Spell-riffic! Chicago-Area Girl In National Spelling Bee Championships

And then there were twelve. After a grueling week of preliminary rounds, computer tests, and seven (!!!) rounds of spelling in two days, the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee finalists are set and include 13-year-old Rose Sloan, an eighth grader at River Forest's Roosevelt Middle School. Sloan's path to the championship round today saw her knock out "ansu" (Rd. 5), "miliary" (Rd. 6), and "pruritus" (Rd. 7). She's also no stranger to the Bee, having made it to the semifinals last year before dropping an "s" from "carnassial." We agree with Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, who is blogging the Bee over at A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago, when she says "Rose Sloan is a spelling badass" and "She's a bubble of happy." Damn right; we're totally in Rose's corner. Our advice for Rose? A nap, a little smack talking (especially to those California kids), and maybe a gin & tonic to loosen the nerves before showtime. The Spelling Bee Championship Round will be broadcast live on ABC tonight at 7 p.m.