Scripps National Spelling Bee

Live on ABC from the Nation's Capital
That's right they pushed back the finals of the spelling bee this year so they could broadcast it live. I think it has officially become one of the most under-rated sporting events in America. I don't know what makes it so appealing to the masses, but I'll tell you one thing these kids are damn entertaining. They all have nervous quirks and you can't help but feel bad for them when the bell tolls. This year they have the final 13 kids sitting on one side of the stage and their parents are on the other side. This just adds to the pity factor you feel for the rejects, I mean the ones who spell the words wrong.

The best part about this years contest was that you could bet on it online. What were the types of bets that could be placed?
Does the final kid wear glasses?
Is he/she homeschooled?
Will the final word have an "e" in it?
Will they ask for an alternate meaning in the final word?
How many letters is in the final word?

As far as rules go, the kids get two minutes to spell and they can ask for definition, origin, part of speech, pronunciation, and for the word to be used in a sentence. Personally, I have always sucked at spelling. My parents used to love to joke how I would spell cat, D-O-G. However, I am getting better. I love playing word games. My next goal is to become a regular Scrabble player. There is only one problem. No one ever wants to play Scrabble. Their excuse: "I'm not good at it." And when you do find someone who wants to play Scrabble, they of course are a pro, which makes the game no fun for you.

Before we get to this year, my top three Spelling Bee moments of all time:
3) When given a word dealing with chickens, the kid replys "Do the chickens have large talons?"
2) The chick who tried to eat her face with her hands after each letter in every word, she won by the way.
1) The kid who passed out after receiving his word, then got up and spelled it right. What a trooper.

This year we have sharing this experience with us: Robin Roberts, Chris Connelly, and some guy who won the whole enchilada in 1990. This guy is great for adding insightful comments such as: "His dad is German, he should have known that it began with a W not a V" "Kid A loves the climb rocks in his spare time" "These kids love the spotlight" "If he had studied his Italian, he would have known the J sounds are spelt with G's"

Last night while watching this, I had absolutely no concept of time, except in a few instances. I was chatting on AIM about a plan which can not be mentioned.....Ever, watching the program, writing down notes about the program, updating the blog with the previous post, and talking with my mom. For the most part this is chronological.

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This Bee is being broadcasted in HD. The Indy 500 wasn't even in HD. Lucky for these kids, and for viewers everywhere, most of them haven't hit puberty so their lack of acne won't be magnified when the cameras zoom in real close.

Of the 13 remaining kids, only one of them is home schooled. He also happens to wear glasses. There must be a lot of people in Vegas rooting for this kid. They have a human interest piece built around him, in it he is sitting on his knees with his feet fanned out wide talking about how much he loves being homeschooled. "I feel like if I practice something enough, then I can excel at it. I'm not too good at basketball now, [the clip shows him shooting the ball over the entire basket] but with a little practice I think I could be as good as Nash and ..... Jordan....Ok maybe not Jordan" The clip then goes on to show him playing video games with his friend. They take turn saying random words and spelling them.

Next up, Allion Salvador. Remember the Adam Sandler audio clip from one of his first CD's, "The Goat" well this kid would make a perfect Garriputo. Fat, short, and he looks like he has a long standing vendetta against talking goats.

Rajiv Something looks like a bad ass dude. He doesn't smile, just spells the word and walks away before anyone can tell him if it's wrong or right. I would like to see this kid win just so that he would show some emotion.

So far the first seven words have had eight-line definitions. I tried to write definitions for the first few so that the 5 readers of this blog could learn a thing or two, but I have given up.

Go figure, word 8: Epityphlitis = appendicitis

Saryn Hooks. This girl is going to be the best looking former Spelling Bee Contestant ever. She already looks like Mia Sara, (Ferris Buerler's Girlfriend) total 80's hotness. On top of that she sounds like Sharon Stone. Wow. But unfortunately she spells her word wrong so we won't be seeing anymore of her.

Matthew Geese is up next. He is my new pick to win. I think he is related to Walter. He got his word wrong too. Damn.

After the two minutes is up, the sound used to notify the kids that they have entered finish time is the sound Windows makes when you change the volume on the computer.

Charley Allegar is a speller you don't want to mess with. He wears a wife beater under his collared shirt and is built like a football player. He and Saryn might run away together, sing "Twist and Shout" in the streets and take turns spelling words to each other. He seemed a little nervous because he was the only one to not ask any questions about the word. He tried to spell it cold and missed. Then screamed into the microphone.

8:41 This is so monumental I needed to look at the time. The judges have just announced that they made a mistake and that Saryn spelled her word right. She was just readmitted into the Bee! or perhaps this is just a way for them to increase viewership.

The pronouncer looks and sounds like Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Get nominated for an Oscar, play the bad guy in MI:III opposite Tom Cruise, land this gig. Is that a fall from grace or what?

After getting eliminated, Connelly asks one of the girls what she has gotten out of spelling. She responds: "I gained friends. My coach is my best friend and HE is always there for me. He taught me a lot and is upstairs waiting for me. He is my best friend."
I'm not touching that one with a ten foot pole

9:07 The winner this year will not be home schooled

Taka Tanaka is is the spelling bee this year. I hope the word they give him is "Marbles"

Saryn is finally eliminated for real now. But she did get a respectable third place. She beat all the boys. There are now just two kids left, both girls. One is from Canada (Why did she have to come here and try to steal away our title. The graphic already told me she won the Canadian version twice already. But I guess she is just looking for some new competition) and the other girl is from Jersey.

These two girls are nuts they are up to round 18, the last four have been with only them two. Oh my, Finola, the Canadian chick just missed Weltschmerz. The Jersey girl has to spell two words right for the win.

10:07 Jersey is crowned the champion after spelling Kundalini and Ursprache. Within two seconds she is presented with her trophy and Chris Connelly refers to her as a talented sailor in his interview with her.

The show averaged a 6.7 rating which is about equal to over 7 million households. I tried to spell the words along with the kids to see how good I was. I went 1 for 51.

Words I Got Wrong:
Exergue, Knaidel, Nauruz, Mandilion, Gematrial, Rubasse, Synusia, Epityphlitis, Hechsher, Mithraeum, Giocoso, Escargotiere, Wehrmacht, Kamaaina, Formenkreis, Lophophytosis, Babism, Towhee, Coryphaeus, Sphacaelated, Collyrium, Paillon, Sciolto, Guilloche, Kilim, Yizkor, Shedu, Appenzell, Croquignole, Douane, Syringadenous, Heiligenschein, Austaush, Dasyphyllous, Clinamin, Machicotage, Recrementitious, Esquisse, Psittacism, Maieutic, Aubade, Poiesis, Kanone, Tutoyer, Izzat, Koine, Tmesis, Weltschmerz, Kundalini, Ursprache
Words I Got Right:
Hukilau

But you know what, I don't feel that bad. MS Word only knows SIX of them.