FATTEST GUY IN NFL SCORES TD | MADDEN 15 BLOWOUT GAME | RANKED PS4
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Let"s recap Thursday night"s preseason action.
How about a little Friday morning football talk? Yes, there is real football to discuss, or at least something like it, the preseason form. We"ll have more analysis and overreaction to Thursday"s games, but here"s a quick rundown.
Broncos 22, Bears 0
Mark Sanchez looked like himself, throwing an INT and a touchdown and making the first pass attempt of the game with an ugly left-handed throw. Paxton Lynch made thebest throw of the night.
Everything about the Bears was bad in this game.
Jaguars 13, Jets 17
Todd Bowles wasn"t too excited about the win, but he did havegood things to say about rookie Darron Lee,who recorded a sack.
Fans were very excited aboutwhat they saw from Jacksonville"s marquee defensive additions.
Panthers 19, Ravens 22
Cam Newton got really excited about an INT ...too excited.
Ravens running back Terrance West lived up to the preseason hype.
Saints 22, Patriots 34
This Garoppolo kid might be okay.
Saints rookie Michael Thomas just keeps making amazing catches.
Buccaneers 9, Eagles 17
Fans werecalling for Wentz early in the second quarter, and they weren"t disappointed when he finally came in. The rookieshowed off some athleticism and gave fans what they wanted.His flip was especially impressive. In reality, Wentz looked a little rough, going 12-for-24 for 89 yards, but it is just the preseason.
Tampa"s kicker may have gotten off to a rough start, butthe defensive line looks ready to go. Jameis Winston looked like he"s beenworking on his footwork and mechanics during the offseason.
Washington 17, Falcons 23
The Falcons won, butthe starting offense looked like they thought it was still June. Not backup QB Matt Schaub though, he was aces.
We know Washington"s offense is going to be fine, but Thursday"s gameoffered some hope for the defense, too.
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BRADY SPARS WITH LEGRAND:Tom Brady talks trash to (then praises) Eric LeGrand after Rutgers legend visits Patriots. Eric LeGrand delivers message of hope to Patriots, Saints ... then Rutgers alums spar with Michigan alum Tom Brady
SIEMIAN STARTING NEXT WEEK: Gary Kubiak won"t confirm who"s starting next week, but it"s expected thatTrevor Siemian will start in the Broncos" second preseason game. Thursday"s game wasn"t enough to decide the Broncos QB situation.
INJURY REPORT: Patriots rookie WR Malcolm Mitchell suffers dislocated elbow. It was a gruesome looking injury, but, somehow, he"s only going to be out 3-6 weeks.
PAUSE FOR GREATNESS: Ravens, Panthers stop preseason game to watch Michael Phelps win 22nd gold medal. Both teams wanted to watch the GOAT.
DOG SHOW: The Chicago Bears had a "ruff" night, but these dogs doing frisbee tricks were great. At least there was the halftime show!
NEW ENGLAND STILL LOVES BRADY:Patriots cheerleaders spell out giant "B-R-A-D-Y" on the field to open the preseason. There is no question how the team feels about the suspended quarterback.
YOU BEST NOT MISS:Bucs" second-round kicker missed his first NFL kick. Roberto Aguayo never missed an extra point in college, which is part of the reason the Buccaneers traded up to get him.
Sausage Party | Official Red Band Trailer [2016 HD]
This Fridays Sausage Party is an animated adventure about talking food items that embark on an epic quest through a grocery store to understand their true destiny. Despite its anthropomorphic-oriented action, however, its anything but family-friendly. Conceived by Superbad masterminds Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (who voices the films hero hot dog Frank), the film is a stunningly raunchy affair that culminates with arguably the dirtiest non-live-action sequence ever committed to film. In other words, it more than earns its R rating. In celebration of this profane comedy, and with all due respect to other adult-skewing animated features that earned different MPAA ratings (Fritz the Cat, Persepolis, Ghost in the Shell), weve assembled our own picks for the five best R-rated animated movies all of which, it should go without saying, are definitely not for kids.
Akira (1988)
Katsuhiro Otomos enduring sci-fi masterpiece an adaptation of his own popular Japanese manga is a futuristic head-trip of dystopian action and otherworldly nightmares. Set in a 21st-century Neo-Tokyo decades after a nuclear detonation led to World War III, this out-there tale concerns the efforts of various entities a biker gang, government agents, rebels to cope with a teen boy named Tetsuo who gains psychic powers and becomes intent on awakening the legendary super-powered Akira. With visuals that that are still stunning nearly 30years later, and with a far-fetched narrative rooted in apocalyptic terror, it remains the most influential anim ever produced and one of the finest genre works of the modern era.
Perfect Blue (1997)
Satoshi Kon is one of anims most psychologically incisive and surrealistic auteurs, and he began earning that reputation with this1997 debut.Perfect Blue isa twisty-turny thriller about a pop star who aims to make a name for herself as an actress and the ghoulish fan who soon begins stalking her. With the line between dreams and reality quickly beginning to blur, Kons maiden directorial effort is reminiscent of the moviesof Alfred Hitchcock and Italian giallo master Dario Argento (Suspiria, Opera). Featuring both nudity and bloodshed, as well as a healthy dose of lyrical symbolism, this beguiling feature proves to be a penetrating look at the pitfalls of fame and the relationship between art and both artist and consumer.
South Park: Bigger, Longer &Uncut (1999)
The 1999 big-screen debut of Matt Parker and Trey Stones Comedy Central cartoon had to struggle to getan R designation from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The organizations stance toward swearwords and violence is hilariously skewered in this dirty musical comedy, which details a brewing conflict between the U.S. and Canada thats initiated by Kyle, Cartman, Stan, and Kenny sneaking into a theater to see an R-rated Terrance and Phillip blockbuster. Parodying everything from classic Broadway and Hollywood song-and-dance epics to beloved Disney sagas as well as Saddam Hussein, who is portrayed as the lover of Satan its an uproariously inventive, foul-mouthed, self-referential anti-censorship gem.
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
More narrative-driven (and haunting) than the directors prior animated movie,Waking Life (2001), Richard Linklaters 2006 adaptation of cyberpunk godfather Philip K. Dicks novel uses rotoscopping i.e., live action covered in computer animation for a story about a cop (Keanu Reeves) who employs a sci-fi suit to change his external appearance and go undercover to bust up a narcotics ring. Those aesthetics lend ominous, fluctuating beauty to a story concerned with the instability of identity and the way in which drugs further accentuate a loss of ones sense of self. Also featuring Robert Downey Jr., Winona Ryder, and Woody Harrelson, Linklaters mournful film is at once hypnotic and in its many scenes of anxious chitchat attuned to the alternately unifying and alienating power of conversation.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters (2007)
Matt Maiellaro and Dave Williss adaptation of their Adult Swim Cartoon Network TV series was built for its fans as well as aficionados of the truly surreal. This feature is a mind-bogglingly nonsensical, plot-free whatsit that defies anything approaching a lucid synopsis. Focused on nonaquatic, nonteenage fast-food heroes Master Shake (a milkshake), Frylock (a flying box of french fries), and Meatwad (a wad of meat), this 90-minute New Jersey saga is as avant-garde as anything released in an American movie theater over the past decade. Making no concessions to formula, coherence, or sanity, this blast of abstract lunacy commencing with perhaps the greatest non-sequitur opening (involving death-metal-playing refreshment stand items) in cinematic history stands as a truly original off-the-wall work.
Jacquizz Rodgers"ability to run, catch passes, block and tackle is helping him emerge as a valuable asset for the Chicago Bears. The former Oregon State star is catching the eye of the coaches with his play during training camp.
"He"s a guy that"s solid (and) doesn"t make a whole lot of mistakes," Bears running backs coach Stan Drayton told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Any time you have a player like that, you really feel comfortable with him in the game."
The Bears certainly appreciate Rodgers" ability to catch the football, making him an important element in the passing game. He has caught 156 passes during his career, including catching 53 passes during the 2012 season and 52 passes in 2013.
Rodgers displayed his versatility during the Bears 22-0 loss to Denver Thursday night in the team"s first preseason game. Playing in the second quarter, he caught two passes, one a 20-yard pass from quarterback Brian Hoyer, ran the twice and posted a tackle on a punt return.
Another reason for his value is his ability to block to help protect quarterback Jay Cutler. That ability was on display when the 5-foot-6, 205-pound Rodgers took on 6-foot-5, 336-pound defensive lineman Akiem Hicks in a goal line drill during practice last week. Hicks won the battle, but Rodgers willingness to attempt to block has impressed the coaching staff.
Rodgers, 26, is in his sixth NFL season and his second year with the Bears after spending his first four seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Rodgers didn"t carry the football (14 carries) very much in 2015, but he was a valuable special member before suffering a season-ending broken arm during Week 6.
With the departure of Matt Forte, Rodgers is now the oldest of the running backs and is seen as the leader of the group. Rodgers versatility on offense, along with his contributions on special teams and work ethic, should make him a valuable asset for the Bears.
Michael Phelps As A Dad: He Wants To Do "It Right"
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
The internet thoroughly enjoyed the sight of actor Matthew McConaughey attending the swimming finals on Day 3 by himself. Classic McConaughey.
The internet thoroughly enjoyed the sight of actor Matthew McConaughey attending the swimming finals on Day 3 by himself. Classic McConaughey.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
But don"t worry; Brazilian-born wife Camilla Alves joined him to take in men"s basketball.
But don"t worry; Brazilian-born wife Camilla Alves joined him to take in men"s basketball.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images
They had a fun time.
They had a fun time.
Photo: ANDREJ ISAKOVIC, AFP/Getty Images
Fellow Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio also swung by. Here she is visiting the Olympic Boulevard.
Fellow Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio also swung by. Here she is visiting the Olympic Boulevard.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Coca-Cola
Actor Eddie Redmayne and wife Hannah Bagshawe stayed hydrated at the swim events.
Actor Eddie Redmayne and wife Hannah Bagshawe stayed hydrated at the swim events.
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Former Miss California USA Nicole Johnson and patriotic son Boomer have been in attendance for swimming each day.
Former Miss California USA Nicole Johnson and patriotic son Boomer have been in attendance for swimming each day.
Photo: Laurence Griffiths, Getty Images
You might say they have a rooting interest. Baby Boomer calls Nicole Johnson mom and Olympic superstar Michael Phelps dad.
You might say they have a rooting interest. Baby Boomer calls Nicole Johnson mom and Olympic superstar Michael Phelps dad.
Photo: Matt Slocum, Associated Press
Sure, they"re Olympians too, but DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are also on another level of celebrity. The NBA stars caught some Olympic swimming on Tuesday night, cheering on Michael Phelps.
Sure, they"re Olympians too, but DeAndre Jordan, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson are also on another level of celebrity. The NBA stars caught some Olympic swimming on Tuesday night, cheering on Michael Phelps.
Photo: Matt Slocum, Associated Press
Olympic royalty and British royalty unite: Prince Albert II of Monaco, Nadia Comaneci and Carl Lewis attend the women"s team final in Artistic Gymnastics.
Olympic royalty and British royalty unite: Prince Albert II of Monaco, Nadia Comaneci and Carl Lewis attend the women"s team final in Artistic Gymnastics.
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Princess Anne visits Team Great Britain"s Preparation Camp in Brazil.
Princess Anne visits Team Great Britain"s Preparation Camp in Brazil.
Photo: Pedro Vilela, Getty Images
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, have been attending many events, including the opening ceremony.
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, have been attending many events, including the opening ceremony.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini, Associated Press
Denmark"s Crown Prince Frederik is also a big handball fan.
Denmark"s Crown Prince Frederik is also a big handball fan.
Photo: Matthias Schrader, Associated Press
European bigwigs talk sports: President of Hungary Janos Ader chats with Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg on day 1 of the swimming competition at Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
European bigwigs talk sports: President of Hungary Janos Ader chats with Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg on day 1 of the swimming competition at Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
President of France Francois Hollande waves to the French delegation during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
President of France Francois Hollande waves to the French delegation during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
King Philippe of Belgium watches on during the halftime break of the men"s pool A match between Brazil and Belgium on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
King Philippe of Belgium watches on during the halftime break of the men"s pool A match between Brazil and Belgium on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Photo: Mark Kolbe, Getty Images
The royals of Monaco have been really enjoying the Games. Prince Albert II of Monaco and Ana Helena Pires attend the group phase basketball match between France and Australia.
The royals of Monaco have been really enjoying the Games. Prince Albert II of Monaco and Ana Helena Pires attend the group phase basketball match between France and Australia.
One cant possibly mention the sport swimming, and not immediately think of 25-time Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps. The 31-year-old prodigy has performed beyond anyones wildest dreams, and continues to add new feathers to his swimming cap. However, things havent always been ideal for the ace swimmer, especially when it comes to his troubled relationship with his father, Fred Phelps. For eager fans of the star athlete who are Googling terms like, where is Michael Phelps father?, who is Michael Phelps father?, Michael Phelps dad died, Michael Phelps Fred Phelps, Michael Phelps dad, and Michael Phelps father, well let you in on all detailsrevolving around the Phelps family.
Here are four facts to know about Michael Phelps father, Fred Phelps:
#4 Michael Phelps and his Father are Estranged
Swimming fans have seen Michaels mother, Debbie Phelps, fiancee, Nicole Johnson and his adorable son, Boomer in the Olympic grandstand, cheering him on several times. But the question is, where is his father, Fred Phelps? Naturally, fans are wondering why Fred Phelps isnt at the Olympics, screaming his sons name from the stands as he earns medal after medal.
Unfortunately, Fred and Michael are estranged, and they share a troubled and complicated relationship. Atthe age of 9,Michael had to stand by and watch his parents get divorced,sounderstandably, he feels some resentment towards his father. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Michael stated, For me, not having a father always there was hard. I had Bob [Bowman], and I had Peter [Carlisle], these guys who acted as father figures. But deep down, inside, it was hard. That was something that was a struggle for me to talk about for a long time, even with friends or my mother. Getting that off my chest in therapy was this huge weight off my shoulders.
#3 Fred Phelps and Debbie are Divorced
Michael Phelps parents, Fred and Debbie were high-school sweethearts who wed in 1973, butgot divorced in 1994. Debbie Phelps was a teacher by profession, and was forced to single-handedly raise Michael and his two sisters, Whitney and Hilary. Although Michael and his father were reasonably close after the split, they became distant once Michaels swimming career started blowing up. In an interview with ESPN magazine, Fred revealed, I kept trying and trying, but he always had something to do.
Michaels mother, Debbie, defended her husband in an interview insisting that, My ex-husband loved his kids. He loves his kids. It bothered him. But I dont think he knew how to fix it. So, Michael just kept on escalating and escalating and things were going OK, so he didnt feel like he needed his dad.
Debbie Phelps also explained how she managed the single-income household on a teachers salary. We were a team. My two daughters are two years apart, my daughter and Michael are five years apart, and we all relied on each other. I had three kids at three different pools with three different practice times, and then at one point in my life, I just had to go back to college to get my degree. But I like to keep things hopping; it gives you excitement in your life. Ive got a great group of friends around me, and we all supported each other.
#2 Fred was Confronted by Michael after his Rehab Stint
31-year-old Michael Phelps was arrested for DUI after leaving a casino in 2014. He went for a voluntary 45-day rehab stint, where he faced his issues of abandonment and avoidance towards his father, Fred. Fred visited his son inrehab, and the two worked out their issues. According to Michael, one of the major problems he had with his father while growing up was due to Freds failure to show up for a swimming meet, even after he promised to do so. It was the day Michael set his first short-course record. Another time was at Michaels first Olympics in Sydney, when Fred brought his new wife along without informing his then 15-year-old son beforehand.
In an interview with SI, Michael confessed, I felt abandoned. I have an amazing mother and two amazing sisters. But I would like to have a father in my life, and Ive been carrying that around for 20 years. Thats a long time. It does something to you. To a kid, especially. Right now Id like to be able to talk to my father and have him be able to talk to me. Is my family perfect? Far from it. My parents had issues where they thought it was healthy to split. It wasnt ideal. It wasnt easy. But what we went through as kids made us as strong as we are. And now my father and I communicate. Its not fixed. You dont fix something like that. But its better.
#1 Fred Phelps is a Retired Policeman and Former Footballer
65-year-old Fred Phelps is a retired police officer from Maryland. He was on the police force for 28 years and obviously his work hours contributed to his rocky relationship with his son. In 2001, Michael broke a record at a swim meet in Annapolis and refused to hear any excuses when his father couldnt attend the event because of a shift. Fred Phelps was a high school football player, and had dreams of playing for the NFL one day. He tried out for the Redskins but failed to make the team. Fred currently works in commercial vehicle enforcement training and is married to his third wife.
For more on Michael Phelps and information on his amazing performances at the Olympics thus far, click here!
From Phelps to Women"s Gymnastics: America"s Record Breaking Olympic Moments Favorite/Least Favorite: United States Womens Gymnastics Team EditionJust enough Aly Raisman, not enough pommel horseGetty Images
So far, my favorite quote from the Olympics comes from Aly Raisman, the captain of the United States womens gymnastics team. Its from an NBC Olympics story, and was an answer to a question about whether being such overwhelming favorites meant there was increased the pressure on the team.
She said: Were going in as the best team in the world. So we should carry ourselves that way, not be scared and shaky because we have that pressure. It should be the opposite. You know, you walk in like youre number one and I think thats intimidating to everyone else.
NOT BE SCARED OR SHAKY BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT PRESSURE. That s**t is incredible to me.
During basketball season or football season I always hate when the team I like is the one that everyone says is supposed to win, because then it feels like the only things that can happen are (a) you win the thing, which is [whatever] because you were supposed to win it anyway, or (b) you lose the thing, which is an utter and total catastrophe. Im terrified of that. Im terrified of even rooting for a team that might suffer a catastrophic blow. Id always rather be in the opposite position: where its (a) you lose the thing, and its [whatever] because you were supposed to lose it anyway, or (b) you win the thing, which is an utter and total miracle. Those are the low stakes I prefer.
So when I saw that Aly Raisman quote, it was just like, Oh. I get it. Im a coward. Aly Raisman describing her team as the best team in the world and then saying that considering themselves as such only makes them even more powerful is just such a fantastic and foreign thing to me.
Prior to competing in her first Olympics competition in London in 2012, Raisman was the subject of a documentary called Aly Raisman: Quest for Gold. It was filmed from 2011 up until the Olympic trials. Do you understand what that means? She literally had them make an entire documentary about her wanting to win a gold medal at the Olympics, the most pressure-stuffed contest a gymnast can enter, and she did it BEFORE she was even on the Olympic team, which quadruples the pressure of the situation.
But then guess what she did? Ill tell you what she did. She tried out for the team. Then she made the team. Then she went to the Olympics. Then she won a gold medal. Then she won ANOTHER gold medal. Then she won a bronze one, too, just because. It was more medals than any other gymnast on the American team won in London, not to mention that one was for the floor routine, which no American woman had ever done before.
Aly Raismans confidence is my favorite thing about these Olympics. It has a gravity to it.
My other favorite/least favorite things from the 2016 United States womens gymnastics team:
Favorite: Absolute Team Dominance
Under the current Olympic scoring system, no gymnastics team had ever won as decisively and crushingly as the U.S. women did this year. Here are the scores for the first- and second-place teams in that event from the past four games:
2012, USA: 183.596, Russia: 178.530
2008, China: 188.900, USA: 186.525
2004, Romania: 114.283, USA: 113.584
2000, Romania: 154.608, Russia: 154.403
Mostly, when a team wins the competition, its by a point, maybe a little more. The 2016 U.S. women beat Russia, the second-place team, by more than eight points. Thats like if the Spurs won a game by 160, or like if the Sixers won a game at all.
Least Favorite: No Pommel Horse
They dont have the pommel horse in womens gymnastics. Thats very unfortunate because its very tense and so much fun to watch due to how difficult of a thing it is to navigate. (Im a big fan of high stakes when its someone elses well-being in play instead of my own.)
The pommel horse is my favorite kind of gymnastics apparatus and also my favorite kind of horse in general, really. It goes:
Pommel horse: the most challenging of all horses
Seahorse: the most elegant of all horses and the most mysterious, too
Sawhorse: the most practical of all horses
Regular horse: the most basic of all horses
Workhorse: the most useful of all horses and also the one I respect the most
Trojan horse: the least trustworthy of all horses
I wish every Olympic athlete in every Olympic sport had to do at least one pass on the pommel horse. Im sad that they dont. But Im especially sad that the Team USA women dont get to.
Favorite: Athlete Story Arcs
Look at how the team is put together. Youve got:
Aly Raisman: The unshakable, unflappable leader of the team. Drop her into whatever situation it is that you think is the most deadly, the most dangerous, and watch her back handspring her way right TF out that b***h untouched. Shes the second-best all-around gymnast on the planet right now, losing out only to
Simone Biles: Her brilliance is endless. From just 2013 to now, between the Olympics and world championships, she has won 16 individual and team medals, 12 of which were gold. I was watching a trailer for the new Wonder Woman movie for, like, two full minutes before I realized I was actually just watching Simone Biles on the balance beam. Shes unreal.
Laurie Hernandez: Read this.
Gabby Douglas: She and Raisman are the only American women in history to have three Olympic gold medals, one of which was for the individual all-around that Douglas won in 2012, which, FYI, made her the first ever African American woman to do so.
Madison Kocian: The quiet one, yes. But cobras have never been much for talking, you know what Im saying? I watched an uneven bars routine this week where she literally got a 0.0 on the penalties portion of her score. Shes unfuckwithable.
Theres this movie that came out in 1989 called Best of the Best, about a team of Americans that gets put together to face a Korean team in a massively important international martial arts tournament. The Final Five are the real-life version of that, and it makes me so happy.
Least Favorite: My Sense of Self-Worth
On the one hand, the Olympics are dope because you get to watch incredible humans do incredible things, but then on the other hand you realize that you are not an incredible human and cannot do incredible things. I think the closest I ever came in my life to being a gymnast is: One time I dropped my phone but before it smashed on the floor I managed to get my foot underneath it and it absorbed enough of the force from the initial impact that the screen didnt crack when it finally actually hit the floor.
Least Favorite: The Two-Per-Country Rule
To qualify to compete in the individual all-around competition, scores are tallied up from the previous rounds of competition on each apparatus and then arranged from highest to lowest. The 24 highest scores qualify, and anyone outside of that gets to watch. The one sticky part, though, is that each country is only allowed to advance two gymnasts into the finals, even if that particular countrys third-place gymnast scored higher than a different countrys first- or second-place gymnast, which is exactly what happened to the USAs Jordyn Wieber at the 2012 Olympics and also what happened to Gabby Douglas, the reigning all-around Olympic champion, this year (Biles and Raisman scored higher). Its a rule put in place to help grow the popularity of gymnastics outside of already-dominant countries, so I can see the reasoning behind it. But, I mean, I also see the reasoning behind not eating candy for dinner every day, too. That doesnt mean I like it.
Favorite: Aly Raismans First Tumbling Pass During the Floor Exercise
Listen, I really dont even know how to explain exactly what all it was that she did here. The technical description of it is a roundoff, one-and-a-half step-out into a roundoff, back handspring into an Arabian double front into a punch layout. That probably doesnt mean anything to you, same as it didnt mean anything to me when I heard the commentators talking about it beforehand. All I know is that she lined up on one side of the floor, started running, planted, then there was this big, bright flash of light, and then when I woke up I saw that all of my furniture had been thrown through the wall and both of my ACLs were torn.
(You can see the pass in slow motion here.)
The Olympics is full of the greatest athletes in the world doing the most athletic things possible (and also archery). Raismans first tumbling pass, which she did in London in 2012 and then did even better in Brazil, is the number-one thing thats happened so far.
Celebs React to EPIC USA Women"s Gymnastics Team Gold Medal at Rio Olympics 2016
Theres really only one way to describe Simone Biless performance in the womens all-around finaldominant. There could be other words to use, but theyd all mean the same thing. It was a performance that exceeded expectations when expectation might have never been higher for a gymnast. To match them, Biles wasnt supposed to just win, that wouldnt have been impressive enough. She needed to blow the rest of the competition away and thats exactly what she did.
Biles went into the third rotation down 0.034, behind Russias Aliya Mustafina. She left the rotation up 1.533 with her best event, floor, remaining. By the time Biles took to the floor for her last routine, she needed just a 13.833 to win. It wasnt the 7+ routine she needed to put up to win the team final, but Biles would be able to hit a 13.8 on floor with a fall, maybe two. She went out and put up a 15.933, the highest single score of the competition and the highest on floor by half a point.
In the end, the margin of victory was 2.1, the greatest win Biles has put up in international competition on the grandest of stages. Previously, Biless biggest win was by 1.083 points at the 2015 World Championships. The competition around Biles has been getting better too, but shes been improving at a greater rate.
Over the past four major international competitions, the runner-ups score was gotten higher in all but one and the average score of all participants has increased in each meet.
But Biles never let herself fall back to the pack, she just keeps improving. She doesnt just continue to win, she pulls herself in front of the competition to lengths never seen before. Her win on Thursday was the most dominant in international gymnastics in the open scoring era (since 2006). To bring back the Z-Scores, which accounts for performance against the entire field, not just the runner up and something introduced here comparing Biles to the best male gymnast Kohei Uchimura, Biless Olympic all-around win had a Z-Score of 2.805, the highest of the 22 individual all-around results from the past eight World Championships and three Olympics.
Theres been so many superlatives thrown at Biles over the past week and its possible none of them are exaggerated. Shes made her case as the best female gymnast ever and shes building quite the resume to put against Kohei Uchimura for the greatest of all-time.
Whats scary about Bilesat least scary for any women with dreams of winning any meet while Biles competingis how much better she can still become. Womens gymnastics is not a sport of longevity. The fact Biles has been firmly on top of the sport for four years is already amazing, but theres even more in the tank.
Biless first pass on floor is a double layout with a full twist. If she wanted, she could add a whole extra twist to the skillshe already does that in a tucked position for her third tumbling pass. On vault, she has the ability to add another half twist to her 2.5-twisting yurchenko. Only one woman is close to competing that, North Koreas Hong Un-Jong who might attempt it for the first time during vault finals on Sunday. On beam, Biles already does the hardest dismount in the world, a full-twisting double back. Shes trained putting another twist on that one too.
Its yet to be known what Biles will do after Rioand she still has three individual event finals before that happensbut it would not be surprising to see her take some time off. But if she decides to continue competing, she wont be trying to make a comeback like some other Olympic champions before her. Theres a good chance Biles can keep getting better.
Biles, though, wasnt the only American gymnast fulfilling an Olympic dream on Thursday. Aly Raisman entered the day with three Olympic medals, all three of them gold, but it was a bronze that escaped her which led to her comeback bid for Rio.
Raisman was the second all-around qualifier for the U.S. in London and she did quite well, well enough to finish tied for third. However, there was a tiebreaker rule that did not allow for duplicate medals to be handed out and Raisman lost the tiebreaker to Aliya Mustafina. Raisman left that competition with nothing, and even though she would win a gold medal on floor a few days later, losing out on an all-around medal is what drove her back to competition.
In qualifying, Raisman finished second behind Biles. Before that round there were even questions about whether Raisman would get the chance to do all around, but she was given the fourth and final spot on bars over Laurie Hernandez, which gave her the opportunity to compete for another chance at an all-around medal.
Its one thing to return to a second Olympics in womens gymnastics, but its another to get better like Raisman did. She, like Biles, got to end the competition on floor and also like Biles needed a score she could easily reach to be position for a silver medal. She didnt have to be perfect, but she was close and the second her floor routine ended, she knew she had accomplished the one thing she had left to do in the Olympics. Raisman finished 1.433 ahead of Mustafina for second, almost as dominating of a victory as Biles in first.
The competition is not over for these two athletes. Theyll get a few days off, but then its back to the floor for event finals. Raisman will defend her her Olympic title on floor during competition on Tuesday. Biles will compete vault on Sunday, beam on Monday and will try to dethrone Raisman on floor Tuesday. Shell be favored to win gold on all three of those events, but as shes proven already, theres no problem in exceeding even the highest expectations.
