Man, it seemed like a short time since the last time I wrote one of these. And it was. Nice to be back home, back to the routine after a great vacation although a lot of my routine involves being interrupted by my kid a couple of times during the show. "Dad we're playing upstairs so can you watch your show downstairs?" "Dad, we're coming downstairs to play electric guitar can you go upstairs?" "Dad, can you help us get the mics and turn on the PA for us." So I missed a bit in the middle, but in the end, I don't think it made much difference.

First off, excellent episode. Great drama, great stories from the racers. And beer. I got no whiney, picky complaints about anything so the producers are free to read on without fear (seriously Mark, I mean it). So teams leave Argentina and head off to Halifax. All teams are on the same flight through Santiago with another layover in Toronto. And then various brothers make a play for the Express Pass that Hamilton and Michaelia are holding onto. The Italians Boys offer money ($50) plus help with tasks when needed. Don't think anyone has ever offered cash for an Express Pass before. Simple, but in the end, ineffective. Even they agree. Cause the Hamilton and Michaelia have built a bond with the Sweeney Boys. And why not. Both are from small towns in the Maritimes having to deal with LGBTQ identities. That probably hasn't been easy, even in these modern times. Things have change but in many small towns, things haven't. No doubt it's been tough. So the Sweeney Boys get the Express Pass.

Once teams arrive in Halifax, they have to hit a sponsors booth to get a clue that tells them to find the Central Library Branch. Didn't I say I love libraries before and it's obvious TAR Canada does too cause this is the second library task so far. And it's also another public art task, which is also something I love. Spent three years on the Edmonton Arts Council and after approving grants for artists, approving public arts projects was my fav task. And this piece of public art is awesome, a collection of 5,000 3 x 5 paintings. Interspersed are a bunch black and white iPhone style photos that the teams have to correctly count and report to a librarian before moving on. (There are 134 of them). Tough task, lots of concentration needed although I think Art Guy Gord would be good  for this.

Teams struggle but Hamilton and Michaelia are done first followed by Nic and Sabrina. Find the Angus MacDonald Bridge. They are closely followed by The Cops and The Dancers. On a side note, we learn that Leilani is from Halifax and the last time she was home was for her father's funeral. And the day the race is being filmed is the anniversary of her mother's death. Man, that's gotta be tough but wow, that's a heck of story. Glad they aren't just sticking with arguing Exes story. And hope the family background isn't a sign of possible elimination. Or will it be a non-elim? Fourth episode is sometimes the right time, but I'm terrible at predicting those.

Only the Cops had the smarts to ask for the cab to wait. TAR Rule #something: always ask for the cab to wait. But sometimes they can't. So Brian and Cynthia are first to the bridge where it's a Roadblock, Eagle Eye something. Can't recall, didn't take notes, one of those kid interruption times. Gotta climb the bridge and look for a route marker. It's a height thing involving physical activity so it's probably a Wayne task before a Gord one.  Brian finds it pretty quick and they are off to the Citadel for the next clue. 

The Dancers, the Cute Couple,  and Hamilton and Michaelia arrive and do the task. Two of them find the correct route market while Nic finds a boat that has the same colours as the TAR markers. They head to a totally different location. Fortunately for Nic and Sabrina, Hamilton realizes he has lost his passport. That's unfortunate for Hamilton and Michaelia because the rule states you cannot check in without your passport. And it's not a red herring either with Hamilton finding his passport in his back pocket right after the commercial; it is actually gone. He's got to feel bad about that,  but you gotta keep a constant eye on your passport during the race. Forget all the other things you have, keep track of your passport, your clues and our TAR credit card. Everything else is secondary.  Heck, when I travel, I'm always triple checking to see if I still have my passport. Without it you're stuck. So  after a bit of histrionics about the situation, they get themselves together and decide to finish their tasks and then head to the airport to see if they left the passport on the plane from Toronto. Hopefully, they can find it there. 

Meanwhile, the teams left at the library turn the task into math one. They all decide to run through bunch of numbers until one of them actually gets the right one. Neat idea but time consuming. Lots of going up and down to and from the 5th floor. But in the end they get it and move to the bridge. Funny how one of the Italian Boys is vainly searching for the flag from the top of the bridge and then up comes Kristine who spots it immediately without needing the binocs. "Oh, there it is," she says as she pops out from the shaft. One of the best moments in a show full of great moments. The Sweeney Boys and the Wrestlers had some funny moments, too.

Okay, where are we now? I had to go play roadie for my kid and came back missing a few moments. PVR pause didn't work long enough. So some teams are doing something with Orange Julius (I'd nail that task thanks to my interrupting kid. We love Orange Julius!) while there's a Detour. Bubbles or Suds. Seeing this is the Halifax/Dartmouth area, I was thinking one of the tasks had to do with the Trailer Park Boys. How awesome would that have been!? But no, something to do with lobsters. Didn't pay much attention cause the other task is a BEER TASK! You have to make three deliveries of beer to three separate pubs and then return some kegs back to the beer truck. Are you allowed to have a pint at each pub? Surely there's time. Of course there is Gord and Wayne, always times for beer; don't call me Shirley. 

Anyway, the Dancers get through pretty quick while the Cops head to the lobster task and after a bit switch to beer. Yes in the end, everyone switches to beer. Once done, it's off to the pitstop and the Dancers are first. Leilani is in tears, happy to win but also remembering her parents who recently passed away. Very touching. bittersweet moment, one that wasn't over exploited for tears and drama. Which is why I like TAR Canada better than TAR US; They know how to tell the touching stories with subtlety. Nicely done, nicely done

Various teams do various sides of the Detour with Nic and Sabrina oddly taking the task that involves water when they (especially Nic) are very afraid of water. Didn't they read the clue that describes what has to be done? And various teams come in with Nic and Sabrina struggling and Hamilton and Michaelia at the airport looking for his passport. Air Canada dude is very helpful and after some gripping moments as they wait for news, the passport arrives.

Unfortunately, it's too late and they are the last team to arrive. And even though it's the perfect place for a non-elim, it's not. They are out. Sad to see them go, they were a good team, Hamilton leading the way for transgendered people, which was acknowledged by Jon in a short but quite profound speech. Not sure if that were his own words but you could tell he was sincere regardless. I'm looking forward to talking to Hamilton and Michaelia and having their comments up on in a few days. 

Next week, it's the Iles de Madeline, a place I've always wanted to visit. And look, it's the first ever Faceoff, where teams actually compete against each other in a task. Fun. Then it's a Double U-Turn. And I hope that with all those big events in the leg, it better not be a non-elim. Because wants the point of a Face Off and a Double U-Turn if they don't, in the end, mean anything. See ya next week. 

Phew, am I tired. But in a good way. Just spent the last almost a week out of town, visiting family in the Crowsnest Pass, seeing sights, hiking in the mountains, canoeing in a glacial lake, heading into a coal mine and a pile of other stuff. Great time. Unfortunately, the family we visited didn't have TV — well they did have TVs just for streaming, no cable or any sort of connection — so I couldn't watch the show on Wednesday.  And because we were so busy, had to wait till I got to my mom's house this night so I could watch it online and then blog. It will be a short blog because we drove back today and made many stops so  as the first line says, I'm tired. Unfortunately, because of my vacation, we weren't able to interview the eliminated team and our video recap probably won't be recorded and posted till Monday. But I got an awesome rugged vacation beard going on, the kind of thing you'll see me grow if Gord and I get on the race. A razor is just one extra thing to carry so it's not going in the bag. 

Anyway, teams are heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina and all teams are on the same flight and must find Plaza Canada. And woohoo, some Canadian indigenous heritage in the race with the totem pole. From the perspective of an indigenous person, it's nice how they drop a couple of these things in the race from time to time, especially with Nic reading the plaque. Would like to see a few indigenous racers one season but as one fan named Logan says, we all seem to complain about the teams being chosen mostly because we weren't chosen. So I'll try not to complain about that anymore cause you all know that when I say more indigenous racers, I'm mostly talking about this indigenous dude. More crime novelists as well, the race has been bereft of people who plan ways of killing people for a living.

And back to the race. Over to the barrio and it's a roadblock to spell the name of famous Argentinians using Mentos. Hmm, will they include Maradona? Yep, he's there and I forgot the new Pope is Argentinian. And Nic and Sabrina continue to surprise. Language skills are key and will help. Still, they are more funny when they struggle. Yep, there it is, that's funny with the P and D mix up.  Six other teams start working together but it's off to the Futbol place for Nic and Sabrina while Ope and Simi and the Italian boys get lost. Brian and Cynthia blow a chance at the Express Pass. Looks like the suck up for the Express Pass ain't working for Hamilton and Michealia. Gord and I would have asked for the Express Pass right then and there in exchange for help on the Mentos task. 

Over at the Futbol challenge, one teammate is blindfolded and with the help of the other teammate must move the soccer ball through a course and score and goal within a minute. Nic thinks he'll be out of there in 10 seconds but he probably doesn't know about the Dr. Brett rule of TAR and how any task related to your profession or skill set will be the bane of your existence. Remember five hole from the Olympians last Season? That's only one of many, many examples. Yep, he's on his 14th attempt by the time the other teams arrive. 

And go figure, it's the other pro football player, well actually his daughter, who gets done first. The other pro football player decides to take a 2 hour penalty. That might be a smart idea race-wise (we'll see at the end) but man for the rest of his life — THE REST OF HIS LIFE  — and afterward, Nic's soccer buds are never going to let him forget this. N.E.V.E.R. And by the look on his face, he knows it. Heck, if Gord and I were on the race, we'd be bugging him for the rest of the race (and his life) as well. Heck, if they get eliminated, I'm going to ask him about it. The Dr. Brett Rule rules!

Off they go, to chase a couple of teams to a Detour: Dine or Dance. Already, Gord and my choice? Dine. Yep, that's the Gord and Wayne rule of TAR: whenever you have a Detour that involves dancing, always take the other side. In Dine, teams must remember a bunch of dishes and order and then plate and serve them correctly. In Dance, they have to dance. And since it's Argentina, it's the tango. Duh. Unfortunately, each task is limited but the first bunch of teams take tango so plenty of room for dining. And a lot of meat, too. That's another plus about the Dine side, you probably get to grab some food after the task. 

And wow, The Wrestlers change the game by hopping the ball across instead of kicking. Wow, lots of teams are stretching the rules a bit to get done. That's fun. And yep, other teams follow suit and move on quick. Many pick dance but even though Sabrina struggled with the orders, they only had to get three dishes correct. Obvious that Dine was the easier of the two. And the Cute Couple are off to the pitstop but with a two hour penalty. Which they took before the Wrestlers invented the Hop.

Odd thing happens though. When Nic and Sabrina get into the cab, the names Nick and Matt comes up instead, saying they are first place. No doubt someone back at TAR Canada HQ got the names mixed up. Hate to be a picky dickhead again (Hi Mark!) but I'm watching this on Friday before midnight, someone should have picked that up by now. And I'll admit there will be a lot of typos on this blog post cause of my post-vacation mode, but heck, I'm still really on vacation, sleeping in my mom's basement. 

Moving on, Nick and Matt, I mean Nic and Sabrina arrive at the mat first but have a 2 hour penalty. Neil and Kristin are done and arrive second at the mat. However... because of the penalty, they win the leg, a trip to China and free gas. Other teams come in, great to see the Wrestlers coming to play more in the race. But the drama is whether Nic and Sabrina's penalty will take them out or will someone suck and blow it in the end. Times atickin and nope, the penalty ends before the final two teams arrive; Nic and Sabrina arrive but a really close ending with the Married Cops arriving to the Matt, sorry, I meant, mat, as Dana and Amanda are coming across the bridge in the background. But the cops from Newfoundland and Labrador are out. And some nice words from Brian about them. 

Great leg, lots of tough tasks, loads of fun interplay between teammates and the teams and some great drama till the end. So far the best leg of the season, one of the best of the show. As noted, there will be no interview of Dana and Amanda but Gord and I will be shooting our video and posting on Monday. 

Next week, things will be back to normal (at least normal for us). Back to Canada with a trip to Halifax, someone loses a passport (will they find it really quick and is this just a red herring) but look, they're delivering beer kegs. Now that's a Gord and Wayne task. See ya later. 

 

Howdy dowdy TAR Canada fans, just a heads up this week for Episode 3. I'm on vacation so will be late with my recap as well as the video recap with Gord. Go over to Gord's post and read what he said. I might be able to watch the show online but it all depends. Also, if this leg is not a non-elim, there won't be a team interview either. Same reason, on vacation. Thanks. 

Sorry folks, I'm a little later than usual. It's my kid's birthday so I had to bake a chocolate cake, then was told by my kid that she doesn't like chocolate cake anymore. Man, they change so fast. So I baked her a white cake with purple icing, plus made a Tourtiere because she requested it for her birthday, and then with all the socializing and cleaning up that comes with a kid's birthday, didn't get a chance to see the show till late. But heck, it's my kid's birthday and I love her to pieces so a dad does what a dad does when they love their kid. Also, another reason why Gord and I would be a great team because our daily lives are one crazy task after another. Oh yeah, Gord will be late because he went out and then his PVR didn't record the show so he has to wait for it to go online before he can comment. Or maybe he's watch it here before we hit the Druid for our video recap. 

Anyway, on to Episode 2. Teams head to Santiago, Chile, a long 10 hour flight from Toronto, all on the same flight because this is TAR Canada and there's only one Air Canada flight to Chile. Of course, everyone knows where Chile is, right? Okay, now I must quote a line from the official bio of the Italian Boys: "Gino graduated from Brock University with a degree in Geography, which he believes will be a major asset on the race." Time for Brock to revoke his degree cause even my birthday kid, who only turned 11, knows that Chile is not in Europe, but South America. 

Once they land (in South America Gino!), there's the typical race out of customs to the cabs. Wrestlers are first, Exes are second and Nic and Sabrina are sure their knowledge of four languages, including Spanish, will help. Sure as heck won't hurt. They have to head to GeoAdventure Park where it's a Roadblock. Who wants a better view? Obviously, something that will take you high, although Leilani, who is afraid of heights doesn't figure that out. Teams have to paraglide from a cliff down to the city below. That would be my task because even though Gord is 6'7"+, he's not very fond of heights. Maybe he knows from personal experience that the air is thinner up there. But since he's up there, he should be more adjusted to the thin air. And the height. I'll ask him during our video recap.

So some teams glide to the ground, while other teams are lost. I'm quite pleased the producers didn't dwell too much on the paragliding. The US version did that one season and you pretty much had half an episode of teams gliding through the air. Nice way to edit back and forth to keep it fresh, folks. Matt is the first to land, right behind him is Leilani who quickly got over her fear of heights. And I found another reason to cheer for Brian and Cynthia. He used to be in the airborne and so was my dad, although it was a long time ago for my dad. 

Next clue sends them back into Santiago to find the Sanacion Equilibrio. This is a mural in a working class neighbourhood but it's not the only one. There are 40 others and teams must then find 5 specific murals, take a selfie in front of them and then return to get their clue. But the Wrestlers and the Cops from The 'Peg (Brian and Cynthia) have difficulty taking selfies. Both reasons are funny. Nick says it's because he's 35 so he doesn't know how. Dude, the year you were born, I graduated high school and I've taken many a selfie. As for Brian and Cynthia, their excuse is that taking selfies wasn't part of their training as police officers. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other things they do in their lives that aren't part of their training. Man, these guys would have imploded if they were part of the most recent season of TAR US. Selfies were key to the entire race, including the final task.

But off they go, looking for murals, trying to figure out how to hold camera facing you so you can take a photo of yourself.  More teams glide and land, other teams find the place and also glide and land. Soon, you got a whole bunch of Amazing Racers rushing back and forth through this neighbourhood, much to the annoyance of a local dog. I'm pretty sure that dog was telling Gino and Jesse to get off his lawn. 

Although he was much friendlier than the interaction between the Exes. Dujean is rushing ahead of Leilani and harping on her to move faster. Not surprisingly, she's pushing back, telling him to shut up, calling him an idiot and probably a bunch of other fine words they couldn't use on Canadian Family TV.  This is what we all expected, the Exes are going fight; that's why they are Exes. It's interesting TV for a bit but it can get old real quick. It also slows them down because even though they were second to arrive (I think) at this task, Hamilton and Michealia are the first to get done. 

Off to the Recolate Culture Centre for the second half of the task. There they have to paint a section of a mural for the centre although the name of the colours they are supposed to use are in Spanish. I might know a couple but it's a moot point. The kid that helps each team tells them the colour instead of having the teams figure it out for themselves. It's a nice quiet task after the paragliding and running through the barrio. Props though to Nic and Sabrina for asking their cab to drive them around the neighbourhood instead of running around getting sweaty. Have to remember that. 

H & M are done pretty quick, hand over the art supplies to the centre and get their next clue. It's a Detour. But wait! It's also a Detour before the Detour. Before they go to the Detour, they can detour to the 
Patio Bellavistan and find the dancing couple. First team to do so wins the Express Passes, one to keep, one to give away before the 4th leg. Man, that's only 2 legs from now. Brian and Cynthia, and the Wrestlers chase down H & M, hoping to beat them to the detour before the Detour. But nope, the youngsters get the Express Pass. and then head to the real Detour.

Motion or Emotion. In Motion, teams must perform a traditional Rapa Nui dance. Sorry, not a Gord and Wayne thing. Don't get me wrong, I like to dance but I like to dance to my own beat, my own crazy movements. But choreography? Sorry. What's the other side of the Detour? Emotion. Find the national Library — So far so good. I love libraries. The Edmonton one gave me a $10,000 award for one of my books and the bass player in my band is a librarian (as is the wife of our keyboardist) so libraries rule. But you gotta memorize a famous Chilean poem in the original Spanish and recite it back to an audience. It's a short poem but maybe we should just dance. Good philosophy for life: just dance. 

All the teams, save for two, pick Motion. Although once Hamilton sees the outfits, he's not so sure. As a transgendered person, he says he'd be very uncomfortable in that kind of costume dancing in front of a large crowd of people. Yep, that makes sense. No problems at all with that. If he feels uncomfortable doing that, then it's his choice. However, I don't understand the next move. They decide to use the Express Psss they just received. That, I don't get. It is a Detour and if you don't feel comfortable doing a task, then there is another one that you can try. Maybe they discussed it but we didn't see that. I'm not sure why they just didn't try the Emotion task. An Express Pass is a great advantage to have on the race but to use it so soon, even before you even try the other side of the Detour was a mistake. If they found that side of the Detour too difficult, then sure, use the Express Pass. But at least try.

But they don't and sure they are in first and win a trip to Delhi and free gas for six months. And sure teams will be nice to you to try to get the other Express Pass, but that will only last until they give it away. Two more legs. Then it's fair game and they don't have an Express Pass for later legs. Hope it doesn't hurt them. 

Teams arrive to dance, the Italian Boys at least try the poetry side but quickly realize they can't do it and try to find their cab but he's long gone. Remember you only told him a minute, so after a minute he left? So they decide to run to the other side. Never a good idea. Meanwhile, Susan and Sharnjit are just finishing up their selfies and heading to the painting task. Methinks they are too far behind.

Dances are tried, dances are failed, dances are successful. Nice to see older dudes like Brian and Neal giving their all  with the skimpy costumes. So maybe the dance wasn't that hard at all. But Nic and Sabrina, who speak Spanish. nail the poetry task. Yep, those extra languages come in handy. (Note to producers regarding subtitles when these guys were speaking Spanish: it's is a contraction for it is, its is a possessive. I know me with my typos on this blog pointing out something like that is kettle black calling, but I do this blog for no pay, in my spare time after my kid's birthday party and between completing my novels and my freelance writing and all that family stuff. You are CTV's flagship and highest rated show; someone's who's getting paid to work on your show has got to catch that kind of thing in the proofing.)

Grammar Cop is now finished. As are the The Cops from the Peg , who come in second, and the Wrestlers, who come in third. Dana and Amanda, who we've barely heard from so far this season, finish the dance and are expecting to come in fourth. Unfortunately, their cabbie drops them off at the bottom of Cerro San Cristobal instead of the top where the pit stop is. So they run and run, and start to walk and try to run again. The Exes pass them. Even though their arguing slowed them down in the mural task, Dujean and Leilani are professional dancers and nailed the Motion side pretty quickly. Two more teams pass them and what could have been an easier fourth place is a hard-earned 7th. Hats off to the camera crew who also had to run with them carrying all that gear. 

As per usual, it's down to two teams: Gino and Jesse, and Susan and Sharnjit. The boys get the dance completed just as the Prison Guards arrive. And it looks like the end, but a local tells the boys that Cerro San Cristobal is only three to four streets over. So they decide to run because they had difficulty with their cab who left when they didn't return when they said they would. And sure the bottom of the hill is three or four streets away but as we learned from Dana and Amanda, it's a long way up to the top where the pitstop is. They try to catch a cab but are ignored. Susan and Sharnjit are done, caught a cab and are heading up the hill. It's dark and both teams are running around looking for Jon. In the end, the boys arrive, dropping from first place to second last in one leg. Yep, the race is unpredictable. Susan and Sharnjit are out, pleased to have been there but gone. We'll be talking to them and will have their comments up in a couple of days. Also look for out vid recap, Gord's recap and Jinder's view up in the blog.

Next week, it's off to Argentina (phew they didn't spend another leg in Santiago; I hate it when the US version does too many legs in one place) where there will be more dancing and some footie. I'm out of town next week for a short vacation but I will probably be able to watch the show and write my blog. Although no video or team interview, unless its a non-elim. Too early? You never know. See ya around. Tell your friends, comment if you wish. 

Are you excited? Huh? Are ya? I am cause it's the start of the third season of Amazing Race Canada. And to be honest, that was a thrilling first episode. You had teams running all over the place, you had teams in last place quickly moving up to first, you had frustration, you had laughs, pratfalls, falls that made you instinctively wince and you had a team eliminated that no one was probably expecting to be eliminated.

Everything starts in Quebec City, on the boardwalk (where my mom and dad met back in the old days) right next to the Chateau Frontenac. Gorgeous place to start. The teams come out and are described by Jon. I won't go into details with the description because if you've read earlier blog posts you know them already. Some teams look tough, some teams look cute, some teams look like they're already sweaty. But all are raring to go. Jon Montgomery does a great job delivering his lines, talking up the prizes and reminding everyone to read the clues carefully. No shit, Sherlock. You wanna win the race, you gotta read the clues.

And they're off, running to their backpacks to get the first clue: head to Quay 22. And remember how to pronounce that word. Quay, not 22.  No biggie, I'm not from a landlocked province so when I first saw the word, I didn't know how to pronounce it. At the Quay, it's the RNC Cops. Each team gets a code and then must search a sea of bikes to find the correct lock to open a couple of bikes. After you do, you must ride to the ferry and take a trip over to Levis, which if anyone remembers was the opposite direction that they took in Season 1. Once at Levis, find one of the Fords and the ones with the lowest numbers will get on the first flight to Toronto. 

The RNC Cops start searching as other teams arrive. Soon the Italian Bros  get their lock open and jump on the ferry. The Designer Guys get lucky and open their first lock. Unfortunately, the first ferry is gone. It's a 30 minute wait I seem to recall, not sure if that's right but I'm going to stick with it. As they get onto their ferry, Sean starts blowing chunks in the men's room. And it's not due to seasickness, he's just overly excited. And why not? HE'S ON THE AMAZING RACE! I'd be out of my gourd at the start of the race if I was on it. Although I'd probably throw up before the race rather than during.  


Overall, the lock task really has no skill; it's all up to luck. But you have to find the quay first and it seems the Cute Couple (Nic and Sabrina) are lost. Only a few minutes into the show and they already have their own goofy music. Are they this season's Sukhi and Jinder? But in the end, all this doesn't matter because in Toronto, teams must find the St. Lawrence Market. And the market doesn't open till 8 am. Those teams that got lucky and/or found their way faster, lose their lead. That's gotta suck. Oh well, that's just part of the race. Still gotta run like that's not going to happen. Lucky for the teams on the last flight.


Next morning, a few teams are there at 8 am for the opening, while other teams come later. Not sure if that was bad timing or they had to wait because of something with the later plane, but if Gord and I were on the race and something was opening at 8 am, we'd be there at 7 am. Or maybe 7:30. No way we'd be late.

It's a word scramble to find the intersection of Centre Street and Market Street in the market. Some teams hang outside the market, other teams (the more smarter ones?) go inside to find words that may match. Max thinks it's got something to do with dessert although Elias keeps reminder her there is no D in the word scramble. My notes are sketchy on who figured it out first, the Italian Bros, I think. My kid and her friend were shooting a movie in the house and there was a very loud action scene at this point of my watching. Anyway, the clue is to head to TSN which I thought almost everyone would know. But obviously the Designer Guys don't watch a lot of sports and have no idea what the acronym means. So they get lost.

At TSN, it's a Roadblock: Who's Feeling Sporty? Seems like an obvious task, you're at TSN, you're probably going to have to do the sports. And yep, you have to do a segment with whathisname Duffy. Good thing TAR Canada is on CTV and not CBC. Imagine if you had to do a Coach's Corner with Don Cherry? Shudder! Jesse (he's the one with the shorter hair, right?) takes it on and he's like a deer in the headlights. Susan from the Prison Guard team jumps in and she's no better. Especially since her greatest fear is public speaking. This task could have gone either way for Gord and I. We've both could have done it, maybe not the first or second try but possibly the third.

The first several bits of this section are quite funny, especially Brian with his terrible tie and collar job. This guy used to be in the military? He'd be severely dressed down for that. Hilarious to see his wifeCynthia laughing at his ineptituteness. Is that a word? Don't care, gonna make it one. Soon all the teams arrive and are lined up to do their TV bit. Kind of feel sorry for Duffy after awhile and the crew. This must be painful to watch.

Meanwhile, Brent and Sean are lost. Stuck in a bad cab, or given bad directions or not knowing what TSN stands for. They get a little pissy with the cabbie. But they finally make it and jump into the sportscentre. Jesse is done first but Nic is the impressive one, figuring out that you don't have to look at the camera when the B-roll is playing. He does the sports like a champ. And you'd figure Neil Lumsden would nail this because of his experience but sports figures have different names from when he was around. 

First teams outta there are both Italian teams, heading off to Ontario Place for the next Roadblock, also Who's Feeling Sporty. But this task is more physical. You have to climb across a canal on a cargo net, then jump three stories into the water, then cross a rolling log. First two are relatively easy although the log would be tough. Gino, however, blows through while Sabrina struggles. She's not in the greatest shape and she's afraid of water. Okay, maybe not the next Sukhi and Jinder but possibly Brent and Holly? Cue the goofy music. But like Brent and Holly, Nic is very supportive of his partner. He's not on her case to get it done, calling her names, talking about her behind his back like many US racers do. He cheers her on. 

And she easily does the log by crawling across instead of running. I didn't think and neither do many of the other teams, so good on her. It wasn't pretty but she got it done. And when they hit the mat at Centre Court in Air Canada Centre, they are in second. The other Italian team of Gino and Jesse were in first, winning a trip for two to Rio, plus 2.5 million Petro Points. No Express Pass? Maybe it will come later.

Back at the water, teams that finished the sports are working on the water. Ope from Team Surrey can't swim. Everyone who knows the race at all knows that if you're cast, you should have two basic skills: how to swim and how to drive stick. I hope one of them can drive stick.  And while he hesitates for a bit, he jumps in. Of course he would; he gave up his life in Nigeria to make a better one for his family in Canada, this jump was nothing compared to that.

There's more, including some hard falls by Cynthia on the log but the final drama comes down to the final two teams. The Prison Guards and Team Malias are still in the studio, struggling. Susan gets done and they race away. Elias reveals that he has dyslexia and the words are starting to flip. Oh man, that sucks. Must be very frustrating for both of them. But he's no quitter and despite his difficulty in reading, he finally nails on the 23rd(?) try and gets the clue. Race to the water task where Sharnjit is still in sight. Max is on the ropes chasing her and they both jump into cabs for the mat. Some might think it's the editing to make it look close but I think it was closer than most think. It does though make for an exciting finish. Unfortunately, Team Malias are out, eliminated first, and in their hometown as well.  No doubt many fans are surprised by this because they did seem to be a physical team. I'm pretty sure a lot of fans didn't pick these guys in the eliminated first pool. But the race is not always physical, one has to remember. Not a way you want a team to go, because of someone's dyslexia, but that's the way it happens. You never know what you'll come up against during the race.

All in all, a very promising start to Season 3. Lots of drama, some great characters out there, but at the same time, not a lot of time seeing other teams. I forgot that a couple of teams existed when I saw them arrive on the mat. But that's how the first few episodes play out; lots of team running so it's hard to get a sense of who's who in less than 60 minutes. Hard for the producers to fit them all in while creating drama. The Italian Bros look like the team to beat but again, it's only episode 1.

Next episode, teams head to South America (Ha! Told ya, Gord!) where it seems there will be dancing. And fighting Exes (like we didn't see that come). And there are the Express Passes. Thanks for reading. Look for Gord's post on his section of this blog. Also look for your video recap later this week plus our interview with Max and Elias. 

Fun thing happened this morning. Gord and I were invited to appear on CTV Edmonton's Morning Live show to discuss the upcoming season of Amazing Race Canada. That meant we had to get up early, 6:30 for me, though Gord is usually up by then, and then drive to the studio to be there by 8. Gord drove and my kid came along for the ride. Surprisingly, we matched. Normally for recent race appearance stuff we wear our black ScotteVests, but underneath we both had red shirts. Not planned at all. But it looks good, I think. The host of the show, Kimberly Wynn, seemed pleased about it and even brought it up in the interview. Here's a screen capture of that.

Overall, it went very well but man does four minutes go fast in a studio. One of the hosts was sick or something so Kimberly and the other host (didn't get his name) were doing the 3.5 hour show as a duo instead of trio. That meant she instantly walked from our interview across the studio to do the weather. Man, tough job, although probably fun. She did say thanks via email later. They also talked about having us back to do some recaps as the season progresses. That's good news. 

Anyway, here's the link to the interview.

And if you came here because of our CTV Edmonton Morning Live appearance, thanks for showing up. Hope you come back. This week is going to be quite busy at Gord and Wayne HQ because the season starts on Wed. We'll both have our written recaps up by Wednesday night (if all goes well), our video recap will be shot at the Druid on Thursday and then up late Thursday or early Friday. We'll also be interviewing host Jon Montgomery and whoever gets eliminated on Thursday and probably have those up next week. See you later.