I'm Back

Hi readers (if any are still out there)! Sorry for my absence; I just moved and that whole process was quite time consuming. Anyway, hopefully I will be able to do a better job of updating over the next several weeks. I will be attending a couple of professional tennis tournaments soon, so I should have fun reports from those.

The CoverGirl Classic was last weekend and the US's juniors showed much more promise than the seniors (though neither Sloan nor Bross competed the All-Around). As of right now, I would say that Bridget Sloan, Rebecca Bross, Alicia Sacramone, Aly Raisman, Mattie Larson, and Mackenzie Caquatto are the front-runners for the World team (though, let's be honest, this could change about a million times between now and then). With this team, Sacramone would be off bars and floor (obviously), Caquatto would be off beam, and either Larson or Caquatto would be off vault in the prelims. In the finals, I would probably put Sloan, Raisman, and Sacramone on vault; Caquatto, Sloan, and Bross on bars; Raisman, Bross, and Sacramone on beam; and anyone but Caquatto on floor (that's training).

Assuming Larson stays healthy, I'd assume Macko's spot is the least secure because she will be heading to the NCAA in January will probably not factor into the international scene for the rest of the quad. Though I would love to see Cassie Whitcomb get the "bars" spot over Macko, she really did not look particularly great at Classics. Bridgette Caquatto could also very much be in the mix depending on how she looks at Nationals. Honestly, if she looks good on bars, I think she will get the sixth spot on the team as she will probably be around for the rest of the quad. Kytra Hunter, Amanda Jetter, and Chelsea Davis are also probably still in the mix. I would love to see Sami Shapiro and Vanessa Zamarripa be major factors, but the former will probably be too injured and the latter really needs to upgrade to have a serious shot.

I love the budding Contador/Schleck rivalry. Not related to Olympic sports news, but get ready for the union of T.O. and Ochocinco. The Bengals will be the most entertaining team in the NFL this year.

An Overdue Update

I'm back and kind of caught up. Think long and hard before taking any lengthy train trips no matter how much money it may save. Here is a brief rundown of the past several days in Olympic sports.

Piotr Nurowski, the head of Poland's Olympic Committee, was among those killed in Saturday's tragic plane crash.

UCLA looked great at regionals while Georgia failed to advance to nationals for the first time in 26 years. Missouri advanced for the first time since women's gymnastics became an NCAA sport. Vanessa Zamarripa is interested in trying elite gymnastics.

Nordic Combined athletes Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick, and Brett Camerota are visiting troops in the Middle East.

Yelena Isinbayeva, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist in women's pole vaulting, has decided to take an indefinite break. She has, however, vowed to return for the 2012 Games.

Canada won the men's curling world title, defeating Norway and their famed pants in the championship match.

In an effort to find the best synchronized diving pairs for the 2012 Olympics, American divers can now compete with more than one partner. This led to David Boudia and Nick McCrory finishing first, Boudia and Thomas Finchum finishing second, and Finchum and McCrory finishing third at the USA Diving World Cup Synchronized Trials.