Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson brought out the best in each other on their way to winning the gold and silver in the women's gymnastics all-around. They also brought out the best in NBC, which made an inspirational push late in the broadcast to tie the Sap-o-Meter record: 42 Sap Points.

Regular Sap-o-Meter followers will note that a classic rivalry is building on the sap list: dream vs. mom. Like the Liukin and Johnson of treacle, these weepy wonders went toe-to-toe again last night before Liukin's gold-winning floor exercise unleashed a torrent of dreams from the NBC announce team. Mom might have staged a last-minute comeback, but Liukin's mother, too nervous to watch her daughter perform, was waiting elsewhere for a triumphant phone call as dad hogged all the screen time. Last night's final tally: 10 for dream, 8 for mom. The total count for the first week: 44 dreams, 33 moms.

Sappiest Line of the Day: "[Nastia's father] Valeri Liukin winning a gold medal for the Soviet Union, bringing a new dream to the United States when she was just a baby, literally."—NBC's Al Trautwig, putting Nastia Liukin's victory in the women's gymnastics all-around in proper context.

For a primer on how the Sap-o-Meter works, check out our first entry. Did we miss your favorite moment? Send your Sappiest Line of the Day suggestions to sapometer@gmail.com.

Sap-o-Meter History (click on any bar to read that day's entry)