American Ninja Warrior

As a reminder mainly to myself, I wanted to post all the Stage 1 finishers because there was a record, and I want to remember everyone so I know who to cheer for.  Eric Middleton Dave Cavanagh Grant Clinton Tyler Yamauchi Karson Voiles Hunter Guerard Travis Rosen Jody Avila Adam Rayl Sean Bryan Nick Hanson Josh Levin David Campbell Drew Knapp Kevin Bull Flip Rodriguez Allyssa Beird  Mike Bernardo Jamie Rahn Jon Alexis Jr. Matthew Ilgenfritz Michael Silenzi Lance Pekus Nick Kostreski Najee Richardson Joe Moravsky Ian Dory Brian Arnold Abel Gonzalez Nicholas Coolridge Brent Steffensen Cass Clawson Andrew Lowes Josh Salinas Daniel Gil Tyler Gillet JJ Woods Sean Darling-Hammond Thomas Stillings Ryan Stratis Drew  Drechsel I also wanted to talk a little about my Dream Team. I've mentioned it before. I think of my Dream Team as 5 members like in Team USA. I've already said Joe, Drew, and Ian would  be on it, but the final 2 slots are interesting. There are ...

I'm not even sure I know how to start. I am kind of devastated that Drew fell on the Wing Nut Alley. I really thought he would be back on Stage 3; however, even if he made it, he would not have been able to get his revenge on the Upside down Rock Wall (or whatever it's called). So, since I already started, let's talk about the courses first. I knew they would change both Stage 2 and 3, but it really surprised me they got rid of The Wedge considering it was such a ninja killer, but maybe they were trying to eliminate Drew. They also set a time limit on Stage 2, which I believe is something new. No one really seemed to have issues, but that could be because no one could pass Wing Nut Alley. The Wing Nut first debuted in Daytona with its creator, Kevin Carbone (who must be feeling bitter-sweet), and proved to be a challenge for some. However, what makes Wing Nut Alley so much harder in Vegas is not as much the obstacle itself, but how it has been used. In Daytona, the jump on...

Night 2 did not disappoint. I knew Drew would be last, and I am so relieved he hit the buzzer. Stage 1 for guys like Drew are more of a nuisance than a challenge. They really want to take on Stage 2 and 3-- 1 is kind of trivial. Yet, I still get really nervous because anyone can screw up and end their season, even the best like Drew, and as we saw, Jessie. Anyway, I really would have loved to see Jessie and Jesse on Stage 2, but other than that, pretty much all my favorites hit the buzzer: Joe, Drew, Daniel, Josh, Travis, Kevin, Jamie, Nicholas, Lance, Najee, Tyler, Adam, Brian, Sean, Ian, Drew Knapp, and Tyler Gillet. They had an all new record for Stage 1 finishers, so a lot of the greats made it (those who made it to Vegas that is). I really don't want the season to end, but I am really psyched for the Stage 2 and 3. I really want so many of them to do well, everyone actually. If I really had to pick, I would say Drew (obviously), Joe, Daniel, Nicholas, Josh, and Ian. I also wo...

So... where do I begin? There was so many "oh my gosh" moments. From Lance to the women to the skipped people to the dropped people. I think first, I want to talk about Lance. First, I was so  surprised that he walked away with the fastest time of the night, beating out Joe Moravsky, and even speed demons like Stillings and Bull (both were skipped and I will mention that later). Lance never strikes me as the speedy type even after I've seen him earn the fastest time. I never ever would have imagined he would beat Joe, though. It was a big final shocker for me personally. He's a cowboy/rancher. He is bulkier and much more muscular than speed demons usually are, so I never would have thought. I also thought his new story about his wife was really sad. I think stories like those make the run much more meaningful and inspirational to the ninja and their family, and they connect the rest of the nation to them via emotion and sympathy. However, those kinds of stories, al...

9 finishers in 6 cities. Is that a record? I remember 2 years ago, season 7, only had 11 finishers total. Denver was definitely a difficult course. First, a mini trampoline, which always sucks, but that caused more trouble in Qualifying, then the Rail Runner, The Wedge, and the Ninjago Roll, and, of course, The Elevator Climb. The Wedge is challenging in the sense that it requires strength, but also a lot of control and technique. I noticed with Meagan Martin she fell on it because she was stuck on the first jump, but when she tried to add more force to move, she added too much and took too big of a jump. The Wedge is a really challenging obstacle. Only 3 people have beaten the double wedge from Stage 2 (Drew, Daniel, and Jessie) and a handful have passed the single aside from the 3 tonight (Jake and Josh as examples). The added 3 were Lorin Ball, Jesse Lucero, and Ian Dory. Ball actually surprised me because I have never seen him as an upper body type, not insanely muscular, just lik...

So, KC 2017 joins Philadelphia 2016 in the No Finishers Club. I'm not as disappointed because KC didn't have any of my favorites, but like everyone else, I would have liked to see someone finish. I had a sneaking suspicion when they gave Maggi Thorne the POM Wonderful Run of the Night no one would finish. The first disappointment was Ethan Swanson. He was one of the runners I was most looking forward to, and it was a huge shocker to see him out on the balance obstacle. It seemed that in this City there were a lot less people to reach the 8th obstacle, or even the back half. A lot of people seemed to have gone out on the Qualifying part. Last week in Cleveland, over 20 of the 30 runners made it up the Warped Wall. This week, only 2 passed the 8th obstacle (which wasn't unusual), but only a few reached the Salmon Ladder and/or the Floating Monkey Bars. Crank it Up still took out a couple people, and the Bar Hop worked its magic just like in Qualifying. However, the Broken Pi...

I am going to start off by saying I really did not think Joe Moravsky was going to finish. I didn't necessarily doubt that he was going to miss Vegas, but I thought he would fall on the Nail Clipper like the 19 others. This is because Jamie Rahn finished at the half way mark on the show and earned the POM Wonderful Crazy Healthy Run of the Night. I would think that they don't give it on the spot because in Cleveland's Qualifying Round, Najee and Joe and Allyssa all finished, but they gave it to LaBreck who ran/finished last overall. They were either very confident in the fact that LaBreck could finish, or they already knew and edited it before it aired. They always give the Run of the Night after the recipient runs, not at the end of the show, which is why I think they already know the outcome and give the Run of the Night after everything happens. This is just what I think; I could be totally wrong about how they go about things. In L.A. there were 4 finishers, and they g...

This city was definitely difficult. Last week may have also had only one finisher, but as I've already ranted about, I did not like the Hourglass Drop. This week, however, the Giant Cubes seemed like a ninja terror: much more physically challenging than the Hourglass Drop. A few people were able to pass it, though. With an obstacle like this, I feel like maybe it isn't so much about "figuring it out" as it is just having the strength. Yes, there was some trial and error going on until Carbone figured out a solution for the first cube (using the pole and sort of pushing off of it), and then Graff used her insane flexibility to reach the second cube. Although, only one other athlete was able to mimic her: Travis Rosen. Drew did attempt twice to make an easy out, but he wasn't quite flexible enough, I guess. Luckily, that wasn't a problem for Drew. Anyway, the Giant Cubes reminded me a lot of the I-beam Gap that was in Cleveland Qualifiers. This was probably mor...