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Last time on ... UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; Coach cried because nobody liked him, Sears sponsored my favorite challenge to date, and Immunity Idol clues were discovered. One tempted Russell into danger with the Villains, while the other led to a discovery by Tom, who played it to help blindside Cirie. I like how blindside has become an official term, like, "grand slam," and, "hat trick."

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via iditablog.com

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And so are we! The race doesn't start until tomorrow, but all the racers have left downtown Anchorage already. To follow the 2010 Iditarod live via official coverage, you have to subscribe and become an Iditarod Insider. For these instances, we have to imagine our own action or turn to enthusiast press. This year's dog sled race features five former champions, including three time winner Lance Mackey, as well as two Scots, and a Jamaican. If that's not a great setup for a bar joke or funny anecdote, I don't know what is.

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Previously on... UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; The Heroes doled out a beating to the Villains to win their first Immunity Challenge. James completed his transformation into an angry beast with Rupert not far behind. Parvati became the girl everyone loves to hate and Randy was sent home before Pooh and friends could find his tail and nail it back on.

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Previously on... UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; jbox's fave (that's Boston Rob, for you newbloods) passed out from the Samoan flu and got free water and chill time, James revealed a part of his personality that suggests he had no mother, and poor Stephenie was sent packing. 

So far, the Heroes started out heroic, but lost their way when they couldn't win an Immunity Challenge. The Villains, who can't do a thing together anywhere else, transform into a well-oiled machine during Immunity Challenges.

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via cbs.com

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Amazing Race Season 16 Episode 2 Recap

The teams are still in Chile and Team Big Brother started in the lead. Their first clue was to ride a series of buses some 600 miles away.  As the teams met up in the bus station, the Lesbian Team decided to team up with Team Bossy Asian couple.

The first example of the new alliance took place when Bossy Asian bought the final 4 bus tickets in the front of the line for the Lesbians.  The rest of the teams, especially the Detectives, were pretty pissed off.

"You can’t be holding spots. You can’t do that. There’s a line here."

Team Big Brother, Team Iraq Such As and Team Cowboys all decided to buy tickets through a connecting city.  Team Cowboy found out that the other two teams needed to be at another terminal but kept the information to themselves.  As a result Big Brother and Iraq Such As took Taxis to another terminal and missed both buses.  Team Cowboy got on the 7pm bus while the other teams had to wait until the next day.

Maybe it was just me but two things bothered me about the first half of this episode.  There was way too much footage of the teams hanging out in bus stations and Team Big Brother chick is super annoying.  I can't believe half this episode was about buses.  It was a good 40 minutes before there was a challenge for them to compete in.

Team Cowboys got to the cars first and drove to the next stop.  It was a trail that lead to boats that would take them to an island for their next clue.  Once at the island they got right back on the boats and went back.  More filler from CBS.

Finally the teams have to choose between two tasks.  They can decorate a llama or they can put on this condor outfit and jump off a pier into the water and swim to a buoy.  These are the worst challenges.  Team Cowboys obviously were good with animals and had no trouble tying a scarf around a llamas neck. 

Team Big Brother put on wetsuits and a condor costume.  Big Brother team wonders if this flimsy condor outfit will really help them glide. These teams are stupid.

The next stop is a German farm where Team Cowboys milk a cow and collect ingredients for a couple of cooks.  Team Cowboys have no problems and finish 20 miles away in the town park.

Meanwhile the rest of the teams seem to be taking their sweet ass time.  Team Grandma Triathletes were in last and the Grandma got kicked in the head by one of the cows.  I felt really bad for her, but she took it like a champ and didn't complain.  It was hard to watch a Grandma get worked like that though.

In the end the Detectives got really lost but Team Grandma was just way too slow and ended up in last place and were eliminated.

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Previously on UNCOMMON SURVIVOR; The heroes self-righteously marched onto the scene high and mighty like the sandwiches which bear their name, and the villains came in all villainous, unlike the mustachioed caricatures I expected them to be. Sugar walked the path of the exile, and jbox's love/hate relationship with Boston Rob began a new chapter. 

Last night you either watched this or the Olympics. This can only mean one thing: at long last, Uncommon Sports dominate the primetime television market. There is nothing to report on the Olympic front except that our curling team is still without a single win and I discovered that Vernon Davis is a horrible curling skip because he doesn't even show up to matches until today.

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via leahculver.com

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Yep, Olympics are still on. I've seen some Nordic combined and I'm watching some biathlon right now. Nordic combined is ski jumping + cross-country skiing and biathlon is cross-country skiing + shooting a rifle, to give you a refresher. Norway is really good at these events for some reason. 

For us west coasters, the U.S. is leading the medal count with one gold, one silver, and two bronze. Apolo Ohno won silver after the Koreans took themselves out of second and third place in the final quarter lap of the 1,500m speed-skate "short track" and Hannah Kearney pulled in the gold for Women's mogul. J.R. Celski, the American speed skater who nearly killed himself with his skate by missing his femoral artery by an inch, finished behind Ohno for a bronze, a nice comeback story. 

Leave comments throughout the day below, no matter your time zone!

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Can you feel it? The electricity in the air? Uncommon ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Uncommon Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains! I tend to avoid calling anything "epic" these days, due to its rampant abuse in popular culture, but friends, this is going to be an epic season, as well as an epic recap. The two hour premiere means double your normal allotment of fun!

First, some quick background information: This is the 20th season of Survivor. This season was filmed shortly after Survivor: Samoa, in the same region, so they could save on costs. The cast are all returning members from the previous 19 seasons. There were a few seasons I missed, and a lot of names and faces I've forgotten, so there's going to be some rediscovery. The slogan of this season has changed from, "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast", to "Return, Revenge, Redemption." Doesn't everyone accomplish the first part just by showing up?

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