10 Thoughts on the U.S. Championships

Women's National Championships, Boston

• Dead heat: Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin could go 1-2 or 2-1 at the Olympics. Their A Scores across four events on Day 2 were 26.20 (Johnson) and 26.10 (Liukin). Liukin actually beat Johnson on the second day, 64.20-64.05, but her fall and out-of-bounds deduction in prelims proved to be the difference in the end. If both hit in Beijing, I honestly couldn't pick a winner — they're that close.

• Depth: When was the last time the top three finishers were all-around world champions? (And I'm still giving that title to Liukin, who tied Memmel for the 2005 gold in Melbourne, and then was bumped to second when the scores were truncated via a senseless rule.)

• Samantha Peszek: Peszek's ambitious floor dismount of 1 1/2 twist through to double pike backfired on day two, when she put her hands down on the double pike. It's always difficult to maintain your horizontal momentum while stepping out of a 1 1/2 twist, because the roundoff becomes shorter than when it's performed after a normal hurdle (especially at the end of a routine). If she struggles with that pass at trials, too, it should be replaced.

• Chellsie Memmel: After missing the 2004 Olympic team because of a fluke injury at the wrong time, Memmel has to be considered a sentimental favorite to make the team. And if she performs at trials the way she did in Boston, I'd put her on and name her team captain, too. Her routines looked solid, especially on bars, where I don't think she really needs to cowboy her double front dismount. But I guess she — and everyone else who cowboys this skill — doesn't want to risk sitting down on the landing.

• U.S. Olympic team: Marta Karolyi has a much easier task of choosing a team than the U.S. Men's Selection Committee. She simply has fewer slots and events to fill. Barring injury, Johnson, Liukin and Alicia Sacramone are locks, and I'd add Memmel and Peszek too. That leaves one spot open. Ivana Hong, Jana Bieger, Shayla Worley or Bridget Sloan? It's too early to tell, but the trials in Philadelphia should help to clear up that fuzzy picture.

Men's National Championships, Houston

• Houston, we have a problem: I'm not sure the results at the U.S. Championships did much to help the Selection Committee. In fact, the two-day meet might have made things a bit more confusing, since so many contenders kept falling off their best events. If that trend continues in Philadelphia, the selection committee should choose the highest-scoring team under the assumption that everyone will hit. No reason to compete for fourth or fifth at this point.

• Blaine Wilson: Three-time Olympian Wilson bowed out after two routines, and I liked the quiet grace with which he exited the sport. He really had nothing more to prove, anyway.

• Specialists: If you are good at both pommel horse and rings, an unlikely combination, you really help this team. Rings champion Kevin Tan comes closest. Under the "points system" he earned the maximum 22 (11 each day) for rings and amassed 11 on pommels. Add his 15 for parallel bars and six for high bar and he has 54. Working only four events (no floor or vault), Tan sits third in the points race, behind all-around champion David Sender (66) and runner-up Jonathan Horton (55).

• Philadelphia: With the Olympic trials counting 60 percent toward the final results, the pressure will be that much greater than it was in Houston, which counted 40 percent. The meet is sure to bring some guys to tears, and I'm not saying which kind.

• U.S. Olympic team: Paul Hamm, Kevin Tan... sorry, can't name the rest. There are too many viable choices, and no matter which combination you select, one event gets shortchanged. Better to wait and see how the U.S. Olympic Trials play out, because that's when the final four will really earn their berths to Beijing. See you in Philadelphia.