VOLLEYBALL

Poland qualifies for Olympics; Japan beats Thailand

Sunday 25th May, 05:25 AM JST

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Blue_Tiger at 08:25 PM JST - 25th May

Is it just me, or does it seem like Japan has played all of their qualifying games at home, or mostly at home? How does it show a team's strength when they play all of their qualifying games -- or most of them -- at home? Why don't we ever see Japan's women's V-ball team play on an opposing court?? No wonder they've qualified and won rather easily. I'd like to see them in front of an opposing crowd, with opposing fans on a hostile court, and see how they fare....
northlondon at 08:29 PM JST - 25th May

What is it with the Japanese obsession with corporate sponsors of volleyball and other sports ? As an example (and moderator please bear with me and read this through as it is a related example), my office firm play a couple of sports tournaments each year. The one today was very Japanese with everything geared around the two main sponsors (one of them being a producer of alcoholic beverages). Speeches on behalf of the sponsors etc but no money raised for any charity of any kind. The other tournament is organised by an American investment bank here in Tokyo and a decent amount of money is raised for worthwhile charities and everyone involved has a fun family day out.
northlondon at 08:33 PM JST - 25th May

I'd like to see the Fuji TV, sorry, Japanese volleyball team play away in Beijing against the Chinese. Or in Sao Paulo against Brazil. Or in Moscow against the Russians in the middle of winter.
opposite13 at 08:46 PM JST - 25th May

Is it just me, or does it seem like Japan has played all of their qualifying games at home, or mostly at home?

Japan will be the only team in Beijing (apart from the host country, China) who did not have to travel at all in order to qualify for the Games.
opposite13 at 08:50 PM JST - 25th May

...and as an aside, the last time Japan did travel (over a year ago, for the Asian Championships), they were soundly whipped by both Thailand and Kazakhstan.
Sarge at 08:56 PM JST - 25th May

The Serbians are in a real dogfight with the Japanese - they lost the first two sets, took the 3rd set and and are leading the 4th by just 11-9...
opposite13 at 08:59 PM JST - 25th May

I'm not able to follow the box score or the TV coverage for this match, Sarge... tell me, is Sanja Tomasevic (former NCAA All-American and national champion for University of Washington) on the court for Serbia? I know she's on the team, but I assume she's riding the pine as Nicolic's backup....
opposite13 at 09:38 PM JST - 25th May

Finally got the box score and play-by-play on the Serbia match (now that the TV broadcast has finished in Japan). Is this right? Three (!!) missed serves in a row at match freakin' point by Serbia, and Japan still manages to lose?!?! Too funny.... have another cigarette, girls!
Sarge at 11:24 PM JST - 25th May

Serbia with a 4 point lead early in the 5th set and the shorter Japanese tied it up 3 times? Too funny... better get some taller girls!
Sarge at 11:35 PM JST - 25th May

Hey, opposite13, what's up with the taller Serbians losing the first two sets and just barely squeaking by the "unequivocably mediocre Japanese national team"?
Blue_Tiger at 05:35 AM JST - 26th May

...And two minutes after their come-from-ahead loss to Serbia, Fuji TV had switched topics to smoething more 'interesting'. Whatsamadda? Too prideful to show your girls get smacked around after being up 2-0, Fuji TV????
Sarge at 07:22 AM JST - 26th May

Blue Tiger - Um, Fuji TV had scheduled two hours for volleyball - they went 30 minutes overtime because the Serbians took so long in defeating their shorter rivals. After the match, they went to news of other teams' matches, then on to the rest of the regular programming. Seems reasonable to me.
Blue_Tiger at 10:14 AM JST - 26th May

Sarge - Um, I was watching Fuji TV until after the game, and Fuji TV flitted to something else within five minutes of the end of the game. If they showed any "News" of the other games, it must have just been a flashing of the scores, because I never saw any other news of other V-ball matches. So what if they dedicated 2 and a half hours to the game? They were surely quiet after Serbia handed them their hats. Kinda' reminded me of the two Japan-Australia Baseball Gam,es at the Athens Olympics 4 years ago: immddiately after Japan lost both games, the J-media immediately went to something else as if the games never happened, and the next morning, both losses were mentioned so fast in the news, you'd have thought it was little league they were covering (ditto for today, too, with the V-Ball loss: it was mentioned, but mostly in passing). I disagree with you rarely, Sarge, but this is one of those times....
opposite13 at 07:26 PM JST - 27th May

what's up with the taller Serbians losing the first two sets and just barely squeaking by

Ummm, what's with the taller Japanese losing two sets and just squeaking by Thailand, dude? It happens.

Here we go again, people... Sarge is like clockwork... back on his height diatribe the MOMENT Japan loses! At this point your predictability has frankly become boring, but I'll play along: after all this time, it still baffles me how you fail to see the gaping one-sided hole in your own argument. When Japan wins against a taller opponent you say they've "overcome their lack of height" but when Japan loses to someone taller it's "because of the opponents' height advantage". Ummm... hello?!? Can't have it both ways, mate. You definitely need to watch more matches NOT involving Japan (which admittedly might be hard for you if you live there) before you start in on the implications of height advantages in international volleyball (or do your rules only apply to Team Japan?)
Sarge at 09:16 PM JST - 20th June

The Kazakhstan women ( average height 185 cm ) just got their butts kicked by the shorter ( average 178 cm ) Japanese women in their first match of the World Grand Prix. The Japanese crushed them in the first two sets 25-17, 25-13, then teased them in the 3rd set, letting them tie it up 22-22, then put them away 25-23. Hey, opposite13, whaddya think?