laughter.Yeah we made the grand final last year, weve got the 13 players ffrom that (game) playing again now but weve got some young guys in our team that dont have that sem

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Think of Olympic beach volleyball like the dance floor of a Rio nightclub: When the samba stops, its time to start looking for a new partner.Kerri Walsh Jennings is going for a fourth straight gold medal, but it would be her first with April Ross. Fellow American Phil Dalhausser, who won gold with Todd Rogers in Beijing, is playing with Nick Lucena now (after an unsuccessful dalliance with Sean Rosenthal).A beach volleyball partnership is often compared to a marriage, and teams all around the world use the years between Olympics to reassess their couplehood.Some stick together -- Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor were the gold standard for three Olympiads -- but, sometimes, their eyes can wander.Its like high school dating, Dalhausser said after beating Tunisia 21-7, 21-13 on Sunday. The middle of the pack on the AVP tour, theyre always trying to move up. (There are) a lot of guys finding out from other guys they got dumped.Walsh Jennings plucked Ross off of the No. 2 U.S. womens pair right there on the sand after the gold medal match in London. (May-Treanor had said she would retire; Rosss partner, Jen Kessy, would be pushing 39 by Rio).Rogers is now 42, and didnt feel like he had another Olympic run in him. But Dalhausser, who is 36, wanted to give it another try.After our last match in London, he was like, `Well, it was nice playing with you. And I was like, `Yeah, we had a good run, Dalhausser said on Sunday. So there were no hard feelings there.Dalhausser formed what was expected to be a superteam with Rosenthal, himself a two-time Olympian, but it never really clicked. After being knocked out of two straight seasons with injuries, Dalhausser turned to Lucena, a longtime friend he left in 2006 to join up with Rogers.That was tough, Dalhausser said.Those arent the only partner-swappers on the Copacabana sand.Jake Gibb was with Rosenthal in Beijing and London but is playing in Rio with Casey Patterson. All four Brazilian teams -- including the mens and womens world champions, and all of them among the top seeds in Rio -- have formed since 2012.In extreme cases, teams are formed by federations or circumstances: When Viktoria Orsi Toth was bounced from the Rio Games last week after failing a drug test, Marta Menegatti needed a new partner with an Italian passport who met the qualifying requirements.She had never played with Laura Giombini before the Olympics began.Some of the other countries, that have a large pool, you see them switching often, said Canadian Heather Bansley, who joined up with indoor volleyball player Sarah Pavan after they each failed to qualify for London.In Canada, there arent a lot of options, she said. But I think theres a lot of value in sticking together.Part of that value is learning each others tendencies on the court, and how to best communicate and do it under pressure. But the partners also spend so much time together on the world tour that they need to get along off the court, too.True, there are tales of partners who cant stand each other but stick together for the good of the team. More often, though, the players use a sort of dating period to see how well they match up both on and off the court.Polands Monika Brzostek and Kinga Kolosinska have been together since 2009, one of the longest-running partnerships in the tournament.We do not have any serious problems. We enjoy each others company, Brzostek said. As far as I know, we do not want to change anything.Then she looked over to her partner for confirmation.They both smiled.Not for me, either, Kolosinska said.---Jimmy Golen covers Olympic beach volleyball for The Associated Press. Follow him at: http://www.twitter.com/jgolen .Trevor Hoffman Padres Jersey . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Austin Hedges Padres Jersey . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. http://www.padressale.com/padres-ozzie-smith-jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Matt Strahm Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Eric Hosmer Jersey . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St.If experience counts in finals footy then Gold Coast may as well not turn up for Fridays elimination clash with Brisbane.The Titans head up the Pacific Motorway for their first finals appearance in six years with an accumulated 30 finals matches across their starting 13 with Chris McQueen the only premiership winner in their team.Brisbane, last years grand finalists, boast 124 finals across their starting lineup with Darius Boyd, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker having all won premierships.Adam Blair has also tasted grand final success as a member of the 2009 Melbourne team which would later have their premiership win stripped for salary cap breaches.The Titans boast four players making their finals debut in Konrad Hurrell, Nene MacDonald, Ashley Taylor and Ryan James while only two of Brisbanes starting 13 - centres Tom Opacic and James Roberts - are new to finals football.Veteran backrower Thaiday doesnt however buy into the argument the Titans are lambs heading to a Suncorp Stadium slaughter.Yeah we made the grand final last year, weve got the 13 players ffrom that (game) playing again now but weve got some young guys in our team that dont have that semi-final experience, Thaiday told AAP.ddddddddddddAnything can happen in semi-finals. Everyones playing to get through to the next week.Im sure theyre going to bring their best brand of footy all year because they want to rub peoples face in it, the ones who doubted them.Thaiday is also backing Roberts, who established himself as a rising star of the game last year at Gold Coast before a bungled contract resulted in a move to the Broncos.The 23-year-old also recently copped a $20,000 fine and has been ordered to undertake community service after two separate drunken incidents at Brisbane nightspots.Jimmys one of those players thats pretty chilled and pretty laidback, Thaiday said.It wont faze him too much coming up against the Titans.Hell enjoy the challenge like he does every week and go out there and do a job for the Broncos. ' ' '