MaKaM

I want him to go away. I don't expect it though. ETA: Well the float dancers at the closing ceremonies were almost a boob scandal!

Yesterday's broadcast had some credits that had beautiful scenic shots and gorgeous music. If you have that one still recorded, check it out.

God, Seacrest really is inane. He hasn't said an interesting or original thing the entire time and his insertions are poorly timed and kill the mood Mary and Mike are creating. They were talking about indoor volleyball and he throws something in about beach volleyball. I wonder if they are giving Seacrest the stank eye. Mike talks about the environmental, Mary talks about life renewal, Seacrest says see you at the big party. China needs to get on making rio cauldron themed gazing balls. I will put one out in my front yard.

Actually, despite the lack of ice or snow in them, moving a few of the "summer" games to the Winter would broaden the appeal of the winter olympics around the world. Seems like a lot of countries have judo athletes (as an example), and while it is unlikely that some of the desert or tropical countries will frequently qualify athletes in snowboarding or biathalon, they could get someone in some of the indoor sports that don't *have* to be in the Summer games which would encourage broadcasting of the Winter Olympics to countries that normally don't care. Classically winter sports are generally the prerogative of the rich and privileged and broadening the appeal outside of the current narrow confines would be a good thing. Maybe they could add a winter marathon.

The real issue is people assigning authority/credibility to racists and judgemental assholes from social media. The people who bitched about Gabby are not in positions of authority, they have no position to dictate or complain about her life and outside of having access to social media, would not have been noted by anyone (and should not in the future). Social media is gossip, not news no matter how frequently the news reports it as such. If the USOC had said something to Gabby (and the shot putters), that would be one thing. "More patriotic than thou" dumbasses who have twitter accounts should not be given the opportunity to weigh in. Gabby Douglas could have stood on that podium and belted out a perfect operatic rendition of the national anthem and the racists who criticized her would complain that her toes weren't pointed or some shit. Stop giving them credibility and attention, they deserve neither.

The wrestlers can skate out to the wrestling ring and then start wrestling. And the weightlifting can have a version done on skates added to the current types. More medals, y'all! Taekwondo on skis! But yeah, the IOC is going to have to risk offending someone soon and get the size of the summer games down (and the number of specialized venues reduced) or they are going to be reduced to begging cities to offer to host. Or I guess Qatar will get their Summer Olympics - no bribes needed!

If we are starting a list of what can go, maybe they should look at viewership/money from each and just start cutting the lagging ones. NBC should have pretty good data from this Olympics on what is important enough that people would stream it live or watch a rerun and what was watched or DVRed. That only shows for the US but since NBC pays a huge portion to broadcast, they have a lot of pull. Combine that with data from around the world to see what isn't being watched. Trim some of the Group D sports (pick three or four from canoe/kayaking, equestrian, fencing, handball, field hockey, sailing, taekwondo, triathlon and wrestling.) Cut the Group E sport (Modern Pentathalon). Kill Golf before it gets entrenched. Cut anything that isn't co-ed (sayonara Rhythmic Gymnastics and Synchronized Swimming). Martial arts are over-represented (between taekwondo, judo, boxing, and wrestling) so with any luck Karate is only in for one because of the local appeal. Weightlifting should be on the chopping block (or lose a few weight categories or the number of athletes participating be reduced) as punishment for the level of doping present. Boxing seems to be dirty as hell and there should be some repercussions there. The different tiers and associated sports are detailed here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2013/05/29/swimming-gymnastics-get-olympic-revenue-boost/2368541/ Of other sports out there that aren't in the Olympics, I personally don't have any favorites but I would like to see more spots allocated to the established sports. Maybe they should just cut boxing, wrestling, and the other martial arts and just put in MMA. I am a fan of less judged sports overall (and I count anything with a referee as judged to some extent. '72 Basketball gold as an example) so adding in surfing and skateboarding and other similar sports isn't super appealing to me. If the climbing one is about speed, I am cool with it.

I really liked Gracie her first year as senior with her original coach. Ever since she switched to Frank, she leaves me as cold as Evan always did. It is funny because I LOVED Michelle Kwan but maybe because Frank's standard packaging (Lori Nichols choreography, traditional music selection) really worked for her. For Gracie it is turning her into an ice princess when she should be a jazzy, sassy girl. But she needs a sports psychologist intervention because if she doesn't skate with fight, she should just go do shows; she has the technical arsenal, she can do the choreography, there is no reason she shouldn't be up there with the best.

Moved because NBC wanted it moved and the coverage will *still* suck.

There was probably a garage. I am south of DC and that is how they design them here. Though often the extra room on the garage level is another bedroom. The one door was clearly a powder room but they never opened or mentioned the other door. Maybe their couch was living in there since they had already chosen the house?

Noisy-sex family was definitely a classic. I read it as her kink was letting people know about their sex life so she made sure to mention it at every moment. Wonder how much they had to bribe those kids to have them act all excited about living in that camper. Very strange especially if he is military (was he?) because they get a housing allowance but maybe they were taking that and putting it toward college funds so that is why they went tiny. The other one they showed recently was a couple on the East coast. She thought that 200 sqft was good as long as it had room for her, the husband, the two dogs, the king sized bed, the full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and a place where she could go off by herself. In 200 sqft. They looked at the little trailer house and were shocked that it didn't have two bathrooms. The houseboat did have two bathrooms and wasn't too bad, but seriously, they had two dogs. Clearly they weren't going with that one. They picked the cabin in the woods (that was brand new and suspiciously for sale) that gave her a 3 hour daily commute and I figured he was thrilled with the location so he had some time away from her.

You asked, HH provides. Newlyweds looking in Baltimore, wanting to be in Greektown. She wanted a classic Baltimore row home with details but a modern kitchen, walk in closets, soaking tub and he simply had to have space for their 9' x 12' couch (that was ugly anyway) and a media room. Because those are totally standard in 15' wide row homes. They were...awful. I know they were given a script but holy f*ck, get a new sofa fools! But they ended up going back to Texas to get a second chaise side instead of love seat side that they had. I think it perfect that they ended up next to a railroad track and an ugly industrial area. Hoping someone puts up some skyscrapers that block their view.

I actually did know this which is why I said 5 passes. If they reduce what is allowed to count and people have to figure out what else to do to fill the time, some creativity will have to come out. Maybe. Reduce the categories for the artistic mark because I am not convinced the judges know how to apply it. :-P

One way to fix it is to allow them to count a maximum number of elements (similar to the short program) but keep the length the same. So if you can only do 5 jumping passes and two spins and 1 footwork sequence and they will count your highest ones (so you could really do 15 jumps and 18 spins but only 5 and 2 will count) there would at least be some variety. Maybe you make a "free element" category that counts as a set number if you do one but you can do a jump for 5 points (or 10 or whatever) or an Ina Bauer or a spread eagle or something. The skaters could do whatever appeals to them rather than being stuck in the currently established point categories. Definitely capping the number of jumps will reduce the stroke, stroke, set-up, jump, recover, repeat. that goes on in the first few minutes of most programs. I've stopped watching a lot since the Sochi Olympics because I thought the results from the ladies competition was such bullshit. The artistry marks on one skater were several points different (someone giving a 7, someone giving a 10) and no foul was called. Or someone does an obviously scratchy jump and gets +2s on it. And I simply DO NOT understand how a skater who falls on their ass can be given 9s for interpretation unless they are interpreting a Zamboni. The artistic marks never seem to reflect the technical mistakes even though those mistakes definitely affect the quality of the performance. Nowadays, I watch, shrug and say, okay, whatever, who cares who wins? It has all just felt so phony since 2014--maybe because there is a new Russian star (or 3) each year and they all get the points of the seasoned veterans (and maybe they deserve them, I don't understand the artistry marks at all).

Man, I hated the Padre Island couple. They were such stereotypes of wasteful Americans. Him with his bathrooms and boats and her with her "Ooh, I hate the floor." "Ooh, I hate (insert anything under the sun)" we'll have to throw away perfectly good stuff because it isn't up to my hoity standards. Build then lady, build. Also the way you shopped for your trophy house for spoiled you, idiot husband, poor Troylynn, and poor ignored middle son reeked (and I mean REEKED) of nouveau riche. Can't buy class. Next up: Troylynn as the star of Toddlers and Tiaras because you just know that type of woman is going to be re-living her youth through her daughter. Hope the older brothers don't hate little sis and will rescue her in a few years.

Whew, got caught up yesterday and their live finale is always amateur hour. Same production company for the Biggest Loser finale maybe? At least invite the people to a rehersal or pipe some audio to the contestants. And it doesn't seem like it should be rocket surgery for the host of the show who is mic-ed to be able to be heard over the crowd. Also, America doesn't need their vote to help name the most popular person (or one with the largest social presence) prom queen. Total bullshit--should have had the eliminated contestants vote. THAT would have been drama. "I hate Chris, but his tattoo is definitely the best." "I think Matt really hit it out of the park, plus, screw you Kruseman!" etc. Finally, the live finale with cheering fans is just a stupid format anyway. Future contestants: a touch of humility (just a touch) really goes a long way with the audience. "I put my heart and soul into this and I think it is a winning piece" works a thousand times better than "I put my heart and soul into this and I KNOW it is THE winning piece." We just root for comeuppance at that point. Who won? Who cares? None of them could out-tattoo any of the previous winners. And I am with the rest of y'all in my hatred of the producers for casting Mark again (I ain't doing that rediculous "St." shit). I just fast forward through the loft stuff anyway and I'll know to fast forward through any of his talking heads because the only thing he knows how to do for the camera is give himself a tongue bath.

I wish her luck but am thinking that the ship has sailed. Now if she does go back to skating and thanks to the missed time, has to relearn everything and develop proper technique, maybe she has a chance (a la Joannie Rochette) but it seems like it is a slim one. It is too bad since she seemed to have so much promise (much like Mirai) that it didn't come together for her. If she retains her flexibility and extension, she could be a very pretty show skater; no one ever said a bad thing about her spins (other than maybe they were too slow). I wonder how much her mule kick technique contributed to her hip problems.

So if you took all the skaters doing Phantom of the Opera this season and put them together, would you get the whole musical? Hopefully after this season's OD on this music, it will be given a few seasons rest. Men: Hanyu, LP Mura, LP Ladies: Murakami, LP and SP Gold, LP I feel like I've heard it more times than this though--are any of the pairs using it too? ETA: I also love Dice Murakami. He seemed like such a happy, giddy person and he didn't even roll his eyes at Andrea. So happy for him on his major breakthrough competition. I hope he can build on the momentum.

Watching the couple wanting to buy in Evanston, IL with a 1M budget. The horror of having to look in Wilmette instead of Evanston, the horror! I have relatives in Wilmette and I seriously should have sucked up more to them if that is the pile of money in real estate they are sitting on. Wish they had toured more houses because Chicago's north shore is house porn heaven with the variety of house styles. The choice was obvious though. I disliked her need to swap out perfectly nice kitchens for similar kitchens with different finishes. His voice would drive me nuts if I had to listen to it on a constant basis.

Thank the good lord baby Jesus that Ryan Bradley was doing the singles commentary for Trophee. I couldn't take much more of Peter. After catching up on the Rostelecom, I've noticed how much he needs to do more research. He said Simon Schnapir has a new partner because Marissa didn't want to go on. Guess no one told her that. Or her new partner apparently. Then he said that Narumi Takahashi hadn't developed the leg muscles to control her throw landings. Guess they are giving bronze World medals to skaters with undeveloped legs these days. It couldn't possibly be because her partner didn't give her enough of a throw. Holy Cow, Carruthers. I can see him not being up to par on the singles, but frickin' pairs? Even I know all this gossip and I am far from plugged in. Back to Simon, with his size, I have to say I was surprised they couldn't manage a triple twist. He should be able to chuck that girl halfway across the rink, you would think. Bradley continues to impress me. He doesn't talk too much, he is basically helpful pointing out jumping errors, he is calm, and while he might be repetitive in his requests for more speed, he is only echoing what I am thinking so that makes me think he is even smarter. He even made cogent comments about his own skating (since he couldn't compete with the spins and artistry, he went all-or-nothing in his skating, fyi). More Ryan, less Peter, PLEASE. At this point, I know it is a losing battle, but I am currently cheering for ABR--anyone but Russia. I realize the technical skills of the Russian ladies exceed anyone else out there, but the artistry marks are just absurd for a few of them. Heck, artistry marks across the board have been absurd. Have we all finally concluded that the artistry mark is pure BS and that the judges just think it should be about the same as the technical and mark accordingly? Unless of course a favorite skater is having a bad day--then throw 20 extra points at them to make up for the falls. I like Yuzuru, but I cannot conceive how a program with 5 falls can still get 8+ in Skating Skills, Performance/Execution, and Interpretation. Because let's be honest, unless you are interpreting a Zamboni, five falls DO impact the overall presentation. He also was skating like a guy with a concussion (aka slowly) and still managed to get the top PCS of the competition. And Nam Nguyen can barely break a 7 in a few categories, and he didn't hit the ice a single time. And if they aren't going to actually grade it in a meaningful way, why not just double the technical score and be done with it?

Naples, FL. Megan and hubby want to live the retired person life in their 20s. They are walking, talking cliches of the gimme mindset. As bad as the San Diego couple...maybe worse. They want a country club life but no formal dining room. And she will drive her golf cart to the gym. They were SO pretentious and noveau riche. They made the 4000 sq ft minimum princess and her medieval husband seem reasonable.

See above for my report on how Carruthers is doing (short answer: AWFUL). The only thing Universal Sports is doing right is the network guy (Hummer) and the ice dancing (Tanith Belbin for China, Sinead Kerr for Skate Canada). Even if they don't add much (but they do seem to and I am not a ice dancing fanatic so take that for what it might be worth), they don't actively detract from the watching. Like Carruthers does. Uncle Dick can do crazy and trailing off comments because he is frickin' Dick Button. Peter Carruthers, while I am sure a nice guy, is a terrible sportscaster. Scott Hamilton would be an improvement. And he really, REALLY needs to lay off the comments on the physiques of the ladies skaters. (I am going to insert another plea for Ryan Bradley to get the call to the broadcast booth. Heck, they can keep Carruthers in the "crazy old guy" spot if they bring in someone, anyone to get him to talk less.) After catching up on Skate Canada, I have to say that Rika Hongo very much has that gangly Karen Kwan/Kimmie Meissner quality. Maybe early Carolina Kostner too. Here's hoping it doesn't take her as long to grow into her elegance as it took those other skaters. I also really liked Aaron and Settlage in Ice Dance. I hope they stay together long enough to grow as a pair. The German ice dance couple's music was terrible. Just noise. I think if they feel they are being underscored, they should look to their awful music and not the location of the competition. Hubble and Donahue also skated to music I actively hated. Poje and Weaver were great.

Rippon fell on his axel and popped his combo into a single + nothing. Basically, he had one triple jump count.

I didn't mind Leonova's costume--it worked with the music and really highlighted how great her posture is. I don't think Pogorilaya should be in first--I'd have put both Wagner and Leonova ahead of her. Wagner's hair is terrible. Maybe she should try red. Felt bad for Helgesson when she practically flashed the crowd when her top came undone. Guess they need a backup clasp up there--at least when Gracie's came undone at the Olympics, she had sleeves to help keep it up. Satoko Miyahara's outfit looked oversized on her (last year's did too actually) but Canada really put on a good showing even without their best lady in the event. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Canadian ladies' skating---there is definitely room to grow there. The men looked ragged other than Fernandez who grows on me more and more each season. Max Aaron was definitely *trying* to do his program justice and maybe as the season goes on, it will get better. But his hair is THE WORST. I don't know what he is going for with something that is flat, curly, *and* poofy, but the whole effect was awful. Also, at least two of the men need to find new costumes--seemed like everyone out there had a shirt with a fake, undone bowtie around their neck. BORING. Finally, I found myself saying SHUT UP, PETER CARRUTHERS about a hundred times. He talks so much but says nothing at all. They need to replace him. Ryan Bradley was great last year. Carruthers can't watch, think, and talk at the same time and being a sports commentator requires the ability to multitask. He says the same things over and over, trails off weirdly, doesn't answer the network guy's actual question, and provides no real insight despite several good leading questions. "Is the ability to show competitive fire something that comes from the athlete or can the coach teach it?" "It depends...." and then nothing else. Examples, please, if you are going to talk over the skating. He also kept interrupting the network guy when he was doing wrap-up stuff--it was like he had never done skating commentary before. So amateur. And any time he comments about one of the ladies' looks, it sounds pervy.

Yeah, I see Gracie doing better with sassy, jazzy music. Or something rock and roll. Her Chicago exhibition was really cute. Floaty princess is what she looks like but it doesn't seem to wear well. I think she would have an easier time with music that she was really into--no worries about tensing up for jumps if she is rocking out to the music. It would help her performance too. Maybe Frank and crew are trying to get her to stretch or maybe they have gotten too moribund and don't know how to handle a skater with a personality other than ice princess. Kwan could do sassy and ice princess but maybe Gracie can't. Cesario I guess needs to keep showing up and delivering and will get recognition soon. Hopefully. She's a good looking woman and is more consistent tha Czsiny was so here's hoping it happens for her. Not excited about Carmen, but I do think she did a good job with it. The Russians weren't perfect, so there is room to advance on them. Also, WHAT was Tuktamysheva wearing? It technically worked with the theme of the music, but it looked like she came right from the hotel and barely had time to cover her panties with her pegnoir. If her skates had had feather tufts on them, the picture would have been complete. I do like that she tried a different silhouette but in application, I don't know that it worked.