Final thoughts on night one on the senior women's competition

Okay. Here goes.

I am bored to tears with Kayla Williams. She's like a Furby, or a viral video - she's growing tiresome. I know she's a powerhouse, and she truly does have some sick tumbling. But she has not changed or grown one iota since the video of her floor routine first hit the internet. I do not think Martha will make room for her at Worlds.

Bridget had a rough night, but with Rebecca Bross' similar mistakes and Ivana not being known for her consistency, she might still be a contender for the title on Saturday. But truthfully, I would be thrilled for any of the three of them.

Ivana looked MILES better than she did at Classic, but she still makes me nervous. Her beam mount didn't look quite as shaky as it did three weeks ago, but it still looks like she is fighting for it. I love her form, and I'm ready for her tkatchev to go away.

Rebecca Bross did a fine job in her senior debut - as I do not count Classic as her debut, since she was hurt and only competed a watered down bars routine. She had some nerves and mistakes, but she is a force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to see how she grows this quad.

Nastia is not back yet. She looked tentative and nervous. But she's still a superstar, and I cannot fathom her not being on the Worlds team when she has two months to clean her routines back up. I do not think, after tonight, that she will be all around ready. Fortunately, she and Valeri are smart and will likely limit her to beam and bars. But she's got some work to do if she really wants to beat Shannon Miller's World medal record.

Sam Peszek gets better all the time. She oozes confidence and self-possession. Her skills are spot on. I still hate her form on her layout stepouts on beam, but that is honestly my one complaint. Love her, love her, love her.

Chellsie - what can I say? She looks cleaner to me, actually, though her form will never be great. She's past that point now. My real question with her is simply, what do you want from this? Is she in the hunt for more World medals and titles, or is gymnastics really just such a habit and a pleasure for her that she sticks around, even though there may not be any real hardware in her future? Is she still capable of winning medals? It's foolish to doubt Chellsie Memmel, as she has proven time and again, but at some point, life takes over and the ink stops flowing.

Jana is only getting worse, and there is no sign that this will change any time. I've said it before and I'll say it again - her silver all around medal at 2006 Worlds only means that she was slightly less good than the girl who fell on beam. It was a fucking fluke, just like Ferrari's win, and Jana's entire career. Martha despises her. No one wants to watch her. Is it bad that I was GRATEFUL not to have to watch her beam routine tonight? Also, the commentators mentioned that she said she was still taking antibiotics. For her bout with the flu. Which is a virus.

For now, those are my thoughts. Obviously there were many more gifted athletes, but I need to wait for them to make an impression on me before I start shooting off at the keyboard. I hope you all enjoyed the performances tonight, and are as excited about Saturday as I am. I hope to blog live then, too, but I make no guarantees.

Until then - sleep tight!