It's nice to know that if this whole "tech support" thing doesn't pan out, I can stab myself in the forebrain with a corkscrew and become an Olympic gymnastics judge.
In the women's all-around, the scoring seemed to disproportionately favor the Chinese athletes. The commentary (admittedly American) shifted from "Well, maybe that judge isn't seeing what we're seeing here" to "I don't get that at all" to finally "No, that's wrong." And I was halfway wondering if they'd get their mikes pulled.
Tonight (well, this morning), pretty much the same thing on uneven bars, except that the American had a seriously stronger and fewer-flawed routine as the Chinese nine-year-old (with identical degrees of difficulty), but interestingly enough, they tied on scores, and on the third tie-breaking criterion, China gets the gold. Nobody was dismissing the tie-breaking system, but there was a strong consensus that it shouldn't have tied. In discussing the results, they let slip that no country represented on the floor can have a judge on the panel, so you get the panel made up of judges from countries that suck. Pretty much the same thing happened during the early rotations of the all-around, but it was offset by the Americans just trouncing the Chinese in the floor exercise.
Maybe it's just partisanship, but it was just...wrong. I confess I would've liked to have seen some other countries spotlighted at least half as much as the Americans -- especially when we're faced with performances like American divers, who couldn't do worse if they missed the water (though the Americans showed the hell up for the 400m hurdles, at least). I can skip basketball and (ugh) beach volleyball being the embarrassments they are.
There've been two just stunning moments in gymnastics, the first being a (I think) Japanese man on the rings who lost his grip and just crashed hard and walked it off, and a Brazilian man considered to be his country's best shot at a medal and he just fell, and you could see every ounce of pain on his face....
Same thing that happened Friday, except without that definitive final rotation they had in the all-around. I know there's no remedy for these games (until they cut the Chinese gymnasts in half, count the rings, and realize that they're three years old), but there needs to be some serious revisiting of FIG/IOC policies and personnel.
Nastia'd punch her repeatedly in the head and break her Barbie Dream House over her.
I'll agree the gymnastics has been a bit odd... And I'm irritated with the one commentator (Mr. OMGJustThinkOfTheirEmotionalStateCuzIDon'tKnowAnythingAboutTheSportActually). I wish I'd seen last night's stuff - I'll have to catch it on the long-play rewind online.
While I agree on skipping the basketball, I don't agree with skipping the beach volleyball - sure they're pairs, sure the gals are in little bikinis, sure they get to run around in the sun and sand, but that doesn't mean it doesn't take athletic prowess and skill.
That poor Brazilian guy :( I felt so bad for him! His whole team was in shock too. And the Chinese hurdler who couldn't race but had to try...
I confess to not having watched beach volleyball, just because it's not really my bag of corn, and also because I feel sorry for whoever gets in the way of May-Trainor and Walsh (good God, I know the names).
And the Chinese hurdler...that's what I like about the games. I wish we could see a little less of the obligatory Americans and more of the global assortment of people who won't win but can't stop trying.
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Tonight (well, this morning), pretty much the same thing on uneven bars, except that the American had a seriously stronger and fewer-flawed routine as the Chinese nine-year-old (with identical degrees of difficulty), but interestingly enough, they tied on scores, and on the third tie-breaking criterion, China gets the gold. Nobody was dismissing the tie-breaking system, but there was a strong consensus that it shouldn't have tied. In discussing the results, they let slip that no country represented on the floor can have a judge on the panel, so you get the panel made up of judges from countries that suck. Pretty much the same thing happened during the early rotations of the all-around, but it was offset by the Americans just trouncing the Chinese in the floor exercise.
Maybe it's just partisanship, but it was just...wrong. I confess I would've liked to have seen some other countries spotlighted at least half as much as the Americans -- especially when we're faced with performances like American divers, who couldn't do worse if they missed the water (though the Americans showed the hell up for the 400m hurdles, at least). I can skip basketball and (ugh) beach volleyball being the embarrassments they are.
There've been two just stunning moments in gymnastics, the first being a (I think) Japanese man on the rings who lost his grip and just crashed hard and walked it off, and a Brazilian man considered to be his country's best shot at a medal and he just fell, and you could see every ounce of pain on his face....
bullshit
they should have had them duke it outlike pro's! bullshit!
Re: bullshit
Nastia'd punch her repeatedly in the head and break her Barbie Dream House over her.
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While I agree on skipping the basketball, I don't agree with skipping the beach volleyball - sure they're pairs, sure the gals are in little bikinis, sure they get to run around in the sun and sand, but that doesn't mean it doesn't take athletic prowess and skill.
That poor Brazilian guy :( I felt so bad for him! His whole team was in shock too. And the Chinese hurdler who couldn't race but had to try...
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And the Chinese hurdler...that's what I like about the games. I wish we could see a little less of the obligatory Americans and more of the global assortment of people who won't win but can't stop trying.