Comments on: Trials day 1. Johnson in lead but not by enough

By: realityblues

realityblues — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:19:59 +0000

Nastia is my favorite gymnast but even I can say she was overscored.

If she makes mistakes she should be deducted for them.
This is US trials so I get there will be some over scoring but the crowd kind of gasped when Nastia’s bars routine was scored so high on night two. My section was pretty shocked and they had been cheering loudly for Nastia all night.

There are going to be some upset gymnasts in China when these types of scores do not happen.

By: TCO

TCO — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:11:07 +0000

They should honor the audience, the competitors and the sport by being honest.

By: shergymrag

shergymrag — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:48:35 +0000

“I will never agree with you.”

It’s not my policy. It’s just my opinion of what I think is going on. I did not say that I supported this view nor did I mean to imply that I did.

I do believe that if I was Shawn or Nastia, I wouldn’t feel that being handed an “official” spot on the team was bad treatment. Both of them would have to be idiots if they didn’t already know they were on the team anyway. Everybody else knows it.

I do believe they are both overscored. Why overscore them? In case of a freak fall for Shawn or a not so freak fall for Nastia. 2004 Courtney McCool got the second spot instead of Carly due to the normally solid Carly going splat. Everybody knew Carly was still a lock though and many people felt Courtney was a good choice anyway. At the Olympics, Courtney ended up not contributing like people thought she would. Maybe with a little extra time at camp and no locked spot for CM, somebody else would have been chosen in her place.

My point is, if they make sure Nastia and Shawn get those two spots that they are already going to get, they don’t have to end up taking somebody that they might rather not take. Yeah, it’s fixing the competition but that’s my interpretation of what they’re up to.

By: bettycoltrane

bettycoltrane — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:02:15 +0000

I have a burning question that I haven’t seen addressed on all the posts of over-scoring Nastia- how do we know it won’t happen at the Olympics??? I thought she was generously scored at Worlds, and people always float around comments like, “xxx has experience at Worlds, and international judges just like her.” Are we just presuming judging will be impartial at Worlds without having any reason to believe that it will actually be so?

By: nastia liukin : scriptbest

nastia liukin : scriptbest — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:15:22 +0000

[...] Trials day 1. Johnson in lead but not by enoughTake these routines to the Olympics and Shawn Johnson is leading by a heck of a lot more then .500 so why does USA-Gymnastics keep over scoring Nastia Liukin to the point where even every four year gym fans are noticing? … [...]

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:39:27 +0000

I completely agree with you, everyone knows Shawn and Nastia were gonna be named to the team, so why boost up Nastia’s scores. I don’t think even her best floor routine deserves a 15.7, and her cowboyed dismount on bars is absolutely horrible.

Boosting the start values on two events does not make you an all-arounder. I would prefer seeing Chellsie (who I realllly don’t like) as the second all-around, she at least a true all-around competitor.

By: gymnastics08

gymnastics08 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:19:18 +0000

Exactly AUdgator. We all know Nastia is on this team so fixing scores does nothing but annoy me.lol

By: audgator

audgator — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:03:50 +0000

Yeah I think fixing the competition is complete bull. First off, who cares if Shawn or Nastia mess up and Chellsie earns one of the automatics? All three are going to be on the team…

My guess is since Shawn and Nastia have the highest reputations, USAG wants to keep it that way.

By: gymnastics08

gymnastics08 — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:52:26 +0000

Sorry I disagree and I will never agree with you.

Regardless it is fixing this competition.

Nastia being rightfully scored would most put her in 3rd place, possibly even as far down as 4. She would still be chosen for this team.

I am 100% against fixing this competition. The rules mean you do not have to fix it.

By: shergymrag

shergymrag — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:00:13 +0000

Shawn and Nastia are both overscored at this point. It’s not about making sure Nastia wins, it’s about making sure the top two spots go to both of them in either order. They are locks for the team but the powers that be don’t want anybody else sneaking into those spots. They can always turn around and say somebody who might sneak in “isn’t ready” at camp but that would not go over well with the media. It’s not treating a world champion badly to make sure she gets an official “guaranteed” spot on the Olympic team. And Nastia is a world champ too, anyway.