Erm... anybody know what happened to Road to Beijing today? Come 4:30 on channel 7, all we got was a repeat of Keeping Up Appearances despite RTB being listed in the Green Guide.
I never liked that that show to begin with, but under these particular circumstances, the high-pitched "the LAYdee of the HOUSE speaking" catch-phrase really started to get on my nerves.
Enh. I'm just a crankypants at the moment because I caught a cold...again. And I'm at home by myself. I've had to put on hold some significant things such as work and Mr Mez's band's first public gig.
So once again, you are advised to view the blog from a well-stocked, plexiglass-secured distance. Your co-operation is appreciated.
*coughsneezewheeze*
USA nationals are on at the moment; I really am beginning think Miss Joura won't be a good chance for an AA medal unless she gets an Amanar happening. The medal favourites are starting to pull away from the pack now that there are a few who've got it down pat. Come on Dash, catch up, we know you can!
Two Australian connections in one at US nationals - Mattie Larson, the one whom I've said is the image of Monette Russo, is using an arrangement of Dasha's floor music!
ETA- At last, some reading material. In her latest blog entry, Livvy tells us that it's nice to get by with a little help from your friends.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
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9 comments:
I love how she doesn't hold back with her blogs. Laughed when she said she needed someone to kick her up the ass constantly.
Larissa
RTB was on at 3.10 in melbourne for some reason, the time changed on my foxtel mid-week. It was only the 2nd ep right? I only noticed it last Sat so hoping I haven't missed any gym yet.
Anyway, they had Dasha on briefly today, they asked a whole lot of female athletes whether they preferred Brad Pitt or George Clooney. She acknowledged it was a tough decision and went with George.
I cant see Dasha going for the Amanar. Too risky this late. But look at Nastia she vaults a Y1.5 and she's up there... though the 7.7 A-score on bars helps!
Dash should push for floor finals- she is looking hot on that event
I think Dasha will find it hard to stay in touch but it's the Olympics and anything can happen. If Dasha can hit everything (inc. beam) then she's in with a chance quietly going along whilst the medal pressure is on the US/China/Russia etc.
We also need to keep the US scores in perspective. There were ALOT of 9.2-9.6 B scores in that competition which I think from an international perspective might be difficult for some of their team to attain off US soil.Whilst I don't doubt there was some overscoring in the Aus trials, the US arguably have the most overscoring in home events out of any country around.
Bec
George Clooney?
Right, because that's SO appropriate when wanting to know about an athlete's progress. Stupid television producer people. *grrrr*
And yes, I agree about the US overscoring. I can understand at SCAM but I don't think Nationals is the best place to do it. I don't know if Liukin's bars really warrants a 17+ score in a comp outside of her home country (I find He Kexin's work much more daring) but I feel like the USA judges do it to restore the audience's faith in the athletes ie we-can-do-anything-China-can-do.
I 'unno.
Argh the computer hates me and keeps freezing when I'm typing this really long reply up. Anyway, both He and Liukin have A-scores of 7.7, and if they have equal execution, they both deserve 17s. Back when Liukin had an A-score closer to 6.7 and was scoring 16s, people didn't comment half as much. It's just because 17 isn't a number we're used to seeing. (Besides, He may have the more dazzling releases, but in my opinion Liukin's Ono-Lin-Ono 1/2-Gienger is one of the most daring combos ever.) On the other hand, Liukin was way overscored on vault, in fifth place ahead of Larson and Hong who both did decent DTYs. Her floor on Day 2, although stunning, really didn't deserve a 9.650 B-score either. US Nationals scores are usually way inflated anyway, but this year they've really gone mad because they want to reassure American audiences, and because they want to justify their decisions as to who goes on the Olympic team and so 'adjust' scores accordingly. I'm just happy to see the gymnastics, and don't care about the scores too much.
On the topic of Australia, sadly I don't think Dasha has any more than a fluke chance of winning an AA medal. Dasha has 5.8+6.3+6.1+6.3=24.5 A-score at the moment. Liukin has 5.5+7.7+6.7+6.2=26.1, and Johnson has a bit more than that. Jiang had 6.5+7.1+6.5+6.3=26.4; Yang has 5.8+7.7+6.5+6.2=26.2. They all have great execution (except possibly Johnson), and are at least 1.6 ahead of Dasha in A-score. So every one of these girls could fall once and make some mistakes and Dasha would still be fifth. And we've only talked about two countries. Conclusion: Dasha really needs that Amanar.
Interesting commentary from Lorraine Hoet at Int'l Gymnast, in an article all about over-scoring:
"I understand that American audiences like to see high scores from American gymnasts. But by allowing media hype to override fair judging, gymnasts and audiences alike are misled. The judges are disrespecting the audience, the athletes and the sport when they engage in this kind of blatant favoritism.
Applying the correct deductions helps gymnasts and coaches identity and address weaknesses. On Saturday, Shawn Johnson received a 16.2 for her floor exercise performance. Her A Score was credited at 6.6, and she received a 9.6 for the B Score. While her B Score is certainly debatable, her A Score is what confuses me the most. How did she receive credit for her whip "triple" full? She didn't pull it fully around (on either day). I hope the Johnson camp recognizes this and continues to work on that pass, because as far as I'm concerned, her 6.6 A score is only theoretical at this point.
Johnson wasn't the only one who misled by the judges. Nastia Liukin received a 17.100 on bars Saturday, which breaks down to a 7.7 A Score and a 9.4 B Score. I'm sorry, but did you see her dismount? Her feet were flexed, her legs were wide apart and uneven, her landing was low and she took an uncontrolled lunge forward. That alone is more than six tenths in deductions, never mind the smaller deductions within the routine itself. Don't get me wrong — Liukin is absolutely wonderful on this event. But she's not perfect. By taking minimal deductions at most, the judges are falsely promoting her routine. Unless Liukin cleans up her dismount, she won't break a 17 in Beijing."
*Hoey.
Damn keyboard keys...
Hey Mez,
Was looking at the Gymnastics Victoria website this morning and clicked on the link for the High Performance Centre and it looks like they now have their own website - have not seen this before so it must be fairly new.
www.vwhpc.org
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