Is it just me or are these teams still the nicest teams (with the exception of Lake) to ever run this Race? They all get along well while still maintaining the competitive edge needed to propel them to the final. Maybe Team Hippie's kindness is wearing off on all? Whatever the reason, I'm loving it! Even Lake is getting a bit more tolerable lately (I'm sure he'll go ahead and ruin it next week). Anyway, all the nice teams left at their respective departure times and opened their clues to find that they had to drive 135 miles to Catania, Sicily and find the Antiteatro Romano to get their next clue. Team Hippie was first out the gate with Team Slacker close behind. Nothing too noteworthy here, except for Team Slacker's comment that even when they get ahead of Team Hippie it's no fun because the happy hippies just smile as they follow along behind them. Lake thought that Phil shorted him two dollars, but thanks to Michelle, he soon realized that he needed to check the rest of the envelope. Once at the Antiteatro Romano, Team Hippie learned
that it didn't open until 8:30 a.m., so the ever resourceful team decided to create a makeshift sign-up list that would determine the next day's order. Team Slacker almost fell for it, even though the list was on crumbled, torn paper. It seems the word "official" threw them off. The funniest part of this little tactic was the way that Team Hippie was pretending to speak for Team Slacker, and everything they said was exactly what the two frat boys were saying! Classic! Now, I have to root for Team Hippie. See, their happiness is spreading through TV screens now! Man these two are infectious. Moving along, the two teams were so far ahead of the others that they were the only two at Antiteatro Romano when it opened the next morning. Once inside, they learned that they would need to count the statue heads on the fence posts that surrounded the amphitheater. Once they had the total, they would have to find the groundskeeper and give him the correct number to receive their next clue. I was really excited because I thought this was going to be one of those classic Amazing Race challenges that seems really easy, but turns out to be hard. You know the kind, teams count some random item, tell the appropriate dude, only to find that their counting is off, so they have to go recount. But alas, this was as easy as it sounded, and both teams quickly completed it and received their next clue, which happened to be a Detour: Big Fish or Little Fish. In Big Fish, teams had to walk to a local outdoor market and find a certain vendor who would give each team member a 32-pound swordfish. They then had to carry the fish 1/3 of a mile to another vendor to receive their next clue. In Little Fish, teams had to travel to the same market and sell four kilos of a small fish (Selling Detours are NEVER the way to go on this show!). Both teams wisely chose Big Fish, and despite being covered in fish juice, easily completed the task. They learned that they would need to drive 40 miles to Siracusa to find their next clue. Both teams took off for the destination.Meanwhile, the rest of the teams soon discovered the advantage that the earlier teams had - no traffic. It seems that Catania is a city of 400,000 people and according to Lake, they were all driving on the roads he needed to drive on at the same time. Team Nerds got more and more frustrated as Fran/Barry got more and more lost (I know, par for the course). Team MoJo seemed to navigate through the mess much easier than the other teams and quickly reached Antiteatro Romano. They began counting the heads, but Mo came up with 41 (the correct number) and Jo came up with 40, luckily for them, Jo decided that Mo must be right and they received their next clue with Fran/Barry in
hot pursuit (thanks to Fran's assertion that the groundskeeper must be on the ground). MoJo chose Big Fish (which was a BIG mistake for them), while Fran/Barry chose Little Fish. Things started out well for MoJo, but Monica's stress issues coupled with her frustration soon took over and she became a crying mess. The team got more and more frustrated as they couldn't find the right vendor. Meanwhile, Fran/Barry began selling their fish, but business was a little slow. It started to pick up a bit, adding to MoJo's frustration. Finally, MoJo found the vendor, got their clue, and began making their way to Siracusa. Monica was very upset about the fish guts all over her white tank top. Fran/Barry finished selling their 4 kilos, and they too were on their way to Siracusa. Meanwhile, Lake/Michelle reached Antiteatro Romano and quickly completed the counting task. At the Detour, the team chose Big Fish and easily delivered the 32-pound fish thanks to Michelle's 3-year old (she said that she could carry the fish because she was used to carrying her 3-year old). Lake/Michelle took off for Siracusa, but Lake wanted to pay a taxi driver to navigate them out of the crowded streets of Catania. Michelle tried to tell him that she knew the way and they would see a sign, but he was insistent (as usual). Luckily, he saw the sign right in front of his face and the two were on their way. Ray/Yolanda and Team Nerds finally reached Antiteatro Romano and quickly completed the counting task. Both teams chose Big Fish, and neither seemed to have much difficulty with it. They, too, were finally on their way to Siracusa.
Team Slacker reached Siracusa first, and encountered this leg's Roadblock. This task required one team member to play kayak polo and score a goal. Jeremy opted for the challenge, but started off a bit shaky when he bumped into another player's kayak. Soon enough, he scored the goal and Team Slacker opened their clue to learn that they would need to travel by foot to the next Pit Stop. Team Hippie wasn't far behind as they completed the Roadblock and began the search for the Pit Stop. In the end, Team Slacker reached the mat first, with Team Hippie not too far behind. Back at the Roadblock, Fran/Barry arrived before Team MoJo, but Barry struggled to score the goal. Team MoJo arrived and Jo made easy work of the task, 
allowing the dating couple to once again pull ahead of Fran/Barry. Barry didn't struggle for too much longer, though, and the married couple soon completed the task and made their way to the Pit Stop. Meanwhile, Lake/Michelle reached the Roadblock, and Michelle decided that she needed to complete the task for once. She struggled to make the score, and Lake got frustrated on the sidelines (Can you even imagine this guy at his kids' sporting events? How many times do you think the refs have to eject him?). Michelle pointed out that the task wasn't as easy as it looked. She finally scored, and Lake gave us one of his usual displays of overexcitement. Then, the team opened their clue to find that they needed to travel by foot, which excited Lake so much that he couldn't contain it. He yelled out a "Whoo-hoo!" and threw his arm in the air. So, where does that leave us? That's right, Russia - bad. On foot - good. The "World According to Lake" is a very bizarre place. My laughter over his excitement soon subsided, though, because the greatest thing to ever happen on The Amazing Race happened. They cut to a shot of Phil waiting at the Pit Stop in true Phil style. There was a band playing and suddenly... wait for it... Phil danced!!! That's right, he was doing a little jig that will now be known forever as the PhilJig. His little arms were swinging and his legs were ahoppin' - there just aren't words to express the sheer awesomeness of this moment, so you're just going to have to trust me. Back at the race (which I couldn't pay much attention to after the PhilJig), Ray/Yolanda reached the Roadblock and Ray stumbled a bit as he tipped his kayak, but the miscue was short lived and the team made their way to the Pit Stop. Team Nerds got through the task and weren't far behind Ray/Yolanda, but it wasn't enough to beat them. Team Nerds came in last and were eliminated from the race. But, at least we got the PhilJig - we'll always have the PhilJig!What did you think of last night's episode? Were you bummed about Team Nerds? Drop me a comment with your thoughts. And be sure to tune in later today for the regular edition jam-packed with thoughts on Veronica Mars and Lost. Plus, the Idol and Model moments and all the latest television news!
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