Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:05 AM

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 12:13 PM

After a streak of spellers leaving the stage, these kids are now on fire.

Ten in a row have spelled their words correctly.

-- Amy Dominello

12:09 p.m.

Diener Time

I’m thinking about lunch and Sameer Mishra has just correctly spelled “diener,” which sounds like deen-er. Yum... diener.

--Neil H. Simon

12:00 p.m.

For the first time since Canadians entered the Bee scene, no speller is going past round five. A string of seven tough words knocked every Canadian out of contention.

In addition, all Floridians except Kaitlyn Johnston are out. Hold up the bar, Kaitlyn!

These words are ridiculously tough. If the bee doesn't get easier, the spelling bee officials are going to have to stop the bloodbath after round five to allow enough spellers to remain for a two-hour primetime broadcast on ABC.

On a side note, no "favorite" is out of the contest yet. Tia Thomas correctly knocked down her word, and Kavya Shivashankar is up shortly.

-Josh Dawsey

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:54 AM

A momentary break in the bloodbath here.

After the seven Canadians bowed out, two more spellers missed their words.

Matt Gabriele of Connecticut broke the losing streak by spelling “periscope” correctly.

But spellers are continuing to face tough words. Three Florida spellers who followed botched their turns.

-- Amy Dominello

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:46 AM

Want to check out the words the semifinalists are being asked to spell?

Click here. The list is being updated in almost real time.

-- Amy Dominello

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:37 AM

All seven of the Canadians are out!

-- Amy Dominello

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:33 AM

The Canadians are going down like flies in here.

Five are out.

The words they faced:
- accordatura
- otacariasis
- ressaulted
- tonneau
- hooley

Two more Canadians to spell momentarily.

-- Amy Dominello

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:23 AM

You’ve got to love Easun Arunachalam of California.

Virtually every time he gets a word he has the same response: “What?”

You can’t blame him. His word this round: benzophenone.

But he did it!

-- Amy Dominello

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:08 AM

Whoa! The words are much harder today.

The first word knocked out speller So-Young Chung of Arizona.

Her word: chrysoprase.

It could get ugly in here.

-- Amy Dominello

11:04 a.m.

When I coached at the national level in 2005, Kavya Shivashankar was a little girl who came with Jack and Jill Magazine as a student reporter. She wasn't an actual speller, but she was in Washington for the entire week as part of a contest for younger students.

We had a chance to quiz her, and she was quite impressive then. Look for her to do great things today.

Chris McKendry has the same "favorites" as us in her opening telecast. Notice Matthew Evans, Tia Thomas, and Shivashankar today. Watch Akshat Shekhar as well as a "dark horse".

-Josh Dawsey

Fri, May 30, 2008 - 11:02 AM

We are about to begin here at the semifinals. A lot more tension in the ballroom today.

Want to tune in? You can watch the semifinals on ESPN or online.

-- Amy Dominello

10:55 a.m.

We're about to go!

Get ready as the 45 spellers remaining face tough, nasty words that will separate the contenders from the rest of the field. However, don't be surprised if one or more of the favorites are eliminated this afternoon. The words get a little trickier, and if a speller hasn't seen the word he/she is given, they aren't always predictable.

-Josh Dawsey

Friday, May 30, 10:15 a.m.

Dr. Bailly is the friend or foe of every speller. His pronunciations guide each contestant as they choose the letters to spell their words on the national stage.
So what words stump him? Bailly talks about the bee, the kids, and his own nightmare words in this video below. Bailly won the bee in 1980 when he was sponsored by the Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colo.



--Neil H. Simon

Thu, May 29, 2008 - 11:22 PM

12:35 a.m.

While sadly I wasn't able to watch much of round four due to prior obligations, I had the opportunity to review the round results tonight.

Unlike most years, round four wasn't a bloodbath. Only 18 spellers were eliminated in the round compared to the 27 knocked out in round three. Surprisingly, the round three words seemed harder than round four.

Tomorrow's action begins at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN. The 45 spellers remaining will face grueling tests in the semifinals as bee officials typically try to whittle the field to under fifteen prior to the live broadcast on ESPN.

Many spellers who have lived their dream with sheer luck on Thursday will find a nastier world tomorrow morning.

I'll post before the semifinals in the morning to explain a few more specifics.

Last thought: In less than 24 hours, we will have a champion. Oh the excitement!

-Josh Dawsey

Thu, May 29, 2008 - 8:12 PM

Read our story on North Carolina speller Baron Fenwick.

-- Amy Dominello