Dust Plus: Made by Dan Barber in the USA, not Ralph Lauren in China

Notes galore today from East Long Beach top Central London to the Pyramid. We will start with the Big Blue pointed building which now has a new occupant, the just hired Director of Athletic Training and Sports Medicine, Jarrod Spanjer. He came over the first of the month from that popular LBSU athletic training ground Arizona State.

The current AD and his former chief assistant David Benedict were once in the desert, as well as a recent basketball transfer, super guard Keala King (6-5, 210, Jr.) via Compton, high schooled at Mater Dei and was a rising star at Arizona State Now we welcome Mr. Spanjer who replaces popular Mark Pocinich who moved to the top spot at UCLA. JS is by education a San Fernando Valley guy with a bachelor’s in 1999 from CSU Northridge, then down to SDSU for his MA (2002) and then became the men’s basketball trainer for the Sun Devils. He also was the principal trainer for the men’s and women’s golf teams, both facility and talent rich programs. He brings with him all the right initials, ATC, LAT, ASTYM, and a bride from 2011, the former Jenn Pawson.

One of my sports-med insiders was impressed with Jarrod and sent us a short quote, “Hope he doesn’t bolt for a head PAC 12 job in 3 yrs. LB deserves a lifer like (Dan) Bailey.” The Beach is likely to hire another assistant trainer in the near future to go along with baseball trainer Katie Davis and a talented group of student interns. The last baseball trainer, will be back for her second season at CAL.

Now to our foreign correspondence: we have for the Schedule for Niner athletes and coaches in the Olympics starting this weekend in merry old London (add eight hours for live in London, these are the PDT times for programming your VCR).

Men’s Indoor Volleyball Reps

Men’s Track and Field

Kenneth Medwood
August 3 | 3:15AM | 400 Meter Hurdles – Round 1
August 4 | 11AM | 400 Meter Hurdles – Semifinals
August 6 | 12:45PM | 400 Meter Hurdles – Finals

Women’s Beach Volleyball

Misty May-Treanor (with partner Kerri Walsh)
July 28 | 3PM | Pool C – vs. Cook-Hinchley (AUS)
July 30 | 3PM | Pool C – vs. Sluková/Kolocová (CZE)
August 1 | 3PM | Pool C – vs. Schwaiger/Schwaiger (AUT)

Women’s Indoor Volleyball

Danielle Scott-Arruda and Tayyiba Haneef-Park
July 28 | 12PM | Group B –USA vs. Korea
July 30 | 8:45AM | Group B –USA vs. Brazil
August 1 | 12PM | Group B –USA vs. China
August 3 | 12PM | Group B –USA vs. Serbia
August 5 | 12PM | Group B –USA vs. Turkey

Back to the Beach cash cow, men’s basketball, CBS Sports projected the 2013 NBA draft party could have a 49er on the telly, that would be James Ennis, 6-7, 190 lbs., the high flying strong guard and projected to be picked at #53. CBS recently made this cryptic comment about James, “Long and athletic, has terrific feel and is a decent shooter.”

And the fall wouldn’t be complete without a QB controversy, this being the setter spot for your court queens of Niner women’s volleyball. Last year Erin Juley beat out Ashley Vazquez (who has since transferred to Arkansas) but Tara Roenicke, off of great success in the sand volleyball season now will challenge for the indoor starting spot. She did not compete for the setter position in 2011 in part because she came in primarily to play sand volleyball, even though she was one of the top setters coming out of high school. Niece of MLB’s Ron Roenicke, Tara was the starting setter as a freshman at the University of Houston.

In addition, she missed a couple of weeks during double days last year so she could compete for team USA in beach volleyball. Roenicke stated in the spring that she wants to be the starting setter and will compete hard for it this preseason. She indicated to followers that she would forego competing for team USA in September so she could concentrate on winning the job. Meanwhile Erin Juley had knee surgery this off season and was told not to play any volleyball until abut now.

Last add training room talk. It looks like local swim legend Jessica Hardy, finally eligible for the Olympics, suspected the 2008 positive test was the result of a tainted supplement provided her by AdvoCare, a Texas-based dietary supplements company with whom she had signed an endorsement deal. The tests found clenbuterol in an AdvoCare drink supplement. “I thought it was an equivalent to a Gatorade,” Hardy said. “I put it in my water bottle and went around drinking it. It tasted like Gatorade…That industry is the Wild West,” Hardy said. She recently became engaged to Swiss swimmer Dominik Meichtry, whom she first met as a Cal freshman.

Our closing quotes come from the cash box side of Beach sports where the current dollar dilemma still awaits the voter reaction to Governor Brown’s ballot initiative. This has LBSU administrators rightfully nervous, even to the point of asking existing coaches and programs to take a ten percent budget cut. That makes the even more dizzying the conversation on the topic of “mid major” athletics and how does one prioritize limited resources. Film at 11. –DR. DAN

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