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"A Sporting Chance" -
July 19
Last time, the
competitors staged a fashion show, and despite a team
balancing, Park won yet again. And in another double
elimination, it was not a good time to be a guy on
Madison, as Jabe and Rashad were both sent home.
There's 8 left, and it's time for a more "sporting"
competition.
Working out more changes
After having survived a 4th straight visit to the
residence for elimination, the remaining members of
team Madison are sitting outside, talking about what
the problem is with this team. Jackaay thinks they're
cursed, and Latricia is just sick of losing.
Meanwhile, in team Park's suite, the mood is a heck of
a lot better, but it seems that J.W. and Jules have
sparked some sort of a relationship.
The next morning, a rather different breakfast with
letter from Kathy awaits each team. The letter says
that it's time to get in shape, so they get a healthy
breakfast. Included are protein drinks and wheat grass
shots, among other things. The letter also says for
them to be at the Sports Club L.A. for a private
session with a personal trainer. Latricia jokes about
it, considering her own weight.
The teams arrive at the sports club, and they each
begin their 1-hour session with a personal trainer.
They're exercising, stretching out, lifting weights,
etc. Afterwards, they meet Kathy outside, and after
she explains why being in good physical condition is
important, she points out that both Latricia and
Jackaay have been on the losing end of challenges 4
straight times. So now, they'll both be captains of
new teams, and they'll pick their own teams.
So, for the 2nd straight week, there's going to be a
change in the teams. But this time, Kathy mentions
that team Madison and team Park are no more; it'll be
just blue and green from now on. [I guess this means
Madison will go down in the record books as a reality
show team that has never won a single challenge,
period.] Jackaay will lead blue, and Latricia will
lead green. They alternate picking members, starting
with Jackaay, and this is how the teams turn out...
Blue - Jackaay, J.W., Jaret, Jules
Green - Latricia, Vanessa, Brenden, Niki
Brenden and Vanessa are once again on the same team,
and neither of them like that. On the other hand, J.W.
and Jules are happy to still be on the same team
themselves. By the way, isn't it weird that now every
person on the blue team have names that start with J?
With the new teams set, Kathy explains the next
challenge; it's a set of 3 events, dealing with
sportsmanship and teamwork, which she says may seem
silly. This oughta be good... She then mentions that a
world-class champion will be cheering them on, and she
then sends them to their next destination, presumably
where the events will take place.
Sports of the good life
The teams head to Central Park, as the announcer
explains a little more about the challenge; it'll be
the "Elite Olympics," which consists of scaled-down
versions of upper-class games. And guess who is
waiting for the contestants? Lennox Lewis, a
heavyweight champion boxer. And he's holding a small
dog named Tikka. After asking how the workout from
earlier went, Lennox explains that the first event is
Croquet, the second is Rowing, and the third is Best
in Show.
Event #1: Speed Croquet
Basically, for this one, they just have to tap the
ball with a mallet through each wicket in order,
before hitting the final stake with the ball, as fast
as they can. Fastest time wins. Brenden goes first for
green, and since he's supposed to be a good golfer,
this shouldn't be a problem, right? Well, the way he's
handling this, it seems more like a hockey player
handling a puck through the course. But he does pull
off a good time of 1:00. Jaret is up for the blue
team, and he also handles the course in a similar
manner. But he handles it better and faster, finishing
with a time of 0:57, and giving the blue team the win
for this event.
Event #2: Slow Rowing
For this, they'll race from a bridge to a boat with a
yellow flag, then back to the bridge. First team back
wins. But they'll be using regular boats, which are
not made for racing. J.W. and Latricia are on the
bridge, watching on. Jackaay and Jules will row in the
blue boat, with Jaret also in the boat. Vanessa and
Niki will row in the green boat, with Brenden also in
the boat. In an aside, Latricia mentions that Niki
happens to row as a hobby. Will that be enough of an
advantage for green?
The race starts, and the guys in the boats are trying
to help the rowers to cooperate and row together. But
the blue team had problems with that, and as a result,
the green team pulls into the lead. And as Jules
starts whining and crying about her inability to
coordinate with Jackaay, green pulls further ahead,
and wins the race to even the series at 1-1.
Afterwards, Jaret got so sick of Jules' whining, that
he dives out of the blue team's boat, and into the
lake water! The others were quite surprised about it,
and for good reason. What's in that lake water,
anyway?
Event #3: Mini Dog Show
Each team gets a small poodle, and they'll be judged
on sportsmanship, performance, and timing. Only toys,
treats, or praise can be used to encourage the dogs to
complete the tasks. The blue team will be represented
by J.W. and Jackaay, and their dog is named Tangie.
The green team will be represented by Brenden and
Latricia, and their dog is Tikka, which Lennox Lewis
held earlier.
The first part of this requires that the poodle be
dressed in at least 3 articles of clothing. Latricia
puts what looks like a pink dress on Tikka, while
Jackaay placed a purple sun visor and peach ponytail
holder on Tangie. Latricia then adds a hat on Tikka
(she added another bit of clothing to the dog
off-screen, which I didn't catch), and Jackaay added
an orange bit of clothing to Tangie. The judge is
taking notes from what she saw.
The second part is an obstacle course, where they'll
have to get their poodle around some cones, over a
ramp, and through a hula hoop. The blue team goes
first, and they start well, but then, in the middle of
the cone portion, Tangie goes off course. J.W. and
Jackaay have some problems getting Tangie back on the
course, but eventually, they get her back on and
through the cones. And Tangie gets through the ramp
and hoop bits without further problems. The green team
ends up having more problems with Tikka, who just
keeps going off course. Brenden and Latricia struggled
with getting her through, but it's just stubborn. And
we don't get to see if Tikka finished it.
The final part is simple; just get the poodle to give
a kiss. Both dogs refused at first, but the teams did
manage to get them to give a kiss. That's about it.
Afterwards, the judge says she'll need some time to
make a decision, and sends the teams back to Kathy.
Later, the teams are lined up, and Kathy is ready to
announce the winner. After recapping the first 2
events (blue won the first, green won the second), she
reminds them that they were judged on who had the best
sportsmanship with their dog. She then announces that
the winner is... the blue team! Jackaay finally gets a
taste of victory, while Latricia now has 5 straight
losses. But this time, both teams will share the
reward: dinner with Lennox Lewis at Solo.
The trouble with losing
But on the way out of Central Park, Latricia is not
taking this loss too well. The others notice her
complaining, and Jaret tells her that she doesn't
"have to be so b****y." But Vanessa tells him that
it's human nature for someone to b****, and to just
let her vent her frustration. And indeed, Latricia
continues to vent away.
Back in the Melrose hotel, Jaret is still talking
about his comment. He did feel bad about it, though,
so he tries to apologize to Latricia for it. But she
just wants him to "get out of her face." And they
argue for a bit before Jaret tells Latricia to calm
down, and he walks away.
The teams arrive at the restaurant, Solo, and they
enter a private dining room, where they are joined by
Lennox. He gives them a few pointers about
sportsmanship. Jules then asks him what it was like to
knock out Mike Tyson, to which he responds, "Easy."
Let's face it; with a pro boxer there, how could they
not talk about boxing at some point? Jackaay noted to
herself that Latricia's mood was still down. And then,
Lennox gives them each a gift: personalized boxing
gloves. Come on. Who didn't see that coming?
Whining, then crying
It's time for another trip to the residence, or as I'd
like to call it, team Madison's regular pit stop to
jettison someone in between challenges. Except there's
no more team Madison. Instead, it's the green team
that arrives via limo to discuss what went wrong, and
to determine who's going home. For Brenden and Niki,
it's their first time facing Kathy for these
deliberations. For Vanessa, it's her second. For
Latricia, well, I think she's gotten used to being
here by now.
After asking if she should start calling these "delibatricias",
Kathy reminds them of the list that she'll write, on
which the name of the one being eliminated will be
left off of. She asks Niki who she thinks the weak
link is, and she picks Latricia, because of her
attitude. Latricia says she tried to keep her spirits
high in the hopes of a win this time, but when asked
if he'd agree with that, Brenden says yes, but adds
that one should go into a challenge confident, and not
cocky. Latricia then says that everyone else turned on
her, but she's fine with that. But Brenden then says
that he's seen Latricia be part of every bit of drama
that he's seen. And then the bickering really starts
between Brenden and Latricia. They just keep talking
and arguing, and it goes on and on...
After they finally stop, Kathy mentions that she's
becoming concerned. Latricia then says that she fought
to get to this point, and she'll fight to stay. Kathy
then asks Brenden why he should stay and continue on,
and he says that he had been busting his hump for 30
years, and that he feels he deserves this opportunity
to be here. Then, when asked who he'd like to see
stay, he chooses Niki, because she had also been
through a lot, despite her young age (22). Niki gets
the same question, and she picks Vanessa. Then, when
asked why she should stay, Niki says it's been a dream
for her to be living the good life. And then, she
mentions that her Grandpa died the week before this
competition started, and starts talking about him,
while starting to cry. Brenden gives her a
handkerchief, and tries to show some support while she
continues. But did I see Latricia roll her eyes during
this?
The story even has Kathy crying a bit, and when Niki
is done, Kathy says she appreciates that Niki was able
to open up like this. She then asks Latricia why she
should stay, and she reiterates what she said in
previous deliberations, that she's there for her son.
The question also goes to Vanessa, who gets choked up
after Niki's story. Vanessa then says that she had
been through disappointment after disappointment in
her life, and she had never gotten lucky in her life
(not counting the fact that she has gotten this far in
the game, I bet), and that she was hoping to use the
opportunity so she could start her own business. And
she even cries a bit herself, thanks to Niki's story.
With that, Kathy sends the team out to the hallway so
she can write her list. In the hallway, Brenden
mentions the fact that he was the only guy in a room
with some women who were telling stories and crying,
and he couldn't really say anything without looking
like a jerk. He also expresses to Niki the fact that
her answer for whom she'd like to see stay was one
that he didn't like. But Niki says that she can't take
back her answer now, even if she herself didn't like
it.
Once the list is written, the green team is back in
the room, and Kathy reminds them that if they hear
their name, they should head over to the dining room
nearby, where the blue team is waiting. Now, for the
list...
-Niki
-Vanessa
After saying that this last choice was very difficult
for her, Kathy then reads the last name on the list...
-Brenden
And so, with that, Latricia's long and hard road
through the competition has come to an end. She had
been through 5 straight losses, and this time, her
luck in avoiding elimination has run out. After
thanking Kathy for the experience and the chance,
Latricia walks down, out of the building, and into the
limo waiting outside. Back in the residence, Kathy
joins the remaining 7 in the dining room, and this
time, she announces that there will no longer be team
challenges; from here on, they'll be competing as
individuals. On that note, they raise their glasses
for a toast to the good life, and this episode is
done.
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Previous Episodes
June 21
June 28
July 5
July 12 |