I should wear Al Fong gloves when coaching...

Where to begin, where to begin.
I suppose I should begin at the beginning and discuss the latest news that I have on hand at the moment.
First things first...
Mary Lee Tracy will be in Tricities in 2 weeks from now. All American Gymnastics Sports Center will be hosting a 2 day clinic for optional gymnasts all over the state of Washington July 28th and 29th. This should be epic news to you!

That's my newest bit of information I have.
The rest is mostly just needing to vent about the Olympic Trials craziness. So this will be old news. I apologize beforehand...

Shawn Johnson retired. Fortunately for us all. I never liked her to start out with and I will never like her. Oh and just for extra news for those of you who care, "ashleyakaflipper" blocked me from her youtube channel for writing my personal opinions about Shawny. I was very disappointed by this because I liked writing good stuff about her other montages and I will miss writing mean and nasty messages about the gymnasts I don't like. Oh well, apparently I am just a mean and nasty person...

Nastia...Oh Nastia... And Rebecca... Oh dear Rebecca Bross...

I have similar feelings toward Nastia as I do for Shawn. I think a lot of Nastia's haughtiness comes from her dad, so it's not completely her fault right?... I don't like her dad very much either. I also don't think Valerie was right for Becca. It was like Vanessa Atler all over again. Except Rebecca's experience may have been worse. Like Nessa, 3 years before the Olympics I would never have imagined the team without Becca on it. However, without that knee injury, she may still have had a legitimate shot...maybe.
Going back to the knee injury, rumor has it that during her warm up prior to the horrifying vault, Becca had not landed any of her attempts and both of her ankles were shot. So what does Valerie do? He makes her compete the same damn skill she hasn't landed once... I am thankful that WOGA will not have a three-peat and even more thankful they do not have any of their gymnasts on the Olympic team this year...
Nastia's comeback was humorous, to say the least. She waited too long before deciding to make the comeback. I also find it remotely interesting that Martha let her go through Nationals to Trials. Chellsie Memmel didn't get such fine treatment. Maybe Martha was worried about Nasty-ia's fans. However, they may have been more lenient toward denying Nast another chance because both bar routines were HORRIFIC. At least Chellsie was somewhat ready on other events and just had a fluke beam routine. I am still pissed at the Olympic committee for not letting Chells through for another shot. It hurts my heart they would treat her the way they did.

How about Bridget Sloan...?

     I was saddened to hear about Sloan's injury. She seemed to be doing rather well in training. Likewise, I don't think she really had a legitimate shot at the team either. I had already picked out my team prior to the games and none of the '08 team made the 5.

Alicia. Sacramone.
I was a little surprised they did not pick her as an alternate. A little but not really surprised. I was however surprised they have picked Anna Li as an alternate. That was a cool turn of events indeed!

Another surprise to me was Elizabeth Price. She came out of nowhere! Actually she came from the well known Parkettes of Allentown, PA. She still came out of nowhere as far as performance-wise. I started second-guessing my Olympic Team selection when I saw her performance and placement. If she had just a little more experience, she may have made the team... I was also vaguely touched by the Bill Strauss's reaction.

Mckayla Maroney. I always have to have that one gymnast I don't like on the team. She is my pick right now. Actually I don't like most of the team but that's just me being judgemental again. I love her gymnastics. Her amanar is out of this world! I love that she does hit 180 degrees on her leaps and her dance is lovely. What I don't like about her is the immaturity she exudes.
What did she say about getting a puppy in comparison to the Olympics...?!
And how about the twitter posts she sends to teammates that just annoys the heck out of me.
I actually only decided today that I don't like her so I don't have a whole lot of reasons yet but let me tell you, as soon as I get the opportunity to watch her again, I am going to get irritated of everything she does... That's just how it works when I don't like someone.
Oh and I don't like her floor music.

On opposite spectrums, my favorite gymnast on the team is Kyla Ross! I have been watching that girl for years and have been absolutely astounded with her form, performances and gymnastics. I LOVE her floor music and routine. I love the way she lands on the beam like a cat, elegant and poised. She is superb in her gymnastics! Cannot wait to watch her at the games. I just hope she doesn't pull a McCool move... She would be the one they'd avoid using I think because of lack of experience if she messes up early.

Aly Raisman. Consistent as fuck but I just can't get myself to like her gymnastics. And the tear-fest at the end of the trials was uncalled for.

Jordyn. Yea, yea, yea I'm bored of this gymnast and bored of writing this blog. She's consistent, fantastic and lacks the personality most first place All Arounders have. Her coach is another one I don't like at all and may account for part of her personality issue...

Gabby Douglas. So young... So innocent... I love her gymnastics. She has no idea how big this is...she is... right now.

There's your 5. The 5 I called. Actually I shouldn't be so pleased at myself, I think a huge percentage of gymnastics followers called those top 5 athletes. I, however, did not call the alternates.

Anna Li was my only shock after the meet.
I was not surprised that Price and Finnegan took the other remaining spots.

I love it when girls who don't have a shot of making the team have a tear-fest... NOT!
Here's some more info about MLT if you don't know who she is, since non-gymnasts seem to have very little knowledge of gymnastics coaches.

http://www.gymnastike.org/coverage/238670-Cincinnati-Gymnastics-Academy/video/495801-Coach-Mary-Lee-Tracy-on-the-CGA-Gymnasts-Through-the-Years