Way Wes Jr
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According to the BattleBox designer (http://forums.previously.tv/topic/27618-battlebots-media-news-ratings-renewal-discussion/#entry1232196 , Part three of the introductory videos,) the hazards are entirely random. (Though I wouldn't be surprised if teams could access the hammers, and that slipped his mind during the interview.)
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Battlebots.com has videos in its "news" section. I recommend the three "Meet the Creators," they did with Tested.com.
Meet the Bots, Part 1: http://battlebots.com/tested-pit-1/
Part 2: http://battlebots.com/tested-meet-the-new-battlebots-part-2/
Part 3: http://battlebots.com/tested-meet-the-robots-part-3/
Part three also has a segment on the BattleBox.
There is also an interview with Adam Savage, of Mythbusters and Blendo fame; the first half of which deals with BattleBots: http://battlebots.com/tested/
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While I would be happiest with no talking heads at all - just give me oversized-weaponized-rc car combat please! - they kept the focus on the 'bot's, by and large.
Molly McGrath did receive more screen time than I would have liked, her function seems to be to ask the other host questions, and break up any potential sausage fest. And those heels were ridiculous.
Chris Rose seemed like a straightforward typical play-by-play guy. It was great to see him and Florian AT the competition however, as opposed to the Comedy Central version where they obviously taped over footage.
Kenny Florian surprised me with his color commentary. There must be more to his story than, "former The Ultimate Fighter contestant, who went on to have 22 UFC fights." At the very least, he did his homework.
Faruq Tauheed did well as the ring announcer. His intros were appropriately hyperbolic, and not as sophomoric as the CC ones were in the later seasons.
The judges did not talk, (as I expected: see above post,) and they made the correct decision in the one match it mattered.
Alison Haslip was a marked improvement over the "models," that CC utilized, and if she wasn't interested, faked it better than the "models," did too.
Bobak Ferdowsi didn't have a speaking role in the first episode, I'll expect him to show up if something goes horribly wrong with a 'bot mid-fight; or to interview the driver/creator's of a truly innovative 'bot. (To fit in with his JPL/ Mars rover expertise.)
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That was a really good opening episode, I hope the ratings are good. A little bit too much talking, and if there are only six episodes, we're going (at this pace of four fights per,) to lose three fights to: "and this-bot beat that-bot also." The talkers weren't horrible, (see announcers thread later,) the get to know the builders segments weren't insufferable, (and we were glad to see a losing team get one, they were only profiling the winners, and we were getting worried,) and the fights were awesome!
Icewave over Razorback: I was disappointed we didn't get the profile on team Razorback, I thought their backstory sounded interesting. Before the match started, I thought this was because Razorback was going to win, and they'd get their promo later... I was wrong. I hope that little silver thing on the top of Icewave is a little pneumatic arm to aid against flip-bots, as that looks like the biggest danger to Icewave. Ice's spinner looks low enough to hit most bots - but I wonder if Biohazard could have snuck under it. (Biohazard was an amazingly low to the ground bot.) Obviously these fights weren't done in this exact order - and this was a great bout to pique the casual viewer's interest.
PlanX over Wrecks: I wonder if non-wheeled bots received an extra weight allowance, like the old Battlebots tournaments/shows did. Wrecks looked to be very solidly constructed. PlanX dominated the battle, though they didn't appear to do too much damage, and it looks like the judges weren't swayed by the last second damage done to PlanX. (The four categories for judging are: damage, control, strategy, and aggression, and the Winter's easily took three of those four categories.) I didn't see PlanX's nuisance-bots contribute much in this fight, making me wonder if they were late additions to fill up a "weight allowance."
Bite Force over Warhead: Bite Force reminds me of Donald Hutson's Diesector - which is a very high complement. I know Warhead is an efficient fighting bot, but the Bite Force team drove such a perfect match, that Warhead almost looked like one of Mark Setrakian's art-bots, rather than a serious entry. (Did you see the trophy stand early in the show with the creepy rotating fingers? Setrakian.)
Warrior Clan over Nightmare: Nightmare is one of the competitions poster children, but really, in the last ten years it still hasn't developed an anti-flipper strategy better than, "maneuver to an obstacle, and hope it re-flips?" Team Whyachi's nuisance bots look to have real power, (as opposed to PlanX's,) and while the fire-jets are cool, they look like efficient little wedge-bots.
Rankings: 1. Bite Force, 2. Warrior Clan, 3. Icewave, 4. PlanX
If any of this episode losers are to make it into a Wild Card spot, the cynic in me says Warhead, and then maybe Nightmare. (Wrecks just isn't maneuverable, and thus not exciting unless it's blade manages to hit, and Razorback performed like a lesser version of Bite Force.)
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What I meant by, "We'll see once the episodes start," was - we have no idea of how much time they're going to waste with the various talking heads. The "Host," may just show up to introduce the show, and then throw it to the Play by play and Color guys. Or, maybe she'll do a twenty minute cheer routine promoting the FOX networks, we won't be able to tell how competent they are until we see the show and see.
I felt comfortable "judging" the judges, because they shouldn't have a speaking role - they should just determine the winners in non-KO matches. I don't want to get too worked up, or excited by, any of the others until I see how they perform. To go back to the previous iteration of the show: Bill Nye is a great communicator, but his bits on the Comedy Central version of Battlebots were a complete waste of time.
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Aargh! Eaten post!
From ABC: http://abc.go.com/shows/battlebots/cast
The Judges:
Fon Davis is a movie special effects guy, and a former Battlebots contestant. (Winner of one of the rumble events.)
Leland Melvin is just awesome. (Astronaut who could have played in the NFL.)
Jessica Chobot is female and related to Nerdist. (A few years ago and this would be Olivia Munn, right?)
As for the announcers/hosts, we'll see once episodes start. (Though I hope we get the Alison Haslip who plays games on "Tabletop," and not the waste of space that was on The Voice.
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BB17 cast speculation:
We have no reason to believe that there will be any returning HGs, but if we did, who do you think it would be?
I think Frankie is a judge on some dance show, so hopefully that's an overwhelming no.
I would think possibilities include Frank, Judd, Ginamarie, Zach, Amanda? I usually like returning players, but ugh, no on those minus Zach who is like watching a puppy. A loud puppy.
I don't know, when Ian Terry, (BB14,) was on last Friday's Rob Has a Podcast show - Big Brother Think Tank - there was a TON of "wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more," going on. He's "going to Korea in June," for, "at least a few weeks," and, "doesn't expect to have any internet service while (he's) there."
I think AG would think it would be "cute," to repeat the 'Coaches' conceit with, well, the winner of the 'Coaches' twist season.
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There were more beards in this episode than in the Stanley Cup games I'm watching this week...
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The problem with the net swing is that it's moving as you're swinging, and you're swinging off of it in front of its rotation axis. While not impossible, you need to figure out what the rhythm is and jump at a different point than you would on a static bar, or even a normal swinging bar, which isn't trivial when your arms are burning.
The thing I noticed while Kacy was building up momentum, that I did not notice happening to other competitors, was that the apparatus was coming to a hard (jarring) stop on her backswing. I think this threw off her timing, and she felt that she had to make a leap attempt before she burned out her arm strength.
But she was guaranteed a spot in Vegas as a Wild Card anyway. So, a thirtieth competitor made the City Final, who wouldn't have. (And while I doubt Panther, was that 30th, I'm glad he made it.)
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I don't mind it as much in the qualifying rounds. There is no time limit, and going too fast has proven to be the *wrong* way to showboat. I have a business owner perspective here: the top competitors own gyms, work as personal trainers, and/or are chasing what little endorsement dollars there are out there for "ninja's." (And the professional rock-climbers are looking to increase any endorsement $$'s they are competing for.) Showboating increases the chances of getting television time, and tv time equals (free marketing) money in this context.
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I don't mind the fluff when it serves to introduce us to a) new, competent, competitors [Opera Guy,] b) truly inspirational folk [the free-in-the-parks trainer from last week,] or even c) the semi-inspirational [this weeks amputee.] I don't need, want, or like puff pieces that showcase someone who flames out on the first or second obstacle because they are [heteronormatively] hot.
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In retrospect, the seemingly haphazard editing of this season now makes sense. This is what happens when The Cat wins the season.
The Cat - Mike wasn't part of the alliance that made it to the endgame, he made it there by winning Immunity Challenges and playing his Hidden Immunity Idol.
The Fox - Carolyn manipulated things from under the radar, and had no qualms about eliminating the other contender for this role, Tyler.
The Ox - Rodney was viewed by both Carolyn and Mike as a sacrifice, but they were aware that he could be dangerous at Final Tribal, and eliminated him before their true goat.
The Bunny - Sierra, of course. Though, to Mike and Carolyn, she had enough Bear qualities to make getting rid of her a priority. (Can't risk a Fabio-Bunny type win here if you are Carolyn.)
The Goat(s) - Dan and Will. Though, if one wants to call Will a Dead Fish, I won't complain.
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I voted nearly every day. I’m not unhappy with the final results. How did I do?
Women (8/10)
No Votes Whatsoever
Kass - I didn’t care for her at all. I’m not surprised she made it on though, recency bias, and, as Rob C. put it, “she has a brand.”
Abi Maria - I didn’t care for her, as she was portrayed, on her season. She seems very popular with the RHAP crowd, so I’m not surprised she made it on.
Natalie - Rob’s Zombie.A Few Votes, Here or There
Stephanie - Very little recollection of her.
Carolyn - I was surprised she didn’t make it. But, she did come across as “cold,” and not being able to campaign hurt her.
Mikayla - I was giving her votes, primarily out of pity from being targeted by B.Hantz, but then I was reminded that she willing associated with R.Hantz. So that stopped.Voted for Most of the Time
Monica - because she was anti-Hantz. Neither surprised nor not-surprised she made it, some of the “bikini squad” pretty much had to...
Shirin - because she deserved a “better” Survivor experience than Dan and Will. I still wouldn’t mind if she was the first voted off though.Voted for Every Time
Kelly Wigglesworth - even though she was a lock.
Kimmi - I had an “old school” bias for the women, but not for the men. I was a little surprised she made it.
Peih-Gee - I have always thought Todd was over-hyped as a “strategic genius,” and that PG wasn’t given enough credit. Pleasantly surprised she made it.
Teresa - The only player I was disappointed to see either make or not make it.
Tasha - I want to see how she plays when she’s not in a win or go home situation.
Ciera - Not because she voted for her mom, because she willingly went to rocks.
Sabrina - She was either the second or third best player on her season, it’s just the person who came in first was awesome. Not surprised she didn’t make it.
Kelley Wentworth - I, like whichever Christie brother, thought she was a real threat, and I wanted to see her compete outside of the BvW conceit. Surprised she made it. I’d have traded her for T-Bird if I had the power.Men (7.5/10)
No Votes Whatsoever
Brad - I don’t think I have to explain why. Mortal lock to not make it.
Andrew - I didn’t like him on his season. He kept Osten around. He did get screwed by the worst twist in the games history, so I’m not upset he made it. (see next)
Terry - I didn’t like him either. He was Mike, until Mike won the final Immunity Challenge. I was a little surprised that BOTH he and Andrew made the cut.
Shane - I don’t see how he passed the psych test the first time, let alone a second. And I am thrilled that the chances of a second “backrub elimination,” have been drastically reduced.
Max - Entitled hipster d-bag who was out before the merge. A little surprised he didn’t make it.Voted for Half the Time
Jim - Because he was the best strategist on the losing side of a Pagonging. Then I listened to his interview on RHAP and switched voting to ...
Keith - Who was clueless his first time out, and I didn’t need to see again, but if you count above - I’ve already eliminated six people. I have to vote for everybody remaining.Voted for Every Time
Everybody else, because I had to vote for a total of ten people. I was happy to see Varner and Fishbach make it; Varner because he didn’t get an outstanding edit in his first go around, and Stephen because he played in a “Not old enough season to be old school, but not recent enough for recency bias to help,” season.
I wasn’t surprised Troy didn’t make it, but I was willing to give him a second chance - I think we would have seen a different player if he hadn’t been on a “men versus women,” season. -
Is "Masshole," something specifically different?
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Warning: This is going to be flat-out contradictory. I’m going to rank Mike and Carolyn at the bottom (for the first hour “episode,” of next week’s finale,) because they both can’t win immunity. But then I’m going to predict that one of them wins - because I haven’t seen much that convinces me that Rodney, Will, or Sierra will beat either of them at the Final Immunity Challenge.
Merica (Purple)
First, the first hour, leading to the F5 vote,
1. Will (4) Dan’s gone, and there is no way Will gets any votes from here on out. (For elimination, or for victory.) The player’s can complain about how the editors aren’t showing all of the game play that is really going on, but if Will had done anything worthwhile, anything to not be the goatiest goat, they would have shown us.
2. Rodney (1) I think he is kept over Sierra by the F4 voters.
3. Carolyn (2) If anybody but Mike wins F5, Mike goes home. At that point, betting on Carolyn to win F4 seems very reasonable.
4. Sierra (5) Needs to win the F4 Immunity Challenge to make the final.
5. Mike (6) Has to win two IC’s to make the final. Frankly, seems just as likely as any other scenario - maybe even more. (More below.)
OUT Dan (3) Would have had to have been psychic to play both votes for (Rodney or Sierra, to force a revote he may have had a chance to win.) BUT, would have been better off keeping the advantage in his pocket, as I believe his playing it convinced Carolyn to play her HII.
And who do I think will win?
1. (50%) Mike He has to win two IC’s in a row, which, I wouldn’t necessarily bet against. I have him over Carolyn because of the edit, and Probst’s likeable/iconic winner quote.
2. (44%) Carolyn Has to win F4 IC, but can survive if Sierra wins the F5 IC. (Note that I don’t believe Rodney or Will can win an individual challenge.)
3. (3%/3%) Sierra and Rodney. Rodney has the better game-play argument, but can he articulate it at FTC? Sierra might be able to win the “They suck,” vote, but she shouldn’t say it out loud.
5. Will Who will get zero votes, and third place money.
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Nothing particularly new to add, but I just watched the episode, and want to make some comments before I write up my last rankings post of the season.
Is it wrong that I wished Dan's beard would catch on fire?
I was actively (vocally!) rooting for it to happen also. So, not in my book.
Sierra mentioned "Fixin" and Dan the misogynist said "No". What an idiot!
Okay, the "N" piece included an apostrophe, for crying out loud! "A", "reward", and "the," are all taken. The 'long' word is one that should include 'ing,' morons. (I also yell at people who buy vowels on Wheel of Fortune, btw.)
I wonder if Dan's extra vote swayed Carolyn's idol play.
We won't know until she exit interviews, but the editing did a good job of convincing me that Dan playing his advantage put her over the top.
That was satisfying.
It would be super awesome if Carolyn/Mike/Sierra decided to say "EFF THE GOATS". No, no, I can't get myself that excited.
That would be the fan-fiction perfect ending, wouldn't it?
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I think this was a week too early for Carolyn to strike, but Tyler was enough of a challenge threat to make it to F3 otherwise that I can’t really fault her for moving. Mike is a goner unless he wins three straight Immunity challenges, and then we’re left with the goatiest collection of goats ever. (Unfair statement, Carolyn isn’t really a goat. She needs to use her HII in a timely fashion, and win at least one more Immunity Challenge to make F3.) I want to rank her number one, but at this point she’s the second target after Mike, so...
I’m going to list each player’s prefered F3 in order.
Merica (Purple)
1. Rodney (2) Will, Dan, (then,) Sierra, Carolyn, Mike. I missed seeing ‘befuddled Rodney face,’ at TC when his master plan to get Mike to not play his idol didn’t work. I wouldn’t be thrilled with a Rodney win, but he has tried to create plans, and could argue that his creation of the Tyler/Carolyn/Will suballiance is why he deserves to win.
2. Carolyn (3) Will, Dan, Sierra, Rodney, Mike. Carolyn has a really good chance to make F3, as she has a meat shield (Mike,) and a HII. But, if Mike wins immunity *and* she has to use her HII at the same tribal, her advantages are wiped out. If Rodney seems unable to let go of birthday-gate, he could move higher up - to minimize his jury-poisoning time.
3. Dan (6) Will, Sierra, Rodney, Carolyn, Mike. Dan probably thinks he could out-perform Sierra at FTC. I think Sierra would win in a walk, unless she personally insulted every member of the jury. This would be a horrible F3, but would have schadenfreude value.
4. Will (4) Dan, Sierra, Rodney, Carolyn, Mike. See above.
5. Sierra (5) Will, Dan, Rodney, Carolyn, Mike. I think Sierra has had horrible luck in regards to being able to “make a move,” in regards to the numbers. I (unfortunately) think that she would talk circles around Rodney and (Will/Dan) at FTC, and the jury would still vote for Rodney, because, penis.
6. Mike (7) Needs to win three straight immunities. Not impossible, but unlikely. Would win any combination at F3, but he’d love to be able to make a “blue collar loyalty” point at FTC, so I think his FTC order would be: Dan, Sierra, Rodney, Will, Carolyn. Since the tribe switch he has voted for Joaquin, Jenn (x2,) Hali, Joe, and Tyler (x2).
OUT Tyler (1) Carolyn made her move, one she had to do to avoid being with you at FTC. And while the result wouldn’t have changed, you made a huge error. If the plan was for Mike to get four votes, Dan to get two, and you to get one; you should have been one of the two “Dan” votes!
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Not against Mike or Sierra, at least according to Shirin.
Based on what she was saying I'd guess the order of potential winners is:
1. Mike
2. Sierra
(Tyler probably was here?)
3. Carolyn
4. Rodney
No chance - Dan/Will
I think I'd have put Tyler in the nominally second position. And possibly switch Carolyn and Rodney - remember that Carolyn wasn't liked by Shirin, Hali, and Jenn.
I may have solved the mystery of Sierra's eyebrows... Looks to me like she has a scar over her left eye where the brow was and may have her left brow tattooed because of it, but not the right. When we see her right profile that eyebrow is blonde and full. Sometimes it's noticeable, like in the bright sun, sometimes not, like at tribal. Check out the preview, after Mike tells her and Carolyn that Dan is voting for one of them and pause when she looks at Carolyn. The scar appears to continue between her eyes and up into her forehead a little.
I haven't noticed the eyebrows - I can't be bothered. But, a rodeo competitor with a head scar? What are the odds? </sarcasm> [but, just so I am not misunderstood, really good analysis. But wouldn't she have gotten both tattooed, to aid her "modeling" half of her career?]
I forgot about Dan's "as God is my witness" comment to Will. What was up with that? All I could think of was Scarlett O'Hara. "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again. Cause I'm gonna eat you,"
I've read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Now I want to see Gone with the Wind and Zombies.
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I know it was mentioned in a different thread sometime in the last two weeks, but I just want to relish the schadenfreude of this sequence of events:
Tyler catches Joe snagging the HII clue.
Joe shares the information with Tyler.
When Mike asks Tyler, "What's up?" ...
Tattlin' Tyler gives Mike the clue verbatim.
Mike finds (an/the) HII.
And...
When Mike does play the Hii, ...
Tyler ends up going home.
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Wow, just listened to Shirin's interview on RHAP, she said that Will had been running around saying she had no soul for a long time, and having mini-blowups at her. I don't know what his deal is, but his hatred of Shirin seems to go far beyond her being annoying. She said she tried asking him why he had such a problem with her, and he would just say it was all in her head. She also said Dan was calling Sierra an abused housewife and a good dog that does what she's told. If these are the people that found Shirin so annoying, seems like she's doing something right to not fit in with those yahoos.
While this is one of those things that will devolve into a "he said, she said," situation, [and Lord, I tried to come up with a synonym for that phrase,] Shirin's account of her interactions with Will were much harsher than that. I advise folk to give the RHAP interview a listen, but Shirin says that Will was accusing her of having "no soul," around the time of the merge. When pressed by Rob as to why he would say that, her response was, "Well, I'm not a Christian, and I'm Middle Eastern, so..."
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Man, Mike’s play is so yo-yo-esque. The reward challenge was a mess, I’m guessing because he wasn’t willing to switch strategies once he started getting gassed. But then, he follows it up by playing the bluff about as well as possible during tribal council.
The 4+2 alliance, (4+1+1? Is it really fair to link Sierra and Dan together as a pair?,) as a whole responded perfectly to Mike’s bluff - by sticking to the plan. I can (kind of?) understand why Tyler threw a vote Dan’s way, [if Mike is telling the truth, the Shirin votes are null, there’s one vote for Tyler (Shirin,) on vote for Dan (Tyler’s,) and one vote for either Rodney, Will, Sierra, or Dan. If Mike votes for Dan, Dan is gone, otherwise there’s a three way vote off. Maybe he thinks Carolyn will play her HII on him if Mike isn’t bluffing, sending Dan home.?] but I have no clue as why Will voted for Dan. There are so many questions I hope Rob C. asks Shirin on the exit interview...
Sierra, Tyler, and Carolyn all had game-play related confessionals this episode. If Mike doesn’t make FTC, one of them has to look like they have a strategy, right?
Mike won immunity, so the Pagonging target fell on Shirin. Really no reason to change the rankings this week.
Merica (purple)
1. Tyler (1) It’s a little late for you to be shown doing something other than tattlin’, but better than nothing, I guess.
2. Rodney (2) People are starting to make the case that Tyler is a threat, and not you; so that’s a plus.
3. Carolyn (3)
4. Will (4)
5. Sierra (5)6.. Dan (6) So, while Mike wasn’t able to convince you that you were on the bottom of the Final Six, his TC-play showed you that you were. [Credit to either Stephen Fishbach or Rob Cesternino.]
7. Mike (8) You won immunity, staving off elimination. Will you be able to avoid playing your (not anymore) HII next week?
OUT Shirin (7) Mike won immunity, and you couldn’t convince Dan and Sierra that you were a better goat than (whomever they think they have.)
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I just want to call it now, before any more clips/photo's show up on CBS. I'm predicting that Rodney's hissy-fit, as seen in the on-air preview, is related to him not winning, or being chosen as an extra for, the loved one challenge. [For example, Tyler or Carolyn win the "loved one" challenge, and they choose the other and Will to be the "spend time with," group. This leads to Rodney's, "vote me out," tirade - since he was betrayed by his alliance.
Who will be "hotter," Carolyn or Rodney's mom? [Obligatory Oedipal joke.]
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From the Official Amazing Race Facebook page: "Does Blair deserve a million dollars just for his patience?"
Makes me wonder about the editing - is Haley really as bad as we're seeing? Or is she even worse? You could go either way...
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I thought the guys had the right idea. I would have worn as few clothes as possible in the hot tub. It would have saved time at the end to not have to struggle out of wet layers, and you'd have less wet stuff to haul around (and to soak into your dry clothes). I can't decide if Laura's running tights would have been easy to get off (wicking fabric shed the water) or awful (skin tight, long, and soaked). I'm tempted to wear a pair swimming this summer just to experiment!
Plus, the men could go commando for the rest of the leg after they change, and not have any wet clothing on. Don't teams pack a swimsuit of their own? They had their packs with them ... There were some odd choices at the detour.
Did the shuffleboarders have to get fifty one points exactly, or just beat that score? The difficulty level is different...
And, as nagitty nag naggy as Haley is, she's better than Flo. (Low bar, I know.)
S07.E03: Houston Qualifying
in American Ninja Warrior
Instead of Monday's Orlando qualifying, that I missed because of Tornado hullaballoo. And NBC 5 in Chicago still hasn't responded to my inquiry about a re-showing.