http://www.tvguide.com/News/Amazing-Race-Winners-Ernie-Cindy-1040747.aspx

http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/4921-the-amazing-race-19-exclusive-interview-with-jeremy-cline-and-sandy-draghi

AFTER 4 CONTINENTS, 20 CITIES AND NEARLY 40,000 MILES, THE FINAL THREE TEAMS COMPETE FOR THE ONE MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE, ON THE SEASON FINALE OF “THE AMAZING RACE,” DEC. 11

CHEAT TWEET: 4 continents, 20 cities & nearly 40,000 miles! #AmazingRace season finale 12/11 at 8pmET/PT! Who will B Team # 1? http://bit.ly/vXkjNv

“Go Out and Get It Done” (Atlanta, Ga.) – After racing through 4 continents, 20 cities and nearly 40,000 miles, the final three teams race to Atlanta, Ga., where a smooth landing evades one team as their competition soars. In the end, the winning team is crowned and awarded the $1 million dollar prize, on the season finale of THE AMAZING RACE Sunday, Dec. 11 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Phil Keoghan is the host.

Also, there appears to be 2 Roadblocks in the finale (so probably NO detour like last season). One Roadblock is in that mansion? with Ernie typing and Cindy saying she probably should have done this one; and the other is that HUGE map where it looks like they have to use rock climbing gear to string a rope through carabiners showing the race route. Looks like we see Cindy and Jeremy doing this Roadblock. I think Jeremy’s strength would allow him to finish faster than Cindy but did Cindy arrive first. She would definitely know the route! No sign of Amani nor Marcus but they could have already completed it.

The previews seem to be hinting at a win by Jeremy & Sandy but I’m still rooting for Ernie & Cindy. Can’t wait to see the finale!

1) Choosing the Final 3 order is not a 1 in 3 chance as Harry said it is 1 in 6 chance (3 Factorial) since 3 teams A, B, and C can finish in order ABC, ACB, BAC, BCA, CAB, or CBA.

2) I thought the Tintin challenge was cute but I now realize it was most likely a product placement for the movie “The Adventures of Tintin” http://www.us.movie.tintin.com/ coming out on Dec 21st!

Hi Al and Joyce

Sure enough, confessional videos in Episode 9 revealed that Bill and Cathi would be eliminated in Episode 10 since they were the only team where the confessional video did NOT have the blue Atomium lights in the background. There really wasn’t much opportunity in this episode for Bill and Cathi to make up any time on the competition and it became obvious they were going to be eliminated.

I did however like that the teams were driving themselves and so if they got lost it was their fault and not random bad luck of getting a taxi cab driver who doesn’t know where to go.

Joyce your intution was wrong about Andy and Tommy. They were not eliminated on leg 10 they WON leg 10! Andy and Tommy have now won 6 of 10 legs and have tied two second place teams with 6 wins (Colin & Christie from Season 5 and Eric & Jeremy from Season 9).

The record is 7 leg wins held by Nick & Star from Season 13 who won 7 of 11 legs (or 63.6% the highest percentage wins in history) and Meghan & Cheyne from Season 15 who won 7 of 12 legs.

So Andy and Tommy need to win one of the next two legs to tie the record of 7 wins and they need to win both legs to have the most leg wins in Amazing Race history.

After 10 legs the average finish is as follows

4th: 4.7 Armani & Marcus
3rd: 4.0 Jeremy & Sandy
2nd: 3.1 Ernie & Cindy
1st: 2.5 Andy & Tommy

And that is coincidentally how they finished Leg 10.

Preview shows that they are going to Panama for Leg 11 (which is where Armani & Marcus won a trip to!) and my DVR program guide says the Finale is in Atlanta, Georgia. Armani & Marcus are from Pine Mountain, Georgia so this could be a BIG advantage for them! However, I think Armani & Marcus will get eliminated in Panama on Leg 11 and they will be REALLY disappointed when they find out the end city is there home state of Georgia!

I’m still rooting for Ernie & Cindy to win but I have a feeling that Andy & Tommy might win both Legs 11 and the Finale and end up being the only 8 leg winners in Amazing Race history.

MikeK from SoCal

I exchanged messages with Cindy on Facebook and she told me she had a really bad accident on the bicycle taxi on Leg 7. That is probably where she got that big bruise from.

Regarding Andy and Tommy injuries I found this info.

Andy Injuries
http://www.go211.com/pros/qanda/Finch/2

19. What’s the worst injury you have ever gotten snowboarding?

There is a few answers to this question. The most painful was a really bad lower back contusion. The most serious was a couple days spent in the hospital in Sweden which just turned out to be a sprained sternum and bruised lungs. The injury in my opinion that was the worst and I will feel the rest of my life. I crushed my right knee when I was 18 and have had 3 surgeries on it since. By the grace of God it keeps working! Andy

Tommy Injuries
http://www.magxzine.com/modules.cfm?name=Athlete_Profiles&iid=24

INJURIES: Czeschin has been plagued by knee problems over the past few years, but he’s been able to come back stronger than ever thanks to surgery (right knee in 2000 and left knee in 2002) and proper rehab.

MikeK from SoCal

Hi Al and Joyce

Kind of a boring To Be Continued Leg of the Amazing Race but it was obvious they needed one with 3 legs left otherwise there would have only been 2 teams in the Finale on December 11th.

I looked up the Hans Christian Anderson statue and images of it do NOT show the plaque with the poem which was obviously added by the Amazing Race. Armani did an awesome job on this Road Block and is probably the reason they finished first on this leg.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/4/3937166-Statue_of_Hans_Christian_Andersen_Copenhagen.jpg

Once again Ernie & Cindy show they are so well prepared for this race. Ernie once lived nearby (and Cindy was correct that Ernie speaks with an American Accent not Dialect) and in a CBS Extra Video Ernie & Cindy talk about how they bought Legos before the race and practiced having one read the instructions and tell the other how to put together the item with the TV blaring for distraction. Amazing.

Did you guys notice that the music at the Lego challenge sounded a bit like the Pirates of the Carribean theme song? I wonder if they had to pay Disney any royalties for that?!

I’m a big train fan and on trains you are not required to go find a conductor to give them your tickets. It is the responsiblity of the conductor to find you and collect your tickets. Ernie and Cindy had purchased tickets so they were not cheating the train company out of money but they probably would have been detained and delayed if the conductor had come by to collect tickets. Often on commuter trains or when transferring from an overnight train to a commuter train they don’t bother collecting tickets. This is likely what happened. The second train looked like a high speed German ICE (Inter City Express) commuter train and the staff are probably more concerned about being on time then collecting tickets.

The bodybuilding competition was actually a Detour but CBS didn’t show the other side of the Detour. You can see that Cathi has a Yellow colored clue which is for Detours. I also don’t like competitions where there is subjective judging to complete the task. I’m amazed that they all chose bodybuilding! The other option must have been very difficult.

In the previews for next week you can see a large metal ball object. That is the Atomium built for the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958 (the year I was born) and is the most popular tourist attraction in Brussels. At night the Atomium lights up with Blue lights. In the confessionals and extra videos for Episode 9 every team but one has the Blue lights of the Atomium behind them. This must be the Pit Stop for Episode 10 but I wonder if that team without the Atomium in the background is the team to be eliminated?

Only 5 teams and 3 Episodes and 3 Legs left! That should mean elimination this Sunday and next Sunday with Final 3 teams on Sunday the 11th Finale.

MikeK from SoCal

The average is 3 Non-Elimination legs per season.

4 Non-Elims in 4 Seasons (1-2,5,11)
3 Non-Elims in 10 Seasons (3-4,6-10,15-17)
2 Non-Elims in 3 Seasons (12-14)
1 Non-Elim in 1 Season (18) but 2 Double Legs

Armani and Marcus got really lucky to not be eliminated! I really don’t see why most of you think they are a good team. Sure they are a likeable team but they are NOT a good team. Their average finish is 5.7 and they are currently last and must do a Speed Bump this week.

When you two choose who would do the Road Block remember the teams only have the question to guide them, they don’t know the details of the Road Block.

Regarding editing and the clues I’ve noticed they’ve often used generic shots of the clues and I’ve noticed they have more clues then there are teams remaining so you don’t know what place you are in.

Marcus commenting that he would quit if he had to do the tobacco job was just hyperbole about how very hard that job is giving props to the workers.

I totally agree with Joyce that teams should be checked in in the order they arrive even if they had to go back and pay the truck driver.

Andy and Thomas felt bad about beating Laurence and Zac in Leg 3 because Laurence and Zac had helped them with the detour. They didn’t feel badly this week winning by technicality because Justin and Jennifer had not helped
them on this leg.

Due to Andy & Thomas domminance and the fact that both Bill and Jeremy have done FIVE of the Seven Road Blocks I’m changing my predictions which are now:

1st Andy & Thomas
2nd Ernie & Cindy
3rd Justin & Jennifer

4th Laurence & Zac
5th Armani & Marcus
6th Jeremy & Sandy
7th and eliminated Bill & Cathi

MikeK from SoCal

There are also instructions as to what to read on TV and what NOT to read, and instructions to teams to argue, how to mispronounce a city, etc. Lots of stuff we don’t get to see to help make the show more “interesting”. Check out the TAR Files:

Tips For Better Racing, Part 1
“How To Read A Clue” (Detour & Route Info)
http://www.tarflies.com/article.php?_f=detail&id=420

Tips For Better Racing, Part 2
“The STOP RACING and Other Lesser-Known Clues”
http://www.tarflies.com/article.php?_f=detail&id=431

Tips For Better Racing, Part 3
The “Fast Forward” and Road Block
http://www.tarflies.com/article.php?_f=detail&id=447

Tips For Better Racing, Part 4
“How to Read a Map”
http://www.tarflies.com/article.php?_f=detail&id=458

PLASTIMO IRIS 50 HAND COMPASS YELLOW $79.95
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RV Ops Plastimo IRIS 50 MILS
http://www.rvops.co.uk/plastimo-iris-50-compass-mils-2559.html

RVOps Plastimo IRIS 50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP3vbSRfoE4

West Marine Iris 50 Hand Bearing Compass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyT4vhiRMs8

Loving your Fast Forward podcast. Just left you positive
feedback on iTunes. Thanks so much for the time and effort
you put into the podcast each week. Your recaps are so
good and detailed that I practically don’t have to watch
the TV show! Plus all the other segments are so interesting
and well produced. Great job!

Also, THANKS so much for wishing me Happy Birthday. That was
a great surprise! Once again, Happy Birthday to Al too!
Amazing our birthdays are back to back!

I don’t understand why Ernie could not continue riding
his bicycle with only one pedal. The guy trying to repair
the pedal did NOT know what he was doing. Watch carefully
and you’ll see he is trying to tighten the pedal by turning
it to the right but pedals are tightened BACKWARDS so they
don’t rotate off from pedaling! And the final repair job
he did was awful!

I’m VERY impressed with Cindy’s pre-”Race” boot camp which
included language and geography lessons! And even though she
is a self proclaimed perfectionist she only had a minor
break down on Episode 2 after finding out they had to go
back to the orphanage and she handled the bike incident well.
I agree with Al and Joyce that Ernie and Cindy are the
favorites to win this season.

I was definitely not surprised to see Andy & Thomas team
up with Laurence & Zac, in fact I predicted they would team
up. Andy & Thomas proved they are good guys trying to tell
Laurence & Zac to read their clue more carefully regarding
the buckets and stopping to help Armani & Marcus by giving
them the answer to the Road Block

By the way, I don’t think that was cheating at all. We have
often seen teams give the answer to other teams. I think
Andy & Thomas have befriended Armani & Marcus (the 3 men
all being athletes) and I think Andy & Thomas probably think
Armani and Marcus are a lower tier team and so they don’t
worry about helping them.

I can NOT believe Armani & Marcus decided to ditch Grass Fed
and switch to Rice Field. If they make another dumb decision
like that the are likely to get eliminated.

It was interesting to see all the teams helping each other
solve the Road Block. However I was surprised that one team
would leave while the other teams were giving their answer.
I would have thought they would have agreed that since they
all contributed that they would wait for their partner teams
to give their answer and then all take off at the same time.
I mean, what determined which team would give their answer first?

I was sad to see Kaylani and Lisa get eliminated. They were
growing on me but I didn’t think they had any chance to win.

I’m enjoying watching Justin and Jennifer bicker since we
need some drama on the show. I also think they are a good
team and I expect to see them in the Final 4.

If you remove the orphanage sign twist and take the original
finish and add up each week you’ll find the best average
finish is 2.3 for Ernie/Cindy, 3.3 for Jeremy/Sandy,
4.0 for Andy/Thomas, and 4.3 for Justin/Jennifer.

The bottom 4 teams have an average finish of 5.3 Laurence/Zac,
6.0 for Armani/Marcus, 6.6 Liz/Marie, and 7.0 Bill/Cathi.

I think Liz and Marie will be the next team eliminated.

MikeK from SoCal

Ethan & Jenna also said they read the sign but thought it meant to give all of their Rupiah to the orphans which they did. They had a small amount of US currency they had not converted to Rupiah which they did not turn in. They figured since the orphans handed them the clue/medallion that they had completed the challenge.

I re-watched the money exchange with the orphans and NO team received a normal “clue” they all received only the medallion. They show teams putting the money into an envelope to hand to the orphans but NEVER receive anything except the medallion even after returning to give them all their money.

I really dislike this extra sign which was NOT decorated in Amazing Race colors. They should NOT have received the medallion until they turned in all their money! This silly obstacle tripped up 8 of 11 teams including ALL of the top teams.

The only 3 teams to read and follow the sign were the middle 3 weaker teams (Andy/Tommy, Laurence/Zac, Kaylani/Lisa) which I think happened because they were mid pack and not concerned with first place nor being double eliminated so took their time. The teams in the front and back of the pack were all in a hurry and missed the sign.

If you toss out the silly sign obstacle you’ll see that Ernie/Cindy, Jeremy/Sandy and Justin/Jennifer all finished at the top of the pack just like Episode 1. I think these 3 teams will be battling for the top 3 spots all season. Liz/Marie and Bill/Cathi moved up this episode but I expect both teams will be eliminated soon. I think the mid pack teams will be Armani/Marcus, Laurence/Zac, Andy/Tommy, and Kaylani/Lisa

I hope Justin/Jennifer make it far because their sibling rivalry is great to watch and I think siblings arguing is not as harmful as dating couples arguing. Kaylani/Lisa faded into the background this episode.

I want to see how these teams fair without a silly twist and without an equalizer. Bill and Cathi were SO many hours behind but allowed to catch up. This makes the race more luck than bad taxi cabs than skill!

Thanks for the podcast! Looking forward to the show tonight!

Mike