Kevin Love exits early in debut

Kevin Love won't be giving up his day job anytime soon. Idled by the NBA lockout, the Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star hit the sand to compete in his first pro beach volleyball tournament Thursday. He and his partner lost in straight sets, but Love called the action "addicting" and wants to keep honing his game.

As the lowest-seeded players in the Manhattan Beach Open, Love and pro partner Hans Stolfus drew the top-seeded team of Sean Scott and John Hyden, who won last week's tournament in Hermosa Beach and are undefeated this summer. Scott and Hyden took it easy on Love and Stolfus, handing them a 21-16, 21-15 defeat under blue skies next to the Manhattan Beach pier.

"Obviously getting beat is never fun, but being competitive, playing against the best team in the country, a team that hasn't lost all summer, was a lot of fun," Love said.

Wearing a black T-shirt and shorts and black sunglasses, Love's legs were caked in sand up to his knees and sweat dripped from his chin as he dug for low balls and spiked some winners in front of a small crowd.

"It's like having a good basketball sense, you got to have a good court sense out there and for me, I haven't spent enough time out there on the volleyball court to really know," said Love, whose 53 consecutive double-doubles last season set a record.

At 6-foot-10, Love was easily the tallest player on the sand, making him perfect to play the blocking position at the net. The 6-5 Stolfus handled defensive duties in his first tournament since being off two years because of injury.

"We both said, 'Let's have as much fun as possible,'" Stolfus said. "If we went in too serious we'd put too much pressure on."

Stolfus chattered encouragement to Love throughout the match. Love came up with several solid blocks and hit some clean winners, earning kudos from Hyden.

"Obviously, he needs a lot of work," he said. "He came along pretty well for never playing before."

Scott was impressed by Love's height and athleticism, but he said Love would "have to put in a lot of time and effort getting the finer things, like ball control."

Love was embraced by the other players, despite his likely status as the only millionaire in the group.

"It brings beach volleyball to the limelight," Hyden said. "Hopefully it helps the sport. It's never bad having guys like that."