For the past few weeks, we’ve been compiling our 6-Man team for the Manhattan Beach Surf Fest Volleyball Tournament. The “Six-Man” event hosts tens of thousands of participants on 40+ courts and combines the country’s best volleyball players with the country’s best party animals. Saturday is a big party and Sunday is where the biggest bragging rights in volleyball are claimed. With that in mind, we’ve looked far and wide for the best mix of talent in both necessary genres of the Six-Man.

This year, our first year in existence, we will be Team Danny Kinda. We’ll be sporting patriotic bandannys, killer tees, and sweet kneepads, but mustaches are optional (they’re so trite these days).

Here’s the deal:

WE WANT YOU ON OUR TEAM!

Just email us (be at kindagood dot com), give us your tee size, and show up on Saturday, August 2nd. We don’t care if you don’t know us and you’re just a fan. We’re nice and we’re fun. But we’re also serious. We’re not going to guarantee you playing time. You won’t start over Jason Ring. We want as many Danny Kindas running around Manhattan Beach as possible, so join us for a weekend of fun you can only have hanging with The Kinda Good Crew! (And you’ll get a brand new custom tee for free!)

We’ve got top AVP pros, Team USA members, and those loud guys who seem to up and disappear at about 3:30pm to a cozy piece of shade by the pier. Here’s the Team Danny Kinda roster (so far):

Kinda Good
AJ Mihalic : Stuffer
Billy Allen : Whatever
Dan Madden : Yeller

AVP Pros & National Team Members
Jason Ring : Ringer
John Mayer : Sender
Hans Stolfus : Blogger
Ty Tramblie : Cramper
Braidy Halverson : Donkeyer
Phil Eatherton : Thoinker
Nils Nielsen : Zoinker

Friend Ballers
Kevin Gregan : Gooser
Lucas Black : KiisFMer
John Wankner: Wanker
Sean Allstot: Hairliner
Kevin Lynch: Sicker
Derek Sorensen: Bearder
Jeff Garland : Wizarder
Jaren Barredo : Hosteler

Black’s Posse
Casey Krause-Black: Scorer
Vince “Vinny” Strang: Heckler

Cal-Poly Posse
Kevin Watson: Jumping-Server
Danny “Hands” Turkovich: Bebo-Cheerer

Danny Kinda hangs up his shoes (but not his kneepads) and moves to California to pursue a career in professional sand volleyball. Who does he meet? How does he fare? Do shuffles steps work in the sand? All this and more.

Thanks to real Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser and BIG thanks to our friends Vince “Todd” Fierro and Rick “Phil” Brandt. We appreciate the help!!

Excited? View the trailer.

LOUISVILLE, KY — This weekend the AVP stopped in Louisville Kentucky where AVP pro Austin Rester made more money swimming than playing volleyball. It started on a drive along the Ohio River when Aaron Wachtfogel asked Austin if he’d swim across the river for $1000. “Are you kidding me?” Austin asked. “I’d do it for a hundred.”

Later that day Austin received a phone call from Jason Ring. “We’ve got your money.”

Armed only with borrowed spandex Austin set out across the Ohio. The water was freezing, the current strong, but Austin’s confidence was high as ever. Followed by a boat chaperone Austin crossed from Ohio to Kentucky in one hour. Waiting for him on the shore was a large crowd of onlookers as word of the dare had spread.

“I thought I had hypothermia,” said Austin. “My body temperature was 94 degrees.” The good news for Austin is that people donated to the pool, including $600 from the tour’s #1 team. (After offering him $500 and finding out Austin was serious, Phil tried to give him $200 not to go because of the danger of the dam that waited not far down river.) Overall Austin’s swim raised about $900, enough to keep him traveling to a few more AVP events, especially those located near bodies of water.

Warning: You may read this and have NO idea what is going on. There’s a lot of assumed knowledge in this article. If you’re confused then shoot us an email and ask us what (on Earth) is going on.
(be at kindagood dot com)

—————————————————————————————-

Back in April I posted an email sent by former AVP president Kevin Cleary opposing changes to the new AVP format for the Manhattan Beach Open, aka “The Wimbledon of Beach Volleyball”, (a nickname, incidentally, that embarrasses the sport. Imagine calling something “The NBA Finals of Beach Volleyball” or “The X Games of Beach Volleyball”.) We thought it was a considered, light essay on a great tradition. The local papers picked up the story, posted a bunch of letters-in-response, and the gospel according to the Old-School got spread.

Then we got an inflammatory email that we’ve filed in the “What Were They Thinking??” category of our Gmail. We’ve posted that email as well as AJ’s and my responses in the links below. Enjoy!

1. Anonymous Angry Email from DelusionalCleary@Yahoo.com

2. AJ’s email in response to DC

3. Dan’s Response to DC

In conclusion, if you’re going to debate something, please use an argument relating to the subject. Also, sign your name.