Olympic Judging Goof-Ups

Poor Paul Hamm. Yes, he won a gold medal and a silver medal. But bless his heart!
In case you're not following the Olympic Gymnastics, Paul Hamm won the All-Around Gold medal earlier this week. The Korean team protested this award a day later saying the judges did not give their fella a high enough 'start score'.

Big...Brouhaha follows...controversy...blah, blah, blah...

The judges did make a mistake...but the Koreans did not protest in the allotted time to protest.

Remember the mess the judges made with the Pairs Skating in the Winter Olympics?

It is the Olympics, for heaven sakes...can't these folks get things right?

For Paul Hamm, instead of celebrating a victory for hard work and accomplishment...there is noise, noise, noise...

Which brings me to last night. Individual Events Competitions. Paul Hamm was to do his final routine of the his olympics, the high bar. Just before his turn, a famous Russian fellow (how do you like my fact checking?) does his high bar routine. It is an amazing routine!!! Six releases in a row! Fantastic.

The judges score him quite low...I think a 7.725

The crowd goes wild.

For ten whole minutes.

The judges change the score and give him a bit more.

The crowd, still, is screaming. And honking weird horns that sound like sick lambs.

In the meantime, Paul Hamm is 'on deck'.

Finally the crowd quiets to a low murmur of boos and Paul Hamm steps up and does his routine quite well...with a small step.

He scores higher than the Russian Dude, which brings more boos.

Yikes. What a day!

In the end, a French guy, steps up to the bar, performs beautifully and ties with Paul Hamm.

Because of a tie-break rule. The French fellow wins the gold. The Russian dude does not medal at all

Paul Hamm win a Silver Medal...what a relief, can you imagine the fuss if he had won the gold medal?

One thing is for sure, Paul has nerves of steel and his character is strong.

He, with his high, quiet voice and small stature, has true grit.

Farmboy from Wisconsin...I would expect nothing less :o)

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Kitty's Big Night Out

Our cat is a house cat. Lately she has been sneaking out for little trips around the house. She has never been out for more than 1/2 hour. She must like it tho as she has scratched a hole in the screen door that she can slip through.

Last night I was awakened by a strange, banging, metallic sound. It was 2:41. With my heart racing I ran down the stairs, figuring it was Maggie out there. As I approached to door, the noise was so loud, I had visions of Big Foot or the Boogey Man...
But it was just Maggie with her wet paws and fluffed up tail.

Sassy Cat!

The good news is, she can find her way home in the dark, she didn't get in a bar brawl and she is spayed :o)

Gabby Gus,
Donna