So far, I've only been posting about Amazing Race Canada and TAR: The Original Series. Over on Gord's side, you got Survivor as well. But now it's my turn to expand. I've been a fan of Canada's Worst Driver for a number of years and now they're running the penultimate season: Canada's Worst Driver Ever.

Andrew Younghusband is the host and he's great at this. The right combination of smarts and smarmy. Also, Andrew really seems to want these drivers to get better, and not just because he has to ride with them. He seems to really to want to help these poor pathetic people. But he keeps saying "Canada's Worst Driver Ever" is such an annoying way that I want to run him over. 

There was a preview episode last week, showing who's gonna be on the show, but they do a smaller intro at the start of Ep. 2 so why watch the hour-long one. And I won't get into my own set of introductions; I'll just mention the drivers while I talk about the tasks at hand, or rather, challenges as they say on Canada's Worst Driver Ever.

On the drive to the Rehab Centre, it looks like some of these drivers have improved, especially Chris, the "winner" from Season 1 and Shirley from Season 7. Shelby from Season 3, who only was a runner-up for the honour, also seems to have improved, albeit the other way. He was a slow, overcautious driver back in the day but now seems to be too speedy, too casual. Looks like he's become the typical Calgary driver (hey man, I grew up there so I can slag the drivers if I want). But that's a lot better than before.

However, some drivers haven't improved at all. Henrietta from hasn't really driven since "winning" Season 2. Sly, a runner-up from Season 7 still seems pathetic, Kevin from Season 8 is still blind in one eye but had a major crack up just days after "winning" his title and Michael, a runner-up from Season 2 still holds his breath when he goes through tunnels. And he recently fell asleep at the wheel doing 100 Klicks back in his home of Vancouver Island. But the worse so far is Angelina from Season 5. She can't even drive herself to the rehab centre because she's too hungover. So Canada's first ever worst driver, Chris, gives her a lift. Angelina falls asleep in the back of the car.

Shelby is the first to arrive, even though he left in the middle of the pack. Michael shows up next wearing bluetooth earbuds, which are illegal. Dale is next, saying she's improved. But no one in her family will ride with her. And when she backs into her spot for the show, she hits the barrier on which stands little Andrew. He should know better because she once tried to run him over. On purpose.

Heinretta makes it, seemingly doing well, even though she hasn't driven in awhile. Sly runs a few stops signs getting there, and I really think he's got cognitive issues. In his season, he could only take written directions but I still think something else is at play here. Shirley gets there on time, with no problems. I always liked Shirley (she's a hugger, and reminds me of my mom), but she was a bad driver. Maybe not so much because she's been taking lessons. Even her daughter says she'll graduate early.

Kevin shows up and vows to turn in his license and sell his car if he doesn't graduate. Methinks there's gonna be a car for sale in his BC hometown. Chris, the last to leave with Angelina in the backseat, is the last to arrive. I missed a section and Chris may have had to stop on the way to let Angelina puke. Classy. But Chris is driving well.

The first challenge is an assessment challenge, using a eed 2011 Camaro SS. The challenge starts with a simple, one-bend reverse through some rims, followed by a turnaround in a concrete space, and then a slalom finish at 50K. Andrew does it pretty well, as well he should cause he's been doing this for 9 years, along with his other show, Don't Drive Here!

Angelina goes first and I'm not looking forward to this. Within two seconds, she hits a rim. Then another, and more. Scratches everywhere. And since her high heels get wedged on a pedal, she hits a few styrofoam folks on the slalom. "Is that okay?" she asks. Probably still drunk.

Dale, who looks like she was probably someone like Angelina 30 or so years ago, does the same thing. She scrapes the heck out of the Camaro and hits a couple of folks. Kevin is no better. "I'm kind of multitasking here," he whines. "What, are you doing your taxes?" Andrew retorts. 20 minutes later and Kevin still hasn't passed the original reversing section. He almost rips off the front bumper, hits a "person" on the slalom and loses control of the car.

Henrietta is asked to count the obstacles she hits. One, two, three...on we go till she hits 10. Then Andrew coaches her. She gets caught in turnaround and hits the first person on the slalom. Chris is perfect through the reverse but hits the bumper once on the turnaround. He makes it through the slalom without a hitch, a long way from 8 years ago. He's got no one  along with him so maybe that's it. 


Sly starts terribly, gets stuck and tries a bunch of S turns. However, he only turns the wheel but doesn't actually move the car back and forth to make the S-turn feasible. He takes more than 25 minutes to do the reverse, bangs the car in the turn around and almost rips the back bumper off. He loses control after the fourth turn. Afterward, Andrew allows him to rip the rest of the bumper off  by hand. We're not even done for the day and the Camaro is toast.

Michael starts okay, only hitting three rims. But in the turnaround, he gets himself stuck. His partner, the wife of his best friend, cries for her life. And no wonder, cause in the slalom, he hits 80 and spins out on the grass. Scary stuff. He still thought he was doing 50. Shelby hits a couple of times and still seems slow. Andrew makes fun of him but pulling out his lunch and eating it on the back of the car. Shelby doesn't seem to notice. Shelby thinks the space is too small. So Andrew gives him some room. In the Slalom, Shelby loses control, realizing that he's not as improved as he thought he was. Shirley is the same, but only in the reverse. She hits a few but gets through the turnaround without a scratch. In the slalom, she's a lot better than many others but doesn't really make it.

At the assessment, we discover that Michael doesn't know how fast he was going, Henrietta sometimes goes months without driving and Shelby thought Angelina was made up, that her bad driving was special effects. Nope, says Andrew, she's real. Angelina, and the rest also don't think they are Canada's Worst Driver Ever. But while Chris gets the most votes to be the first to graduate, Cam Wooley suggests that Henrietta should go. Since she doesn't really drive, less than 100 Klicks a year, there's no point on her continuing. She should be disqualified. But there are two votes to graduate Chris and two to disqualify Henrietta.

But they send Henrietta home, telling her she's not the worst but she's not a graduate. She's more of a passenger rather than a driver, so she's being kicked out. Chris is completely confused cause he thought he'd be able to go home. But there's another twist. They decide to graduate Chris as well. Which makes sense. I still wanna run Andrew over because of the way he says the show title. It's very annoying.

Sorry I'm a bit late here, had to go to Calgary, then on the bus ride back, there was an accident on the highway, so I didn't get home and put the kid to bed until after the show had aired. Watched it last night but went to sleep instead of posting. Let's see if it makes a difference in the quality of text.

Last week on TAR, the Beardos arrived at the mat first, only to discover that this was an extended leg. And Tim and Marie didn't have their clue so asked Nicole and Travis for help. Nicole demanded the Express Pass. Thankfully, the producers started this week's episode right after the recap, and we discover that Nicole's gambit works: Marie reluctantly agrees to hand over the Express Pass for help. So they follow the ER Docs to the Longhouse.

Back at the Longhouse, the Beardos express their desire to continue racing. Seems they don't need sleep after 30 hours of racing. But that's a moot point because the clue tells them to catch a ferry and a flight to Gdansk, Poland, find Solidarity Square for the next clue. But the ferry leaves at 8:30 pm, ensuring all the teams will catch up. And the trip is 24 hours, so in a sense, they'll get a pitstop to sleep even though it's not an official one. Although it was good TV to see Phil's interaction with the Bunnies. The ladies arrived at the mat in last complaining the leg was torture (for Canadian fans, the Bunnies are like the Sisters, complaining that every task is the hardest thing they've ever done). Phil tortures them even more, with his "you're the last team to arrive" bit. And then hands over the clue. 

Before everyone gets to sleep on the ferry, the Exes and the ER Docs surreptitiously meet on deck for the Express Pass changeover. Neither team wants any to know that pass has been handed over. The ER Docs don't want to be a target and the Exes, or rather Marie, wants everyone to still suck up to her. Back in their cabin, Nicole is quite pleased with herself and rightly so. That was some quick thinking and great gameplay on her part. Guess sometimes Doctors on the race can handle the pressure.

Having no Express Pass seems to slow the Exes down because they are the last ones out from the airport in Gdansk. Or maybe Marie is just too obnoxious to customs officials. The Afghanimals are first out the door followed by Oklahoma boys. But once again, the Afghanimals don't read the clue completely and instead of telling their cab to head to Solidarity Square near the Gdansk shipyards, they just mention the shipyards themselves. Big difference. So Oklahoma gets the clue first at the memorial, while the Afghanimals, the Ice Girls and the Exes end up at the actual shipyards, clueless. Again, it's literal and figurative. Gotta read the clue, folks, that's how you win. Or not lose, which is also important until the last leg.

The clue tells Oklahoma, and the other teams that can read clues correctly, that they must head to the Golden Gate, the entrance to the old quarter of Gdansk. And at the Golden Gate, they find another clue for a detour: Pose or Polka. In Pose, teams must dress up like Neptune (the god not the planet) and then strike a pose similar to the statue in the square. Once they raise 75 zlotys (about $25) they can move on. In Polka, teams must dress up in traditional costume and learn a dance. Typical TAR task. Would hate to do one.

But since I used to be a semi-professional clown and was known for an ability to freeze like a statue for long periods of time, and Gord just played Frankenstein's Monster at a city event, I think we'd do well as statues. Dancing, or at least Polka, ain't our thing. But Oklahoma pick Polka and then realize that one has to be the girl in the couple. "You're smaller so you're girl," says Tim, much to the chagrin of Danny. I loved this little exchange, especially how Tim continues to goad Danny once he decides to be the girl and wear the dress. This is the kind of thing Gord and I would (and do) to each other. Despite his beard, Gord does look better in a dress.

Other teams find the clue and head to the Golden Gate, but the cabbie for the Beardos doesn't know where it is. So he calls for help and coincidentally, gets the cabbie driving Jason and Amy. They tell the cabbie not to say anything and he gamely plays along, making  faces as he lies to the Beardos, "I know nothing about no stinking Golden Gate." The Beardos figure out what's what, and move on. And not long after they get info on how to find the place.

The Docs, the Daters and the Bunnies arrive at the Golden Gate. The two male/female couples pick Polka while the Bunnies pick Pose. The girls dress up in one-piece lycra suits, with matching beards and tridents. They strike their pose and start raking in cash. Guess their new beards don't detract from their other assets, highlighted by the tight lycra outfits. At the Polka, Tim and Danny are having a tough time. Maybe it was lack of sleep or maybe it was the outfits, but the boys quickly start bickering like a real couple. Funny, funny stuff.

Back at the real shipyards, the three clueless teams are still...well... clueless. "Why are we so lost?" Ally wonders. "Cause we're in Poland," says Tim, intimating that it's got something to do with the Poles themselves or the lack of communication. Of course, it's got nothing to do with him or any of the other teams and their inability to read the clue, does it? No, Tim, when you screw up, it's someone else fault not yours. 

While Tim is complaining about Poland, the Bunnies are having a great time and get their 75 zloty, marking the first time that they are actually leading the race. They get their clue, telling them to search the waterfront to find the foreman near a medieval harbour crane. And they must stay in costume for the rest of the leg. Which is good for us (skintight lycra) but not for Danny (dressed like a traditional female Polka dancer). The Beardos arrive just as the girls leave, suit up and pose. 

But the Beardos are surprisingly passive. They don't engage the crowd so no one wants to give them money. They switch tasks, which turns out to be a big mistake. While posing might be hard, Polka choreographing is tough. As we witness Tim and Danny fail time after time. The Daters get it on the first try but only because Amy's a dancer, and she guided Jason around, "like a puppet" Jason said. However, their performance is an anomaly; the Docs and Oklahoma still struggle.

Finally, the three teams at the shipyard grab a clue and find a way to Solidarity Square. The Afghanimals and the Ice Girls arrive first with Tim and Marie moving pretty slow. At the Golden Gate, the Afghanimals and the Ice Girls pick Polka, while the Exes languish behind. The Bunnies, in the lead for the first time ever, take some advice from a local too literally, run past the U-turn, leave the Harbourfront and lose their lead. Jason and Amy, who finished the Polka in one try, make it to the U-turn first. They decide not to U-turn anyone, knowing they are plenty of teams struggling behind them and keeping the U-turn option open for later use. Unlike Amazing Race Canada, you can only use a U-turn once in the original TAR. Their clue tells them to find the longest building in Poland, a building that's a half a mile in length. Yikes, talk about classic Soviet Brutalism.

The Exes don't languish at the back for too long, and finally pick Pose as their detour. Unsure of where they are in the race, they use the Express Pass. Maybe a bit too early for me, but since they had no idea where anyone else was, it probably seemed necessary for them. Better to use the Express Pass than be eliminated with one. They head off to the U-turn.

Back at Polka, Danny and Tim are still struggling and arguing, so much so that thei instructor tells them to stop fighting. Nicole and Travis finally nail it down and head out. They are right behind the Exes, who arrive at the U-turn, wondering what to do. At first, Marie suggests they U-turn the ER Docs but Tim worries the Docs might be in front. So they decide not to U-turn anyone. Which is good for Nicole and Travis who are in fact, right behind them. They don't U-turn either, and neither do the Bunnies, who finally figured out their mistake.

Oklahoma stop fighting (technically it was mostly Danny, probably because wearing a dress has never been a job's he had to do before) and get the task done. They start to leave just as the Afghanimals and the Ice Girls arrive. The Beardos also arrived somewhere in there. When Oklahoma hit the U-Turn, they target Leo and Jamal, noting that it was nothing personal, just by the fact they knew the Afghanimals were behind them. 

The lead teams get to the long building and it's huge. No surprise they're gonna have to run around there looking for something. And this time, it has a Polish style to the whole thing, although it could also be uniquely Canadian. The Roadblock is called Sweet Tooth and teams get 12 addresses and look for a Rose Paczki, which is pretty much a jelly or cream file donut, hence the Canadian feel. Marie and Amy take on the task and decide to work together. Or rather stick together. It probably would have been smarter to split the list in half to find the rose donut faster but maybe Amy didn't trust Marie, vice versa or both. Whatever, but teams can also be penalized for impoliteness so Tim begs Marie, for once in her life, to be nice. 

Surprising, Marie is polite, or maybe just not impolite as they dash through the building trying donut after donut. Jason also notes that the Exes arrived without a costume and wisely surmises that they used the Express Pass. And not long after the Docs and the Bunnies arrive. Kim uses the elevator while Travis runs up the stairs. For the first part, Kim's move is smart because Travis sounds pretty tired climbing up those stairs. But when he hits the elevator button for each floor as he makes his way down, he slows her way down. A simple move but a smart one. And one you really can't be penalized for.

Somewhere in this Travis catches up with Marie and Amy, so Amy, who probably likes Travis better, helps him out. She tells him all the places they haven't been. This helps him cause he's the first to find the Rose Donut. Clue tells him to find Phil on the longest wooden pier in Europe. Jeez, what is it with Poland and long structures? That pier is 1600 feet long and no doubt Phil is gonna be at the end. Since the girls helped him, Travis helps them, passing on the info. And soon we got three teams racing to the pit stop: Travis and Nicole, Tim and Marie, and Amy and Jason. 

Somewhere in all that Tim and Danny along with the Bunnies show up at the building. Danny's still in his traditional polka dress. Man, he better win a million bucks or his buddies at work are going to be on him for the rest of his life. Naw, they'll be on him regardless but at least he'll have the cash. They don't team up although once Danny finds the Rose Donut, he lets Kim know where it is. He didn't have to but it was nice of him to do so.

Also in all that, the Afghanimals and the Ice Girls finish the Polka, only to find out the Afghanimals have been U-Turned. Not surprisingly, the boys don't U-Turn their Race Wives but instead make the Beardos do the task they were originally gonna do. See what I mean about switching tasks? Leo and Jamal put on the Neptune costumes while Ally and  Ashley race away. This Neptune task was made for the boys because with their vibrant personalities, they make the big bucks pretty quickly, inviting a bunch of kids to playfully grab the final payment from their dad. So they head off to the building.

At the race to the finish, the Exes are in better shape and get to the mat first. According to Travis, they had to win because if you don't win a leg after using an Express Pass, you're a loser. Amy and Jason are second with Nicole and Travis in third. The Exes win a trip to Hawaii but the Docs feel like they won this extended leg; they managed to get the Express Pass and with the other one gone, they're sitting pretty. And they seem smart enough not to use it (or not) incorrectly. There is also a possibility that these could be the final three teams. All are tough and strong, although Tim and Marie have issues, not just Marie but their inability to read clues correctly. If they hadn't used the Express Pass, they would have been way behind.

Although one thing that wasn't addressed is the not getting of the proper clue by Tim and Marie. If you remember in the previous leg, following the truck pull, Tim and Marie grabbed only the bag of coins and not the actual clue directing them to the Viking longhouse. And while they did make it to the longhouse in exchange for the Express Pass, in previous seasons teams who did this, but didn't get a clue, forget one or lost one, were penalized in some way. They were either forced to head back to get the clue or penalized in time. Since they weren't forced back and since this was an extended leg and the longhouse wasn't really a pitstop, I figured there would be a time penalty at the pier in Gdansk. But nope, they won the leg. I'm totally not sure what the heck happened here, what rule they didn't break so they didn't get penalized. If anybody knows, please comment.

Anyway, their final tasks done, you'd expect Oklahoma to come in fourth. But for some reason not shown, the Bunnies beat them to the mat and get fourth, a great spot considering they were last to the mat in the longhouse. So Oklahoma's in fifth with the Afghanimals in sixth and the Ice Girls in seventh. Somewhere this alliance will have to give and I know the Ice Girls will leave the boys behind before the boys will leave the girls behind. They've done that already.

So with the Beardos the only team left out there, the lone question left is whether this is a non-elimination leg. As I watched, I was hoping it wasn't cause with all that work the other teams had done, it would suck not to have another team being eliminated. And the Beardos had a hard time getting cash on a task that should have been pretty easy. All you had to do was pose and entertain the crowd, something I know Gord and I can do in our sleep. But the Beardos get it done, find the Rose Donut and they hit the pier. Phil breaks the bad news: they are the last team and they are eliminated. Sad to see them go; I like these non-celebrity kind of teams. Didn't find them weird cause well I'm a weird guy already. But maybe to mainstream America, dudes with beards who live in the country are weird. 

So I predict that the next leg will be non-elimination. Haven't had one yet so it's time. And while it's off to Austria next episode I'm tired of Europe. Can't wait till United Arab Emirates two episodes from now. Sand and heat is always fun.

Something was smelling fishy throughout this episode of TAR Season 23, and it wasn't all the fish. I was expecting one thing but got another. And there was another smelly bit. Let's recap.

It might be Season 23 of TAR, but based on the last couple of episodes, it feels like an earlier season. You remember those episodes when teams spent the majority of their time at the airports, hunting for flights, second and third guessing themselves and the others teams. But this episode pretty much took the cake when it came to airport.

I mean, there we were, seeing the NFLers leaving Chile for Lisbon, Portugal and by the Minute 24 of the show, we still hadn't arrive in Lisbon yet. I'll do my best to get it all straight, who got on what flight and when but it's Canadian Thanksgiving up here and my stomach is full of turkey and the fixings. All that tryptophan is making me sleepy. Okay, that's mostly a myth but that sure was a lot of back and forth in the airports.

Here goes, first the NFLers get a flight from a travel agent that gets them into Lisbon at 7 am. And they are told the flight is full. So they believe they'll arrive hours ahead of everyone. The Aghanimals leave next but head to the airport and get a flight through London arriving at  11 am. They believe they are ahead of everyone and make plans to tell the Ice Girls the plan. The Beardos and the ER Docs leave next and they head to the travel agent. Surprisingly the ER Docs get a 7 am flight, even though the NFLers were told their flight was full. However, the agent screwed up, putting in the wrong date. So the boys aren't on the flight. They get on the same flight with the Beardos, arriving at 10 am. 

Meanwhile, Jason and Amy, the nice dating couple are leaving the pitstop in their cab, talking about the bad luck they have with cabs, buses, etc., and then BOOM! They're in a car accident. Normally this would be a good time to break for commercial but the accident is minor and the Daters move on. All the drama is at the airport. So the NFLers get a call saying that the agent was sad she screwed up and wanted to make it up to them. They can get in at 7 am but they need to make two connections. A risky move cause TAR hasn't been kind to teams who have risky connections. Many a team have been left behind because of this. But the boys are competitors and take a chance.

Now, many teams have arrived at the airport, getting flights. The Ice Girls get flight info from the Afghanimals and are also going to arrive at 11 am. They attempt to bring in the Small Town Boys to their alliance, not to help, but to provide a team they can work against during the leg. They tell the boys about the flight arriving at 11. Fortunately, the Small Town Boys smell something funny. And it's not Marie who tries to use her Express Pass to get info from the buys. But they lie to her, or one of them does (sorry still haven't figure out who's who's yet on some teams) so there's a bit of worry that Marie will be mad. Doesn't matter anyway because Marie will forget this and will get mad at someone else later on. But what happens is that the Small Town Boys have decided that if they get the chance, they'll instant U-turn the Afghanimals. And it's a good thing they didn't listen because they get on a flight with the Beardos that arrives at 10, one hour before the Afghanimals and the Ice Girls.

So the first flight leaves for San Paulo with a bunch of teams, including the Baseball Wives, who we haven't mentioned yet. However, it's the ER Docs who have the connection for a flight arriving at 7 am. Some of the other teams race to the gate for that flight, hoping to get on standby. But the gate's not open so The Daters and the Exes make camp, thinking this is the only way to get on standby and also that they are first two teams in line. The Baseball Wives, however, realize that there's another option. Maybe it was because their husbands are major leaguers and they get more chances to travel business or first class, who knows? But they make their way to the business class lounge and request to be the first team on standby. A  great move. And it gets even greater at the gate when they reveal to the other two teams what they did and The Exes don't make the flight. Marie is pissed and you can bet the Baseball Wives aren't getting the Express Pass. Which is fine because you can't allow another team control your fate on TAR. "They pulled stuff I would pull and I wasn't expecting it from them," says Marie. Which pretty much sums up that whole thing.

So back the the NFLers, who discover their flight is delayed by about five hours so they got to get to San Paulo and try to get on the flight that only has the Exes left. They arrive in San Paulo and it looks like they are jogging to the gate. Yes, jogging. You'd think that if you were in a hurry to make a flight, you'd run a bit faster. That's what I do. But no, the big boys miss the flight and it looks all but over for them.

Finally, we arrive in Lisbon and the show's almost half over. The first teams — ER Docs, Daters and the Baseball Wives — arrive. By now, I've forgotten what they are supposed to do. Oh right, head to Martin Monez Square and grab a tram to the top of the hill to get the next clue. The ER Docs and the Daters move fast and get on the first tram. For some reason, all four of them are wearing the same colour shirts. Anyone else notice that? Weird. They get to the top and there's a gorgeous Portuguese singer who gives each team a painting. It's their clue to get to the Coach Museum, which all teams figure out pretty quickly by talking to locals or knowledgeable tourists.

At the Coach Museum, it's a Detour. Tiles or Miles. In Tiles, team gotta put together a puzzle made from a bunch of fragile tiles. In Miles, they have to use some large callipers on a map to determine how far Magellan travelled around the world. Technically, Magellan didn't travel around the entire world. In the Philippines, Magellan was struck by a bamboo spear in a battle with some indigenous Philippinos and died. Heck, even his body didn't make it because the chief of the people that fought Magellan's soldiers took the body as a war trophy. Still, Magellan organized the expedition, it managed to continue without him and make it back to Europe so he got all the credit.

Anyway, the ER Docs and the Daters decide to work together on the Miles. They find Magellan, alive and well, at a large map in the middle of a square. They start measuring out the miles but get to the edge of the map. Realizing the earth is round, even in Magellan times, they just start measuring from the other side of the map and get the correct answer. Clue given. They have to go to Mosanto Forest Park to get their next clue. While this was happening, the Baseball Wives get up the hill, met that Fado singer, and decide to do Tiles. On the surface it seems a bit harder because I mean, everyone knows the world is round, right?

The Small Town Boys and Beardos arrive, get up the hill and decide to work together to figure out the painting clue. It takes about a second for someone to help and off to the Coach Museum. This alliance breaks off quickly when the Beardos choose Tiles and the SMBs choose Miles. There's a brief shot of the NFLers in London where their flight is delayed.

At the forest park, both teams arrive pretty close and get a roadblock, Slings and Arrows. They have to dress in medieval armour and use a ballista, an ancient artillery piece, to shoot an arrow into a shield 150 feet away. Travis loads up and shoots but misses by a mile. Jason gets his on the first try and they head to the next pit stop Castelo dos Mouros. Unfortunately, the Daters have bad luck with their cab. But it's all their own fault. They get confused with directions which in part, I don't understand. The cabbie should have figured it out for them instead of them arguing in the back. Because of this, Travis hits his shield and the ER Docs get to the Castle first, find Phil and become Team #1, winning a trip to Costa Rica. Nice place, was just there last January. The Daters come second but are okay with that. Good of Jason to apologize for his mistake, good of Amy not to rub it in. Which makes me more confident in saying again that they, along with the ER Docs, are a team to watch.

So the Baseball Wives get the tiles done, hit the shield on the second shot and are Team #3. A well deserved spot because they kept their cool at the airport and made a smart move. I just wish they would stop screaming every time they did something right. And the Afghanimals and the Ice Girls arrive just as the  SMBs hit the map. The SMBs start measuring and for a second, they have a brainfart and almost forget the world is round. However, they figure it out and have another brainfart. Instead of 16,000 or so miles, the say 1,600. Not a big deal cause they figure out their mistake pretty quick. So off to the forest to shoot. First shot is good.

The Beardos get their puzzle very quickly, noting that if you live in the woods, you do a lot of puzzles. Which is why I don't live in the woods. So they head off to the woods and arrive just as the SMBs are leaving. Beardos shoot and get it so it's SMBs in 4th, Beardos in 5th. The Afghanimal/Ice Girl alliance decide to do Miles. 

After watching this next bit, I did some research on these two teams and determined at least three are college graduates, one of them with an honours degree (yes, it's Ally from the Ice Girls with that honour).  Jamal is a CEO of an investment company so I'm assuming he's got a degree as well. So with at least four university degrees in this alliance,  Zadran Investment Group. you'd figure at least one of them would realize that the world is Round! One of the Afghanimals says they over-thought the task but in reality, they didn't think at all. Especially when one says "Maybe he went through the Panama Canal?" I stared dumbfounded at the screen. Really? Did he actually say that out loud? Magellan? The Panama Canal? They are so inept at this, that they change detours. Yes, they changed detours. More dumbfoundness.

So it's the tiles. The Ice Girls leaving first and getting to work. The boys arrive and start on it as well. And then the Exes arrive, and they pick Tiles, just as the Ice Girls finish. So the Afghanimals try to be clever and tell the Exes they've been there for hours, an attempt to get them to use the Express Pass. Interesting idea, although it might have backfired if the Exes did use the Express Pass as the boys were still working on their puzzle. As I said before, the Afghanimals are a fun team, however, I'm not confident they'll get too far. They keep making silly mistakes and one time, it's gonna to really cost them.

However, the Exes don't use the Express Pass and continue working on the Tiles. I really can tell why they are Exes but really can't fathom why they still keep hanging out with each. Tim seems like a nice guy, not too bright, but Marie, she's one of the most annoying TAR competitors ever. Of course, that's probably why she was chosen.

At the forest, the Afghanimals catch up with the Ice Girls and hit the shield first. But at the pitstop, they wait for them, help them up the stairs and they finish 6th and 7th. The Exes do the tiles, Tim hits the shield on his first shot and they go to the pitstop, seriously worried about last place. "You are the last team to arrive," Phil tells them. And they groan in disappointment. "Except one," Phil adds. Even though I don't really like the Exes, that was even too mean for them. They are team #8.

Finally, the sunsets in Portugal as the NFLers arrive at the airport. They are met by Phil. Not a good sign, which they understand immediately. Phil's only come out to a team a few times in 23 seasons and it's never good news. The NFLers are eliminated. Sorry to see them go cause they were good dudes but they took a risk on flights, a risk that usually never pays off.

Next week we're in Norway and looks like Nicole's playing hardball for that Express Pass. Should be fun.

If there are any Amazing Race Canada fans still out there, I've got a bit of a treat for you. Some of you may have seen this on FB but here you go. 

It's a Mapgraphic of Amazing Race Canada showing where the teams went, how many tweets there were, who got the most tweets, what was tweeted about, along with some other cool stuff. No tweets from Gord and I but that's okay.

 Unfortunately, there's a mistake on this, a pretty big one. Let's see if you can spot it. However, whoever did this might find the mistake and change it. Comment below if you spot it. 

By reading my semi-lame bingo head, you've probably realized which team was eliminated this week. And for good reason, too. You can't make that many mistakes in one leg and not survive. It's also too early for a non-elimination leg, so there you go.

But before we discuss Bingo's problems in this leg, let's just say that after the relatively tame Episode 1, this leg harkens back to the old school Amazing Race. Remember those, when teams travelled long distances between tasks instead of getting everything done within the same city? Ahh, the good old days.

So the first team, the Exes, leave the pitstop with their Express Passes and are told to make their way to Museo Corbeta Esmeralda, a replica of a famous 19th Century Chilean warship and find the officer of the day and he'll give them the next clue. Sounds relatively easy, but as the Exes quickly discover, it doesn't open till 7:15. And all the teams will arrive in time for that. Which does happen and though Marie tries to boss around all the teams, telling them that there's a line, blah, blah, blah. Most teams dismiss her efforts. And once 7:15 rolls around, it's like opening the doors at a Festival seating concert, everyone pushing their way to get to the front. 

They search for the officer of the day but it seems that he'll only give the clue if you repeat a famous war cry from Chilean war hero Captain Arturo Prat. And you gotta do it in the original Spanish. So the teams scattered rushing around like "rats on the deck of a ship" notes one of the Bingos. (Think it was Rowan). The Beardos and the Ice Girls are the first to discover the phrase, "Let's Board, boys" from some old  dude hanging around the dock. Which is a hint to all you future racers out there, always talk to the old dudes hanging around.

And then the Beardos and the Ice Girls are off, literally to the salt mines to find their next clue. One by one the other teams figure out the phrase and either the salt mines are really close or maybe it was the editing, but the Beardos arrive at the saltmines just as other teams are shouting out the war cry. 

At the salt mines, it's a Detour: Brine or Mine. In Brine, teams must fill a tub of water with enough salt so they can both float while reading a newspaper. In Mine, they have to break apart a giant boulder to find their clue within. At first, Brine seems easier than trying to crack rocks open, but the Beardos choose that side. That is, after they have to ride a bike a good distance to the actual mine site. 

The Ice Girls also start with Mine but quickly realize that they don't really have to strength and switch to Brine. Which I'm guessing probably made the producers quite happy because then these young ladies would have to strip down to their bikinis. In fact, all the teams with young, good looking women chose Brine. But since they have to carry 50 pound bags of salt over to the tub, dump, rinse and repeat, it's pretty difficult. Especially when you're wearing a bikini. The only team not to get there around the same time, relatively speaking, are the Bingos. They got caught with the dreaded Amazing Race misfortune: the Bad Cab. So they're behind everyone else. So far, not their fault. But that will change.

Breaking rocks is perfect stuff for the big, tough NFLers and they start smashing boulders all over the place, impressing all the other teams. But the Beardos get done first and snag their clue. They have to get back to Iquique and grab a bus to Santiago, the capital of Chile. And it's not short ride either. 1,000 miles in 24 hours. Almost as bad as travelling by Edmonton transit, although the seats are probably more comfortable in Chile. And there's a no smelly dude falling asleep on your shoulder.

Anyway, the Beardos head out, and are followed quickly by the NFLers and the Afghanimals, three teams who started on the Mining side. As the Afghanimals are riding their bikes back from the mine, they see Bingo coming in. "Those guys are done," says one of the Afghanimals (or something like that). And sad to say, it's a bit true. The Bingos are late to show, and by the time they start cracking rocks, almost all the other teams are done, even those on the Brine side.

The Baseball wives have a bit of a tough time but push through. And with some nice bikini clad hugs for each other, and the worker on the site, the producers are pleased with their selection of this team. The worker looked very happy as well and will have stories to tell his friends at the bar that night. "I'm telling you, muchachos, there were a whole bunch of women in bikinis at work today. Seriously, I'm not kidding. A couple of them were even hugging each other and then they starting hugging me. One thing led to another and man, I never thought it would happen to me but..." Obviously, if bikini clad women are going to hug you, you're going to enhance the story a bit.

All the teams that pick Mine, including the Small Town Boys (Who claim that they've done this kind of stuff before in one of their jobs), get done faster than the Brine side. So go figure. I thought Brine would be easier but it's not.

Back in Iquique, the Beardos arrive at the bus depot and grab tickets to the next bus outta town, the 1:30. They're joined by four other teams NFL, Afghanimals, ER Docs and the Daters. The next five teams, Exes, Ice Girls, Baseball Wives and the Small Town Boys. (forgive if I've gotten this wrong, at this point, I'm still trying to figure out teams). The Bingos manage to get their salt mining done and arrive before the 2 pm bus leave. But they discover that this bus is a bit of a milk run. And it will arrive around 6 pm, more than 24 hours after it leaves. They are told, or so they believe, that a later bus, more of an express, will arrive at 4 pm the next day, giving them a 2 hour lead on the last four teams. So they dismiss the 2 pm, thinking they are making a great play to move ahead.

Unfortunately, they realize that the ticket guy said the bus will leave at 4 pm, not arrive at that time. Instead, it will arrive at 10 pm, four hours later. Big mistake. Fortunately, they get on a 3 pm bus that arrives only an hour later. And with 24 hours of highway traffic to play with, that could change. It's happened before.

So Bus #1 arrives pretty much on schedule. Teams have to find the clue box at Plaza de Armas. It's a Roadblock in which teams have to find a marked shoeshine stand, shine a customer's shoes, put together the stand and then roll it several blocks to Shoeshine HQ. Doing the shine is relatively easy but most of the first teams willy-nilly toss together the stand and start moving. So even though Leo gets there first, his stand isn't proper and he's turned away. Whichever Beardo who did the task, drops all his stuff and has to gather it all up. Ex-NFLer Chester does it right and gets the clue: head to Cascada de las Anima Nature Preserve and find the pitstop.

Hey folks. I know we're onto Season 23 of TAR and Gord is also covering Survivor: Blood vs Water, but I got some info on what happened behind the scenes of Amazing Race Canada. And since I'm one of those guys who gets a kick out of logistics, I mean, I don't like planning them, but I like hearing how things are planned, I decided to pass on this info.

Many of you TAR fans, in Canada and other places, are aware that the US version of TAR has an Elimination Station, a place were eliminated teams go and wait while the race is being run. Yes, when teams say things about going home after being eliminated, they don't actually go home. Most times, these eliminations stations are in nice warm places so the eliminated teams have a decent time. And there are activities. In some seasons, Elimination Station was a web series showing how teams interacted with each other after being tossed out. For the most part, Elimination Station was boring. Although I really enjoyed Phil's Diary, which was a video blog of his behind-the-scenes activity during a few seasons. Wish they would bring that back.

But not all eliminated teams go to Elimination Station. Although I've never really confirmed this, some teams continue on the race, doing some of the tasks as decoys in order to prevent too much spoilage of the race and who's left as they race to their final destination. As a side note, I really don't like spoilers on any show. I know some people want to know what happens before it does happen but for me, it takes the drama out of any show. So while I knew there are info out there about Amazing Race Canada before it was run, I ignored it.

Anyway, the other day, I asked Holly and Brett about the Canadian version of Elimination Station. I thought it might be that resort in Kelowna, where the first pitstop was. Nothing like hangout in the Okanagan in May, especially at a wine resort. I also asked if there was a use of decoys. And since they are very nice people (yes, really because they helped raise over $20K for the Montreal Children's Hospital), they filled me in on some bits.

It seems there was no central Elimination Station; eliminated teams were in various spots in Canada while the race was run but not allowed to go home or contact friends and family. The only team that was actually "sent" anywhere was Holly and Brett. After being eliminated in Iqaluit, they went directly to Miami for five days, the amount of time it took for the race to complete. Brett also admitted they did some drinking during the Miami trip as a way to deal with the stress of the race and being eliminated. Heck, Gord and I would have done the same, we do love our beer and chicken wings (among other things that go with beer). But we would also have worked a bit on our graphic novel. 

When the race was wrapping up in Toronto, all the teams were brought into Hogtown. And two teams, Holly and Brett, and Jet and Dave, the last two teams eliminated, did act as decoys, but on the day before the final leg. It seems Jet and Dave flew directly from NFLD to Toronto after being eliminated. Tough, man. Both teams did at least the flag and flower task (and may have done other things but I didn't get all the info), a task that all teams were somewhat prepared for. Every team figured flags would have been involved in the final task, Brett said, and had studied the flags in advance. The flowers were figured out by only three teams during the race.

Jet and Dave took two hours each on the task and got none of the flowers correct. Brett worked on the flowers for about 25 minutes and got only five right. Holly finished the task in 18 minutes. Too bad they didn't film that. I recall Brett saying earlier, either on FB or their blog, that they also did a dry run to the finish line on the same day which I think would have been difficult to do, especially since these teams were recently eliminated.

All in all, the entire Amazing Race Canada took 21 days from start to finish. All the teams were also sequestered for a week before the race for what Brett called "daily training and media related activities." Not sure what exactly that entailed but probably they were given info on the rules, training on how to deal with being on camera all the time, told not to hum any tunes that they didn't have the rights for, stuff like that. You gotta be careful about that kind of stuff on these shows; getting rights approval for a song some contestant accidentally hums takes a lot of time. And adds to the budget.

That's about it, so let's prepare for next week's US version. Teams stay in Chile for this. Plus Gord will probably do a recap of Survivor: Blood vs Water and post it sometime on Oct. 3.