The Guy on the Right

Sean and Lee started their final tasks on this week's penultimate episode of The Apprentice, and it already seems obvious that Lee will not be hired next Monday night.

After both Allie and Roxanne were eliminated, Lee and Sean were called to the boardroom where they were told they were the final two candidates for the title of Apprentice. They'd receive their last tasks the next morning, but that night they each had to decide which three previously eliminated candidates they would like to assist them in the task.

All of this season's former candidates were waiting for Sean and Lee when they returned to the suite. As soon as the ousted contestants realized only six of them would be selected to help with the final task, the campaigning began. Everyone pulled Sean and Lee aside to express their sincere loyalty and desire to work with whoever would get them another two weeks on TV.

To no one's surprise, Sean's first choice was his dream girl, Tammy. He rounded out the team with Andrea and Tarek, who was nominated by Tammy and Andrea. Sean's goal was to create a team of smart people who could work well together, and he got the best people to match that description.

Lee's first choice, also to no one's surprise, was his surrogate father, Lenny. Like a good politician, Lee wanted to shore up his "base," selecting a team of only those people he was sure wanted him to win. Lenny helped Lee determine who was most loyal to him, and Roxanne made the cut along with Lenny's shocking recommendation, Pepi -- who had been fired way back in week two.

In the board room the next morning, the mood was jovial as the final tasks were revealed: a celebrity hockey tournament and a charity concert featuring the Barenaked Ladies. Everyone laughed as Trump joked about his personal rule - always go with bare naked ladies.

Lee confidently offered to take the hockey tournament and give Sean the concert. Lenny felt good about their chances, promising Trump, "We're going to bury them so deep nobody will find them for 20 years." Then both teams left to start their big assignments.

Carolyn, who'd been giggling through the entire boardroom, finally got to let everyone else in on the joke after the teams departed. "Who was that guy on the far right?" she asked Trump with tears in her eyes. Trump didn't know either, and he had to check on a sheet of paper to find Pepi's name. "'Pepi, you're fired.' Did I say that?" Trump asked, sending Carolyn into fits.

Sean's team drove to the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, site of the concert. Proceeds of the event would benefit the World Wildlife Fund, who hoped to raise at least $100,000 through ticket sales, donations, and additional fundraising. Andrea and Tarek got the main corporate sponsor for both teams' events, Pontiac, to donate two cars to be auctioned off.

While Tarek and Andrea worked with Pontiac, Sean and Tammy selected a menu for a pre-concert party. They spent so much time going over minutiae, it sounded like they were selecting the menu for their wedding reception. Tarek, who had not worked with Sean before, was concerned that Sean was more interested in being with Tammy than winning the task.

Lee's team started their task with a trip to Denis Leary's production company, as proceeds from the hockey tournament went to the Leary Firefighters Foundation. Liz, the foundation representative, was unimpressed when Lee suggested a firefighter date auction, and sent them away to develop some classier fundraising ideas.

As Sean's team had done, Lee's team met with Pontiac executives, and he also got them to donate two cars for an auction. However, Lee missed an opportunity when he didn't follow up on Pepi's suggestion that Pontiac match the funds raised at the event. Perhaps Lee'd forgotten who Pepi was, as well.

Lee's laid-back, casual approach to the task concerned Carolyn, who was observing Lee's team when Liz from the Leary Foundation called demanding ideas. Unimpressed with Lee's latest suggestion of a silent auction, Liz decided she needed to come meet with them again that night -- although there was no guarantee that the team would generate any new ideas, even with a few extra hours to plan.

In Atlantic City, Sean's team faced an even more serious crisis. Stress or a mystery ailment caused Andrea to start coughing up blood. She left the team to see a doctor, and Sean told her not to worry about making it back for the task. Sean and his remaining team members made plans on how to pick up the slack.

The final task concludes next Monday night at 8:30 Central time, followed by the live boardroom hiring. It looks like Sean is a lock for the job, even if Andrea can't return. There's no way that Lee can please Liz. She said that she ran the hockey event for the last five years, so there's nothing Lee can do that will be up to her standards.

Tomorrow at Noon Eastern / 11 a.m. Central, Pontiac will continue to promote its charitable side, along with its G6 convertible. Go to www.pontiac.com/apprentice, and Pontiac will donate $1 to the charity of your choice, up to a total of $500,000. Voters will be entered into a drawing to win a G6 for themselves and for their charity.

DWTS Offseason Update: 5-26-06

A possible new job for Tom. An update from Max. And some new Season 3 rumors.

Bergeron the Front Runner for GMA Job
As soon as Charles Gibson announced that he'd be leaving Good Morning America to anchor World News Tonight, Tom Bergeron became the most likely candidate to fill the GMA vacancy. But according to The Boston Herald, Tom isn't willing to trade his duties as host of DWTS and America's Funniest Videos for a daily 3 a.m. wake-up call.

Max Is Back
After an especially busy month, including his appearances on GMA last week, Maksim Chmerkovskiy posted an update at his official forum. He's finishing up a fitness DVD, and he's even working on a project with Donald Trump. The Donald's going to remove all of the labels from his unsold bottles of Trump Ice water and relabel them "Max Ice."

Stacy's Partner in Crime
If you're interested in learning more about Stacy Keibler's boyfriend, he's got a role in the Jennifer Aniston/Vince Vaughan film The Break-Up.

Another DWTS 3 Candidate
According to an interview with The Edmonton Sun, DWTS producers approached Vanessa Anne Hudgens to fill one of the celebrity spots on Season 3. The 18-year-old actress, who stars on the Disney Channel show High School Musical, turned down the offer to participate.

This is pure speculation, but don't be surprised if the Disney-owned ABC network tries to pull talent from its cable affiliate. One of the Disney Channel's teen stars would be the perfect match for a young pro dancer that producers would be wise to invite for next season: Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

Work Vs. Friendship

Best Friends Forever Allie and Roxanne turned on each other as soon as they faced elimination. Consequently, Trump fired them both for lack of loyalty on tonight's episode of The Apprentice.

Sean was excited about Gold Rush's chances for this week's task: designing new uniforms for Embassy Suites employees. He planned to use his metrosexual fashion knowledge to avenge Tammy's ouster last week at the hands of Allie and Roxanne.

Both teams worked with fashion designers, seamstresses, and models to design new uniforms for front desk staff, doormen, suite keepers, and breakfast chefs. 120 Embassy Suites employees were to judge the uniforms at a fashion show. Before the show, Trump's kids, Don Jr. and Ivanka, shadowed the teams as their father's viceroys.

Interviews with company executives and staff inspired the men of Gold Rush to upgrade -- rather than completely redesign -- the current uniforms. Though they were concerned with style, Gold Rush's focus was functionality. They picked stylish, comfortable fabrics to complement practical changes like breathable chefs jackets and all-weather wear for doormen.

Lee, Gold Rush's Project Manager, was happy to defer to Sean's superior fashion knowledge. Lee admitted he wasn't sure what a metrosexual was, though he figured its domain lies about halfway between a heterosexual and a homosexual.

Although they interviewed many of the same employees, Synergy chose to emphasize style over function. Allie took the role of Project Manager only because someone needed to claim the role. She said that she and Roxanne would be more like "co-PMs."

However, it wasn't long before Allie started wielding her power like an iron fist. She treated their designer like a hired hand, criticizing his designs (which she helped create), his fabric choices, and even calling him by the wrong name.

Silently, Roxanne went along with everything, probably hoping that Allie would dig her own grave. Roxanne didn't object when Allie insisted on a skirt for the front desk staff, even though employees in that position had requested pants. Heck, Roxanne didn't even object to culottes for the cleaning staff!

At the fashion show, Gold Rush's designs crushed Synergy's. The desk staff appreciated that Gold Rush designed pants for them, and everyone else liked that the uniforms were comfortable, adjustable, and not too dissimilar from those they already had.

By contrast, Synergy created short-sleeved, cuffed jackets for the door staff and hard-to-wash, shiny, khaki chef's jackets. Worst of all were the puffy-sleeved, khaki suite keepers' dresses, which were, in Sean's opinion, "patronizing."

The 120 Embassy Suites employees voted in favor of Gold Rush, 83-27. After the victory, Don Jr. praised Sean, saying "his metrosexuality paid off." Sean's and Lee's reward was dinner with Don Jr. and Ivanka.

Don Jr. and Ivanka were very open about their life with The Donald, even telling Sean and Lee that Trump wears a pink bathrobe. They also said their dad likes to come home from work and plop down in front of the TV with a cheeseburger and a glass of milk. While they were in college, the kids were given a $300 monthly allowance; if they needed extra money, they had to work for it.

The younger Trumps didn't just talk about themselves and their dad. They seemed to be genuinely interested in their dinner companions. Ivanka was especially amused when Lee spilled the beans on Sean's crush on Tammy. Sean said that Tammy was gorgeous, and, when the show was over, he hoped to convince her that they should have "lots of Apprentice babies."

Meanwhile, the BFFs shared their last night in the suite together. They vowed not to bash each other in the boardroom. And things started out cordially enough, with Allie allowing that their uniforms weren't received the way they'd hoped.

Ivanka wouldn't let Allie off the hook for bad design: "Puffy sleeves, come on!" Slowly, Roxanne's sense of self-preservation kicked in. She claimed she'd protested some of Allie's decisions. Allie insisted that they'd split the decisions equally, refusing to accept greater culpability for the loss.

Then, things got personal. Allie said Roxanne was a better attorney than an Apprentice, and that everyone agreed that her bad attitude made her hard to work with. Roxanne blasted Allie for being high-maintenance and rude.

Trump put a stop to things. He was disappointed that they'd forsaken their friendship so quickly after losing, so he fired both Roxanne and Allie. To their credit, the two had patched things up by the time they they were interviewed in their post-show cab ride.

Next week's penultimate episode pits Lee against Sean in their final task. They get to choose teams from all of this season's previously ousted candidates. Surely, Sean will choose his true love, Tammy, for his team, and Lee will choose his true love, Lenny.

DWTS Offseason Update: 5-22-06

DWTS on two new nights this fall. Stacy recovers after a health scare. And Drew likes being a dad.

DWTS Moves to Tuesdays
When Dancing with the Stars returns in the fall, the show will air on Tuesday nights at 8/7 c, with the results show airing on Wednesdays. None of the other networks has anything that can really compete with DWTS in either timeslot. Edtya Sliwinska was on hand at ABC's upfront last week to help promote the show -- a good indication that she'll be back for season 3.

Stacy's Seizure Scare
Stacy Keibler is reportedly doing fine after suffering a minor seizure last week. Tests cleared her of any major health problems, and doctors are confident that it was a random incident.

Drew's a Swaddling Machine
People Magazine's latest issue features an interview with Drew Lachey, who's enjoying every aspect of fatherhood. He's an expert diaper changer and swaddler, and he's in charge of lullabies, naturally. Baby Isabella's favorite music? Sly and the Family Stone.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Nice guys finish first! Hippies BJ & Tyler pooled their massive brain power to beat Frat Guys Eric & Jeremy during the final leg of The Amazing Race 9.

Thanks to winning the Fast Forward on the previous leg, the Hippies had a two-hour head start when this leg began in Bangkok, Thailand. Their lead evaporated when the first clue sent them to an elephant park that didn't open until 4 a.m.

All of the teams grabbed a T-Mobile Sidekick from an elephant (he'd run out of minutes). The clue instructed them to fly to Tokyo and find the busiest intersection in the world, Shibuya Scramble.

At the airport, the Hippies were too slow in picking a flight, and they got closed out of the first flight to Tokyo. They arrived almost 90 minutes behind the other two teams, but made up time when Ray & Yolanda struggled with driving directions.

The Frat Guys were first to spot the clue on one of the dozens of giant screens in Shibuya. It directed them to "Find Hachiko," a famous dog memorialized in a statue. A man on a bench near the statue had their next clue, and they assumed that he was Hachiko.

The Detour clue gave them the choice of "Maiden" or "Messenger." The Frats chose "Maiden," which required them to carry a young woman in an ancient transportation device, because they wanted to see if she was hot. When their passenger popped out of the cab wearing a French maid's uniform, Eric said, "This is like a naughty fantasy come true."

BJ & Tyler, now in second place, elected to do "Messenger" and ride bicycles to deliver packages to two nearby buildings. It was easy for them because Tyler's Japanese girlfriend has taught him the language, and he was able to ask for very specific directions.

Team RaYo didn't have such luck, as they struggled to understand the people they asked for directions. When they finally found their clue, they carried the maiden as well, a physically demanding task, but one which went pretty quickly.

Upon completing their Detours, teams were told to find the Capsule Land Hotel. Only when they arrived did they realize they'd be spending the night in tiny, stacked compartments.

At 9 a.m., the Frats were the first team to make their way to Fujikyu Highland amusement park. Jeremy was surprised to learn that the mountain next to the park wasn't Mt. Tokyo, but in fact, Mt. Fuji.

RaYo stopped at the most American place they could find, Denny's, to ask for directions. They still couldn't understand the man who tried to help them. Things got worse on the highway when they lost their toll ticket. A tollway employee was able to help them, and he patted Ray's behind as a stunned Ray got back into his car.

At the amusement park, a Roadblock sent Jeremy, Tyler, and Yolanda on three thrill rides. During the rides, they needed to look for a man on the ground holding a sign with the name of their next destination. Tyler enlisted the help of some cute girls, who liked touching his beard.

The sign read "Lake Yamanaka," the sight of their next Pit Stop. The Frats and Hippies left the park at the same time, and arrived at the lake for the most embarrassing race to the mat ever. They raced in swan-shaped paddleboats to a larger swan boat in the middle of the lake, with the Hippies outpaddling the Frats for first place.

RaYo arrived two hours behind the other teams but were not eliminated. Instead, they were stripped of their money and possessions and left to beg in a country where the language barrier had completely unnerved them.

As was the case with the Hippies when they lost their belongings, RaYo's brush with elimination also removed their fear of losing. They'd been given a second chance, so they figured they might as well have fun. They were able to enjoy the remainder of the race without the tension that plagued them this leg.

Teams left Lake Yamanaka after midnight but weren't able to catch a hotel shuttle to the airport until 6 a.m. The Hippies struck a deal with the clerk at the hotel, who then had this exchange with the Frat Guys:

Eric: "Do you have Internet?"
Clerk: "Yes."
Eric: "Can we use it?"
Clerk: "We don't have Internet service here."

Meanwhile, the Hippies used the hotel's Internet lounge to research flights to their next destination: Anchorage, Alaska.

RaYo stopped at another American-sounding restaurant, Jonathan, to beg for yen on the way to the airport. The intoxicated businessmen happily doled out cash to Yolanda, because they thought she looked like Janet Jackson.

Teams took separate flights to Taipei, but all boarded the same connection to Anchorage. Once there, RaYo fell behind quickly, as they repeatedly stopped to confirm directions to their next destination, Mirror Lake.

At the lake, teams had the non-choice of one Detour task. Due to inclement weather, teams couldn't participate in a Detour option that involved flying in a single-prop plane. So, instead, each of the teams chose to drill 10 fishing holes through the lake ice, and then push a heavy, wooden shelter over two of the holes.

While no one had an easy time with the challenging physical task, the Frats finished first and drove to Kincaid Park to strap on snow shoes and search for the next clue. RaYo arrived at the frozen lake just as the Hippies were leaving.

Even though RaYo were far behind when they found the snowshoe clue that directed them to the Anchorage Airport, they were able to catch up at the airport and join the other teams on the evening's only flight to Denver, Colorado.

After arriving in Denver at dawn, teams searched for clues in a historical park. Ray & Yolanda, who reached the park last, took too long to find a clue in a chicken coop and fell out of contention for the grand prize. At this point, as it had been for most of the season, it was a two-team race between the Frats and the Hippies for first.

Eric & Jeremy left the park with a five minute lead on the Hippies but got nervous when they reached their final Roadblock at the Red Rocks Amphitheater -- where the season began. In a field full of national flags, one person had to find a flag from each of the nine countries they'd visited on the race, and then arrange them in the order they were visited.

Eric had to gather and arrange the flags by himself, but Jeremy could offer suggestions. Teams could also use a placard that had all the correct flags, plus a few red herring flags, to help. The Frats had hoped the final challenge would require more brains than brawn, and they now worried that the Hippies Ivy League educations would give the bearded buddies a huge edge.

The Frats had good reason to worry. BJ initially skipped the Russian flag, this season's second international destination, but properly ordered the rest of the flags. Meanwhile, Eric & Jeremy couldn't remember what the flag of Thailand looked like, forcing Eric to return to the field to try different flags.

Eventually, Tyler figured out which flag belonged to Russia, clinching the victory for the Hippies. They arrived at the mat in tears, where Phil and the eliminated racers waited for them with open arms. Even Monica & Joseph looked genuinely happy.

Tyler said that the $1 million meant they might actually be able to do whatever they wanted with their lives, though he didn't specify what that might be. Probably buy a diamond-encrusted hacky sack and some personal drum lessons from Mickey Hart.

When the Frats finally hit the finish mat, an obviously disappointed Eric said that finishing in second place meant that he'd probably have to return to waiting tables. But his share of the Frats' $100,000 prize might help him delay that for a while.

Ray & Yolanda beamed at the mat, having overcome their frustrations in Japan. They said they were both in love, but when asked if they planned to get married, Yolanda said, "Not today."

CBS announced today that TAR 10 will return this fall in another new time slot: Sunday night at 8/7c. That puts it up against football on NBC and Extreme Home Makeover on ABC. However, TAR will get a strong lead-in from 60 Minutes and will be followed by popular crime dramas Cold Case and Without a Trace.

This lineup bodes well for TAR's ratings. At least it can't be worse than going up against American Idol. Let's hope the next season features even more fun and likeable teams to root for. And if you're interested in being on the Race, open casting calls for season 11 started this week.

Catch Them While You Can

As TV seasons wind down, here are a few shows worth catching before they're gone.
(all times Central)

Invasion Series Finale
Wednesday, May 17 - ABC 9 p.m.
This sci-fi gem never got the respect it deserved. It didn't help that even those turtles from the Comcast commercials thought the first five episodes were slow. Still, show creator Shaun Cassidy took more narrative chances with this than any other series currently on the air. The sheriff convinced a guy to cut off his own arm, for Pete's sake! Invasion has been consistently more compelling than its lead in, Lost. Tune in Wednesday to find out the fate of the human race.


Max Chmerkovskiy on GMA
Friday, May 19 - ABC 7 a.m.
The long rumored "Dancing with the Rising Stars" segment is finally airing on Good Morning America this week. Max and his students, who introduced the mini-competition on Monday, return on Friday for the final dance-off. What's better than a good looking guy teaching kids how to waltz?

Deadliest Catch Marathon
Saturday, May 20 - Discovery 6 p.m.
...Good looking men fishing for crab, that's what's better! The studs of the Bering Sea dominate Discovery's airwaves for a 4-episode marathon. Okay, most of them look like crusty seadogs, but they have their charm. There's grumpy old Hiram, goof-offs Matt and Casey, and Edgar, the Brad Pitt of the fleet. My personal hero, Captain Sig, always comes up with a few good lines. Nothing inspires a crew quite like depriving them of food and sleep, and then calling them "robots."

Heavy: The Story of Metal
Monday, May 22 - VH1 8 p.m
"Photograph" by Def Leppard is the greatest song ever written, and I'm counting on this documentary to confirm that. VH1 runs this four-part series Monday through Thursday, tracing the history of the music that helped shape my worldview. I believe that, as Kiss sang, God did give rock and roll to me, and that Yngwie J. Malmsteen really fought a dragon with his guitar.

Top Chef Season Finale
Wednesday, May 24 - Bravo 9 p.m.
Every episode of this series has been entertaining, so the finale should be good. Viewers will learn this Wednesday night if the emotional Dave and the emotionless Tiffani will face off for the grand prize. Whatever happens, as Dave says, it is what it is.

National Spelling Bee
Thursday, June 1 - ABC 7 p.m.
The National Homeschool Competition, er, Spelling Bee goes prime time this year. Past Bees on ESPN have produced legendary moments like this. 11-year-old social outcasts + intense pressure = good TV.

Death to Traitors?

If Donald Trump's business credo for this week's Apprentice, "Death to Traitors," was accurate, Roxanne or Allie would've been fired. But the title was misleading, as Tammy took the fall despite her teammates' mutiny.

Microsoft and Wal-Mart teamed up to give teams the task of promoting the Xbox 360 by setting up an interactive display inside one of the latter mega-corporation's stores. After avoiding Wal-Mart for some seven years, I was glad to see that it still looked just as crappy as the last time I gave them any of my money.

The men of Gold Rush took it easy, having outsourced most of their design to two printers. One printer worked on the walls of the display, which would attach to a printed floor and ceiling that were being generated by another printer, Adrien. Sean and Lee had plenty of time to relax and express love for one another over fries and noodles.

The boys were finally spurred to action when Adrien revealed that he'd underestimated the project completion time by more than seven hours. As the task's deadline approached, they had a floor and walls, but no ceiling from which the walls could hang. Lee taped the walls to anything he could, and Gold Rush was left with a sad, sagging display.

Fortunately for them, their concept was good. It incorporated a variety of products available at Wal-Mart that worked with the various facets of the Xbox 360. And everything was priced clearly.

Soon after the company executives were done judging the display, Adrien arrived with the ceiling. Sean is currently awaiting trial for Adrien's murder.

On Synergy, Allie and Roxanne unconsciously sabotaged Tammy the Project Manager's plan, once they decided they didn't like it. Tammy envisioned a red carpet lounge where shoppers could experience the different entertainment features of the Xbox 360.

Allie and Roxanne checked out mentally and spent more time playing with hula hoops than contributing to the project. As Tammy explained the concept to Viceroy Bill Rancic, Allie rolled her eyes at him to indicate her displeasure.

When Tammy confronted her team members about the frequent eye-rolls, Allie and Roxanne feigned shock. They clarified that their facial expressions were eyebrow raises, not eye rolls. Hoping to motivate her team, Tammy said she really wanted them to help her win the task for herself, a statement that Allie and Roxanne filed away for boardroom ammunition.

Given the task of designing the signs, Roxanne put forth minimal effort, reasoning that she just needed to carry out Tammy's orders as written, and the blame would fall on Tammy for bad design. The signs wound up being too small, making the whole display look amateurish.

Despite their incomplete execution, their focus on accessories and pricing earned Sean and Lee a victory. For their reward, they were flown to DreamWorks' Studios in California, where they were allowed to read for bit parts in the animated film, Over the Hedge.

They both made the film's final cut. Lee made his film debut as Lunch Table Larry, with compelling lines like, "Look out!" Sean seemed to have found his true calling, thanks to his reading of a man tending a grill: "I truly believed in my soul that I was Barbeque Barry!"

When Synergy took their seats in the boardroom, Trump said their display "looked like a cheap, third-rate liquor lounge." The pitch and volume of Tammy's voice got higher and higher as she defended her display, contesting that no one offered any other ideas.

Roxanne went on the attack against Tammy's bad design and selfish attitude, invoking her prior "It's all about me" comment. Allie stayed mute until Ivanka and Bill called her out for her eye-rolling. She apologized to Bill and Tammy, although Tammy said she would've appreciated the apology more when she initially asked for it, during the task.

While Roxanne and Allie were criticized for giving a half-hearted effort, and Trump said he hated traitors earlier in the episode, he fired Tammy because she couldn't command the respect of her team. In effect, he rewarded Roxanne and Allie for being quitters.

Next week, the show returns to its regular timeslot, and the two teams face off in a fashion show showdown. On Gold Rush, Lee's and Sean's brains take a vacation when confronted with a room full of models.

Survivor: Panama - Exile Island Finale

Danielle won the final Immunity Challenge to find herself in a lose-lose situation. Her gut told her to pick Aras instead of the seemingly unbeatable Terry, and she lost anyway. Survivor: Panama - Exile Island's $1 million grand prize went to the 24-year-old yoga instructor, Aras.

The finale picked up where the last episode left off, with Cirie and Danielle squared off in a tiebreaker Immunity Challenge. Both watched their fires burn out several times, but Danielle eventually figured out how to keep hers going, while placing a pyramid of wood around it to build it higher. Cirie was eliminated, and with her went some of Aras' hopes for reaching the final two.

Based on a previous arrangement with Danielle, Terry felt good about his odds of making it to the final two -- so long as he or Danielle won the next Immunity Challenge. He spent the morning after Tribal Council rubbing his easy path to victory in Aras' face.

Later on day 37, Terry, Aras, and Danielle showed up for what they thought was their final Immunity Challenge. Instead, it was a Reward Challenge designed to give the winner an edge on the competition.

Survivors solved a couple simple puzzles in order to receive four metal pegs. These pegs were then used to help climb a three-story wall. At the top, the competitors needed to put all four pegs in specific slots in order to raise a flag. The winner received a healthy meal and a cot, pillow, and blanket to use at camp.

Aras took the early lead, devising a quick strategy to reach the top. But when he got there, he had trouble fitting the pegs in the appropriate holes. Terry took advantage of Aras's troubles and won yet another challenge.

But no comfy cot or nutritious meal could have made the next day's Immunity Challenge any easier for Terry. As it often is, the final challenge was a test of balance, a factor that almost always favors women. Danielle, significantly lighter than the men, and with a lower center of gravity, would have to screw up in order to lose.

Each competitor had to balance on a floating, hexagonal platform. Every 15 minutes, the castaways moved to smaller platforms, making it harder to stay upright. When they stepped on the first platforms, Danielle's floated noticeably higher in the water than did Aras's or Terry's.

After 15 minutes, they all crawled to their next platforms and were allowed one minute to regain their balance. This was the only time that their hands were permitted to touch the platform; after that, only their feet could touch.

It wasn't until they moved to the third platforms that the situation became dire for Terry and Aras. Both spent most of their allotted minute trying to climb out of the water onto their platforms, while Danielle crouched comfortably on hers.

Once the third round began, it didn't take long for Terry to fall into the water and out of the challenge. A wobbly Aras looked over at Danielle, who nodded at him. He took this as a sign that she'd be taking him to the final two, and jumped off. Jeff Probst put the Immunity Necklace around Danielle's neck, providing the kind of cleavage-coverage that her tube top could not offer.

Danielle talked with both of the men about the trouble she was having deciding who to take with her to the finale. Terry opted not to pressure her, stating only that the jury was dominated by her former Casaya tribemates, who were unlikely to vote for him.

Aras took the opposite approach, trying to intimidate Danielle into picking him. He matter of factly said that, if she picked Terry, Aras wouldn't vote for her, and neither would Cirie. Assuming that La Mina members Austin and Sally would vote for Terry, she would lose.

Intimidation triumphed, and Terry was stunned to be eliminated. He believed that Danielle planned to honor her agreement with him. Terry regretted losing the Immunity Challenge and the loss of control over his own fate.

Survivors had another brush with the medical team the next morning. Aras and Danielle were taking a walk following a celebratory Day 39 breakfast when Aras slipped on some rocks. The bottle of champagne he was holding shattered, lodging broken glass in his back and slicing his hand.

The medical crew arrived and gave Aras eight stitches in all. Worse than the cuts was the serious bruising to his ego. Slipping on rocks after drinking too much doesn't scream "Master of the Elements."

At Tribal Council that night, Aras and Danielle were in for more pain. Aras tried to make the case that he deserved the $1 million because he was sincere and a hard worker. Danielle pointed to the fact that she made strategic moves when she needed to.

During the jury questions, both finalists agreed that Cirie played a big part in getting them there, and that they hoped that their performance on the show would inspire others. Courtney took the opportunity to ramble abstractly about the life lessons she learned, none of which were concrete enough to be comprehensible.

Not surprisingly, Shane went a little crazy in his remarks. He chided Danielle for being lazy, but felt personally betrayed by Aras. Shane went on the offensive against Aras: "You're broke, you're homeless, and you freeload off your dad."

Then, Shane asked the finalists to pick a number between 1 and 1,000,000. Whoever was closest would get Shane's vote. Aras chose four -- which was dumb. All Danielle had to do was pick five (as any good The Price is Right fan would have), and Aras would've had a .0004% of winning Shane's vote. Danielle picked ten, which helped Aras's odds, but not by much.

During her closing remarks, Danielle asked the jury to vote for her because, "I've got a lot going on in my life, and this could really help me." Aras countered that he needed the money even more, because, echoing Shane's sentiments, "I'm homeless and I freeload off my dad."

Bruce was shown casting his vote for Danielle, and Terry voted for Aras. As Jeff Probst read the votes live, it was obvious who cast some of the other votes. Sally drew smiley faces on her vote for Aras, and at the top of a vote for Danielle, Shane had written "the number was 999,999." The remaining votes -- from Austin, Courtney, and Cirie -- went to Aras.

The reunion show featured the best-looking cast in several seasons. No one fell prey to the bad hairdos and garish makeup that have dominated reunion shows from recent seasons (although, Stephenie La Grossa was the prime offender during two of those shows).

Survivor fans had voted online for their favorite contestant of the season, and they chose to reward Cirie with a new car. As one of two breakout stars of the season, it will be interesting to watch what kinds of offers come Cirie's way. Surely, some networks have considered a Cirie Fields travel or talk show.

This season's other star, Shane, was composed and well-groomed, if you ignored his outrageously flared shirt cuffs. He recounted a favorite Norman Rockwell-type moment from watching the series with his son. Boston asked, "Dad, did you just make a death threat on national television?" Shane replied calmly, "Yes, son. I'm afraid I just did."

DWTS Offseason Update: 5-13-06

Stacy has sticky fingers. Master P gets lawsuit-happy. And Tia Carrere enjoys a good cream puff.

Jim Beam, You're Next
Security guards at a Kentucky Derby party had to stop Stacy Keibler and her boyfriend from stealing a statue of famed whiskey-maker Jack Daniels. If Drew Lachey is smart, he's got his DWTS trophy under lock and key.

Harry Hamlin's Fall Schedule
Thanks to Aaron Echolls's murder in the Tuesday night season finale of Veronica Mars, Harry Hamlin's work schedule just got a lot lighter for the fall. Is there any doubt now that he'll be one of the celebs on DTWS 3?

Master P: The Ongoing Saga
Now P's threatening to sue Sony Music for allegedly calling radio stations to keep them from playing Romeo's new single. I liked it better when he was just encouraging his kid to solve his problems with physical violence.

Cover Girl Tia
Tia Carrere graces the cover of In Magazine this month, where she reveals that her first stop when she returns home to Hawaii is the Liliha Bakery in Honolulu.

Celebrity Charity Events
Tony Dovolani performed at a benefit for the Desire Street Ministries in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Thursday. The local paper interviewed Tony before the event, but neglected to speak with one of Tony's fellow benefit performers: Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

DWTS fans in Connecticut can meet local boy John O'Hurley at a fundraiser for the Charter Oak Chapter of the American Red Cross. Tickets for the May 19 event are $250.

To Be Continued

Survivor fans hoping to learn which three contestants will compete in the Exile Island finale will have to wait a few more days to find out. Voting for the second to last elimination resulted in a tie between Cirie and Danielle, who will duke it out in a tiebreaker at the beginning of Sunday night's season ender.

Most contestants consider making the final four an accomplishment worth celebrating. But Terry squashed any party plans as soon as the castaways returned to camp from the previous vote. He scolded Cirie for not putting her torch away properly, much like a parent scolds a child for a messy room.

Cirie did a fine job defending herself, and Aras and Danielle took up for her as well. Terry's condescending attitude is getting old, and his chances for winning the $1 million are getting slimmer by the day.

This week's Reward Challenge was complicated, but not physically demanding. Contestants were clipped to ropes that led to six stations. Each station had a different local item (e.g. rocks, iguanas) that contestants had to count. After counting the items at one station, each contestant returned to a game board and selected a numbered tile representing the item total.

After counting at all six stations, each castaway combined the six numbers to form the combinations for three locks (two numbers per lock). If they'd miscounted the items, the lock wouldn't open. In that case, competitors could return to as many stations as they wished to recount.

The race was tight the whole way, and everyone was incorrect on at least one station. Terry rechecked one station and then returned to his board, thinking that he was only allowed to recheck one item at a time.

When Terry noticed that everyone else was rechecking multiple stations, he complained that Jeff Probst hadn't told them they could do that. Jeff corrected Terry, who headed back out to the stations, grousing the whole way. Aras yelled, "Somebody call the 'Waahmbulance.' Terry's crying on the course!"

Aras returned with the correct numbers and was first to unlock all three of his locks. As a reward, he got to chose one tribemate to join him for a tour of the Panama Canal on a yacht. He picked Cirie, and both Terry and Danielle were sent to Exile Island.

Danielle faced facts that there was no way Cirie or Aras would take her to the final two, and she aligned herself with Terry. Since he knew he stood his best chance facing the jury against Danielle, Terry was happy to agree to take her to the final two. If he could win individual immunity at the next challenge, he agreed to give her the hidden immunity idol as protection from Aras and Cirie.

After returning to camp from their canal tour, Cirie decided to make a fire for the first time. She waited until Aras was asleep so that she could surprise him. He woke up to Cirie's delighted giggles as she stood over a small fire.

The Immunity Challenge the next day was another mental challenge. Using two ropes and a set of coordinates, contestants had to find the location of three bags within a sand pit. The first two bags held puzzle pieces that, when assembled, gave two more sets of coordinates. The contestant to assemble the last bag of puzzle pieces into the phrase "Safe from the Vote" would be just that.

Aras was the only survivor who really got the hang of using the coordinates and the point where the ropes intersected to determine the location of each bag. He got enough of a lead that he could take his time assembling his last puzzle, and Terry was unable to catch up, meaning he'd suddenly lost two challenges in a row.

Before Tribal Council, everyone figured that Aras and Cirie would vote for Danielle, and she and Terry would vote for Cirie. Assuming that the tiebreaker challenge was building a fire, Terry and Aras coached their partners in firestarting technique. Terry's advice for Danielle was more practical, while Aras's advice for Cirie was more motivational.

While the possibility of Terry sneaking the immunity idol to Danielle was brought up at camp, Terry wasn't willing to give it up before, so the chances he would risk it now were slim. As soon as the votes were read, Danielle confirmed that she did not have the idol.

Cirie and Danielle prepared to take part in a fire-building tiebreaker as the show came to an end. Their battle will kick off Sunday night's two-hour finale (followed by an hour-long reunion show).

If the jury's reactions have given any indication of the contestants' odds, Danielle doesn't have much of a chance to win in the final two. Courtney cheered each time Jeff read a vote to eliminate Danielle, and Shane rolled his eyes whenever she spoke. Terry's only allies are Sally and Austin, although Bruce may throw a vote his way. If either Danielle or Terry goes with Cirie or Aras to the final two, they will likely lose. If the final two is Terry and Danielle or Cirie and Aras, it's a tossup.

Feast, You Monkeys!

Karma decided which team finished last for the second consecutive week of The Amazing Race. Last week, the Hippies brought up the rear after using the Yield on MoJo. This week, Monica & Joseph, the only racers not to lend BJ any clothes, were eliminated.

At the start of this leg, BJ had nothing to wear but a T-shirt and boxers. The rest of his belongings had been confiscated as a penalty for finishing last on last week's non-elimination leg. Yolanda gave BJ her purple pair of spandex pants, and Jeremy donated a pair of sandals.

The Hippies headed to downtown Darwin, Australia, at 2 a.m. to beg for money, while the other teams hung around the airport, booking flights to Thailand. BJ earned a good amount of cash despite his tight, purple leggings. Jeremy said BJ looked like "a girl with a beard."

The three lead teams scored seats on a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, but the Hippies -- with BJ now sporting some baggy new board shorts -- were shut out by the time they got to the airport. Luckily, seats opened up on another flight that landed an hour or two after the first.

When the first teams landed in Bangkok around 10:15 p.m., they traveled by taxi to a bus station. Frat Guys Eric & Jeremy and Ray & Yolanda purchased tickets for the midnight bus to Lopburi and boarded the bus.

MoJo asked their cabbie for help navigating the bus station, and he, incorrectly, told them that the Lopburi ticket counter was closed wouldn't reopen until 5 a.m. They took his word for it and found a hotel room, not knowing that the other teams' bus hadn't yet left.

The Hippies arrived at the bus station just after midnight. They booked tickets on the first bus of the morning, which left at 4:20 a.m. As they had been instructed, MoJo got to the bus station at 5 a.m., and they left for Lopburi at 5:20.

At their destination, teams met in front of the Three Spires Pagoda. The Hippies got there just before the temple opened at 8 a.m. to find the Frats and Ray & Yolanda already waiting there.

Eric & Jeremy tried to befriend the monkeys that call the temple home by feeding them Pringles. Ray kept his distance and called the monkeys "rats on steroids."

Inside the temple, the clue contained directions to the second Fast Forward on the race. The Hippies and Ray & Yolanda decided to take a chance on a short cut to the Pit Stop by taking a cab two miles to a restaurant for a "popular afterschool activity."

In Thailand, a popular afterschool activity is snacking on fried crickets. Yolanda was cocky about her team's chances at first. "We're from the South," she said. "We eat anything fried." But, after tasting a couple of the crispy critters, she and Ray decided the monkeys didn't look so bad and drove back to the temple.

That left BJ & Tyler to finish a bowl of crickets each. As Tyler's bowl of "fingernails with guts inside" cooled and the guts congealed, he questioned their decision. But they kept downing crickets, taking occasional vomit breaks, and were able to finish the Fast Forward.

They rode to Bangkok's Marble Temple to meet Phil, who congratulated them on being the first of three teams to earn a spot in next week's finale.

Instead of giving a prize to the first team to finish this week's leg, Travelocity included sealed envelopes with each team's clue at the temple. The team whose envelope contained a picture of a golden Travelocity gnome received the prize. The Hippies didn't have the winning ticket, but they were excited just to have pants and still be in the race.

Back at the monkey temple, Eric was working on a Roadblock. One member of each team had to slice and arrange fruit for a ceremonial offering to be given to the monkeys. Unfortunately, monkeys aren't very patient; much of Eric's time was spent chasing them away from his unfinished arrangement.

Monica & Joseph finally arrived at the temple, only then realizing that they were the last team to reach it. Joseph got to work on the ceremonial offering, and when Ray & Yolanda got back from their aborted Fast Forward attempt, Yolanda started sculpting her offering.

Eric finished his display first, yelling, "Feast, you monkeys," as the hungry simians devoured the results of his hard work. The next clue told teams to take a taxi 90 miles and catch a ferry to Koh Kret Island. Joseph and Yolanda soon finished their tasks and followed right behind.

Once on Koh Kret Island, teams had to find a cluebox in the Buddha Garden. The Frats did, and the clue gave them a choice of Detours: "Move It" or "Altar It." They chose "Altar It," which required them to cover a Buddha statue in gold leaf and arrange it in a shrine.

MoJo was the second team to the island, but they ignored the guide posts and were again given bad directions. They found the shrine, but had to back track a bit to find the Detour clue. By that time, Ray & Yolanda had found their clue and also decided to "Altar It."

MoJo decided to check out "Altar It" since they already knew where the shrine was, but opted for the other task after seeing how tedious it was to apply gold leaf. "Move It" was a physical task, which to them sounded much faster.

Both the Frats and Ray & Yolanda persisted with their original task, spending extra time to correct aesthetic problems the shrine judges found with their statues. Eric & Jeremy finished first and caught a ferry to the mainland, where they lost time looking for a cab.

Ray & Yolanda finished soon after the Frats and were able to find a cab easily. Both teams made their way through Bangkok's crowded streets to the Marble Temple.

For "Move It," Monica and Joseph each carried a long plank of wood while balancing terra cotta pots on top of it. They had to deliver a total of 72 pots to a nearby boat to receive their clue. If they were careful, they could finish in two trips.

But much like the swordfish carrying task in Sicily, the load was too heavy for Monica, both physically and emotionally. On her second trip, she dropped 10 of her 12 pots, crying the whole way to the dock.

Joseph reassured her more gently than he has in the past, encouraging her to just do the best she could. As soon as the finished and got back to the mainland, they grabbed a cab and drove to the temple for the finish.

Despite their cab troubles, Eric & Jeremy arrived in second place. Ray & Yolanda followed in third and had the winning golden gnome. Their reward was a cruise on a private yacht around Sydney harbor, and a tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Maybe more importantly, they got to spend that night in a luxury hotel, apart from the Hippies and Frat Guys.

MoJo arrived at the Pit Stop and learned that they had been eliminated from the race. But, in a rare turn for racing couples unsure about their future, Monica & Joseph said the experience cemented their relationship, and they are now planning on getting married.

Next week's two-hour finale brings BJ & Tyler, Eric & Jeremy, and Ray & Yolanda back to North America. The Hippies' lead could easily be erased at an airport, so it's still anybody's race.

Whilst Supplies Last

What's one cheerleader between friends? Apparently a lot, since that's what got Michael fired on this week's episode of The Apprentice.

Lee and Michael returned from the boardroom after both Tarek and Charmaine were fired, but the women of Synergy were still obsessed with what had happened in the boardroom the week before.

Roxanne and Allie were upset that Sean hadn't yet apologized to Allie for saying that she should have been fired instead of Andrea. The women discussed the topic at such volume that Sean had to wear earplugs just to get some sleep.

The following morning, the remaining six contestants headed to Rutgers University for this week's task. Because Gold Rush had only two remaining members, Trump asked one member of Synergy to join Lee and Michael on Gold Rush. Sean wasted no time in volunteering himself.

Working with Outback Steakhouse, the teams had to throw tailgate parties at the Rutgers homecoming football game against Navy. Sean embraced the idea of selling steak with his new teammates: "I feel like a man again!"

Lee took the helm for Gold Rush and decided to focus on events to drive traffic to their assigned parking lot. This included an eating contest, a money booth, and an exclusive appearance by the Rutgers cheerleaders.

Synergy was also interested in working with the cheerleaders, and Allie negotiated with their coach to split the squad in two. When the coach informed Michael of the new deal, he saw no problem with it -- he thought it wouldn't be fair to have such an advantage over Synergy -- but he wanted to confirm it was okay with his Project Manager.

Lee and Sean laughed at the idea of giving Synergy even one cheerleader for their event. They instructed Michael to remind the coach that their deal was for an "exclusive" appearance. Of Michael's plan to breach his own team's exclusivity deal, Sean exclaimed, "No, wanker, no!"

Synergy, led by Roxanne, abandoned the idea of special events and opted just to promote their party at the pep rally the night before. But by the time Roxanne and Tammy finished making their flyers, the pep rally was over.

Gold Rush, on the other hand, had blanketed the rally with flyers -- after making some adjustments to Sean's copywriting. Lee and Michael made fun of Sean's British vernacular when he'd written that food would be for sale "whilst supplies last."

On Homecoming day, Gold Rush's events brought out huge crowds. Lee priced the chicken and steak for $4 and the onion appetizer and soup for $2, reasoning that college kids wouldn't have much cash on hand for food. Sean and Lee tried to drive people toward the sales tent whilst Michael ran the eating contest, watched the money booth, and basically spent the day talking into a microphone.

Roxanne decided that if Synergy wasn't going to have the official cheerleaders at their party, her team would dress like cheerleaders themselves. They priced every item at $5 and delivered food to smaller parties in every parking lot. Allie sold $200 worth of food to the baseball team alone, after she agreed to learn the Rutgers school cheer.

The delivery strategy paid off big time, and Synergy outsold Gold Rush by $1000. For their reward, Roxanne, Tammy, and Allie were flown by helicopter to a vineyard on Long Island, where they stomped grapes to make their own wine. Allie's was a perky Cabernet, which I believe she called "Blood Everywhere!"

In the suite, Sean and Lee faulted Michael for being tethered to his mocrophone, and not selling enough food. Michael felt that Lee had spent too much time planning a spectacle, and not enough time on sales strategy.

Everyone stuck with their positions in the boardroom, and Viceroy George was upset with Lee for dropping the ball on pricing. College students bring plenty of money to football games to buy beer, George said, so they would've willingly spent a few extra dollars for steak.

The biggest laughs came at Michael's expense, after Lee brought up the proposed deal for sharing the cheerleaders. Michael protested that he was merely trying to be fair to his competition and put the cheerleading coach at ease, but Trump and his viceroys thought willfully giving away assets was just stupid.

Trump fired Michael to teach him a lesson: "When you have a cheerleader, you never give her up."

In the cab, Michael was upset with himself for losing over such a small thing at this late stage in the game. But he still couldn't believe that what he did was worse than actually losing the task -- considering his cheerleader-sharing plan ultimately never came to fruition, anyway.

Next week, the show moves one hour later to 10e/9c, and teams work to promote the Xbox 360.

It's Called Karma

The Hippies survived another last place finish, thanks to this season's second non-elimination leg of The Amazing Race. But this time, they'll have to beg for more than money at the start of the next leg.

All of the teams were forced to wait for a bell tower to open before they could hunt for their first clue, and there was plenty of tension still simmering between the Hippies and MoJo. BJ & Tyler tried to deflect some of Joseph's anger onto Eric, who had been flirting with Monica. Instead, Joseph became even angrier with the Hippies for pointing it out.

Before the bell tower opened at 8 a.m., teams called a cab company and arranged for taxis to wait for them outside of the tower. Eric, who'd reserved a car under an alias, called the company back and cancelled the cabs reserved for Ray and Tyler.

Teams grabbed their clues and returned to the bottom of the tower to find only MoJo's cab waiting, giving them a head start on their way to the airport. Ray confirmed with the cab company that their taxi had been cancelled, and he ordered a new pair of cabs. Naturally, Ray and Tyler assumed that Joseph had cancelled their taxis, and Eric didn't bother to correct them.

Ray & Yolanda and the Hippies were picked up, leaving the Frat Boys in last place. Jeremy reflected on Eric's cab-cancelling prank and figured out why they were left behind: "It's called karma."

Eventually everyone arrived at the airport and boarded the same plane to Darwin, Australia. There, teams had to wade into a pool of crocodiles at a crocodile sanctuary to retrieve their clue. In the cab to the sanctuary, Yolanda mused, "Black people wouldn't be stupid enough to get into a pool of crocodiles...or would they? Because that's what we're about to do." Ray replied, "For one million dollars, they would."

No limbs were lost in the croc pen, and the clues informed teams that a Yield awaited them at the site of the Roadblock. MoJo and the Hippies arrived at the next location at the same time, with the Hippies narrowly beating MoJo to the Yield mat. As promised, BJ & Tyler forced Monica & Joseph to wait before they could complete the Roadblock.

The remaining teams soon arrived at the Roadblock, and BJ, Eric, and Ray went skydiving to earn their next clue. Monica and Joseph argued on the mat, with Monica insisting that it wasn't fair that the Hippies yielded them. Joseph's attempts to bully Monica into cheerfulness failed, and the two fought for an extra minute after their Yield time had run out.

Teams were guided to find their next clue in a field of termite mounds. Tyler jokingly feared for the safety of his peg leg. The clue gave them two Detour choices: Wet or Dry. The Hippies and Frat Guys chose Wet, opting to hike and swim one mile through a jungle river.

The Dry option was actually the quicker of the two, even if it didn't sound so on paper. Each team had to drive six miles off-road to a rock formation, where they then picked one of several didgeredoos. Following the sound of music, they had to find a musician whose didgeredoo sported the same pattern as their own. After each team member successfully blew a note on the instrument, they received their next clue.

The off-road portion turned out to be a simple dirt road, and not the muddy fields some teams anticipated. Ray & Yolanda finished the task quickly and passed MoJo on their way back to the main highway.

Meanwhile, the Hippies and Frats endured what BJ called "prolonged torture" as they hiked and swam what felt like much longer than one mile. Both teams avoided the river's poisonous spiders and plants and got their next clue, which instructed them to drive to the Pit Stop.

Ray & Yolanda arrived in first place, winning each of them a one-year lease on a Mercedes. Ray beamed, prompting Phil to remark that this was the happiest he's seen Ray all race.

The Hippies and Frats flagged down a car to ask for directions. While they were stopped, MoJo drove past them. The two all-male teams jumped into their cars and sped to the Pit Stop. All three teams arrived at the same time, parked quickly, and raced on foot to the mat.

The five men ran in a group toward the pit stop, which was on the far side of a short and narrow bridge over a riverbed. Monica lagged behind, but only by a few seconds.

As Jeremy, Tyler, and Joseph crossed the bridge, Eric and BJ thought it would be faster to cross the river on foot. For Eric, it was, and he and Jeremy ended up on the mat first of the three teams.

But BJ, who'd driven from the Detour in only his boxers and t-shirt, struggled to navigate the river rocks without shoes. Monica ran across the bridge and beat BJ by seconds, putting the Hippies in last place for the leg.

Joseph, the sore winner, screamed at BJ & Tyler, "You yielded us! We beat you!" Phil informed the teams that Eric & Jeremy had arrived in second place, Monica & Joseph in third, and BJ & Tyler in fourth.

Fortunately for the Hippies, this was a non-elimination leg, meaning that they'll be back next week -- but with no money and only the clothes on their backs. BJ tried to stay optimistic, telling Phil, "at least we have less to lose," since most of their possessions were confiscated at the last non-elimination leg.

Next week, BJ has to find pants and a pair of shoes, and teams fly to Thailand. Eric gets frustrated while preparing a feast for some monkeys, and Monica has a meltdown that could rival her Italian fish-carrying breakdown.

DWTS Offseason Update: 5-5-06

More rumors surrounding Dancing with the Stars 3. Cheryl's Celebrity Fan Club. And Master P is being himself again

Another Possible Season 3 Celebrity
USC Quarterback Matt Leinart is the latest celeb rumored to be a candidate for DWTS 3. The subject came up at last weekend's NFL draft, where Leinart was picked 10th by the Arizona Cardinals.

Stacy Visits Fresno State on Sunday
Before the May 7 WWE event at Fresno State, Stacy Keibler will hold an autograph session "between the Save Mart Center and the Student Recreation Center." Wristbands for this prestigious sounding event will be handed out to the first 500 fans at 2 p.m.

Cheryl Tours the Philippines
Cheryl Burke is spending a week in the Philippines, and celebrated her birthday by meeting President Macapagal-Arroyo. In an interview, Cheryl revealed that she has a surprising celebrity fan: Samuel L. Jackson. If his summer movie, Snakes on a Plane, does well at the box office, maybe there will be a part for Cheryl in the sequel -- Snakes on a Plane 2: Dancing with the Snakes.

Master P Stirs up Trouble
Master P keeps making headlines by perpetuating a rivalry between his son, Romeo, and fellow rapper, Bow Wow. At Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards last month, P said that the youngsters might have come to blows had Bow Wow not retreated to his trailer. Bow Wow responded that Romeo was just upset because he "can't sell no records and your daddy is on Dancing with the Stars." Ouch!

Now Master P is upset that Romeo's new album isn't receiving radio support, and contends that Bow Wow's record label is forcing stations not to play Romeo's single. P's threatening to start his own radio stations if that's what it takes to get Romeo’s album out, and worse, he's planning to release a book entitled How to Be Successful and Still Be Yourself. Need anyone remind him how far being himself got him on DWTS?

America's Ballroom Challenge Track List
Fans of the PBS program America's Ballroom Challenge can view the complete song list at the show's official website. Kudos to Tony Dovolani for trying to make Jon Secada relevant again.

My Mom Is My Rock

Weepy dad Shane was finally rewarded with a visit from his son, Boston. But he became the next victim of Cirie's masterful plot to eliminate the easy money options from Survivor: Panama - Exile Island.

Knowing that Shane was surprised by Courtney's elimination at the last Tribal Council, Aras and Cirie lied to him to keep up the pretense that their alliance was still intact. They explained that Danielle told Cirie at the last minute that she was going to vote with Courtney and Terry for Aras, and that they didn't have time to alert Shane to the bargain they struck to save Aras.

Shane bought their story. Regarding Courtney's elimination, Shane said in 1950's lingo, "It couldn't have happened to a loopier broad."

This week's Reward Challenge was a four-part obstacle course, combining elements of previous challenges. One person was eliminated after each leg, and the eventual winner had to decide which survivors would get to spend time with their loved ones, who waited just out of sight.

During stage one, contestants dug in the sand to find a bag, and Shane came in last place. For stage two, everyone crawled through a tunnel carrying their bag, and untied a wooden snake from atop a bar. Cirie was the next person out of the running.

Danielle, Terry, and Aras carried their bag and snake into a pit of water, where they untied a fish suspended over the water. Danielle couldn't get her knot untied, leaving Terry and Aras to battle it out in the finals.

Carrying all three items, Terry and Aras crawled and climbed through a series of horizontal and vertical tunnels. As soon as Aras dropped his bag halfway through, the race was Terry's, to the surprise of nobody.

Terry had to decide which two loved ones would accompany their survivors on an overnight trip to a resort, whose loved one would spend the night at camp, who would give their survivor a hug, and which loved one wouldn't get to share any love.

Naturally, Terry picked his wife, Trish to join him at the resort, along with the sobbing Shane and his son. Terry sent Cirie back to camp with her husband, H.B., and Aras got to hug his mom, Theresa. During the hug, Aras asked Theresa to have five dinners waiting for him when he got home.

As punishment for breaking her recent pact with him to take Courtney to the final two, Terry didn't let Danielle hug her mom, Denise. As further punishment, Danielle was then sent to Exile Island.

The refrigerator at the resort was stocked with wine, beer, fruit, and ice cream, and there were four hot pizzas waiting for the winners as well. Trish eagerly talked strategy with Terry and Shane, who said about her, "what a lovely woman, but unbelievably competitive."

At camp, H.B. marveled at how dirty camp life was, and how bad Cirie smelled. The next morning, he was forced to take care of all of the chores so that Cirie and Aras could "conserve their energy." H.B. started to cringe every time Cirie began a sentence with, "Honey Bunny..." knowing that more labor was in store.

All of the family members were ferried away and Terry and Shane returned to camp. When asked what it was like to sleep in a real bed again, Terry said that he and Trish didn't do much sleeping, further proof that Terry has no idea how off-putting he is.

But Terry wasn't done irritating his tribemates. He launched into his explanation of his method for doling out the reward, reasoning that Danielle shouldn't be too upset because "she's 24, and it's just her mom."

This angered Aras, who tried to explain that all of them have been separated from their families for over 30 days and that the visit was equally important to all. What came out was, "My mom is my rock, just like Trish is your rock." We can only hope that Aras and his rock would've gotten more sleep than Terry did with his.

The Immunity Challenge tested the survivors' balance by perching them atop tiny platforms 20 feet above the water. Using a bucket attached to a rope, they hauled water to fill a small bamboo tube attached 10 feet below the top of the platform. Water in the tube raised a flag, and the first person to grab their flag won.

It took Shane most of the challenge to figure out that the water was supposed to go in the tube, and not down a hole in the middle of the platform on which he was standing. Again, the race between rivals Terry and Aras came down to the wire, but Terry still couldn't be beat. I guess maybe it's not really a rivalry if the same party wins every time.

With the hidden immunity idol in his back pocket, Terry has an automatic pass to the final three, regardless of the next Immunity challenge. The only incentive he has to even try winning that one is to prevent someone else from getting immunity, if he doesn't want to see that person in the final three.

Shane and Terry talked at camp about getting rid of Danielle, and both assumed that they would probably be in the final two together. Terry felt confident that the members of Casaya would appreciate the hard work he did about camp, and his success rate in challenges, and give him the money over Shane.

In reality, they would be far more likely to give crazy, annoying Shane the money just to keep it out of Terry's hands. But, as good as he is, Terry hasn't been able to grasp that the game is more social and political than anything else. His voting record proves it: he's has yet to cast a vote for a single bootee since the merge.

Cirie and Aras assured Shane that they were voting for Danielle, and then plotted with Danielle to vote for Shane. In an interview, Cirie confessed that she was concerned that Danielle could beat her in the final two, and that ultimately she'd do what improved her chances the most.

At Tribal Council, Jeff Probst asked contestants what considerations they made regarding the final two. Aras wasn't worried about losing so many challenges to Terry because he knew he'd formed better relationships with his tribemates, and that's what gets you the million dollars. Terry just rolled his eyes.

Shane admitted that he was being carried along because he seemed the most beatable in the final two. He hypothetically wondered if anyone would rather go against him or Aras "the golden boy who could levitate home at any second."

Shane's jaw dropped as three votes were cast against him, and he was asked to leave the island. He taunted the remaining contestants on his way out, assuring them that he'd have his hands on a chocolate ice cream bar in less than one minute.

Next time, all of the attention is on Terry when Cirie stands up to him and Danielle makes a move to align with him.

You Put a Pep Back in My Step

Chris Young did a great job all season long on Nashville Star, and he earned his victory by being consistently good--and, at times, great--throughout the competition. It's too bad the show did him no favors by giving him such a dull crowning ceremony.

As the show started, Cowboy Troy performed with Big & Rich, providing viewers with the 90-minute finale's first snack break opportunity.

Then, the USA Network managed to further stall performances by the finalists, Chris, Casey Rivers, and Obvious Third Place Finisher, with long retrospectives of their past performances.

Casey Rivers brought his guitar onstage and sang "Your Cheatin' Heart," which was picked for him by show fans on USA's website. Apparently, Casey's core fanbase is still in high school, as he admitted he's been invited to several proms over the course of the show.

Nicole (the lock for third place) reprised her best performance of the series, "Thing Called Love." Anastasia urged her not to give up after the show and told Nicole to follow the road paved by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Sheryl Crow, who are apparently two of this nation's most famous female construction workers.

Chris Young wore an unfortunately long jacket--it looked like a trenchcoat for an eight-year-old--perhaps to hide his nervousness. He should've been more confident, because he was the only contestant asked by fans to give a repeat performance of his original song for the finale.

The only amusing moment of the retrospectives was a quick shot of Anastasia's naughty-Pocahontas outfit from last week.

Guest singer Jason Aldean then performed his song, "In a Hick Town," which Jared Ashley performed earlier this season. Now I know why. Jared and Jason Aldean are virtually indistinguishable, right down to the hats and the height. All 10 of the contestants joined in the song, and I was surprised to find myself missing fourth place finisher Matt Mason.

In an attempt to heighten the suspense, Troy kicked off one of the three finalists. To no one's surprise, it was Nicole Jamrose. Just to make the moment totally awkward, Wynonna asked Nicole, "Do you have any final words?" Then, after Nicole had said everything she wanted to say, the Wynobot asked again, "Do you have any final words?" Nicole killed Wynonna on the spot, and another Wynonna instantly appeared from the ether.

With 40 minutes still left in the show, Troy pretended like he was going to announce the winner. Wynonna told him it wasn't time yet, because we still had plenty of musical performances to come.

Apparently I was clamoring for Chris and Casey to sing together, because that's what I get. The lengthy finale backfired for USA, because I kept changing to the NBA Playoffs during each commercial, or whenever I got annoyed with the filler.

In an visual homage to the Police video for "Wrapped Around Your Finger," hundreds of candles lit the stage for a performance by Phil Vassar. Phil played his new song, "The Phoenix Suns lead the Los Angeles Lakers by 10 points in the first quarter. (However, with a new investigation surrounding center Kwame Brown, the Lakers have a decided edge in accused sexual assaulters, 2-0.)"

Chris and Casey each performed solo again. They were probably good. The Lakers had closed the gap to seven points late in the first.

Finally, 83 minutes in, it's decision time. Or, it would be if Wynonna would stop telling the entire cast and crew how much she loves them. Save it for the after-party, Kool-Aid. OH, YEAH! She tells Chris and Casey, "You put a pep back in my step." Then she stalls a little more, telling the finalists she wants to torture them for a few more minutes. If she only knew how many others she was torturing at the same time.

Cowboy Troy finally opens the envelope and announces that Chris Young is the winner. But we're all winners, really, because now I can get back to the game.

Maybe Mensa Made a Mistake

On this week's Apprentice, Tarek and Charmaine fought like idiot parents at a Little League game. While their boardroom blowup was satisfying to watch, it ultimately did neither of them any good, as both contestants were fired.

This week provided one of the season's most mundane tasks: managing the grand opening of a Hair Cuttery franchise. This involved arranging hair products on shelves, handing out flyers, and not much else.

Tammy, Synergy's Project Manager, decided to hand out flyers the night before the opening, mostly as an excuse to have dinner alone with Sean. He seemed optimistic about his future with Tammy: "I'm pretty certain we'll have lots and lots of babies once this is all finished."

Tarek and Lee didn't make things easy for the Gold Rush PM, Charmaine. Lee didn't appreciate taking orders from a woman, and Tarek pushed Charmaine's buttons on whether they needed a grand opening theme other than "Grand Opening."

The morning of the opening, Charmaine sent Lee and Tarek out to put flyers on cars just to get them out of her hair. Then she relaxed and had one of the store's stylists do her own hair. Charmaine wasn't even bothered that Viceroy Bill Rancic walked in as she was getting her hair curled.

Allie earned the victory for Synergy by aggressively selling hair products. But the team was punished by having to write lyrics for a song with Burt Bacharach, which sounds more like a task than a reward. The song opened with the line, "When I'm thinkin' tasty, I'm thinkin' Chicken Naturals."

Before the boardroom, Lee tried to protect himself by encouraging his teammates to turn on each other. But Tarek and Charmaine didn't need much incentive, since a fight between them has been brewing for weeks.

Charmaine branded Tarek as unmanageable, and he retaliated by calling her a whiner and a crybaby. Michael defended Charmaine's attempts at leadership. And, as hard as Trump and his viceroys tried, they couldn't get Lee to commit on which teammate he wanted to go home.

Lee's political strategy may keep him around for a few more weeks, but Trump won't like the idea of giving someone so shady even a semblance of power in his organization.

Trump said that "maybe Mensa made a mistake" about Tarek, but fired Charmaine because she should've found a way to manage him. Then Trump fired Tarek for being unmanageable. Compared to the silence of the losers' cab shared by Tarek and Charmaine, the noiseless vacuum of space sounds like a Flaming Lips concert.

Next week, teams are split up into men versus women for a task at Rutgers University, where Lee is mistakenly elected student body president.