For McCutcheon, team, a glorious opportunity
BEIJING - The Beijing Olympics came full circle for Hugh McCutcheon and the US men's volleyball team on the final day of the Games.
McCutcheon's father-in-law was fatally stabbed at a Beijing tourist site the day after the opening ceremonies, and he missed the US team's first three matches while tending to his family.
He and the team tried to win the gold medal today (12 a.m. Eastern time) against Brazil, one of the final events before the conclusion of the Beijing Games. NBC will highlight the match and the closing ceremonies in its final night of coverage.
Staying with the team wasn't easy for McCutcheon, but leaving also wasn't an option.
"I'm really trying to just compartmentalize what's been going on personally," McCutcheon said after Friday's semifinal victory. "One of the reasons I'm here is because I know so many more lives are invested in this than just my own.
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready to give it everything I got and be in the right frame of mind."
McCutcheon has deep ties to US volleyball - he has coached the men since 2005, and his wife played for the women's team at the 2004 Olympics. She was sightseeing with her parents Aug. 9 when a man fatally stabbed her father and severely injured her mother before committing suicide.
McCutcheon took a brief leave from the squad, which rallied around him and has made winning the gold in his honor a priority. Both the men and the women advanced to the gold medal game for the first time since 1984, but the women lost to Brazil last night.
"I've been waiting 14 . . . years for this game," said veteran setter Lloy Ball, who is playing in his fourth Olympics. 