Dan's Response to DC
Dan did not send this response via email.
DC, what’s up. Greetings, The Beach Reporter and Easy Reader. I’m writing to note that even if Kevin Cleary is the evil, murderous person DC has made him out to be, it is not because of the claim that he has played in 30 straight Manhattan Opens. Here’s the clarification, origin, and admittance of my blog-posting error (Kevin Cleary’s Open Letter Regarding the 2008 Manhattan Beach Open):
One day I was reading Artie Couvillon’s self-published book, The Manhattan Beach Open. You may know Artie from firefighting or from playing 4-Man at 16th Street in Hermosa. But most likely you’d know his name from his string of self-published books that have become a staple on the shelves of beach volleyball players all over the country, The Sands of Time. The guy loves beach vball and taking photos. Artie noted in the Manhattan book (pages 174-175) that “Kevin was able to keep his record streak alive at the MB Open in August of 2006 when he participated for the 30th consecutive time, this time with Chris Walmer.” Even though Kevin has not made the main draw in some time, it is common and accepted for beach volleyball players participating in AVP qualifying events to refer to the weekend tournament name, instead of “the qualifying event to make it into the Manhattan Beach Open.”
And that’s where DC cries foul. A blog post based on a self-published book written in a script font. Artie either made a mistake in saying “consecutive” or BVBInfo.com doesn’t have all the data. (I don’t know.) So DC goes through the egregious process of creating a new email address with an anonymous name in an effort to smear a guy who does not share his/her precise opinions on a volleyball tournament. Instead of offering an opposing argument for the AVP to switch MB Open formats and signing his name on it, he’s attempted to pick apart the reputation of one of 30+ letter-writers opposing the MB Open change. Additionally, DC hypothesizes arguments that Kevin Cleary “might” hypothetically make, but have not even been mentioned in his letter. That’s not nice.
While I’m not sure Kevin was the only person in the volleyball community who wanted to keep the AVP from becoming co-ed (ala most USA professional sports leagues), DC might as well bring it up, not for argument’s sake, but for smearing-a-guy’s sake. Fine.
The part in DC’s email about an insignificant decrease in matches played is a bit subjective. In my argument I will assume when he says “matches played over the weekend” he means “matches played over the weekend by players who will make money from the AVP through participation”. I will also assume that the tournament will be run with the typical double-elimination system. That would make 29 matches per gender. There are 61 matches in a typical 32-team draw per gender. That’s a difference of 32 matches, which means that even though the money-making field size shrinks by 100%, there will be 53% fewer matches. In reality DC includes the qualifying event in his “statistics” to make his point look good. I exclude the qualifying event in my statistics because all the letters written are concerning the change to the main draw (the money-making event), not the qualifying event.
You all may have noticed in my blog post and in the letters posted in the comments and online at The Beach Reporter website that neither I nor the other two members of The Kinda Good Plan have argued for or against the event’s change. AJ made a few points opposing the change in his email, but has certainly not lobbied for the changes. Personally, I think it might be totally awesome. But it might be horrible flop. I think the AVP has a plan here and I can’t wait to see if it works. Kevin’s letter opposing Manhattan Beach Open change is not the strongest argument, but it sure beats an angry emailer with a personal agenda.
-Dan
By Dan | 26 May 08 |
