This week’s installment of For Argument’s Sake centers on gymnastics. I’ll be honest. I don’t pay any attention to gymnastics at any other time during the year … well, during the last four years actually. But for some reason, maybe because it’s the 2008 Olympics, I find myself wanting to watch. I find myself staying up late to watch. And I find myself enamored with the likes of Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and Jonathan Horton (who won a silver medal on the high bar the other night by the way!).

There’s been a few “scandals” throughout the gymnastic competition, mostly on the girls’ side of things. There’s been whispers about the “real” age of the Chinese girls’ gymnasts. There’s been hemming and hawing about the judges being too critical of the U.S. team. And there’s been complaints about how the judges low-balled Alicia Sacramone during the individual vault competition.

So what I want to know is this: Was Alicia Sacramone robbed by the judges?

(Don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll!)

My argument is this:
I don’t know a thing about gymnastics scoring. I’ve listened to the analysts, some of who say the scoring was fair and others who say Sacramone was scored unfairly. What I understand is this: the start value has a huge influence on the overall score. If you have a start value that is high but don’t execute the routine all that well, you can still score higher than someone who has a lower start value and executes the routine to perfection. Does that make sense? Yes. Is it fair? I don’t know. I suppose if someone takes on a harder routine they should be scored higher, but isn’t that also a risk to take? If you take on a more difficult routine then it is on you to make it great, difficult or not. That is the risk you take. I say if the routine is flawless, score them higher. But if someone falls on her knees during the routine (cough, Cheng Fei), that should have been a HUGE deduction as opposed to someone (cough, Sacramone) who doesn’t fall on her knees during a routine.

But what do I know? I’m just a viewer.

Now, I don’t think everyone should be crying and shouting “conspiracy.” The bottom line is that the home country has always influenced the judges, whether we like it or not. The U.S. has gotten our fair share of “homer” judges in past Olympics. So you really can’t blame the Chinese for that.

As for Sacramone … I just feel bad for the girl. She didn’t pull her weight in the team competition. And even though the U.S. won a silver medal, I’m sure she feels responsible for essentially losing any gold medal hopes for the rest of the team. The individual vault competition was supposed to be her shot at redemption. It was supposed to her one chance to salvage what she deems as a disappointing Olympic run. But it didn’t go her way.

Instead, Cheng Fei edged her out of a bronze medal with a knee-landing vault. A 33-year-old gymnast from the German team (who I give MAJOR props) won the silver. And Hong Un Jong from Korea took gold.

I don’t think Sacramone was robbed. But I do think she’ll be thinking about these 2008 Olympic games for the next four years … maybe even for the rest of her life.

The results of the Michael Phelps poll are in! The question was: Who’s the greatest athlete of all time? Wow. Michael Phelps ran away with that one. Almost everyone vote him as the greatest athlete of all time. That’s a pretty bold statement!

For previous editions of For Argument’s Sake, go here.

Photo provided by Newscom

I watched a lot of the Olympics this weekend — swimming, basketball, beach volleyball and, of course, gymnastics.

Team USA looked a little shaky at times, especially on the uneven bars, but they came back and nailed the balance beam (does anybody else get really nervous while watching this event besides me??). They are currently in second place, behind China, going into the team medal round. And second isn’t a bad place to be at all.

I was happy for them, but I have to admit that I was happier for Germany. It’s not because I’m a fan of their team, I just happen to be a fan of one of the members of the team. She’s an inspiration. And after watching the back story about her, I couldn’t help but cheer her on.

Oksana Chusovitina began competing internationally before members of her team were even born. At 33, she’s the oldest competitive gymnast ever. The 2008 games in Beijing are Oksana’s fifth Olympics. And she capitalized on this amazing achievement by qualifying for the single round competition on the vault.

As if that feat alone wasn’t enough to pull at your heart strings, there’s more.

Oksana is participating for Germany because her son, Alisher, has leukemia. Oksana moved to Germany to seek better Oncology treatment for him. And he’s responding very well to the treatment he’s receiving.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that Oksana is a 33-year-old gymnast, if it’s because of what she’s doing for her son and family, or if it’s her persistence to succeed in yet another Olympic competition that gets me the most. It could be a combination of all three. Either way, this is just another reason why I love the Olympics. It’s always the story behind the story that hits home.

Here’s Oksana in action at the 2008 World Cup Doha Finals, courtesy of YouTube. I swear, she looks like she’s 15 at the most.