Category: Uncategorized

Far more entertaining, I think, than American Idol is So You Think You Can Dance. Season premiere tonight in the USA.

homepage on FOX

The Canadian version is excellent. I assume the other editions worldwide are appealing too. It’s a great formula.

Actually, the Canadian version is only just now auditioning. Oops.

This season I heard much less doom and gloom about the “death” of Men’s NCAA gymnastics.

And with the Olympics looming, excitement about men’s gymnastics in the USA is certainly foremost.

This is a good time for sober reflection.

Ringer T : gymnastics : CafePress.com

In 2008 there are only 15 universities, including the three military service academies.

It costs about $500,000 / year to run an NCAA College Team. And it will turn a modest profit.

By comparison, University of Texas football defensive coordinator assistant coach Will Muschamp has an annual salary of $425,000.

Linda on the roof of a Land Rover somewhere near Kilpisjärvi, Finland.

original – flickr

(via Straight to the Bar)

USA Gymnastics posted some photos of podium training.

see more – USAG

related post: podium training – USA Championships Men

I’m in Houston and everyone is asking each other about the two women’s meets hosted concurrently.

They are in the same venue — Reliant Center — as the VISA Championships, but are independent meets.

U.S. Classic May 23rd
+ Jr. 11:30 AM
+ Sr. 7:30 PM

SENIORS

Caquatto, Mackenzie
Davis, Chelsea
Johnson, Alaina
Lothrop, Corrie
Mohr, Katelyn
Nguyen, Catherine
Ranzy, Britney
Stageberg, Randal
Stott, Ashley
Tanella, Christa
Trani, Amber

full competitors list – USAG

Thanks Kathryn.

I still know nothing about this second meet. Perhaps it never got off the ground: U.S. Challenge May 24-25

Day 1 in Houston, 40+ seniors are on the podium preparing for tomorrow’s preliminaries.

The BIG story of the in-gym press conference is Paul and Morgen Hamm trying out for their 3rd Olympics. Morgan is healthy and ready to compete 4 events — but has not had enough time to do as many routines as he would have liked. Morgan did say that if he hit 4 for 4, he was confident of advancing to Olympic Trials in Philadelphia.

Paul Hamm

Paul was very modest, I thought, and gave a great interview. He spoke much about the family decision in December 2006 for the brothers to make a comeback for Beijing.

Morgan has decided to attend Chiropractic College next year in Chicago. Paul is still weighing his options — but will permanently retire from gymnastics after Beijing.

Jonathan Horton

Horton, 4th at Worlds in 2007, is a strong candidate for the team. He’s well known internationally now and could contribute some big scores. He’s not changing his routines from NCAA championships as goal #1 is consistency.

Justin Spring with past Olympian Steve McCain of Gymnast.com

This year’s Visa Championships mark Spring’s first major competition since tearing his ACL at last year’s Visa Championships in August.

CSTV.com

Justin confirmed that he is healthy and will compete 5 events at VISA Championships. He will do the All-around at Olympic Trials should he get through.

No gymnast, not even Paul Hamm, gets an automatic ticket to Trials. Everyone must earn it here in Houston.

Blaine Wilson

Blaine would be 34-years-old if he qualifies to the Olympics. He is the only athlete on the floor who competed FIG “Compulsory” routines long, long ago. Age is weighing heavy on Blaine, but he’s one of the most aggressive gymnasts in history.

One of the gymnasts I’ll be watching most closely.

Without the Women’s National Team here (they compete in Boston, instead) the Men are the headliners. It’s a nice change. And the number of potential team members on the Men’s side is far greater than on the Women’s.

Related post: 2008 Visa Gymnastics Championships Men

Andrew Thornton on Gymnast.com posted a detailed assessment of the chances for the Russian Women’s Gymnastics team for Beijing.

His answer … YES.

… remember that in Athens, the U.S. women entered as the heavy favorite for gold, and then when the Romanians looked better than everyone expected, the focus shifted to a two-way battle between these two teams in the finals. However, I think a lot of people probably don’t realize that at the end of that night, the Russians actually ended up only three and a half tenths behind the U.S., and one point away from the gold medal Romanian team. With the focus this year being on China vs. the U.S., could the Russians again sneak into that battle and surprise everyone?

…

Right now I’d say their big guns are clearly Semenova (recent European champ on bars and beam), Pavlova, Grebenkova, and Lozehecko.

The last two spots will likely be between several gymnasts, like Zamolodchikova, Pravdina, Kramarenko, Klyukina, Myasnikova, or Afanaseva. Though the Russians placed 2nd to Romania at the recent European Championships, we haven’t seen all their best gymnasts on one team yet. If they can get all their top gymnasts healthy for Beijing, they may be able to do a little more damage than most people realize.

A look at the Russian Women’s Team

Details:

Vault
Bars
Beam (strongest apparatus)
Floor (weakest apparatus)

Gymnast.com

Ksenia Semenova on Beam at the 2008 European Championships. Gold. A = 6.7 Final = 15.950

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Related post: is Russia the next Russia?

Coached by Howie & Jenny Liang, three girls from Gym-Max Gymnastics, Costa Mesa, California, finished 1-2-3 on vault in a very tough competition. JO Level 10 Nationals.

The judges rewarded the HEIGHT of their vaults, conspicuously better than most of the other excellent competitors in their division.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Everyone appreciates Howie’s enthusiasm. I appreciate how closely he SPOTS vault, even though his athletes almost certainly do not need him there. (Other kids in the same rotation landed badly with no spotter in place.)

results – Level 10 – Junior A

Ivana Hong trained at GymMax for 4 years, by the way. It’s Shantessa Pama’s club.

The wide consensus among gymnastics fans and experts is that Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, and Alicia Sacramone are locks for the Olympic Team. Since the main priority is the Team Final where 3 up 3 count, the selection will cater to those 12 routines needed. …

Vault– Sacramone, Jonhson, GAP

Bars– Liukin, GAP, GAP

Beam– Johnson, Liukin, Sacramone

Floor– Jonhson, Sacramone, GAP

read the rest of this post for commentary on who can fill the gaps – Gymnastics and stuff

Or leave a comment below on who should go to Beijing from the USA, assuming everyone is healthy.

The Olympic selection process will name the final Women’s Team of 6 on July 20th.

One of my posts is titled: is ex-gymnast author Jennifer Sey a liar?

It generated a good deal of discussion.

The author answers the question herself on her personal blog: Am I a liar?

(Be aware that Jennifer Sey has deleted a post she’s written on her blog which, I’m assuming, revealed too much. And deleted comments on her blog, including some of my own.)

Thanks Shergymrag.