Category Archives: Television

Entertainment: US Gymnastics Olympic Team 2012

Late last night the final places for the Gymnastics Team has been assigned as well as the alternates should something happened to the members of the US Mens and Womens Gymnastics Olympic Team.

A couple of nights ago (after the US Men’s Gymnastics Olympics Final) I attempted to figure out who would inevitably be chosen for the Mens and Womens Gymnastics Teams for the US. Well, when it came to the actual Olympic teams I would able to figure out who would be placed onto the team as well as what would have happened should Jonathan Horton be chosen over Chris Brooks.

As for the alternates, I didn’t really do as well… I was better with the women as opposed to the men, but still that was a crapshoot in comparison to the actual team. Well now that we know who is a part of the Olympic team let’s see how they might be used during the Olympics in London.

US MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM
Below is the break down of the members of the US Mens Gymnastics Olympic Team and alternates as well as their overall placements during the Olympic Trials.
– FE: Floor Exercise; PH: Pommel Horse; SR: Still Rings; V: Vault; PB: Parallel Bars; HB: High Bars; FINAL: All Around

NAME FE PH SR V PB HB FINAL
MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM
Danell Leyva 8th 2nd 7th 6th 1st 1st 1st
John Orozco 4th 3rd 3rd 6th 3rd 2nd 2nd
Jonathan Horton 7th 8th 1st 8th 2nd 5th 3rd
Jake Dalton 1st 13th 6th 1st 4th 8th 4th
Sam Mikulak *7th 5th *9th *2nd *2nd *5th *3rd
* Sam Mikulak was injured towards the end of Prelims, so he opted to only compete on Pommel Horse, placements indicated were where he was placed at the end of Prelims.
MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC ALTERNATES
Chris Brooks 5th 9th 5th 5th 5th 7th 4th
Steven Legendre 2nd 7th 9th 3rd 12th 13th 8th
Alexander Naddour 11th 1st 8th 14th 13th 12th 11th

US WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM
Below is the break down of the members of the US Womens Gymnastics Olympic Team and alternates as well as their overall placements during the Olympic Trials.
– V: Vault; UB: Uneven Bars; BB: Balance Beam; FE: Floor Exercise; FINAL: All Around

NAME V UB BB FE FINAL
WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TEAM
Gabrielle Douglas 2nd 1st 6th 3rd 1st
Jordyn Wieber 4th 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd
Alexandra Raisman 6th 8th 1st 1st 3rd
Kyla Ross 8th 1st 3rd 9th 5th
McKayla Maroney 1st 11th 10th 5th 7th
WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC ALTERNATES
Sarah Finnegan 7th 6th 5th 6th 6th
Anna Li 3rd 12th
Elizabeth Price 3rd 5th 9th 4th 4th

Before we move on, below is a schedule of the Artistic Gymnastics in London:
– Saturday July 28th: Mens Qualifying
– Sunday July 29th: Womens Qualifying
– Monday July 30th: Mens Team Final
– Tuesday July 31st: Womens Team Final
– Wednesday August 1st: Mens Individual All-Around
– Thursday August 2nd: Womens Individual All-Around
– Sunday August 5th: Mens Floor Exercise, Mens Pommel Horse, Womens Vault
– Monday August 6th: Mens Vault, Mens Rings, Womens Uneven Bars
– Tuesday August 7th: Mens Parallel Bars, Mens Horizontal/High Bar, Womens Floor Exercise, Womens Balance Beam

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Entertainment: US Gymnastics Olympic Trials 2012

From June 28th through July 1st, San Jose has played host to the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials, it is here that 30 of the top gymnasts in artistic gymnastics will compete to prove and earn their place on the five-member US Gymnastics team squad for the London Olympics a month later.

In an earlier post I have touched upon some of the front runners for a spot on the gymnastics squad for both men and women teams, I also went in a little more detail as to the possibility of the veterans from last year’s squad making a return appearance for these Olympics.

US MENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TRIALS RESULTS
Today the Men’s Gymnastics competition went into full swing. If you remember from the previous post the top two guys after the Olympic Trials in San Jose will be guaranteed spots on the team:
– Danell Leyva: Placed 1st
– John Orozco: Placed 2nd

Not only does the selection committee need to decide who would fill in the last three spots, but as we saw in the 2008 Olympics, they would also need to figure in the alternates. In the 2008 Olympics the two alternates: Alexander Artemev and Raj Bhavsar ended up being a part of the Olympics team after the withdrawal of the Hamm brothers, and in the end became a major factor in the US Men’s Olympic Gymnastics team capturing the bronze medal.

Since only the top three scores will be counted during the Olympics, it comes down to who could bring in the top scores or has the potential to bring in the top scores in an effort to get the gold medal at the Olympics.

Based on the numbers this is one possible way for the Mens Gymnastics Olympic team with alternates would pan out:
– FE: Floor Exercise; PH: Pommel Horse; SR: Still Rings; V: Vault; PB: Parallel Bars; HB: High Bars; FINAL: All Around

NAME FE PH SR V PB HB FINAL
POSSIBLE OLYMPIC TEAM
Chris Brooks 5th 5th 5th 5th 7th 4th
Jake Dalton 1st 6th 1st 4th 5th
Sam Mikulak *7th 5th *2nd *2nd *5th *4th
* Sam Mikulak was injured towards the end of Prelims, so he opted to only compete on Pommel Horse
POSSIBLE ALTERNATES
Jonathan Horton 1st 2nd 5th 3rd
Paul Ruggeri 3rd 7th 7th 6th
CJ Maestas 6th 4th 7th

But one thing that Jonathan Horton would bring onto the table that most other athletes do not have: experience… and leadership, but would that be enough? It’s hard to say, if they choose to bring in Jonathan onto the Olympic team then I believe that Chris Brooks would be the one to become an alternate over Sam Mikulak due to Chris’ scores being lower than that of Sam’s in most apparati and Sam having a stronger score in the US Mens Gymnastics Team’s weakest event: pommel horse. All speculation to be sure, but still very difficult to decpiher what would win out the day.

US WOMENS GYMNASTICS OLYMPIC TRIALS RESULTS
Sunday, July 1st will be the finals for the US Women Gymnastics Olympic Trials and right now the top gymnast is Jordyn Wieber. But how would the other women fit it? Well let’s find out:
– V: Vault; UB: Uneven Bars; BB: Balance Beam; FE: Floor Exercise; FINAL: All Around

NAME V UB BB FE FINAL
POSSIBLE OLYMPIC TEAM
Gabrielle Douglas 3rd 5th 5th 2nd 2nd
Alexandra Raisman 4th 4th 1st 3rd
Kyla Ross 1st 5th 5th
McKayla Maroney 2nd 4th 7th
POSSIBLE ALTERNATES
Elizabeth Price 1st 6th 5th 4th
Alicia Sacremone 5th 3rd
Anna Li 1st
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
Sarah Finnegan 7th 1st 7th 6th
Rebecca Bross 4th
Nastia Liukin 7th

Since there are only four apparatus that is included in womens gymnastics and with one slot already tied up, trying to put the pieces together has proven to be a rather difficult process. Since the top three scores from each team will be counted in the team events out of either four or five possible gymnasts it would be ideal to have at least four gymnasts with strong scores in any apparatus. The same idea stands for the men as well, but in my opinion that was easier to put together. For the women, not so much. However, without knowing would happen during the womens gymnastics finals on Sunday there is no way to know how the final team will stack up.

It is rather unfortunate that the darling of the Womens Gymnastics Team of the Beijing Olympics 2008: Nastia Liukin, might not make it onto the team not placing as high as she could have in the prelims. Alicia would have a strong chance to at least be an alternate, but it would be rather difficult to see her any higher than that.

Knowing that the full Mens Gymnastics Olympic Team will be announced on Sunday and the Womens Gymnastics should be soon to follow, it will be rather interesting to see what happens. Well also to see how close or far I am with my predictions.

Entertainment: Viet Nam Gymnastics at the London 2012 Olympics

Viet Nam’s gymnasts have been making a strong splash in the past couple of years. During the Beijing 2008 Olympics the only gymnast from Viet Nam was Đỗ Thị Ngân Thương (names are reversed in Viet Nam as opposed to English so her family name is Đỗ while her given name is Thương) who was invited via the Tripartite Invitation. This invitation is a collective effort between the International Olympic Committee and the International Federations to develop systems that would allow the best athletes to compete but also adhere to the principle of universal representation. She did not pass the preliminary round and ended up being disqualified due to a banned substance found in her system. After a year or two she came back to competition stronger and wiser, as thus she was granted a place in the London 2012 Olympics via the Olympic Test Event (placing 72nd overall) in January due to injuries to many of the world’s top gymnasts.

The other female gymnast that qualified for the London 2012 Olympics is Phan Thị Hà Thanh (again Phan being the family name while Thanh is the given name) earned her ticket to the London 2012 Olympics via her vault score at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She received the bronze medal for the following vaults:

The final gymnast that qualified from Viet Nam is Phạm Phước Hưng (Phạm being the family name and Hưng being his given name). Much like Thương in the female gymnastics competition, Hưng also qualified via the Olympic Test Event. Not only that, a rising star in Vietnamese gymnastics, Hung showed his prowess by winning the gold medal in men’s parallel bars at the Challengers Cup 2012 International Gymnastics Tournament in Belgium (placing 43rd overall).

With only two medals total in the Summer Olympic games, both silver in Taekwondo (Trần Hiếu Ngân for the Women’s 57kg event at Sydney 2000) and Weightlifting (Hoàng Anh Tuấn for the Men’s 56kg event at Beijing 2008) it is difficult to say how the gymnasts would ultimately place… but I am fairly confident that as the gymnastics program in Viet Nam strengthens so will the talent pool and I would not be surprised to see their gymnasts stand on the podium in future Olympics if not for the upcoming one.

Entertainment: US Gymnastics at the London 2012 Olympics

The 2008 U.S. Olympics Gymnastics Team had a very strong showing in Beijing 2008 with the Women’s team getting the silver medal and the Men’s team (largely considered underdogs at the time) sneaking in for the bronze.

For 2012, the only veterans from the 2008 team that have returned for the 2012 Olympic trials include:
– Jonathan Horton
– Nastia Liukin
– Alicia Sacramone
– Bridget Sloan

Of the four… going into the Olympic trials in San Jose, Jonathan Horton appears to be the most likely to return with Alicia Sacramone as a possibility.

But what happened to the rest of the 2008 team?
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Entertainment News: The Voice is coming back in the Fall

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Why am I not surprised? The Voice, NBC’s summer smash hit in 2011, and made new waves in spring of 2012 is going to come back in the fall 2012 lineup.

Not only that they are planning to cycle in additional judges to the panel. Not necessarily because of the chemistry of the current panel, but on the contrary TPTB (The Powers That Be) feel that since the judges are all working musicians, to ask them to schedule time for the show would be asking too much as it is.

To say that I’m excited is an understatement. What I am most worried about is whom they would bring on as coaches, after all the chemistry between the judges panel now (CeeLo Green, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera) was a total unknown when the show premiere last summer and it soon became such a massive hit. I mean take a look at the Superbowl promo they filmed:

Anyway, I’m getting off the point. I think the only way that the Voice can sell in the Fall is if they make just as huge of a knockout with the judging panel as they currently have. But who to bring?

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Review: NBC’s Awake

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When I first heard about Awake, I was equally one part thrilled and one part apprehensive. Awake appeared to me to be a series that would require a lot of thinking, a lot of analysis, and a lot of patience. Precisely my cup of tea…

ABC’s Lost was much in the same vein… except after the first episode I lost interest, whileas with Awake, I actually wanted to know more. Unfortunately time was not on my side as me free time started to dry up considerably, so I stopped watching with the intent of reading up on the episodes online.

What I dislike about television is that when a show is just getting good, they cancel it due to the overall slide in ratings. A lot of time a show needs more than just one season to find it’s legs, a big example of this would be Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Unfortunately, cancellation is exactly where Awake is headed. *sighs* Depending on how the first season ends will decide on whether I could handle simply owning one season of a television series that I enjoyed, no matter how minor.

If you haven’t heard of the show the premise is this: A detective is a survivor of a car accident that claimed the life of either his wife, or his son. Neither the detective nor the audience knows who had passed, because he is living two totally separate worlds now. The detective could be living in a world where his wife is alive and his son has passed away, but then when he goes to sleep in that world he’ll wake up in another reality where his son is alive while his wife had passed.

Which reality is real? Well, we as the audience don’t know for sure, and part of the joy of the series is discovering bits and pieces of the story as it is told between the two realities.

Jason Issacs portrays the detective, and if anyone is a Harry Potter fan and has seen the movie adaptations… well you should recognize him as the patriarch of the Malfoy family: Lucius.

Personally if this show makes it to DVD, I may actually purchase it just to enjoy the storytelling. In some ways the concept of two parallel realities colliding reminds me a lot of a favorite movie of mine: Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow. But that’s another post for another time.

I sincerely hope this show does make it to DVD with a lot of extras explaining what would have happened in future seasons, or even still have an additional episode that helps tie every up in a neat little package. Hell even if a book series would make me happy… but anyway, I’m crying over spilled milk. C’est la vie.

TV Show Review: The Voice Season 2

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Typically for new shows that have come on the air, I watch for a season and then I lose interest. This happens more often with reality competition shows. Which is odd since I blog for a bunch of them as well, but that’s a different story. Ever since American Idol, there hasn’t really been much competition in the reality singing competition, and even then American Idol had the distinct feel of being very manipulative behind the scenes, which didn’t help me in wanting to like it any more. So I stopped watching after the first season.

So when the premise of The Voice came about, I was skeptical and intrigued. In the end I decided to give it a shot and see what happens. Next thing you know, one show continued to another episode and then another. Then I started downloading some of the music, and eventually I ended up watching the entire first season and anticipating the second season.

Needless to say I did the same with the second season, watching everything from day one and continued onward til the end.

What I really love is that the coaches don’t really bring addition drama, they are all very supportive and they are invested in the vocalists that come onto the show. So let’s look at the track record of the coaches from the only two completed seasons thus far:

Christina Aguilera has had an artist that has placed last in both seasons thus far. Whether that is just the nature of the beast or the artists on her team is anyone’s guess. I really love opera voices – being a huge fan of Il Divo, Josh Groban and Vittorio Grigolo – so to me Chris Mann is just right up my alley. However, I would have loved to have seen him sing a piece that is more out of his comfort zone and really make it his own as opposed to something that is typically tried and true. Still, I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

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