Lay off Hamm

The International Gymnastics Federation is pressuring Paul Hamm to hand is gold medal over, according to CNN/SI. This is an absolute disgrace. Should the Korean have won is the question. Based upon the screwup in starting value for one of his routines, yes. Based upon all of the judging mistakes, not a chance.

Also from CNN/SI

Yes, the videotape of the parallel bars showed the judges erred by assigning a 9.9 start value. But it showed something else, too. In the course of his routine, Yang had four holds on the bar, when the rules allow for a maximum of three. The deduction for that mistake? Two-tenths of a point.

The judges missed it.

He would have barely held on to his bronze. Let's hear some more about that. All things considered, the fact that FIG wants Hamm to give up gold medal is a disgrace, and fairly reeks of anti-Americanism, and that has NO PLACE in the Olympics. The USOC responded appropriately:

In a letter back to Grandi, USOC secretary general Jim Scherr called the request "a blatant and inappropriate attempt on the part of (FIG) to once again shift responsibility for its own mistakes and instead pressure Mr. Hamm into resolving what has become an embarrassing situation for your federation."

It sounds like Hamm himself has no intention of giving up his medals. Nor should he. The Koreans should quit being cry babies (remember the crying in the Winter Olympics?) and learn something about sportsmanship.