DaveChung.com – A Guy’s Blog From Girl World

Led by Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, USA Basketball can once again say that it is the best team in the world (Image courtesy of New York Daily News).

However, Spain’s NBA All-Star Pau Gasol, his brother Marc Gasol, future NBA player (one would assume) Ricky Rubio, and Juan Carlos Navarro did not make it easy on the NBA’s best. The Spanish team frequently pulled within single digits and looked like they were in position to pull an upset after surviving an offensive explosion by the United States in the first half.

In the end, Kobe Bryant’s clutch play, along with Dwyane Wade’s hustle were too much for Spain, who stayed competitive with the US, even after being defeated by 35 by the same team earlier in the Olympic games.

Just four years after USA Basketball shocked the world by only managing a bronze medal in the 2004 games, the USA team is officially “redeemed.”

Seeing the emotion on the NBA stars’ faces as the clock expired was a refreshing look at what sports is “supposed to be about.” Sure, the NBA players get paid for being at the Olympics, much like athletes from other countries, but with the rest of the international community literally stepping up their game to the level of the NBA, this team felt like they had something to prove.

With much of the 2004 team not being invited to join this year’s squad (see Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, etc.) and many of the NBA’s biggest names signed up for a team that spent much more time together than the 2004 edition, it was refreshing to see that this Olympics mattered to some of the wealthiest athletes on the planet.

Was it relief? Was it accomplishment? For once, especially with the battle that Spain gave the United States, the joy on the players’ faces looked to be genuine, much like seeing the faces of athletes who win any other Gold medal. We’ve come to expect USA Basketball to obtain gold and it seems like an inevitability, but it’s clear that this is no longer the case. International competition has made Olympic basketball competitive and the basketball community is all the better for it.

It’s come to the point where it’s not as if the USA would be able to take on a team of the world’s greatest players like it could before, seeing as the team had all it could handle with just the team from Spain this year.

And despite past dominance, the 2004 Olympics (and World Championships) might have been the kick in the pants that the NBA needed to make this Olympic sport matter again. The USA took pride in its game this time around and it paid off with a Gold medal.

Remember when you had to fill out “Student” as your occupation on many a standardized form or drop down menu, knowing that this “job” provided no income?

Washington, D.C. is about to change that (image courtesy of Washington Post).

By utilizing a point system that grades on performance, attendance, and displaying manners, the city is about to shell out up to $100/month or $2 per point up to 50 points per month, some D.C. schools will be putting some money into their students pockets for their work in the classroom.

However, they’re not the first school system to use the all mighty dollar to motivate students. In Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, and Virginia, students are offered up to $500 for scoring a 3 or higher on Advanced Placement tests. In New York, students between the fourth and seventh grades can earn up to $500 for scoring well on standardized tests.

In Washington, D.C, the pilot program is targeted towards sixth through eighth graders, when D.C.’s school chancellor feels that students are at the greatest risk/benefit period in their academic careers. It’s controversial, but is it worth it to pay students to do “their jobs?”

I’m just wondering what happens once the students hit high school, losing their incomes. If money becomes the main motivator (i.e. “I’m going to nail this test on Friday so that I can buy that CD”) and you take it away after they’ve graduated from middle school, will these high school students to be actually feel as if they’re being demoted because of the lack of monetary reward for their work? Will high schools have to start paying athletes (unless they already do…) and wooing people to run student governments because these students have grown up in a money-motivated environment mandated by the city?

For some, I’m sure it will work. For others, it’s a nice break for parents who struggle to provide an allowance for their children in what would seem to be a system that would encourage students to try hard.

However, I wouldn’t want to be in the classroom when report cards are handed out or test scores because the students, especially the “at-risk” students, will start to perceive these scores as “messing with my money” instead of just being a grade.

Let’s not even get into college, when students who are used to being paid to study suddenly have to shell out $20,000 – $30,000 a year to go to an upper tier university.

However, it might be a good lesson for students to learn early. At the end of the day, the biggest nerds take home the most cash.

Is this the face of a 16 year old Gold Medalist in China’s He Kexin? (image courtesy of the Telegraph

)

Still, days after USA’s Nastia Liukin tied scores, but landed a second place finish on the uneven bars through a questionable tiebreaker and the USA Women’s Gymnastics team took second in the team competition to a team of exceptionally young looking team of Chinese gymnasts, questions remain surrounding the age of the Chinese athletes.

But days later, there is still no solid proof that China’s He Kexin, who to me looks no older than 14, or Yang YiLin, are below the age requirement for this summer’s Olympic games, despite the International Olympic Committee’s request for the “International Gymnastics Federation to investigate ‘what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies.’”

What would this mean for the U.S. team if the Chinese athletes under question were somehow found to be underage, despite the fact that nothing has been found thusfar?

Nastia Liukin would claim the gold medal on the uneven bars from He Kexin.

The U.S. Gymnastics Team would claim the team gold from China.

What was one of the more incredible Olympics in recent memory that made everyone forget about the pre-games controversies would be tarnished and remembered by a huge slip up by the host country – instead of by the world record stomp fest that has been this year’s games (especially in the pool).

No, no one is going to forget Michael Phelps anytime soon, but this would cast a huge shadow on what could be the most popular Olympics of all time.

So much of this controversy stems from Yang Yun, a two-time bronze medalist in Sydney, saying during an interview aired on China Central Television that she was 14 in the 2000 games. If it was done once, it could be done again.

Considering these girls are practically raised to become Olympics medalists, often taken away from their families to do so, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world. However, I think it would be a let down and wouldn’t be as satisfying as many of us who cursed the host country’s mini-athlete’s on Facebook would think.

And I admit, I am a Nastia Liukin fanboy. She takes home five gymnastics medals from the Beijing Olympics – a number only matched by Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller, two names synonimous with U.S. Women’s gymnastics. If anyone should be excited about the prospects of the U.S. “upgrading” a couple medals, I feel like I should be.

However, after the spectacular show that the Chinese put on for the opening ceremonies and what has seemed like a positive experience for the country (other than the U.S. Volleyball coach’s father-in-law being murdered, which seemed like more of a random, tragic act), it would be a shame to have the Beijing Olympics be remembered as “the one where China cheated in Gymnastics.”

So far, China remains innocent until proven guilty. For the memory of the 2008 Olympic Games, it’s important to let the truth come out, but I hope that China was telling the truth from the start.

In one of the more confusing titles of any TV show these days, Making the Band 4: Season 3 also premiered this week on MTV.

With The Hills AND Making the Band 4 bringing out new episodes at the same time, MTV has its all-star team that edges out the combo of Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods and America’s Best Dance Crew from this summer.

I am happy about it. Apparently, Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day is happy about it too (pictured on right, images courtesy of MTV).

Ok ok, so how can you have three seasons of one season of one show? Well, let’s explain.

Making the Band 4: Season 1 was all about putting together a next generation R&B super group, along the lines of a 112, New Edition, or Boyz II Men. After a long search that looked like it could start all over again, Diddy “made the band,” forming Day26 – Willie, Que, Mike, Robert, and Brian and finding solo artist Donnie Klang.

Making the Band 4: Season 2 brought together Danity Kane, Diddy’s “international pop sensation” and “platinum selling artists,” with Day26 and Donnie in a Real World-like situation where the groups lived together and competed to complete their respective albums in an abbreviated period of time.

There was some fighting, some romance, some flaming “house mom” that the guys threw into a pool, all kinds of fun.

Which brings us to MAKING THE BAND 4: SEASON 3 – The Tour.

This season follows Danity Kane, Day26, and Donnie Klang as they prepare for their Bad Boy tour from this past summer. The same label that once brought us Murda Ma$e, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, Black Rob, G-Dep, and well…Dream is bringing its two pop/R&B supergroups and its pop/R&B unknown solo artist Donnie Klang on the road.

What can we expect from this season after the past two stellar seasons of Making the Band 4?

- A lot of dancing. MTB4 seems to be taking a hint from the popularity of America’s Best Dance Crew and will likely be showing a TON of dancing this season.

- Fights between Diddy and Danity Kane’s outspoken hottie and former UC Irvine student Aubrey O’Day

- A possible proposal from Day26’s Quanell to Danity Kane’s Dawn?

- Tons of discussions about the “direction of the group” for both groups

- Donnie will keep questioning himself, his role, simply because the guy is the most unknown of all three (and his music has sounded pretty horrible so far)

- Shameless, shameless promotion on the part of P. Diddy, who will mention that he has an upcoming album at least once during every show. Guaranteed.

I said last season that Making the Band is the best commercial on TV and I’m sticking to it.

MTV and Diddy have made an hour long commercial that people DVR and can’t wait to tune into every week. Yes, it’s shameless, ridiculous, and some of the most intense product placement in the history of any show, but it’s brilliant.

So we watch.

Oh yes, it’s true.

The Hills (images courtesy of MTV) are back…is back? Are back? Anyways, the girls from The Hills – Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, and Lo Bosworth kill me later divx online – are back for another season of bougie Southern California fun. And we ask ourselves, isn’t five seasons of Lauren Conrad’s life caught on tape enough?

To MTV, Liz Gateley and Adam Divello, the answer is one big “NO.”

Season 4 of The Hills marks the sixth shortened season of Lauren’s life caught on tape, going all the way back to when she was known as “LC” on Laguna Beach. Ever since my first semi scripted glimpse at The OC bombshell, I’ve been a fan. Not just a fan, but a huge fan.

But really, Lauren has her own clothing line, is a millionaire, and is just becoming too big of a celebrity to play the girl next door at this point. So even as Season 4 of my favorite semi-scripted reality show of the modern era kicked off, introducing Heidi’s sister and a new guy (Doug) into the mix, some of the novelty of the show has begun to wear off – something I previously would have thought to be impossible.

Also, I’m starting to believe, much like I did last season, along with Season 3.5, that Lauren Conrad is getting way too hot to play the girl next door.

Before, Kristin Cavallari was incredibly hot, while Lauren was just incredibly pretty. But over the years, Lauren has easily turned into one of the hottest faces on any television screen, red carpet, or magazine cover for that matter.

The appeal of Laguna Beach and The Hills was that Lauren was “the girl next door,” but what happens when the girl next door becomes that hot girl who lives down the street?

I suppose we’ll find out. Season 4 is rolling and no matter what I say about it now, I’m watching.

another cinderella story divx online

It’s to the point that The Hills is such a cultural phenomenon that within certain demos, not knowing who the girls of the show are would be likened to not knowing who Michael Phelps is. Really. It is.

It sounds ridiculous, but if these girls aren’t household names to you by now, you’re either over 30 or still haven’t gotten cable – not that there’s anything wrong with either, but the girls from The Hills have effectively made former MTV ratings champions The Real World and Road Rules obsolete. True story.

One episode in, what have we learned, what questions have been raised, and what can we expect from the new season?

- Will Whitney move to NY? (And will a spinoff follow her next season?)

- Will Audrina move out of their 2.5 million dollar home now that it’s official that Lo and Audrina do not get along at all, much to Lauren’s sad faced-ness?

- Are we supposed to care about Doug? Because I don’t.

– Will Spencer return to some form of normalcy? Much like Eric from Boy Meets World, it feels like we’re seeing him continue to spiral down, further and further away from sanity every season.

- Heidi’s sister is now in the picture, inevitably leading to a meeting with Spencer’s sister? Any chance they’ll run into Lauren? (hmmm….)

- How much longer can we drag this “Will Lauren and Heidi be friends?” thing out? It’s been going on for nearly two seasons at this point, one more couldn’t hurt.

- Lauren is clearly much hotter, but will this finally be the season she finds a good guy?

- Whitney seems like she’s looking for love. If she finds it, expect the spinoff.

- And much, much more.

Clearly, life-changing drama and priceless entertainment. Viva The Hills.

And then there were three.

Mary Lou Retton

Carly Patterson

Nastia Liukin

With her Gold medal winning finish in today’s Women’s All-Around Gymnastics competition, Nastia Liukin became the third U.S. woman to ever win All-Around Gold at the summer games .

With her friend, roommate, and teammate Shawn Johnson download commando divx taking Silver after a dramatic, clutch performance in the floor exercise, the two became the first-ever American duo to finish first-second in a Women’s gymnastics all around.

The two both overcame some borderline ridiculous judging that still left them in the hunt for the podium after the first two rotations, but the judges certainly did not make it easy on them. Despite wobble after wobble, the judges appeared to keep the Chinese competitors in the running with execution scores that seemed outrageous when compared to those given to the Americans for routines that were obviously cleaner to even the most untrained of eyes.

It looked as though the Americans were in for controversy of some kind – especially with Liukin and Johnson coming in as favorites for the All-Around. But in the end, the consistent talent of Liukin and Johnson, both of whom would have likely earned a Team Gold Medal if it wasn’t for the mistakes of one Alicia Sacramone (but that’s why it’s a team competition), avoided any controversy by pulling out clutch performances to end the night on the floor exercise.

For Johnson, who has been the face of USA Gymnastics since becoming World Champion in 2007, despite strong performances on beam, vault, and the uneven bars, it would have been impossible for her to surpass Liukin in the final event, despite throwing in an extra full twist into a tumbling pass to increase her difficulty.

Despite not taking Gold, Johnson’s willingness to take on a more difficult tumbling pass paid off, as she edged out China’s Yang YiLin by just .075 for the Silver medal.

In the end, Liukin’s grace, consistency, and incredible stuck landing after stuck landing were too much for the rest of the hotly contested field to handle.

Nastia Liukin, who will be a student at SMU in the fall, lived up to unreal expectations stemming from a lineage that had already tasted Olympic All-Around Gold through her father, Valeri Liukin. Her father said that they were only going for Gold and that Silver would have been a disappointment.

Nastia not only avoided disappointment, but she made us forget about the disaster that was Alicia Sacramone in the Women’s Team Final that made Liukin’s and Johnson’s near flawless performances feel like they went to waste.

Almost.

Also in the end, in a wonderful coincidence, the competition’s most beautiful girl (Liukin) and cutest girl (Johnson) ended up first and second in the competition, which is not only nice, but this U.S. victory will hopefully put to rest some of the talk about China’s clearly underaged women’s gymnastics team.

Former U.S. gymnast Amanda Borden said that if the U.S. had won the team competition, we’d only be discussing the team, not the Chinese team. Now that Liukin and Johnson have come out on top in the All-Around, the two have singlehandedly put the focus back on the competition and away from the tumbling toddlers.

In what is always one of the best finales of any reality TV show, So You Think You Can Dance closed out Season 4 by crowning Joshua Allen with the title of America’s Favorite Dancer.

While it’s never clear if they’re eliminated according to the number of votes that they received, the order of eliminations made it appear as though the final four standings were as follows:

4) Courtney Galiano

3) Katee Shean

2) Stephen “Twitch” Boss

1) Joshua Allen

Probably the most shocking elimination of them all was Katee Shean, who I think most everyone thought would be a shoo-in for at least the final two. Both Joshua and Katee had hardly taken a bad step all season, partly due to the fact that they were paired for the majority of the season, much to the judges’ delight.

Seeing the ever-improving and lovingly grateful Courtney Galiano be eliminated first on the night should have come as a surprise to none, but didn’t make it any less dramatic to see one of the competition’s true underdogs be eliminated.

Early-favorite turned possible early exit, Twitch, was a surprise for me to see in the final 2 because he had been shown to be vulnerable throughout the season. But clearly, the biggest gasps were heard when Katee was eliminated first, comparable to those heard for early front runner Lacey Schwimmer during last season’s finale.

But in the end, the So You Think You Can Dance finale is all about the performances and competitors that return to the show to perform some of the season’s top dances.

These dances included some favorites like Katee and Will’s “Imagine” Pas de Deux, Chelsie and Mark’s “Bleeding Love” hip hop, Comfort and Twitch’s “Forever” hip hop, Katee and Joshua’s Bollywood, Courtney and Gev’s Rumba, and Twitch and Kherington’s dramatic Viennese Waltz, among others.

In the end, the finale had nearly all the competition’s top dances covered, with the exception of a few Joshua and Katee numbers and Mark and Chelsie’s.

Stealing the show was the “Best of So You Think You Can Dance” medley, where contestants from all three past seasons joined this year’s cast on stage to perform to Rihanna’s “Please Don’t Stop The Music.” Much like they did at the American Idol finale, it was legitimately SYTYCD heaven.

Seeing past contestants on stage with Kherington, Chelsie, Mark, Gev and all the rest of the Top 20 made for an incredible show of dancing talent that included a bunch of Season 3 favorites like Hok, Dominic, Lacey, along with Benji, Travis, and more from past seasons.

With Kherington and Chelsie out of the competition by this point, I am more than happy to see Joshua win this season’s competition – a solid performer, incredible solos, great partnering, and a ton of hilarious moments that made him by far one of the most likable people in the competition this year.

All in all, a fantastic finale, albeit one plagued by some horrible camera work at times, but it would have been nice to see Kherington a little more in the finale.

This week, Carrie Underwood released a music video for what I believe to be the strongest track on her album Carnival Ride, “Just a Dream.” While it took a few listens for me to pick it up way back when the album came out, the song is about a wife-to-be who loses her military husband before their planned wedding. It’s not only the best song on the album in terms of Carrie’s vocal chops, but it’s also probably the strongest song in terms of writing as well.

Already as one of Carrie’s best performances live in concert, “Just a Dream” continues to shape Carrie as a music artist that could easily find herself in more prominent acting roles in the near future. Unlike videos like “So Small,” where Carrie acts as more of a narrator, Carrie plays the lead role in this video, much like she did in “Last Name.” It’s hard to look attractive while you’re crying, even when you’re Carrie Underwood, and I think the fact that you cringe a little bit at her crying face in the latter parts of the video make her a more believable actress than many would think.

Is Carrie destined for some non-Glitter, small screen/big screen stardom soon? Me thinks so!

Everyone’s favorite heiress Paris Hilton took a turn in the FunnyOrDie waters last night with her very own campaign commercial after Republican candidate John McCain used her face for an attack ad directed towards Barack Obama.

on FunnyOrDie.com

If you haven’t seen the original McCain ad, you can check it out here!

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This week, I decided that it was time for me to take the plunge and get one of the few tech gadgets that looks fabulous in both a Prada bag and a professional athlete’s Range Rover – The iPhone 3G.

Over $100 Early Termination Fee from Sprint? No problem.

Getting rid of my Palm Centro, which has been one of the most rock solid cell phones I’ve ever owned? Also, not a problem.

Paying $299 for a new phone and adding a cell phone data plan that is literally $50 higher per month than my current legacy plan that is nearly unlimited with Sprint? Donezo!

Literally around $1000 over the course of a year without batting a well-crimped eyelash! For a PHONE?? Why? Because I wanted the iPhone 3G.

After doing a little research on the product that still is unable of cutting and pasting or sending MMS messages, I discovered, to the dismay of many sad owners, that the iPhone 3G’s with their plastic back cases that replaced the metal cases to improve reception and lower costs, are cracking.

Yes, cracking – just like the MacBooks.

My Palm Centro has taken an unreal amount of abuse over the course of the past 9 months, without a case or any protective screen doodads.

Even users who had a case before buying the iPhone 3G, for the purpose of keeping it safe, are finding cracks in the units after the gentlest of use over the course of a few weeks. In a case?? A few weeks?? Does Apple know how many “MAN DOWN!!” moments people have with their cell phones that gentle use and cell phones just doesn’t ever make sense?

Some phones are coming cracked straight from the factory, while others start seeing cracks by the volume rocker and headphone jacks from simple movements that should definitely have been stress tested.

Now, I’ve been burned by Apple before, with the worst iBook in the history of mankind. This time, I will wait until Apple somehow goes back to the metal backing or finds a solution beyond “HEY, BUY A CASE FOR YOUR CRACKED PHONE THAT WILL CONTINUE TO CRACK BENEATH THE CASE!” before I take this plunge into Cupertino.

All I’m asking, Apple, if you’re listening to the buzz that is taking over the Internet (and yes, don’t kid yourself, friends, the black ones crack too. You just can’t see it as easily) is please, give me a product that gives me a reason to give you an extra $1000 this year.

Sincerely,

Previously interested iPhone potential fanboy… who would buy it if you fixed it.