May 30, 200717 yr Well, folks, it's that time of year again. The 2007 Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee is under way. The morning rounds, which are meant to weed out the contenders from the pretenders, have been completed, and results should be known soon. Each speller took the same 25 word written test, and then they all got the chance to spell a bonus word at the mic, the way its done on TV. They each get a score out of 28, with the bonus word being worth 3 points. The top 100 or so will move on to compete in the more traditional style we have all come to know and love over the years. They weren't fooling around this year on the written test. The last two words were: ylem Bewusstseinslage I haven't a clue how to even pronounce either of those. Anyway...this is Spelling Legend Samir Sudhir Patel's last chance to win. This kid has been a spelling bee fan favorite since he took 3rd place when he was like 9 years old. He finished in 2nd two years ago, but last year he made a shocking exit on the morning of the 2nd day. Will this be the year of Samir? I don't know. An eventual victory seemed inevitable 5 years ago, but you have to wonder why it hasn't happened by now. Either way, I will be rooting him on. Other people I am rooting for include Evan O'Dorney and Jonathan Horton...both of whom I remember clearly from previous years. Miami has two kids in it. One is sporting a mustache, which is always a good idea in the spelling bee. And finally, I am rooting for Kunal Sah who has one of the stranger storylines I've heard. He is an Indian kid who lives with his aunt and uncle in the Ramada Inn that they run in a small Utah town. His parents were sent back to India after being denied political asylum, and he is hoping that winning the competition will bring some attention to their situation and maybe help them win asylum. He also looks like he's about 18 and he's sporting a very well-filled out mustache. So, to summarize, Indian kid, motel, small Utah town, political motivation, mustache....what's not to like? Oh, one more thing, for you fanatics out there, here's a pretty good blog to help you follow the action: http://www.throwingthings.blogspot.com/ At some point, Shonda Rhimes, the creator of Grey's Anatomy, will get in on the blogging action, as she does every year. EDIT: Oh, I didn't realize someone already started this thread. Thanks, mods. Also, here's another blog to follow the action: http://beeblog.mgblogs.com/ This one's on the scene and has better live minute-to-minute coverage.
May 30, 200717 yr The only thing I rememnber about any of the previous Spelling Bees is some idiot kid trying to get a laugh from the crowd by quoting Napoleon Dynamite. No one laughed. Stupid kid. NO WAIT! I'm lying. How the hell could I forget that kid passing out on stage? LOL. That was awesome. So I remember 2 things.
May 30, 200717 yr So...Kunal Sah is down. That's too bad. I really wanted to see that mustache in prime time. Both Miami kids are toast too. I don't know what happened to the Miami kid from the last couple of years. He was pretty good, and he was only like 12. Either he quit spelling this year, or he flamed out in the regional bee. A record 107 kids made it to Round 3 in total, though...which is now underway and can be followed live here: http://www.spellingbee.com/results.asp These next two rounds should be a slaughter, as they have to start cutting numbers. I think they want around 45 kids for the start of tomorrow.
May 30, 200717 yr Still 94 kids left after Round 3. I would expect that number to get cut nearly in half in Round 4. Otherwise, it could be a really long today tomorrow. "Wilco" is now a spelling bee word. So is "Sardoodledom", which apparently had its speller cracking up.
May 30, 200717 yr If you're wondering at all what these kids are up against in the written round, here's a quiz that kind of approximates it. I have no idea how many times the kids get to hear the word, though. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...=la-home-center I got 2 out of 5.
May 30, 200717 yr 3/5 OMG....Is there anyplace booking action on this. I'd love to play Anqi Dong, the Saskatoon whiz kid. He's probably 50/1. I think it's between Dong and Justin Song. Patel's good but just doesn't have that killer instinct. Like some horses that consistently come in second. I'd go with a Dong-Patel and Song-Patel exacta.
May 30, 200717 yr Round 4 is basically over. Samir Patel, Evan O'Dorney, and Jonathan Horton still remain. As does Anqi Dong, who I agree is a pretty strong contender. I don't think you'd get 50/1 on him. Maybe 20/1. He's got to be in the top 10 or so contenders. I am now also rooting for Kennyi Auodad, for cracking up at Sardoodledom; Rosa Nguyen, for looking 4 years old; and Raymond Soriano, for his square-shaped head. Oh, and Julisa Marcel, for that hair.
May 30, 200717 yr ESPN starting at 10 AM tomorrow. That's supposed to go until 1 PM, but with almost 60 spellers still standing, it could go until 2 PM or later. And then ABC at 8 PM, I think. And no...it wasn't on TV today. Dodge is just being creepy, as usual.
May 30, 200717 yr "Wilco" is now a spelling bee word. . First they sell out and put a song in a volkswagen commercial, and now this. I've lost all respect.
May 30, 200717 yr ESPN starting at 10 AM tomorrow. That's supposed to go until 1 PM, but with almost 60 spellers still standing, it could go until 2 PM or later. And then ABC at 8 PM, I think. And no...it wasn't on TV today. Dodge is just being creepy, as usual. It must have been a replay I saw this morning. This chick was astounding for a girl her age. Her name was Saryn something.
May 30, 200717 yr Saryn Hooks was the chick who came in 3rd last year after mistakenly being told she missed a word when there were like 10 people left.
May 30, 200717 yr I saw her too, wondered if it was live or not, then thought, that one is going to be attractive one day (less creepy)
May 31, 200717 yr it was on TV for a few hours yesterday...I'm missing everything today becuase I'm about to go into work, but I'll catch the 8pm ABC stuff I guess. Also, Dodge, that's EXTREMELY creppy...I'm 19 but I still don't go after SPELLING BEE CHICKS!!! And putting odds on the Bee? That's a concept!
May 31, 200717 yr Saryn Hooks was the chick who came in 3rd last year after mistakenly being told she missed a word when there were like 10 people left. I thought last year was the last year she was eligible.
May 31, 200717 yr Yeah, the Bee was not on TV yesterday...anyone who watched that watched a repeat. And, yes, last year was Saryn Hooks' last year. Once again, it was a repeat. So, for the umpteenth year in a row stupid ESPN switched networks in the middle of the bee, which once again screwed me over, since I was taping it. Only, it didn't really screw me over because they stuck it on ESPN News and I don't get that channel here. Why can't they just keep it on one channel? Or actually schedule it correctly? They switched over to women's softball. I'm sure there's a huge audience for that. Samir Patel bowed out early again. He ended up challenging their ruling, but that was ultimately denied. Sucks for ABC, but the spelling bee is bigger than him now. In fact, it's the biggest thing ever. Your 15 finalists can be seen here: http://www.spellingbee.com/finishers.asp I don't know everyone left, but if I had to pick favorites, I'd rank them like so: 1. Jonathan Horton - kid's got experience and finished 6th last year 2. Evan O'Dorney - kid's got experience and finished 14th last year 3. Kavya Shivashankar - she finished 10th last year, but she's only 11 years old. If she doesn't win this year, she'll be the favorite next year. 4. Matthew Evans - I'm pretty sure he made the ABC broadcast last year. It's his 4th year, so tons of experience. 5 (tie). Anqi Dong and Cody Wang - A couple of Canadians. Dong has the experience edge, but I'm pretty sure Wang was blocked the past couple years by last year's second place finisher. 7. Tia Thomas - her 4th year in this thing. She has plenty of experience. But I don't remember her at all, so she probably hasn't made it far in the past. The others are kind of a crapshoot. I think they're mostly newcomers. Joseph Henares is fun because he's strange. Claire Zhang is interesting because she was actually buzzed out in Round 5, but it was very clear the judges made a mistake on that one. She's also from West Palm Beach, so she gets points there. Amy Chyao's hero is Dirk Nowitski, so she's screwed. Anyway, I don't give the other 8 kids much of a chance of besting my 7 there, but you never know... Action starts in about a half hour.
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