S12.E06 Semi-Final 2

[Hellga]

Wow.  They didn't WWWA Polizzi - I think this is the first time they have shown his entire run in the five years I have been watching! 

[ams1001]

10 minutes ago, Hellga said:

Wow.  They didn't WWWA Polizzi - I think this is the first time they have shown his entire run in the five years I have been watching! 

They needed to show him on Corkscrew so Akbar could say "don't get dizzy, Polizzi."

[Hellga]

OK, the cheesecake guy failed early, the cake-eating ninja made it to 9th obstacle, and his cake-baking buddy made it almost all the way, slipped 10 feet from the buzzer.   Does that show that baking cakes is better than eating them, and regular cakes rule over cheesecakes?

6 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

They needed to show him on Corkscrew so Akbar could say "don't get dizzy, Polizzi."

Not one of Akbar's best puns...

Wow, Sean Bryan failed early.  Unexpected!  Pity, I like the guy.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Hellga

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, Hellga said:

OK, the cheesecake guy failed early, the cake-eating ninja made it to 9th obstacle, and his cake-baking buddy made it almost all the way, slipped 10 feet from the buzzer.   Does that show that baking cakes is better than eating them, and regular cakes rule over cheesecakes?

I laughed at the end when his friends went over to comfort him after he failed on the climb. "😃 I beat you" [thuds back onto the platform]

Najee was starting to worry me. Never seen him stop in the middle to get his inhaler.

[Hellga]

Why the heck are they spending SO MUCH time on this Will the Beast kid?  He is neither *that* good nor has an interesting backstory.   Blah, blah, wanted to be a ninja since 14 - hasn't that been true for every rookie for a couple years now?

Edited October 22, 2020 by Hellga

[Hellga]

Two finishers so far, Najee and Michael Torres.  Jesse Graf still to come, and Joe Moravsky, not sure who else is left of the people with potential to finish.  I feel like last week's semi was more stacked with high-potential people - but maybe it just feels that way because we had some surprising early exits today...

[Hellga]

That's just effing ridiculous.  RJ Roman had THE FASTEST FINISH yet, and the WWWA'd him? 

And instead they wasted all this time on showing how poor wee Dougie failed to get a buzzer a zillion times (just like a zillion other competitors)?   Is this still American Ninja Warrior or American Ninja Pity Party?

[Hellga]

Austin Gray and Lucas Reale went even faster than RJ Roman and ALSO were WWWA'd?   Do they really think we care about replays of someone's failures or someone's 'OMG I wanted to be a ninja as a boy' more than seeing strong competitors?  I might just give up on them and start watching a recording instead of watching live.  What's the point? 

Edited October 22, 2020 by Hellga

[ams1001]

Where can I meet a guy with a "dad bod" like Joe's?

[Hellga]

Well, Joe did get the fastest time and his entire run was shown.  Surprise, surprise.  Six finishers today.  Five finishers last night.   Jesse Graf the only woman who would have made it without the special women's provision.

Looking forward to what obstacles they change up for the finals next week.  I don't quite get how the finals will operate next week, which stage(s) are going to be imitated next week vs. what's left for the week after - they say, 8 ninjas will run side by side on the power tower, but that can't take full two hours. 

 

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, Hellga said:

they say, 8 ninjas will run side by side on the power tower, but that can't take full two hours. 

Oh, I'm sure they can manage it!

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, Hellga said:

I don't quite get how the finals will operate next week, which stage(s) are going to be imitated next week vs. what's left for the week after

From what I understand, there aren't going to be the traditional finals stages, just a revised 10 obstacle course that everyone will run with the top finishers going on to the Power Tower the week after. 

[Vermicious Knid]

We really don't need to see a retrospective of one guy's shoes instead of a completed run. And once again Matt and Akbar were practically on top of each other. But they must be sending people home immediately who don't advance, because Lance Pekus' team was already offsite for his semifinal.

[ClareWalks]

I generally love Michael Torres but that wedding scene troubled me. First, because I've heard "it's so hard to plan a wedding during a pandemic" so many times and all I can think is "then DON'T." Get married at the courthouse or wait. Or get married at the courthouse and throw a reception later. Maybe I'm just biased because I think big weddings are idiotic anyway. But also, that was NOT a "Zoom wedding." That was a big (IMO) wedding with additional people watching on Zoom. Like fifty people were there. And not distancing or wearing masks. Ugh. Anyway.

[Taeolas]

I noticed a subtle shoutout to LiveRescue in Matt's commentary, with his shoutout to the First Responders, and calling out the hurricane and fire responses, as well as the COVID handling they've been doing. Since he was introducing a Nurse-Ninja at the time (I think), the shoutout makes sense. But being a LiveRescue watcher as well, the terms and phrasing was very familiar to me. 🙂 (Just like on LiveRescue, Matt gets a few ninja comments in occasionally that you wouldn't normally notice, but if you watch both shows they certainly take you to the other one). 

[questionfear]

Allegedly he-who-must-not-be-named ran in the semis 2, which is why the editing is so weird, why so many got skipped or cut funny, and why there's a big time difference between the 11th and 12th folks. 

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, questionfear said:

Allegedly he-who-must-not-be-named ran in the semis 2, which is why the editing is so weird, why so many got skipped or cut funny, and why there's a big time difference between the 11th and 12th folks. 

I was wondering about that, and wondered if any of the guys running were ones "he" brought as teammates. Anyone know? I wonder if their runs were shown, WWWA's or just cut entirely. Guilty by association.

I guess glasses dude Will D Beast took off his shirt so it wouldn't get wet. And again, he makes some poor PA dive to retrieve his glasses.

Akbar about Michael Torres: "He's got stretch jeans on!"

Matt about Dougie Fresh: "Dougie's got a shoe malfunction!"

I have to say I am a Dougie Fresh fan, probably because of his cool pants, the same kind I would be wearing. Felt bad he fell.

Felt bad Lance fell too.

And Dad Bod Ninja continues to rock. I guess he's not a weatherman any more. Last I checked, he was a part-time meteorologist and full-time ninja-gym guy. I am always amazed that some guy who is so normal and regular looking, not all buffed and ripped and looking in the mirror all the time, shows all those muscle-bound dudes how it's done.

I yelled so loudly at Jessie Graf that I woke up my dog and scared her. At least Jessie was legit 12th.

Again they showed some guy in the bottom right of Jessie's Zoom "family" but didn't say who he was. Stop it, show!

[ams1001]

26 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I guess glasses dude Will D Beast took off his shirt so it wouldn't get wet. And again, he makes some poor PA dive to retrieve his glasses.

I wonder if he can't see well enough to get them himself. Also I would imagine they might have some kind of grabber or net to retrieve things that fall into the water.

27 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I am always amazed that some guy who is so normal and regular looking, not all buffed and ripped and looking in the mirror all the time, shows all those muscle-bound dudes how it's done.

In some ways that's an advantage because the more muscle you have, the more weight you have to pull through all those hanging obstacles. That's the problem some of the bigger guys have.

[Hellga]

29 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

In some ways that's an advantage because the more muscle you have, the more weight you have to pull through all those hanging obstacles. That's the problem some of the bigger guys have.

Yep.  I think the 'perfect' ninja based on the commentary and the results is 5'9"-5'11" and weighs 140-160 pounds.   

Too small - and you don't generate momentum and have limited reach, too big - and you have too much weight to carry around...   

Edited October 22, 2020 by Hellga

[Good Queen Jane]

According to Sasukepedia, Jessie Graf did not finish 12th but was listed that way since He Who Shall Not Be Named finished in the top 12. Also Jeri D'Aurelio was a substitute for Rachael Goldstein, who broke her finger between qualifying and the semi-final filming. Sasukepedia also reported that Julius Ferguson withdrew because he tested positive for COVID-19 and Ethan Swanson was not allowed to compete because he was in close contact to someone who had tested positive. You would think that, with all these missing competitors, they could have shown the full run of all those who completed the course.

[Fukui San]

15 minutes ago, Good Queen Jane said:

According to Sasukepedia, Jessie Graf did not finish 12th but was listed that way since He Who Shall Not Be Named finished in the top 12. Also Jeri D'Aurelio was a substitute for Rachael Goldstein, who broke her finger between qualifying and the semi-final filming. Sasukepedia also reported that Julius Ferguson withdrew because he tested positive for COVID-19 and Ethan Swanson was not allowed to compete because he was in close contact to someone who had tested positive. You would think that, with all these missing competitors, they could have shown the full run of all those who completed the course.

An ANW season could consist of only five runs and they'd fast forward through two of them.

[SophiaD]

I thought they did a good job with the qualifying runs, but the semi-finals, or whatever those were, really just bored me.  As others have said, too many backstories.  I'm also glad to know that there was a reason the show felt so jumpy and disconnected, because I thought I was just having a pandemic moment.  I am also really tired of the same boring backstories from the same boring dudes.  The Beast guy just isn't interesting enough for me to want to know all of this about him.

Bummed for Thomas Stallings.  

I hope the Finals is more interesting than it sounds.  

[Taeolas]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I was wondering about that, and wondered if any of the guys running were ones "he" brought as teammates. Anyone know? I wonder if their runs were shown, WWWA's or just cut entirely. Guilty by association.

From Sasukepedia

Taylor Johnson and Julius Ferguson were his teammates (both formerly worked at his gym).

Both qualified naturally without needing help from H-W-S-N-B-N'ed. 

In the Semifinals, Taylor was in Ep2 and was shown in a WWWA, making it to Clockwork.

Ferguson withdrew due to COVID testing. 

We do know that HWSNBN'ed is in the finals, so it should be interesting to watch reactions as the field gets smaller, to see how well he did ultimately. 

 

[saber5055]

13 minutes ago, Taeolas said:

We do know that HWSNBN'ed is in the finals, so it should be interesting to watch reactions as the field gets smaller, to see how well he did ultimately. 

Wouldn't it be something if HWSNBN won again this year? Heads exploding in the editing booth!

[Quilt Fairy]

I FF through so much of ANW that the show couldn't be more choppy than I already make it, but I can't see that they'd have to edit out too much.  Drew's runs, of course, and any shots where he's shown on the sidelines cheering someone on, but is that so much?  I assume that Matt can easily do a voice-over to cover any mentions during the commentary. 

[Necromancer]

I wonder if it was fair to allow Najee Richardson to use an asthma inhaler before he attempted the Spider Trap.  Some asthma medications are performance enhancing drugs.  If Najee Richardson couldn't continue the obstacle course without his inhaler, he should have stopped after completing the Dungeon.

Some American Ninja Warrior athletes become fatigued and fail the obstacles that require upper body strength.  They fall in the water ending their run.  If these same athletes were allowed to take a performance enhancing drug, they would probably go farther. 

It just seems unfair to the other contestants for an asthmatic contestant to use an inhaler.  I am asthmatic and use an inhaler.  I can run and swim longer if I take a few puffs of Ventolin or Qvar.

 

[Lovecat]

43 minutes ago, Necromancer said:

I wonder if it was fair to allow Najee Richardson to use an asthma inhaler before he attempted the Spider Trap.  Some asthma medications are performance enhancing drugs.  If Najee Richardson couldn't continue the obstacle course without his inhaler, he should have stopped after completing the Dungeon.

Some American Ninja Warrior athletes become fatigued and fail the obstacles that require upper body strength.  They fall in the water ending their run.  If these same athletes were allowed to take a performance enhancing drug, they would probably go farther. 

It just seems unfair to the other contestants for an asthmatic contestant to use an inhaler.  I am asthmatic and use an inhaler.  I can run and swim longer if I take a few puffs of Ventolin or Qvar.

 

According to the USADA (Anti-Doping Association), there are 3 beta-2 agonists (rescue inhalers) that are allowed under certain dose thresholds ( https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/education/what-athletes-need-to-know-about-inhaled-medications/ ). We don’t know what kind of inhaler Najee uses, but the guy was a competitive gymnast, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he knows and adheres to the rules.  

[Vermicious Knid]

I do think it was kind of unfair, but at the same time this is not a professionally sanctioned athletic competition and obviously the rules allowed it.

Quote

I wonder if he can't see well enough to get them himself.

I can attest to this. Took scuba many years ago in college and the instructor had us drop masks in the pool and dive for them. I am practically blind without corrective lenses and could never find mine. Something small + distortion effect of water, might as well be invisible.

[questionfear]

17 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Wouldn't it be something if HWSNBN won again this year? Heads exploding in the editing booth!

If he won again I think they'd scrap the season. That or they would have re-run the final few runners and had a new winner, because this year it's a race on the power tower to win 100k, so theoretically they could have grabbed the top 4 below him and re-run a heat with them or something, but hopefully it didn't get to that. So there's definitely SOMEONE who won this year.

[ClareWalks]

I think with the WWWA treatment, the most unjustly marginalized contestant has historically been RJ Roman. Dude makes it to at least stage 2 most of the time, yet I think his rookie year they showed maybe one of his full runs, with nothing but WWWA since then (except on the Power Tower or something). Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think that's insane.

[enoughcats]

I rewatched last night and I really had the feeling that some of the positive comments didn't match the performer. I won't do this again, but one thing to watch for (should you be so bored) is how clothes change.  A glimpse of contestant X and then X comments but he's not wearing the same shirt, or towel, or whatever, and then a third glimpse and he's back to X 1.0.

[Rosenrot]

3 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I think with the WWWA treatment, the most unjustly marginalized contestant has historically been RJ Roman. Dude makes it to at least stage 2 most of the time, yet I think his rookie year they showed maybe one of his full runs, with nothing but WWWA since then (except on the Power Tower or something). Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think that's insane.

 THIS. But hey, he doesn't have a sick kid or a dying relative, so what do we care, right? 

Also, I think it's ridiculous that out of the five (or four, I forget) finishers with the fastest times, Moravsky's run was the only one that was shown. (Though, the others might've been HWSNBN'ed [great term btw!].)

Sorry not sorry that Sean Bryan fell early! 

I'm glad that Akbar comfortingly told me that "extra calories don't hurt anybody" just as I was stuffing my face with a bagful of little sticky cinnamon buns. 🍩

PS: Come on, show! I DON'T CARE ABOUT DOUGIE'S SHOES! Jeez! 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Rosenrot

[Lovecat]

4 hours ago, enoughcats said:

I rewatched last night and I really had the feeling that some of the positive comments didn't match the performer. I won't do this again, but one thing to watch for (should you be so bored) is how clothes change.  A glimpse of contestant X and then X comments but he's not wearing the same shirt, or towel, or whatever, and then a third glimpse and he's back to X 1.0.

I noticed this last night with the Papal Ninja, during (I think?) Jessie Graff's run.  We saw him out on the course floor, unmasked, and then a few seconds later, in the backstage area, masked.  And then I think it switched again to show him on the floor.

[LadyNebula]

20 hours ago, Necromancer said:

I wonder if it was fair to allow Najee Richardson to use an asthma inhaler before he attempted the Spider Trap.  Some asthma medications are performance enhancing drugs.  If Najee Richardson couldn't continue the obstacle course without his inhaler, he should have stopped after completing the Dungeon.

Some American Ninja Warrior athletes become fatigued and fail the obstacles that require upper body strength.  They fall in the water ending their run.  If these same athletes were allowed to take a performance enhancing drug, they would probably go farther. 

It just seems unfair to the other contestants for an asthmatic contestant to use an inhaler.  I am asthmatic and use an inhaler.  I can run and swim longer if I take a few puffs of Ventolin or Qvar.

 

As an asthmatic pharmacy tech, it looked like an albuterol rescue inhaler, which is allowed.  Ventolin, Proair and Proventil and their generic equivalents would all be ok. So if you compete, feel free to use your Ventolin 😉

[Quilt Fairy]

9 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I think with the WWWA treatment, the most unjustly marginalized contestant has historically been RJ Roman. Dude makes it to at least stage 2 most of the time, yet I think his rookie year they showed maybe one of his full runs, with nothing but WWWA since then (except on the Power Tower or something). Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think that's insane.

One name:  Nicholas Coolridge.  One of the most seriously beautiful guys ever (I must have a thing for blondes), and after his rookie run I don't think we ever saw a complete run from him again. 

[ClareWalks]

6 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

One name:  Nicholas Coolridge.  One of the most seriously beautiful guys ever (I must have a thing for blondes), and after his rookie run I don't think we ever saw a complete run from him again. 

I agree that he is smoking hot and was definitely ignored by producers. He isn't even asked to compete anymore, although he's active on Instagram. But he wasn't quite as talented as RJ.

[dmeets]

When did “dad bod” come to mean any abs less defined than a Mr. Universe contestant?

[SophiaD]

I just rewatched the second half (skating was on).  I think what bothered me is that Matt and Akbar (especially Akbar) were SO over-the-top and SO campy.  Normally, it kind of blends in with the whole experience, with the crowd and whatnot, but this time, it just felt really intense, especially with Joe Moravsky's run.  Guys, the suspense was over by the time he made it to the final obstacle.  You don't need to manufacture more.  He's completing a course, not finding a cure for COVID. 

Also, I agree, the whole "dad bod" thing was really overdone.  I may just be snarky.  

RJ Roman is amazing and I don't understand why he doesn't get more love.  Also, NICHOLAS COOLRIDGE!  I wonder why they stopped asking him to compete?  He was a great athlete, especially in his rookie season.

Looks like Flex might have a good run next week which will cheer me up, if so.  I must have missed it that Thomas Stallings made it into the finals, so that's also good news - I thought he was out.  

Edited October 24, 2020 by SophiaD

[VartanFan]

Even though there’s no pharmaceutical reason that najee shouldn’t have it (and I like him), I just feel like it was unfair. So are they saying now that in the future when he wants some puffs in another water obstacle, he can have an inhaler?  

[Conotocarious]

Najee is ALWAYS at a disadvantage when it comes to the other contestants because he cannot breathe as efficiently as they can. Even if I take a puff of my inhaler it doesn’t make my lung capacity suddenly so much greater than anyone else’s. 

[DEL901]

8 hours ago, VartanFan said:

Even though there’s no pharmaceutical reason that najee shouldn’t have it (and I like him), I just feel like it was unfair. So are they saying now that in the future when he wants some puffs in another water obstacle, he can have an inhaler?  

 

19 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

Najee is ALWAYS at a disadvantage when it comes to the other contestants because he cannot breathe as efficiently as they can. Even if I take a puff of my inhaler it doesn’t make my lung capacity suddenly so much greater than anyone else’s. 

Exactly.   It just puts him on closer to an equal footing.   

[VartanFan]

7 hours ago, DEL901 said:

 

Exactly.   It just puts him on closer to an equal footing.   

...and?  Why is he allowed to be on an equal footing?  There are people who run with all different types of ailments and things wrong with them and they don’t get any special dispensation. If he can’t get through the course then he can’t get through the course. Like I said, it was crappy that he couldn’t get through that water obstacle because of his asthma and he seems like a super great guy. 

[ClareWalks]

46 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

...and?  Why is he allowed to be on an equal footing?  There are people who run with all different types of ailments and things wrong with them and they don’t get any special dispensation. If he can’t get through the course then he can’t get through the course. Like I said, it was crappy that he couldn’t get through that water obstacle because of his asthma and he seems like a super great guy. 

This is getting a little silly IMO. He has to carry the inhaler on him the whole way. He has to take extra time to calm down and use it. It's not like he's Bradley Cooper in Limitless or something. He's just trying to avoid a full blown asthmatic attack.

[TimothyQ]

This season is low energy. Hope it gets back to normal when Covid times are over. 

Edited October 26, 2020 by TimothyQ

[Taeolas]

I'm sure it will be back to normal next season, assuming COVID is handled more or less. This season was 100% due to COVID; they wanted to get SOMETHING done, so this modified season was what they managed to cook up, drawing heavily off the isolated season enders of the NHL and NBA.

[AdorkableWitch]

7 hours ago, VartanFan said:

...and?  Why is he allowed to be on an equal footing?  There are people who run with all different types of ailments and things wrong with them and they don’t get any special dispensation. If he can’t get through the course then he can’t get through the course. Like I said, it was crappy that he couldn’t get through that water obstacle because of his asthma and he seems like a super great guy. 

Plenty of ninjas compete wearing orthopedic braces or k-tape. Should those be banned? What about Ninjas who take medications for ADHD? Mental health? I suppose Jimmy Choi should not take his Parkinson's medication?

[Lantern7]

I watched on DVR on Thursday since The Amazing Race and Archer took priority. I should be taking notes. I know that this season shouldn't really count, what with the plague and the guy I'm not going to struggle to conjure up a nickname for, but these guys are still "selling out," as Matt & Akbar love to say.

On 10/21/2020 at 10:43 PM, Hellga said:

Austin Gray and Lucas Reale went even faster than RJ Roman and ALSO were WWWA'd?

Their fault for not being that memorable and/or not going far when it really counts. But seriously, it does seem like a raw deal. Just imagine Matt going all, "While we were away, this one dude recorded the fastest time of the night. But since he doesn't have a meaty 'hook', we're ignoring him." That's kindasorta what they do.

On 10/22/2020 at 2:38 PM, Fukui San said:

An ANW season could consist of only five runs and they'd fast forward through two of them.

GOT. DAYMN. Smiley face for you!!

When I think "dad bod," I think CT from The Challenge. Weatherman Joe has a bod, he is a dad, but that is not a dad bod. I don't think Matt & Akbar raved about Geoff Britten having a dad bod, and him being a family man is one of his main selling points. Well, right after those freakish forearms.

Edited October 27, 2020 by Lantern7