Is anyone surprised Nicholas Coolridge ran over commercial break? Anyone? No? Of course not, because it's him. He finished, and with the 2nd fastest time, but there's no need to show him at all. It's actually a real joke in my house about him: the forgotten ninja. Anyway, if he must be skipped, the Qualifiers is the best time. I hope he gets some time in the Finals. Frankly, I think I've mentioned this before, but all finishers should be shown. Qualifiers should be completely shown in Finals, and Finals should be completely shown in Vegas (Stage 1). There are so few finishers these days, is it really that difficult to show them some love? I mean, they completed the course, so they obviously have some serious strength and skill. I just think it's a little unfair. I also noticed they skipped Josh Levin. Again, Qualifiers does not mean quite as much, and I guess you could see it coming because he did drop early(ish) on Stage 2, compared to everyone else. It's like the second you screw up or don't live up to your hype, you get booted and aired over commercial break, the exception being Coolridge because he's always over commercial break. I'm always surprised when big name veterans get a "while you were away" run. I really shouldn't be now, though. Drew, Joe, and any good woman will pretty much always be shown, I think. So Jessie Graff is probably safe for the rest of her ANW career in terms of her run being shown. I must be one of Coolridge's biggest fans because I think he has such strength and talent, and I know he can go far in this competition, but he doesn't seem to get the recognition he deserves. Maybe I'm wrong. Kristine did choose him for the team competition of the All Stars two years ago, and last year Matt and Akbar said he had what it takes to complete the Dallas City Finals, so maybe they give him a little more love off-screen. It just seems like he gets screwed over. Hopefully, they show his finals run. There were only 10 finishers, so would it really be that hard to show their runs? (probably).
Moving on, huge congratulations to Adam Rayl and Nick Hanson. Hanson has improved a lot, I think. I remember him because he had the Eskimo Ninja name and is from Alaska, but over the past couple years, his name is grown more, and he has grown more. We'll see about the City Finals, but I definitely think Hanson is getting stronger and will be doing better this year. He's gone from running in the first half to running in the second which means something to a certain degree. He also made it up the 18' Mega Wall which, honestly, I wouldn't have even thought of him making it up. I figured he would try, because what do you have to lose? but I was very impressed he made it. I am a little less impressed by Rayl because I would have bet on him before Hanson. Matt and Akbar mentioned Rayl has been beating out Drew and Joe in local competitions, and that is pretty serious, assuming Drew and Joe were doing their best. I noticed Rayl a little last year, and it seems like this year, he is one of the top ninjas to look out for. If the Wingnuts remain in Stage 2, I think he is one of the top candidates for passing it. Drew, Daniel, and Adam were all pretty close last year, and if everything stays the same (which I doubt it will), I think they could learn from last year (Drew especially) and pass it this year. I also think if Levin and Coolridge make it that far this year, they would have a good shot, too. Anyway, I definitely think their runs will be shown for the Finals. Rayl finished the his Finals last year, and they mentioned yet again that he was a walk-on only a couple years ago which just adds to his impressiveness (I can't think of a better word). He seems like someone with a lot of natural skill, but I can't say I see him doing super well on obstacles like in Stage 3. He obviously has great body control, agility, endurance, and overall upper body strength, but I don't know how great he is on grip intensive, rock-climbing type obstacles. Stage 3 is so brutal on hands and fingers, and I don't know what his training is like, he just doesn't quite strike me as that type. I hope I'm wrong. He's quickly becoming a top athlete in ANW, and I would love to see him on Stage 3.
Let's quickly talk about Grant, Kevin, and Flip. I know all three would have gone for the 10k, and I know Flip would have made it. There's a little less run room than in the All Stars, but no one has forgotten that Flip made it up 19'. I think Grant would have had a good shot because he's tall. It's a shame we won't get to see it. Right now, we'll never know if they could have made it. I'm sure after this year, people will be building 20' Warped Walls or something to practice on, but for now, it remains a question mark. People like these three make the Finals more interesting. We know how great they are, but they couldn't complete their Qualifiers. That is somewhat of a red flag, but at the same time, it's Grant, Kevin, and Flip. Usually, if people fall on the 5th obstacle in Qualifiers, but manage to pass it in Finals, they still don't get too far. Someone who did not finish a Qualifiers does not have a great chance at finishing Finals, in my personal opinion. Every now and then it happens, of course, because sometimes that first slip was just fluke error which can be corrected by the next night. However, the next night gets harder. They change the front half of the course to make it more difficult, so it's hard to tell how things will play out for people like these. For Flip, maybe he was shocked by the drop? He was fine on the first one, but maybe the second one is harsher? If it was his grip which betrayed him, there is chance Finals won't go too much better. I have faith that these three can correct themselves and pass the front half in the Finals, but it does make me question their chances at the back half. I'm most bummed about Flip because I really wanted to see him run up that wall. Everyone knew he could do it, and it's such a disappointment he didn't get a chance. Maybe that was his problem. He was too focused on the wall that he lost his concentration for a couple seconds. Kevin and Grant were a little weird. I don't know what went wrong-- grip or focus-- but if they want to return to Mt. Midoriyama, they better pass the Doorknob Drop. They would have gone for 10k, and we'll never know if they could have reached it. I'm really excited, though, for the rest of the cities. Drew is expected to make it, Jessie may even try, Joe, Najee, Jamie, James, Ethan, Tyler, Jon Alexis Jr., Lance, Jake, a lot of people are going to try, and I am really excited to see who can make it.
Shoutout to rookies Brian Rambo and Thomas Kofron. Not only were they rookies, but they weren't 19 year olds. They placed 1st and 3rd respectively for time and competing against names like McCartney, Bull, and Rodriguez, that's a pretty big deal. Rambo did especially well. He breezed through everything like a pro. He didn't look nervous or stumble. He completed that course as well as ant veteran, even better in some cases. The Finals are a really good test, but he did great. I noticed they aren't doing POM Wonderful Crazy Healthy Run of the Night anymore, but I would have given it to him even with Rayl and Hanson finishing.
I almost missed Sean Bryan, a.k.a. The Papal Ninja. We came in mid-run for him, but I think they'll focus on him in the finals. He finished last year and did extremely well in Vegas last year, too, so I think they'll be watching him closely in L.A. I also noticed 10 time veteran Brian Kretsch. He needed 3 tries to get up the smaller Warped Wall which is weird since he is such a long time veteran. After a year or two, the Warped Wall should be like second nature to you. I do remember that some time ago he busted his knee pretty bad in competition, so I don't know if that was flaring up or it was just an off night.
Women. Webberley and Lovett are my two bets for Vegas. Webberley did really well; she placed upon the actual Top 30, above Grant. Who, for having the fastest time last year, really slowed down. This year, he clearly was not going for the fastest time, but it's a shame he didn't complete it. Maybe the time pressure is what he needed. Selena seems like a good competitor, but I still think Webberley and Lovett will end up in Vegas.
Overall, this course did seem a touch harder than Dallas. Dallas had the Spider Bounce which is technical because of the trampoline, but not as upper body taxing as the Sky Hooks. On the Spider Bounce, you have to hold yourself on the barrels, but if you do it right, it's only for a couple seconds. The Sky Hooks take a lot more out of you, plus they have the Doorknob Drop, a grip intensive obstacle as the 5th. It seems like the L.A. course required a little more work than Dallas. Now, Dallas also had a more difficult balance obstacle. Not as many went out on the Spinning Bridge as the Tuning Forks. Additionally, the Catch and Release may have been more taxing than the Jumper Cables. However, a quick argument for that is the Catch and Release had room for error and the option to recover, whereas the Jumper Cables was full dedication, point of no return. If you got caught up in the Catch and Release, it would have hurt you, but you could take your time and fix yourself. The way I look at it, the Jumper Cables didn't require you to hang on too long so it didn't sap upper body strength; Catch and Release did use more strength because you had to move yourself, so Dallas wins that round. The Tuning Forks proved to be more of a challenge than the Spinning Bridge, and, in personal opinion, looked harder, so Dallas wins that round, too. However, the Sky Hooks in L.A. use more strength that the Spider Bounce, and you would be on the Sky Hooks longer than Catch and Release, and it probably takes more strength to move the rings. So it balances out the Catch and Release vs. Jumper Cables round. So, L.A. wins that round. Then, Crank-it Up needs upper body strength, but the momentum generated could also contribute and allow someone to knock a few notches off. Doorknob Drop was grip intensive, and there were no shortcuts. I think L.A. wins this round, too. While Catch and Release and the Tuning Forks may have been more difficult, it doesn't balance out perfectly the difficulty of the Sky Hooks and the Doorknob Drop. In the end, I still think L.A. was a more challenging course than Dallas.
Overall, it was a good night. Part of me wanted to see Chris Pratt run just to see how well he could do. There were a lot of good names out there which caused some disappointment, but hopefully they did better then next night. I'm pumped for next week because Drew and Jessie should be there. Tonight really showed how difficult these courses are becoming. Yet, these crazy courses truly reveal the best of the best, and though it may be growing tougher, some of these guys are still killing it.
Moving on, huge congratulations to Adam Rayl and Nick Hanson. Hanson has improved a lot, I think. I remember him because he had the Eskimo Ninja name and is from Alaska, but over the past couple years, his name is grown more, and he has grown more. We'll see about the City Finals, but I definitely think Hanson is getting stronger and will be doing better this year. He's gone from running in the first half to running in the second which means something to a certain degree. He also made it up the 18' Mega Wall which, honestly, I wouldn't have even thought of him making it up. I figured he would try, because what do you have to lose? but I was very impressed he made it. I am a little less impressed by Rayl because I would have bet on him before Hanson. Matt and Akbar mentioned Rayl has been beating out Drew and Joe in local competitions, and that is pretty serious, assuming Drew and Joe were doing their best. I noticed Rayl a little last year, and it seems like this year, he is one of the top ninjas to look out for. If the Wingnuts remain in Stage 2, I think he is one of the top candidates for passing it. Drew, Daniel, and Adam were all pretty close last year, and if everything stays the same (which I doubt it will), I think they could learn from last year (Drew especially) and pass it this year. I also think if Levin and Coolridge make it that far this year, they would have a good shot, too. Anyway, I definitely think their runs will be shown for the Finals. Rayl finished the his Finals last year, and they mentioned yet again that he was a walk-on only a couple years ago which just adds to his impressiveness (I can't think of a better word). He seems like someone with a lot of natural skill, but I can't say I see him doing super well on obstacles like in Stage 3. He obviously has great body control, agility, endurance, and overall upper body strength, but I don't know how great he is on grip intensive, rock-climbing type obstacles. Stage 3 is so brutal on hands and fingers, and I don't know what his training is like, he just doesn't quite strike me as that type. I hope I'm wrong. He's quickly becoming a top athlete in ANW, and I would love to see him on Stage 3.
Let's quickly talk about Grant, Kevin, and Flip. I know all three would have gone for the 10k, and I know Flip would have made it. There's a little less run room than in the All Stars, but no one has forgotten that Flip made it up 19'. I think Grant would have had a good shot because he's tall. It's a shame we won't get to see it. Right now, we'll never know if they could have made it. I'm sure after this year, people will be building 20' Warped Walls or something to practice on, but for now, it remains a question mark. People like these three make the Finals more interesting. We know how great they are, but they couldn't complete their Qualifiers. That is somewhat of a red flag, but at the same time, it's Grant, Kevin, and Flip. Usually, if people fall on the 5th obstacle in Qualifiers, but manage to pass it in Finals, they still don't get too far. Someone who did not finish a Qualifiers does not have a great chance at finishing Finals, in my personal opinion. Every now and then it happens, of course, because sometimes that first slip was just fluke error which can be corrected by the next night. However, the next night gets harder. They change the front half of the course to make it more difficult, so it's hard to tell how things will play out for people like these. For Flip, maybe he was shocked by the drop? He was fine on the first one, but maybe the second one is harsher? If it was his grip which betrayed him, there is chance Finals won't go too much better. I have faith that these three can correct themselves and pass the front half in the Finals, but it does make me question their chances at the back half. I'm most bummed about Flip because I really wanted to see him run up that wall. Everyone knew he could do it, and it's such a disappointment he didn't get a chance. Maybe that was his problem. He was too focused on the wall that he lost his concentration for a couple seconds. Kevin and Grant were a little weird. I don't know what went wrong-- grip or focus-- but if they want to return to Mt. Midoriyama, they better pass the Doorknob Drop. They would have gone for 10k, and we'll never know if they could have reached it. I'm really excited, though, for the rest of the cities. Drew is expected to make it, Jessie may even try, Joe, Najee, Jamie, James, Ethan, Tyler, Jon Alexis Jr., Lance, Jake, a lot of people are going to try, and I am really excited to see who can make it.
Shoutout to rookies Brian Rambo and Thomas Kofron. Not only were they rookies, but they weren't 19 year olds. They placed 1st and 3rd respectively for time and competing against names like McCartney, Bull, and Rodriguez, that's a pretty big deal. Rambo did especially well. He breezed through everything like a pro. He didn't look nervous or stumble. He completed that course as well as ant veteran, even better in some cases. The Finals are a really good test, but he did great. I noticed they aren't doing POM Wonderful Crazy Healthy Run of the Night anymore, but I would have given it to him even with Rayl and Hanson finishing.
I almost missed Sean Bryan, a.k.a. The Papal Ninja. We came in mid-run for him, but I think they'll focus on him in the finals. He finished last year and did extremely well in Vegas last year, too, so I think they'll be watching him closely in L.A. I also noticed 10 time veteran Brian Kretsch. He needed 3 tries to get up the smaller Warped Wall which is weird since he is such a long time veteran. After a year or two, the Warped Wall should be like second nature to you. I do remember that some time ago he busted his knee pretty bad in competition, so I don't know if that was flaring up or it was just an off night.
Women. Webberley and Lovett are my two bets for Vegas. Webberley did really well; she placed upon the actual Top 30, above Grant. Who, for having the fastest time last year, really slowed down. This year, he clearly was not going for the fastest time, but it's a shame he didn't complete it. Maybe the time pressure is what he needed. Selena seems like a good competitor, but I still think Webberley and Lovett will end up in Vegas.
Overall, this course did seem a touch harder than Dallas. Dallas had the Spider Bounce which is technical because of the trampoline, but not as upper body taxing as the Sky Hooks. On the Spider Bounce, you have to hold yourself on the barrels, but if you do it right, it's only for a couple seconds. The Sky Hooks take a lot more out of you, plus they have the Doorknob Drop, a grip intensive obstacle as the 5th. It seems like the L.A. course required a little more work than Dallas. Now, Dallas also had a more difficult balance obstacle. Not as many went out on the Spinning Bridge as the Tuning Forks. Additionally, the Catch and Release may have been more taxing than the Jumper Cables. However, a quick argument for that is the Catch and Release had room for error and the option to recover, whereas the Jumper Cables was full dedication, point of no return. If you got caught up in the Catch and Release, it would have hurt you, but you could take your time and fix yourself. The way I look at it, the Jumper Cables didn't require you to hang on too long so it didn't sap upper body strength; Catch and Release did use more strength because you had to move yourself, so Dallas wins that round. The Tuning Forks proved to be more of a challenge than the Spinning Bridge, and, in personal opinion, looked harder, so Dallas wins that round, too. However, the Sky Hooks in L.A. use more strength that the Spider Bounce, and you would be on the Sky Hooks longer than Catch and Release, and it probably takes more strength to move the rings. So it balances out the Catch and Release vs. Jumper Cables round. So, L.A. wins that round. Then, Crank-it Up needs upper body strength, but the momentum generated could also contribute and allow someone to knock a few notches off. Doorknob Drop was grip intensive, and there were no shortcuts. I think L.A. wins this round, too. While Catch and Release and the Tuning Forks may have been more difficult, it doesn't balance out perfectly the difficulty of the Sky Hooks and the Doorknob Drop. In the end, I still think L.A. was a more challenging course than Dallas.
Overall, it was a good night. Part of me wanted to see Chris Pratt run just to see how well he could do. There were a lot of good names out there which caused some disappointment, but hopefully they did better then next night. I'm pumped for next week because Drew and Jessie should be there. Tonight really showed how difficult these courses are becoming. Yet, these crazy courses truly reveal the best of the best, and though it may be growing tougher, some of these guys are still killing it.
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