likely to encounter in Beijing has already been resolved; the loss of Walsh's wedding ring. Relax everyone, it's been found. Bush was on his hands and knees with a flashlight all the previous evening combing the sand.

Walsh and May-Treanor, the gold medalists in Athens, beat Dalixia Fernandez Grasset and Tamara Larrea 21-15, 21-16 for their 103rd consecutive victory. The Cubans, ninth-place finishers in both Athens and Sydney, fell to 1-1.

Walsh is married to fellow pro Casey Jennings.

"I didn't know I was superstitious about it until I lost it," said Walsh, who had already called her husband and asked him to have another made so he can bring it to China when he comes out on Thursday.

May-Treanor, who is married to Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor, does not wear a ring when she plays.

But anyway, you still gotta like Brazil (possibly NSFW).

• Phelps Wins Gold No. 3. Ho Hum. Michael Phelps took gold in the 200-meter freestyle, lowering his own world record at 1 minute 42.96 seconds. That makes him three-for-three, and brings him to nine Olympic golds in his career; tying him with three others for most ever. Check in on the Phelps Tracker for further details.

• U.S. Men Are Sprightly, Fabulous. The U.S. men's gymnastics team started strong, faded and had to settle for bronze, but that's it's best result in years, so it's all cool. China won with 286.125, Japan was second with 278.875 and the U.S. slipped past Germany 275.850 to 274.600. "Hogannnn!" Raj Bhavsar, the alternate who took injured Paul Hamm's spot on the team, got the team off to a solid start on rings with a score of 15.325, equaling his score in Saturday's qualifying. He followed on vault with a 16.125, just slightly off his qualifying score of (16.175). On parallel bars, his score of 15.575 slipped only slightly (15.625). Jonathan Horton scored four of the best team scores in five events. In the first three events, he posted the team's best show on rings (15.625) and vault (16.20) and second best score on parallel bars (15.625).

• Pull! Glenn Eller, a 26-year-old from Katy, Texas, who attended Auburn, set an Olympic record, hitting 190 of 200 clay targets on his way to winning the gold in men's double trap competition. Good shootin', Tex.

• Empowered Women. No one can touch us in softball either, by the way. The U.S. began its bid for a fourth straight gold medal with an 11-0 win over Venezuela, setting an Olympic record for runs scored in a game. Jennie Finch threw four no-hit innings and Caitlin Lowe had an inside-the-park homer as the U.S. won its 15th straight Olympic game and dispatched the Venezuelans in five innings due to the run-difference rule. Venezuela now must give us half of their oil, per the pre-game bet.

• More Swim Gold. Aaron Peirsol won the men's 100-meter backstroke, defending his title with a world-record time of 52.54 seconds, lowering his old mark of 52.89 set at last month's U.S. trials. Teammate Matt Grevers earned the silver in 53.11, added to the gold he won for swimming the preliminaries of the 400 free relay. In the women's 100 back, Natalie Coughlin of the United States became the first woman to ever defend her title in the event, winning with an American record of 58.96.

• Take That, New Zealand. The American women scored the fastest goal in Olympic soccer history (40 seconds), for those keeping track of stuff like that. Final: U.S. 4, New Zealand 0. We're on to the quarterfinals.

But there was also actual volleyball being played. When your drunken barroom argument gets around to what current player is the most dominant in sports, don't forget Misti May-Treanor, who won her 100th career tournament title on Sunday (out of 153 events entered).

May-Treanor and Keri Walsh teamed to win the AVP Crocs Slam McDonald's Chicago Open on Sunday with an 18-21, 21-17, 15-12 victory over Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs in the championship match. She is the fastest player ever to reach the 100-win mark. The defending Olympic gold medalists have a record 16 straight tournament championships and 90 straight match victories. They won $25,000 on Sunday; not a lot compared to, say, pro golf, but a pretty decent payday for hanging out at the beach playing volleyball.

Walsh has made more than $1 million in her beach volleyball career. May-Treanor has not made quite that much, but gets the consolation prize of being married to Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor; who, if he wasn't on the 15-day DL, would love to hit against Cuervo girl I'm sure.

(PHOTO: Courtesy of Conrad Castelo. See more of his work here. )

Full photos of ATV Event [Flickr]
Walsh, Partner Queens Of The Beach [Oakland Tribune]
Cuervo Girl Steamer Steals Chicago Show From May [Busted Coverage]

The harrowing accident occurred to such an AVP competitor Friday:

Jason Ring had that very experience on an outer court when he sensed the uneasy feeling in his left foot Friday and then reached down to find he'd been stuck by a syringe. Ring said that, five minutes later, a second syringe was discovered on the same court.

Also, the report was written by Mike Scarr. Nope, nothing funny about that name.

And now, a song:

♬ We were at the beach
Everybody had volleyballs
Somebody went into the sand
And there they found a shot
But it wasn't a shot
It was a shot lobster! ♬

Syringes Surface At Seaside [AVP.com]