RIO DE JANEIRO -- Without it, Nadia Comaneci is just another gold-medal winning gymnast from Eastern Europe.The Perfect 10 made the Romanian superstar more than a champion. It made her a legend.Yet four decades after her barrier-shattering uneven bars routine in Montreal -- the one that ended with Comaneci and coach Bela Karolyi initially staring at the scoreboard in confusion when it read 1.00 because it wasnt outfitted to put up the first 10.0 in Olympic history -- perfection is harder to achieve.The International Gymnastics Federation abandoned the 10-based system a decade ago in favor of a more complicated formula designed to better separate the best in the world. Yet something seemed to get lost even as gymnasts like American Simone Biles -- heavily favored to win the all-around title on Thursday night -- pushed the sport to unprecedented heights.The scores Biles puts up are astounding. Its just that the 16s that Biles regularly posts on vault -- a level her peers seldom match -- dont translate. Yes, theyre awesome. Theyre just not perfect. And 28 years after the last 10 in Olympic gymnastics, Comaneci wonders if that needs to change.I think it would be nice to see something that everybody can understand, said Comaneci, who posted seven 10s in Montreal. We are gymnastic family and we kind of know whats going on but everybody who loves gym and kids who are new to sport and they are fans, they dont quite understand the changes in the sport.The new system divided scoring into two parts. One -- the `D score -- is based on what you do. The other -- the `E score -- is how well you do it. Gymnasts build their `D score throughout the routine by connecting one element to the other. The more connections, the higher the score. Yet the more you do, the more likely you are to get sideways at some point, dropping your execution score.A little complicated, right? At the elite level, a good `D score starts at 5.0 and can reach 7.0. The `E score is set on a 10.0 format. Technically perfection is attainable. Its just that no routine has been awarded a 10.0 since the new system was introduced.The closest the sport gets these days is Biles on vault, where her Amanar -- a round off onto the block followed by 2 1/2 twists -- is unequaled. During U.S. Championships last spring, she landed it dead center of the mat with an almost imperceptible hop. The judges gave her a 16.3, including a 9.9 for execution.What exactly was the problem? Well, U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi has a theory.Guts, Karolyi said with a laugh. Perfection is really very hard but I think on the other hand that the FIG a little bit intimidates the judges and educates them in a style that they are afraid to give higher scores.Biles wont quite go that far. Asked if she remembers where she might have erred and she shrugged her shoulders and laughed.My toes might have been crossed maybe, she said, her tone making it sound more like a guess than a fact.Longtime judge Kittia Carpenter was on the floor that afternoon in Indianapolis while serving as then coach for defending Olympic champion Gabby Douglas. She watched Biles soar. Was it worthy of a 10? Carpenter thinks it was as close as shes seen. Seeing it, however, and writing it down on a card is another matter.It is kind of in our minds as a judge that there must be something in there that I didnt quite catch, Carpenter said. And you think that I couldnt possibly give a 10 or the whole world will come yell at the US.Nellie Kim, a five-time gold medalist for the Soviet Union and the president of the FIGs womens artistic gymnastics technical committee, insists there is no mandate to keep judges from giving out a 10. Shes also not about to apologize for making it near impossible. In the end, its a subjective sport. At last falls world championships, Kim likened gymnastics to a piece of art. What one person sees as beautiful, the other might not.Gymnastics is not the only judged Olympic sport where the notion of perfect is rare. Its much the same in diving and figure skating, leaving the athletes to create an inner scoreboard of their own. They know when theyve maxed out, even if the scores dont reflect it.I think you know it when it happens, American diver David Boudia said. You know when you hit a dive because everything feels fluid.The FIG created the new code to help continue to push gymnastics forward.Youre always striving for something more, said four-time Olympic medalist Shawn Johnson. Before, if you hit it (perfect marks), there was nowhere else to go. Now it is endless.Maybe too endless. Germanys Fabian Hambuechen took the code to task after Frances Samir Ait Said broke his left leg while vaulting during Olympic qualifying on Saturday for putting the focus on risk-taking rather than precision.It was like everyone had the chance to get the high score of 10.0 with different ways, said Hambuechen, a four-time Olympian. Now everyone knows if you want to have a high D score you have to do these skills and these skills are sometimes too dangerous for some people.Theres another factor at play too: the 10 is relatable and marketable. A nice, firm round number, one that Comaneci made synonymous with greatness. They are still given out in the U.S. at the NCAA level and send a jolt through the arena and the athletes when they pop up.We took away the most iconic symbol of our sport, said UCLA womens coach Valorie Kondos Field. It would be like taking away the Hail Mary when its caught in the end zone. If youre a gymnastics fan and you see a 10, you talk about it the rest of your life.Biles plans to put on a show Thursday night as she bids to become the fourth straight American to win the Olympic all-around title. She doesnt think too much about creating a historic moment by getting an ever-elusive score. Besides, even if she did, it might only generate more debate.Someone out there will say `Simones vault isnt perfect, Biles said. If Im happy with it, thats what I think matters the most.---AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Rio de Janeiro and Sports Writer Mike Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report. Cheap NHL Jerseys Free Shipping . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Authentic Hockey Jerseys Online . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.cheapnhljerseys.info/ .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. NHL Jerseys China . PAUL, Minn. There is nothing quite like the thrill of a nations first Test victory. Bangladeshs coruscating win over England in Dhaka was their eighth Test victory, but it was their first against heavyweight opposition, and a seminal moment for the world game: the moment that crickets most exclusive club became a little bigger.Amid all the euphoria, it felt a little churlish to ask: why had it taken so long for this moment to come? It is not only a question that Bangladesh should be asking. The ICC is very keen to add two new Test nations - Afghanistan and Ireland - in 2019. No one wants them to have to wait 16 years for a major win in Test cricket.The history of Test cricket tells us how hard it is for new nations to master the game. It took India 20 years and 24 Tests before their first win, and New Zealand 26 years and 44 games. In this context, Bangladeshs wait of 16 years for a major win does not look so surprising, although no country has made anything like such an inauspicious start to Tests. Even New Zealand drew half of their first 44 Tests. And Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, the last two Test nations before Bangladesh, both toppled established Test opponents (India and Pakistan) within three years of their elevations. Bangladesh had huge, and very particular, obstacles as a cricket country - the circumstances surrounding nationhood in 1971, and the dire economic state for many years after. Cricket, inevitably, was not immune to these problems. When the Bangladesh Cricket Board was founded, it had nothing, not even a dollar, recounts Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby, a BCB director. In the early years the boards telephone line never worked. When the national team practiced, there were no refreshments. Even by 2000 the quality of cricket facilities remained far worse than in other Test nations.Yet there were many avoidable mistakes in how Bangladesh prepared for Test cricket. They were rushed in too quickly, says Andrew Eade, Global Development Manager of the ICC from 2000 to 2003. Bangladesh had no structured regional multi-day competition before 1999, and only rarely played Full Member A sides or Indian domestic teams. Even the countrys vibrant cricket culture and huge population were not enough to overcome these impediments.Having a solid domestic competition structure was the key thing missing there. Test match crickets a very different beast to one-day cricket, and you cant learn it playing one-day cricket, Eade reflects. If you had your time again, theyd have a four-year window beforehand where you got in place the building blocks of a four-day domestic structure, so there was a significant amount of four-day cricket played domestically, and a regular A team programme and first-class games for the national side.All of which provide many lessons for the ICC and the leading aspiring Test nations, Afghanistan and Ireland. Theyre a hell of a lot better prepared for Test cricket than Bangladesh were, says one ICC source, citing their experience playing against Test teams in limited-overs cricket. Ireland have played in eight ICC world events and Afghanistan in five, to Bangladeshs one when they were elected as a Full Member.Since their inclusion in the 12-team ODI ranking structure last year, Afghanistan and Ireland have also played regular ODIs against Test nations; Bangladesh had only played 34 ODIs against Full Members before their first Test. Worse, they were an Associate nation in the years when, besides qualification for the World Cup, there was little cricket or structure for the leading countries beyond the Test world.Afghanistan and Ireland also have one major advantage over every other Test nation in history - the Intercontinental Cup, which provides a regular programme of first-class matches with context around the world against other international sides. The creation of the tournament in 2004 provided an avenue for leading Associates to learn skills in multi-day cricket, even if the volume of matches has decreased since. While top Associates each played a total of 13 Intercontinental matches in the group stages of the tournament from 2007 to 2010, they will only play seven during the current four-year cycle.For new Test nations, a high-quality first-class competition and multi-day structure is the absolute key, Eade says. He considers Zimbabwes involvement in South African multi-day cricket, which stretched back to 1904, a big part of why Zimbabwe were far more successful during their early forays in Test cricket than Bangladesh. From their first Test in 1992 to the end of 1999, Zimbabwe lost only 19 of their 39 Tests, drawing 17 and winning three (two against Pakistan and one against India).In their first decade in Test cricket Bangladesh drew three matches (two due to inclement weather) and lost 48 of their 51 Tests not against Zimbabwe or a strike-ravaged West Indies.A proper first-class system is a must, Bobby agrees, saying that Bangladeshs anaemic progress in Tests was because of not having propeer longer-version games being played regularly all around the country.ddddddddddddAfghanistan and Ireland have noted as much. With Test cricket in mind, Afghanistan set up a regional four-day competition in 2014. Ireland have had a multi-day domestic competition since 2013, though it currently only amounts to four three-day matches a year for the three teams. That Irelands competition has just been awarded first-class status might help attract a higher calibre of overseas player to raise standards.Cricket Ireland is keen to make matches in the competition four days each, but at present we could not afford to do this, says Richard Holdsworth, Irelands Performance Director. Irelands proximity to England means that many in Irelands squad have experience of playing in the County Championship, even if the lack of players who were automatic picks in the competition last year was worrying. Eade also advocates Afghanistan joining the Ranji Trophy, as a short-term measure while preparing for Test cricket.History suggests there are two other things that can give new Test nations the best chance of success. The first is playing against A teams from Full Members to help them prepare and expose them to new conditions and opponents.I would have liked to have seen more such encounters take place for Bangladesh, says Bobby. Before any new teams play their first Test matches, they have to play with stronger sides all the time to improve. They just cant play among themselves.Afghanistans three-day match against England Lions in the UAE in December is a welcome development. They hope that their new base, in Greater Noida, near Delhi, will enable them to play tourists to India - including Australia, potentially, in February - in multi-day matches.A regular programme of A team matches in first-class cricket is also essential, Eade believes. Such games develop fringe players and emerging talent, and also push players within the side to improve. Ireland have suffered from a paucity of players breaking into their batting order since the 2011 World Cup, and professionalism appears to have created a chasm between those who are full-time cricketers and those who are not. Afghanistan have benefited from a far more healthy A-team programme than Ireland and hope to play Zimbabwe A again early in 2017. Irelands lack of A-team games is a concern. They plan to beef up their A-team schedule in 2017 and beyond, including by playing against county 2nd XIs and against Full Member teams touring Ireland. They are also planning a winter tour for the A team to a Test nation in 2017-18. Ireland especially need tours of the subcontinent, and specialist coaching, to nourish their skills against spin bowling.Such steps must be accompanied by wider improvements in training facilities and coaching if the countries are to nurture a consistent supply of Test players. Indeed, Bobby still believes that Bangladesh are hindered by a lack of outstanding training facilities. In Ireland, practice facilities are not up to scratch, says Kyle McCallan, a former player - one reason why Cricket Ireland has established a training base in La Manga in Spain.It will take considerable sums to fund this shopping list. While money is less of an issue for Afghanistan than for Ireland, it would seem incumbent on the ICC to fund a special programme for new nations to help prepare them for Test status and mitigate the risk of them stumbling in the same manner as Bangladesh. To fund that transition phase would create a vastly increased chance of them being competitive once they stepped up, says Eade.While Afghanistan and Ireland both get more cash from the ICC than ever before, boosted by an extra award of $500,000 to fund fixtures in 2017, this is still just a drop in the ocean compared to the lowest Full Members, says the ICC source.It is understood that Zimbabwe still receive around $5 million a year more than Afghanistan and Ireland, who both need considerably more ICC cash if they are to be given every possible chance of thriving in Test cricket.No country is the same, and no cricket culture is the same. So, as Warren Deutrom, Cricket Irelands CEO, says, no formula can ensure success in Test cricket. None of this comes with guarantees, but its about trying to be as ready as we can, bearing in mind there is still no absolute guarantee of becoming a Test country - albeit were planning for it - and were doing so on vastly inferior resources to the Full Members.But if the ICC can help new Test countries improve their domestic multi-day structures, organise regular matches against the A teams from Full Members, and fund vibrant A-team programmes themselves, then at least they will have done all they can to help new teams succeed. Had they done the same for Bangladesh, the joyous scenes in Dhaka might have been witnessed many years earlier. 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