After hearing nothing about NBC broadcasting podium training this time, I decided that there was no point to wait around by the computer for updates I could read and digest appropriately at any time. And alas, suddenly the broadcast appears. A little warning is all I ask.
I'm going to watch it now, so let's pretend this was a live blog after the break.
This arena is awfully dark. . . and awfully pink, as are the US women again this year. I'm just going to announce that I don't get all the complaints about the US women needing to drape themselves in giant flags. I don't need a patriotic leo.
Word from Birmingham about Anna Li seems to range from her being "fine" to her needing 150 simultaneous surgeries. Let's wait and see and watch her Requiem 2010 routine as our version of praying.
Various timers on vault look fine because they're timers, except even Gabby's layout timers look a little awkward, like they need to be taken in for repairs.
Rotation One
Ross Vault - Very nice DTY. Small hop back, good direction. She won't go in competition so this is irrelevant, but good for her.
Raisman Vault - underrotated and big step to the side. Pretty much the same as Trials.
Douglas Vault - Very good for her. A little step back, but fine on direction and stood up. It's ust an issue of whether we trust her consistency because her form is far stronger than Raisman
Wieber Vault - Not great. Short and a step back. She needs to do better, but she's never finishing her flip with time to spare, that's for sure. When she does a better one, I can be a little locked.
Maroney Vault - Does a Layout Pod timer.
Back to timers now. Maroney does a Y 1.5 that finished so early it might have been a layout.
Raisman Vault - a little better rotation. Hop forward. I'd take that one over the first one. Hop forward over hop to the side any day. The angle was worse to judge the legs, though.
Douglas Vault - sits down a very poor attempt. No block, no distance, no chance.
Wieber Vault - Better than the first, and the legs looked pretty safe. .1 hop to the side.
Maroney Vault - Another pod. Um. . . Amanar please.
Ross Vault - Very nice, basically stuck on the DTY. She certainly has the time in the air to do a 2.5. It's a shame she couldn't together, but you could see even from Pac Rims that it was not in control.
Maroney Vault - Good 1/2 on full with .3 leap forward. It's nearly the quality of her Amanar in the air, though.
Raisman Vault - Under with a hop forward, not quite as poor as the first one. I would give this the silver medal of her vaults.
Douglas Vault - Very similar looking to the previous one but she stays upright. Still not the quality we saw from the first attempt. This consistency is a concern.
Wieber Vault - A little direction that time but very nice in the landing. Each attempt has improved, which is what we want to see. She's peaking more than some of the others.
Maroney Vault - Amanar. Good. Trials-sized step forward. She looks quite capable of doing this event, though. Followed by a Mustafina that was not as strong as the last. Step back, less clean in the air.
Ross Vault - Stuck DTY. Excellent. Let's talk about a code that makes her the weakest vaulter on the team.
Rotation Two
Partial routines to start on bars. Ross and Douglas look clean. Too many shots of people chalking for my taste. Why is that happening?
Raisman Bars - Yep, this is her routine. The usual deductions for leg separations and toes. A little struggle in her final handstand before a good double front. Low on the releases as usual, but they were not caught as close as we've seen sometimes.
Wieber Bars - Labored in the Weilers. Works out her clear full combo well enough. Tkatchev is very low and DLO full dismount is very piked. I'm not completely happy with that routine.
Ross Bars - clean though shaposh and pak, good shaposh 1/2, Jaeger is clean, some of these handstands are a little short, but that's my only legitimate problem with the routine. Good DLO. I do wonder if the judges will be unhappy with her toe-on technique. I sure am.
Douglas Bars - a little struggle out of the endo, piked tkatchev is improving its degree of side-ish-ness, so that's nice to see. It's still there, but less. Tkatchev to pak is excellent. DLO with a step back. Her DLO is growing on me. I wasn't a fan at the beginning, but that looked fine.
Raisman from above on bars, it makes her form look stronger. She should turn the judges into birds, then she could get a 14.
Shots of Maroney, who is not doing bars at all, through Wieber's second routine. Bits and pieces now, Douglas looking confident with minor .1 things here and there. I always think of maple syrup when I see Wieber's Weilers. Take that for what it's worth.
Rotation Three:
To beam we go. We'll start with Ross. So Douglas is placed in TF position on beam right now. I have some concerns about that.
Ross Beam - lovely switch ring with no wobbles to back tuck, free cartwheel is excellent, switch to pike is right on, I haven't seen more than .1 or .2 so far. Side somi is fine as far as side somis go. Fall on the punch front. Where did that come from? Sheep is good. Hop in place on double tuck.
Douglas Beam - opening series is excellent, major wobble on the back full (there had to be something didn't there?), but everything looks very solid after that. Switch half is just OK, but the front pike is solid. I'd like to see more closure on the switch ring, but it was also a bad angle. Looked better on replay. Double pike is a little low. Well, she didn't fall.
Wieber Beam - Still trying to connect the bhs out of the tuck full to disastrous effect. Major wobble on side somi. Switch side is excellent, and the turn series is "very nice" (OK, Martha). Dismount is fine with a step. John's not super happy. Neither am I.
Raisman Beam - Front pike + loso is good. She certainly does it more often than Alicia. Well, if that's the kind of switch 1/2 you wanted to do, Aly, you sure did a good one. . . side aerial is hit, near stick on the Patteron. Martha just yelled something unintelligible. It sounded like "SIDE OF BULL!"
Ross Beam - Punch front is much better this time. Doube tuck has a small hop again. It's great, but to be worth the easier dismount, it has to be stuck. I really hope Kyla sticks around. I'm looking forward to being a big fan in like two years.
We're in what appears to be replay training right now. Harrowing.
Bird's Eye Wier Beam - We're still doing the hate sandwich, but it was better connected this time. Much more solid in this routine, but still a little wobble on side somi. Martha goes "Jord-unnn. . . " Dismount is stronger. Small hop.
Raisman Beam - Hit layout. There were reports she had been struggling in training, so this is nice to see. It's exactly the same as the first time, which is what we want to see. Tries to hold onto the Patterson stick and does.
Rotation Four:
No Maroney on floor it appears. Not a big surprise but a shame. No one is allowed to get injured now. Bird's-eye view of pieces of tumbling. Hard to tell who is doing what.
Douglas Floor - triple full has hop forward - dbA is strong, hops a little on her Double L but perhaps sold it enough, tuck full is well landed, double tuck to finish with pitiful split jump out of it. Overall good routine.
Wieber Floor - stuck double double, 1.5 to triple to stag, 2.5 + leap. They're not getting much rebound off this floor into the connected leaps. double pike with hop back.
Raisman Floor - tucks out of her first pass instead of the layout. Hrm. A little uncharacteristically sloppy legs in the piked DbA, triple full is underrotated. Not her best by any means so far. That's a matter of concern. Double pike to split is fine, but once again nowhere near the rebound on the jump. They'll have to get used to that.
Random bits: Douglas does an OK triple full but all the way complete and a solid double back. Aly does her usual mount and it looks fine.
There we go. Done. Go away.
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