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Aug. 23rd, 2004 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helsinkibabyHas anyone ever heard the saying, "What's for you won't pass you?" Well, on Saturday, that was proven to me... in a second hand bookshop, in the children's section, where they keep the sci-fi books (lot of Roswell High novels that I was looking at) and what did I see? A heap of Xena magazines. And one TV Zone with Xena on the front of it. And there, bold as brass on the front of it, was a headline that, in this issue, there was an interview with none other than Jeffrey D. Sams. At that time, Champ in Cupid, most recently known to many on my friends list as Detective Cyrus Lockwood, aka Dectective Hot, on CSI. Yes, funnily enough, I did bounce up and down rather a lot! Did I mention the nice pictures? OK then.
First of all, the article as printed on Yahoo news.
Hamm wins silver as tension boils over
By EDDIE PELLS, AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- For 10 minutes, the crowd booed and whistled. Paul Hamm sat around and waited to start his routine.
A week's worth of controversy in gymnastics boiled over into the crowd Monday night during a bizarre, extraordinary evening in which Hamm won a silver medal on high bar and four-time Olympic gold medalist Alexei Nemov finished fifth, much to the crowd's chagrin.
On a night when American all-around champion Carly Patterson won silver on the beam to give the U.S. women their sixth medal, and Romania's Catalina Ponor won gold on beam and floor, it was the high bar routine that everybody was anticipating.
Hamm scored a 9.812, tying Igor Cassina for first, but the Italian won a tiebreaker to take the gold. Japan's Isao Yoneda won bronze.
The showdown on the last event of the night was supposed to be between Hamm, the all-around champion, and Yang Tae-young of South Korea, who won bronze instead of gold in that event because of a scoring error.
But it was Nemov's routine that caused the uproar -- the crowd was furious over his score. Hamm, scheduled to perform next, waited until the Russian asked fans for quiet before going ahead with his routine.
Nemov put together the riskiest, most daring routine of the 10 men on the high bar. He did six release moves -- four in a row and two more in which he did full somersaults while flying over the bar.
To the untrained eye, they all looked perfect; the only hiccup in the routine appeared to be a slight step forward on the dismount.
Or at least that's what the fans thought.
When his score came up, a 9.725 that made him last of the three competitors to that point, the booing began. At first, it seemed funny and Nemov laughed along, even bowing to the crowd, many of whom waved Greek and Russian flags and chanted in their native tongues.
Hamm was supposed to go next, and his name was announced, but the booing didn't let up. He stepped off the podium, paced, then finally took a seat, realizing the whistling and jeering wasn't going to end soon.
Then something strange happened, a new score popped up -- a 9.762 thanks to a slight change by the Malaysian judge. But that didn't change Nemov's ranking.
More booing. More delay. The public-address announcer came on and implored the crowd for silence. Twice. It didn't work either time. Nemov just sat there smiling, but minute by minute, the outburst became embarrassing.
Finally, Hamm and his coach, Miles Avery, motioned Nemov to the podium and he asked for silence. The crowd finally agreed.
So, Hamm had to perform under the most awkward of circumstances after waiting for 10 minutes, but he was practically flawless. He brilliantly executed his trademark three straight release moves without any problem, took a slight step forward on the landing and received ... a 9.812, a mark that easily outdistanced Nemov.
It was also met with raucous boos.
Next came Cassina, who put on a great performance for another 9.812. A complex tiebreaking formula used in gymnastics put him ahead of Hamm and gave him a surprise championship.
Yang was the last competitor of the night, but his routine was anticlimactic. He banged his foot on the bar during a release move, almost hit his knees on the landing and finished last of the 10 gymnasts, a result that nobody from any country can protest.
After the gymnasts cleared the floor, the judges followed them off and were greeted again by boos. During the medals ceremony, officials put the silver around Hamm and the gesture was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos -- a strange ending to an awfully strange night.
I have, to put it bluntly, never seen anything like it in all of my life, and I spent the entire ten minutes staring at the television in shock. Yes, Nemov deserved higher marks, and the BBC team did right complaining, as they have been all week, about the scoring system and the need for reform. That being said, I was stunned by the crowd's reaction... they literally, every man Jack of them, stood up and booed, gave the judges two thumbs down, and they carried on like that for ten full minutes. At one point, it looked like Nemov's coaches were encouraging them to do so, which pissed me off to no end, because I was looking at poor Paul Hamm (who I've developed quite the affection for, I make no bones about it) and wondering how the hell he was going to go on after this... because it looked like there was going to be no end in sight. Changing of the scores? I was horrified. No matter that it didn't change the ranking (the only thing that could have pissed me off more) but it just seemed to me that it could set a really bad precedent... another thing that the commentators weren't best pleased with. Felt sorry for Paul, especially when he tried to quieten the crowd, and Nemov went up in my estimation when he stepped up and tried to calm down the crowd as well. I just can't help but wonder what would have happened had Paul been able to stick the dismount, and did the build-up make a difference?
Cassina deserved the gold, no doubt about that. And if I'm really honest? It should have been Cassina, Nemov, Hamm... but that's the scoring system for you and I have no doubts that they're going to have to change it especially after that.
Oh, and on another note? What happened to Yang Tae Yung, the bronze medallist from the all-around, the one who was undermarked and is doing all the complaining about it? *ahem* Yes, I'm going to hell. And confession in the morning.
Of course, I'm also looking at the end of the first night of the Rose of Tralee and all the escorts are on the stage serending the Roses with You're the one that I want... I may just be in hell already... oh my... blonde wigs on three of them who are, in falsetto, singing Hopelessly Devoted as three other lads do a male counterpoint to it... oh my word...
Here's hoping NYPD Blue will restore sanity to me.
First of all, the article as printed on Yahoo news.
Hamm wins silver as tension boils over
By EDDIE PELLS, AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- For 10 minutes, the crowd booed and whistled. Paul Hamm sat around and waited to start his routine.
A week's worth of controversy in gymnastics boiled over into the crowd Monday night during a bizarre, extraordinary evening in which Hamm won a silver medal on high bar and four-time Olympic gold medalist Alexei Nemov finished fifth, much to the crowd's chagrin.
On a night when American all-around champion Carly Patterson won silver on the beam to give the U.S. women their sixth medal, and Romania's Catalina Ponor won gold on beam and floor, it was the high bar routine that everybody was anticipating.
Hamm scored a 9.812, tying Igor Cassina for first, but the Italian won a tiebreaker to take the gold. Japan's Isao Yoneda won bronze.
The showdown on the last event of the night was supposed to be between Hamm, the all-around champion, and Yang Tae-young of South Korea, who won bronze instead of gold in that event because of a scoring error.
But it was Nemov's routine that caused the uproar -- the crowd was furious over his score. Hamm, scheduled to perform next, waited until the Russian asked fans for quiet before going ahead with his routine.
Nemov put together the riskiest, most daring routine of the 10 men on the high bar. He did six release moves -- four in a row and two more in which he did full somersaults while flying over the bar.
To the untrained eye, they all looked perfect; the only hiccup in the routine appeared to be a slight step forward on the dismount.
Or at least that's what the fans thought.
When his score came up, a 9.725 that made him last of the three competitors to that point, the booing began. At first, it seemed funny and Nemov laughed along, even bowing to the crowd, many of whom waved Greek and Russian flags and chanted in their native tongues.
Hamm was supposed to go next, and his name was announced, but the booing didn't let up. He stepped off the podium, paced, then finally took a seat, realizing the whistling and jeering wasn't going to end soon.
Then something strange happened, a new score popped up -- a 9.762 thanks to a slight change by the Malaysian judge. But that didn't change Nemov's ranking.
More booing. More delay. The public-address announcer came on and implored the crowd for silence. Twice. It didn't work either time. Nemov just sat there smiling, but minute by minute, the outburst became embarrassing.
Finally, Hamm and his coach, Miles Avery, motioned Nemov to the podium and he asked for silence. The crowd finally agreed.
So, Hamm had to perform under the most awkward of circumstances after waiting for 10 minutes, but he was practically flawless. He brilliantly executed his trademark three straight release moves without any problem, took a slight step forward on the landing and received ... a 9.812, a mark that easily outdistanced Nemov.
It was also met with raucous boos.
Next came Cassina, who put on a great performance for another 9.812. A complex tiebreaking formula used in gymnastics put him ahead of Hamm and gave him a surprise championship.
Yang was the last competitor of the night, but his routine was anticlimactic. He banged his foot on the bar during a release move, almost hit his knees on the landing and finished last of the 10 gymnasts, a result that nobody from any country can protest.
After the gymnasts cleared the floor, the judges followed them off and were greeted again by boos. During the medals ceremony, officials put the silver around Hamm and the gesture was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos -- a strange ending to an awfully strange night.
I have, to put it bluntly, never seen anything like it in all of my life, and I spent the entire ten minutes staring at the television in shock. Yes, Nemov deserved higher marks, and the BBC team did right complaining, as they have been all week, about the scoring system and the need for reform. That being said, I was stunned by the crowd's reaction... they literally, every man Jack of them, stood up and booed, gave the judges two thumbs down, and they carried on like that for ten full minutes. At one point, it looked like Nemov's coaches were encouraging them to do so, which pissed me off to no end, because I was looking at poor Paul Hamm (who I've developed quite the affection for, I make no bones about it) and wondering how the hell he was going to go on after this... because it looked like there was going to be no end in sight. Changing of the scores? I was horrified. No matter that it didn't change the ranking (the only thing that could have pissed me off more) but it just seemed to me that it could set a really bad precedent... another thing that the commentators weren't best pleased with. Felt sorry for Paul, especially when he tried to quieten the crowd, and Nemov went up in my estimation when he stepped up and tried to calm down the crowd as well. I just can't help but wonder what would have happened had Paul been able to stick the dismount, and did the build-up make a difference?
Cassina deserved the gold, no doubt about that. And if I'm really honest? It should have been Cassina, Nemov, Hamm... but that's the scoring system for you and I have no doubts that they're going to have to change it especially after that.
Oh, and on another note? What happened to Yang Tae Yung, the bronze medallist from the all-around, the one who was undermarked and is doing all the complaining about it? *ahem* Yes, I'm going to hell. And confession in the morning.
Of course, I'm also looking at the end of the first night of the Rose of Tralee and all the escorts are on the stage serending the Roses with You're the one that I want... I may just be in hell already... oh my... blonde wigs on three of them who are, in falsetto, singing Hopelessly Devoted as three other lads do a male counterpoint to it... oh my word...
Here's hoping NYPD Blue will restore sanity to me.
