MASON, Ohio -- Dont let the sun and the sand and the beach party atmosphere fool you: An Olympian is an athlete first, even when shes wearing a bikini. Ray Nitschke Super Bowl Jersey .While covering beach volleyball at two Summer Games, I heard plenty about the sex appeal of the sport, with the skimpy suits worn by the women attracting most of the attention. I knew there was much more to it, but it wasnt until I got on a court with an Olympic gold medalist that I understood just what makes the sport so difficult: Its the sand itself -- slowing every step, cutting short every jump and conspiring with the beating sun to wear down even the fittest bodies.Or even one belonging to a fortysomething sports writer.During a professional tour event outside Cincinnati this spring, I had a chance to hit the ball around with two-time Olympian and 2008 gold medalist Todd Rogers. Aptly nicknamed The Professor, Rogers is the coach at Cal Poly, where he took over a team that had won one match in each of its previous two seasons and led it to an 11-12 record in his first year.This would prove to be an even bigger challenge.I gave Rogers and his teammate, Robbie Page, a ride over to the practice facility that was the warmup area for players in the AVP Cincinnati Open, the last American stop for the FIVB tour before the close of Olympic qualification. Page, at 7-feet tall, could barely avoid kissing his knees in my midsized rental car.Rogers asked if I had ever played volleyball before, and I told him I had hit the ball around enough to know what I was supposed to do, if not how to do it. But my limited experience in a gym class on a hardwood basketball court did not prepare me to play outdoors, on the sand.Rogers started out by just tossing the ball over the net to me, under-handed, and that proved easy enough; I was able to return a few serves back to him, and pass most others to where my partner would be waiting. Then he stepped back and lofted some easy serves in my direction, and I really figured out what makes the sport so challenging.First there was the movement of the ball, which from a skillful server comes in like a knuckleball in baseball, darting around and confounding any attempt to hit it squarely. The wind also plays a part; many times I thought I had the ball lined up, only to see it drift off course.The hardest part, though, proved to be just moving around.While I lacked the spatial judgment and reaction time of the elite athletes on the courts next to me, even when I correctly determined where to go to hit the ball it just took me too long to get there. I seemed to be moving in slow motion in the 16-inch layer of sand, like in those movies where the sound didnt quite sync up with the actors lips.As Rogers began to speed up his serves -- though still closer to batting practice than full-speed -- more often than not the ball would bounce past me for an ace or, if I was lucky, carom wildly off my increasingly reddening forearms onto a nearby court.On one serve, I didnt even bother. Instead, I watched the ball bounce off the sand a few feet away, turned back to Rogers and said: That was my partners. (This is an old stand-by in beach volleyball, so common it has a name: The husband and wife.)My only problem: I didnt have a partner.Still, Rogers was impressed at how quickly I was picking up the excuses, if not the actual skills.Afterward, he told me some of the things I was doing wrong.Although much of it was due to physical shortcomings, I was also awaiting the serves with my hands together, ready to pass. A pro -- actually, pretty much everyone -- knows that its easier to move with his arms free and only lock them when the ball clears the net. (Young players who make this mistake are often told to run laps around the court with their hands locked, to remind them how much more difficult it is.)I thanked Rogers for the lesson and wished him luck in the tournament. Later that day, I bumped into him back at the venue, where a fan was hoping for a picture with him. I offered to take it.Youre really doing it all, he said, running through the tasks he had witnessed that day: Driver, writer, photographer.And beach volleyball player, too, I reminded him.Nah, he said, better leave that off the list.---Jimmy Golen has covered Olympic beach volleyball for The Associated Press since 2008. You can follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jgolen. Corey Linsley Super Bowl Jersey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Mason Crosby Super Bowl Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.officialgreenbaypackerspro.com/Marquez-valdes-scantling-packers-jersey/ . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. LAS VEGAS -- Alabama was staring at a 2/3 record with just under five minutes left against Saint Louis.Trailing by nine, Alabama didnt panic -- and the Billikens seemingly did -- on Wednesday night.Brandon Key hit two 3-pointers and a free throw in a 17-3 game-ending run and the Crimson Tide rallied for a 62-57 win at the MGM Grand Main Event consolation game.We were scrambling all game. Our shots werent falling in the first half, Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. We had so many wide open looks. That run to end the game was a byproduct of the way we played the game offensively and defensively. The ball moved. We went small. Thats a lineup we havent gone to this year.Key, who went 3 of 4 from behind the arc, led the way for Alabama (3-2).We didnt want to go home with two losses and be under .500, said Key, whose team lost to Valparaiso Monday. This was a big game for us. This shows we can comeback. A lot of guys made big plays. We never should have put ourselves in that situation.After building a 54-45 lead with just over five minutes left, the Billikens (2-3) seemed in control with their largest advantage of the game. From there, hardly anything went right.At the end of a close game, which team will make all the big plays, Saint Louis coach Travis Ford said. (Alabama) made all the big plays. Execution late was not good for us. Shots selection will be addressed. We had plays we were going to. Part of winning is how to win. We have to do it together.The Billikens had a chance to take the lead in the final 15 seconds, trailing 58-57, but Mike Crawford stepped on the right baseline just before driving to the basket.On Alabammas next possession, Corban Collins was fouled and hit two free throws, making it 60-57. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey. Then Alabamas Dazon Ingram stole the inbound pass, was fouled and converted two free throws to seal it.Ingram had 10 points and five rebounds for Alabama, while Nick King added nine points. Alabama won despite shooting 33 percent from both the field and 3-point range.Davell Roby led Saint Louis with 15 points and four assists. Reggie Agbeko had 10 points and 10 rebounds.There were seven lead changes and five ties in the first half as Saint Louis led for the majority. The Billikens had the halfs largest advantage at 27-22 before the Crimson Tide scored the next five. Saint Louis led 30-29 at halftime as Alabama shot 2 of 12 from 3-point range.With the exception of a brief one-point Alabama lead, the Billikens led for the first 15 minutes of the second half -- with its largest lead at 54-45 with 5:25 left on a Johnson 3-pointer. But the Crimson Tide answered with two 3-pointers.What a way to finish the game, Johnson said. We had a lot of fight. Our guys didnt give up. Huge plays from all of our guys. We made our free throws. Well get back to practice and the drawing board on Friday. Then cheer on our football team in the Iron Bowl on Saturday.VIVA LAS VEGASAlabama last appeared in Sin City seven years ago at the Las Vegas Classic.It was the Billikens third appearance in Las Vegas.UP NEXTAlabama: Hosts Charleston Southern on Tuesday night.Saint Louis: Returns home to play Samford on Tuesday night. ' ' '