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Episode 3 - May 2
It's an all-father/son installment this time, as 3
fathers will compete on behalf of their sons. And for
the son of the winner is a sports fantasy come true.
This time, that dream is to spend a day with the San
Francisco Giants at SBC Park. Not just any day, though;
Opening Day! And it comes with the VIP treatment! Oh,
and that rock-climbing wall that host George Gray is up
on in the opening? I'd expect to see that later on in
the show.
So, who are the selfless fathers and the sons that
they'll be going through PAIN and SHAME for?
Dan Lowe
From: Modesto, CA
Competing for: Keaton Lowe
Dwight Moore
From: San Francisco, CA
Competing for: Nathan Moore
Marty Briesach
From: San Francisco, CA
Competing for: Nick Briesach
Day 1 (PAIN): Pumpin' Tons of Iron
The 3 fathers and their sons meet George in a building,
where he explains the rules (win 1 Sacrifice to get to
the Final; win 2 to prevent someone else from going to
the Final; win all 3 to get to pick your opponent for
the Final). He then goes on to explain the first
Sacrifice. Here, the players will simply have to lift
100,000 lbs., or as much as they possibly can, in 1
hour. Whoever lifts the most after that 1 hour wins.
After George introduces the spotters/judges (Chris,
Chris, and Bob), we see that there are 5 machines
available for use in the gym, each one targeting a
different part of the body: the Bicep Curl, the Shoulder
Press, the Leg Press, the Back Machine, and the Chest
Press. Each repetition adds to the player's cumulative
weight lifted (for example, lifting 120 lbs. 5 times
would be worth 600 lbs.). Oh, and if a player is resting
or relaxing on a machine at any point, and if another
player is standing in a marked blue box next to the
machine, the first player must get off and let the other
use it.
The guys each get on a machine, the spotters are in
position, the clock starts, and the exercising begins.
The guys don't have much of a problem with it at first,
but as the Sacrifice progresses, the exhaustion starts
setting in for each of them. Marty drinks some water
during a brief moment of rest before continuing. The
sons and spotters are trying to coach the guys through
it, but they all seem quite tired. And that's just the
first 10 minutes! At that point, George announces the
current totals after 10 minutes...
Dan: 16,840 lbs.
Dwight: 26,920 lbs.
Marty: 33,400 lbs.
Upon hearing the scores, Dan decides to up the weight
that he's lifting in the hopes of catching up to the
others. Marty keeps going, but decides to go for the Leg
Press once Nick signals to him that it's open by saying
M.O.M. (Man Off Machine). The guys continue to lift the
weight, as one of the spotters, "Muscle" Bob Cicherillo,
mentions that even professional bodybuilders wouldn't
try to lift so much weight in so little time. Really? I
would've thought this would have been normal for some of
the world's stronger guys, but eh, what do I know about
bodybuilding? Anyway, the guys manage to reach the
halfway point, and the scores are as follows...
Dan: 60,760 lbs.
Dwight: 57,640 lbs.
Marty: 72,300 lbs.
Despite all the exhaustion, Dan is slowly catching up,
and has moved ahead of Dwight, but there's still another
30 minutes to go, as the fathers continue pumping iron
and fighting the pain. Suddenly, Dan decides to throw up
into a nearby bucket, and Keaton is clearly grossed out
by this. But Dan does continue on after this, and with
20 minutes left, we get another update...
Dan: 65,860 lbs.
Dwight: 90,030 lbs.
Marty: 92,300 lbs.
Dwight made up some major ground, and is closing in on
Marty, who continues to hold the lead. But Marty,
extremely tired by now, goes to barf in a pail in a
corner of the room, giving Dwight an opportunity to
possibly move ahead and take the lead. Dwight saw this
chance, and pushed himself some more. But Marty returns
to a machine and keeps going as Nick cheers him on. With
15 seconds left, all 3 competitors somehow manage to
keep going after so much weight training, and push
themselves as much as they possibly can until the
whistle blows, signaling the end of the Sacrifice.
These 3 guys had just been through a LOT of weight
training, so they have to be so VERY tired by now. The
totals are counted, and the fathers and sons gather as
George is ready to announce the results. He says that in
3rd place, with 79,400 lbs., is Dan. Which means it's
down to Dwight and Marty. Did Dwight do enough to pass
Marty and hold on? No, as Marty wins the first Sacrifice
with 101,000 lbs.! Though Dwight's total is not given,
he did put forth a lot of effort, but with a win, Marty
brings his son Nick closer to a day with the San
Francisco Giants!
Day 2 (SHAME): Slipping & Sliding & Falling with
Style
(Yep, they decided to break the normal "2 PAIN
Sacrifices followed by the SHAME Sacrifice" pattern with
this one.)
The competitors and their sons arrive at a hockey arena
and meet George on the ice inside. The host explains
that for their next Sacrifice, they would have to do
some skating. Not hockey skating, though. Figure
skating. The fathers learn that they'll have to do
what's called a "short program" during the 1st
Intermission of a hockey game. That means a 2-minute
figure skating routine in front of about 4,000 hockey
fans. And no, it's not an NHL game; the owners and
players there are still trying to agree on something.
It's a minor-league hockey game. Anyway, the guys will
have to choreograph the routines themselves, but they
will receive some training from 2 former Olympic figure
skaters: Todd Sands and Jenni Meno. They start by
showing the guys how to skate, and we get to see them
fall on their butts a few times during this. Dan starts
to get the hang of it, and he even tries showing off a
bit. Dwight tries some showing off of his own, but all
he gets from that is a trip down to the ice.
After some training, the competitors and their sons
enter the dressing room to see what they have to wear.
Each of them gets a helmet, a pair of skates... and a
dress. Yes. A dress. This is supposed to be a SHAME
Sacrifice, you know. They start changing into the attire
as the hockey game starts. While the crowd of about
4,000 have settled into their seats, the fathers are
busy preparing for a very embarrassing few minutes on
the ice. Their sons do give them some encouragement
during this time, though. The first period of the hockey
game ends (1-1 tie according to the scoreboard), the
hockey players leave the ice to go to their dressing
rooms, and it's time for the Sacrifice to begin.
Dwight is up first. He smiles and waves to the crowd as
he tries to keep his balance, and he starts his short
program. The music starts up, and he just skates around
at first, making sure not to fall. After a bit, he does
fall, though, so there goes that idea. He gets back on
his skates, and after some more skating, Dwight attempts
a few light hops, which he manages to do without a
problem, and he ends the routine by skating to center
ice and executing a slow single spin. Soon followed by
another slip and a fall. Ouch. The crowd applauds as
Dwight gets up and gets off the ice.
Dan steps onto the ice next, and he starts his routine
by skating around, and manages a single spin as he is
moving along. He picks up some speed, almost tripping
but not letting it affect his momentum, and he manages a
glide on one skate with his arms out. Dan almost falls,
but he maintains his balance, and he tries to spin a few
revolutions, but after 1 or 2, he trips up. He is able
to stay up, though, and he continues his routine. Then,
after gliding for a bit in a position where he was
crouched down and one knee was hovering just above the
ice (I don't know if that has a technical term or
something), as he tries to stand back up, Dan finally
slips and falls hard. He gets up and tries again, and
this time, he stays low and lands on his knees to finish
the routine. He gets quite an ovation after that.
And last but not least, Marty, who already won a
Sacrifice, skates onto the ice to begin his routine. But
he mentions that once he saw all the fans watching, he
forgets his strategy. That can't be a good thing. He
skates around, blowing a kiss to the crowd, and he tries
the gliding on one skate thing, but he visibly struggles
to keep his balance as he does this. We don't get to see
as much of Marty's routine, but we see near the end that
he skates towards a net (the hockey nets remained in
position for this), but before he can try some sort of
trick, he slips and falls flat on his face. And falls
short of scoring a goal as a human puck. That was it for
him, as he gets up and returns to the entrance.
Now, the 3 guys, after they've made fools of themselves,
return to the ice along with their sons, and George
joins them as well. George, with a mic in hand, tells
those in the audience that have orange pucks that
they'll have to write down the colour corresponding to
the skater that they thought did the best (Red = Dan;
Yellow = Dwight; Green = Marty) on the orange puck and
throw it onto the ice. They all do so, and the pucks go
flying. Obviously, these pucks are the votes that will
determine the winner of this Sacrifice. The group then
gets off the ice, and the orange pucks are gathered and
counted up. Moments later, George tells the players that
there were 100 pucks thrown on the ice. Marty got 7,
Dwight got 13, and Dan got 80! It was no contest, as Dan
wins this one, earning him a one-way ticket to the
Final, and Keaton is happy to be closer to that day with
the San Francisco Giants!
But now, Nathan has to be worried, as there is one
Sacrifice left, and Dwight has to win it to keep himself
and his son in the running. Can he do it?
Day 3 (PAIN): Outfielders Never Had It THIS Hard
I guess it's only fitting that they have a
baseball-themed Sacrifice considering the prize, as they
walk onto a minor-league baseball field to meet George.
He goes on to explain that the task this time is to
catch a few fly balls. They'll be standing in a marked
hexagonal area in the outfield, and they have to catch
fly balls and throw them towards home plate, so they
land inside a cage at the plate. They'll have 3 minutes
each, and whoever catches and throws into the cage the
most balls wins. Oh, and there will be a total of 1,000
balls coming at them. 1,000 balls in 3 minutes. Yeah.
The players and their sons go over strategies in a
dressing room, and the guys put on their protective gear
(helmet, shoulder pads, cup, etc.). Because let's face
it; they'll have 1,000 baseballs raining on them.
Dan is up first, and the balls start flying at him. He
gets hit a few times, including one on the head (thank
goodness for the helmet), but he does manage to catch
some balls and throw them at the cage. A couple of them
missed, though; one fell short, and another went wide to
the right. Dan continues getting pelted by the balls,
and he even gets hit in the place "where the cup was",
as Keaton called it. But he gets through it, getting
some balls into the cage, and he does get one in before
time expires. He then slips on a ball and falls. Dan
managed a total count of 13 balls, which is not bad, but
it could have been better.
Marty is next, and after Nick gives him some pointers,
he gets into the hexagon. The balls go flying, and he
gets a good start, scoring a few early, but then, BAM! A
ball nails him on the helmet, and he apparently forgets
about his strategy. At least, that's what Marty says
afterwards. He continued to catch and throw, but without
as much accuracy as he started with, and he tries to
figure out what's suddenly going wrong. He remembers the
strategy (once again, that's what he says afterwards)
with under 30 seconds to go, and Marty manages to make a
late surge, scoring quite a few, including one thrown
just before time ran out, and bringing his score to 17.
That's enough to take the lead, but will it hold up?
Dwight needs to win to avoid elimination, and he steps
up to the field to endure the barrage of baseballs. He
starts a little slower, though, but he maintains a good
pace in the midst of all the balls. He tries to shut out
the pain and focus on winning, as he continues to endure
the onslaught of balls raining on him while catching
what he can and throwing them. However, Dwight does slip
a few times while throwing, slowing him down a bit, and
he misses a couple of throws, one going to the right,
and one to the left as time ran out. Dwight could only
manage 14, which means that Marty wins his second
Sacrifice. That also means that Dwight will be going
home, and Nathan is obviously upset and disappointed
that his dream of spending a day with the San Francisco
Giants is out of reach. It's a real shame that it had to
happen before the Final, but that's life for ya.
Night 4 (INSANE): A Shocking Climb
The remaining competitors drive up to what appears to be
a swampy area and meet George, who explains that for the
Final, Dan and Marty will have to do some rock climbing.
He then points to the 60-foot tall rock-climbing wall,
which lights up as they face it. He then goes on to
mention that this isn't an ordinary wall... It's
electrified. When a light just above a handhold is lit
up, then up to 700 volts of electricity will be coursing
through it, shocking whoever touches it. And the higher
up the wall they go, the more intense the shocks will
be, making it progressively harder as they move along
(as if the fatigue isn't enough). Whoever makes it to
the top in the shortest amount of time, or whoever makes
it to a higher point on the wall, wins the Final, and
his son will get the sports fantasy in San Francisco.
[BTW, I remember that when Fear Factor did a stunt
earlier this year involving electricity, they had to
include an extra warning reminding viewers at home not
to try such a stunt. I wonder why ESPN didn't include
such a warning for this one, or any warning, for that
matter. My guess is that they think their viewers would
know better than to play with electricity or something
like that. Still, though, I feel I should reiterate the
point (just so I don't get into any trouble myself) that
you should NOT try something like this anywhere. Not at
home, not at work or school, not even at an amusement
park that just happens to have a rock-climbing wall and
some random electric wires. OK?]
Anyway, because Marty won 2 Sacrifices, he gets to
decide whether to go first or second. After consulting
with his son, he elects to go second, which means that
Dan gets to fry his hands on the wall first. Dan gets
into the safety harness as Keaton encourages him that he
can do this. Once he gets the signal to go, Dan starts
climbing, immediately getting a shock in the first few
seconds. He manages to get through it, though, and
continues ascending up the wall. He deals with the
various shocks on the way, keeping a good pace up the
wall, and although it does get tougher as he gets higher
up, Dan doesn't let up. As he hears his son cheering him
on constantly, he hangs on, bearing through the
electricity and continuing his climb. He ends up slowing
down during the climb, though, but he powers through it
until he reaches the top, where he blows a horn to stop
the clock. Marty is worried because Dan didn't appear to
make any mistakes during the climb. And he should be,
because once Dan is back on the ground, his hands
shaking from the electricity, we find out that 1:23 is
Dan's official time, and that will be tough to beat.
As Marty gets into the harness, he and Nick go over his
strategy, which is just "Go, go, go, go..." Yeah, that
sounds simple enough. But will it be enough to beat
1:23? We'll see, as Marty begins his ascent up the wall,
and although he doesn't get immediately shocked, he does
feel it quickly enough. Like Dan, though, Marty bears
through the electricity and keeps climbing. And like
Keaton did when Dan was climbing, Nick was cheering
Marty on throughout. The higher up the wall and the more
intense the shocks became, Marty started slowing down
himself, but he didn't give up, and he just kept going.
His screaming is showing that he's enduring the pain
from the climb and the electric handholds, though he
does get a brief break from the shocking as all the
lights around him were off for a couple seconds at the
1-minute mark. But would this help? He keeps going, and
continues to ascend, still enduring the shocks, and
after a bit, he manages to reach the top and blow the
horn. And then he lets out a big scream, though I'm not
exactly sure if it's because of the pain or because he's
happy to have gotten this task done and over with.
Once Marty is back on the ground, his hands also
shaking, he and Nick await his time for that climb. Is
it better than 1:23? Marty's official time is... 1:32.
With that, Dan has won the Final, and that will send
Keaton to San Francisco to hang with the Giants on
Opening Day! Dan and Keaton celebrate the win, and all
Marty could do was shake Dan's hand and congratulate
him.
1 Week Later
Dan and Keaton arrive at SBC Park on Opening Day, and
they walk into the stadium to see the San Francisco
Giants practicing for their first game of the season.
They head down to the field to watch the practice for a
bit, and they get to meet the various players, such as
Ray Durham, Pedro Feliz, Jerome Williams, Marquis
Grissom, and Omar Vizquel, and Keaton gets autographs
from each of them. Later, when it's time for the game to
start, Dan and Keaton get to watch the player
introductions while still on the field, and then they
head into the stands to sit back and watch the game. All
in all, a special day, and it was all thanks to a few
days of PAIN and SHAME. |
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April 25
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