For Walsh's Opponents, The End Is Near

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.)