S11.E12: Cincinnati City Finals

[Lantern7]

Michelle Warnky just completed the regional finals course. Discuss.

Brandon Mears also cleared the course, but I don’t think Matt and Akbar needed to get hosed off after his run. 😜

Edited August 20, 2019 by Lantern7

[Hellga]

When I saw the first person running tonight complete the course, I knew we would have a lot of completers, so I am not that surprised.  But I am happy for her!  She deserves it, too.

But this shows how uneven courses can be... last week's was just unfairly tough in the eighth obstacle.

[Hellga]

Yuck, last thing I wanted to follow Michelle's success is ANOTHER background story on Grant McCartney.   He just irritates me.

At least he didn't waste time.  OK.  Less irritating than he could be. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Hellga

[Taeolas]

Allyssa Beird would probably have loved this course. All the leches she could ever want with no reverse grabs. I think that's the key to so many completing the course this time.  Wingnuts in line are not a challenge any more. The slingshot's rubber bands a bit of a wrinkle but not too difficult; just add a bit more energy. The basketball one is your standard hopper challenge; you just have to keep your hands closer together. The twisting one is a slight challenge, but it's been there a few years now so it's a known obstacle. 

Angry Birds had a horrible blind jump from an unstable platform to an unstable platform. And Northwest Passage had a hard climb after a lot of upper body work (granted I think Allyssa would have loved NWP considering her response to the AMA in the previous thread). 

So yeah this course was significantly simpler than the last two. 

So Michelle needed stitches over her eye; amazing how little it hasn't healed in the 6 weeks. </sarcasm> 🙂

Really the fact that she's done this less than a day or so after that injury is even more amazing. And yeah I wonder how long they had to wait to hose off Matt and Akbar's booth after she climbed the wall? 🙂

Edited August 20, 2019 by Taeolas

[Hellga]

Glad to see Dan Polizzi make it.  He is really handsome.  

[ClareWalks]

This course is ridiculously easy compared to others we've seen. Bummed about Jackson Twait, he made such an awesome save but just tapped that water.

[Lantern7]

17 minutes ago, Hellga said:

Glad to see Dan Polizzi make it.  He is really handsome.  

And it got WWWA. Of course.

No chance the Towers of Power will face off at the Power Tower, but the concept is funny.

ETA: I’m running behind. Hershey is a cute doggy, but I don’t think she was thrilled to be there.

Edited August 20, 2019 by Lantern7

[Hellga]

Yup, now it looks like Swanson and Mears on the Power Tower.  Is there anyone left who has a realistic chance to displace these two?  I hope Flex LaBreck makes the buzzer, but she isn't likely to be fast enough...

[EllenB]

It's an easier course than the last few weeks, but still a lot harder than the ones from previous seasons.  So Michelle Warnky is way more awesome than Catanzaro.

[EllenB]

And Flex!!!

[Chaos Theory]

After two incredibly boring weeks and that stupid Angry Birds we have Slam Dunk  which is a skills challenge that doesn’t rely on luck and Michelle Warnky And Flex Labreck who becomes the second and third women To complete  the city finals.   

Kinda disappointed neither  get to compete in the tower thing.  

Awesome night!!!!

Edited August 20, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Hellga]

And Flex did it! 

I am happy for her and Michelle, but a cynic in me is asking if the course being easier today vs. the last two weeks hasn't been rigged to give them that opportunity...

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, EllenB said:

It's an easier course than the last few weeks, but still a lot harder than the ones from previous seasons.  So Michelle Warnky is way more awesome than Catanzaro.

Agreed, but then again there are way more finishers tonight than there were in Dallas that year, which shows how much better the ninjas have collectively gotten too!

[Conotocarious]

1 minute ago, Hellga said:

And Flex did it! 

I am happy for her and Michelle, but a cynic in me is asking if the course being easier today vs. the last two weeks hasn't been rigged to give them that opportunity...

Why them and not Jesse Graff?

[mtlchick]

Thank God we no longer need to hear that Kacy is the ONLY WOMAN EVER! To beat a city final.  Now I wait for the day Jessie finally beats it. 

Meanwhile, if ANW says "we are going to do a 3 hour special on the PETS of the ninjas!" I will totally watch that.  Hershey is ADORABLE and Sammo is the man...um, pig. 

[Hellga]

8 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

Why them and not Jesse Graff?

Wasn't Jesse the only truly strong woman in her city?  Maybe they wanted a city with the best shots for success? They have been clamoring for another woman to hit the city finals buzzer for a long time... but again, just conspiracy theorist in me.  And wanting to see if Alyssa Beird would have hit a buzzer tonight too... though so many factors play.  Just like the lunch lady who did amazing in qualifiers did poorly today.

I am glad Michael Torres and not Swanson got the safety pass.  I don't care for Ethan Swanson.  And I remember the first season Michael competed, when he was still a carpenter and not a ninja trainer, I liked him then.

Edited August 20, 2019 by Hellga

[ams1001]

I couldn't stop looking at Jeri D'Aurelio's sister's baby every time they showed her family. A.) Adorable. B.) Appeared to sleep through the whole thing. Even with ears covered...how?!

I love the comment about Michele Warnky "still" being bruised from hitting her face...as if it didn't just happen the night before. "She had to get eight stitches...she's still bruised!" Yeah, and she still clearly has eight stitches, too.

OMG PUPPY!!!

"Taking that shirt off so he can go faster." If you're concerned about your clothes slowing you down...maybe don't wear jeans?

Yeah, I'm sure the cat is "watching" from home. Just like Brandon Mears's newborn was watching from home. His son barely seemed to be watching and he was right there on the sidelines.

Poor Chris DiGangi. He finished and he still gets WWWA'd. I love how proud he was of Jesse, though.

Edited August 20, 2019 by ams1001

[Chaos Theory]

15 minutes ago, Hellga said:

And Flex did it! 

I am happy for her and Michelle, but a cynic in me is asking if the course being easier today vs. the last two weeks hasn't been rigged to give them that opportunity...

I think “rigged” is the wrong word.   The angry birds course last week relied too much on blind luck instead of being a skills obstacle.  If any obstacle was rigged it would be that one but rigged to fail.   

I am disappointed that Flex and Michelle weren’t given and opportunity to run the tower against each other for a free pass.  That would have been awesome.  

[ams1001]

39 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

ETA: I’m running behind. Hershey is a cute doggy, but I don’t think she was thrilled to be there.

I feared for Hershey with all the jumping up and down on the sidelines. Was waiting for her to go flying.

[DEL901]

My PVR cut off the final standings.  I know they said McCarty made it... but they certainly didn’t expect Flex to finish.   Does she bump him out of contention?

[Taeolas]

He was 11th when the last male contestant flared out. So when Lebrek ran, it knocked him to 12th and he was still in. (Technically 13th probably due to the Speed Pass winner). 

Gratz on Flex also getting in, and getting legit into the Top 12 at that. IMO next year they have to have a flat 15 finalists per city (unless more than 15 complete of course), and the speed pass winner and women take either the last 3 slots, or the Top 15 get in if the speed pass and the women get in the Top 15. 

[Richness]

Congrats to the Queens of Cincinnati for making it to the final buzzer! Go Labreck and Warnky! Seeing Beird and others in tears over their accomplishments were quite moving.

Wouldn't have been disappointed if McCartney didn't make it to finals. While he was relatively benign on the course, his lead up theatrics were fast forwarded, as were the wrestler's on-course theatrics.

While I find the grammatical concept of the Towers of Power competing for the Power Tower to be appealing, I'm glad two other ninjas made it instead. Also glad Torres got the Safety Pass since Swanson had the Speed Pass. Spread the love/reward around a bit.

Finally, Hershey is adorable!

[Lantern7]

1. I'm confused. Do we get one hundred ninjas running in Las Vegas? How does that break down per region? I'm thinking maybe wild cards might have to come back, albeit based on merit and degree of course difficulty.

2. NBC promos are hyping the Finals, telling us one ninja will win $1 million. I think it's not only a matter of guessing which one, but also if any of them have to use a Safety Pass, and whether that would taint their win.

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

whether that would taint their win.

I'm sure they'll still be able to cash the check, tainted or not. 

[Taeolas]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

1. I'm confused. Do we get one hundred ninjas running in Las Vegas? How does that break down per region? I'm thinking maybe wild cards might have to come back, albeit based on merit and degree of course difficulty.

Wiki is fully up to date with who is going on now and their times.

Each region has a maximum of 15 Ninjas. Top 12 finishers + the speed pass winner (even if they reached the Top 12; that makes it the Top 13). Unlike the speed pass, if a woman makes it to the Top 12 it does NOT add another spot for a ninja. 

So going through the finals:

* LA: 15 Ninjas

* Atlanta: 15 Ninjas 

* OK City: 15 Ninjas

* Seattle/Tacoma: 13 Ninjas (Top 2 women in the Top 12) (Just noticed only 4 ninjas made it to Northwest Passage in the first place)

* Baltimore: 14 Ninjas (1 woman in the Top 12)

* Cincinnati: 13 Ninjas (2 women in the top 12)

Looks like 85 Ninjas total are going through, out of a maximum of 90 Ninjas. So we wouldn't have 100 even in the best case. 

[Rickster]

Thinking about this, isn"t the Speed Pass sort of irrelevant? Anyone who is good enough to win it is going to be good enough make it to Vegas anyway, and is going to compete in the city finals to get the Safety Pass, which is really valuable in Vegas.

I'd guess though, NBC likes having a climb-off to wrap up each show. I also realized that no woman is ever going to get a Safety Pass.

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, Rickster said:

Thinking about this, isn"t the Speed Pass sort of irrelevant? Anyone who is good enough to win it is going to be good enough make it to Vegas anyway, and is going to compete in the city finals to get the Safety Pass, which is really valuable in Vegas.

I'd guess though, NBC likes having a climb-off to wrap up each show. I also realized that no woman is ever going to get a Safety Pass.

There is always a chance you will get a Baltimore City Final course which in my opinion was complete bullshit.   It all came down to who got to Angry Birds fastest which wasn’t even the last obstacle before the climb.    So having both passes have their uses.  I forget which is which but one guarantees you get to Vegas and the other allows for a stupid mistake.  

[Taeolas]

I think the Passes are a bit of a trap for the ninjas. They encourage Ninjas to try to go fast to get the Top 2 spots; which for some ninjas can lead to spectacular blowouts on the course. Granted I think most ninjas know their abilities and pace themselves appropriately. Most know they have no real chance at the pass so are just looking to finish or to get a personal best. 

One thing that is very telling, is how well the women are improving on the course. Not only did we have 2 city final winners this year; but we're getting more and more women showing up in the Top 30 of the first city round, and even in the Top 15 of the finals.  The women are becoming competitive in their times; I suspect in many cases they just need more examples and more experience in running the full course and soon their times will start coming down more as well, to the point where they will be contenders for the Speed/Safety passes. 

I'd dare say, in 5 years or so (assuming ANW is still going), we'll start seeing women doing speed runs on the course like Drew and Flip tend to do. Allyssa, Flex, Jessie and Michelle are showing it is possible, but none of them are going fast yet. Soon we're going to start seeing women going for speed I'm sure. 

[questionfear]

12 hours ago, Hellga said:

And Flex did it! 

I am happy for her and Michelle, but a cynic in me is asking if the course being easier today vs. the last two weeks hasn't been rigged to give them that opportunity...

I think it's far more likely they rejiggered the airing order of the cities in order to end the city finals on a high note-i don't know the behind the scenes order but I doubt they had time/warning to adjust Ohio to make sure there were winners (assuming Ohio even filmed last-they might just have aired it last). 

[enoughcats]

12 hours ago, Hellga said:

And Flex did it! 

I am happy for her and Michelle, but a cynic in me is asking if the course being easier today vs. the last two weeks hasn't been rigged to give them that opportunity...

What were their backgrounds?  pole vaulting, gymnastics seem to produce women with upper body strength.  BUT pole vaulters seem to be tall and lightweight because it helps in their movements.  Flex is short and didn't have to do any long reaches from a stationery start (that have caused a lot of shorter folks to splash down.)

12 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

which shows how much better the ninjas have collectively gotten too!

Um....got to disagree.  I think the difference is that a lot of ninjas now have training spaces dedicated to the obstacles they expect to face.  Back when the wall was new, most couldn't get up it.  Then walls started appearing in the "Joe trains here" segments and Joe and Josephine both have seen the wall and know how to pace themselves to get up it.  Yes, it takes dedicated training but even the wingnuts aren't new to the majority of these folks.

[ClareWalks]

4 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Um....got to disagree.  I think the difference is that a lot of ninjas now have training spaces dedicated to the obstacles they expect to face.  Back when the wall was new, most couldn't get up it.  Then walls started appearing in the "Joe trains here" segments and Joe and Josephine both have seen the wall and know how to pace themselves to get up it.  Yes, it takes dedicated training but even the wingnuts aren't new to the majority of these folks.

Yeah, practice = improvement. Which means they're getting better. Look at the courses from season 3, 4, 5. They were ridiculously simple and easy compared to now. Ninja has become a much more competitive sport because these folks train on a huge variety of obstacles and thereby develop tons of skills.

[Taeolas]

24 minutes ago, questionfear said:

I think it's far more likely they rejiggered the airing order of the cities in order to end the city finals on a high note-i don't know the behind the scenes order but I doubt they had time/warning to adjust Ohio to make sure there were winners (assuming Ohio even filmed last-they might just have aired it last). 

Wiki has the schedule, including taping dates

Looks like there was only one order change, putting Tacoma (Taped May 11-12) ahead of Baltimore (April 28-29).

Cincinnati was always the last, taping May 24-25.

The Baltimore switcharoo for the taping was probably product placement related; to make sure it lined up with Angry Birds 2 release once all the dates were finalized. 

[healthnut]

1 hour ago, enoughcats said:

What were their backgrounds?  pole vaulting, gymnastics seem to produce women with upper body strength.  BUT pole vaulters seem to be tall and lightweight because it helps in their movements.  Flex is short and didn't have to do any long reaches from a stationery start (that have caused a lot of shorter folks to splash down.)

Flex has a track background, specifically heptathlon. And she’s definitely not short, at 5’7”, she’s one of the taller female ninjas. Not sure about Michelle Warnky’s background. 

6 hours ago, Taeolas said:

Seattle/Tacoma: 13 Ninjas (Top 2 women in the Top 12) (Just noticed only 4 ninjas made it to Northwest Passage in the first place)

Actually, only three made it: Dan Yager, Karson Voiles, and Jessie Graf. 

[enoughcats]

Started in 1980, the women't heptathon is different from the men's which is an indoor sport.

According to wikipedia this may be the NCAA version:

The women's outdoor heptathlon consists of the following events, with the first four contested on the first day, and the remaining three on day two:

100 metres hurdles

High jump

Shot put

200 metres

Long jump

Javelin throw

800 metres

[sd dude]

I am very curious what those balls weighed and what they are made of.  A couple of folks who wiped out on the basketball dunk came down with that ball falling at the same time.  I was waiting for someone to take that on the noggin and suffer some significant skull damage.

[Taeolas]

They looked like molded rubber, maybe with a plastic core or something. Still I don't think they were anywhere near as dangerous as the grips on Northwest Passage. 

For SlamDunk, it seemed if a ball was going to fall, it had to be pulled down by the ninja, so the ball is falling with the ninja on the way down. It doesn't have any sharp edges so it should just be a glancing blow at roughly the same speed as the ninja at worst.

Northwest Passage was a hell of a lot worst; it had metal grips with flat edges and possibly corners. And the design was such that the handle could possibly hang on the course and then drop long after the ninja has gone down. It just feels a hell of a lot less safe than Slam dunk is. 

[Chaos Theory]

The courses have gotten increasingly difficult as the athletes (and yes they are athletes) have gotten better at them.  Even the stand bye warped wall has gotten taller.  The last two obstacles in finals are supposed to be upper body skills obstacles but sometimes the creators get a little nuts with them.  I am not sure if last weeks Angry Birds was actually impossible or if it was something like the Wedge that  was something no one could figure out....until someone figured it out and now it’s fun to watch people on it. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[saber5055]

14 hours ago, ams1001 said:

"Taking that shirt off so he can go faster." If you're concerned about your clothes slowing you down...maybe don't wear jeans? 

Yeah, I'm sure the cat is "watching" from home. Just like Brandon Mears's newborn was watching from home. His son barely seemed to be watching and he was right there on the sidelines. 

I laughed at that "taking off shirt so he can go faster" line. If that's the case, Speedo Ninja should be flying through so quickly the cameras can't keep up with him. There was no reason to take off the shirt at that point other than to showboat. Except what was under the shirt wasn't that impressive IMO.

I was getting a kick out of the Tower of Power ninja who was doing ANW for his son. First, I hate that, do it for yourself dude. Second. the son who was on the sidelines looked like he was terrified and ready to burst into tears what with all the crowd yelling and people jumping up and down. And his dad doing those dangerous things. The kid looked traumatized for sure.

I liked the Slam Dunk obstacle. Kind of funny Grant fell on it. I did appreciate Grant actually concentrating and trying to get through the course instead of spending his time being Mr. Look At Me. I hope he's getting past that showboat business.

This episode was more fun since more ninjas made it through. Hated last week. Loved the big smile on Michelle's face as she went up the wall to the buzzer. She knew she was going to hit it.

The show thanks the wrestler ninja so they could compare him to Kacey.

You're welcome.

[mlp]

What a difference a week makes.  Last week bordered on boring and was frustrating to watch.  I really enjoyed last night's show.  I hope the producers take note of all the comments on social media saying much the same thing.  

The only valid reason I can think of for someone to strip off his shirt in mid-run would be if the next obstacle required some kind of full body contact and skin-to-object would increase traction.  I can't think of any obstacle like that so it's all showboating.  

I didn't understand why Matt and Akbar kept referencing "Chicago area."  Cincinnati is in far southwest Ohio on the Kentucky border.  It's nowhere near Chicago and not even remotely considered Chicago area.

[EllenB]

11 minutes ago, mlp said:

I didn't understand why Matt and Akbar kept referencing "Chicago area."  Cincinnati is in far southwest Ohio on the Kentucky border.  It's nowhere near Chicago and not even remotely considered Chicago area.

I thought they meant competitors from the Chicago area.  I'm pretty sure they said that specifically a few times.

[Rosenrot]

At the risk of sounding extremely stupid, I have to ask this, because even after several years of watching ANW, I'm still not sure about this.  

So let's imagine that three women got a really good result - two getting all the way to the buzzer (like in this episode) and the third one, she fell but got a really good time and is in the top-12 with all the dudes. Does she get to advance? Or is it that only the top-2 women advance (in this case the ones getting the buzzer) even though the rest had top-12 worthy times? Surely that cannot be the case? 

[Taeolas]

The Top 12 Ninjas get in no matter what. So if 3 women are in the Top 12 finishing ninjas, all 3 would get to go to Vegas. (and Matt and Akbar would probably need to be hospitalized to recover 🙂 )

I don't think it's been clearly stated but I suspect if 13 Ninjas hit the button in the finals course, all 13 will get to go to Vegas, even though there was a 12 Ninja limit. Completing the course trumps limits. 

The 2 women rule was added to replace the old less obvious wildcard system to make sure women could get onto the Vegas course. Now there is a clearly defined way that all of the Ninjas make it to Vegas, and no seemingly random picks. (If the Wildcard system was still in play, I suspect we would see some of the big ninjas that wiped hard this year go to Vegas anyways)

As I have said in the other threads, I do hope they modify it like the speed pass works; basically start with 15 ninjas going to Vegas. If the speed pass winner doesn't make Top 14, they get the 15th spot. If a woman or two don't get into the Top 15, then they get the last two spots.  That makes sure each city is sending at least 15 Ninjas to Vegas. (unlike this year where 3 cities are sending 13 or 14 ninjas instead)

[Hellga]

10 hours ago, Rickster said:

I also realized that no woman is ever going to get a Safety Pass.

While women are not likely to get the safety pass based on speed, a woman could qualify for the power tower based on going further than all the men or all but one man.   And on the power tower, she could win if her competitor made a mistake in a rush.  Unlikely, but not impossible. 

[ClareWalks]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Second. the son who was on the sidelines looked like he was terrified and ready to burst into tears what with all the crowd yelling and people jumping up and down. And his dad doing those dangerous things. The kid looked traumatized for sure.

I would never bring such a young kid out to the course, for the reasons you mentioned PLUS it's the middle of the damn night! No kid is going to behave predictably at 3 AM!

[ams1001]

4 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I was getting a kick out of the Tower of Power ninja who was doing ANW for his son. First, I hate that, do it for yourself dude. Second. the son who was on the sidelines looked like he was terrified and ready to burst into tears what with all the crowd yelling and people jumping up and down. And his dad doing those dangerous things. The kid looked traumatized for sure.

Not to mention...he's two. He's not gonna remember any of this. If you're doing it for your kids, at least wait until they're old enough to understand what the hell's going on. (They didn't have his ears covered, either. Imagine all that noise on those tiny ears. At least the infant on the sidelines had those big earmuff things on.)

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, Hellga said:

While women are not likely to get the safety pass based on speed, a woman could qualify for the power tower based on going further than all the men or all but one man.   And on the power tower, she could win if her competitor made a mistake in a rush.  Unlikely, but not impossible. 

There was that year Jessie Graff was the first person to get passed The Wedge and ended up coming in 2nd place because of it.  

[srpturtle80]

22 hours ago, ams1001 said:

I feared for Hershey with all the jumping up and down on the sidelines. Was waiting for her to go flying.

I was worried that poor puppy was going to need to undergo concussion protocol following his owner’s run. 😕

That episode was considerably more fun to watch than the last two weeks. Loved the ladies kicking so much ass. I still want to be Jesse Labreck when I grow up. I loved how excited all of her peeps on the sidelines were for her. Especially Digangi. Glad he finally matched her in the course as well! 

Was definitely bummed for cat guy, I had high hopes for him. 

Loved the first kid, his run was very inspiring. He even made Zuri cry! 

I too am glad Grant seems to have realized the idiocy of him doing his showboating while running, but I still wish he’d tone it down before his run as well. He got lucky for sure. 

I am surprised they are giving away how it ends already, but I think I’m even more excited to watch now. My money’s on Drew! 

Edited August 21, 2019 by srpturtle80

[Nonja]

SUCH a better episode! 

Super happy for Michelle and her obviously 1-day old headwound. And I thought it was cool that Kacy sent out her support for Michelle as soon as she broke the streak.

Happy for all the finishers! And all of the non-finishing small victories...Ninja Phil, Jeri, and Grant for being more serious and quite lucky. 

I wish they would have showed more of Ethan Swanson on the slingshot, he makes it look like his own personal party trick. 

I cant wait for Nationals now.

[TimothyQ]

Have we ever had a 4 episode national finals before? Either we’re going to have a lot of people getting to stage 3 or they’re planning lots of background sob-story videos. Hopefully the former. I’d hate for the finals to be bloated.

[questionfear]

8 minutes ago, TimothyQ said:

Have we ever had a 4 episode national finals before? Either we’re going to have a lot of people getting to stage 3 or they’re planning lots of background sob-story videos. Hopefully the former. I’d hate for the finals to be bloated.

It's probably to accommodate the safety pass re-runs...and there's a rumor there's a reason the national finals take longer this year.