<p>Sorry. I get your point. But it didn’t look like she was doing the simple skills all that *well…*on beam, she went into what I guess was supposed to be a scale…but her leg was bent.</p>
<p>If you compare Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers to what they do on So You Think You Can Dance, Fred and Ginger’s level of difficulty was much less…BUT, they are still so entertaining to watch - they still look great. I thought that the most decorated gymnast would be beautiful to watch, but I wasn’t so impressed. (And no, I can’t even do a cartwheel so I have no actual right to criticize anyone.)</p>
<p>I guess my question is what would be the difference in number of events that, e.g., a swimmer would normally enter v. a gymnast v. a track and field athlete, etc. Is it unsurprising that the top two most decorated athletes are a swimmer and gymnast?</p>
<p>Wow! "That history of " video was interesting . The girsl seem to get smaller and younger. And what is the deal with the “spotting”? Men seem to come close, hold there hand nearby and walk away. In the event of a mistep, does that actually accomplish something?</p>
<p>I always wonder that. When Nastia did that face plant on bars at Olympic trials, her dad/coach was right there, but he certainly didn’t catch her, or try to break her fall. Do you think they can tell the difference between a horrific fall that would cause a life altering injury and one that only causes loss of points and maybe some bruises?</p>
<p>Watched a few minutes of basketball - US v. Tunisia. I think the Tunisians get more cheers when they score than the Americans do. It’s such a delicate thing…for the NBA stars to try hard enough to not be insulting, but not try so hard that there’s a 70 point spread.</p>
<p>Spotters are not allowed to make contact with gymnasts. If they do the routine will receive a score penalty.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that gymnasts know how to fall properly in order to minimize risk of injury. Trying to break a gymnast’s fall could hurt both the gymnast and the spotter.</p>
<p>I agree about Astaire and Kelly – those SYTCD kids can’t even begin to do what those guys can do. It looks so easy and simple because they are just that good. Both Nureyev and Barysinkov always said that Astaire was the best dancer they had ever seen, I guess they should know.</p>
<p>Just throwing this out there. Whenever Tim Daggett says he doesn’t know where the deductions came from, don’t believe him.</p>
<p>I had difficulty playing amateur judge with Maroney’s vault because the camera angles weren’t very good, but she definitely got -.1 for landing off center.</p>
<p>In trying to figure out whenthey changed the heights on uneven bars for women, I found Nadia on Youtube. Her routines are not nearly as difficult as the routines today, but there was something about how she moved that was so much more graceful than most of the young women today. Still watching tonight was amazing in their grace and power.</p>
<p>I agree about the medal count. Add two laps to a swim, and it gets another medal. On the other hand, the decathlon is (obviously) multiple events with only one medal. I’m not disagreeing with how swimming does it, and I’m certainly not saying that Phelps is not a great Olympian, since he truly is. I’m just saying that Olympic greatness probably shouldn’t be measured exclusively by medal count.</p>
<p>^^Should the marathon winner get at least a couple of more medals than the dude who wins the 400? “Add two laps to a swim, and it gets another medal.” Sure, it is juuuuuust 2 laps. Not too many medal contenders in a 100 can medal in a 200. 400 IM is a swimming “decathlon” - you have to be good in every stroke AND have the endurance.</p>
<p>Ohhh, finally! I got to watch Nathan and Cullen swim on the big screen!</p>
<p>On the west coast, watching the gymnastics…watching the vault, watching the Americans…even though I know who is going to win…the performances still give me goose bumps. Maroney…WOW!!!</p>
<p>The spread on the US-Tunisia game was 55 points. They didn’t cover. :D</p>
<p>Phelps came right out and said in an interview tonight that he was much more relaxed in practice this time around, so that maybe his turns weren’t as crisp as they should and his finish wasn’t as aggressive as it could have been.</p>
<p>This cost him a gold in the butterfly and maybe a 2nd gold in the relay. He didn’t seem too broken up about it though.</p>
“Add two laps to a swim, and it gets another medal.” Sure, it is juuuuuust 2 laps. Not too many medal contenders in a 100 can medal in a 200. 400 IM is a swimming “decathlon” - you have to be good in every stroke AND have the endurance.</p>