U.S. Picks Men's Olympic Team

Poor Raj, once again he gets the short end of the stick. I think Golden should have been at least an alternate, and correct me if im wrong are'nt three people named to the team injured? hopefully they heal soon.

I can't believe the selection committee did not name Raj Bhavsar to the team. There is no sense of Olympic Spirit here. He is a wonderful, deserving athlete who rightfully earned a spot on this team. Things like this is why the general public no longer understands gymnastics or supports its internal decisions.

i can't believe that Raj did not make the team. It is INSANE. He hit 12 for 12 and did a great job at nationals. I don't undstand what the committee was thinking. i dont think haggerty has enough international experience to be on this team. I hate to say thing but the men are going to crash and burn at the games. The committee should be ASHAMED. Raj and David Durante should have made the team

Excited about Justin Spring

I think the committee made the right decision. I would have taken a chance on Artemev, but the named team will represent the USA very well in Beijing.

i think it's a huge mistake to not have sasha artemev on the team. i know he's inconsistent, but it he falls the team loses about .2, versus if he hits the team gains almost a whole point. he's never missed at worlds in team finals for pommel horse so i think the risk for him would've been worth it. other than him not being on the team i would've picked the same guys, and taking out justin spring probably.

Makes you wonder what Raj Bhavsar has to do to make an Olympic team. Seems to me the selection committee was going to find a reason NOT to name him to the team not matter how well he did!

Preposterous! QUESTIONABLE! An embarrasment for USA Gymnastics.

I think race and discrimination factored in to the selection. How unfortunate for athletes who persevered and invested themselves to make it to the Olympics.

Durante, Raj and Artemev (Latino, Indian and Russian cultural backgrounds) should have been on the squad.

Morgan was selected because NBC wants to capitalize on the "family" angle for ratings. Ridiculous!

What comes around goes around USA Gymnastics!

AFTER YESTERDAY, OBVIOUS RACIST OUTCOME, FOR THE MALE GYMANIST TEAM OVER LOOKING RAJ IS SHAMEFULL.

SORRY RAJ


THAMK GOD I AM A CANADIAN.


SHAME ON YOU U. S. A

HAHAHAHA Racial Discrimination?? That is a hilarious. Kevin Tan is of Chinese descent. I feel bad for Raj too, but he shouldn't be on the team. He is definitely not the best or even second best all-arounder. Plus, he doesn't contribute to the team where the team needs him. He has a good story and that is why everyone wants him on the team, but he isn't the best choice. His high bar is awful, his p-bars are good, but we have other guys that are just as good on that event. His vault is decent, but vault is the most irrelevent event in men's gymnastics because everyone has the same start value. His pommel horse is nothing. His rings are good, but Tan, Paul, and Horton are better. And his floor is not one of the best. He is a good all around gymnast, but not the best on any events. If you put Raj on the team then we lose out on several events, whereas with the team we have now, we have the most balanced team possible.

I feel bad for Sasha because if he were simply to hit his pommel horse on night 2 i believe he would have made the team, but he is just not worth the gamble.

Durante is in the same boat as Raj, but he helps the team even less. Raj and David are great alternates because they can fill in on almost any event.

The athlete I fill most sorry for is David Sender. Has he competed at Trials, he would have been right in the mix for the team, but because he got hurt he had no chance.

So no, not "Shame on USA." The selection committee knew what they were doing. They picked the team that has the potential for the best total score in Team prelims and Finals. And people need to simply accept the team and suport them. Don't say they are going to "Crash and Burn." Support USA, because regardless of whether or not you like the team, they need your support. So GO USA!!!

I was really disappointed about Golden. His vault scores could have helped the team. I feel sorry for Raj and Sender. I hope the committee did the right thing. I question the inclusion of Morgan Hamm to the team. His scores have decrease day by day from the first day of championships to yesterday.

I will certainly support the team, but can still be disappointed in who was left off.

I just don't understand why the committee left out current national champion David Sender. He's in the same situation as Paul Hamm. Surely being the best in the US only 2 weeks ago should count for something. I also read that the men's committee didn't have to name their full team now, but decided to anyway. Why didn't they wait and give David a chance?

gymcam413 should have written this article. He/she explained why the selection committee chose the athletes the way they did better than Amanda Turner did. Thanks gymcam413.

I stopped watching gymanstics for the last 10 years, so it's a bit confusing as to how they are choosing the team. Plus, if you don't know the athletes and their specialities, it makes it even more difficult to understand what's going on.

For instance, why Morgan Hamm again. But, I guess he's a floor specialist.

Putting Morgan Hamm on the team is a JOKE! The only reason they put him on is because Paul refuses to compete without him. If Morgan doesn't make the team, PAUL WON'T GO. Why else do you think NBC said Morgan was a lock after how terrible he did in Philadelphia?

SHAME on USAG for being such cowards. They deserve to get beaten by the Chinese.

Let's just support the team...there's nothing we can do about it...GO USA!

actually, tripleback, putting morgan hamm on the team is not a joke. he has a minor ankle irritation which will go away by beijing and he can then contribute on at least 2 and maybe all 4 events he does in team finals. and actually, him having to stay off his ankle for a bit will likely help him get a bit better on pommel horse and high bar, which will only help the whole team that much more. if anyone got passed up it was sasha artemev. but even so i can understand the team that we have now.

Oh really? And what about David Sender's minor ankle sprain? He is better than Morgan and he's the national all-around champion, and he is not even considered, yet Morgan gets overscored on every event because of his brother.

Can David Sender and Raj Bhavsar petition to be Paul's other brothers?

Here is a fact, as a former gymnast who attended the University of Oklahoma(under Mark Williams, who has involvement here), I can honestly tell you that race definitely plays a part in the men's program, deny it if you like, but living examples like myself can tell you differently. With that said, I think this selection committee did what they thought was best in selecting this team. Unfortunately they obviously have no clue as to how choose a team for an Olympic games. No way in blazes Morgan Hamm makes this team instead of athletes like Bhavsar, Sender, Golden, Artemev, Durante or Alvarez for what thats worth, why take a floor specialist who has not hit a routine as of late? and frankly, no disrespect, but this has to be the first time in history that I've looked at a US men's team and felt that even if they hit they could look to place 4th to 5th at best. The Chinese are in another league from this line up, no way this team is competitive....Maybe Bela and Marta should choose the guys team, at least they are actually interested in winning medals.

Good for you, guys! GO TEAM USA!

morgan hamm is always overscored. raj bhavsar deserves to be on that olympic team because of his consistency (in contrast to hagerty). when it comes down to it, if you aren't consistent you are nothing. if you are injured, you are uncertain and therefore nothing. paul hamm annoys the crap out of me, he's too cocky so i hope he falls. sender deserved at least alternate. there, that's my rant lol.

Ok. I want to hear more about this racism thing. Examples, other than this recent trials?

This is one of the reasons I stopped watching gymnastics. The scoring is so subjective. I love this sport and yet can totally understand why people say it's not a sport like track n' field, where you can actually win based on merits not race, who's more liked, past performances, etc.

Do I need to explain it more simply? Paul Hamm has to be on the team for USA to have a shot at the medal. I don't think anyone questions that. Even if he is not 100%, he is still the best guy we have. Morgan Hamm has to be on the team as well. HE can consistently score mid to high 15's if he is not hurt. And for clarification, his injury is not the same as Sender's. Sender was on crutches for several days making healing look much less likely. Morgan also contributes on vault where he is very consistent. His pommel horse is also one of the best in the country. Pommel horse is team USA's weakest event and if you are good at pommel horse, show you are consistent enough and can contribute on another event, you are on the team. Morgan's high bar is also second/third best in teh country (pending Paul competing). So Morgan now contributes greatly in the team finals format on all four events he competes.

Joseph Hagerty was by far the most consistent gymnast of the year. He hit 23 out of 24 routines. His high bar is best in the country only inferior to Paul Hamm, who by the way has the right to be cocky when you are the reigning Olympic Champion and former World Champion. Hagerty is also top 3 on floor too. You can use him on pommel horse or vault if you need too as well.

Justin Spring: His vault contributes a couple of tenths, which is huge for vault. His p-bars contributes up to half a point or more. You can use him on high bar. And he just started floor on tuesday and still managed to score two 15.1's with only a C dismount.

Kevin Tan is very valuable. His rings contributes a point everytime. He can also compete pommel horse and put up one of the higher scores for Team USA. he does high bar and p-bars well enough that he can compete them in team prelims and not cost us any or much.

And no one has any discrepencies about horton making the team.

You also have to look at the make up of the team. With Paul and Horton automatically on it, you have to build from there. Tan was a lock as well. With Tan on the team, you need guys who do floor and vault because without that, we dont have enough guys to compete every event. Morgan fit that bill best because he does pommel horse well also. With Morgan on the team, you can't have someone like Sean Golden who doesnt even do p-bars and pommels because then you start running out of enough guys to compete on every event in prelims. So then you put Hagerty on the team because he can do every event well except rings where we are already reasonably strong. And Spring then finishes it off with every event but pommel horse.

Guys like Raj, simply aren't strong enough for Team USA where Team USA needs strength. Raj does well on rings, but not as well as Tan Horton or Paul. his high bar is bad which is a place we need some depth. His vault is good, but so is every other gymnast's vault. His p-bars are good also, but we gain no more than .2 by putting him there. His floor is not good so we cn't use him there. And the msot important event, pommel horse, is not very good for him with a 14 being his strongest. Raj is a great gymnast, just simply not right for the team. Much of that can be said for David Durante as well. They simply don't help out the tea enough to make them good choices.

If you don't believe my reasoning, go do the math. Figre out a better team that works for the 6-5-4 format and the # up 3 count format. IF you do let me know, but I already did it all and this is the best team. The only change I would consider would be putting Sasha on for his pommel horse, but that is such a big risk and he simply didn't earn it throughout the selection process.

And if Paul Hamm falls, we have no chance of a medal. So you would rather have one gymnast fall and the team win nothing AND get no individual medal than someone who isn't even that arrogant win a medal and probably be the reason USA gets a medal?

I definitely think that Raj got screwed and should have been put on the Olympic team. That being said I do not agree with the people that said Morgan should not have made the team. The point is that Morgan is a proven commodity. Even at his first Olympics he stepped up as a consistent solid member of the team. There is no reason he won't do that now. His ankle will probably be fine by the Olympics and I find it very admiring that he was able to do as well as he did without the ankle being okay.

On the David Sender front. He maybe should have been given an alternate spot but not a spot on the team. He does not have the resume that Paul Hamm does so I don't think anyone should expect that he would just be granted a position on the team.

Sasha Artemev it's quite simple. He's lucky to be an alternate. He screwed up big and is way to inconsistent. While he could possibly help us on pommel horse he could hurt us a lot in other places.

Justin Spring and Joseph Hagerty: I think Hagerty proved himself enough that he definitely deserved a spot on the team. I like Justin as well but their very similar. I actually think that Raj should be on the team and Justin should be the alternate.

David Durante: Again he stepped up the second day and should be commended, but he was awful day one and it definitely cost him a spot on the team.

Racism is the reason why Raj didn't make it, what else do you need to do to prove yourself? 12 for 12, top 3 on 3 events.. good luck getting a medal USA.
Canadians are no better though, they hate brown people more than Americans.. pathetic. The only skin color an athlete should have is the color of sweat..

Too bad people with brown skin can't make it in U.S. Gymnastics. Did the Olympics committee burn a cross after? Seriously, a guy like Raj NOT being on the team, obviously racism.
USA Gymnastics is just as racist as Gymnastics Canada. Brown people stay out (but that's in the smallest fine print).

You have to remember, Raj was top three on three events without Paul hamm in the mix. Plus one of those events was vault, which is irrelevent because everyone is capable of 15.9 and higher. He would have helped some on rings, but only in prelims. Paul, Horton and Tan are all better than Raj on that event. And the varience on p-bars was less than .5 between 1st and 7th place. So Raj's score there doesn't make a difference.

olympicgymnastics, I agree. Spring and Hagerty are very similar, and you might be able to use Raj in place of Spring. Hagerty was too consistent not to put him on the team. He was way more consistent than Raj and helps on event that the USA needs help on. And Spring just puts up bigger numbers on the events that Raj is good on. Spring is better on floor, vault, p-bars, and high bar, than Raj. Raj is only better on rings where we already have three guys. And also, what many people don't realize, if Spring could simply do a mediocre pommel horse routine and score a 14.0 or so he would have won the first day of trials in the all-around. A 14.5 in the second day would have easily put him in the top 2 or 3 spots. Just because you don't see his name up there in the all-around, people overlook him. In reality, he is one of the strongest gymnasts as long as he is healthy. The only differnce between Spring and, say, Horton, is that horton does his weakest event (which he wont compete in Beijing at finals) and Spring doesn't do his weakest event.

everyone who says that the U.S made bad choices could not back it up with facts. did anyone read Gymcam413??? he explained everything you need to know. people are talking but not backing anything up. Like he said DO THE MATH PEOPLE. DO THE MATH. good choice U.S.A

Here are the results from both Visa Championships and Olympic Trials:
http://www2.usa-gymnastics.org/scores/OT08SRMenResultsDay2.htm

I looked at everyone's score and concluded that Justin Spring should be OUT and Raj Bhavsar should be IN. If you look at the scores, the only events Spring could help the team is vault and p-bars; however Bhavsar can help the team with rings, vault and p-bars.

Who is in charge of picking these men?

again, tripleback, you're high if you think david sender is better than morgan hamm. as well as morgan hamm has much more experience and is much more well-known, and in better shape right now, etc.

and infinity, how do you explain chainey umphrey being on the 96 team if brown people aren't allowed?

Gymcan413 is absolutely correct on all counts. Breaks my heart that Raj isn't on the team -- he's awesome, but putting him on is it like adding a catcher when you need a center fielder -- great player, just doesn't fit the role we need. Nobody fills the role we need better than Morgan Hamm. He's a perfect complement to Tan. When there are 12 deserving guys and 6 spots, then justice for all is mathematically impossible. That's what happened here, but hat's off to the committee for making tough decisions that result in our most reasonable hopes for medals.

Do you people who scream racism realize how ignorant you look? If people with brown skin can't make it in U.S. Gymnastics how do you explain Chainey Umphrey,Jair Lynch, Dominique Dawes,Anna Hatch...yea their real racist (note the sarcasm). Just because your favorite athlete wasn't chosen doesn't mean that racism is a factor. (I personally adore Raj and Sasha but they weren't the best for this team. Raj is not good on the events that we need someone on and Sasha is too inconsistent)
And there is no point in explaining why Morgan deserves to be on this team, gymcam413 hit the nail on the head.
Instead of acting like two years and screaming foul play you should follow the athletes example, ALL THREE of the alternates have said that while they are disappointed they still support the team and will be cheering on Team USA in August.

i dont understand why they completely over looked Sender even as an alternate and they didnt put Raj in there. i guess thats how it when you live in a country with so much talent. truth be told, the people that are actually on the team can to not only help the team but have the potential to win individual medals (maybe not Hagerty ).

Racism is a ludacris explanation for the team make-up on either USAs or Canada's teams. I mean, come on. Kevin Tan is clearly Asian-descent. Curtis Hibbert is one of Canada's few medalists... Dominique Dawes was on the women's team forever.... oh why bother. If you're going to believe it's racism, you're going to believe it to the grave no matter how illogical.

everyone here who says that the U.S made bad choices could not back it up with facts. did anyone read Gymcam413??? he explained everything you need to know. people are talking but not backing anything up. Like he said DO THE MATH PEOPLE. DO THE MATH. good choice U.S.A

gymcam413:

i understand where you are coming from, and you are probably right. about the arrogance thing: yes, i'd rather see someone lose if they are arrogant; thats just how i am. no one has the 'right' to be arrogant, no matter how accomplished they are. confident, yes. but arrogant, no.

The goal of USA Gymnastics is to do well in the team competition.
3 scores count on each of 6 events in the finals. With 6 gymnasts, that's an average of 3 events each. So, if you wanted to make the Olympic team, why on earth would you even bother doing all 6 events? It compromises the events you are best at when you need to divide your time. It's not good for the team.
But the goal should not be just the team score. There are 7 other medals available. They should pic athletes that will bring home medals, regardless of whether it is in the team category or not.

I think they're racist against national champions. I mean they left off Sender, Durante and Artemev. That's the reason they left them off, right? Just like the reason they left Raj off was his skin color...
Stop being so reactionary people. It would have been reverse racism to put him on because of his skin.
The fact is, that he is a good all-arounder, but the team doesn't need all-arounders.

Everyone needs to drop the racism argument. raj is not on the team because he is good at the events we do not need him in : rings, vault, p bars. guys like paul horton, tan, spring can make up more there

the absolute biggest mistake was not putting SASHA ARTEMEV on the team. he is not a gamble because if he falls, he still scores the same or more than joey, on, tan, morgan, but if he hits, then we gain more than a point in the team total. Having 2 high bar specialists (esp one who is injured 99% of the team) is so senseless because we already have AAders like jon and paul and alsp morgan that can contribute there. As of now, we have FIVE people on the team that are GREAT

^^^contd from above

5 that are great at high bar, but only one (paul) that can break 15 on pommels. we have virtually no one to put up in our horse lineup. this is NOT a medal contending team.

Remember Mohini Bhardwaj? Awesome gymnast who just happened to be Indian. She made the 2004 Olympic Team. So I would not USAG has a "no brown gymnasts" policy.

It's sad to see people accusing USA gymnastics for being racist. C'mon people...Do you guys remember Cheney Umphrey? Or perhaps Jiar Lynch? Yup, both black gymnasts who competed for team USA in the olympic games. You should be embarrased for even thinking this is the case. Shame on you.

Also, I agree 100% with everything gymcam413 has said. It appears he is the only one who has done any sort of research and the only one who knows the facts. So scroll up and read what gymcam413 has written because he knows his stuff. Go USA

Excuse me but David Sender was NOT on crutches the entire time. He walked across the floor Saturday night in front of thousands of people without even a limp. He deserved to be at least an alternate.

USAG should be ashamed putting Morgan on the team because of Paul's selfishness. Paul does not care about the team at all.

1. Paul won't compete unless his parasitic twin Morgan goes
2. Paul won't compete if he can't do all-around. He is there for the all-around ONLY.

I don't know who the bigger embarrassment is, Paul or USAG for tolerating this prima dona.

I am done explaining Morgan. If you don't understand, read what I have already written. And anyone who thinks Paul is an embarrassment needs to watch his gymnastics. I think the Olympic Champion has the right to be confident. No one in the US can even come close to him in the all-around and only a select few gymnasts in the world can. Regardless of wheather Paul "cares about the team" he is the best for the team. (But I highly doubt he doesn't care about the team.)

I am also done explaining Raj. there is nothing more to say.

Caroline2146: I agree Sasha would be a great choice for the team, but what kind of example would USAG be setting by putting him on. Throughtout the selection process he finished as low as 7th (maybe lower I would have to check) at the Championships prelims, and as high as 1st at the Trials Prelims. He is way too inconsistent and did nothing to EARN his way on to the team. Places shouldn't be given out simply because a gymnast is talented. If he can't show that he can step up to the plate, then he shouldn't be on the team. But again, I would have liked to see him on the team, I just had a hard time justifying putting him on when he failed to hit the one event he helped on 3 out of 4 times. Plus by putting him on, we take another member off and we would lose some points with that guy that Sasha will not make up for if he falls and will not more than make up for if he hits.

The deal with David Sender: I am not 100% sure about this, but I believe it to be the case. With Sender's injury preventing him from competing, he had to petition. His petition was for the Olympic TEAM which does not include alternates. IF Sender had competed and done well he might have made it, but again he is one of those guys that doesn't really help out where the team needs him most, so he would have been on the bubble anyway. But because he didn't compete he had to petition onto the TEAM and they had no justification for putting him on the team. And I am pretty sure they couldn't put im as an alternate. (Although they are the ones in charge and they seem to be able to do whatever they want.) But putting him as an alternate is not the best idea. Alternates are there in case a team member gets hurt. If your alternate is hurt, then he is rather worthless. I do believe that Sender had a great shot and would have made a good addition to the team/alternate, but he was a victim of bad circumstances and was too large a gamble. Sprained ankles can take anywhere from 2-12 weeks to heal making him too large of a risk. (And Lschoepps, just because he was walking, does not mean his foot was anywhere near healed. I have competed with a broken foot and could still tumble but my foot was definitely not better and it definitely caused my performance to suffer.) And just for the record, I am a big fan of David Sender and feel the utmost sympathy fr him in regard to the entire most unfortunate situation.

Also, USAG does not discriminate against national champs. They were simply not the right choices for the team which I explained in more detail above. Paul is a national champ, and Johnathon Horton would have been had he caught his Kolman on just ONE of the two days of Visa.

Lschoepps, what proof do you have that Morgan was put on the team because of Paul's selfishness or that Paul doesn't care about the team? Morgan was in the top four on each event he competeted on, that pretty much earned him his spot.
And how can you say that Paul won't compete without his brother...he has competeted since January without Morgan. And he has NEVER SAID THAT HE WOULDN'T COMPETE IF HE CAN'T DO ALL-AROUND. He said if he didn't feel that he was able to contribute to the team because he was still injured that he would pull himself out. Paul has never asked for the attention he recieves, or the supposed special treatment from USAG, so you have no right to call him a prima dona. I think the real embarrassment is people like you who start these horrible rumors and who can't act like an adult just because their favorite gymnast wasn't chosen.
P.S. While Sender is a good gymnast, his strengths are on events that the US doesn't need him on (like floor). Many anaylists weren't even putting him on the team when he was healthy.

I am tired of Morgan having to make EVERY SINGLE TEAM Paul is on. It's such a joke, and it will cost Team USA a better placement in Beijing. I wish I could botch my routines, injure my ankle, and then ride the coattails of my better gymnast brother onto the Olympic team. Awful.

gold: You're wrong. His ankles were messed up which is why he did poorly on floor at Trials, but before they were hurt, he had the highest floor scores in the competition at USA's. And I watched the routines. He deserved the scores he got. His other events are good too. We have no good pommel horse guys and he is pretty good. His high bar and vault are really good too. So no he didn't ride on the coat tails of his better gymnast brother. He deserved the spot that he got.

you know what, gold, morgan actually was better than paul in 2000-2001 before his injury, but he unfortunately had his injury and can no longer do all-around. but luckily for the u.s. he can still do four events. he's slightly better than paul on vault and floor in my opinion. and also, you might want to read other comments about morgan hamm being named to the team, especially gymcam's, and i've stated an explanation as well (though very short) that he still contributes even though right now he has a bit of a sore ankle. no one could replace him, not even a healthy david sender, as he's not as good as morgan.

To all people who comment on my comment about racism, I'm talking about brown people here, not black people. Brown is a little different, you know, "Indian looking" people. Chainey Humphery, Curtis Hibbert (greatest Canadian gymnast EVER), Jair Lynch, Ania Hatch, Dominique Dawes, they're all black.
Raj is Indian. USA and Canada have replaced their hatred of black with brown.
Another great gymnast of "brown" descent who was on the national team for Canada could easily verify that what I say is true. Maybe no one here is racist or is unaware of this but it's real.
As comedian Russell Peters said, brown is now the new black. Be thankful black people, you're now off the hook. American, Canadians, enjoy your new wave of hatred!

gymcam413 is spot on with everything.

Look I feel bad that Raj didn't make it because I am a fan of his but seriously... the selection committee is racist; oh come on.

Regarding Paul; what proof do any of you have that he won't compete without his brother?!?!?! Morgan has the resume and the experience to be on that team. Morgan, with his experience, is so huge for that team. Other then his brother, no one else has made an Olympic team, and having people who understand what it takes is something you can't put a price on.

It's sad what happened to Sender because he was the national champion but the difference is that there wasn't enough time to prove readiness. Had the men done a third step like the women; there's a chance this team might look a little bit different.

You guys really need to chill with the race card: Chainey Umphrey, Jair Lynch, Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, Mohini Bhardwaj, Annia Hatch, Betty Okino... do I really need to say anymore.

if you put sasha in instead of justin, you would lose justin's 2-3 tenths that he adds on p bars, whereas if you put in sasha you gain more than a point with a hit, and lose nothing with a fall (him falling scores about the same as someone else hitting).

gymcam, what the hell does usag care about the example they'll be setting or what anyone else thinks; they care about the team total.

right now we have paul, morgan, jon, joey, tan, spring that bring in good scores on high bar, but only one person (paul) that can bring in a good score on pommels. it would have made 50 times more sense to take out one of those high bars and put in the only good pommels person.

one more thing, i know joey is incredibly consistent but how can we put up someone who's never gone to worlds before or been in that 3 up 3 count pressure situation??

Gymcam413, your comments are spot on. You really have great analysis of the situation. My heart breaks for David Sender and for Raj, who both would be assets to the team but because we can only pick 6, it just didn't work out for them. I hope at least David keeps up and is on the 2012 team.

It's a bit shocking, the ugly things the Hamms have to hear about themselves here. I am just glad that they have already gone through fire in 2004 and hopefully have grown thick skins to deal with the pettiness and meanness of some members of the public.

I have never seen any evidence that Paul is anything but admirably confident. They both strike me as kind and considerate people. Morgan is not on the team because he is some kind of good luck charm for Paul. He is on the team because he is strong, experienced, and can do what is needed and turn in guaranteed solid routines. I am glad they both made it.

I think we have a very strong, competitive team for Beijing. GO GUYS!

As for "truefano8", your slanderous accusation is uconscionable and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Caroline, sasha is useless. and not only can paul do pommels but so can morgan, kevin and joey. if sasha can't put it together at nationals and trials what do you think he is going to do at the olympics games!! I think we picked the right team for this new format.

USA gymnastics is not racist. end of story. so shut up about that. I'm Mexican therefore brown and i dont think so. stop being immature and look at the facts and numbers instead of calling the racism card because thats all you can do.

THIS TEAM CAN WIN A MEDAL AND THE PEOPLE ON IT ARE SPECIAL AND CONSISTENT ENOUGH TO WIN INDIVIDUALY AS WELL.

with the 6/3/3 rule its all about specialists not mediocre all-arounders. a team can win with 2 great all arounders and some guys that are great at certain events. If Raj or any of the other guys that are not on the team were actually on it; they wouldn’t make it to the all around final because they’re not good enough and if USAG has gymnasts that can score better in the events that they are good at, why put them on the team?
Look at the women, they could probably win with just Johnson, Luikin, Memmel and Sacramone. If they were to not put Hong on the team even if she placed higher all around than someone that did make the team, it would be completely understandable because she’s a mediocre all arounder right now and she probably wont make the team. And it wouldn’t be racist against Asians.

It really does suck that Raj, Shasha, and David D. are not on the team, it really does and I feel bad for Raj but I’m not gonna say that he was left out because of racism, in that case the same goes for Durante who is obviously ‘brown’. They are alternates and if any of the guys currently on the team get injured they’ll make good replacements.

Maybe the men should have done the same thing as the women and waited till July 20th to announce the team and see if Paul, Morgan and Justin are healthy and 100% before announcing the team but if they are healthy this team can be great.

Anyways, whatever its not like anyone is going to read this.

gymkid, if you think sasha is useless, CLEARLY you have not been looking at any scores and clearly you know nothing about gymnastics.

btwz consistently getting 13s on pommels, does NOT make you good at horse

Putting Morgan on the team was a SMART MOVE. NO, Paul does NOT refuse to compete without his twin brother -- they are identical, not siamese twins, and have said several times, repeatedly, that they know they are going to have to part at some point -- but Morgan is strong on Floor, obviously, Vault, and did everyone miss his Second Best H-bar? Even with the injured ankle he kept up decent scores. It was a smart move.

I feel bad for Sasha, but we can't send him to Beijing on a 25% chance that he'll stay on the apparatus. Even though he is still the best on pommel, that wouldn't be the only event that he competes in. Would it be smart to have a great pommel score and have to contend with, say, a low H-bar score? Think about the entire picture.

Raj. What can I say? I thought he was a lock. There is no doubt that his routines need higher difficulty. Especially on his pommel, Raj's A score needs to be higher. However, I thought we could work with him at camp. I thought he was on the team. I really don't know what to say about calling him an alternate. I feel bad for him. In this aspect, I hope the committee knows what they're doing.

I thought David Durante was good, but I wasn't sure about making the team. He was solid at the trials, though. I'm glad that we at least have him for an alternate.

We needed Jonathan Horton on this team. There was no going to Beijing without him. He's consistent and he can do the hard moves. My big surprise this year was Joey Hagerty, Mr. Consistency himself! He hit every routine and his A values are something to be proud of. I was so happy when they named him, because I was afraid that they might (although I couldn't think of a good reason to leave him off).

Kevin didn't impress me at Trials, except for his Rings routine. I hope his p-bars and pommel live up to what he is capable of.

Justin. Oh God, Justin. He can hardly cross the street without getting injured! And not small injuries -- he'll be falling into a manhole next. However, he is powerful and entirely unafraid. He can do the hard moves because he doesn't doubt himself. He's solid. I think he's going to be great on the team.

You can't go to Beijing without Paul Hamm! Quite literally, right before the broken hand, he was the best gymnast in the world. To even attempt an Olympics without Paul Hamm would be foolhardy beyond repair. It's insanity.

That's why David Sender couldn't make the team. There were two injury petitions. Worse-case scenario, neither man is ready for the Olympics. We cannot risk that. We can't risk both Paul and David being named to the team and not being ready! It's a shame because I was looking forward to seeing Dave perform, but he never had a chance. He wasn't going to be chosen over Paul Hamm and he wasn't given the chance to compete.

Those are my thoughts on the team. Altogether, they have very strong. The men have such great attitudes toward the sport and are already very bonded. This was one of the best teams we could have put together! GOOD LUCK IN BEIJING, BOYS! BRING US HOME A MEDAL!

Thank you USGoingforGold! Finally! I don't think you wrote a single thing with which I disagreed. the only thing was maybe Raj. But basically, whatever team they selected was going to be missing someone who deserved to make it. I hope and honostly think the team will bring home a medal!!!

gymcam413, I don't have anything against Raj, but I specifically remember him getting a few low scores. Obviously that could just be because of the night or the routine he performed. I do think he would have been great on the team. High-scoring routines or not, by the time Beijing rolls around, especially after the camp, all of the gymnasts we have are going to be doing harder routines. That's not really a factor in my head about Raj because we know that he can handle higher A scores. He's solid and he went twelve for twelve! I still can't believe he didn't make it.

Wow.... I hadn't read through all the comments yesterday. I'm kinda glad I didn't; I would have feared for humanity's existance too much to get a good night's sleep.

First of all, Paul Hamm is anything but cocky. Last I checked, it is not cockiness to say that you believe you worked hard and earned something (his gold medal). I must have missed the press conference where he came out and said that he refuses to perform in Beijing (for ANY reason: Morgan, All-Around, not enough Chinese food... anything at all).

Secondly, you cannot compare David Sender and Paul Hamm! David hasn't even been a star athlete this year. No one expected him to win Nationals. I'm not saying the man isn't talented, but his resume was not nearly enough to get the *second* injury spot on the Olympic team. For all we know, he might have bombed Trials. We didn't have enough to go by. Paul Hamm, on the other hand, has YET to lose a competition since his *comeback*. The wiser choice, if you remain unbiased, is Paul Hamm. In all likelihood, Paul would have beaten David at Nationals as it is. Nevertheless, David's luck was rotten and he didn't have a chance. I hope he sticks around for 2012 because I look forward to watching him have his day.

I'm still surprised Raj didn't make it on the team, but I do agree with previous comments that he is not the strongest in any events. Do I think that he might have been able to improve for Beijing? Yes. However, cruel as it sounds, we already have athletes who triumph on certain apparatuses. You can either take the people who are already ready or take Raj, whom you would hope to improve. I feel bad for him. I'd like to see him get his day because Raj is a great athelete, but I can see where the committee is coming from.

There's no need to dispute Joey or John. John was pretty much a lock and after Joey's performances, you just can't argue his spot.

Remember, first and foremost we are looking for team medals. Those who help the US *team* are being sent to Beijing. People like Sasha can earn an individal medal, but how would they fare in the team competition? That's the most important question.

Honestly, every man named on that team is talented. They are the best of the best (maybe not in the All-Around, but in their events). The alternates are great because they can fill in almost anywhere.

Like it or not, this is your team. Support them or keep your comments to yourself because you cannot change it. Every athelete that was good enough to make it to Trials deserved a chance at the team. Our team is comprised of the best of the best. Support them and show them that you appreciate the sacrifices they make to represent you, the American citizen, in a grand-scale international affair.

Once again, good luck to the men's team in Beijing! I have no doubt that they will be returning with a medal. GO USA!

USGoingforGold, I think you missunderstood me. What you said in your most recent post, I completely agree with and I think it pretty much sums it up. What I was disagreeing with was that you thought Raj was a lock for the team. Like you said, he just doesn't work for the team where we need him, at least not right now. Again, I feel bad for him but he just wasn't a good fit.

So thank you for some positive comments. And GO Team USA!!

You're right; I did misunderstand. At first, I thought Raj was a lock for the team. It was under closer observation, spurned by the recent rash of claims "so and so doesn't deserve to go" and especially "Raj should be there", that I determined Raj doesn't fit. Do I think Raj would have been good? Yeah, he probably would have. He's just not the best that we can have. I was mislead by the enormous fan appeal that Raj had and believed him to be a lock. I did misunderstand you and quite frankly my previous comments, when taken as a bunch, are probably difficult to understand as well because my position on Raj has been a little shaky over the past few days.

But that's all in the past and it doesn't matter any more. I think we have a very strong US team and encourage our boys to go out there and kick some international butt!

ok this is what i think. raj should have made the team hands down and so should david sender. i know he is hurt but so is every other person on the team like hagrity and both hamms and justin spring the way i see it is the selection commitee was just looking for ways to keep certain people off and on the team. and i 100% think that morgan hamm shouldnt have made the team the only reason he did is because paul said he wouldnt go if his brother didnt. and i truely believe that if he hadnt said that morgans spot would havve gone to raj hands down. the worst thing that could have happened is for raj to be named an alternate for the second time. idk how he still has enough passion to even be an alernate when the sport has betrayed him like this again!!!