I know how people love The Amazing Race 14 spoilers. Luckily, I don’t think this post will ruin the entertainment of who actually wins. It’s just neat to learn about the process of filming and running the Amazing Race.

So, here’s a really good writeup from someone spotting The Amazing Race 14 in Bucharest:

Yes, ROMANIA! Was at the arrivals area at the airport in Bucharest last night, at about 12:45am, waiting for a friend to come through baggage claim. Suddenly a man with a large videocamera appeared out of nowhere and stood waiting in front of the crowd at the automatic doors. I wondered if it would be someone important, but figured just a local soccer celebrity or something. A few seconds later an Asian couple with backpacks came running through the doors. They seemed to be looking for something and very rushed, and the cameraman followed them as they ran behind me and out the doors to the outside world. My very first thought was AMAZING RACE?!?! And then when I heard them talking to each other in English as they passed, with American accents, I thought it was an even greater chance it had been AR . . . but sadly, I’d never know the truth.

Or would I?!? Few minutes later two girls, looked to be in their 20s, came running out shouting at the crowd asking where the taxis were. Then suddenly they both stopped, looked around very confused-like like they were looking for someone, then stood off to the side a bit, literally about two feet from me. I noticed right away that they both had little yellow and red-striped markers on them, so I was getting even more convinced this was AR. Then while they were waiting, one of them took out an envelope and pulled out of it a blue pamphlet-sized type thing that had the AR symbol on the front, consulted it really quickly, then tucked it away. Now I’m 100% convinced it’s AR!! All of a sudden there was a huge flurry of activity as their camerman came running up (apparently that’s what the two girls had been waiting for), and then I saw at least two other teams and their camera crews come running through the doors – one was two slightly older African American ladies, and another was two rather short men. All four of them also had the yellow and red markers on their person (some were on fanny packs), and were being chased by cameras as they frantically ran for the taxis. I *think* there was another team arriving a little further down, but I couldn’t get a good look in all the excitement. Then last but not least, a very frantic-looking cameraman and sound man ran out in the clearing outside the automatic doors, apparently having lost their team for the moment, and paused scanning the crowd for a good minute or two. Then they took off, so presumably spotted them. Phew.

It gets better. About a half hour later my friend finally came through the double-doors from baggage claim. I was giddy with excitment to tell her about my AR spotting, and her response? “So THAT’S who they were!!” Apparently they were on her flight from Munich! At least some of them were. She was sitting right next to one of the contestants, my friend said she was a Kelly Ripa lookalike. This contestant had another friend sitting up a few rows, who she kept referring to as Chrissy. My friend said they made small talk throughout the flight, and the lady had said she and her friend were making a travel documentary, going to places off the beaten path like Romania to try and generate interest for tourists to go to those countries. So THAT’S their cover! The lady also told the flight attendant that she and her friend Chrissy are Southwest Airlines flight attendants back home. She was also asking a Romanian passenger on the other side of her for advice, my friend didn’t catch all of it but did hear them talking about the train station (how to get there, safety, etc). My friend said after the fact, knowing it was an AR team, a lot of the lady’s mysterious behavior now made sense: Spending half an hour putting on makeup before they landed (after midnight?!?), asking the flight attendant for an extra sandwich (Chrissy had told her they might need it tomorrow!), etc. My friend said that by the time the plane was ready to deboard, the Kelly Ripa lookalike and her friend Chrissy (and their telltale backpacks) had already worked themselves up to the front of the plane to deboard. She said she also had noticed one other team of two girls with backpacks and camera crews, which I suspect *may* have been the pair I saw stalled outside baggage claim, but not sure.

Soooo, long and short of it: At least two teams were for sure spotted by my friend on the flight from Munich to Bucharest; I spotted at least four teams coming thru baggage claim at about that time, one of which might have overlapped with the ones my friend spotted. They were heading for taxis, so not sure if that means a task in Bucharest, or if they were taxing to the train station to venture elsewhere in the country. Making it at least five or six teams here in Romania today! How exciting!! I live not far from Dracula’s Castle, which I’d suspect will be one of their stops, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for any more sightings!

Sorry for the ramble, but I’ve been a huge AR fan since Season 1, Episode 1, and all this time I’ve been really pulling for them to come to Romania – what are the odds I’d see them arriving at the airport here, especially at 12:45am on a Wednesday?!? Can’t wait for this season to air!!

I loved how they talked about how the racers tried to cover up that they were on The Amazing Race. Pretty cool stuff.

Also, one last TAR 14 spoiler: tar 14 started in los alamitos, california at the military base 100% correct my friends dad works at the military base

Source

It’s finally official that “Celebrity Apprentice 2″ will hold it’s premiere on March 1st. They’ve also announced that they’ll be having 2 hour episodes of the show similar to what NBC was doing with Biggest Loser. Seems like a good strategy to get the most bang for their buck.

The official cast list of Celebrity Apprentice 2 hasn’t been released by NBC, but here’s what’s been leaked:
Country singer Clint Black
Comedian Tom Green
Monster Garage star Jesse James
Professional poker player Annie Duke
Deal or No Deal briefcase model Claudia Jordan
Comedian Andrew Dice Clay
TLC member “T-Boz” Watkins
Retired NFL player Herschel Walker
R&B singer Brian McKnight
LPGA golfer Natalie Gulbis
Figure skater Scott Hamilton
Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian
Comedian Joan Rivers
Joan River’s daughter Melissa Rivers
Playmate and “Surreal Life” star Brande Roderick
Former NBA player Dennis Rodman

Of all the people on the list, I’m most looking forward to Dennis Rodman on the show. If he doesn’t hook up with the model, the playmate or Khloe Kardashian I’ll be really surprised. However, regardless he’ll offer some interesting television.

We previously reported that Jason Mesnick would be returning to the Bachelor/Bachelorette enterprise, but this time as the bachelor handing out the roses. Reality TV spoilers has a little bit of a Bachelor spoiler per People Magazine which says that Jason Mesnick is engaged after the filming of this season of the Bachelor.

“I’m engaged! I found exactly what I was hoping for, what I was looking for. I’m completely in love.” – Jason Mesnick

Looks like Bachelor fans will really enjoy this season with Jason finding love.

Check out the full video of Gurbaksh Cahal on Secret Millionaire:

I just finished watching it as I was catching up on some missed episodes and I cried like a baby again. The girl from Puerto Rico was so sad and I’m glad that “G” could help her out in some small way.

Of course, I like many others wondered why “G” was only shown giving away I believe $90k when the commitment was $100k. Well, “G” explains it all in his blog post:

After watching my episode of Secret Millionaire, I learned that reality-TV is all about post production. Even though the emotions and stories are all real – editing makes everything come to life. Nevertheless, here are some missing parts that never made the episode:
• The obvious shock, the show advertises that a millionaire will donate at least $100,000 of their money. I ended up gifting well over $100,000 – but the way editing was done – it made it seem I only gifted $90,000.
• Due to privacy issues (which I completely understand), one of the additional recipients that I gifted was completely edited out.
• St. Anthony’s is also a place where a lot of people go when they are trying to get their lives back on track. Even getting a job these days is all about getting on the Internet. So, I donated a new computer lab to St. Anthony’s.
• I was deeply touched by the kids that lived at Raphael House. So, I started a “birthday fund” so at the very least, they get a birthday gift on their special day.
• In the final part of the show – the millionaires go back into the community to follow up on the recipients that they gifted. That also did not make the final cut.
I know a part of making this show – is to keep it entertaining. So, there were certain scenes that were also edited in to add humor. I got a laugh out of them myself. I never actually said BAM four times in a row or said “grocery shopping – it’s not that easy.”
Nevertheless, my heart was always in the right place when I did Secret Millionaire. I’m proud of what I was able to do and blessed that God gave me the opportunity to start giving back at a young age. I’ve also continued to support St. Anthony’s and Raphael House throughout this year.
And, I’m sure philanthropy wise; this is only the beginning for me.

Secret Millionaire really is a wonderful show that presents the stories of a lot of people that wouldn’t be shown otherwise. It reminds you about the diversity of people and situations that exist in the world. Great stuff!

So i found this article on the deseret news website. I found it to be truly entertaining, and hope you get a good laugh from it. Somebody deserves some credit for it, but like they said in the article, the author is unknown. Here it is just in case the link doesn’t work:

BCS DECLARES GERMANY WINNER OF WORLD WAR II… US Finishes Ranked 4th

After determining the Big-12 championship game participants the BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS declared Germany to be the winner of World War II.

“Germany put together an incredible number of victories beginning with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland and continuing on into conference play with defeats of Poland, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark,Belgium and the Netherlands. Their only losses came against the US and Russia; however considering their entire body of work–including an incredibly tough Strength of Schedule–our computers deemed them worthy of the #1 ranking.”

Questioned about the #4 ranking of the United States the BCS commissioner stated “The US only had two major victories–Japan and Germany. The computer models, unlike humans, aren’t influenced by head-to-head contests–they consider each contest to be only a single, equally-weighted event.”

German Chancellor Adolph Hitler said “Yes, we lost to the US; but we defeated #2 ranked France in only 6 weeks.” Herr Hitler has been criticized for seeking dramatic victories to earn ’style points’ to enhance Germany’s rankings. Hitler protested “Our contest with Poland was in doubt until the final day and the conditions in Norway were incredibly challenging and demanded the application of additional
forces.”

The French ranking has also come under scrutiny. The BCS commented “France had a single loss against Germany and following a preseason #1 ranking they only fell to #2.”

Japan was ranked #3 with victories including Manchuria, Borneo and the Philippines.

Hard to believe, but last night was the finale! The ending was unsurprising and the episode was somewhat lackluster. There was a tight race between Nick & Starr and Ken & Tina, but there was never really any doubt who would win it in the end: Nick & Starr!

Congratulations to the brother/sister team. They truly did deserve to win – they ran an excellent race.

Team Dandrew were nowhere to be found through out much of the episode – again, not surprising. They have to be the worst team to ever make it to the top three. In their parting interview, they said they made frat brothers around the globe proud. I yelled at my screen, “No you did not!”

I was disappointed to not see Toni & Dallas at the finale cheering on the finalists. It turns out, they were stuck in Russia due to the passports being lost in the cab. Wow!! I guess my theory from last week about him calling the cab company to retrieve the passports would not have helped them stay in the leg after all.

In other news

- Dallas & Starr are dating and have been for six months! Awesome.
- A new season of the Amazing Race starts in just two months! Season 14 premieres on February 15th, 2009. Woot!

There has been a lot of talk recently about the hiring of new coaches and the process that is gone through, or not gone through, in some cases. It is pathetic how much people whine about the process when the teams, or schools, have every right to interview whoever they want, and hire whoever they want.

The dumbest thing I hear people complain about is race when it comes to hiring. I absolutely believe that there are some school administrations that are totally racist, and I completely agree that that is wrong, and has no place anywhere in the world. However, I believe that most schools and teams are looking for nothing more than a coach that will win.

There are the other areas of being a good face for the university or team, and keeping the players out of trouble, but number one on almost everyone’s list is winning. Now there is no reason to believe that a person of any particular race is more likely to win ballgames than another. The reality is that certain sports are more attractive to certain ethnicities for whatever reason.

Basketball is largely dominated by black players, and also has many black coaches. Baseball is arguably the most ethnically diverse and the managers follow suit. The sport that really is the biggest issue is football, and then it is largely at the college level that there is tremendous criticism.

The simple answer to me is that if you want more coaches of other races they need to prove they can do it. I do agree that they could certainly use more opportunities, but if you look at the numbers, there just aren’t as many coaches of other races period when you look at coordinators and other specialty coaches.

I don’t kow that there is a certain reason for that. Maybe it is because more of the players of other races go on to successful professional careers and have no interest in coaching. Maybe it is because it falls more in line with the mentality of white players to pursue coaching because they know their chances are lower to be successful pros, and maybe it is just the random nature of life.

Everyone should be given a fair shot at any job that they are qualified for and have interest in. However, the current trend of universities to name successors before the incumbent even retires really eliminates any chance of a fair search occuring. But should that really matter? Shouldn’t a business, which is what college sports are, be allowed to hire whoever they think will be the most successful? It is not for us to force something upon a business that they don’t see as being in their best interest.

As much as I want to rant again about how much the BCS sucks and that I want a playoff, I will simply leave it alone, for now.

The debate at this point is who deserves to go to the national title game. The short version: Texas and Oklahoma, but we all know that won’t happen. Realistically I would have to say it will end up being Oklahoma and Florida, but I don’t think it should be.

Lets just go through the tope few teams and plead their case.

Alabama: Their only loss came to Florida, who was ranked number two at the time, though I don’t think they deserved that ranking. As much as I would like to say Alabama deserves a shot, they don’t. They didn’t deserve to be number one either. There are multiple one loss teams that are far better and deserve the shot.

Florida: Their one loss came to an unranked Ole Miss team, AT HOME. There is simply no excuse for that, and you do not deserve a shot at the national championship if you can’t even defend your home turf against a much lesser opponent.

USC: Much along the same lines as Florida, they lost to an unranked team. While it was not at home, it was pathetic. If you want to be a national championship contender you can’t have an off week. While their loss was not as bad as Florida’s, they play in a weaker conference and don’t deserve it.

Boise St: They play in the WAC, need I say more?

Utah: Coming from just down the street, I have to give them some credit. While I would not be opposed to them playing in the national championship, I don’t feel they deserve it this year even though they are undefeated. They simply are not as good as a few other teams. Could they win? Sure, anyone can win on any given day, but I don’t think they deserve a shot.

Texas Tech: YOu have to give them some love for what they accomplished this year, and like Utah, I would not be opposed to it, but I don’t think they deserve it. When you get beat that bad, you don’t deserve a shot.

Oklahoma: Their one loss came on a neutral field to their biggest rival, and it was a great game. There was very little separating them, and it could have gone either way. They are playing some of the best period we have seen all year, and they deserve a shot.

Texas: This one to me is a no brainer. Their one loss came against a good Tech team in Lubbock. If that game is played in Austin we aren’t having this discussion because Texas is in the big game. Nonetheless they lost, but it is not enough to knock them out as I see it. They too are playing some great ball, and are the victims of unfortunate scheduling. They finished with a weaker schedule than Oklahoma and thus got robbed of their spot in the Big-12 Championship because of a stupid tie breaker rule. They definitely deserve a shot.

The BCS can say that this conflict is good for the sport and creates interest, but it really just leaves people unsatisfied and provides no closure. It only generates more ifs, ands, and buts, however this is the system in place and we must deal with it until they see the light and fix it.

I must admit that I was very excited to see the Secret Millionaire tonight on Fox. Turns out I wasn’t disappointed at all. The second episode with Todd and Gwen Graves wasn’t as good as the first, but they were both great.

The first episode featured the following millionaire:

Gregory and Cole Ruzicka, a father-and-son team from Newport Beach, CA and Maui, HI, respectively
Greg Ruzicka is the founding and managing partner of Ruzicka & Wallace, LLP, a law firm in Irvine, CA. He is also a principal broker of RS&W Realty, Inc; and an owner of Island Spirit Yoga Studio and Sportswear in Lahaina, HI. Since 1995, Ruzicka has acted as General Counsel to Real Estate Owned Managers of California (REOMAC), the national trade organization of the non-performing asset industry. Additionally, Greg has donated significant time to the surrounding courts as a Judge Pro Tempore. His son Cole is a college student, aspiring model and musician.

Gregory and Cole were awesome. They seemed sincere and honest in their experience. They really seem like they were moved by the experience and their hearts were changed. Todd and Gwen on the other hand seemed like they were still the angels coming to people’s rescue. Sure, they gave a ton of money. They gave to some incredible people. However, it still seems like they’re living in their rich world and they didn’t seem very sincere in trying to understand the importance of helping these people. It seems like understanding the people should be the most important part of living in poverty and Todd and Gwen seemed to miss the boat while Gregory and Cole seemed to soak it up.

I’m really looking forward to the next shows.

It pains me to even write the recap for this episode, I was so bummed at the outcome.

The bottom line is: Team Dandrew aka The Worst Team EVER are still in this thing and are in the final three. How? Sheer dumb luck.

When they got to the mat in 2nd place, I swear I screamed like Michael Scott when he found out Toby was back on The Office.

During the Roadblock, Dallas lost his fanny pack with all of his and Toni’s money and their passports in a cab. When he told his mom about his mistake, you could tell he was holding back the tears. I was doing the same. He seems like such a good kid and I pictured the same interaction happening between me and my oldest son – my heart broke for Dallas. They spent the remainder of their time asking for and receiving money from the kind Russian strangers on the street. I was astounded at the generosity of the Russians – so many people gave Toni & Dallas all of the money they had in their wallets without hesitation. I don’t think you would see too many Americans behaving the same way in NYC.

As they dejectedly tried to complete the Roadblock, I wondered why they didn’t try to get one of the kind Russians to help them call the taxi company to get the fanny pack back. Maybe that would have taken too much time, I don’t know. It’s hard to estimate the time that elapses on this show the way it’s edited.

Anyway, Toni & Dallas never did recover and Phil finally put them out of their misery by meeting them on the street as they tried to get to the next location. He informed them the 3 other teams already checked in, therefore they were eliminated.

I guess I’ll be hoping for a Nick & Starr win; they are the team that truly deserves it. Watching the finale won’t hold much excitement for me, though, without Toni & Dallas there.

And now I need to find out if Dallas and Starr continued their romance once the show ended. I’ll report back if I find anything.