Halfway through his routine, America's best gymnast on the still rings was in such bad shape, his coach had to run onto the podium to catch him in case he fell.
And indeed, Kevin Tan finished the set on his backside.
It got worse from there for the U.S. men, who put in an error-filled effort during qualifying at the world gymnastics championships Saturday in Aarhus, Denmark, that left the rebuilding team in severe jeopardy of not making team finals.
Tan had an out: He came down with food poisoning when he got to Denmark last week and wasn't anywhere near full strength for what was supposed to be one of the U.S. team's best routines of the day.
The other five Americans may have felt ill afterward.
It was quite a comedown for a team that won the silver medal two years ago at the Athens Olympics. Not a single gymnast from that team -- headlined by Paul and Morgan Hamm and Blaine Wilson -- is on the 2006 squad.
Team coordinator Ron Brant conceded it would be a surprise for the Americans to be back in the gym Tuesday for team finals.
Eight teams qualify, and the United States had already fallen to sixth with seven of nine subdivisions yet to go. As expected, China led with 370.450 points, followed by Japan with 367.750. Those two will likely vie for the gold.
BASKETBALL
Fisher Taken to Hospital After Fall During Game
Utah guard Derek Fisher was taken to a hospital for X-rays after he fell during the first quarter of the Jazz's exhibition game against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
Fisher drove to the basket and collided with Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal while attempting a shot with 7:09 left in the quarter.
Fisher, who was whistled for an offensive foul, hit his back and head on the floor.
He remained down for several minutes before being helped to the Jazz locker room.
Jazz spokeswoman Cindy Edman said Fisher was taken to the hospital for additional X-rays of his pelvis after X-rays at Conseco Fieldhouse were unclear.
TENNIS
Blake Advances to Stockholm Open Final
Defending champion James Blake edged Robin Soderling, 7-5, 7-6 (4), to reach the Stockholm Open final in Sweden.
Blake, seeded second, will play Jarkko Nieminen in today's final at the Royal Tennis Hall. Nieminen, seeded fifth, beat wild card Joachim Johansson, 7-6 (8), 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Blake put in nearly 80% of his first serves.
"I don't know why I served so good today," he said. "Sometimes it feels good from the start. In the first two games, I missed only one. Then I got into a rhythm. Maybe it's because it's indoors -- no sun, no wind."
Soderling saved five break points in the fifth game of the first set before holding serve. He broke Blake to lead, 5-3, but the American broke right back on a double-fault by Soderling.
Blake has won four ATP tour titles this season. Only Roger Federer (nine) and Rafael Nadal (five) have won more.
Johansson, who upset top-seeded Nadal in the first round, played his first ATP event since February.
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It will be all-Russian finals in the men's and women's events at the Kremlin Cup today.
Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 6-1, and will play Marat Safin, who beat wild card Igor Kunitsyn, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to his first final in Moscow.
Nadia Petrova will play Anna Chakvetadze on the women's side.
Sixth-ranked Davydenko, the 2004 champion, has not dropped a set on his way to his sixth final this season. He is aiming for his fourth title of the year.
"For spectators and Russia it might be interesting and pleasant, but in fact the quality of the men's tournament, unlike the women's one, has been decreasing in recent years," Davydenko said. "Top players prefer to play in Vienna or Stockholm and go to Madrid from there.
"With Safin, I will have to fight for every point. He can lose to any player, but plays at his top against a Russian."
Fifth-seeded Petrova beat teenager Nicole Vaidisova, 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (3), and Chakvetadze upset fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva, 7-5, 3-6, 6-0, in semifinals.
BOXING
Calzaghe Retains IBF and WBO Titles
Joe Calzaghe survived a cut in the fourth round to win a unanimous decision over Sakio Bika in Manchester, England, and keep his IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles.
The victory extended Calzaghe's record to 42-0 with his 19th successful defense of the WBO title, which he has held for nine years, and the first defense of the IBF crown he took from Jeff Lacy in March.
The Welshman, who was impressive against Lacy, was ragged against Bika (22-2) and had blood streaming from above his left eye at the end of the fourth round after a clash of heads.
Bika, a Cameroonian based in Australia, also had a point taken away for his use of the head in round five and was warned twice more for similar tactics by referee Mickey Vann.
British judge Phil Edwards scored the fight 116-111; American official John Lawson and Puerto Rico's Jose Rivera each had it 117-110.
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Unbeaten Mikkel Kessler added the WBC super-middleweight belt to his WBA title, stopping Markus Beyer in the third round in Copenhagen, Denmark.
