Scouting the U.S. Women's Team

Anyway, the final spot will be determined largely by uneven bars scoring potential, and among the aforementioned candidates, Bieger is ahead, having ranked third on bars at trials, behind Liukin and Memmel. Hong was fifth, Sloan eighth, Larson ninth and Worley, who fell the second day, 10th.

Bieger, the 2006 world all-around silver medalist, is an interesting case, since she has been out of the picture because of injury. "You know how it is," Andrea Bieger, Jana's coach and mother, told me in Philadelphia after the first day of competition. "They forgot about [her], and you have to start from [the bottom]."

Said Jana, after day two: "I was just happy with myself just to show everybody that I'm back here and competing again." I have to believe Karolyi noticed.

Worley can probably relate to Bieger's situation. Second at the U.S. championships a year ago and a member of the 2007 world champion team, Worley has been slowed by a herniated disk in her back. She's great on bars, though, but must prove it at the selection camp.

Sloan also is accomplished on bars, but she looked a bit mechanical in Philadelphia. I'd like to see her perform and not simply execute. She's got a lot of upside, and needs to trust her ability.

It's too late to change now, but I think Liukin should experiment with a new uneven bars dismount after the Olympics. The rest of her routine is often flawless, but the form break on the tucked barani-out might not be worth it. I think she could learn a tucked full-out (like Svetlana Khorkina did) and score even higher. Now that's a scary thought for her bars competitors!

Though Johnson weakest event is bars, she is really clean and consistent. She is not built for inside-Stalders, so she relies on a high B-score and big dismount (double-twisting double layout). Her coach, Liang Chow, has done well to get the most out of Johnson on this event. If Johnson competes beyond 2008, I could see her adding a full twist to her Gienger.

Hong placed fifth all-around at both the U.S. championships and trials, and she has a double-twisting Yurchenko. She ditched her signature German giant sequence on bars because it wasn't rewarded at the 2007 worlds, and her new routine scores a bit higher. She may not be Karolyi's answer on bars, but she still has much to offer as a table-setter.

I understand Karolyi's philosophy of wanting to wait until the last minute to choose the team, but I wonder if it's worth it in terms of the added stress on the gymnasts. Johnson and Liukin were named to the team in Philadelphia, but Memmel, Peszek and Sacramone face another month of flipping and twisting by day and tossing and turning at night. Their chickens have already hatched, so why not give their worry glands a much needed rest?