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RIO DE JANEIRO -- You know a sporting event starts pretty late when Cinderella is unable to attend because her chariot has already turned into a pumpkin in the parking lot.The first beach volleyball match of these Olympics for Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross was scheduled to start Saturday night at midnight local time. Yes, a midnight start! Which meant it technically was not a Saturday night match but a Sunday morning match. Not only that, but the match that was played ahead of them went longer than expected, so the first serve was pushed back to 12:34 a.m.Walsh Jennings says it was the latest match she has ever played, which is saying something considering she turns 38 next week and these are her fourth Olympics. She says her previous latest start was probably 11 p.m. in London at the 2012 Olympics. Still, she said that she loved the start time early Sunday morning.It is a party atmosphere, she said after beating Australias Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Nikki Laird 21-14, 21-13 in a little over 30 minutes. Especially under the lights at night. The Brazilians get louder at night, and our fans were amazing tonight.Plus, Ross said, Were night owls.Thats good, because the pair has at least one other midnight match on the schedule, and could have a third as well because the gold medal match is set for a midnight start, too.Walsh Jennings is certainly a prime candidate to play in that championship match -- she and former partner Misty May Treanor won gold at Athens in 2004, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. And she apparently is quite comfortable with playing even later than The Late Late Show host James Cordens carpool karaoke segments are televised. It felt magical out there, she said.Well, why wouldnt it seem magical considering where beach volleyball is being played at these Olympics?Unlike other Olympic sites such as Atlanta, Beijing or London, beach volleyball here is being played on an actual beach. While the beach volleyball venue in London was played on trucked-in sand at the Horse Guards Parade grounds just outside the prime ministers residence at No. 10 Downing Street, the Rio stadium is located smack dab on Copacabana beach. Sitting up high in the stands, you not only see the players battling away on the white sands, you can see the white crests of waves crashing onto the sand just behind the stadium. And during the day, you can also see people walking and jogging on the beach, sunbathing on the sand or kite surfing.Trust me, its a whole lot more spectacular than watching matches on imported sand amid the Beijing smog.The sounds are as invigorating as the setting. As always at beach volleyball, infectious music plays constantly over the loudspeakers. Dont Stop Believing. Uptown Funk. Cant Hold Us. Down Under. Get Happy. Beat It. La Bomba. Shut Up and Dance. Even the Darth Vader theme song played. The fans bounced and danced and swayed and waved their national flags and had the time of their lives.Parties go on late here in Rio, and were OK with that, said EJ Bituin, a fan from Chicago. As long as the beer is flowing.The venue also boasts a huge seating capacity of 12,000, with row after row rising so steeply and so high that you almost expect to see the Christ the Redeemer statue leading the fans in a samba.Its amazing. Its the best venue that weve ever seen as beach volleyballers, Laird said. And I say that as a 23-year-old, but its the same thing Ive heard from Kerri Walsh, and shes played in four Olympics now. Its a really cool venue.Brazilians are a lot more passionate about beach volleyball than Australians, which were hoping to change soon. But what it means is you can fill up a stadium with 12,000 fans here.Unfortunately, the stadium was only about half-full for the late matches, though that is probably not because of the start times as much as the high ticket prices in this financially strapped country that otherwise adores beach volleyball.Swiss player Isabelle Forrer said the stadiums steepness increased the volume of the fan noise and brought even more energy down to the players -- which they kind of needed given that they were playing so late.Its a flexible sport, Forrer said about the wide range of start times. We have seen a lot already [in our careers]. We have played late games, we have played really early games. We just try to manage our rhythm before the games and see how we manage for the next one we play at 10 a.m. Its something we cant change so we dont discuss it.Of course, with the vibrant atmosphere of the venue, the late start time wasnt an issue. They might actually be good, since the hot afternoon sun isnt baking down on the players or the fans.It didnt really feel like midnight out there, Artacho del Solar said after the match. Then she paused and added at shortly after 1:30 a.m.: But now it does. Colorado Rockies Shirts . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Custom Colorado Rockies Jerseys . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Stitched Rockies Jerseys . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Colorado Rockies Gear . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. A roundup of the past weeks notable boxing results from around the world:Saturday at PhiladelphiaDanny Garcia TKO7 Samuel Vargas - Fight recap Welterweight Records: Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs); Vargas (25-3-1, 13 KOs)Rafaels remarks: As expected Garcia, 28, fighting in his hometown for the first time in six years, ran roughshod over the Toronto-based Vargas, 27, of Colombia, in exactly the kind of mismatch everyone expected. This was a total waste of time, but Garcia, out since winning a vacant welterweight world title against Robert Guerrero in January, took this nontitle bout for one reason, because he said he needed a tune-up fight to get ready for the real fight already scheduled. That will come March 4 in a title unification showdown with Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs), 27, of Clearwater, Florida, who was ringside working as an analyst on the Spike telecast. What Thurman saw was Garcia destroy Vargas, who got knocked down on a right hand in the second round and battered until referee Gary Rosato waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 17 seconds of the seventh round, just as Vargas corner was waving a white towel in surrender. What was more entertaining than the fight was Garcia and Thurman talking trash and going nose to nose after the fight.Jarrett Hurd TKO6 Jo Jo Dan - Full undercard recap Junior middleweight Records: Hurd (19-0, 13 KOs); Dan (35-4, 18 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Hurd, 26, of Accokeek, Maryland, is an exciting prospect who opened a lot of eyes with his impressive 10th-round knockout of then-unbeaten Oscar Molina on CBS on the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter undercard in June. In his first fight since, Hurd was once again impressive as he manhandled replacement opponent (and much smaller) Dan, a 35-year-old southpaw from Romania who fights out of Montreal. Hurd did damage with an accidental low blow in the third round, but even without that, Dan, coming off a 14-month layoff, had no chance. Hurd imposed his will from the beginning and landed many punishing right hands on the former welterweight world title challenger. When Hurd nearly dropped him with a right hand in the sixth round and continued to fire away, trainer Howard Grant threw in the towel and referee Benjy Esteves Jr. ended the carnage at 1:06.Javier Fortuna W10 Omar Douglas - Full undercard recap Lightweight Scores: 96-93 (twice), 95-94 Records: Fortuna (31-1-1, 22 KOs); Douglas (17-1, 12 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In June, Fortuna, an extremely fast 27-year-old southpaw from the Dominican Republic, lost his secondary junior lightweight belt by upset 11th-round knockout to Jason Sosa in Beijing. Fortuna, who has a rematch clause and is expected to face Sosa next, won his second fight in a row since the upset, as he outpointed Douglas, 25, of Wilmington, Delaware, in a fast-paced fight. There were a lot of fouls and holding, and referee Shawn Clark had his hands full. He doled out several warnings, but Fortuna and Douglas still put on a pretty good show. That said, Fortuna, who got off the deck after a first-round knockdown on a clean left hand to the chin, rightfully got the nod in a very close fight.Saturday at Monte CarloJason Sosa W12 Stephen Smith Retains a junior lightweight title Scores: 117-110, 116-112, 116-111 Records: Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs); Smith (24-3, 14 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In by far the best fight of the weekend, Sosa and Smith waged a terrific slugfest that was competitive throughout even if Sosa, 28, of Camden, New Jersey, got the well-deserved nod to retain his secondary belt for the first time following his upset 11th-round knockout of Javier Fortuna to win it in June. This was a very hard-fought fight in which Sosas physical strength and pressure style made the difference. He dropped Smith with a left hand in the second round and opened a bad cut over his right eye just before the end of the third round. The fourth round was a fierce toe-to-toe battle that could be a round of the year honorable mention, after which the ringside doctor took a close look at Smiths damaged eye. It was the second time that Englands Smith, 31, one of the four fighting Smith brothers (along with former junior middleweight titlist Liam, Paul and Callum), came up short in a world title fight. Two fights ago, in April, he dropped a decision to Jose Pedraza.Luis Ortiz W12 Malik Scott - Fight recap Heavyweight Scores: 120-105, 120-106, 119-106 Records: Ortiz (26-0, 22 KOs); Scott (38-3-1, 13 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. This was just an absolutely hideous fight and an utter waste of time because Scott did not come to fight, as has been the case for most of his frustrating and forgettable 16-year career. While King Kong -- to many the most avoided man in the heavyweight division -- tried to hunt him down with his powerful left hand, and he did knock him down three times (but not very dynamic knockdowns), all Scott did was run, clinch, flop to the mat, complain about imaginary fouls and try to survive. Scott, 36, of Philadelphia, looked petriffied the entire fight, knowing that at any moment a missile from Miamis Ortiz, a 37-year-old southpaw Cuban defector, could end his night.dddddddddddd Ortiz, recently stripped of an interim title for ignoring his mandatory defense against Alexander Ustinov, landed nearly as many punches (146) as Scott threw (155) and scored knockdowns in the fourth, fifth and ninth rounds, but even they were not enough to make this fight interesting. Ortiz is due back in action Dec. 10 on the Anthony Joshua-Eric Molina card in Manchester, England, and whatever happens it cant be worse than this.Jamie McDonnell W12 Liborio Solis Retains a bantamweight title Scores: 117-111, 116-112, 115-113 Records: McDonnell (29-2-1, 13 KOs); Solis (25-5-1, 11 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Horrible scoring alert! McDonnell, 30, of England, was lucky to retain his belt for the fifth time thanks to hometown cooking against Solis, 34, a former junior bantamweight world titleholder from Venezuela. This will go down as one of the most controversial decisions of the year, especially given the absurdly wide 117-111 scorecard turned in by Robert Hoyle. Solis looked to have gotten a raw deal. Even Sky Sports, McDonnells U.K. broadcaster, had Solis, despite a 6-inch height disadvantage, winning the fight. McDonnell did land some nice body shots to slow Solis down a bit in the middle of the fight and he hurt him in the ninth round. But Solis, with his nonstop pressure, appeared to have the better of the action, including when he hurt McDonnell with a right hand in the 11th round. Dont count on a rematch. McDonnell, according to Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, probably will move up in weight.Martin Murray W12 Nuhu Lawal Super middleweight Scores: 117-110 (twice), 116-111 Records: Murray (34-4-1, 16 KOs); Lawal (23-1, 13 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Murray, 34, of England, is 0-2-1 in middleweight world title fights and 0-1 in super middleweight title bouts, and still eyeing that elusive title belt. He was supposed to fight former titleholder Arthur Abraham in a rematch of Abrahams split decision win against him in 2015, but he dropped out with an elbow injury. Then Russian replacement opponent Dmitry Chudinov dropped out about a week before the fight because of a virus and was replaced with Lawal, 34, a native of Nigeria fighting out of Germany. Lawal, really a junior middleweight/middleweight, gave a solid account of himself, but his punches lacked snap and were usually wide against the more compact and skillful Murray, who rocked Lawal in the first round and was never in any danger despite being penalized one point by referee Russell Mora for leading with his head in the 12th round.Saturday at Ciudad Valles, MexicoJose Argumedo TKO3 Jose Antonio Jimenez Retains a strawweight title Records: Argumedo (19-3-1, 11 KOs); Jimenez (17-6-1, 7 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Argumedo, 28, of Mexico, traveled to Japan in December 2015 and won a ninth-round technical decision against Katsunari Takayama to claim a 105-pound world title. Argumedo made his second defense against Jimenez, 33, of Colombia, and took him out impressively to stop his eight-fight unbeaten streak. Argumedo scored two knockdowns in the third round, first with a huge overhand right hand that bounced Jimenez off the ropes before he went down and then moments later when referee Mario Gonzalez credited him with one when he pounded Jimenez into the ropes, which held him up. Jimenez was in rough shape and Argumedo continued to hurt him with right hands until Gonzalez stepped in to wave it off.Saturday at Magdeburg, GermanyRobert Stieglitz W12 Medhi Amar Wins European light heavyweight title Scores: 116-112 (three times) Records: Stieglitz (50-5-1, 29 KOs); Amar (33-5-2, 16 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Germanys Stieglitz, 35, a two-time super middleweight world titleholder, moved up to light heavyweight in 2015 and won his third in a row (since losing a world title fight to rival Arthur Abraham in their fourth meeting) to claim the European title in a steady if unspectacular performance in a relatively low-action fight. Amar, 34, of France, was making his first defense after winning the vacant title in May.Friday at MiamiYunieski Gonzalez TKO1 Maxwell Amponsah Light heavyweight Records: Gonzalez (18-2, 14 KOs); Amponsah (11-3, 10 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In July 2015, Gonzalez burst on the world stage with a tremendous performance against former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on HBO, but Gonzalez was robbed in a decision loss. Then Gonzalez, 31, a Cuban defector based in Miami, dropped a majority decision to contender Vyacheslav Shabranskyy. But now Gonzalez has won two fights in a row on the comeback trail, both by first-round knockout, including this blowout of Amponsah, 30, a 2012 Olympian from Ghana fighting out of New York. Amponsah lost his second fight in a row by knockout. ' ' '