347: The Michigan Mess and the Viral Queen

CONTEST:

Prize: University of Denver hat, shirt and sweatshirt.
How to Enter: Tell us why you love Denver gymnastics and use the #DenverGymCastic on Twitter or Instagram.
Deadline: Sunday, Jan 20th at midnight Pacific.
Do I have to be a Club Gym Nerd member? No! Open to all.

IN THE NEWS

• The Rhonda debacle: Michigan hires, then fires, Rhonda Faehn in the span of a single weekend. Because gymnastics totally has its life together.
  • What the team members are saying, what Rachael Denhollander is saying, and how we navigate the politics of whose voice gets to matter—especially when people we agree with happen to disagree with each other
  • Why gymnastics fans largely have a better impression of Rhonda than of the other USAG employees involved
  • How the University of Michigan royally screwed this up in every way
• Dan Baker replaced MLT as the developmental program head coach (from what we can tell), and USAG didn't say a word about it

COLLEGE GYMNASTICS

• Auburn upsets LSU
  • Derrian Gobourne is a star (1:14:15)
  • The entire Auburn bars lineup is taking Abby Milliet pills
  • What happened to McKenna Kelley
  • How DD handled the dudes in the front row
• Denver defeats Michigan and Alabama
  • Gushing about Alexis Vasquez for all eternity (15:40)
  • Jessica's inside stories from visiting Denver during the preseason
  • Alabama has a stick bedazzled Thor's hammer
• Plus...
  • We're desperately worried about Maggie limping after floor
  • Trinity Thomas debuts for Florida (1:16:56) and Kathy is everyone
• Anaheim quad meet
  • College meets are playing the national anthem before the athletes enter
  • Ohashi goes viral for her floor routine again (our first interview with Ohashi in 2013)
  • Special appreciation for Kelley Hebert and Sarah Liddle of UC Davis, Alma Kuc and Sofie Seilnacht of Cal for NOT BEING BASIC
  • Why Jessica cried over Marz Frazier's floor routine
  • Spencer rants about the competition's horrible strip club poster
• "Splashdown"-gate
• How would an Olympic team of Nichols, Ross, Finnegan, and Skinner do?
• Crack or Correct: Justice for Lexy Ramler, leo scoring is real, and more bizarre judging in Alabama

GYMTERNET NEWS

• The American Cup roster is out! We break it down gymnast by gymnast
• USAG hasn't been paying the men's national team. RUH ROH.
  • Update: They've now been paid for January—why it's too late and way too little
• Plus: USAG finally suspends internet troll Don McPherson, Geddert case updates, Aly broke a bone, and rules about FIG nationality changes

FURTHER READING

• Nancy Armour asks: whose voice counts?
• Week 2 Ranking Notes
• Sunday Live Blog – January 13, 2019
• Saturday Live Blog – January 12, 2019
• Friday Live Blog – January 11, 2019
• Things Are Happening – January 11, 2019

SUPPORT THE SHOW

• Join Club Gym Nerd here.
• Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here.

RELATED EPISODES

• 346: Peng Is Here!
• 345: So Long 2018
• 344: Shushunova vs. Silivas 1988 (Commissioned)
• 343: The Andrade Cup & the Dumpster Fire of Lies
• 342: A Quitter's Try – The CNN Parkettes Documentary (Commissioned)
• 341: The Call Is Coming from Inside the House
• 340: USAG and The Case of the Missing Documents
• 307: SHAME – Congressional Hearings Edition