We are in the stretch run of the seasons of Survivor and The Amazing Race with both ending in the next two weeks.

The Amazing Race finale is tonight night and it will be recapped here at MJ’s. I will be watching it live tonight but I do look forward to the recap and what everyone thinks of the season. It has been an ok season overall although it is definitely not one of the best seasons ever. In my opinion there was no real stand out team like the great seasons have. Most of the teams ran the line of being very likable but not really breaking out as reality stars. If I had to pick a stand out team for the season I would say Tim and Marie but that is mostly because Marie has been so unlikable and one of the most unlikable racers in a while. I did pick them to win the season before it started but going into the finale I want Jason and Amy to pull off the victory. It is seriously a toss up on who will win it all and I think it will come down to what types of competitions are present. The Doctors are a strong team but they have shown that with the wrong type of task they can fall apart and that cannot happen on the last legs. Jason and Amy have been the best out of the final four when it comes to staying calm on tasks but Jamal and Leo can prove to be very competitive if they can keep themselves focused and stop the bickering between themselves. Tim and Marie are definitely wild cards. For the first time in a few seasons I really have no clue who will win going into the finale because all four teams of raced so close together all season long. Of course if Tim and Marie win I will brag that I called it from the start.

The big news on Survivor is that for the second time ever the tribe decided to play it tough and pull rocks. I was spoiled by the CBS promos but it was still exciting to see it go down. Even knowing it was going to happen I half expected Ciera to back out. It was good to see the newbies take a stand.

It really came down to the poor choices of words on the part of Tyson, Gervase, and Monica. Throughout tribal they kept referring to her as number four and eventually it was going to crack Ciera and force her to flip to better her position. It amazed me how poorly the vets handled the situation when they really had it in the bag if they were able to keep Ciera convinced she was not four. She made the right move forcing the tie and then choosing the rocks because they made it too obvious that she was fourth in that alliance. The rocks did not go in her favor but it was still the smart choice.

I am interested to see what Hayden and Ciera can do to try to get further in the game. Their best option is to try to play on Monica to wedge some conflict in that three person alliance. If they can last one more tribal together then they would have the returning player to work with which gives them a final three. I have serious doubts they will be able to grab anyone out of Tyson, Gervase, and Monica because all three seem smart enough to realize that at this point of the game there is no reason to rock the boat and much smarter to stay the course and get to the end. It should be an interesting end to the season.

I will end this installment with a few videos including next weeks preview which luckily contains much less spoilers.