POOL RESULTS

1. Sarah 6900
2. Ami 6460
3. Tracy 6300
4. Jill T 6000
5. Jay 5600
6. Eric 5280
7. Dave 5110
8. Stephanie 4985
9. Ben 4970
10. Bari 4610
11. Caitlin 3930
12. Mary K, Robyn, Steve 3420
13. Erick 3180
14. Karen 2965
15. Mike 2800
16. Jill 2220
17. Liz 1730
18. Katie 1700
19. Chris 1624
20. Melissa 1590
21. June 1525
22. Kim 1110
23. Kristin 680
24. Allegra 520
25. Jack, Joanna 1
26. Curt, Jan, Jonathan, Judy, Lee, Mark, Mary / Anton, Samuel, Scott 0

The Amazing Race 7 Finale Drinking Game

Hee hee!
Brought to you by Scrappy, Smitty, and Eric (who really needs a nickname):

• Uchenna and Joyce get lost
• Ron makes a reference to his military career
• Rob gives the camera a shit-eating grin
• You see a gnome ad
• The Camera shows a close-up of the "Beauty Queen's" zit covered face
• CBS shows an ad for Rob and Amber's wedding
• Amber says something witty (and you down that drink, 'cause it hasn't happened all season!)
• A racer says it's an Emergency (in any other language, including Mirnish and Charlades, which would then include doctoro, emergencia, and 'I have a sick child')
• A racer says "we're in it to win!" (Duh)
• Uchenna and Joyce say they want to win to get a kid.
• Any "Survivor" References
• Any Phil-worthy (by Phil or not) eyebrow pop.
• If you see, hear the word, or even think about a MONKEY!

Finale Tonight!

Saw a promotion this morning for tonight's finale.

Insert Suspenseful Voice-Over Voice here:
"There are Three Teams Left: Rob and Amber (Amber squeals 'Go Baby!'), Uchenna and Joyce (Uchenna exclaims 'That's what I'm talkin' about!') and Ron and Kelly (Ron states 'Go Fast').

I find it somehow telling that the most exciting sound-bite they could come up with for Ron and Kelly was Ron speaking dully about the most obvious thing one could talk about when talking about racing; speed. If that is most excitement you can must for the FINAL LEG then all I have to say is, "Bye Bye."

Where will Romber show up next?

I already know. Too bad it's up against both the American Idol and Lost season finales!

What the Gnome Knows

Or at least, what the gnome says. An article from Canada.

Week 11 - My Thoughts

Well, the outcome of the pentultimate episode wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but I dug it all the same. The trail of the Race Boomerang continues as the teams head to London. And this is what I thought:

Meredith / Gretchen

• You know, Gretchen, a boat is a lot easier to get into than an elephant. Why didn't you just jump on in?
• You did smack your face into it, though, which was awesome. At least some patterns of behavior are continuing.
• Um, brawn? Over brains? On second thought, never mind. I guess they did the best one.
• I'm sad to see you guys go, I really am. But seriously, you became the Scott Savol of AR7--totally overstaying the welcome and getting by with those leprechauns in your butt or something. It was fun while it lasted!

Rob / Amber

• I don't blame you for not knowing what a whirling dervish was (seriously, how many people besides me knew that?), but a topless woman? Eh, at least your cab driver appreciated that comment with an eyebrow pop worthy of Phil!
• Amber, you dressed as Sherlock Holmes was my favorite moment of you from the entire season. Which is kinda sad, 'cause it was like a two second clip and all you were doing was walking down the street. I'm glad you've got Rob to make life interesting!
• Your new friend Stuart was like the fifth or sixth local you've gotten to help you out and show you around. I mean that's all fine and stuff, but you've been ragging on the other teams about relying on each other. What is it that you're doing differently by relying on a local to get you out of a paper bag? And Uchenna wasn't even allowed to help Meredith with the Detour so...I'm confused.
• Hey, Rob? Since you're on a travelocity sponsored show, I probably wouldn't have used expedia to look up flights from Istanbul to London. Hopefully I'm the only one who ever pays attention to the design of the flight matrix on those websites. You owe Jerome an apology.

Ron / Kelly

• Ron "I flew a 35 million dollar helicopter -- I could have done the bus". Well, I seem to remember you mentioning at least one time during this season that you, uh, CRASHED that 35 million dollar helicopter. As far as I know, the only thing Kelly's ever crashed is probably a frat party.
• Ron "You become a soldier and you don't have to deal with this [emotional] stuff." Good to know this means nothing to you.
• Begging for lipstick, Kelly? I would have begged for some zit cream if I were you.
• Ron "I think I've seen everything I want to out of Kelly on this race." REMEMBER THAT. And kick her to the curb when you get home. Thanks. Bye bye now.
• "At least they speak English here." Man, do I wish you had been sent to Scotland. They speak English there, too, but I doubt you could have understood it.
• Did any one else catch Ron say "Damn!" at the yield?! For our good ol' military boy, we know he was angry uttering that kinda language!
• Kelly, your doodling on Rob and Amber's picture made me realize that you're just about as mature as the President you adore so much. Thank god you're a Republican.
• Okay, you two. I understand you really don't like each other, and that your relationship is falling apart, but still, you are in the final leg and have a one in three shot of getting a million bucks. It's sad that all it looks like you talk about next leg is your interpersonal issue. Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!
• Is anyone else wondering just how much money Ron and Kelly were able to get begging? The last time I checked, lorries in London are really-ass expensive.
• Kelly "I don't know what straight is!". Actually, I think that's all you know. Bye bye now.
• Hey, Ron--I have a book for you. Read it and run. But not like you did in Iraq.

Uchenna / Joyce

• Hey, Joyce! You're bald.
• Hey, Uchenna! You're bald, too.
• Now, get some navigation skills and you'll be just fine next week.
• But do something interesting so I have more to write about, okay?

Other General Thoughts

• I loved the London Eye task. It was a hearkening back to my favorite task of Season 1. Except that was when the flag was Yellow and White, and was much harder to see.
• But I think the London Eye was more interesting when it was sending alien messages.
• Roadblock montage. I really wanted the background music to be "Oops, I did it again". But I don't always get my way.
• Sherlock--Yea! A literature related task!
• And a new Gnome ad. Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that.

That's it for today. Remember, send me your wagers before 4 pm Tuesday, and all will be well in the world.

BONUS - FINALE!!

Because I really like this question, I'm going to ask it again as I did last season:

Figure out how many miles the teams have traveled up to this pit stop (Potter's Field Park, London). I will accept answers within +/- 2500 miles of the answer that I come up with (unless you have really excellent Amazing Race related documentation of how you came up with your answer, and then I'll use yours as the benchmark!).

GOOD LUCK!

Answer to Bonus - Week 10

To answer this bonus, you first needed to realize that Turkey is famous for a good luck charm. That good luck charm is called the Nanzar Bonjuk, or Evil Eye.

Pool Standings - After Episode 11

1. Jan (3) 3755
2. Stephanie (3) 3485
3. Sarah (2) 3410
4. Ami (2) 3190
5. Tracy (2) 3130
6. Chris (2) 3035
7. Jill T (2) 3000
8. Karen (2) 2965
9. Eric (2) 2880
10. Mark (2) 2810
11. Jay (2) 2800
12. Curt (2) 2755
13. Judy (2) 2735
14. Scott (2) 2710
15. Mary / Anton (2) 2650
16. Lee (2) 2630
17. Dave (2) 2555
18. Allegra (1) 2510
19. Ben (2) 2465
20. Bari (2) 2305
21. Joanna (1) 2250
22. Kristin (1) 2080
23. Samuel (1) 1990
24. Caitlin (1) 1965
25. Jonathan (1) 1960
26. Robyn (1), Steve (1) 1710
27. Katie (1) 1700
28. Mary K (1) 1670
29. Erick (1), Melissa (1) 1590
30. Jack (1) 1540
31. June (1) 1525
32. Mike 1400
33. Jill, Kim (1) 1110
34. Liz 865

Episode 11 - Player Standings and Roadblock Count

1. Rob / Amber 205 (11 episode total: 1165)
2. Ron / Kelly 55 (11 episode total: 865)
3. Uchenna / Joyce 85 (11 episode total: 985)
4. Meredith / Gretchen -145 (11 episode total: 340)

Roadblock Count

• Meredith 6 / Gretchen 4
• Rob 6 / Amber 4
• Ron 5 / Kelly 5
• Uchenna 5 / Joyce 4

"Mandatory Rest Period" Defined

Just how long is that mandatory rest period. MSN answers your hard-hitting questions.

Episode 10 - My Thoughts

Well, here's my overriding thought on this leg: HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!

Meredith/Gretchen

• If you watch the Insider Video from the episode where Gretchen and Meredith got all their stuff taken away, you will see that Gretchen was sad to have to give up her calculator. That would have come in handy on the scales!
• Jerome. Jerome the Gnome. I love it. Thanks, Meredith.
• You know, what is it with the older team having issues finding the clues on this show?
• I've finally decided what Gretchen's problem is. She has absolutley no internal dialogue. Instead, every thought inside her head just comes spilling out of her mouth. It's like that totally painful scene in About a Boy when Marcus starts singing "Rainy Days Will Always Get You Down" in the middle of class. Except when he did, I felt really really bad. With Gretchen? I'm just annoyed.
• Except when she comes out with these gems like, "Only 58 kilo? God, a lightweight." That was awesome.
• The thing I do like about this team is that they did acknowledge at the end that they've really gotten as far as they have because of stupid mistakes made by other teams. But no one ever said that luck wasn't part of the game. Meredith must have a whole family of leprechauns up his butt!
• Major props to Gretchen for doing that roadblock. I was joking when I said it before, but maybe she is what Joss Whedon's looking for.

Rob/Amber

• Hubris.
• I think Rob's horseshoe finally fell out of his ass, making room for Karma who must have been watching Solyaris or something and otherwise occupied, letting him get away with all of his little tricks up until now.
• Or maybe he's like Walt, making things up in his head and then BOOM! they just appear! Seriously, how did Rob not find out about the earliest flight?
• After all the comments that Rob made about Meredith and Gretchen and Uchenna and Joyce, I hope he's having fun eating some humble pie.

Ron/Kelly

• Schadenfreude.
• I was having fun replaying the conversation between the cameramen at the Pit Stop: "Dude, guess what Beauty Queen said to POW today?" Oh, was that great.
• Props, Ron. Good on yeh. You might be a little funny. A little dumb, but a little funny.
• Do you think Ron was resisting the urge at the detour to call out "H-7? You sunk my battleship!" I was.
• Kelly: "We're in second place and gotta catch up!" Well, catching up is for sure!
• Maybe they should spend the $20,000 from Travelocity and Ron can take Kelly to Baghdad and see if she's committed to their return ticket or something (there was more of a joke there, but I'm struggling with the wording today).
• But there's the biggest question: Will staying in the Four-Star suite for the night completley throw Ron off his game because...it's not like Baghdad?!
• Ron, thank you for providing me with my favorite scene of the episode. When Rob and Amber were checking in at the Pit Stop there you were, all on your own, standing on top of the tower searching the skies aimlessly for the key. I'd maybe, um, check the WALL in front of you or something. I don't know.
• HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH. Bye bye now.

Uchenna/Joyce

• Why is it that I really like you guys but I never have much to say about you? You ran a good leg.
• Uchenna--good thinking telling the people in the street to keep their coats on keep holding their bags!
• For all that head shaving, you only had a TWO minute lead over Ron and Kelly leaving the pitstop. That's, like, cutting it close. I'm glad you extended your lead this time.

Some other general thoughts

• I love gnomes. How great was it that they had to carry the little guy all over Istanbul? Way better than either Kodak Easy Share task 1, Kodak Easy Share task 2, T Mobile task, or AOL Task.
• Why didn't anyone call out "Have Fun Storming the Castle"?!
• And, last, why are they going to Turkey? Seriously? And I don't think I'm spoiling anything (because you can see it on the preview video for next week on the CBS site) that next they go to ENGLAND. Um, isn't this supposed to be a "race around the world"? Maybe that's why Phil is saying that phrase so fast at the beginning of the show, like "a...racearoundtheworld" because he has to say it, but he knows it's not true. It's more like a big boomerang trail. Really really far, and then it comes back right at you. I don't understand boomerangs, either.

That's it for today!

Week 11 BONUS

Next week is almost certain to be the last elimination leg, getting us down to the final three who will run to the finish line. What should team members find and wear in Turkey to help them get there?

Good luck!

WEEK 10 Bonus - ANSWER

Well, people found many, many reasons why Hindus and Indians shave their heads! Here is a smattering:

A rite of passage for children around age 3 in order to divide them from their animal (i.e. hairy, natural) state.

When someone was widowed (male or female)

When a father died, his eldest son would shave his head

To speed up the time to get to Nirvana--each hair shaved was equal to buying one cow for your God!

POOL STANDINGS - After Episode 10

1. Jan (3) 3370
2. Sarah (3) 3215
3. Stephanie (3) 3140
4. Tracy (3) 2975
5. Karen (2) 2965
6. Ami (2) 2930
7. Chris (2) 2855
8. Jill T (2) 2740
9. Eric (2) 2615
10. Mark (2) 2550
11. Jay (2) 2500
12. Judy (2) 2475
13. Scott (2) 2450
14. Curt (2) 2445
15. Mary / Anton (2) 2390
16. Allegra (1) 2385
17. Lee (2) 2340
18. Joanna (2) 2300
19. Dave (2) 2245
20. Bari (2) 2165
21. Ben (2) 2135
22. Kristin (1) 1875
23. Caitlin (1) 1840
24. Samuel (1) 1785
25. Jonathan (1) 1755
26. Robyn (1) 1655
27. Mary K (1) 1615
28. Erick (1) 1535
29. Melissa (1) Steve (1) 1505
30. Katie (1) 1495
31. Jack (1) 1485
32. June (1) 1440
33. Mike 1400
34. Jill 1110
35. Kim (1) 1055
36. Liz (1) 1010

Episode 10 - Player Standings / Roadblock Count

1. Uchenna / Joyce 160 (10 episode total: 900)
2. Meredith / Gretchen 100 (10 episode total: 485)
3. Rob / Amber 90 (10 episode total: 960)
4. Ron / Kelly 70 (10 episode total: 810)

Roadblock Count

• Meredith 5 / Gretchen 4
• Rob 5 / Amber 4
• Ron 5 / Kelly 4
• Uchenna 5 / Joyce 3

Jerome the Gnome

Last night the Travelocity gnome made a guest appearance on TAR in the cutest cross promotion I've seen in some time! [Unlike the movie "Fever Pitch" aka "The Apprentice 3" with its shameless Marquis Jet product placement]. Did you know that the TAR appearance isn't Travelocity's 1st unique promotion using the gnome? Read about it here and here.

Travelocity isn't the first to borrow the globe-trotting gnome idea from the Gnome Liberation Front. Remember Amelie?

Think the gnome is so cute you just gotta have one? Rumor is, you can have your very own for only $10.

Gnomes aren't your thing? This monkey has racked up some frequent flyer miles of his own!