I noticed early this morning that the block where Cab's, Sante Fe, etc is blocked off...anyone know why?

I did see some cars with Georgia plates heading away from that area. Did you see any Russians down there?

I hope this war is over by next April. It would be a real tragedy and would make quite an impact on my life if The Masters was impacted due to these hostilities.

Triblocal says that there was supposed to be a preview this morning of next weekend's chalk art.

Maybe the Georgians drove too quickly over the speed bumps.

I've been worried about the Florida State game ever since it started. Wonder what will happen?

The greater question is: who has more criminals amongst their ranks - the Florida State team or the Russian team? I'll go with the former.

But do either of them have under-aged gymnasts...?

Someone needs to explain this controversy for me - maybe someone who understands gymnastics. I appreciate it that "the rules are the rules" but wouldn't it be a disadvantage to have a 14 year-old? Wouldn't she be less mature, less capable of handling the pressure, less experienced, etc?

I think the general view is that younger girls, like 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci when she won gold in 1976, are less fearful of throwing themselves around in the air, yet strong enough to throw themselves around like that.

More flexible...

Florida St. does not play Georgia this year. Florida plays Georgia. I'm disappointed in you guys, but then again this is Big 10 country.

I really miss the south.

South schmouth. I hope your brother burns your wieners. That'll teach y'all.

The SEC....who cares?

The guys at Enron did.

Gymnastics (and ice skating) are a delicate balance. You need to be strong enough and skilled enough to accurately perform the manuevers, but it's easier to twirl quickly and flip in the air more times if your body is more streamlined and compact(i.e pre-puberty). Also, the lighter they are, the higher they fly. And, experts do say that the younger children just can't grasp the pressure that is truly on them to perform, and as such, they have an advantage over a 20 year old that really "gets it" and is more likely to crack under the pressure.

There are a lot of girls that make better elite gymnasts at 14 then they would at 18. They may be even better at age 16 than 14, but depending upon when they were born, there may not be an Olympics when they are 16.

Do you remember this girl -


Kristi Phillips won EVERYTHING in 1984 - 1986 (age 12-14), she was supposed to be the US superstar in 1988, but in 1987 she had a growth spurt and puberty set in. In the 1987 World Championships, she placed 45th in the all around. In 1988, she was a second alternate to the Olympic team and didn't even travel to Seoul (thank you wiki).

If there were no age minimum, Bella Karolyi stated that Nastia Liukin would absolutely have been an Olympian in Athens at age 14. Other athletes aren't so lucky (talented).

It's my understanding that the age limit in in place to protect growing bones from excessive training. The Chinese have shown that children can be trained at an "elite level" from age 3 - 5, where USA Gymnastics will not allow such intensive training until age 10 (I know, still very much a child).

OK, bowing out because I'm freakishly obsessed with all things summer Olympic related . . .

I dare you to be obsessed with the concept of the redeem team. I am just itching for them to get beat.

My sister told me last night that she heard that the average weight of the Chinese "women" gymnasts is 77 pounds and their average height is 4 foot 9 inches. That is not a very big person!

According to the BCS and the Big 10 the SEC matters quite a bit

People have pretty much nailed it. The female gymnasts need to be 16 because youth is an advantage for these reasons:
1. Flexibility
2. Pre-puberty (that's where we get hips and stuff guys)
3. Lack of fear.

However, it is bad for developing bodies to get the kind of training and at the early ages it would occur to be an elite athlete by 12 to 14 or 15. Figure skating requires that girls be 14 but the wear on the body is very different. There were a couple of girls from Center Ice here in GE that could have competed for the senior level national championship in women's skating but they were not permitted due to age - they did allow them to participate at the regional level to gain experience but they can't win the national championship or go to the Olympics.

For male gymnasts, age doesn't usually create a problem because the men WANT to be past puberty for greater upper body strength.

I'm with you mama....I'm completely hooked on the Olympics!

I'm with you, mama...I think. Question. How did this get past the IOC and why didn't the USOC and gymnastics team bring this up before the competition that the U.S. lost? Or did they? Haven't been following it that closely. I hope they did because if they didn't, I'd like to elbow that Kyroli (sp.) chick in the chops.

The story I've read/heard is that they use passports as the means for age identification. The three Chinese girls' passports all list them as 16 in calendar year 2008. I understand that the USOC has basically said "This isn't our business - this is up to the IOC".

AP found some old articles on the State-run sports newspapers website indicating that the girls were underage (a sort of "up-and-coming athletes" article). They copied the web page and when they announced what they'd found - the story magically disappeared from the website. I've heard that the NYT has pointed to other evidence.

Frankly I'm a bit surprised that science hasn't found some kind of age marker in the human body yet. Like when dogs sniff other dogs' butts and can tell their general age and health status.

Worst case, we'll have to take a core sample and count the rings.