Artistic Gymnastics: Stick the Landing!

[scarynikki12]

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NBC better rake them over the coals... oh who am I kidding, they may not even show the blasted event. 

No way, this is the kind of shit that Tim and Shut UP! Al LIVE FOR.  They are going to be all over this.

[windsprints]

They should be eliminated from the remaining competition.  Give their spots to athletes who want to compete at the games.  

[Daisy]

18 minutes ago, PoshSprinkles said:

This is what makes the situation all the worse!!!!

Right? like. I want indignities (and i'm sad that BBC/CBC won't be able to comment) but Al/Tim.... may make me feel bad for them LOL

[AuntieDiane6]

I'm glad to see most posters are of the same opinion as me:  the US mens team has talent and skills ... and no consequences when they choke. Now that Marta Karolyi is retiring from the women's team, the men's team needs to bring her in as a consultant.  The men are losing because they are not drilled to win.  They are sloppy. They choke.  They are brilliant one day and the next, they fall off the pommel horse like it was a mechanical bull in a Texas bar. You can never count on them to hit six for six.  Do you think if Laurie splated on her vault and then followed it up with a fall off the beam, she'd still be on the team?  Hell, no.  She'd be watching the Olympics from the Jersey Shore.  

Don't blame college gymnastics.  Half of the men's team has long graduated from college.  I guess you can have a career in gymnastics if you're pretty mediocre.  After all, on the tours, the women need a break.

[choclatechip45]

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I'm glad to see most posters are of the same opinion as me:  the US mens team has talent and skills ... and no consequences when they choke. Now that Marta Karolyi is retiring from the women's team, the men's team needs to bring her in as a consultant.  The men are losing because they are not drilled to win.  They are sloppy. They choke.  They are brilliant one day and the next, they fall off the pommel horse like it was a mechanical bull in a Texas bar. You can never count on them to hit six for six.  Do you think if Laurie splated on her vault and then followed it up with a fall off the beam, she'd still be on the team?  Hell, no.  She'd be watching the Olympics from the Jersey Shore.  

Imagine if Gabby and Aly had no medals after two Olympics? Something that looks realistic for Dalton and Mikulak (granted Dalton did hit Floor).

[Daisy]

10 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

Imagine if Gabby and Aly had no medals after two Olympics? Something that looks realistic for Dalton and Mikulak (granted Dalton did hit Floor).

Well if Gabby + Aly didn't have medals after one Olympics I doubt v. much they would make it to two, to have a chance to go to three Olympics without a medal. Mr. I Can be Better than Koehi better put up and shut up. 

[choclatechip45]

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Well if Gabby + Aly didn't have medals after one Olympics I doubt v. much they would make it to two, to have a chance to go to three Olympics without a medal. Mr. I Can be Better than Koehi better put up and shut up. 

True! Has the MAG Team done any media? I saw a quote from Dalton afterwards where he said they did their best.

Edited August 9, 2016 by choclatechip45

[Fostersmom]

Now that I've seen the final results, I don't need to be wondering why it's an hour+ into tonight's NBC overage and the gymnastics have barely been mentioned tonight. Damn guys, way to just implode. It will be interesting to see if they mention the Ukraine team purposely scratching. 

[cesstar]

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#USA lineup for women's team final:
VT-Hernandez Raisman Biles
UB-Biles Douglas Kocian
BB-Raisman Hernandez Biles
FX-Hernandez Raisman Biles

— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) August 8, 2016

Biggest surprise for me is Hernandez leading off on vault. I think it would have been a great statement to have the reigning AA champion be your lead-off on the first event. Sets the tone for the whole competition. Laurie will do fine I'm sure but vault is probably her weakest event - I'm always scared because she lands so close to the vault! That was how she injured herself last year too. 

And Biles will do all 4 events which I'm guessing was not the original plan but really is probably for the best. She still scores extremely well on bars despite it being her 'weakest' event! 

[ParadoxLost]

3 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

Now that I've seen the final results, I don't need to be wondering why it's an hour+ into tonight's NBC overage and the gymnastics have barely been mentioned tonight. Damn guys, way to just implode. It will be interesting to see if they mention the Ukraine team purposely scratching. 

I'm hoping that they air it and that they caught team and coach reaction shots.  I'm just curious if the whole team was fully on board and ok with it the way its getting reported.  The coaches must be because they sent the athlete back in to do it again.  They certainly aren't reporting that his teammates were visibly pissed off. 

I did make note that they had someone that didn't qualify for anything else do it, so there its very unlikely that anything that will happen to the others.

[Minneapple]

1 hour ago, choclatechip45 said:

Imagine if Gabby and Aly had no medals after two Olympics? Something that looks realistic for Dalton and Mikulak (granted Dalton did hit Floor).

The women get a ton of hate and people constantly question their positions on the team despite the fact that they have won multiple international competitions. They have won under enormous pressure (they get way more media attention than the men) and under a coach who takes no mercy. You don't perform, you're out, because the US women have such a deep pool of talent that the backups could go out there and probably win gold. 

And yet nothing ever changes with the men's team. 

22 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

Now that I've seen the final results, I don't need to be wondering why it's an hour+ into tonight's NBC overage and the gymnastics have barely been mentioned tonight. Damn guys, way to just implode. It will be interesting to see if they mention the Ukraine team purposely scratching. 

Yup. I knew it, too. They'll probably break from swimming at about 11, show a few routines, maybe a couple of the better US men's routines and be done with it. Phelps has yet to swim and you know they'll milk that for all it's worth even though it's only a semifinal or whatever.

[choclatechip45]

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The women get a ton of hate and people constantly question their positions on the team despite the fact that they have won multiple international competitions. They have won under enormous pressure (they get way more media attention than the men) and under a coach who takes no mercy. You don't perform, you're out, because the US women have such a deep pool of talent that the backups could go out there and probably win gold. 

And yet nothing ever changes with the men's team. 

100 %.  I do find it interesting that basically every sport under gymnastics besides Men's Artistic now trains at the ranch. While MAG stays in Colorado Springs. Probably because most of the guys live in there.

[Growsonwalls]

Wow at Ukraine. That was disrespectful. And it's not like they didn't have a great shot at a medal given the unexpected mistakes from the rest of the field. 

Also, I'm not buying that the gymnasts didn't agree to it. These are grown men. If they wanted to go up and swing and put in a routine, they could have. Even a few handstands, swings, and it would have been better than what they did. 

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, PoshSprinkles said:

Oleg issued a statement stating that they found out 15 minutes prior to the start of the competition that one of their members couldn't compete and they couldn't change the lineup as a result. (Found the message on papaliukin tumblr, but can't find the original source of the message for true verification). 

I'm not sure if I believe this. If one of your team mates was so sick/injured they were in the hospital and couldn't compete, then how did they manage to even come to the team final? And if they were in the hospital, then why wouldn't your coaches replace them rather than waiting fifteen minutes until the final started to be informed that this team member couldn't compete? It doesn't compute. Any other team would have changed the lineup. 

I know that in ...Atlanta? Romania had to compete with a short team because someone broke their leg. 
but they couldn't change their lineup. okay. that sucks. 
You still couldn't compete?

[choclatechip45]

In 2004, Courtney Kupets was supposed to do beam in the Team Final. They had to switch Mohini in last minute I remember all the girls were in the warm up gym and Kupets tweaked something.

[kittykat]

Exactly.  Even if you have to sub in someone who isn't great you at least try.  Even if the above statement is true they could've filed an appeal.  Olympic judges live for appeals.

NBC shunning the event doesn't surprise me at all.  I mean no one watching wants to see those awesome Japanese or Russian gymnasts triumph, right!  RIGHT!

@choclatechip45 I thought Courtney McCool was the one who got injured.  She also had to pull out of AA and Kupets subbed for her.

Edited August 9, 2016 by kittykat

[Rick Kitchen]

Wasn't there something about having to stick to the announced lineup and not being able to make changes at the last minute?

[Scovies]

9 minutes ago, PoshSprinkles said:

Oleg issued a statement stating that they found out 15 minutes prior to the start of the competition that one of their members couldn't compete and they couldn't change the lineup as a result. (Found the message on papaliukin tumblr, but can't find the original source of the message for true verification). 

I'm not sure if I believe this. If one of your team mates was so sick/injured they were in the hospital and couldn't compete, then how did they manage to even come to the team final? And if they were in the hospital, then why wouldn't your coaches replace them rather than waiting fifteen minutes until the final started to be informed that this team member couldn't compete? It doesn't compute. Any other team would have changed the lineup. 

I don't buy it either. Remember in 2004 when the U.S. women changed their beam lineup at the last second to replace Courtney Kupets with Mohini Bhardwaj on beam? They literally didn't know they'd have to change the lineup until midway through the competition when Courtney injured herself warming up in between events. Maybe they've changed the protocol since then.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Scovies

[choclatechip45]

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I don't buy it either. Remember in 2004 when the U.S. women changed their beam lineup at the last second to replace Courtney Kupets with Mohini Bhardwaj on beam? They literally didn't know they'd have to change the lineup until midway through the competition when Courtney injured herself warming up in between events.

Yup she was injured in the warm up gym. Thank god they only use those now for event finals.

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 I thought Courtney McCool was the one who got injured.  She also had to pull out of AA and Kupets subbed for her.

Nope McCool had a mental breakdown during qualifications and couldn't pull it together so they sat her for Team Finals. The problem with McCool was back then you could choose to go senior the year before Olympics and she chose to stay a junior. So for example in the old rules Laurie could have been a senior in 2015  because she turned 16 in the Olympic Rule. That's how Shawn won the 2007 world aa title. Just checked qualification scores Carly was #1, Courtney Kupets #4, Mohini #8, and McCool was #13. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by choclatechip45

[Growsonwalls]

I found this nice little fluff piece on Kohei. Interesting to hear him say that the London Olympics weren't a happy experience for him. I mean it wasn't surprising given the mess that was the team final but Kohei did go on to win AA gold medal. But he says Beijing was a happier experience despite the mistakes he made. 

[kittykat]

6 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

Yup she was injured in the warm up gym. Thank god they only use those now for event finals.

Nope McCool has a mental breakdown during qualifications and couldn't pull it together so they sat her for Team Finals. The problem with McCool was back then you could choose to go senior the year before Olympics and she chose to stay a junior. So for example in the old rules Laurie could have been a senior in 2015  because she turned 16 in the Olympic Rule. That's how Shawn won the 2007 world aa title.

Thaaaats right.  I got my Courtneys mixed up.  Been awhile.  I do remember the mix up with Kupets and subbing Mohini but it was 12 yrs ago maybe the rules changed.

[Daisy]

it's 10:30. do you know where the Gymnastics Team Final is? give me a break, NBC. 

[choclatechip45]

3 minutes ago, kittykat said:

Thaaaats right.  I got my Courtneys mixed up.  Been awhile.  I do remember the mix up with Kupets and subbing Mohini but it was 12 yrs ago maybe the rules changed.

No worries I always mix those two up. Funny that they both competed at Georgia the same time.

[AuntieDiane6]

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I saw a quote from Dalton afterwards where he said they did their best.

Well, they better raise the bar for what they consider their best.  Did they think they'd get medals for Just Showing Up?  Geez ... 

 

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t's 10:30. do you know where the Gymnastics Team Final is? give me a break, NBC. 

They didn't even mention the men's team finals in the show intro ... maybe they'll mention it tomorrow during a break from the women's event. I feel bad for the viewers who DON'T know what happened ... 

[choclatechip45]

13 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

Well, they better raise the bar for what they consider their best.  Did they think they'd get medals for Just Showing Up?  Geez ... 

I agree.

Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted at Laurie tonight. I know he ended his run in Hamilton. However, since he wrote it I am sure he could get Laurie tickets!

Edited August 9, 2016 by choclatechip45

[Daisy]

yup. after this they are going to go to volleyball.

[ParadoxLost]

7 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

They didn't even mention the men's team finals in the show intro ... maybe they'll mention it tomorrow during a break from the women's event. I feel bad for the viewers who DON'T know what happened ... 

Well they did do a whole segment on how the Olympics were shaping up to be team USA women win and men not so much.  I took that as gymnastics starting soon.  And then more swimming.

I think this is the last night I watch primetime.  Its easier to watch the events and coverage on demand the next day where the commercials are less and they break up the primetime coverage by event.

[Growsonwalls]

I've low-key disliked the USA men's team for many years for this reason. Starting with the 2004 quad they've acted rather entitled. They're no longer the underdogs that could (remember Trent Dimas's gold HB routine? Adorable) but now act like they can show up, have huge mistakes in several routines, and that's still good enough for them to medal. It's as if Japan, China, Germany, GB, etc are all going to roll over and die for Team USA's coronation. If they actually produced results to back up their self-hype it might be okay but the situation being what it is I really don't get why they feel so happy with themselves after a performance where they easily could have done better.

Whatever you think about Japan/China/GB/Germany they all seem to take major mistakes very hard and you can see how they know that they have to put out their very best.

[KenyaJ]

12 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

They didn't even mention the men's team finals in the show intro ... maybe they'll mention it tomorrow during a break from the women's event.

I have a feeling it's gonna be relegated to overnight coverage.

[choclatechip45]

3 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I've low-key disliked the USA men's team for many years for this reason. Starting with the 2004 quad they've acted rather entitled. They're no longer the underdogs that could (remember Trent Dimas's gold HB routine? Adorable) but now act like they can show up, have huge mistakes in several routines, and that's still good enough for them to medal. It's as if Japan, China, Germany, GB, etc are all going to roll over and die for Team USA's coronation. If they actually produced results to back up their self-hype it might be okay but the situation being what it is I really don't get why they feel so happy with themselves after a performance where they easily could have done better.

I agree I really hate the Bro culture that they seem to have. Maybe that's why I like Danell because he has won before and does not seem as entitled as the OTC and NCAA guys.

[healthnut]

I came here thinking I must've missed gymnastics in the first hour but they haven't even mentioned it? WTH! It really is all about swimming for NBC but since when does beach volleyball get aired over gymnastics. 

[greendog78]

3 minutes ago, KenyaJ said:

I have a feeling it's gonna be relegated to overnight coverage.

NBC should have swallowed its pride and shown the team final for what it was in prime time. The USA isn't going to win everything. But it would be nice for even causal Olympic viewers to see brilliant gymnastics.

[Growsonwalls]

I agree. Not to see the Japanese men beasting their vaults is such a shame. Wow Kenzo's vault was one perfect vault.

It's on NBC's website though:

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/mens-gymnastics-team-final-vault

1 hour in is when JPN/RUS go up.

[Daisy]

6 minutes ago, greendog78 said:

NBC should have swallowed its pride and shown the team final for what it was in prime time. The USA isn't going to win everything. But it would be nice for even causal Olympic viewers to see brilliant gymnastics.

if NBC was the only thing i had access to and i didn't have internet, it would drive me insane. show. EVERYTHING. they didn't have to show all the semi-finals. they could have intercut. 

[Dots And Stripes]

I'm ok with NBC not being able to show everything in prime time. I do think they should air gymnastics live on one of their cable channels in addition to the stream. They air figure skating live even though it's a marquee event they will replay in prime time. They can do the same for gymnastics.

[Daisy]

Well how CBC does it - they worked together with the two big sports station here -TSN and Sportsnet, so even when things are on Primetime  you can still have everything going on. like they had Gymnastics on the "MotherStation" -  then volleyball still on primetime, etc. can't NBC do that?

[Minneapple]

13 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Well how CBC does it - they worked together with the two big sports station here -TSN and Sportsnet, so even when things are on Primetime  you can still have everything going on. like they had Gymnastics on the "MotherStation" -  then volleyball still on primetime, etc. can't NBC do that?

Oh, NBC does the same thing. Right now on the broadcast network, they are showing live beach volleyball. On NBCSN they're showing indoor volleyball and boxing. NBC owns many big cable stations including Bravo, USA, etc, that show live Olympics from the morning until the early evenings. And they'll stream the hell out of everything. I watched fencing (really fascinating) and basketball earlier today. There are just certain sports, like gymnastics, that they refuse to show live on TV in the afternoons or mornings because they want to save them for primetime. The mistake they made with the men's gymnastics is that they held back from showing it hoping the US men would medal, and the US men didn't medal. Apparently Michael Phelps trying on a baby carrier gets better ratings than men's gymnastics. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by Minneapple

[greendog78]

Nevermind it's on now. Probably for like 20 minutes.

[Daisy]

1 minute ago, greendog78 said:

Nevermind it's on now. Probably for like 20 minutes.

oohoo. do tell if they touch on Ukraine.

[choclatechip45]

Al calling Sam a world champion. Uh what? He has a team bronze! That is it. Yet Gabby who has 2 team gold and a all around silver isn't a champ according to him.

[Daisy]

2 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

Oh, NBC does the same thing. Right now on the broadcast network, they are showing live beach volleyball. On NBCSN they're showing indoor volleyball and boxing. NBC owns many big cable stations including Bravo, USA, etc, that show live Olympics from the morning until the early evenings. And they'll stream the hell out of everything. I watched fencing (really fascinating) and basketball earlier today. There are just certain sports, like gymnastics, that they refuse to show live in the afternoons or mornings because they want to save them for primetime. The mistake they made with the men's gymnastics is that they held back from showing it hoping the US men would medal, and the US men didn't medal. Also, pparently Michael Phelps trying on a baby carrier gets better ratings than men's gymnastics. 

 

Ah i see. Yeah. like TSN had the entire men's tournament this afternoon, then CBC had the tournament again in primetime (I just wanted to see the US stuff because i missed it - and i needed an olympic cleanser for a touch). . 

The Phelps baby carrier bugged me. 

Well guys - i'm to bed. - let me know how if anything is said about Ukraine at all. and  catch ya tomorow! 

[Lovecat]

20 minutes ago, greendog78 said:

Nevermind it's on now. Probably for like 20 minutes.

Oh, sure, it came on seconds after I gave up, turned the teevee off, and climbed up to the third floor to go to bed. #thanksNBC 

[IvySpice]

NBC is not airing men's gymnastics on any channel my cable company carries. Not Bravo, not anywhere. I can stream the medal-winning teams, but only on my computer, and not on my giant HD TV where I actually want to watch sports. Do American viewers really not care to see top performers if they aren't American? Is it that much more important to see Sam Mikulak fall out of bounds? I mean, we're not talking about badminton here. Gymnastics is one of the top spectator sports of the summer games for US viewers. That was true even when the Soviet Bloc was dominating back in the day. It has a strong NCAA fan base, too. This is ridiculous.

[Fostersmom]

Two rotations and then the rest with Ryan Seacrest overnight? I don't follow much gymnastics, even less of the men's, but seriously whoever is running the program needs to seriously rethink what the hell the strategy is or might possibly be. That's just pathetic. RYAN! 

[Amethyst]

Wow, that was it for men's gymnastics?  We saw one pommel horse routine (which he flubbed, sadly) a few floor rotations and that's it?  What a joke.

[greendog78]

Yes, they touched on Ukraine. No, they don't know the deal. All USA all the time. Just Kenzo's vault. No other countries shown really. Sorry on the phone.

[Superpole2000]

NBC is showing it all now...well, "all" is the wrong way to describe it. They are showing just the routines from the USA team, who is nowhere near the medals. The rest of the world doesn't exist.

Even if the USA team was in the medals, wouldn't showing their competitors add much needed context to the broadcast? It would also help to get the names of the best gymnasts into the public's mind so that we can be familiar with them during the individual competitions.

[twoods]

Thanks for the heads up. Missed half of it because of work and wanted to see the Japan and Russian teams do well, but they don't even show it? Stupid NBC. Most of the viewers want to see good gymnastics regardless of how the US fare. Will they demote the women's team to late night if they do poorly?

[kittykat]

That's the point.  In the NBC bigwigs mind nobody wants to see Japan, Russia et al perform strong, amazing routines. It's become predictable that an event only gets highlighted in prime time because an American is going to medal (see: tonight's synchronized diving.  Diving doesn't always show up on prime time but because US medaled it did tonight).

Is it me or did NBC used to show everything in prime time back in the 90s?  I remember them showing at least the Top 5 teams and all the rotations, even when the US didn't medal.  

It's why I prefer coverage of the winter olympics.  The US doesn't dominate over everything there so we actually get to see other countries do well. 

[twoods]

The coverage was much better in the 90's. I remember watching a lot of non US athletes win medals in Barcelona, and really miss seeing that. I can understand Atlanta being better because they can show some events live on the east coast, but this year is truly the worst.

The bigwigs are all about ad revenue and nothing else. It may also be different because people can stream live in the daytime, but for most of us that work that isn't an option and watching during lunch breaks leads to spending half the time refreshing because the feed is poor. So now instead of enjoying gymnastics at 10:30pm, I'm stuck watching a Phelps segment on being a new dad. So disappointed. 

Edited August 9, 2016 by twoods