THE RACE IS ON

Whew. The All Stars have already been racing for 2 weeks and I am just now getting to this. I think its worth the wait but I am biased towards myself. Eh. What can ya do?

I don't think I have to tell you I was very excited at the prospect of an All Star edition. I have been dreaming of this since I first saw the Race in Season 3. In fact I think I may have even brought it up in some of the interviews I did at that time. Not all of the teams I would have liked to see are in the mix, but I think overall its a good, competitive group.

This recap is going to be based on the first two weeks so it may be a little awkward, but then its all the more recap to love, isn't it?

1st - Rob & Amber - I thought it was really ironic that the Race started in Miami since Romber lost in Florida their first time out on the Race. I'm sure Rob thinks upon Little Havana kindly. You had to know they were going to come out with all guns blazing. Rob is one of the smartest, dirtiest players in the game. It will be very difficult for any team to beat them. I think the only thing you can hope for is what happened on the second leg where their plane got delayed. Even that didn't stop them from coming in first. They are a force to be reckoned with.

2nd - Oswald & Danny - After a while I think they'll get tired of finishing second to Romber. Even though I didn't watch their original season I can tell they're very competitive and smart. And they're fun which makes them likeable. They're definitely a team who is going to be at the top every leg unless something unforseen happens. Let's hope it doesn't though because I do enjoy watching them.

3rd - Joe & Bill - Obviously they are good racers. They finished 5th the first leg and 3rd the second. I think one of their advantages is that a lot of teams aren't going to focus on them as a team to beat. They're crafty like that. I don't know much about them either other than what I've seen on All Stars, but I have a feeling they'll stick around. And they have a totally cute dog!

4th - Eric & Danielle - I am so happy to see them back - together. Not that I didn't love Eric & Jeremy's antics because I so did. It's just interesting to see a different dynamic. I think it says a lot about their chances in this race that they weren't paired together before and they still managed to finish 4th two legs in a row. Honestly they could have been higher than that had Eric gone with his original instinct in the boardroom instead of questioning why he couldn't find an 'H'. I'll tell ya though Eric is SO much different with Danielle than with Jeremy. A complete 180.

5th - Uchenna & Joyce - Boy aren't Rob and Amber happy to see them. Hey, you gotta give them props. They won the Race fair and square. This time around they're kind of in the middle of the pack. They were 7th the first leg so there was improvement. It's surprising to hear that their relationship is kind of rocky now. That actually might hinder them as we already saw a hint of that when Joyce got passed up by pretty much everyone in the boardroom challenge. We'll see how they bounce back.

6th - Dustin & Kandice - Where they did really well the last season I think this time they're running into some problems. I don't know if its because they literally JUST raced or because they're going up against a lot of veteran teams this time. I've seen flashes of their brilliance, but for example the choice to tighten a whole bunch of bolts rather than do the forklift was a bad idea. If Amber could do it, just about any of them could except for maybe Charla & Mirna because it might actually be a physical impossibility. They could very easily come back especially in a situation where all the teams become even again which pretty much happens every leg.

7th - Teri & Ian - Eek. They dropped from 3rd to 7th. Bad break. I have a ton of respect for Teri & Ian. I wasn't a big fan theirs first time racing until I got to interview them and they are just awesome people. They're tough too as they certainly gave all of the teams a run for their money in their first shot. And Ian unintentionally pissing Flo off all the time was priceless. I'm glad they're back. Hoorah!

8th - Charla & Mirna - They're going nowhere fast. Between fighting with each other and getting preoccupied with other teams its not good. If things keep going this way they'll be gone within a week or two. I think they were asked back more because they're memorable and less because they're good racers. Maybe they can prove me wrong. I don't know.

9th - David & Mary - Ninth place twice is fine until you get to the next leg when only 8 teams advance. Not to be mean, but I don't know why they asked them back for All Stars. Nice isn't going to win you a cutthroat competition. They already made the mistake of trusting Charla & Mirna and they got burned. It was the exact same thing they did with Lyn & Karlyn the first time. They have to learn that when you're racing against people, especially THESE people, they are not your friends. You can make nicey nice after the race. And they should not have helped Charla and Mirna get their car out of the mud. Look where that got them.

10th - Kevin & Drew - They honestly should have been the first eliminated. Maybe could have given JV & Jill a little bit of a chance. It just never worked. There was more complaining than there was racing. I do give them props though for being willing to drive on a flat tire just to stay in the Race. It worked for one leg.

11th - Jon Vito & Jill - I was SO upset when they got eliminated. They commited the fatal sin of following someone who didn't know where they hell they were going and listening to people who didn't know what the hell they were talking about. I mean, its hard to know that until its too late, but I'd rather spend 20 minutes getting good directions than spending 2 hours driving in circles. So terribly sad. I really am rooting for them as a couple though because they are so cute together and I told them a long time ago they should get married. They really should.

As for those teams that did not make it to All Stars and I think would have been good candidates:

Ken & Gerard from Season 3
Aaron & Arianne from Season 3
Jon & Kris from Season 6
Hayden & Aaron from Season 6
Colin & Christie from Season 5
BJ & Tyler from Season 9
Tyler & James from Season 10

They were all very competitive teams and I like that quality.

I'll catch you next week.