national spelling bee

[atxrocker]

going prime time this year. anyone watching>?

[ShoogarBear]

Absolootly.

[j-6]

From ultimateodds.com -


SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE


Will the winner be Male or Female? 08:00PM 06/01/06
6500 MALE -200
6501 FEMALE 160

Will the winner be listed as Home Schooled? 12:00PM 06/01/06
6502 YES 260
6503 NO -340

Will the final word contain an 'e' in it? 08:30PM 06/01/06
6504 YES -200
6505 NO 160

Will final word have any alternate pronunciations? 08:00PM 06/01/06
6506 YES (Speller must request for action) 230
6507 NO (Speller must request for action) -330

Will the winner be wearing glasses? 12:00PM 06/01/06
6508 YES 190
6509 NO -230

Will winner be from West/East of Mississipi River? 08:00PM 06/01/06
6512 WEST Even
6513 EAST -130

How many letters in the final word? 08:00PM 06/01/06
6514 OVER +10.5 -165
6515 UNDER +10.5 135

[CharlieMac]

It's absolutely more watchable than NHL Playoff games.

[atxrocker]

some of these kids are really good. im pulling for that soriano kid from laredo, thats where my family is from. lots of texas kids in this one.

[Taco]

Absolootly.
:lol


The word is No

[pache100]

going prime time this year. anyone watching>?

I just heard some guys on the radio talking about the spelling bee being broadcast in HD but the Indy 500 wasn't and what was up with that. If nothing else is on (or I can't find any paint to watch dry or grass to watch grow), I might watch...otherwise, I'll just see the finish on the news. :angel

[2Blonde]

I made it to state when I was in 6th grade. I was a total nerd back then. I thought I was so cool... :lol

[1Parker1]

I made it to state when I was in 6th grade. I was a total nerd back then. I thought I was so cool... :lol

:lol That's ok....I was in the math club in 6th grade and I thought I was totally cool too. :nerd

[easjer]

Nope. But I know someone who did that in 96. She placed really high (top 10), but didn't win. However, she made it onto a Cheap Seats recap of that year, and additionally, that year was re-aired during the SuperBowl this year. The day after, some folks found her on Facebook and she got hundreds of emails telling her that she was a really hot 13-year old.

Sadly for them, she is marrying a good friend of ours (one of J's groomsmen) in two weeks.

[katyon6th]

Is it over?

[SpursWoman]

I whiffed it on "flee". Because I didn't ask for a definition. :depressed :lol

[CubanMustGo]

Is it over?

No, now in Round 7.

http://www.spellingbee.com/results.asp

[CubanMustGo]

Round 7 is complete, two Texas kids left among the 13 moving on to round 8 (Caitlin Campbell of Amarillo and Nidharshan Anandasivam from Harlingen). You can see them on ABC tonight at 7.

[Horry For 3!]

Yeah, I will. I have always watched it just for the hell of it.

[Horry For 3!]

There is a lot of Indian lookin kids in the competitions every year and they always make the top 20

[Marklar MM]

Ugh. Is the spelling bee considered a sport?

[atxrocker]

people will gamble on anything....

Bettors abuzz over bee
Gamblers are placing bets on spelling contest

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When a competition goes prime time, the gambling industry cannot be far behind, even when the participants are little kids spelling big words.

Will the winner be wearing glasses? Will it be a boy or girl? Will the final word have an "e" in it? Those were just some of the betting propositions available online Thursday as the Scripps National Spelling Bee produced its usual anxious moments on the way to its first-ever evening finish.

"This is the first time we have offered it proper," said Simon Noble, CEO of PinnacleSports.com, an offshore betting Web site. "We had so many requests from customers. We scratched our heads and asked, 'Is it something we can do or not?' "

Noble said his company had received about $70,000 in bets on seven propositions as of noon Thursday, when the final day of competition began. That is far short of the haul for, say, "American Idol," but comparable to the wagers received for this week's first-round matches at the French Open tennis tournament.

"We're surprised it is that much, to be honest," Noble said.

Gamblers' interest was inevitable in a competition that has been televised on ESPN for 13 years and has spawned at least three movies and a Broadway play. ABC planned to broadcast the finals in a two-hour prime-time special, a first. (Top speller to be crowned Thursday)

The influence of money was evident throughout the hotel where the competition was held. Sponsors had booths in the lobby, and the competition itself was interrupted frequently with announcements such as, "We're out one minute and 30 seconds" -- a delicate way of saying it was time for yet another commercial break.

The bee's winner was to receive more than $42,000 in cash and prizes.

The notion that bets were being placed on the performances of middle-school kids was a bit much for some.

"I'm speechless," said bee director Paige Kimble, when shown a list of PinnacleSports' propositions. "I think I've seen everything. But, wow, I was not aware that was happening. I guess it's one of the side-effect consequences of popularity."

Las Vegas does not want to touch the bee, at least not officially. The regulations of the Nevada Gaming Control Board specifically allow wagering only on athletic events and horse racing.

"The general notion of betting on Little Leaguers or kids is pretty much frowned upon," said Dan O'Brien, a bookmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. "It's the spirit of the code."

Noble said his company thought "long and hard" before including the bee on its Web site. He decided against posting odds on individual competitors because of their ages, despite queries from some of the children's hometown newspapers.

"We didn't want to go there," Noble said. "Obviously, it's a very sensitive subject."

Instead he came up with categories he considered to be "incredibly generic and a little bit of fun," such as the 4-to-7 odds that the winner would be wearing glasses.

"A lot of the odds we took a guess at," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/01/spelling.bee.betting.ap/index.html

[FromWayDowntown]

I'm surprised that there isn't a fantasy league for the spelling bee.

Down to the last 3, all girls. I can't even type the words they're spelling.

[Trainwreck2100]

This is the stupidest fucking thing in the history of man, it makes me want to see the bird flu movie

[lilmads]

^ :lol
There are usually a buncha brainy Indian kids in it.. I'm surprised they all fell short this year.

[Trainwreck2100]

All the words in the dictionary and these bitches don't know it's proper to use "may" and not "can"

[lilmads]

^:lol

[ashbeeigh]

tmesis. Thats' the only one I got right.

[Marklar MM]

antidisestablishmentarianism

What up?

[1Parker1]

It got boring after the 3rd or 4th round...

I loved how Diane Roberts and the other announcer guy tried to make it sound like some sort of sporting event, giving us the play by play:

"oHH, she's asking a lot of questions, let's see if the judges will answer."

"Ohh, you can tell by the tone of her voice and that second's hesitation that he didn't know the word."

:rolleyes

[lilmads]

^ Yeah its funny :)

[ObiwanGinobili]

I made it to state when I was in 6th grade. I was a total nerd back then. I thought I was so cool... :lol


That's ok....I was in the math club in 6th grade and I thought I was totally cool too.

I ahve both of you beat..

I was in Orchestra, Chorus, the Kids who Care club, the Hispanic Action Club, the Drama Club, the Debate Team, the Spelling Team, and gifted and talented. in middle school.

and I had no delusions about being cool. :lol

[1Parker1]

I had no idea you were Hispanic, Obi!

[ShoogarBear]

I made it to state when I was in 6th grade. I was a total nerd back then. I thought I was so cool... :lol
In fourth grade, they were going to take the top two from my school on to the next level. The final three were me and two girls. I missed a word, the first girls missed it too, and the second girl got it right. They gave the first girl second place. WTF??? :pctoss

Oh, and math team IS cool. I was on the UIL Slide Rule team all through high school and went to state my senior year. It may have been nerdy, but from March to May I only had to go to school Mon-Thurs because Friday was travel day. :smokin

[ShoogarBear]

I had no idea you were Hispanic, Obi!
I had no idea she was gifted and talented. :p

[pache100]

I could never be in any clubs that met after school until I got a car in the 11th grade. We just lived too far out in the sticks, and if I didn't ride the school bus home, I didn't get home (but at least I didn't have to walk 10 miles in the snow uphill both ways to get to school like my parents did :blah ). My family only had one car and my Dad drove it to work. By the time I had transportation of my own, it was much too late for me to try out for a sports team or the band (they would have laughed me out of the county). When I was a junior in high school, I did join the Spanish club, FTA (I thought I was gonna be a teacher :lol ) and FBLA (just in case the teaching gig didn't work out - good thing I was flexible).

I was in a spelling bee once when I was in 7th grade; I was the third to last one to the end and I don't remember the word I misspelled, just how humiliated I was because I missed it.

[1Parker1]

I had no idea she was gifted and talented. :p

:lol That too came as a surprise...

[Kori Ellis]

In 2nd grade, I was in this mini-spelling bee and won (it was just something for the lower grades).

The guy who came in second misspelled condemn. He spelled it C-O-N-D-O-M.

:lmao

[ObiwanGinobili]

I had no idea you were Hispanic, Obi!


well there is some Cuabn in my Heinz 57 .. .somewhere.... but really the club was open to anyone who wanted to participate.. .and get out of last period :lol

[Kori Ellis]

Oh and I made it to state in 5th grade.

I'm pretty sure that I was more nerdy than anyone here.

Luckily I grew out of it though and became one of the coolest people I know.

Unfortunately, you guys got caught up in Harry Potter and Star Wars and still haven't broken free. :)

[atxrocker]

:lol

[ObiwanGinobili]

In 2nd grade, I was in this mini-spelling bee and won (it was just something for the lower grades).

The guy who came in second misspelled condemn. He spelled it C-O-N-D-O-M.

:lmao


:lmao :lmao

[ObiwanGinobili]

Oh and I made it to state in 5th grade.

I'm pretty sure that I was more nerdy than anyone here.

Luckily I grew out of it though and became one of the coolest people I know.

Unfortunately, you guys got caught up in Harry Potter and Star Wars and still haven't broken free. :)


in our universe we are soo damn cool it;s scary. so bpllleehehhhhhh! :p

[ShoogarBear]

I'm pretty sure that I was more nerdy than anyone here.
Uh, no.

Did you miss the part about the Slide Rule Team?

:nerd :nerd :nerd

[1Parker1]

Oh and I made it to state in 5th grade.

I'm pretty sure that I was more nerdy than anyone here.

Luckily I grew out of it though and became one of the coolest people I know.

Unfortunately, you guys got caught up in Harry Potter and Star Wars and still haven't broken free. :)

:lmao :lmao Attention, Shoogarbear and ObiwanGinobili, that was a jab at you nerds. :nerds

[Kori Ellis]

Uh, no.

Did you miss the part about the Slide Rule Team?

:nerd :nerd :nerd

:lol

Actually I wasn't that nerdy in high school, though I was in AP History, AP Calculus and AP Physics. I was on the Debate Team for a year. I was in the Math Club, Spanish Club, and Key Club. I was on Student Council for two years but I got kicked out. I gave someone answers on a history test (a guy who had the class the period after me) and when he got caught, he told them I was the one who gave him the answers :wtf

I was also one of the girls who came on the field and gave the football players water during timeouts for a short time.

But one cool thing was I banked a lot of money by tutoring the football coach's son in Chemistry and Algebra. I think I made about $500 a month :bling

[SpursWoman]

When we filled out our Senior Biography form for our yearbook, we had to list every thing we participated in, etc...since my friend & I jokingly put everything we could think of in ours, including some club for African American Students and ones that were for the guys. So they ended up leaving ours out completely. :flipoff :lol

I was mostly a band geek to the core and have a bunch of accolades from that....and I was in Honor Society and Spanish Club. Most (if not all) of my friends went to different schools, so I wasn't inclined to stay there any longer than I had to outside of normal school/band practice hours. :spin

[timvp]

Every teacher I had hated me. I wouldn't pay attention in class (I even had a couple teachers who called me the most disruptive student they ever had :smokin) and would rarely do homework. What really pissed them off is that I'd ace tests, so that kept my grades up high enough. I was the king of getting zeros on homework but 100's on tests and quizzes.

High school was fun. However, I do apologize for being a teacher's worst nightmare.

:devil

[CubanMustGo]

Don't you know that being a nerd is the new cool ? :lol

Band, orchestra, latin club, science club, history club, math club, UIL number sense, UIL science, computer team, student council, national honor society, who's who, national merit scholar, that's all I remember.

[FromWayDowntown]

I'm calling myself out -- I was (and still am) a total nerd.

I took every freakin' honors class I could from elementary school through the end of high school, save one: I was honestly embarassed that I didn't have honors Alegbra II, because I didn't think my nerd friends would take me seriously anymore. I actually whined my way into the higher track (and much more difficult) Calculus class. I was Mr. Honor Society, too: National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Math Honor Societyn (Mu Alpha Theta, as I recall). I was so nerdy that when our football games were broadcast over the radio, every time that Gary DeLaune would refer me, he specifically called me "the Honor student."

I was the last cut from the Academic Decathalon team -- an effort to further my nerdiness -- and then only because our football team made the playoffs and I couldn't "practice" consistently with the rest of the AD group. It was honestly a monsterous disappointment.

[ashbeeigh]

I had English Honors something or another all four years of high school, National Honors Society, Spanish Honors Society, Spanish Club Officer, Student Council all four years, and now I'm in like five different college honors societies, the Deans list and am going to go for it again this year. But speaking of spelling...I went out in fourth grade on magazine. Damn that girl who won.

[SpursWoman]

In college I was Delta Mu Delta Secretary (National Business Honor Society), Alpha Chi member (over-all academic society), on the Dean's List a few times...and Accounting Club President! I only graduated cum laude, though ... good enough to graduate "with distinction" and get to wear the special sash thing-y at graduation and a cool little sticker on my diploma...but considering how much I partied in college, I can't imagine how I'd have done if I'd applied myself. :spin


All of that and I still can't spell worth a damn. I {heart} Google tool bar spell-checker. :drunk

[TheTruth]

I was in the Chess club, and all we did was play Magic all lunch period. I waited in line for 6 hours to see the first Lord of the Rings. I used to play more video games in a summer then most would their entire lives. I was also a pretty disruptive kid, but would always get good grades on tests/standardized tests. The councelor hated me.

[SpursWoman]

I was...but then, I now have a kick-ass job and make really good money, and can afford a good hair dresser...and make up. User has lived with me for over a year, and I still haven't let him look at my yearbooks...even though he graduated from the same school as I did, seven years later. :lol

[1Parker1]

I'll have you in know I changed by Math geek rep in HS and College :smokin

Damn, we have some serious nerds on this forum! :nerd:lol

[katyon6th]

I was a total band dork. I was band president for Christ's sake. I took my clarinet home on the weekends. I cried when I didn't make all state. I also played varsity softball. I kicked ass. My circle of friends included both the valedictorian and the salutatorion but I was only 15th in my class. I was outgoing, personable, but could also be a prissy bitch, people liked me.

I'd never go back, though. And fuck reunions.

[Slomo]

Every teacher I had hated me. I wouldn't pay attention in class (I even had a couple teachers who called me the most disruptive student they ever had :smokin) and would rarely do homework. What really pissed them off is that I'd ace tests, so that kept my grades up high enough. I was the king of getting zeros on homework but 100's on tests and quizzes.

High school was fun. However, I do apologize for being a teacher's worst nightmare.

:devilI don't! :flipoff