S10.E13: Las Vegas Finals Night 1

[enoughcats]

37 minutes ago, VartanFan said:

I believe he’s now moved and is involved in a “ninja gym”,

Several weeks ago, one of the Ninjas said he had taken advantage of a major opportunity and moved to ?  Denver to work with Britten, and Britten was seen in the video several times.  The ANW book didn't include that but did include that Britten had been working on course development.  

[Hellga]

If he does come back, I will be glad to watch him again.  He seems like a nice guy, and he is rather handsome, too.

[CrazyDog]

The Kid is pretty impressive. Tall, lean, and athletic. I don't love him like I do a lot of the vets, but dang, he's good and one to beat if he doesn't make some flat out errors.

I'm glad Ethan made it. How annoying that they didn't show one of the few finishers.

Obviously, so many vets crashing is the price we have to pay for Isaac going out early.

Poor Travis and Flip, and Nick. Ugh. 

I thought Flex seemed pretty winded at the end of her run...like maybe she got the wind knocked out of her when she she fell and hit the mat? She totally would have finished though.

I can't wait to see Drew, but he was a little rough in the finals so I'm nervous for him. I want him to take home the prize! Or Najee...he is amazing too. 

[srpturtle80]

8 hours ago, Hellga said:

If he does come back, I will be glad to watch him again.  He seems like a nice guy, and he is rather handsome, too.

He announced his comeback a while ago, I posted a link in the media thread a few months back. I adore him so I’m super excited, hopefully he will have a much more successful comeback than Isaac did! I’ll take Geoff over Isaac any day lol. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

Don't think the Kid has developed the grip strength yet to deal with the prolonged hanging obstacles,  but we shall see.

[BTBAM310]

On 8/27/2018 at 5:25 PM, ams1001 said:

The youngest ever to hit the buzzer! ...is not that impressive, frankly. Someone who's 19 today has basically had half their life to train for this show, and if 19 year-olds had been able to run in the past, I'm sure they would have been hitting buzzers from the beginning. Seriously, why are they always so shocked that a young guy can do well at this sport? (Almost as shocked as they are the older guys can do it. Is there some ideal age where they wouldn't keep mentioning it?)

An under-water obstacle in stage 2! I'm intrigued.

Every time I see the jumping spider I wonder if I can still do that in the hallway in my parents' house like I did when I was a kid...

Did Akbar just say "dadgummit"? ?

 

I kept saying dadgummit the rest of the episode.

Way too many WWWAs - especially for people who finished.

I think Grant got more screen time than most competitors <insert huge eye roll>

Edited August 29, 2018 by BTBAM310

[DEL901]

23 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I'm not sure Matt, although he has a degree, has ever been a practicing physician.

 

23 hours ago, LGraves65 said:

He was practicing when he left to do standup. 

 

19 hours ago, mtlchick said:

He practiced internal medicine but doesn't have his license any more.  So if someone had a seizure, he could have pulled a Ken Jeong he could have stepped in to assist.  A bad fracture (which I didn't see and I would have puked if I did), that may be out of his scope.

He developed some sort of serious form of arthritis not long after he started practicing and made some life changes (this came up when he was on the Celebrity Apprentice)

[Beccamcfly]

4 hours ago, BTBAM310 said:

 

I think Grant got more screen time than most competitors <insert huge eye roll>

Seriously though! He has to be in EVERYONE’S sideline crew. Constantly has to be on camera. I used to be a fan of his and Natalie Duran as well but at this point they’re just overkill. I’m sure they’re awesome people but they definitely love being the center of attention. 

[ams1001]

4 hours ago, DEL901 said:

He developed some sort of serious form of arthritis not long after he started practicing and made some life changes (this came up when he was on the Celebrity Apprentice)

He has rheumatoid arthritis (my aunt also had it so I remembered that bit of trivia). According to wikipedia he also had kidney cancer 10 years ago.

[EVS]

49 minutes ago, Beccamcfly said:

Seriously though! He has to be in EVERYONE’S sideline crew. Constantly has to be on camera. I used to be a fan of his and Natalie Duran as well but at this point they’re just overkill. I’m sure they’re awesome people but they definitely love being the center of attention. 

That’s how I used to feel about Dr Noah Kaufman. 

[Hellga]

1 hour ago, Beccamcfly said:

Seriously though! He has to be in EVERYONE’S sideline crew. Constantly has to be on camera. 

And so often it's going for some kind of crazy antics, too.  Maybe because I only started watching in 2015 and haven't developed an attachment to these veterans, I find many of them annoying - Grant, Craver, Murray come to mind.

[Courtney]

1 hour ago, Hellga said:

And so often it's going for some kind of crazy antics, too.  Maybe because I only started watching in 2015 and haven't developed an attachment to these veterans, I find many of them annoying - Grant, Craver, Murray come to mind.

Oh, same.  I get that you need some kind of shtick to get and stay on the show, but when your shtick is so loud and/or nutty that it outweighs anything else about you, it gets wearying.  I think many of them must be EXHAUSTING to know in real life, even if they are perfectly nice and friendly people.

[ams1001]

20 minutes ago, Courtney said:

Oh, same.  I get that you need some kind of shtick to get and stay on the show, but when your shtick is so loud and/or nutty that it outweighs anything else about you, it gets wearying.  I think many of them must be EXHAUSTING to know in real life, even if they are perfectly nice and friendly people.

I'm very introverted. Just the thought of spending 20 minutes with someone like Natalie Duran (who does seem like a perfectly nice person) is exhausting.

[Quilt Fairy]

On ‎8‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 5:23 PM, eel2178 said:

I still would have liked to see the first four tires rotate, too.

That would be EVIL.  And lots of fun!

I didn't see the balance obstacle take out a single person.  That has to be a first.

[Ilovepie]

Man that was sad. I can’t believe so many crazy falls! It broke my heart when Joe fell - I’ve loved him since I started started watching during the season of Kacy back when his obnoxious cousin also competed. What a bummer.

And the women! Almost as sad about Alyssa and Flex! And what was up with the evening dresses?!!?  I didn’t see video of all the guys posing in tuxedos - why are the female athletes doing that nonsense? Totally ludicrous and sexist!

Jamie Rahn’s shoeless run is definitely top 10 all time memorable - helped make up for a night of so many shocking exits!

[realdancemom]

Sad about Joe, Flip, Travis, and other veterans that fell.  Also bugged when Christine kept insisting that Joe answer when he was visually upset.  She did the same thing to Drew last year.

The kid is conceited but he's 19.  That's how they act.  He has worked hard for five years training with one of the best.  He definitely backs it up.  He also answered Christine appropriately when she asked about him succeeding when so many other veterans failed.  He said something about errors can easily be made or something like that.  Anyway, he could have easily bragged about his success.  He's tall and lean so looking forward to see how he does with the rest of Vegas and the future.

[Chaos Theory]

I understand that Christine had a job to do and I have no heart or soul but it made me uncomfortable watching Joe on the verge of sobbing and Christine standing there asking him how he felt.  He feels like sobbing in a corner even I know that.

After an incredible City qualifying and Final rounds the First round of Vegas was painfully brutal and not even my cold dead vicious heart enjoyed it,  if no one interesting does well next week I may skip round two.  Don’t care if they put in swimming. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[ClareWalks]

It was hard to watch Joe's interview, but I also felt bad for Kristine because she seems to really care about these ninjas and she obviously didn't WANT to be that pushy with Joe. I was glad she just kind of offered him the microphone to give him an opportunity to speak, she wasn't badgering him too much with "what happened? What next??" questions.

[eel2178]

2 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

It was hard to watch Joe's interview, but I also felt bad for Kristine because she seems to really care about these ninjas and she obviously didn't WANT to be that pushy with Joe. I was glad she just kind of offered him the microphone to give him an opportunity to speak, she wasn't badgering him too much with "what happened? What next??" questions.

We're we watching the same show?

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

We're we watching the same show?

*shrug*

[eel2178]

17 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

That would be EVIL.  And lots of fun!

I didn't see the balance obstacle take out a single person.  That has to be a first.

It looked easier than usual, although looks can be deceptive.

[eel2178]

On ‎8‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 11:39 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I enjoyed the new 5th obstacle, Jeep Run.  In the past iterations of that obstacle, too many experienced ninjas were shortcutting through it, which I always thought should have been a rules violation.  In any case, they can't do that the way it's set up now.

I never like it when they can dismount when they have only finished half the obstacle, which usually only happens in the qualifier and city finals. Flip tried it once on the wave runner on Stage II and got DQ'd. He was a good sport about it, though. He just shrugged and said, "I guess I need to be more clear about the rules."

[Destiny74]

23 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

That would be EVIL.  And lots of fun!

I didn't see the balance obstacle take out a single person.  That has to be a first.

Not only did they not take anyone out, they hardly moved at all.  We're they tighter than normal?  Or have the ninjas just figured out how to finess them?

Sad for Eskimo Ninja, Brent, and any others who timed out on the net.  Actually, did Brent time out, or fall off?  Can't remember.  Anyway, tough to be so close, literally seconds away and fail.

I have no heart obviously, but I laughed when McGrath fell on the Spider yet again.  I like him fine, but it's kinda funny that he keeps falling on the same obstacle, one that most ninja gyms have a facsimile of.  I think he should have taken a deep breath instead of launching right in.

Also, the Archer steps.  Did the women not think they moved?  Or did they not think the steps moved as much as they did?  That was a damn shame.

Flex has everything she needs to make it  to stage 2 except speed.  She needs to take the next year to build up a bit of endurance and speed and she'll be good for next year.  Now, I wonder if DiGangi will also time out or fall on the last obstacle?  They seem to Peter out at the same obstacles on all of their runs.  

Love Rahn.  So glad he's "made history" because I feel the vets are getting the shaft this season.  

I like "Kid".  I thought his responses to Christine were appropriate and respectful.

I STILL LOVE DANIEL GIL AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.  He is awesome and he seems like a super nice, friendly guy.  I'd be so disappointed to hear he was ever a jerk to fans.  I hope he never is.

Edited August 31, 2018 by Destiny74

[Beccamcfly]

I liked the Kid too. I agree he seems pretty cocky but he's 19...thats what they do and his skill level is that of most of the vets. His interview was fine and I didn't find him overly cocky there. 

Joe's was sad because other than being a Dad and Husband, this is probably his most pride and joy. I love him and he's cute such a beautiful wife and children and he should have been interviewed later in the evening instead of immediately following. Joe was always one of the ones whos speculated could make it all the way and for him to fall in stage 1 was a huge disappointment since he knows his consistency and that he can do it. I empathize with his emotions, and I've been there myself (in a very different non-ninja setting).

My all way possibilities at this point  - Philly Phoenix Najee Richardson, Drew Dreschel,  Papal Ninja Sean Bryan, Heck, maybe jamie Rahn after the shoeless run. I couple of the newer guys put together great runs. Tyle Gillete, Josh Levin always. Austin grey' super fast but super inexperienced. Ryan stratis has has a really good year and the bearded buddy  

[ClareWalks]

12 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

I STILL LOVE DANIEL GIL AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.  He is awesome and he seems like a super nice, friendly guy.  I'd be so disappointed to hear he was ever a jerk to fans.  I hope he never is.

He definitely seems like a great guy. I follow him on IG and he recently hosted some ninja clinics for kids, I think the price was $10 but he said "if you can't afford it, come anyway and they can do it for free, we don't want anyone to miss out." That is classy.

[Chaos Theory]

15 hours ago, eel2178 said:

I never like it when they can dismount when they have only finished half the obstacle, which usually only happens in the qualifier and city finals. Flip tried it once on the wave runner on Stage II and got DQ'd. He was a good sport about it, though. He just shrugged and said, "I guess I need to be more clear about the rules."

Some of the obstacles you can pretty much do what you need to to get past.  There are some that require you to use your arms and will DQ you if you use your legs.   And yeah the wave runner you need to at least touch all the boards.  

[Hellga]

17 hours ago, Destiny74 said:

I wonder if DiGangi will also time out or fall on the last obstacle?  They seem to Peter out at the same obstacles on all of their runs. 

I was wondering the same thing!  

[eel2178]

7 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

   And yeah the wave runner you need to at least touch all the boards.  

Actually, that is why Flip was disqualified. He only touched the board; he didn't utilize it to "propel himself forward."

[Imapanda]

Is Jessie Graff not competing in Vegas?  They didn’t mention her at all even in the commercials that I noticed.

[Quilt Fairy]

46 minutes ago, Imapanda said:

Is Jessie Graff not competing in Vegas?  They didn’t mention her at all even in the commercials that I noticed.

The unconfirmed speculation is that Jessie had a work conflict and won't be at the finals. 

[sab85]

So weird and sad to see Joe fall like that. He's always Mr. Consistency; I always just assume he'll be fine.

[enoughcats]

On 8/29/2018 at 2:06 PM, BTBAM310 said:

Way too many WWWAs - especially for people who finished.

I rewatched last night, and I'm surprised that in their "first this" "first time evah that" they didn't include first time we've fast forwarded through three successful runs in one post ad time parcel.  That is NOT the way to build viewership in those three guys' home towns. 

On 8/30/2018 at 5:59 PM, eel2178 said:

I enjoyed the new 5th obstacle, Jeep Run. 

Let's talk about the final tire.  It rotated, but it didn't rotate very far.  I think I saw it go to about 130 degrees and then stop.  Which enabled one guy to step off a non rotating tire rather smoothly.  I might guess that was changed.

Also the huge thick landing pad after the spider crawl up the wall.  someone might have found than a foot of foam wasn't enough, but the thick pad to me looked like an after thought as it didn't fit on the landing platform.

While I'm on this "did this get changed from the original plan" train of thought, last final where there where three surfaces at the end, and pegs that had to be moved, moving pegs were only descending, not ascending.  The ascending pegs were fixed.  It would have been hella difficult to ascend with pegs and I would guess that that was changed so some could finish.

[TimothyQ]

Is it just me or is anyone else curious just how deep in the friendzone you have to be to give up your kidney and still not get the girl...

[healthnut]

On 8/29/2018 at 11:31 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

I didn't see the balance obstacle take out a single person.  That has to be a first.

I was thinking the same thing too. Usually it gets a few people. I was actually expecting them to put in the deadly tuning forks, but they went easy. 

[ClareWalks]

8 hours ago, TimothyQ said:

Is it just me or is anyone else curious just how deep in the friendzone you have to be to give up your kidney and still not get the girl...

I saw no evidence that he was trying to get her.

[ams1001]

5 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I saw no evidence that he was trying to get her.

If you donate an organ in hopes that the recipient will then feel they owe you a relationship/sex, you need to rethink your life. 

[Lantern7]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

If you donate an organ in hopes that the recipient will then feel they owe you a relationship/sex, you need to rethink your life. 

I did not get that vibe from the segment. Either way, Kenny Niemitalo (had to use Google) can tell people that no matter what his relationship with Hazel, at least he got an organ in her. #rimshot

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I did not get that vibe from the segment. Either way, Kenny Niemitalo (had to use Google) can tell people that no matter what his relationship with Hazel, at least he got an organ in her. #rimshot

Just to be clear, neither did I. But what I really wanted to say in response to that comment would probably get deleted. The idea that guys do things just to "get the girl" or that she "owes" him (I'm a nice guy! Look what I did for her! Why won't she date me?!) needs to die.

I liked his shirt: "Yes, I'm an organ donor. Who wouldn't want a piece of this?" ?

[Lantern7]

*sigh* Damn it to fuck, it was Austin Grey. Kenny was on tonight, and he's the one looking for donors for others.

[Turkeypotpie]

On 8/30/2018 at 9:18 PM, Destiny74 said:

 

I STILL LOVE DANIEL GIL AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.  He is awesome and he seems like a super nice, friendly guy.  I'd be so disappointed to hear he was ever a jerk to fans.  I hope he never is.

I’m way behind on this show and thread but... I previously couldn’t stand him bc of all the focus on his hair and he seemed cocky. Then my kids and I met him at an event and he was so, so, so nice! Then I felt bad for being judgmental and stupid for being affected by editing shenanigans. 

[Destiny74]

15 minutes ago, Turkeypotpie said:

I’m way behind on this show and thread but... I previously couldn’t stand him bc of all the focus on his hair and he seemed cocky. Then my kids and I met him at an event and he was so, so, so nice! Then I felt bad for being judgmental and stupid for being affected by editing shenanigans. 

That is good to know, that he's a nice guy for real.  And, let's face it, he and his wife's children are going to have epic curls (hope he bought stock in Loreal curling gel). 

Speaking of which, dumb question, but I wonder how they keep from frizzing in Houston of all places?  My hair poofs just hearing the word humidity.

[realdancemom]

On 9/10/2018 at 9:54 PM, Destiny74 said:

That is good to know, that he's a nice guy for real.  And, let's face it, he and his wife's children are going to have epic curls (hope he bought stock in Loreal curling gel). 

Speaking of which, dumb question, but I wonder how they keep from frizzing in Houston of all places?  My hair poofs just hearing the word humidity.

Daniel Gil seems like a nice guy to me.  He cheers the other contestants and also seems to be a great mentor to the Kid.  Since there have been other Ninjas in commercials, I'm surprised that a hair company hasn't approached him.

[AdorkableWitch]

Daniel Gill has grown on me. I think it is because they are finally showing him with the other contestants. Previous years it felt like he showed up for his run then was gone. Not sure if the change is editing or Daniel but it helped me not see him as kind of a snob.