U.S. Olympic Women's Gymnastic Trials

[Drunk Monk]

The floor was reputably extra bouncy and flung our gals out on their big passes. Jordyn's step out was minor compared to the others.

The men lost it on pommel horse. You could see it in their postures.

I agree, the web presentation has been lacking overall for a lot of standings.

[Drunk Monk]

Now that's the Jordyn Wieber I saw in San Jose. That power and stability on the floor. She's a goddess I say. A freaking marble statue come to life. It's ironic how she has stolen the spotlight with her breakdown missing the quals. She's upstaged the other gals. Gabby is not getting near enough attention as she's really the team anchor, competing straight through and ready for the All-Around. Aly's victory over Jordyn has been completely overlooked, a dark horse win, a great underdog story in itself. Kyla and McKayla, well the elf and the alien held up their ends. They came from the same gym, you know? It was Narnia 51. Actually, it was California.

I feel like I've been on such a journey with the Fab Five since San Jose.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

So, who gets to do which apparatus? Or should they allow all the girls to compete. We would clean up on the vault.

[Drunk Monk]

That was the weird thing about the trials. The girls that qualified weren't necessarily the highest scorers at the Trials. Well, Gabby was. She just rocked it on every event and pulled in the highest scores across the board. She's just amazing. But McKayla, for example, did rather poorly on the rest of it, except for her specialty, vault. She was really only there because she's got the world's best vault. And that's because she's an alien that isn't quite subject to gravity in the same way, sort of like Superman. Actually, she has the best vault on several planets. So when the trials were over, the powers that be in USGA went into a back room and discussed who should be on the team, which was super tense as the girls just had to sit and wait. Elizabeth Price bested both Kyla and McKayla at the trials and Sarah Finnegan beat McKayla in the all-arounds, so those two were the top of the 'sucks to be you' list in San Jose. Beaten by elves and aliens. Bummer, man. Others like Nastia Liukin and Alicia Sacramone only competed in select events. They didn't even go for the all-around. It's all very complicated, like the deduction system. Gymnastics is a complicated sport.

And another thing...another bitch about NBC's crappy coverage. Not only don't they let us see any fencing or judo or archery, etc. etc., I'm just stewing over the coverage of the fab five. At Beijing, we had two stunning petite blondes, Nastia and Shawn, and it was all about them. This year, the team is not blonde. It's quite mixed actually. Jordyn's breakdown stole the spotlight because it was so brutal to watch, especially for those who have followed her career because she is such a rock. Gymnastics is plagued with divas - just look at the Russians. Mustafina's freakishly huge peepers look like they are designed to cry. But not Jordyn. Jordyn just exudes power. Suddenly, we were reminded that she's just a teenage girl, after all. Both Jordyn and Aly are not blonde or petite. In fact, both of them look solid enough to take a punch. Perhaps that's why I'm such a fan of both of them. I've probably been hanging out with too many female fighters. Anyway, they don't fit the mold. And Gabby, just don't get me started. She's on the precipice of making history as a black gymnast. We haven't seen the likes of her since Dominique Dawes.

OK, end of rant.

[cranefly]

And that's because she's an alien that isn't quite subject to gravity in the same way, sort of like Superman. Actually, she has the best vault on several planets.

If only DM were the NBC commentator...

[Drunk Monk]

I stayed up until midnight last night trying to watch the Men's All-Around. But it was just swimming and beach volleyball - mostly semis! Dammit.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Bill Simmons is a columnist for grantland.com. He is pretty funny and has unique take on sports. He is from Boston and makes no apologies for his love of all those sport franchises.

But he is in London for the Olympics and has been writing some nice editorials about his reactions.

Here is the one where he compares Swimming to Gymnastics: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8225...gymnastics

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

We can't give out two bronze medals if there is a tie for third? That is bullshit.

[Haggis Killer]

The Grantland article was fun, but I had to watch a clip from Gymkata to get the full effect.

Question #1: Is Gymkata the stupidest movie ever made, or the worst movie ever made?

Question #2: Could Kurt Thomas have had an acting career if he hadn't made Gymkata first?

Question #3: Is the blood pouring from my reeling brain from having watched a clip from Gymkata ever - EVER - going to stop?

Thanks for all your help.

-d

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

#1: Yes.
#2: No.
#3: No.

[Drunk Monk]

The best gymno flick is Stick It.

I've seen way too many episodes of Make It or Break It (TV show). It has had the same effect on me as Gymkata did to HK.

[Drunk Monk]

Last night was all about Jordyn Wieber, who is like an amazon cast in bronze, so unbelievably solid and powerful, so committed in her every move.

Well, I called that wrong. I'm going to miss the finals tonight as I have a screener. Poor planning on my part.

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I think the poor dressing on Gaby's part did her in on uneven bars. How can you wear silver if you want to win gold. And then, well. Although the Russian women who won finally cracked a smile after nearly punching out her coach in the all arounds.

[The Queen]

How about some love for Hava Nagila girl? Represent! upz:

[Drunk Monk]

Gabby's start value was too low. All of the others would have had to fail for her to place.

I missed bars. Sounds like Martha called the inquiry just right. Saw floor. Sheer awesomness. It's all about Aly now. Every time I hear Hava Nagila now, I'll think of her.

With all the press about Jordyn's disappointment, I admire the fact that she hasn't played the injured sympathy card. She probably has a stress fracture on her right leg. It was a nagging issue since Trials. Poor girl. She peaked at Team Trials. Jordyn is wearing a brace now: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150847925422168.354672.27029627167&type=1">http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 167&type=1</a><!-- m -->



Now that the gymno is over, I don't know what to watch. Maybe I can finish that new kung fu movie I started last week.