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The Amazing Race: Post Interview with Joey and Danny!

The Yak had the chance to chat with Joey La Salla and Danny Horal after they were eliminated on the sixth leg of The Amazing Race.  I would like to apologize for the delay in posting that was the result of my computer crashing!

But I digress… Read on to see what they had to say!

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The Yak: Hello! Thank you for your time today! Would you like to do The Amazing Race again?

Joey: Right off the bat 100%. We would not have done the fast forward, if given the chance we would be sure to stay with the pack.

The Yak: I could understand taking the chance. If you succeeded you would have gone straight to the finish!

Joey: …and we would have gotten cars too and that would have been great! We had progressed from 10th place to 8th place etc. and we wanted that 1st place finish which is why we took the risk, but it didn’t work out in our favor.

The Yak: Maybe we will see you in an All-star version of TAR?

Joey: We are crossing our fingers for that one!

The Yak: What about other reality shows, would you do Survivor or Big Brother? I could see you both on Big Brother.

Danny: We didn’t do the show to be on TV. First off we did it for the experience; I have never been out of the United States before so this was a whole new experience to see other countries and how people live that I have never seen before. The other thing is we were stereotyped as Jersey Shore kids, so for a couple of jersey shore kids to get to do this and do other things besides drinking and partying, was cool to show the world as well. Me and Joey had a great idea for a show we would like to host if there is a production company out there that would love to have us open up kids eyes… to have an opportunity to show them that there is more then just partying in typical Miami, New York and Vegas… to branch out if they had the chance to go to Germany or Paraguay. So it would be cool to have a show like that.

Joey: I would definitely do a Big Brother or Survivor. Both of us played sports growing up and I like that competitive drive and the chance to win something, especially if it is money. We would do a traveling show around the world… definitely would do it! And if Rachel can win Big Brother I think I can pull it off!

[All laugh]

The Yak: I think both of you would be very competitive on Big Brother, not to mention good eye candy!

Joey: It can’t hurt to be eye candy for the ladies!

[All laugh]

The Yak: What was your favorite challenge?

Danny: I am sure Joey will say jumping out of the plane and that is actually what I wanted to do but I got stuck driving the manual stick shift which I didn’t know how to do. If I had the chance to jump out of a plane, if we read the clue right, that would have been my favorite!

Joey: For sure the skydiving, I always said for the last ten years that I wanted to skydive and I had just never taken the initiative to just do it; for the task I had to do it and it was one of the craziest things I have ever done.
(He also pointed out that completing some of the other tasks took a long time and that the viewers didn’t realize how long. He shared that getting to do those tasks with his best friend was a very fun experience!)

The Yak: Which city did you like best?

Danny: I liked Bavaria.

Joey: Italy, we are used to staying in the United States and it was great to get to go to the different countries [named TAR 20 countries visited]. I hope to get to go back to those and more!

The Yak: A Yak twitter follower wants to know what you thought of Miss Vanessa.
[Laughter]

Danny: Vanessa was good eye candy too but then we became good friends with Ralph, and he is a big guy, so I didn’t want to get beat up by him (laughs). I actually enjoyed Vanessa because she had a lot of fights with Rachel and that was good fun to watch while in the airport waiting for the plane!

Joey: Yeah even some of the other male teams thought Vanessa was good eye candy before we became pretty good friends with Ralph so we had to push that to the side. It was definitely fun to see how she and Rachel from Big Brother just constantly bickered and argued and it seemed like they had it out for each other. While we were racing it didn’t seem too much, but sitting at the viewing parties and actually watching it on TV it was real fun to just see them going for each others throat, especially Vanessa towards Rachel.

The Yak: Knowing that, post race, Ralph and Vanessa are no longer together does that change things?

Joey: I have a girlfriend.

Danny: I talk to Ralph as much as possible and he is still a big guy!

Joey: The rule is you don’t date your friends girl right Danny?

Danny: Yeah.

The Yak: Are you guys going to be able to attend Reality Rally?

Danny: We are debating it. We are trying to do the fundraising but we have just been really busy doing a couple of other things… but we may be going to that.

*Yakkity Yaks extends an invitation to Joey and Danny as well as other reality stars to join the forum to post information about their fundraisers and to blog about their experiences.

The Yak: Which teams are you staying in contact with most now, besides Ralph?

Danny: (laughs) Elliot was just calling me!

Joey: We talk to Elliot a lot, Andrew is playing soccer; Ralph of course and Bopper… so we stay in touch with all of them.

The Yak: (Susan) I am a born and raised New Yorker so I have to ask Yankees or Mets; Giants or Jets?

Both: Die-hard Yankee fans!

Joey: Like both (Giants and Jets) equally, will root for New York in play-offs.

The Yak: What is your biggest regret aside from the fast forward?

Danny: Only the fast forward. We ran a good race, we didn’t argue. If it hadn’t been for the fast forward we would have had a chance at the million dollars.

Joey: if you set aside the fast forward we really have none. We were lucky to get out of the first leg the way that we did [Misa and Maiya didn’t see Phil] it was a blessing we just had to work hard and stick together, teamwork, and like I said we were making our way up to first place and then that stupid fast forward. Like I said as well if we ever get to go back no fast forwards, If I see a fast forward I am just ripping it up.

The Yak: Did either one of you have doubts about the helicopter?

Joey: I did that. I grew up around the water and did life-guarding, used to surf, so I was pretty confident with anything in the water. I like swimming pools, anything around the beach I would do it. I could see how other teams could get nervous strapped in with the water rushing in. You have to stay calm… I honestly didn’t think about it. I was just mad we lost the fast forward and wanted to get it done with so we could try to catch the other teams. It’s not even a big deal to me. I felt the other teams made a big deal about it, it happened, you did it, and move onto the next thing.

The Yak: At the pit-stop were you really far behind the others, because it is hard to tell on TV. It looked like you guys had a decent chance of making it to the finish and not being eliminated?

Joey: We were not sure how close or far behind Ralph and Vanessa we were. We didn’t even know it was them we were behind, we didn’t see anybody at the roadblock or the detour. We were definitely behind teams and it looked close on TV but it could have been 20 minutes or an hour, we really don’t know.

The Yak: It looked like a footrace because of editing.

Joey: I was watching with my parents last night and they said you almost got it. I told them it definitely looked good on TV. It was exciting but I had no idea how far behind we were. It could have been 3 hours.

Danny: …or 20 minutes we really don’t know.

The Yak: Do you have any tips for future TAR applicants?

Joey: If you ever want any laughs you can look at pictures on my twitter @JOEYFITNESS or Danny’s @DannyHsolution. We are always cracking jokes and posting pictures. For those looking to go on The Amazing Race I would definitely recommend learning how to drive a stick and pick the right partner. Danny and I we were the perfect match for partners for the show, some of the other couples that went with a wife or girlfriend will have second thoughts. Maybe doing it with a best guy friend or girl best friends so you don’t have the dynamics of a relationship, since that can cause problems.

Danny: Any fans of us PLEASE write to CBS and tell them to bring us on an all-star TAR season because we definitely want to do it and we will win the million dollars!

The guys also ask me if I like their hats that they had worn in Bravia. They shared that many people have asked them about the monster and panda hats. I had to confess that I didn’t think they were strange or odd since I had bought my 20 year old son a monkey hat! [All laughed]

Thanks for chatting with The Yak!

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Were you fans of Joey and Danny? Will you miss them on The Race? Who are you rooting for now that they are gone? Leave us a comment below, then come join us in the FORUM and join in the conversation! We also all meet up during the East Coast Showing to discuss what’s going on! Come on in!

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The Yak Chats with The Amazing Race ‘Team Pink’ (Kerri and Stacy)

Yesterday, The Yak had the chance to sit down with the latest eliminated team from The Amazing Race, Kerri Paul and Stacy Bowers! Read below to see what they had to say!

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The Yak: Hello Kerri and Stacy. Thank you for sharing time with me today! First questions, would you do TAR again?

Kerri: Hell yeah!
Stacy: Yes, I hope there is an all-stars 2 so we can be on it!

The Yak: What was your favorite challenge?

Stacy: Our favorite one had to be the empañadas…
Kerri: We went there after everyone else and dominated it so that was part of it.
Stacy: Duh cooking! We’re both girls, we’re fly! It taught me how to make something so when I came home I could make for my husband!

The Yak: Stacy you had said in your bio that you wanted to taste real Spanish food so was that enough of a taste of it for you?

Stacy: [laughs] I’m not sure. I would’ve tasted one of those that I made and I definitely would have enjoyed it… but I did get to try one and I know it is not Spanish. I got the opportunity to try the Argentine steak so I at least I have that one under my belt. I am like a food connoisseur with the exception of… what you didn’t see was me barfing, totally losing it during the salami challenge.

The Yak: that was a lot of salami.

Stacy: After eating a bit and running back and forth I completely lost my stomach… on the sidewalk… in front of about a million people.

The Yak: Well hopefully they will forget that!

Kerri and Stacy: [laugh]

The Yak: Which was your favorite city to visit?

Stacy: Even though we lost there my favorite city was in Germany where we did get to see the castles. How many times in your life do you get to go to a real fairy tale castle, a real live one! I really enjoyed it and wish we had the opportunity to look around.
Kerri: I agree. I wish we had the opportunity to look around more.
Stacy: In the heat of the moment looking back at the show, OMG that was so beautiful and amazing, but in the heat of the moment I don’t think I noticed what the outside even looked like… now it is like yeah that’s the one I went to!
Kerri: You are just focusing on traffic and getting through the race okay. [Shares her favorite] I think Paraguay was mine. I feel that whenever we were done and could actually take in the city, in the square where we were and the weather was really nice, it was cool but wasn’t freezing. I just thought it was beautiful and was a nice place.

The Yak: Stacy how excited were your children to see you overcome the challenges on the race?

Stacy: My children are like the greatest ever; they were so excited leg after leg. They look at my husband like he is this awesome superhero because he is a professional basketball player and sometimes we are watching his games and he does something spectacular and we are like how did he do that? It was so fulfilling to have them look at me in that respect! They saw me not just as their mommy but as one of their heroes! I am really honored that I got this experience but that my children had the opportunity to watch me overcome so many obstacles and persevere.

The Yak: What did they think of the skydiving challenge?

Stacy: They were watching and freaking out! They were like mommy your not going to do it, then like OMG and you said my name on TV! [laughing] My son was heartbroken last night. He was crying and crying [when we were eliminated] I told Kerri last night that the only way I got him to stop was like Cam, but now you are famous! Everyone has seen you on TV and know you, so he was like “Oh but you still were last! Waaahh!”

The Yak: For the basketball camp you and your husband are planning, is there a website people can go to?

[Stacy shared that the website is still under construction but the camp will be locally in Gulfport, Mississippi in July as a day camp]

The Yak: Kerri, how has being on the race helped in your work, you do some exciting things in Gulfport?

Kerri: Well now it is hard because everywhere I go people see and recognize me and they say you are on The Amazing Race! My coworkers come to me every Monday and stand in my doorway with their arms folded and they are like “tell me about this or that.” I mean it has really affected me in a positive way, Sometimes people see me in one light and it is good to have them see another side of you. I think it was a really good experience for me and for my coworkers because they get to laugh. It is kind of a stress reliever. They are really proud of me since I helped put our city on the map, since I work for the city, so it has been a really positive experience.

The Yak: Did the two of you achieve your goal of reconnecting over The Race?

Kerri: We did and we are still connecting, we still party and get together to watch The Race. We are real family people and Stacy decided to stay home this basketball season so she is still here.
Stacy: The kids and I are still here and our family is really enjoying it. This is the first time my kids really got to experience Mardi Gras, my daughter is getting real comfortable. I am like oh my gosh how are we ever going to leave again because now they just want to stay here! I am planning to go visit my husband (soon) to make sure he is still alive. [laughs]

The Yak: Are there any other reality shows in the works for you two?

Kerri: We would love to do the race again. If anyone is interested just give us a call because we are always up for more challenges!
Stacy: Everybody is asking me “are you going to bring Kerri and stop in on the Basketball Wives?” I am like I don’t know if Kerri and I can go bring some southern flare to those ladies.
Kerri: Yeah because we are both athletes’ wives, my husband played minor league baseball for a while. He is a scout from Italy baseball so we know that life. We definitely have the athletes wives thing down.
Stacy: In The Race people got the opportunity to see us for who we really are and we are really sincere gals. We’re fun and very approachable. We are looking forward to whatever the future holds for us. We are very easy going people and I hope you can see us in the future. Bring Team Pink to a whole other level!
[Kerri and Stacy shared that both husbands are waiting to see what vacation plans the ladies will spring on them! Stacy shared that her children are always ready for a traveling adventure!
They also shared a touch of irony… both of their husbands were in Venice, Italy while the ladies were tasting salami in Turin, Italy. The time distance was only about 1.5 hours away…..so close yet so far!]

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Thanks to Kerri and Stacy for chatting with us! What do you think? Will you miss them on The Race? Who are you rooting for to win? Leave us a comment below!

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The Yak Chats with ‘Race’ Twins Andrew & Elliot Weber

This past week, twins Elliot and Andrew Weber were eliminated on the third leg of The Amazing Race. A team that many might have thought would make it further, Andrew and Elliot might have fallen victim to harp strings. On Monday, the Yak was fortunate to be able to chat with Elliot and Andrew regarding their experiences on the Amazing Race, disappointment in being eliminated early on and just what both of these brothers are up to these days. Read on and find out!

The Yak: Thank you for taking the time to speak with Yakkity Yaks. I know that a lot of people were sorry to see you leave the race.

Elliot: You have no idea just knowing you were eliminated that early, knowing what you are capable of ….it was just our fate and it is hard to accept that but well it is what it is and life goes on.

The Yak: Would you do another Amazing Race if invited back?

Elliot: Oh yeah, oh yeah I would. Now that you understand the many factors of the race and how it is played out I think we would do a lot better at strategies and would now know what to expect and to plan for that.

The Yak: (Elliot and Andrew live in different states; we had a connection glitch so I was afforded the opportunity to obtain the information from Elliot about his band (ENOVA) and soon to be released record.)

Elliot: My project ENOVA will be having an album coming out very soon here in the spring. We are going over some of the fine details with our producer on the tracks we have but I can see it being out in the next month or so. We will have our new album out and will be touring on it as well. Right now you can go the Facebook and get all our updates now. Our site is being built and in about a month we will have an enova.com. You can also purchase all our songs on iTunes and one of our songs, “Counterpart,” was actually on the premiere episode of The Amazing Race.

The Yak: One of our site members wanted to know how was it for you to lose out on the harp challenge?

Elliot: Doing guitar pulling it thru the hole and wrapping it around the head of the guitar it is similar but at the same time the harp is so much more oriented and our fingers like we have pretty big hands and you really can’t get in there it is frustrating. It was harder then I thought it would be.

(Andrew was now reconnected to speak with Elliot and I)

The Yak: I have asked your brother but would you do another Amazing Race if invited back?

Andrew: Yes, I would in a heartbeat. I enjoyed the experience. I think now knowing what we know and sort of getting a taste of the game I think it would be awesome to go back and actually do better because I know we could do better and get a chance to prove to ourselves that we could do better.

The Yak: Andrew who do you play soccer for and is there a website fans can go to for information?

Andrew: I (now) play for the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer. You can go to www.seattlesounders.com or www.mlssoccer.net and click on the Sounders website.

The Yak: Which was your favorite challenge to do?

Elliot: Skydiving!! I feel bad that my brother Andrew didn’t get to skydive (laughs) but that was by far the most amazing experience I ever got to see – seeing the countryside and how beautiful it was. I am sure my brother might have a different opinion on that, but it was just real cool to do the skydive.

Andrew: Yeah, I was a little jealous that Elliot got to do it and I couldn’t. We didn’t really get to do too many tasks since we didn’t really make it that far, but out of making the empanadas and counting the cows (Elliot laughing). I thought the cows was a cool experience. Everyone was yelling at Dave but making the empanadas was cool. Those two were my favorites since they were the two I got to do.

Elliot: You didn’t like doing the harp man…laughing

Andrew: (laughs)

[They agree they hate the harp now!]

The Yak: How was it to get to watch the other complete tasks when separated? Andrew, how was it to see Elliot do the skydiving?

Andrew: To watch Elliot do it was amazing. If you haven’t seen the bonus footage yet I parked in the wrong spot so I was looking up looking at him and I guessed I had to go find him. I ended up going thru the trees and all that. You could probably flip the roles and ask Elliot how he felt standing there in the middle of the desert waiting for his lost brother to yell at him and find him. (Elliot laughing) To watch me at the end watching Elliot do the bottle thing, I felt for him, because I knew he was trying. So sometimes it is hard watching because you are excited, but at the same time you are thinking to yourself “I am sure this is so easy,” like “come on this is so easy,” but it probably is not. You’re not the one there doing it.

Elliot: It was hard to see when I was standing there from skydiving. It was frustrating to know my brother might be lost. I don’t know where he is and I can’t go out to find him. The footage is actually funny. I can’t believe that he ran thru this 10 foot bushes of thorns to find me – which is awesome. Watching him do the cows, I have a feeling that if our bus had never broke down on the way to go do that challenge that we may have ended up on that first flight to Paraguay. My brother did really well at getting the cows done. It took 4-3 tries, and I could see how frustrating it was to be a number off and that would affect whether you got the clue or not. In the long run, my brother finished and he even helped out and partnered up with Joey & Danny. They did the math and it was cool to see him finally get it done. It was frustrating, though, at the same time because you want to see your partner doing well.

The Yak: Any chance we will get to see either one of you doing big Brother or Survivor, throwing your hats into those rings? (chuckling by brothers and CBS rep!)

Andrew: I guess that is a question you have to ask casting. If Elliot and I can beef up on Survivor, me against him, that be cool. It would be cool to be on something else. Hopefully they like our personalities and I would like to go back and try it again, give it another whirl or even maybe do “Elliot and Andrew’s World” you know something cool!

Elliot: I agree. Survivor or even coming back and doing the Race again all over would allow people see us a little longer and interact at a completely different time in our lives. I think it would be cool too, back to what my brother said, back to our lives and show people what they are like and do our own kind of thing.

Andrew: I think people don’t realize it takes a lot to be on the show. It takes a lot of sacrifice not only from the staff and what they are doing, but stuff you have to do and give up to be part of it is a big piece of it. You give up quite a bit to compete for this so it makes it worth it.

The Yak: Do either of you want to keep in touch with other race teams?

[Andrew and Elliot report that they do keep in touch with several other contestants of TAR 20.]

Elliot: Yes, I definitely made some friendships. You bond with people while you are out there running [the race]. You get to know people and understand their personalities, and the people you stay in touch with are lifetime friends.

The Yak: Anything more you want to share with our readers?

Andrew: Elliot’s band ENOVA. (Check out the info above!)

We’d like to thank Elliot and Andrew for chatting with us and wish them luck with all they do in this life!

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The Amazing Race Ambassadors of Laughter: David and Cherie Gregg

Yakkity Yaks had the opportunity to spend sometime yesterday with David and Cherie Gregg, the second team eliminated from The Amazing Race 20. The interview started out with a HONK HONK as a welcome from the Ambassadors of Laughter. I would like to let you all know that they are just as exuberant and full of joy in person as they appeared on TAR!

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The Yak: Did you get to celebrate your 20th Wedding Anniversary while racing or was it afterward?

Both: It was afterwards.
David: it was actually February 16th.

The Yak: Wonderful 20 years congratulations, what a milestone.

Cherie: Thank you and we survived the race still married!

The Yak: I never had any doubts about that! You were one of the teams that got along better under stress then any others this season and previous years also.

Both: Thank you!

The Yak: Would you do it again if TAR invited back?

Both: Oh Yes!
David: 110% yes, definitely!
Cherie: Call anyone you know that you think could get us back on, definitely. It was too short for us.

The Yak: What was your favorite task to complete?

David: I would say of the entire thing was building the solar kitchen; it was such a joy to get to work with Cherie on a task together.
Cherie: We do well together we are just not good separated.
David: Divided.
Cherie: Divided… laughs… no pun intended with the division! But we enjoyed working the solar kitchen together. I thought you (David) were going to say skydiving for yourself.
David: Oh no, no, no I liked working with you.
Cherie: I wanted to skydive.

The Yak: What was it like to watch the other on the roadblocks where you were doing things separately?

Both: It was hard.
David: When I was getting ready to skydive going up in the plane my thoughts were on Cherie and how she was going to get to the drop site and find me…
Both: …and drive the stick shift
David: Luckily she did it flawlessly and we were able to pass up 3 other teams at that time. All I had to do was use gravity as my source (laughs).
Cherie: Watching Dave struggle at the cattle was so hard! I was so glad he didn’t get upset and could fall back on his humor to keep going. If he had gotten really upset it would have upset me even more because I felt helpless not being able to help him. We work really well together because we are two halves of one person; we don’t function well divided. Dave does everything… he cooks, cleans, does dishes, grocery shops, driving….
David: Cherie does all the math.
Cherie: The clue was “where’s the beef?”
David: I thought I was going to eat a cow!
Cherie: so who had any idea it was going to have to do with math; if we had thought it would have to do with math I would have taken it. Roadblocks were a twist because if it was like who was better with directions, Dave would have been and I would have gotten to skydive. Most people were tricked and the person that would rather not skydive ended up skydiving. Roadblocks had twists and it was crazy watching people try to deal with them!
David: It was AMAZING!

The Yak: How did it make you feel to see the other on the show completing their task?

Cherie: It was really cool. I was jealous watching him diving and he looked great doing it. I did get to see him come down because I found him really quick, so I got to see the end of it, but seeing him go out the plane was really cool and that will be a great memory.
David: It was very exciting to get to be able to watch each other do the individual parts that we weren’t part of.
Cherie: Watching him struggle with the math again on tv was not fun.

The Yak: What city did you like best?

David: Buenos Aries was absolutely beautiful.
(The Greggs enjoyed the drives thru the countryside as they traveled between locations and expressed it as some of the most beautiful views.)

The Yak: You were on the bus that broke, how did the window break?

David: We’re not sure and would love to know the official answer. I think it had to do with stress; it was a double-decker bus and in the afternoon what happened was the lower section of the window where we were was getting very hot. The attendant came down and noticed it was getting hot and it sounded like they turned off the whole AC system and put it back on and it cooled down relatively quickly for about an hour and a half… but then the window just exploded….with a bang sound. I think it was stress of the temperature change it couldn’t take, luckily it was safety glass.
Cherie: It didn’t blow in right away so the people sitting back there were able to get up and then it blew in. I thought something hit it, I don’t think the science way Dave does.
David: We were driving 60-65 mph down the highway so I don’t think anything could have hit it that hard. We really don’t know.
Cherie: It was right behind our heads and so we didn’t get very much sleep. Then Dave trying to do math on very little sleep did not help… on the highway the wind would catch the tape and rip the plastic open. Then we would stop again and you would hear (insert tape ripping noises) of duct tape all night long of them re-taping it up. Then we would go again, then stop again, so it made a really long bus ride that started out as 18 hours. It ended up more than 20 hours and we weren’t able to sleep very well. It was a nightmare.

The Yak: Was production able to help occupy your time or do something for you to make use of it?

David: Not really, we sat there and waited for repairs to be made and pretty much everyone was anxious for them to get it done as quickly as possible so we could get on the road to continue on the way.
Cherie: We were speculating about the other teams that could be on the third bus… about how much time we were losing
David: But we had no idea quite frankly.

The Yak: Was there any one team you felt a sense of camaraderie with more than the others?

Cherie: In the very beginning, in the first leg, Art and JJ came up to us. They were a little annoyed because they were being called middle aged and they were like us old folk got to stick together but then they were so far ahead of us all the time we never really had any long periods of time with them. Then we were shouting with the twins and the NY boys because we were all on the lower level of the bus. We got along with everybody. We didn’t really have any issues with any teams; again the clown in us is to see everybody for who they are and we only judge people by what they show to us… if they are nice to us we are nice back. We had no problems with anyone.

The Yak: Would you want to keep in touch with the other teams?

Cherie: Yes, it is something that when you go through an experience like this it is a bonding experience.
David: It is a bonding experience!
Cherie: It is like working in the circus with people from all over the world, you now have a rare shared experience.

The Yak: Are you back on the road with the circus?

David: We are back as the Ambassadors of Laughter for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Cherie: We are traveling about a month ahead of the circus and going to schools, libraries and hospitals bringing free educational programs to the community; to kids that might not get to go to the circus; to hospitals where kids might not be having the best day and letting them forget reality for a while. We are going to be heading up to Kentucky… Pikeville… next we will be leaving Mobile Alabama. We are touring all over, we keep saying we are so lucky to have each other and lucky to have a great job entertaining people and bringing free community programs and lucky to have the opportunity to be on The Amazing Race. We do wish it could have been longer, we wish we could go back again, but we have been very lucky (David was agreeing as Cherie spoke), lucky that Dave survived cancer twice… just lucky people… We know how lucky and valuable life is.

The Yak: Any future plans to do any other reality shows?

Cherie: The dream was always The Amazing Race. Something we could do together and have the adventure of a lifetime and see the world. We have been traveling the country with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus for 12 years now and wanted to get out to see the world. TAR is the best reality show to us! It is not about fighting and politics, it is about yourself and how you are going to handle your challenges.
David: Yeah, overcoming obstacles.
Cherie: How you are going to handle the challenges and other people, foreign countries and things like that… so it was more about working as a team.

The Yak: Dave expressed interest in going to Japan and Cherie to Australia, any plans for either of those trips?

Both: Hopefully!
Cherie: One of the next dreams is to go to all the Disney Parks around the world.
David: …and do a little sightseeing in between.
Cherie: …and sightseeing the countries as well. There is no Disney in Australia but I still want to see it, it is suppose to be really beautiful. We slowly do our dreams in 10 year spurts; it took us 10 years to get into Ringling Brothers Circus.
David: Hopefully we will do the traveling a little sooner this time.
Cherie: Especially with the TAR dream coming true 10 years later, we always tell people don’t give up on your dreams, you need to make them happen; we will get to travel more. Hopefully we will be able to do another Amazing Race!

The Yak: Do you have children?

Cherie: We love children… everybody else’s.
David: Sugar them up and send them home!
Cherie: Entertain, make them happy then send them home. I would worry too much if I had my own children.

The Yak: I am sure that everyone else appreciates all the love you share with their children. whether they are your family or not.

Cherie: It is our honor and privilege to be able to do that. We feel so lucky to be able to make people laugh and forget reality for a while and have fun and do this for a living. We are just very lucky.
David: Very fortunate.

The Yak did ask if David and Cherie had any information on how to locate the programs or how to contact for possible visits from them. Information is available at http://www.ringling.com/ and Ringling also has a facebook page. David and Cherie report that they are generally in a town about 1 month before the circus arrives.

David and Cherie, thank you for sharing time with Yakkity Yaks; best of luck on all your future endeavors and a very Happy Anniversary!
David and Cherie signed off with a thank you and HONK HONK!!

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So what do you think? Disappointed to see the clowns have an early exit from The Race? Let us know below!

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The Amazing Race: Misa and Maiya Share Their Experience

Known for their now infamous elimination in the first leg of the Amazing Race, Misa & Maiya Tanaka have a lot to share about their short lived adventure on the Race. The Yak had the privilege of chatting with Misa & Maiya Tanaka this morning and to describe them as full of life is not descriptive enough! Read on to see what they had to say!

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The Yak: Well let’s just start with this… If you were offered the opportunity to do it again would you?

Misa & Maiya: Yes in a heartbeat we would. We wouldn’t even need to think twice about it. We obviously need redemption. We made history for being goof-balls not seeing Phil so definitely we need redemption we need to prove ourselves… one of the biggest mistakes in TAR history and Phil kind of let us know that when we got to the mat…
Maiya: He made me cry.
Misa: ..And I was just standing there angry.

The Yak: I cannot imagine how frustrating it is to know you were so close and that they saw you.

Misa: Oh yeah, it was completely frustrating just the fact that they were right there & Maiya and I were running through all the mazes and ran thru another vineyard before finally getting to Phil and then realizing that we were in the right place to begin with was just beyond frustrating.

The Yak: One of our twitter followers, @mralmondbread wanted to know if you would have left your bags instead of picking them up if that would have helped you?

Maiya: I don’t think that it would have helped us much but we definitely considered that, that was our point in not bringing our bags in the first place is that they did kind of weighed us down. That is why we didn’t bring our bags in the first place and so we were in last place we fully intended to leave our bags if it was that close and we had to sprint to the finish line.
Misa: We knew we had some time since we made great strides during the empanada making challenge & knew Danny & Joey were kind of struggling a little bit so we knew we had a few minutes enough to go grab our bags and come back out.

The Yak: Are you guys Big Brother fans?

Misa: I’ve seen Big Brother, saw a couple of episodes, but never saw Brendon and Rachel on so I had no idea who they were.
Maiya: We knew the concept and we definitely think it is one of the coolest shows. But we had no idea, it looked familiar to me and I think I did see her on it but the fact that they were on it was kind of a little surprise.

The Yak: Yes, a good surprise for Big Brother fans! How about Survivor, are either of you Survivor fans?

M&M: Yeah!
Maiya: I love Survivor. I would struggle with having to eat fish or catch my food and eat that for dinner but I definitely think Survivor is a great show.

The Yak: Any chance either of you will be applying for that?

M&M: [laugh]
Maiya: No, we’ll have to wait & see.
Misa: I don’t know how many goofs we could make of doing that… Survivor is a bit crazy. We have already learned it does take a lot and it is physically exhausting being on this race and the reason why we didn’t see Phil is we were so dehydrated and so frantic that we had tunnel vision.
Maiya: You know the one advantage we would have is not looking for Phil on a mat so I mean maybe we would be a little more successful!

The Yak: On your preshow interview you had both expressed interest in going to Japan. Is that an adventure you will take on your own?

Misa: Yes, definitely! I want to travel with Maiya again so going to Japan is something we are going to do hopefully sometime in the near future. We need to make it happen that is one our dreams to go there.
Maiya: Our family is from there. We were born in US, our dad at least, we are the 4th generation here so the fact is that it is kind of like a lost culture for us. Our grandparents can speak Japanese a little bit and our mom can a little bit. We definitely want to learn a little bit more about the culture and where we come from so we really, really wanted to go there.

The Yak: What was your favorite part of the leg you participated in?

Misa: My favorite part had to be skydiving. I’ve always wanted to skydive before… I just needed an extra push where I just had to do it, had to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but it was such an incredible experience to be able to see the view from up above and fly over Argentina. It was just incredible and you know what, my landing, I’m always going to remember that special moment my feet planted into home base.

The Yak: Any chance you will be dragging your sister up into a plane now?

Maiya: NO!
Misa: No, I don’t think she would do it. I would love for her to do it but she is afraid of heights.
Maiya: I am terrified of heights, there is no way I would have done that! We lucked out… that was the only lucky part we got! At least we did choose right in the fact that I was going to be the navigator and she was going to be the crazy one jumping out of a plane!

The Yak: Out of all the teams, are there any you would want to remain friends with?

M&M: [both agree] Yes we love all the teams!
Maiya: We socialized and talked to pretty much everyone on a regular basis and it’s such an experience that only a select few get to go through so we can all kind of relate to just being in that situation. We were all there at one point and it is just an amazing feeling to get to share with these people and we are really happy that we are friends with everyone.
Misa: Yes we are going to keep in touch with these people forever, they are like our extended family so just to be able to relate to that experience… no one ever knows what you exactly go through unless you are actually on the show, so we definitely formed a fast bond with the contestants and I look forward to getting to see them again. We’re going to keep in touch. We are looking forward to watching them and seeing what they go through now that we can call them up and give them a hard time too!

The Yak: How was it to watch the one another on the segment where you’re driving and then you’re skydiving… how was it to see your sisters’ take while you weren’t there?

Misa: For me watching Maiya getting stuck in the sand was so heartbreaking and I felt so sad for her. You know it’s funny, it’s one thing when you know what has happened based on what Maiya has explained to me but then watching it and what she went through, I could just picture myself and how sad she was and the amount of stress she went through being in that position (getting stuck in that sand) so I actually started tearing up watching her.
Maiya: For me it was easy to watch her jump out of a plane because that has been something she always wanted to do. I was really happy for her and almost elated to see her! I kind of got an adrenaline high getting to see her do something she always wanted to do and her little comment at the end of “Yeah we did it” was really cool! I was liking that part not so much when I was stuck in the sand.

The Yak: Maiya were your rescuers’ just local Argentineans’ that were there or was it someone sent from production to assist you?

Maiya: Once Phil says go you are on your own so it was definitely not anyone from production or the race. Basically I had to flag down people from Argentina and it was a huge team effort. The first guy I saw was a guy on a motorcycle who happened to have some rope but he spoke zero English, but he was able to understand me and my begging. I was like “por favor”… used a little bit of the Spanish I learned in high school and he understood me enough and I kind of knew what he was saying. He helped me flag down another car which ended up being too small to pull me out and snapped the rope in half, then we had to call in another car that happened to have steel wire with him… then eventually we flagged down a truck who was able to have enough horsepower to pull with the rope/steel wire combination to pull me out of the sand. So it was a team Argentina group effort there and I was just really… it was a blessing in disguise basically. Even though it was very unlucky I got stuck, I got to interact with the locals; I got to see the kindness of strangers and everyone was so willing to help me… even though you saw at the end that the guy was pulling my car out we ended up hitting his car with my car a little bit in the corner. It scratched his bumper and everything and kind of dented it in, but he didn’t really mind… and he knew we were in a hurry to get to the next check point I guess.

The Yak: We don’t see all that so we didn’t realize how traumatic an ordeal it was for you.

Maiya: Yeah it was a pretty lengthy ordeal but I wasn’t about to give up. They didn’t show the part where I was literally on my hands and knees placing rocks and whatever I could under the tire digging it out! I hadn’t had much experience in the desert sand besides the sand traps on the golf course you know. If I had my sand wedge I feel that I would have done a lot better getting out of it but I was out of my element for sure.

The Yak: You had an amazing come back from that! I am just so sorry you two were eliminated!

M&M: Thank you. We made up a lot of ground but it wasn’t meant to be in the end.

The Yak: Thank you so much for spending time with me today and good luck on all your future endeavors!

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So what do you think? Unhappy that they were eliminated first? Who are you rooting on to win? Let us know below!

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Choices, Coming to a TV Near You

Netflix has made some terrible mistakes in the past year. First it was the idea to separate the DVD service from the streaming (with a huge price hike), then the announcement they will be splitting out the DVD and streaming companies all together, then changing their mind on that, then relegating streaming users to only one stream at a time, then saying that it was an error on their end and they weren’t doing it, THEN actually (lately) rolling out the one stream at a time thing slowly without much fanfare thinking there would be less of an uproar that way. We reported on that last month here:  Netflix: N8107-154-5006 Back to One Stream at a Time.

Their loss is another companies gain. Apparently, Amazon is real close to cutting a deal with Viacom for their programming as well as offering a stand alone streaming subscription for customers without Amazon Prime. The announcement and program may come as early as this week. Amazon has already cut some deals with some other major TV providers such as  CBS Corp, Warner Bros, Fox, Sony Corp, NBC Universal and Walt Disney Co. Viacom is the last of their building block to offer the subscription service with likely more deals with networks to come.

Amazon, in addition to it’s Prime Video library (and soon to come subscription service) also has a rental library similar to iTunes already, which boasts some big name newer movies. The subscription service would round them out to be a huge player in the streaming world and most definitely provide the biggest competition to Netflix to date.

Verizon is also jumping into the streaming game. Just announced this week, Verizon will be teaming up with RedBox to offer streaming subscriptions for content as well. No word yet on what deals they have made with content providers. Verizon says they should be up and running with RedBox in the second half of this year.

What will Netflix do, if anything? Netflix has been on quite a bumpy road lately and appears to be making some very bad decisions, at least where customers are concerned. So bad that it almost seems as if they are trying to go out of business. Are they? Who knows. I will say for me, who has both Netflix and Amazon Prime as well as occasionally use Redbox, I am liking more choices stepping forward. Maybe we can have more deals floating around. Maybe Amazon will be able to offer their newer movie rentals for less… like the price of a RedBox rental perhaps? All the choices coming can only add up to a good thing for us consumers.

What do you think? Do you use Amazon Prime already? Do you like their service? Looking forward to more choices all around? Sound off below!

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The Yak’s Interview with Survivor Cast-Off’s Dawn and Whitney

The Yak had the opportunity to interview our last two Survivor castoffs this week. Both declare that they are huge fans of Survivor prior to being cast.

[singlepic id=689 w=200 h=150 float=left]Dawn Meehan is a 41-year-old mother of six adopted children from South Jordan, Utah.
She is an English professor at Brigham Young University. Her hobbies include swimming with her children, writing/blogging and baking bread. Another passion of Dawns for the last 11 years was to become a contestant on Survivor! Dawn was actually cast for the Nicaragua season but was cut just prior to filming. She is ecstatic that she was able to meet Jeff Probst and relishes her “Survivor experience”. Dawn admits that she was out of her element on day one. “I was overwhelmed! The sky is falling!” She laughs when thinking about how that first day went. She’s rightfully proud in her ability to shake that off and become an extremely strong competitor and Survivor!

[singlepic id=690 w=200 h=150 float=left]Whitney Duncan is a 27-year-old Country Western singer from Nashville, Tennessee. Her inspirations are Jesus and Elvis. “Jesus saved me and Elvis is the reason I started singing and performing.” Whitney was also set to star in the Nicaragua season ironically, however at the time she was under contract to Warner Brothers and it didn’t work out.

Another passion of Whitney’s is a tragic event that has happened to her family. In April of 2011 her beautiful, blonde 20-year-old cousin Hollie Bobo was abducted from her home in Tennessee and hasn’t been seen since. Whitney wants to bring this to light and wears a pink “Bring Hollie home” bracelet in honor of her missing cousin. Under scrutiny right now, Whitney says that she wants to keep her private life private however she was forthcoming with the information that prior to Survivor she was in an unhappy and unhealthy relationship. She definitely fell in love with Keith on Survivor and they are now a couple. “Who would have thought I would fall in love on Survivor?” she exclaimed. “We have a lot in common, we come from similar families and we have similar values. He’s just a great guy!”

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The Yak: What did you think about Cochran flipping on your Savaii tribe and being voted off?

Whitney: Cochran said it best. If the debt is not repaid it goes down as one of the most idiotic moves in Survivor history. Well, that’s how I saw it. I saw that it was not a smart move and he even admitted that he was humiliated. I really hate that Cochran was that gullible to believe Coach’s line of B.S honestly. We knew he was going 7th. I wasn’t shocked when his torch was snuffed.

The Yak: What was your strategy if the merge had resulted in Savaii taking out Upolu instead?

Whitney: Well the great thing, I think the whole tribe would agree that Ozzy would have gone sixth. For sure we would have had to get him out because of individual immunity and all that. You need to take out the biggest threats. In my mind it would have been Ozzy, Jim. Cochran was actually the perfect person. In my mind I had him going to final 3 with me. Of course because of individual immunity I didn’t think he would beat me. I had a great alliance with Dawn and with Keith and I felt very secure in that.

Dawn: Jim and Cochran would have been my final 3. I know since the show has aired Jim has laughingly said “I’m not going to take the Mormon mother of 6 adopted children to the end with me, but Jim and Cochran were definitely my final 3. The 3 of us trusted each other a great deal since day 11.

The Yak: Dawn, after Papa Bear was voted out who were you closest to?

Dawn: Oh, P Bear, you know for me I’m really close to Whitney throughout the whole game. I guess that’s not something we see a lot of (on the episodes). It doesn’t show that we have tension either. Again, I was really close to Whitney in the game, Jim, Cochran, and Keith. We all had a good relationship. I think “Sliding Rocks” typifies for me what the game was like for us. We all had a lot of mutual respect for each other. We all wanted to play the game hard. We were all in it for ourselves but we wanted to work with each other as much as we could for as long as we could.

The Yak: What is your honest opinion of Coach?

Dawn: You know I’ve had a hard time knowing how to explain what I think. You know I am impressed based on his day one reception from Upolu to see how he has been able to turn around his position in his tribe from day one, it’s remarkable. I mean his strategy, his ability to outwit when I’m around him, it seems so transparent. When we were in the game at the merge, I’m surprised that everyone is listening and following it. He’s so convincing and persuasive. I don’t think that anyone on Savaii would have been influenced by him outside of Cochran; he’s just so transparent. I think that’s why Christine and Mikayla left is because they weren’t buying it. I do think he’s doing a great job of playing the game though.

The Yak: Did you try to find any chink in the armor at Upolu prior to being voted out?

Dawn: Had we had Sophie we would have at the very least gotten rid of Edna. We had Cochran, we had Albert. The goal was Coach. To me that was the goal. Whitney and I tried to make the argument to Albert and Cochran that Coach is going to win this. A jury is going to vote for him.

Whitney: These people are smart people; I don’t understand how they don’t see this coming. It’s shocking! They were not bold enough to make that move.

The Yak: Dawn any regrets on not outing Cochran to your tribe?

Dawn: I did approach Ozzy and told him I thought Cochran might waffle. Ozzy talked to him for about 15 minutes and said he thought we were ok, that I was worrying too much. It didn’t make any sense for him to flip. I did have a good handle on how Cochran was thinking though.

The Yak: Dawn we did see you considering switching sides with Cochran, what changed your mind?

Dawn: One, I won immunity. By having immunity I didn’t have to draw a rock that night. There were better odds staying loyal to our tribe. The second reason though, I was approached with a final 3 or 4 scenario by Coach. I never felt like it was a genuine or legitimate offer. I felt like it was just what it was; a way to advance their game. It was frustrating for me to see Cochran believe Coach and I spent a lot of time trying to tell him, “There is no way! They are just using you.” But Cochran really believed Coach, so that was hard and frustrating for me.

The Yak: You’re both so tiny, were you surprised at your strength?

Dawn: Yeah!

Whitney: Dawn’s amazing. She pulled off that weight challenge. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I’m really proud of what we accomplished. I think we both played an impressive physical game.

Dawn: No question. This game makes you push beyond your limits. After a while you start thinking. Hey, why not me?

The Yak: Are you both looking forward to the reunion?

Whitney: Of course!
Dawn: Absolutely, it’s like family and we’re also excited to see the outcome!

The Yak: Do you consider yourselves bitter jury members? What will you base your vote on?

Whitney: Definitely not bitter. It’s who outwitted, outplayed in 39 days.
I took that job of giving someone a million dollars very seriously. I would never vote off emotion. It’s not about one aspect; it’s the overall best player.

Dawn: Personally for me it’s not bitter. For me it’s who outwitted, outplayed and outlasted in 39 days. I took that literally. Who best met the definition of sole Survivor.

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Join us in the Forum HERE for all things Survivor!

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Yak Exclusive: A Video Message from Survivor’s Gillian Larson about Bullying


Anti-Bullying week continues here at YakkityYaks where we have teamed up with past and present Reality TV Stars, our Forum members, and fans on Facebook and Twitter to bring an awareness to the anti-bully movement. Hopefully together, we can help put a stop to it, and help those currently stuck in the situation and in dire need of help or just someone to talk to.

Below is a video message from none other than Gillian Larson. You may remember Gillian from Survivor Gabon, the 17th season of the Survivor Reality series. Gillian is one of the most adventurous, tireless and tenacious women we have ever known, who has led her life always trying to help others. A retired nurse of 41 years, wife and grandmother, Gillian spends her time traveling and just hanging out with family and friends. Gillian’s motto? “Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything!” Heck, she applied for Survivor 15 times! How is that for being tenacious and believing in yourself! She certainly fits the bill as role-model!

She is currently participating in a 60 mile walk for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure this weekend! You can keep up with Gillian at her website HERE.

Listen to her video message below:
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The Yak’s Interview with CBS Survivor Jim Rice and Keith Tollefson

Today the Yak was double lucky to interview both Jim Rice and Keith Tolleson. In Wednesday’s episode they became Jurors #1 and #2 after being bested by Ozzy in the Redemption Island Challenge. Both Jim and Keiths evictions were basically at the hands of their former tribemate Cochran who flipped to Upolu tribe after the merge, leaving only devastation for Savaii tribe. There bios are listed below:

[singlepic id=682 w=280 h=200 float=left]Name (Age): Jim Rice (35)
Tribe Designation: Savaii
Current Residence: Denver
Occupation: Medical Marijuana Dispenser
Personal Claim to Fame: I’ve worked on Wall Street, won over 40 poker tournaments, started several successful businesses and earned my MBA at a top five school from the University of Michigan.
Inspiration in Life: My dad. The guy rocks and is responsible for who I am.
Hobbies: Playing guitar, playing poker and anything outdoors.
Pet Peeves: Close-mindedness and disingenuous people.
3 Words to Describe You: Ambitious, magnanimous and competitive.

[singlepic id=683 w=280 h=200 float=left]Name (Age): Keith Tollefson (26)
Tribe designation: Savaii
Current residence: Edina, Minn.
Occupation: Water Treatment Tech
Personal claim to fame: I graduated college and moved to Hawaii for two years because that was my dream.
Inspiration in Life: My mom. She raised me and my sister with little help and eventually bought a house for us after saving for years. She taught me how to be a gentleman even while I was causing trouble when I was young. She instilled great morals, values and love for all those around me.
Hobbies: Surfing, swimming and long-boarding.

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The Yak: Hi guys, thanks for speaking with us today. This question is for both of you. Looking back Jim do you think that you created a monster by saving Cochran and soliciting Keith and Whitney’s vote to blindside Elyse? Do you regret your decision?

Jim: The move to get rid of Elyse was a sound decision. Ozzy and Elyse were tight. Ozzy could have recruited Cochran and had the numbers, that’s why I chose to get rid of her. On Survivor all you know is what you know at the time, we thought of self preservation moving forward.

Keith: I tried to talk to Elyse about game and strategy. There was nothing there. Whitney also tried to talk to Elyse about the game and she got nothing back. That led us to believe that Elyse was talking game with only one person and that was Ozzy. You could even see it in one of her interviews. She stated that she and Ozzy’s strategy was the same. She basically had no concept of the game so we felt that it was our best bet.

The Yak: This is anti-bullying week and we at Yakkity Yaks want to know if you have any stories, quotes, or thoughts about bullying?

Jim: I find it interesting that it’s anti-bullying week. Yes I do have something to say about that. The theme of bullying comes up a lot in the context of Survivor. Upolu looked at Cochran and assumed that he’d been bullied by our Savaii tribe without even knowing. It bothers me that any one of us could be considered a bully. You saw how upset Whitney was at tribal council when she said we had been “villainized.” This upsets me.

Keith: Coach’s propoganda made us out to be bullies. This was a smart play by Coach. I considered Cochran a friend, well not anymore, lol. They showed no bullying on the show because there was never any bullying!. Cochrane himself said he flipped for self-preservation not because of any supposed bullying.

The Yak: Jim since you’re a fan of the show how do you feel about slamming Cochran by calling him a coward?

Jim: I actually despise name calling, it’s so immature you stupid idiot.. lol.
I meant it when I called him a coward. I think he made his decision based out of fear and to me that’s a coward. I think he deserved it.

The Yak: What’s Ozzy really like?

Keith: Ozzy is just a really nice guy. Very down to earth, a beast in challenges. We became very close friends. He’s a very regular guy. We had a pretty good time on Redemption Island together, we fished every day, had coconuts and fresh fruit.

Jim: He was a real nice regular guy. I was only at Redemption Island for one night.

The Yak: How did you view Coach?

Keith: From my basic knowledge he was running the show. He was making his presence known as the leader. He was saying if you don’t listen to me or do what I say there will be consequences. I was completely creeped out by Coach. The honor, integrity and the shoulder rubbing just creeped me out.

The Yak: Why do you think Cochran flipped at the merge?

Jim: As a team we should have made a bigger effort to solidify our team. We should have stressed that we were all sticking together. We had the advantage. We had two immunities AND an immunity idol. It makes no sense whatsoever that Cochran would want to flip. Cochran basically had the best spot in our tribe. He had a final 3 deal with every person on our tribe. As a fan Cochran should know that you can piss off one person and still get jury votes in the end. By flipping and screwing over 5 people it’s 100% lose. I just don’t see how you can flip if you’re playing for the end game. it’s amazing to see someone so smart, going to Harvard, do something so stupid.

*(ed note: Don’t think Cochran will get Keith or Jim’s vote. lol)

The Yak: Keith what did you think when you found out Jim’s true profession? (Medical marijuana dispenser)

Keith: (laughing) I was shocked that he lied about it! It actually made me like him more! It doesn’t really matter, Jim was a real hard worker. I thought “why didn’t you tell us???”

The Yak: Keith can you tell us about your relationship with Whitney?

Keith: We became very close. I can’t answer anymore questions because she’s still playing the game. Hopefully at the finale we can talk about more things and give everyone answers they want to know.

The Yak: Any thoughts about the final challenge against Ozzy?

Keith: Well we thought it was one person going home so to find out it was two, that caught me off guard. During an endurance challenge like that one mental lapse and you’re done!

Jim: As a fan of the show I knew many of the challenges that I hoped to compete in and many that I was hoping not to compete in. As soon as I saw it I realized it was one of the ones I was hoping against.

The Yak: If Jeff Probst called you and asked you to play Survivor again, would you?

Keith: I don’t know (laughing)

Jim: Anyone would love to play again. Who would say no? You get to take off and forget everything, go to a beautiful place and compete for a million dollars!!

To see more Keith and Jim go to CBS.com and view their time on the “Ponderosa”!
The Yak: Thanks so much guys. It was great talking to you, see you on finale night!!

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Can you tell you they will be voting for by their interviews? Let us know what you think below, then come on into the forum HERE where we are discussing all our favorite reality shows!

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The Yak’s Interview with Survivor’s Christine Shields

Today the Yak had the opportunity to interview Christine Shields Markoski, the 39 year old teacher and Mom from Merrick, NY. Christine valued her 19 days on Survivor although she spent the majority of it alone on Redemption Island. Christine’s fans have dubbed her a “warrior” due to her ability to win 5 straight duels before being ousted by Ozzy prior to the tribal merge. Christine was the first person to be voted out of her Upolu tribe.

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The Yak: Christine, congratulations on winning so many duels. You spent so much time on Redemption Island can you tell us how you handled that?

Christine: I tried to keep busy. I had a hard time for a while. I started thinking about my family; my husband, my children, so that was difficult. I sewed my clothes with fishing line. I fished and hunted for food. I journaled and wrote “Redemption Island Sucks!” out of seashells on the beach. (laughs). i picked fresh flowers every day to spruce things up.

The Yak: When Ozzy came to Redemption Island did you buy his story about Cochran and the idol?

Christine: Well yes, it was totally plausible. This is Survivor and being blindsided is nothing new to Ozzy. Who would be asked to be voted off to come to Redemption Island? From what the previous castaways had told me it didn’t surprise me about Cochran?

The Yak: After seeing what Cochran did, if you had beaten Ozzy in the duel would you have stayed with Upolu and would you have taken the chance of picking rocks at Tribal Council?

Christine: I think I would have stayed with Upolu for a little bit and then maybe switched. I wouldn’t be comfortable picking a rock to decide my fate after all that time I spent on Redemption Island.

The Yak: Did you have the opportunity to look for the idol when you knew you were a target in your tribe?

Christine: I did look for the idol as you could see it was unsuccessful, but yes, I did look for it.

The Yak: Do you think you made yourself an early target with Coach by calling him a temporary player:

Christine: I think he took that comment and ran with it. I was calling him out on all his baloney. He said, “she’s calling me lazy and I’m doing a disappearing act, etc.” Stacey and I didn’t listen to his stories. We were not enthralled by his stories.

The Yak: Christine if you hadn’t been voted off your tribe how would you have reacted to Coach’s mandatory prayers and being told to get on your knees.

Christine: It would not have been good. If Coach had grabbed my arm and told me to get on my knees and pray it would not have been a pretty sight! I find it extremely offensive! You do not ever tell anyone that they should pray or not pray!! No, that wouldn’t have happened. That would have been a problem!

The Yak: All of the castaways that we’ve interviewed have stated that they wanted you to win after spending time with you on Redemption Island. Do you have any favorites?

Christine: Oh that’s so nice. I learned something valuable with every single person. I respected and cared for everyone that came through Redemption Island. Of course, I have to say I had so much fun with Stacey. I told her I’m going to write a book called “Staceyisms”. We just laughed so much and drank our coconut milk. It was like having a slumber party. I love the stuff she comes up with like calling Coach “ChuckytheCheese!”

The Yak: Since you were so highly regarded by the others do you think that you would have had a shot at winning if you returned to the game?

Christine: I absolutely would have had a shot at winning. Each person that came through gave me snippets of information that was happening in their tribes so I really felt like I knew what was going on in both tribes.

The Yak: Would you ever see yourself being friends with Coach?

Christine: No, he was my biggest rival. If I had returned to the game he would still be my biggest rival. Everyone else there I respected as a human being. I found Coach arrogant and omnipotent. He acts like he’s King Farouk, like everyone should bow down to him. I don’t see us being BFF’s anytime soon.

The Yak: In one episode during a Redemption Island Duel it looked like you flipped the bird to an Upolu tribe member, Rick specifically. Did you?

Christine: (laughing) I did give someone the finger but it wasn’t Rick.

The Yak: Who did you flip off?

Christine: Jeff! (laughs) This is what happened. I had been on Redemption Island for some time so I missed my manicure appointment lol. My fingernails were really dirty. Jeff Probst made a comment that my fingernails were filthy so I put my middle finger up and said, “Which finger Jeff, this one?” So i basically flipped him off! When my kids watched it they said “Mom, you can’t do that!”. I said, “No, YOU can’t do that!”

The Yak: Jeff Probst said that you were becoming a legitimate force to be reckoned with at some point. You responded that you’ve always been a force to be reckoned with. Tell us about that.

Christine: I’ve always been a very strong personality. I don’t back down from challenges. I say what I think. My mother said she never had to worry about me being bullied or standing up for myself. I’ve always had self-confidence.

The Yak: Would you consider doing Survivor again?

Christine: Absolutely, I’d like to play the Social game this time.

The Yak: Are you going to call Coach “Coach” at the finale, or are you going to call him Benjamin?

Christine: (laughing) I think I’m going to call him “Benjie!”

The Yak: Why Benjie?

Christine: Because he will absolutely despise that name even worse than Benjamin! (laughing)

The Yak: Who do you want to win? Not Coach I imagine.

Christine: Actually if Coach won it would validate me. It would mean that he should have been a temporary player and one of us could have been sitting there.

I think Dawn, she’s strong and she’s a mom, we have that in common.
Or Cochran, he’s been hanging in there and going through a lot.

The Yak: Thank you Christine! You are definitely a force to be reckoned with and we look forward to seeing you again on Survivor! Many Survivor fans are pushing CBS for a season of castaways that got voted off before the merge.

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