Hey, everybody, Welcome to the episode of the Challenge, the podcast all
about the Challenge as always, I am Brian, recently returned from what is
apparently a shitty shitty town called Portland, big uh city, sitting in Minnesota.
I don't have anything clever, Carlan, I'm that's okay, carl in
San Diego and sitting at work has always opened. The boss doesn't show up.
Zachu bananas. Everybody had every challenge bout dot Com joined the Facebook group.
You can also join our Patreon and listen to the conversation we just had
about Tim's trip to Portland. Very exciting stuff. Guys worth money was worth
paying money for? Yeah? We and also joined our Instagram. It's very
exciting. I totally didn't post any all this past week. Look good you're
following in that the other social media things. I set the expectations at the
beginning of the year, at the beginning of the season that I would try
Yeah, no, you fit right in a big good chance that I would
just this is what all of us do. We start hot and heavy with
some sort of social media thing and then it's like, I know, this
is like it's actual work. Hey, I mean I also, I have
my own Instagram, I have my business Instagram, I have the lady's Instagram,
and I have this one, so trying to run all four of them
is just Oh and I have the dog. Your dog is an Instagram.
Yeah. I made it years ago because I didn't want to spam all of
my friends with puppy pictures, and I have barely kept up with it since
then. Marco's got her own Instagram. She does my dog. Winnie used
to have her own live journal. Remember that one Wolf? Was it just
wolf Wolf? I don't remember Jamie. Maybe ex Jamie made it when it
looks like you Carlin, oh lovely. None of my animalsn't ever had any
social media. Good Zach, you're a normal man. Good for you.
Stay strong, keep doing that. All right, are we starting this episode
or what? Yeah, let's take notes, right, I did episode seven.
It's an odd one, so I take notes for odd numbers. Uh.
Did you guys notice this week Paramount plus started this unskippable promotions? Bullshit,
I'm fucking pissed about this. When you start an episode it like it
plays, you just have to back out and restart it. Oh? Is
that? That? Is that the secret. All right, I'm gonna try
it. Let me skip it? So did it. Sometimes it puts the
skip button, but it didn't include it this week and I tried fast forwarding
and it won't start. It won't even pause it. It's super annoying.
Yeah, I noticed that a few weeks They started that, like I don't
know, probably a month or two ago, because every episode that I've watched,
if you just hit play, then it starts with a promo. But
if you immediately back out and restart it and then it just goes into the
show. Gotcha? All right? Stove in the chat room says the same.
So that's what what the what the fuck is the point of paying for
no commercials if they're frecing commercial commercials right there, they're like drawing a line
because it's like self promotion. It's not like a commercial or something. Yeah,
but it pisses me off. There's no point in having that fucking trailer
for It's always the fucking drag show one too, which I'm not interested in.
It's always led me. It's always let me skipping. What what uh?
What like device do you use? TV? You've got like a paramout
plus and you're smart TV it's like Samsung TV or something. Tim Are you
watching it on your TV? Uh? Yeah, I have, I have
a like Apple TV. Yeah, yeah, I've got it. I usually
don't play it on my Apple TV. I usually end up playing it on
my phone because half most of the time I'm watching it while I'm sitting at
work. What I know? Right, you and Zach y Oh, that's
neither here nor there. But I think that's bullshit that streamers are doing that.
I'm fighting against it, and please all you joined me write angry letters
to Paramount Plus. Soon enough, we're gonna all end up back with cable
again, because that's basically what streaming has become. Yes, it's ridiculous,
basically paying the same amount, if not more than we were with cable.
Yeah, it's awful. It's all terrible. Yep, all right into the
oh yeah still says it's parallel apparently merging with Peacock. Maybe we should get
to that in the after show. Wolfye, you might have some insights as
to everything that's going on. Sony offered a buy out for Viacom or I
don't know, some shit's happening. Yeah, I'd love to hear about that.
But yeah, let's table that, save that for later. The first
thing that we actually get in this episode are Steve and Nicole. They are
back from elimination and just sort of looking at their picks and flexing amount and
shit, I don't know I could have done without the scene. I hate
these things. What do you think? Plus, so you weren't on last
week's episode, what'd you think of last week's with Leroy? It was better
than I expected Leroy to do with that, to be honest with you,
Yeah, but I hate all of it. They should not grip these people.
They're not good at it. It's not the strength of these people.
Yep, I agree. I think I think we liked I think I liked
LeRoy's just because I like Leroy. Yeah, he's Yeah, he seems better
this season too. He seems more leroy esque than the last couple times we've
seen him. All Right, So they are back in the house. Now,
Nicole and Veronica are talking. They sort of have really got bonded over
how Veronica got out of elimination and sort of earned Nicole's trust down there in
the sand in the matter of a few seconds. And now Veronica is saying,
like, hey, because of this because Nicole saved me and because we
see I now she could be an ally for me, like for the rest
of the season. She thinks that this is like the start of a beautiful
thing. Will fee your shaking your head. No, no, nobody's relying
on Veronica for anything. Nicole will be like yeah, like, no problem.
I mean it's the same thing that Again, Tim, you weren't here
last week. But one of the big things with last week was everybody was
talking about how Jazz has their back and how they have hers, and like
she's made promises, Like what the fuck kind of promises can Jazz make?
She is not good at this game, has never been good at this game.
She's there as a fluff player just to round out the numbers and to
take to the end if they need a fluff player at the end, to
be that sacrificial lamb. Honestly, Veronica is the same thing, Like she
may have been good at this game back in the day, but she doesn't
quite have that same kind of power that she used to. Yeah, no,
she's not gonna I don't think she's gonna do many favors for Nicole.
No, but I think Nicole needs people on her side. And so does
Veronica now that Rachel's gone. Yeah, some think they're just looking for numbers.
They're just looking for somebody that won't vote them if they happen to get
in the middle. No, oh, I agree with that. It's just
it's still just one of those I don't I don't know what they expect Veronica
to be able to do for them, other than potentially have a number for
her for them. I think that's kind of it. Yeah, but that's
again, that only matters if Veronica ends up in the middle, and if
she doesn't end up in the middle, then it does not matter at all.
And she seems to either be at the bottom of the barrel or somehow
makes it to the top with things like trivia. Yeah, when people like
Veronica too, I wonder if she just gets more money the longer she stays,
so she just wants to stay, because really she should be trying to
get the star. She should have been happy to go into that elimination.
Maybe not against the hole, but if she was planning to win, she
would have wanted to be down there, I would think. But anyway,
we have these quick shots of you know, people running in slow motion shots
of Cam's breast milk kind of a weird overlay there, Ken, I don't
know why they're focusing so much on her breast milk and her pumping, Like
it's just weird. Yeah, it seems like they said it in one or
two episodes, like that's enough. We don't we don't need to keep going
back to that. We see Ace and Brad talking. I like seeing the
old school guys talk, but this conversation was weird to me. Ace talking
up to Brad about like I'm just so proud of you. I knew you
had it and need to be a champion, like all this stuff. Do
you think this is weird? Anybody? I think Ace is just weird in
general? I think so too. Yeah, I think he's too well.
I wouldn't. I just think he's too normal for the show. I agree.
I feel like he's too much of a normal guy, too normal,
and I think, uh, I'm curious if he's had uh he's been through
therapy. I've been a lot of these guys out because I'm feeling like I'm
picking up a lot of like positive reinforcement coming from him. Yes, I'm
so proud of you, You've did so well, Like Yeah, it's very
much. When you go through therapy, you start noticing people like that person's
been through therapy. I can tell. Uh. Lauras says Ace is actually
a threat to win it because he's sort of playing under the radar. He's
he's likable, people seem to like him. They're not really viewing him as
much of a threat. What do you guys think is a Is Ace threat
a threat? Sort of a I mean, I think he's a pretty well
rounded player, but I mean, if this week is any indication and last
week, he doesn't seem to really have the tenacity to want to go after
getting a star. So no, I don't think Ace gives a shit.
I think he's happy to show up, hang out with all these people he
used to do stuff with. I mean, at the end of the day,
when the final comes, if he ends up winning it, I'm sure
he'd be happy. But he's not interested in I don't think making enemies.
And I mean the last season that he was on, what was it All
Stars Won? Was I think the last one he was on. He in
one of his interviews, said that if he won, he wasn't going to
keep the money he was going to give it all the way to charity.
So like, I don't know how realistic that actually is. But if that's
really his MO, then he really doesn't give a shit. People would surprise
you, but he never He never gave a ship. That was always sort
of ass thing. He never made it very far in the game, but
he was always buddies with people and he left like in a good mood typically.
So I don't know, I would like to see a's actually give it
an effort and try. I don't think we're going to see it. But
yeah, I just don't think that's his personality. No, it's not.
There was a there was a guy a couple of seasons ago on Survivor that
was gonna He said he was going to give if he won the million dollars,
He's going to give it all to like a veteran's charity, Gabler Gabler,
and everybody was like, sure and he wasn't like well off or anything
like in his personal life. Sure Enough, he ended up winning. He
donated the entire thing to a veterans charity. Yeah, that's impressive, the
Ali Gabler. Yeah, one vote away from a perfect game, that guy
one vote Pasidy Rob I know. All right, So Brad is still talking
to Ace, but he's talking about how this season has been a notoriously bad
one for him. He's usually pretty good and all these games, this game
or this this season just his worst performance probably ever. Yeah, he's especially
after after his last showing on the on the Challenge, like he he was
doing really well the last time he was on and he's just not this time.
They put a couple of good montages of him kicking ass throughout all sorts
of Challenge seasons, including that super weird karate kick one that he did remember
that last all started stupid, and then a montage of all his failures this
season, which is just that poor guy. I just feel so bad for
him. So but anyway, it's clear that Brad is just throwing himself a
pity party. People are They are trying to cheer him up. Even Carl
Maria just says, like, dude, you're fucking Brad, like, yeah,
you are one of the people that people know from the Challenge. Yeah,
yep, he's got to be in the top ten list of Challengers.
Like, I know, he's not on the Mount Rushmore for most people,
but he's not. I think he's probably top ten. Yeah he's good.
I don't know. Yeah, he's only one once, but I feel like
he just he's made an impression enough and he's been around enough. Yeah,
he's beat Leal here, he beat Landen and CT in elimination. Yeah,
I don't know. I still feel like THET one was someone on a technicalgy
doesn't matter. He wins on technicologies because he figures it out. He like
sees these games. He didn't figure that one out. Yeah, lost that
one because CT fucked up. That had nothing to do with Brad, but
he shook it to make CT fuck up because Beth had already fucked up in
a similar way, and Brad saw Beth go home, and so Brad.
I think that's giving Brad a lot of credit. I think Brad was just
getting endless credit. And CT won like four, four finals, five,
oh yeah since then? So I mean, is he that good? Well,
listen, I said he's not Mount Rushmore. CT is obviously Rushmore.
So yes, he's better. He's not as good as CT. I think
there's some people. He's clearly not as good as you know CT bananas like,
but top ten. I think he's top ten. I really do I
really do. Seems kind of high. Maybe top fifteen because there have been
a lot of players. Yeah, maybe fifteen. Still he's up there.
He's up there, is what I'm saying. He's like, he's not a
slouch. He's he's done well in these games. It's just not his not
his season. And with that we're under the challenge. All right, Well,
good news and bad news, guys. Good news, it's trivia time.
Tavia love trivia. I guess it's trivia. Well tell me tell me
the bad news. What's bad about this game? I didn't realize like its
spelling, be yep, that's problem. I was not super thrilled on that.
Yeah, it seemed like I was not. I didn't like any of
these questions. It was all sort of like hyper specific shit that you would
never ever know from previous in the season. Or spelling. They should be
capitals of states or some like easy shit so that we can laugh at how
stupid they are. Yes, without that, this is the trivia is no
fun if I can't laugh at how dumb they are. Yeah, I don't
mind spelling if it's they all do it once, but yeh, they all
did it multiple times. I don't need three rounds of spelling. Yeah,
and the spelling should be simple words again, so they look stupid when they
can't do it if you if you're making them spell maneuver, like, I
get it. I couldn't do that either. I spell maneuver, but then
also spell mission like yeah, yeah, it should all be missions, right,
it should all be sort of the easiest questions ever. But yeah,
anyway, now, because they're hanging over water, do you guys think ex
actually a hard word? I don't think I could spell maneuver without writing it
down. Yeah, I agree with that, and I think I don't think
that it matters if you were over water or what I think if you are,
if you are being like, it's one thing to do with spelling be
in front of a bunch of people. It's an entirely different thing to do
a spelling bee in the air off the side of a building over water,
like having that added pressure. Definitely would like, that's that's why it's so
fucking funny, Like that's why you know, what do they uh, what
do they speak in or what language they speak in Austria, Australian, Dutch,
Dutch? I know, but that was the that was the Johnny Bananas
fucking it up and saying Australian Yeah, it's just it. I think the
added pressure of being in a crazy situation is what really fucks them over,
and that's why it's so fucking funny. Yeah. But do we think that
they powered through a bunch of questions. No, and they moved on to
spelling just to give them something to sort of get it going. I don't
know with only three wrongs. Yeah, I don't feel like those people are
smart enough to power through that many questions when they only have three strikes.
Yeah. I feel like the funniest one was Nicole not knowing Tolkien, Oh
my God, which again, like that was some funny because it was like
it was something, it was sort of like relatable. It wasn't how many
steps lead up to the Yeah that was that was so funny. But like,
it's one thing to not know Tolkien. It's an entirely different thing to
think that it's JK. Rowling. Yeah, I got the j part right.
So they're pairing up TJ's given Brad shit. Nobody's kept pairing up with
poor Brad. Not only does he have in a bad season, but he's
notoriously bad it trivia. So it's just sort of as like, Brad,
you're just fucked. Steve's in the chat room all by himself tonight, and
he said, Brad not having an answer as a teacher. Yeah, but
I mean we also we also saw him as a teacher a few years ago,
fuck up royally with just basic math. So that's Brad's big thing.
Like, I think Brad is really good at figuring out how to win games,
but he's average at best at puzzles and math. Are you sure as
fuck was not good at figuring out how to win games this season? I
know it. I know he's at a bad season. Think he was history,
really, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know why I know
that. I don't I don't even know if that's true, but I think
it was history. Also, this trivia is a little different because there's no
sabotaging or giving points to anybody else. If you get it right or whatever,
it's really just three wrongs and you're out. Do you like this or
do you wish it was more like revealing of alliances and allegiances and all that
stuff. I don't like I like this more than the giving it to other
people, because I feel like the giving it to other people we go a
lot faster and people get out a lot quicker because like there's some some seasons
where they do they going against other people and the first three teams all get
it right, and they all three put their their thing on the on the
last team and that team is out before they even get to answer. So
I like this where you're playing against yourself right, because it prolongs the game.
Yep, I do too. Another interesting part I thought Avery. They
asked her what how many colors were on the South African flag, and she
just like named all the colors and ship and counted them. Crazy. How
does she know how to do this because the South African flag is not that
hard. Would you've gotten this? Yeah, there's no chance if you if
you gave me three flags and said pick the South African one, I don't
think I could even do that. Now. My guess is I know that
they are in South Africa, so maybe they have a flag at the house
and when she's bored, she just turned stairs at it. That could be.
Yeah. There's a few years ago where they they did trivia. They
were in Turkey and it was what colors are on the Turkey on Turkey's flag,
and they were in a harbor with a bunch of other boats that all
had the flag of Turkey on them. Okay, yeah, I also the
I The one question that I really did like was what's the national animal of
South Africa? Yeah? It's something I never fucking heard of. Did you
guys know? Oh you didn't know that? The animal animal a spring buck.
It's an antelope. It's a type of antelope. It's also the name
of their rugby team, They're the spring Bucks. I would have said it
looked like a gazelle to me, and I think I would have said gazelle.
Yeah, how did you know that too? I don't know. But
the carline I wanted to ask you, do you know are you a person
that knows a lot of flags? Like, could you like name a bunch
of countries flags? No? Probably not. I mean, like, it's
so, I I do have a group of my group of friends here we
do bar trivia every Wednesday. You send us questions all the time. I'm
saying this to everybody else I know, because we do bar trivia every week.
Yeah, I do send all of the wrestling questions, which there are
a lot of and any of the movie questions that we can't get, which
there are. Yeah, there are a surprising number of wrestling questions. But
when we do image rounds that have things like we did one a few weeks
ago because Minnesota has just changed their flag, we went from a really racist
one to a really boring one. And the week that that was officially announced,
the image round that week was a bunch of state flags and we had
to guest states for those flags. And there are some states that you're looking
at like where the fuck is that? Like what what flag is this for?
So there, I mean, I think it's I think you'd be surprised
him if you we're doing trivia that had a bunch of flags, Like if
you had the flags in front of you, you might be able to guess
it. Yeah, I think I could do big ones, but I and
I know some of them like Mexico and Ireland. I think that's the same
flag, but just like reverse colors. Right, Yeah, there are a
lot of flags where it's like France and like Synegal or something that there are
a bunch of flags where it's basically it's the same flag, just in reverse.
Colors or upside down or I would struggle hard with all that shit.
Yeah, but I do know Brazil's flag because that was the logo of the
duel. So how about that the challenge teaching me shit about flags? All
right? So averynew the South African flag. Ace though did not know what
color the couch was. We get another Ace ensemble of Ace sleeping on a
couch? Did was Car the one who said green and gray? Car knew
it, but trusted Ace. I don't know how do we feel about a
sleeping like. It was a funny montage, but we gave shit for Dario,
and I do kind of think if you're showing up like you should be
entertaining on this show. This is the second episode where we have seen a
sleeping like. The first episode was two or three episodes ago when Carr called
out Aces in Places and Steve doing stuff right the wild Stephen the wild and
Aces in Places and Ace was sleeping and Steve is doing weird things. That
sounds about right for both of them. Yeah. Uh and then Leroy again,
Leroy has just been like his little confessional one liners I think are just
the best this season. Uh, TV is getting ready to ask him the
last question, and Leroy says, asked me something I know, like how
to spell my first name or how to smell my last name. No,
it wasn't, or how to spell my last name is or even how to
spell my last name. Like spelling his last name was going to be hard.
Either way. I fucking love this guy. He's so funny. Uh.
Well, at the end of the day, the losers, uh,
the only ones that matter are the men because it's a men's day. So
the losers are Adam, Brad, Steve, and Ryan. Middle group who
is gonna be deciding what to do and who to throw in is Tina,
Ace, Kara, Jay, Nicole and Derek. That leaves the winners being
Leroy and Veronica. Good job, Leroy. Yeah, Leroy answered that last
question, got it right. It kind of seemed like Leroy got it with
no help, right because it because Veronica was also talking about like, maybe
I don't want to win this one. Yeah, it kind of I kind
of felt like she might have been saying, I don't know to potentially throw
it. I think so too, because later when Lerou was giving her credit,
she looked a little uncomfortable. Yeah, because I really do think I
wonder if she was helping earlier to kind of be helping and then she didn't
want to win, and so Leroy did pull it out. I wonder for
something like that. Yep, I felt that same way. You guys know,
do you know what the name of the tower is? No, no
Khalifa? What is it? The Burge Khalifa. I don't even remember the
question I've heard of that where is the tallest building in the world. It's
Dubai. Yeah, I knew it was a Dubai. I didn't know what
it was called. It used to be Chicago, remember in grade school.
Yeah, in grade school it was Chicago, the Serious Tower at the time.
That's Willis Tower. It's the Serious Tower. In my heart, I
forgot that it had changed its name. Yeah, right by the Trump Tower
Chicago now, which is really nice. All right. Uh So with that,
we're on to dinner. Uh, pretty casual dinner here in the Challenge
House, just some pizza and some wine. They're not going out in clubbing
when the Yeah, yeah, when they first started talking about the dinner,
I was like, why the fuck are we watching this? I don't care
that they're doing a big group dinner, Like what does this matter at all?
This had to be because they didn't go out right. This was like
a bar night esque thing. They wanted some conversation and some drama at the
table. I have a feeling they probably still went out just focused on this
because of Ace's story. Yeah, well, we're here, We're in the
we're in the story. You want to expand on that, Carl and what's
up with Ace here? No, because I fast forward. I fast forward
the whole thing because like secondhand of embarrassment, and I also just really didn't
care. Yeah, this was horrible, U Zach, you want to you
want to describe what Ace did here? I don't even marry the full story,
but it's basically about how Adam and Brad were these knights that were gonna
go to battle and the Ace would willingly bestow his star upon whichever victor returned
from the war field and oh gotcha. It was okay. But and maybe
me fastwarding through it was a mistake because I didn't understand why Brad was so
upset by the end of it. He felt like it was putting a target
on who people should vote for the next day. Yeah, he made a
big show in front of the whole house, and it ended with you know,
our mighty warriors Brad and Adam battling it out in the arena tomorrow,
and Brad was like, wait a minute, I don't want to be in
the area, you know. So that's what's so okay. Then I missed
that part, but which I kind of listen to a little bit of it
when I was anyway, it doesn't matter. But at one point in time
I did hear Brad say, like, towards the end of this whole thing,
like I don't want to go in. It's still early, Rad,
We're more than halfway through this game. What kind of early do you think
this is? Yeah? I don't He's not thinking like regularly. No,
Yeah, I'm amazing straight up not in this game. I'm guess I probably
wants to go down when there's like two or less challenges, like one or
two challenges left. We are on episode seven. There are only ten episodes
of this of the show. Yeah, but two of them are going to
be the final the final, Yeah, so there are only ten There are
only ten challenges, like, and the problem is everybody's gonna want to go
into that last one. Yeah. So Rad's a moron for thinking that he
should wait, yeah, this seems yeah, this seems close enough. That's
like you should you should use this chance to get your star and then protect
I hope you can protect it during the one or two eliminations and you're there.
But yeah, season, he's not thinking right. But maybe his thought
was like, Okay, if I get to the end, everyone's gonna want
to go win. But who's the house gonna want to tray get rid of
me? Or like Derek and Ryan, like I'm the bigger threat, they're
gonna want to throw me and drag it me out. I shot. Then
Sally go to bed. Yeah, I oh, Tim's kid just showed up.
Sorry guys, that's what Wolf he is yelling. Uh yeah, I
still I mean, I can understand that. But at the same time,
it just it felt like a really fucking boneheaded move. Like you, it
was very dumb. It just I yeah, I didn't understand it all.
Yeah, it just made no sense, made no sense at all. I
need to step away for a few minutes. I'm gonna afford my notes to
the group chat. I'll be okay. I cast understanding the sense of maybe
part of it was not one to go in. A part of it has
also been like he didn't want to go against Adam because I don't think Adam's
that big of a slouch. And to me, he's like, yeah,
I want to wait till I have an easier competition. Yeah. I mean
I can understand that, like you're pitting two pretty pretty good players against each
other, or at least what we've seen so far, pretty good players.
But it just I don't know it. It all boils down to Brad's head
was just straight up not in this game. No stove in the chat room
said, apparently he went through a really bad breakup the week he was flying
out, which led to him not being focused in the game. Okay,
sure, I guess that makes sense. All right, so I guess we're
technically we're on de nominations. Yeah, Avery and Jay talk with Brad about
this whole thing. Avery Trice calm Brad down. A Ace thinks Brad wanted
to go in. Oh, Ace, he says, Ace thinks Brad wanted
to go in, knows he kind of messed up. So I don't Yeah,
I thought he he thought Brad wanted to go in, which is why
he picked him and Adam for the story, and Brad apparently, like we've
mentioned, was like, I don't want to go in Why did he keep
saying my name? If he felt like I put it so, then Ace
felt bag because he wasn't trying to be a dick. Yeah, he was
just having funny likes Brad. He mentioned it multiple times, yep. So
he's like, I feel really bad about it. But well, that's like,
I mean, the little bit of his story that I did watch,
like, it was obvious that Ace was trying to be funny and goofy,
like he's telling a story about knights, Like he's making up a story about
the child. It's meant to be funny, it's not meant to like he's
also he's just a goofy dude, Like, yeah, yeah, Brad was.
It's really clear that Brad's head was just not in this game. And
because I feel like in other seasons he would not have taken it this hard.
Yeah, he would have found it funny. Like I don't know,
it just it was odd to me. But We've got a scene of Adam
and Ryan and Derek all sitting out on the chairs outside and they're talking about
the story last night, and you know what's gonna happen for nominations, And
this is when Adam says, yeah, I want to get my starbuck fucking
throw me in. I don't care who I go against, throw me in
fully on board. Yeah, which I mean. I know that Tim is
not a huge fan of Adam, but I fully appreciated this, like he
realizes that we're towards the end of the game. This is the first season.
I may have seen him once before a long time ago and just don't
remember, but this is my first season with Adam. I've had zero problem
with him. Yeah. Same. I feel like he's been he's been cool,
he's been nice, he's been he wants to play the game. He
said he's ready. He's like, I'll go in. Yeah. Well,
I don't care. I've always like him. I think he was a little
bit of a you know, a dick back in the day, but he's
always really good at the game. I thought, like, so, I
like people that are good at the game. I have absolutely no memory of
him back in the day. I still I maintained that there are times when
he says things that Tim we're talking about Adam. There are times when we
when he says things that I just I feel sad, like it feels like
he's been like he went through something major, like a major life change and
pulled himself out of a really deep dark place that it just, I don't
know, it makes me feel sad. He does seem to allude to something,
yeah screen that nobody really knows what he's talking about. And for a
little while I thought that it was like he maybe he was dealing with drugs
and alcohol, because that seems to be a very common thing with not very
common but a more common thing with reality star. But I think he's drinking
in this house, so maybe not. I don't know. It just I
just think a lot of these people, by the time they're this age,
right, like in their forties, yeah, most of them have probably gone
through some shit because they're chaotic people just regardless. Yeah, and most people
have been given through shit by their forties anyway. Yeah, but I agree
with you, Carl, And he sounds weird when he talks about his past,
and he sounds like there's something like like he's alluding to something bad happening,
but he doesn't ever actually say it. Whereas Ryan, we have the
whole conversation about Ryan and his sobriety and how good for Ryan. Yeah,
he's the nine percent that has that didn't relapse in the first nine or first
ninety days, which fucking great for him. I hope he continues. Yeah.
What's weird though, you know, we've seen Ryan on the show a
lot. I don't remember drinking for him ever, being like, I don't
think it was drinking. Oh, he had different types of drugs he liked.
Yeah, No, I think it was something else. Okay, Yeah,
because we've seen like the sloppy like we've seen Tanya and it's like,
all right, Tanya has got a problem. I don't problem. Yeah.
I don't remember ever seeing Ryan and thinking he had a problem. But yeah,
maybe it was different drugs than what we saw him doing. Yeah,
the way that he the way that he was phrasing things, it sounded like
hard drugs, not not alcohol. Yeah, And maybe I'm wrong, but
normally when people go sober, they go sober for everything, regardless of whether
their issue was drugs or alcohol. Yeah. I don't know where we are
in the notes nominations. Yeah right, God damn it. And you can
continue from there, all right, pretty obvious nomination session. I think we
could always we could all sort of guess how this plays out. It really
just becomes like everybody says yes to Adam obviously, so it becomes a choice
between Brad and Ryan. Uh, Derek is in there sort of advocating for
Ryan. I don't know. It just sort of it comes down to Ace.
Ace picks Brad. No, it first, it comes down to everybody
whos said they're not voting for Steve, and everybody said that they will vote
for Adam. Yeah, so we're just trying to pick that second player,
and we've got two votes for Ryan, We've got two votes for Brad.
And then it comes down to Tina. And Tina sits there and goes,
oh, well, uh, I guess I'll choose the safe one and go
with Steve. Yeah. She makes me Chase decide. Yeah. Well,
And the thing that pissed me off about this is that one I thought that
Tina was friends with Ryan, like you would think that you, I mean,
you would think that you'd have your friends back. She just doesn't want
blood on her hands because she also likes Brad, I think, Yeah,
so she just doesn't want to be in the decision, so she throws out
somebody that's not in the decision. But this is where I think Ace fucked
up in that Ace should have thrown Steve too and tied it up up and
made them redo it three way time. Yeah. But the fact that he
didn't do that makes me think Ace wanted Brad in there. Yeah. And
it could be because of the snacks that Ryan apparently gave him as he can,
or it could be that he's scared of Brad to final I don't know,
what do you guys think. I will call him a little columb I
don't know. I feel like Ace is just like I don't know, just
no. Els could have just been that he wanted to see two powerhouses go
at it. Yeah. I just think like if I'm Ace and I think
Brad wants to go in, and I advocate for Brad, but then Brad
tells me like, oh no, dude, I don't want to go in,
I think I'd be like, oh, okay, then I won't vote
for you. Yeah, I think I still voted. Makes me think that
he wanted Brad. That was his plan. It wasn't that he thought Brad
wanted it, It's that he wanted it. Well. Also think there's a
chance at once, he kind of pissed off Brad. He's like, all
right, Like, now I have my choice between someone that I have no
issues with and somebody just recently pissed off. Why would I want to keep
the person that's pissed at me in the house. Yeah, someone I recently
pissed off over something that was a joke. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah,
But then he's gonna so then he's gonna throw Brad in, and then
what if Brad comes back, it's even worse. I don't know. I
just think Ace is so low conflict. I think I would have just expected
As to be like, oh, Brad, I didn't know, Okay,
I'll vote for a Ryan then and then it's fine. Yeah, I don't
know's I'm not disagreeing with you. I think that ultimately, yes, he
wanted Brad in there, but at the same time, like, I don't
know, I guess I could talk myself out of any of the scenarios.
Hum In his confessional, he says that he saved Ryan because Ryan sent him
down some snacks. And I saw some speculation on this, and the hullabaloo
online is that this happened during All Stars one when they were quarantined in the
hotel that Ryan would like lower snacks on the balcony to Ace's hotel room.
That's the room or online. So there you go. But so that's as
Aces prioritizing that over this twenty year friendship he has with Brad. Ryan's been
around for that long too. Yeah, and I guess I can't remember if
As and Ryan played together back in the day. I don't remember if they
played together either. I mean, we got the little clip of Adam and
Ryan talking about how when they played back in the day they were things.
They weren't playing necessarily on the same side. But oh yeah, my dog
just threw a sock across the room. So if you hear craziness in the
background, it's because she's playing with a sock y. All right. Well,
with that, we're onto the elimination. Yes, we've seen this one
before, although I can't recall when this was the one that I think Janelle
was supposed to go into it, like the very first elimination of the entire
season. But I don't remember seeing the thing where they had to run up.
I feel like the one that we saw with Janelle they were going to
be pushing with the hands. But yeah, I really don't recall. I
just remember it looked earlier and it's like I can't place that, and then
yeah, it's because we never actually saw it get played, which is why
everybody was so excited, because we never saw it get played. Yeah,
it was kind of a cool game. It's called cheat codes. There's a
big joysick. You punch the buttons with your feet and you got to memorize
them in the right order. This would be a hard one, I would
I could do this all night, I would never get it done. I
have the world's worst memory. This would be awful for me. Would you
guys do good on these? Nope, not even close. We'll fold suck.
Yeah. I don't think I was done very well. I probably not.
I think Adam had an amazing strategy, and if I thought to do
it his way, I think I could do well at it. But I
think I would have tried to do something more like Brad and done too much
at once. Yeah. I was watching them jump down off that thing onto
the ground and going oh every time. I was like, oh, my
knees would be fucking shot. After the first time I did notice they they
were more careful than like what you see the young dudes, do you know
they seemed a little more cautious. Yeah. I did like the game though.
I My favorite part about the entire thing though, was after the TJ
explains the game, he turns to Leroy, agaus, Leroy, do you
want to come down? And he has Hell, no, Leroy is just
a pleasure this season, Like, we hadn't seen this version of Leroy and
so in a long time, haven't we? That Just everything he says is
hilarious. He's always been overshadowed by bananas. Yeah. Well, I think
he's also more relaxed because this isn't like his life now. Yeah, and
he's got Cam there. I think Cam helps him kind of stay grounded.
Yep, so I did. I was thinking about this when I was watching
this, and I hadn't really thought about it before. What do you guys
think about the fact that TJ tells them what the game is first and then
gives the winners the option to pick That's how it should go. I like
that. That's so that's how it should go. Winner should get the advantage.
That's how That's how it works. It's the winner's abandoned. Yeah,
I was I was, I was on the fence. I I now that
you have said that, I agree because I kind of I kind of liked
it in seasons past where they could just see the arena and like not actually
know what the game was and have to pick completely on chance, so there
was the possibility that they would be completely fucked. But now that you've said
that, I agree. Yeah, winners should get the advantage, like that's
the whole point of winning. Yeah. And I I also think on Survivor
you should be able to play the idol after the votes. They've only done
that one season as far as I know. Did they play the idol before
the votes? They did it after the votes, but before the votes are
revealed. Yeah. When they first brought idols in the the first like two
or three seasons, you played after the votes were read. Yeah. And
then once they switched, they had a super idol one season that you could
play after votes are read. Yeah, but it's not normally you can't.
It's normally after the voting, but before the votes are read. Yeah,
but it makes people waste idols. But I do think there should be an
idol, maybe a special one one every season where you can do it after
anyway, I was gonna say, yes, they know. The issue why
they changed it was if you're married. The old seasons like when people would
find that idle, they're just like, hey, I have the idol,
and then no one would vote for the rest of the season and just I'm
ack again, i'mac by to the final because people would be too afraid.
Yep, yeah, yep, youle. Someone just said that you'll Oh God,
I love you all all right, so they play Zach you already went
over the strategies. Brad tried to memorize longer strings of codes, but he
couldn't do it, so he had to keep restarting. Adam did much smaller
chunks, so it took a lot more trips, but I didn't have to
reset, and Adam wins it and goodbye Brad. See I thought at first,
when Brad kept hitting the start button, I was sitting there, like,
does he not? I was thinking that he may not have realized that
he didn't have to hit the start button every time he was punching in more
things. I thought like, maybe he thought that he needed to every time
he went back there. I thought that's why he kept restarting, And then
when he actually said, oh no, I was restarting because I was fucking
things up. Oh okay, so that was intentional, but yeah, yeah,
but with how he had been playing the game like, I wasn't entirely
sure that it was in intentional until he said, so yeah, it was
very sad. I'm gonna really miss Brad, not only for my love affair
with Brad, but for my draft. It's all very sad. Brad goes
home, Adam takes Ace's star, which is a surprise to nobody, including
Ace, although Derek has a problem them that Eric seems or that Ace seems
to not care so much, but that he's getting a star taken. I
don't know, do you guys care about this? Should have? Should a
Ace have been more upset about taking a star? I think? I mean,
I think I saw the writing on the wall. He knew whoever one
was gonna take a star either way. So I think he's just trying to
pull on a good face and be like, let me, let me be
a good sport about because I know it's the outcome. I think so too.
And he didn't earn that star, and he knows it, and everybody
knows it. So just take it back. Yeah, so it was easy
enough for him to just be like, yeah, no worries. I mean,
it's kind of like when Tina was when her star was given away.
Yeah, I mean, she just made me to fight about it because she
was just defaulted a star because Janelle didn't play right. And what's the alternative?
You throw a big hissy fit and you stomp around and they take your
star. Anyway, It's like it's a game. Just be cool, but
away. That's Jim Stephen. The Chat wants us to bring back Survivor.
We did two seasons. Uh, just listen to those and we did.
Although this season is great. This is a fantastic season. Don't talk about
yesterday's episode. Okay, but Carlyn hop on the hop on the train,
We'll be the best. Best episode of the season last episode at two.
I was watching it before we recorded, and then Cindy called me and stop
the Survivor season. This season, the best episode of Survivor was last night
to stop when the whoever won the reward challenge? Okay, I didn't see
who they picked you, Oh Charlie, Okay, Oh it's all Oh,
you're at the best part. Spoil Try not spoiled names, but all right,
here we go. All right, so I won't spoil anything else.
But oh, you're at the part you're at like it all, it all
falls apart, it's great, it all ramps up, whatever whatever word you
want to use. Yeah, everybody, we're not talking about survivor though.
Head over to Challenge pod dot com. Joined the Facebook group and also join
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It helps. Also, he's zach do you want to tell us about how
the draft is going? I would let to tell you how the draft is
going. Let me pull it up real quick. He's pulling. I have
the I have the public League, all right, you can start them.
So I have fucked up royally the last two weeks and have both weeks completely
forgotten to set my lineup. Uh So, first place is still Steve whatever
stove. He has seven hundred and seventy two points. Zachie Bananas is now
closing in at second with six hundred and seventy mm, and then we've got
Sarah Hope to see you Never in third place with six hundred and sixty five.
But the rest of the hosts, let's see Big Uncle, Sweet Teas
and ninth. Even though I haven't put in points for picks for the last
two weeks, I am in eleventh and Wolfie. But you know what,
I think that's a test twenty eighth twenty. I think that's a testament as
to how much you can change this. So even if you're not doing so
well in the rank, give it a shot, try to get back in
there. Yeah. Yeah, So I now have an official alarm set on
my phone every Tuesday night saying, set your fucking lineup and do it right
now, because we're talking right now. Uh, and I need to think
about it a little bit more. Go pick three randos and then refine it.
And then if you forget to refine it, you've at least got the
randos. I will do it when we're done. Just let me tell you
how to live your life. Carl. Well, congratulations, you are now
officially beating Sunday. She's in thirty first. Did she forget to line up?
She forgot to a lineup last week? Oh yeah she did. Oh
no, that's funny, all right. So then in the host league in
fourth place with no players left. I'm sorry, Tim, I know it's
from first place week one. I know my players just like a fucking clean
sweep. All my players just they're gone. All you assholes have a half
of yours. It might are all gone awad in third place with thirty eight
points is Wolfie? Wait, how many points did I have, Zach?
You have twenty three? That's it. I maxed out at twenty three.
You're maxed out twenty three. Damn it the wolf who's at thirty eight?
But that's Michael Jordan's number, I know. I think I got that on
like week two or three. And then between Carlin and I we're separated by
only five points. Oh, you're pulling a TJ. He's pulled a TJ
over there. But I've come up in the rankings you have. But Carlin,
for now, you're still in second place with fifty six and I'm in
first at sixty one. I do still think it's rigged me too, or
I just ingraded picking teams because I've been doing this for a decade. That
could also be rigged. But no, Carlin. Last two weeks, I
wrote, Carlon has had both winners on her team. All right, that's
that's coming on up. I don't want to talk about. You don't have
to talk about anymore. You're out of it. Public the public league is
my redemption. That's funny. It's funny because I was thinking early on,
I was like, when Tony was like, should I ask him about like
letting you have Jasmine instead? But that that would have done you much better
when we were when we were talking about the the lineups on the preseason r
on the pre show, I half a second was like, oh, we
should just let Tim have the extra play a. Never mind, she's already
gone to. Yeah. I appreciate you guys feeling so sorry for me that
you'll let me cheat to at least keep playing. But well, sorry,
that wouldn't help you, though, No, they wouldn't. I'll just I'm
focused on the public league. Now, do you have any social media stuff?
Say? I really only saw one big announcement, which is that Derek
and his wife announced the birth of their new child yesterday. The congratulations to
them. Man, how old is his oldest kid? It's gonna be like
seventeen. Yeah, yeah, he's getting up there. That's like a that's
like a stretch between those two kids, one in college and newborn. Crazy.
Just just wait till Daisy's seventeen, you can have another kid? No,
no, absolutely not no, you like pro'bly fifty. Yeah, you'll
be old old dad. It'd be great. I'm already an old dad.
I don't know anything else you want to talk about. No, no,
all right, well I guess that's it. After show. This week's this
week's edition of Challenge that has been Brian been being on a sweet team Carl
in San Diego, Zachie Bananas and as Leroy said, hell no, he's
got Charlie. Charlie, Charlie,