S29.E02: Scared Spitless

[blackwing]

14 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

In Shamir's defense, I might have done the same thing, minus the window punching. "Phil, I know you. You're a worldly guy. You've probably been in a harness hundreds of times. And I know that this show wouldn't skimp on protecting the contestants. This isn't Big Brother. But I felt pain in a very bad place, and I thought that they were gonna pop out and explode on the ground below. I know that when you feel pain, you fear the worst. And these were my nuts. My nuts, Phil. My nuts." On the other hand, Shamir should've gotten the windows clean faster. When did he hurt himself? If it wasn't on the first attempt, then the nut strain is on him.

I don't agree and I have no sympathy for him.  None of the other men complained.  Logan said that every man was going to have the same issue.  Phil asked him if he had ever worn a harness before.  It's just how it is.  He just couldn't handle it, which I suppose was not unexpected after he whined about the cuts on his hand from the drum.  Nobody else complained about the drum.

He was angry with Phil, as if Phil personally decided that he was going to come up with a task that crushed his nuts and his nuts alone.  What an ass.  On the positive side... Sarah is beautiful.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but in the ongoing Scott/Brooke you-don't-understand-me conflict, I'm 100% siding with Scott.  He was a great partner this episode.  She fell of her own accord because she was once again fired up about some disagreement.  He asked her if she was OK and expressed concern.  On the makeshift gym task he dragged that refrigerator over by himself.  When he spun or turned it and her hand got crushed against the ratchet, she glared daggers at him, as if he had done it on purpose.  I did think he was a bit over the top on the window washing but I thought he did well.  He was deathly scared but knew he had to do the task because of Brooke's injury.  And I thought his huge grin and his "I did it!  I did it!" when he completed the task was endearing.

Brooke is just one of those people who is perpetually unhappy and is going to find fault in everything.  She's a miserable person.  I'd love if Scott and Sarah could form a team and leave Shamir and Brooke to be eliminated.  It'd definitely be a huge twist if midway through the season, they made people switch partners for the remainder of the race.

[Browncoat]

I find it hard to believe that Shamir's balls are so much larger than those of all the other men in the world (including the other racers -- and Phil, and we've all seen Phil in his tight tight pants) who have worn such a harness that he is the only one who has felt such agony.  Not buying it for one red hot second. 

I have to wonder how the Swole Sisters would have done had they chosen the gym task.  That was the faster task, in the end, and they might have lived to race another day.  I suspect they didn't get the music one on the first try.

 

Also?  The name of this episode should have been "Pain is temporary.  Elimination is forever."

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

On the makeshift gym task he dragged that refrigerator over by himself.

While the cameraman panned to a hand truck he could have used....

Edited April 7, 2017 by Browncoat

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, vousviou said:

I don't think it was their intention, but it's not a bad strategy to make a fairly low risk offer early on.  You get a sense of what their motivations are and you get a sense of how strategic they are.  The boys broke their word, and now the word is probably out to other teams that they're not trustworthy and also not particularly clever.  Again, I don't think it was A and V's intention, but they've actually come out ahead.

Your point makes a lot of sense.  Not only do the boys get a bad rap, but I think this puts a target on their back.

Faced with a U-Turn, a spiteful A may have no compunction about U-Turning them.  And other teams may also see it as an excuse to U-Turn them.

Right now, A&V are ahead of them, so if they hit up a U-Turn first.....

And for such a dumb thing too......I mean, if they had stuck to the coin toss they would have still had a 50% chance of going first.  And even if they lost that, they would have still gone second.....ahead of like 8 teams.

[RealReality]

56 minutes ago, CaioF said:

It seems like at that moment when he asked for the doors to be closed/cameras to go away that Shamir not only wanted someone to take care of his balls, but that he probably threatened the producers to leave the race and they had to persuade him to keep going. Thats probably why Phil asked if he still wanted to still in the race.

From producers stand point, while they for sure got mad with him and could let him go away/get a pennalty, find a way to keep Saara with another one (specially this season random partners going on) but they probably gave priority on keep him for drama. They will explore him exploding the most they can (as we already saw on the preview for next episode). Talking about changing partners, I was wondering if they could add another thing to the race, were the team that wins it, could swap other team partners or themselves at one point (of course, it would need to be something really worthy to get, not a given prise like the express pass was this season). Having a U-Turn so early, maybe there will be something else going further?

If I were Phil I would have made a much bigger deal of asking baby Shamir if he wanted to stay

"are you sure you want to continue to race Shamir, I mean the rest of the tasks are difficult.  Your balls will be in constant peril.  Are you absolutely sure?  Your balls will be immersed in water at some point, we might put you in a tank with a shark, and he could potentially eat your balls.  You may be in the cold, where you risk your balls being frozen off from a cold breeze.  Your balls may experience a slight chafing if you have to wear a local costume to dance in.  Are you absolutely sure you and your precious balls can handle the remainder of this race?"

[Netfoot]

Shamir:  "My balls!!!"

Phil:  "Don't worry -- after this episode airs, you won't be needing them again, ever!"

Edited April 7, 2017 by Netfoot

[piequinn35]

I am disappointed that that pussy didn't get eliminated.

[pamplemousse]

Do we have our Colin 2.0 in Shamir? New, not improved, and with at least 30% more dramatic tantruming, rage issues, and mansplaining?

I think it's conventional wisdom that Wall Street is ground zero for sociopaths (with the occasional psychopath in there for shits and giggles), but "top Wall Street investment firm," please take your annoying hell-spawn back, this show doesn't need him or want him.

[pamplemousse]

15 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

In Shamir's defense, I might have done the same thing, minus the window punching. "Phil, I know you. You're a worldly guy. You've probably been in a harness hundreds of times. And I know that this show wouldn't skimp on protecting the contestants. This isn't Big Brother. But I felt pain in a very bad place, and I thought that they were gonna pop out and explode on the ground below. I know that when you feel pain, you fear the worst. And these were my nuts. My nuts, Phil. My nuts." On the other hand, Shamir should've gotten the windows clean faster. When did he hurt himself? If it wasn't on the first attempt, then the nut strain is on him.

Sorry but no. Not when women have to go through pregnancy and then giving birth. I have zero sympathy for him.

Suck it up, Shamir, you infant. Frankly, the world would be in luck if Shamir's experience with the harness made him sterile.

Edited April 7, 2017 by pamplemousse

[Lantern7]

Duly noted. I figured Shamir built up a little goodwill with the eyebrow pop last week. He did not. Might've been nice if he had to arm-wrestle of the Swole Sisters to stay in the game.

[sugarbaker design]

11 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Might've been nice if he had to arm-wrestle of the Swole Sisters to stay in the game.

He couldn't!  His hand had a drum-inflicted boo-boo!

[dgpolo]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

He couldn't!  His hand had a drum-inflicted boo-boo!

You know, I was distracted during the episode and didn't realize Shamir had done the drum task, when he was showing his hands I thought he had done the gym task and wasn't surprised about the cuts since there was so much metal, and because the other guys had shown their messy hands. But he did the drum?! So strange.

Edited April 7, 2017 by dgpolo
Because I do know the difference between their and there

[LotusFlower]

33 minutes ago, dgpolo said:

You know, I was distracted during the episode and didn't realize Shamir had done the drum task, when he was showing his hands I thought he had done the gym task and wasn't surprised about the cuts since their was so much metal, and because the other guys had shown their messy hands. But he did the drum?! So strange.

Maybe, but what I found funny was not that he bruised his hand on the drum task, but that he complained and cried so much about it.  Which was, of course, a fabulous set-up to his "I need an ambulance!" histrionics on the next task.

Edited April 7, 2017 by LotusFlower

[weightyghost]

12 hours ago, Vyk said:

Uh, it wasn't just the bad luck, though it certainly didn't help.  They also fell for Sara's misdirection about where the woman on the bike was and stupidly went what had to be fairly far away to find her.

Even if the girls saw the cyclist the second they got there, they had zero chance of catching up. Shamir was finishing his round and they had to re-do the windows. It may have been closer but I don't believe they would have surpassed whiney-balls-mcgee after his 6th trip.

Re: "flip a coin" - I wish we could have seen the exchange because part of me thinks it went down like 'oh it'd be nice to not kill ourselves out of the gate' 'yeah we should just flip a coin' 'hah yeah sure' which the boys thought yeah, sure whatever happens while Ashton took it to heart. At the end of the day, I take more offence to a lie that gets a team eliminated (though understand that lie more because it saves the team) than one where it doesn't affect the outcome whatsoever. But you know RACE. Why do people trust others on this show ever? They'd all hate me because I'd keep my mouth shut and/or lie constantly. 

I also think a long rant happened on the mat - Phil went from YOU'RE TEAM NUMBER WHATEVER calm face to sour face in the matter of a cut and I was caught off guard with it because I don't really remember a time when he's been that snippy with a contestant.

Edited April 7, 2017 by weightyghost

[watch2much]

4 hours ago, RealReality said:

his annoyance with the travel agent was the only thing that I could understand about the situation.  If I was in a race, and I'm watching you type 5 wpm booking my flight and I ended up losing my ticket on the first plane because of it I would be annoyed too.  If you're going to take a job that involves typing, you should probably learn something besides the hunt and peck method.

but it was the degree of annoyance that was telling.  Sara was definitely concerned at that point about his temperament.  and in fairness to the travel agent, how often does she have a room full of people all clamoring to get the earliest flights?  some people get bad cab drivers, he got a slow typist.  being on the third flight didn't hurt the winners of the leg.

I, too, had wished there was a penalty.  I didn't think the Swole Sisters ever got a chance to show what they could do.  They looked like they could have been good at tasks if they could have just got to them in a more timely manner.  

As to the woman with the elbow, I'm reserving judgement on her until I see how she is next time.  She strikes me as something of a drama queen.  Lots of people have hurt themselves and pushed through tasks better than she did.  As she said, it wasn't her dominant arm.

[Netfoot]

2 minutes ago, weightyghost said:

Why do people trust others on this show ever?

I mean, ever!?!!

Quote

They'd all hate me because I'd keep my mouth shut and/or lie constantly. 

Ditto.

[watch2much]

just read Shamir's Q&A from his profile:

What qualities do you hope your partner has? Unwavering effort and drive, win or lose. As long as they give it 100 percent, it'll be a great adventure.

I guess he should have added, because I won't be giving it my 100%.

[Wings]

9 hours ago, chaifan said:

Swole Sisters

Why were they called this?  

[vousviou]

16 minutes ago, weightyghost said:

Why do people trust others on this show ever? They'd all hate me because I'd keep my mouth shut and/or lie constantly.

One of the things I like about this show is that there are times when it makes sense to trust another team, times when it doesn't make sense, and times when it could go either way.

You'll have times when two teams will be toward the back of the pack and another team is behind them -- if they work together, they'll both avoid finishing last.  A trickier situation is if two teams are at the back of the pack and don't know if anyone is behind them.  If they work together, and they're tied for last at that point, they're risking everything on the final sprint.  But if one team stabs the other in the back but both still make the next round, then the backstabbers may suffer blowback.  And then there are times when teams inexplicably help out strong frontrunning rivals.  It's interesting watching how different teams try to sort out their options.  I'm always amazed how many teams don't ask for a minute by themselves to decide what to do instead of just answering on the spot.

[Jobiska]

25 minutes ago, wings707 said:

Why were [The Swole Sisters] called this?  

Swole mean muscular/buff/built, and it rhymes with Soul Sisters, so when they found they both had their workout preferences in common and they were in sync personality-wise, they named themselves this.

[AZChristian]

Just had a thought.  With those muscular arms of Shamir's, shouldn't he have been able to pull up on the harness straps above his head to take some of the pressure off of his nether regions?  Unless the arm muscles are as useless as the rest of him.

He lists himself as a "Collateral Manager" for a "Major Investment Firm."  I've figured out the translation (based on his muscles):  He's a furniture repossessor for Rent-To-Own in  the Bronx.

[scowl]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I find it hard to believe that Shamir's balls are so much larger than those of all the other men in the world (including the other racers -- and Phil, and we've all seen Phil in his tight tight pants) who have worn such a harness that he is the only one who has felt such agony.  Not buying it for one red hot second. 

The last time I wore a harness like that, there were two straps that went through your crotch. You carefully ran them next to your scrotum, then you tightened them so they wouldn't move on top of it. It sounded like Shamir had loosened the straps too much (he said they were too tight) and that allowed a strap to slip on top of his bag. 

[Knuckles]

Shamir...announcing that he was an alpha male...you knew that it was a set up for a great fall. And, sure enough, he tumbled. Yelling at an older woman to type faster will not help, and will only annoy the audience. And announcing that you work for a major investment bank...yeah, right. The Wolf of Wall Street is the Sore Nutz of Loserdom.

He had a temper tantrum and broke that window...then he had to call for the medics. And, demanded his privacy. And then stood around and considered the building, at leisure. Every woman on this race is tougher and smarter than this jackalope. Lose him fast, or give him more ball-breaking tasks to amuse us.

[Vyk]

Okay.  I'm more wakeful and able to focus, so the team analyses:

Liz & Michael: Great improvement!  Last to first thanks to being on the third flight, picking the right Detour for them, and Liz killing the Roadblock!  Taking a cab to the Pit Stop rather than running was also smart, as it gave them edge they needed over Vanck & Ashton.  Well done, guys!  And good on you, Michael, for showing a much more pleasant mood.

Vanck & Ashton: They seem to have found their groove with each other at least a bit more this week.  And they showed themselves to actually have honor and scruples by being willing to honor the (admittedly lame) "coin flip" deal.  Because of that, they seemed to reap the benefits, not getting delayed or held back by anything, doing their Detour correctly, and actually spotting the marked cyclist first, as well as Ashton's quick, accurate work at the Roadblock.  If they'd just grabbed a cab rather than go on foot to the Pit Stop, they probably might've won the leg.  But at least they beat the team who broke their deal.

Matt & Redmond: Damn, boys.  I didn't know you were dicks (which I really didn't want to say about a war vet).  Lame deal or not, they should've honored it, anyway, for some goodwill and not putting targets on their backs.  Once they (very happily) broke it, they deserved what they got.  It was nerve-wracking to see them dominate the first part of the leg, but it was very satisfying to see them lose their lead through some bad luck, followed by Redmond fouling up the Roadblock.  Dropped from first to third, and well-deserved.  Karma's a bitch, boys.

Seth & Olive: Still moving along perfectly calmly, doing their tasks and getting along well.  Seems like their only mistake was Seth having to take two attempts at the Roadblock.  But other than that, another strong, solid performance.

Becca & Floyd: They did a good job to come back from some really bad luck.  They started out on a late flight, but fought their way up to the top by just killing the Keep the Beat Detour, and Becca delivered quite solidly on the Roadblock.  And then, they beat out three teams in a four-way race to the Pit Stop.  Eighth to fifth.  Great work, Team Fun!

Brooke & Scott: Brooke's chatter can be annoying, but I did admire her falling, bruising her elbow, and continuing on, anyway, knowing that avoiding elimination was all that mattered.  I also admired Scott facing his fear of heights to finish that Roadblock.  Sixth place was very good for them, given the circumstances.

Tara & Joey: The oldsters had to come back from their own bad luck in getting a cabbie that drove way too slowly, even though he knew which way to go.  They did the Work Your Feet Detour very quickly and efficiently, and Tara did a fine job at the Roadblock.  Nice recovery after their cabbie slowed them down.

London & Logan: They seem to strike me as the Team Who? of the season thus far.  Aside from them throwing shade on Shamir's "injury," I can't recall one thing they did other than Logan doing the Detour very well.  I think they did the Keep the Beat Detour, though, and did it well . . . maybe.

Shamir & Sara: This team made it through by the smarts of Sara.  They got delayed after needing three tries at the Keep the Beat Detour and slowed down even more by Shamir's dire attempts at the Roadblock.  He should be thanking Sara for misdirecting Jessie & Francesca as to how to find the marked cyclist for why they're still in the game.

Jessie & Francesca: Aw, that's a shame.  It was really sad to know that at least ninety percent of their loss wasn't their fault.  They had the last flight and seemed to be the only team to get caught in morning rush hour traffic on the way to the helipad, which definitely delayed them.  They seemed to do the Keep the Beat Detour decently well, but they needed to make no mistakes after this if they wanted to make up the time (which they very nearly did, in spite of everything!).  Alas, it was dumb of them to take Sara's words at face value (though at least Jessie was suspicious).  That definitely held them up.  And then, Francesca blew her first attempt at the Roadblock, the one thing that might've made all the difference.  They seemed like really nice women, though, and I hope they really are friends for life.

Edited April 7, 2017 by Vyk

[Bryce Lynch]

2 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

I am disappointed that that pussy didn't get eliminated.

Me too.  But, on the bright side, he will probably never have offspring, thanks to the harness . :)

[RealReality]

1 hour ago, watch2much said:

but it was the degree of annoyance that was telling.  Sara was definitely concerned at that point about his temperament.  and in fairness to the travel agent, how often does she have a room full of people all clamoring to get the earliest flights?  some people get bad cab drivers, he got a slow typist.  being on the third flight didn't hurt the winners of the leg.

I, too, had wished there was a penalty.  I didn't think the Swole Sisters ever got a chance to show what they could do.  They looked like they could have been good at tasks if they could have just got to them in a more timely manner.  

As to the woman with the elbow, I'm reserving judgement on her until I see how she is next time.  She strikes me as something of a drama queen.  Lots of people have hurt themselves and pushed through tasks better than she did.  As she said, it wasn't her dominant arm.

I agree -- the degree of annoyance was telling.  The travel agent probably never gets a room full of people, but she knows her job involves a lot of typing, she should probably take a class or something.  Then again, I think I'd be annoyed too if I got a cab driver that didn't seem to know how to navigate the city they were in.  

I'm surprised there wasn't a penalty.  

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Shamir was in that ambulance trying to argue that because he had a medical issue he shouldn't have to complete the task and should be allowed to go to the mat.  I bet he got all "alpha male" on them.

[Writing Wrongs]

I was so hoping Phil was going to tell Shamir to "sack up". Hee.

[LilaFowler]

This isn't Survivor -- making stupid deals with other Racers strikes me as unnecessary.  Race smartly and efficiently and don't make enemies.  Now Ashton is acting like Redmond and Matt killed her dog or something and I'm sure we'll be hearing about their broken promise until one of these teams gets eliminated.

Someone should tell Shamir that if he would have taken more care with the task the first time around, he wouldn't have had to spend so much time in the harness in the first place. It took him five tries to get it right. Do it right the first time, Wuss of Wall Street.  Poor Sara.  It must be so awkward to be paired with someone like him, and she doesn't even know him.  I was secretly hoping that Shamir's balls/window-breaking tantrum and Brooke's elbow would force them out of the race, and then Sara and Scott could team up. 

Brooke's elbow could be a real problem if it's actually broken or something.  Scott carried her this leg and it's only Leg 2.

[Wings]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

Just had a thought.  With those muscular arms of Shamir's, shouldn't he have been able to pull up on the harness straps above his head to take some of the pressure off of his nether regions?  Unless the arm muscles are as useless as the rest of him.

He lists himself as a "Collateral Manager" for a "Major Investment Firm."  I've figured out the translation (based on his muscles):  He's a furniture repossessor for Rent-To-Own in  the Bronx.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

The Amazing Race Goes Balls To The Wall

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, racers assemble workout equipment out of junk, before one racer’s junk gets a workout.

[etagloh]

9 minutes ago, Vyk said:

Taking a cab to the Pit Stop rather than running was also smart, as it gave them edge they needed over Vanck & Ashton.

I'm not quite so sure about that: it felt like some editing at work. The distance from the RB to the Pit Stop was about 1km -- a straight shot down a major road -- so it was perhaps less of a gamble on the city's notorious traffic than a longer drive. I think my approach in that situation would have been "if there's a cab, take it, but don't hang around looking for one." 

Jessica's writeup correctly notes that six different flights (especially this early) is unusual in recent seasons, and a throwback to old airport drama days. Hope that continues.

[HurricaneVal]

Wow, what a turnaround from last week!  The two teams that grated on me and annoyed me had some overnight fixing and really pulled it off this week!  Kudos to Vanck and Ashton for getting past their irritation with each other.  I hope this lasts, if they can continue to pull together like that, they may go far. 

 

OMG.  Shamir...  Yeah, I totally agree, he must have had some major blowup with production there at the end, because that scene at the finish mat was chopped up, and the parts they showed were aaaaawkwaaaaard.  There is Shamir, standing there absolutely seething angry, facing away from his partner and Phil, there's Phil, stoically irritated, there's the poor cultural greeter who just looks like he'd like to be anywhere but there, and then there's his partner suddenly crying and facing away with no explanation......so whatever ended up on the cutting room floor must have been ugly. 

 

That kind of attitude doesn't last long in this game, Mister.  I think your Ox is broken.

[Thog]

Quote

I don't completely dislike him because he did explain to Sara that this wasn't about her and that his frustration was directed at himself. I admire that he didn't freak out at his partner.

I give him no credit for not freaking out at a partner who in no way caused his pain or frustration. I was annoyed that he kept trying to reassure her that he wasn't mad at her - clearly she had all the reason in the world to be mad at him, but it didn't occur to him that she'd be anything other than contrite in the face of his rage.

I think I've learned more about testicles by reading this thread than I have in 12 years of marriage. Thanks, y'all.

[Lamima]

Yeah, that's what's called a 'difficult' personality. Hope he goes soon. Him and Brooke cause she is A-NNOY-ING. I like the post above that said they hoped Scott and Sara would remain and be paired up.

Edited April 8, 2017 by Lamima

[jumper sage]

7 hours ago, RealReality said:

If I were Phil I would have made a much bigger deal of asking baby Shamir if he wanted to stay

"are you sure you want to continue to race Shamir, I mean the rest of the tasks are difficult.  Your balls will be in constant peril.  Are you absolutely sure?  Your balls will be immersed in water at some point, we might put you in a tank with a shark, and he could potentially eat your balls.  You may be in the cold, where you risk your balls being frozen off from a cold breeze.  Your balls may experience a slight chafing if you have to wear a local costume to dance in.  Are you absolutely sure you and your precious balls can handle the remainder of this race?"

Me too!  I would be so ashamed to have Phil mad at me and he is mad at Shamir.  It's rare to see Phil disappointed like that.  I think between the cry baby part and the treating the travel agent, and the road block crew poorly Phil was DONE.

5 hours ago, watch2much said:

just read Shamir's Q&A from his profile:

What qualities do you hope your partner has? Unwavering effort and drive, win or lose. As long as they give it 100 percent, it'll be a great adventure.

I guess he should have added, because I won't be giving it my 100%.

Hilarious and true!

I am really liking this season.  We are seeing something we haven't seen.  People trying to work on their people skills and find a way to get along.  When you travel with someone you know you don't necessarily notice skills like that.

[Lamb18]

I just watched the episode and want to post my thoughts before I read the other posts. I don't really mind a stranger season. I find it interesting to see how the teammates learn about each other and how to adjust and work together. So now I'm cheering for Ashton and Vanck. The best thing that happened to them was being screwed by Redmond and the other guy. Suddenly A and V were a real team and determined to work together and beat Redmond and the other guy. And it worked!!  I was so glad A & V beat Redmond and his teammate. They got the detour right the first time - ha! And Ashton did great at the Roadblock. I still like Becca and Floyd the best - not surprised that they succeeded at the detour on their first try what with Floyd's drum major background.

Shamir - what a baby! "My precious man parts are hurting! Waa!" Well, it's not so much complaining about the pain but being a baby about finishing the Roadblock and almost quitting because of it. Being mad because a challenge on the race caused him pain - the outrage of it!! How dare the show give him discomfort!! Too bad he couldn't have yelled, "Shrinkage!", that might have helped. On the other hand, that one woman powering through with her hurt arm - I could tell it really hurt. But it gave her partner the opportunity to overcome his phobia and do the Roadblock! Even if they win, he'll probably consider that his biggest accomplishment on the race.

Matt(?) and Redmond - that whole going back on their word was so unnecessary. It's not that big of a deal, but making a promise and breaking it is such an unnecessary move. Just don't make the promise. Say, "Sorry, we're racing! Good luck - may the best team get their first!"

[jdunlop]

Playing the bass drum can definitely cause cuts/bruises.  Back in marching band (a year or two ago!) I was asked to play the bass drum instead of clarinet (one, because we had graduated most of the percussion, and two, clarinets are next to worthless on the field other than making the band look bigger.)  The first couple of practices, my hands were all beat up from either hitting the drum head or the rim.  (Golf gloves did the trick.)

That said, Shamir's hands didn't seem too bad, and didn't need medical treatment.  I noted that Jessie's pinky finger was bandaged in one shot at either the window washing task or the mat, and IIRC she was on the drum.  But all smiles and cheerful attitude even in last place.  Definitely the wrong team (or single player) went home.

[Lamb18]

13 hours ago, Merneith said:

8. Shamir deserved a penalty for breaking that window. I'm comforted by knowing that his friends will be playing, "Ow! My Balls!" for him everywhere he goes

That gives me great comfort, too. You just know his buddies at work gave him a hard time this morning. Just think, if he ever gets married, his pals will put him in a harness and pull it tight at his bachelor party.

[LilaFowler]

You think he actually has any friends?

[Lamb18]

I guess you could call this episode Elbow Macaroni and Brazil Nuts.

[scowl]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

That gives me great comfort, too. You just know his buddies at work gave him a hard time this morning. Just think, if he ever gets married, his pals will put him in a harness and pull it tight at his bachelor party.

Unfortunately he won't see the humor in it and will start breaking things.

[Lantern7]

Caught what I missed. Forgot that Team Fun got the Express Pass. I liked how the teams are together for intros, and most of them look to be into it.  And the coin flip thing is kinda dumb. I mean, I "get" the logic, but you gotta look out for yourself. And didn't Venck & Aston wind up finishing ahead of the guys?

Apologies if I wasn't being hard enough on Shamir. I was thinking something like that would happen to me. I'd probably make a staggering beeline toward the medics to be safe, and I'd hate to be seen as a punk, especially by my peers. Dunno if I'd crack a window, though. Ever see the episode of The Venture Bros. where Dean's nuts get twisted up? That would be running through my head.

ETA for Jessica Liese and her recap . . . if this is the show's final season, I know Phil will be okay. He's smart and resourceful, and could probably get a new gig if he wanted that. He wouldn't invade Survivor and knock out Probst with one punch, but I can dream.

[piewarmer]

...and we get closer and closer to Idiocracy.  I had no idea I was tuning into an all-new Ow! My Balls!

[Delwyn]

I'm just getting caught up, but I sincerely hope that when I scroll down the comments I find an amaze-balls joke. Don't let me down, guys.

[jhlipton]

14 hours ago, CaioF said:

It seems like at that moment when he asked for the doors to be closed/cameras to go away that Shamir not only wanted someone to take care of his balls, but that he probably threatened the producers to leave the race and they had to persuade him to keep going.

"If he drops out, who's the next team that will be safe?  The Swole Sisters? Tell the dude adios and kick him in the junk on the way out the door!"

8 hours ago, etagloh said:

Jessica's writeup correctly notes that six different flights (especially this early) is unusual in recent seasons, and a throwback to old airport drama days. Hope that continues.

The "airport drama" was a major contributing factor for the Swole Sisters's elimination.  That part I did not like!

[Merneith]

I agree with that. Airport drama is even less interesting than taxi drama, which is at least good for something pretty to look at. I want to watch the racers doing things. I'd be just as happy if they booked everyone on the same flight and then staggered the start times according to yesterday's finish. Teams going out because of the travel guide's typing speed is boring to watch.

[Spaceman Spiff]

17 hours ago, blackwing said:

I don't agree and I have no sympathy for him.  None of the other men complained.  Logan said that every man was going to have the same issue.  Phil asked him if he had ever worn a harness before.  It's just how it is.  He just couldn't handle it, which I suppose was not unexpected after he whined about the cuts on his hand from the drum.  Nobody else complained about the drum.

And I couldn't figure how exactly he hurt his hand on the drum. From what we were shown one hand held a drum stick, the other was used to hit the drum like a bongo, and it was his left hand, the bongo hand that was *sniff* bruised and a little bloody.

14 hours ago, Vyk said:

Okay.  I'm more wakeful and able to focus, so the team analyses:

Liz & Michael: Great improvement!  Last to first thanks to being on the third flight, picking the right Detour for them, and Liz killing the Roadblock!  Taking a cab to the Pit Stop rather than running was also smart, as it gave them edge they needed over Vanck & Ashton.  Well done, guys!  And good on you, Michael, for showing a much more pleasant mood.

Vanck & Ashton: They seem to have found their groove with each other at least a bit more this week.  And they showed themselves to actually have honor and scruples by being willing to honor the (admittedly lame) "coin flip" deal.  Because of that, they seemed to reap the benefits, not getting delayed or held back by anything, doing their Detour correctly, and actually spotting the marked cyclist first, as well as Ashton's quick, accurate work at the Roadblock.  If they'd just grabbed a cab rather than go on foot to the Pit Stop, they probably might've won the leg.  But at least they beat the team who broke their deal.

 

After last weeks episode these were the two teams I expected to self implode. I was impressed with how both teams learned to work together and pull out the 1st and 2nd slot.

[JaggedLilPill]

I enjoyed this episode a lot and I agree about Liz and Michael and Vanck and Ashton.

Both teams worked very well together when I didn't see that happening last episode. I hope the trend continues. 

I still like Matt and Redmond. I get why Ashton was upset, but it is a race so I always think it's naive to believe shakes of the hand or promises. 

I feel bad for Sara since Shamir seems like an asshole. Complaining to Phil? I think it takes a lot to make Phil angry since he usually seems quite happy, but when Shamir was whining to him, it seemed very tense on both ends. I don't think Phil is his biggest fan. Neither am I.

Seth and Olive continue to do pretty well and Becca and Floyd have a nice dynamic. I figured Francesca and Jessie were out, which was predictable, but seeing as they were the only F/F team on the race, I would have preferred for them to have gone on a little longer. 

[Knuckles]

I wish somebody had the backstory on what Shamir said to Phil, without all the editing. Getting on Phil's bad side is not easy to do...he's is generally so genial, even with the worst racers.  Why give Shamir a better edit that he deserves?

[Wandering Snark]

23 hours ago, CaioF said:

Talking about changing partners, I was wondering if they could add another thing to the race, were the team that wins it, could swap other team partners or themselves at one point

I really thought we had this coming as Phil even asked "If you could pick a new partner would you?" (approx) at one point which is what made me think about it. I hope they don't do it though.

[watch2much]

just a random thought since he's a powerlifter and body builder (see his profile) maybe he took some testosterone booster supplements (legal) that affects his mood and pain level in that area.  I hasten to add I have no proof and the supplements are available over the counter but here's what one article says about possible side effects:

Testosterone is associated with aggressive tendencies of men. Higher testosterone levels are shown to increase aggressive tendencies of men.

Testicular pain is another side effect associated with testosterone booster.