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Showing posts with label #DCBlog #MTVReality #AreYouTheOne #AYTO #RealWorld #TheRealWorld #TheChallenge #RealityTV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #DCBlog #MTVReality #AreYouTheOne #AYTO #RealWorld #TheRealWorld #TheChallenge #RealityTV. Show all posts
In our ten years Inside MTV Reality, we have seen plenty of couples around this wide world of this part of the reality TV world -- and chances are they have gone the way of many others outside this cable bubble: just another afterthought after an almost inevitable breakup. But if things are going good in any one's relationship, then they can last forever... and there are plenty of them here.
If you have watched the entire run of the Teen Mom franchise dating back to the original 16 & Pregnant series thirteen years ago next month, then you can appreciate the longevity of Catelynn & Tyler. If you're a Real World fan dating back from when it began thirty years ago this coming week, you'll be happy to know that there are those like Judd & Pam and Sean & Rachel who are still together as we all watch the New Orleans Homecoming. And for a show we've seen from day 1, there's Amber & Ethan from the first season of Are You The One?, MTV's first entry into modern reality dating television.
It was on AYTO that we first met Kam Williams when she came onto Season 5, and a year later she went onto The Challenge leading the current generation of female competitors and notching several finals appearances. And after she was part of the only group of singles to go home broke in that love house, it was on a Challenge that she would ultimately meet her perfect match: one of the show's most-respected players who started on MTV when Las Vegas welcomed Real World a second time a decade ago. Leroy Garrett always stayed calm, cool and collected with the occasional laugh in the heat of the battle... and despite walking away without a ring, he still remains one of its most beloved players.
Collectively, Kam and Leroy have been on seventeen Challenges, and the last four they were on together -- making the final together on both War of the Worlds II and Double Agents. But it has been after she placed second and in the money in Europe last year that the best time of their lives awaited them... and the course of the past half-year they have now not one, but those two signs that we're all getting up there in both age and wanting to move into the real world outside reality TV.
In many of our ExtraTime posts over the years, we've featured the times where MTV Reality and music have collided -- most recently when a former teen pop star who once hung out with a New Orleans Queen of The Challenge finally won a Grammy this winter. A few years ago, we told two stories of how two musical groups from different genres used guest cameos to boost their profiles before eventually taking over the charts.
This latest tale of a music act appearing on an MTV Reality series doesn't involve an emerging artist getting their big break towards getting global recognition, but is a story that was lost in time and took until a return of two of its members to The Challenge a few years ago for us to dust off this story. As this flashback is being posted, it has been a decade & a half since one of the most-notable albums of the 21st century, which was released by one of the co-subjects of this post.
Here - and unlike Yellowcard, LMFAO and a then-unknown Lady Gaga who had Lauren and Whiten work on her stage outfit on a 2008 episode of The Hills, the artists featured here were more well known at the time than their later counterparts in the pop, rock and dance genres. This was before they released two albums in one that propelled them into the mainstream and brought the South to the forefront of hip-hop. And the cast who share top-billing on the marquee would ultimately produce four Challenge champions, including the only Challenger ever to win four straight titles.
When you have a renowned cast of a past and pioneering MTV Reality series get to perform in front of a group that was ready to become the biggest stars in the world, then you have the story of when OutKast Invaded Road Rules.
Two items to share with you here in between tonight's finale of Are You The One? - which we'll be covering here over the weekend, and tomorrow night's War of the Worlds 2 Challenge...
Last week saw the latest instance of what is one of those sacred Cardinal rules in the current Challenge constitution: do something bad or suspicious in front of TJ Lavin, and you'll be crucified by both him and likely by social media. We will not make mention of all of those who he has come down hard in all these years on the show, but last week had the latest moment of people p'ing off TJ like the dad scolding the son who didn't take out the garbage.
It was before they went into their second straight elimination battle that the Brits had that they got to stay up well late into the night like they're with Kyle and his fellow Geordie Shore ragers. There, Faith Stowers - who we saw on Ex On The Beach and Final Reckoning last year - got into an argument with Kyle and Bear after she was woken up at 3AM in the morning. But there's more to why she was woken up by the Brits, and what happened next, where as she told Us Weekly, she and a number of other Challengers were affected by, "a bacterial infection in our lungs," and saw everyone cough so much that she almost threw up, like so many of us including me who couldn't get through a night's sleep because they were sick... Wes included.
It was after calls by the Americans to not disturb the peace that Faith took a page out of Josh's Big Brother playbook with some pots and pans, more arguing and finally going to bed... only to be woken up by production to ask her what happened. Needless to say, this was not a normal night for Faith, as she went off into the night before Georgia's elimination win. But as it turns out, Faith used this unfortunate moment to spin this news the right way to something that sees her join some company in both the MTV Reality world and the wider reality TV genre... and the show she started on.
Google "Vanderpump Rules" now, and you'll find plenty of gossip and items on all the personalities who work in the most famous restaurant in all of West Hollywood. This includes this summer's wedding of Jax Taylor & Brittany Cartwright, and the engagement weeks later by Stassi Schroeder. But as that show heads towards premiering a new season come the holidays, this very fact is something that's hard to believe for those in Pump Rules land: except for the boss lady herself, Lisa Vanderpump, no one presently on the cast or who have appeared on the show in the past are parents. That changed just after last week's Challenge episode aired with the following Instagram reveal.
With that caption in announcing, "I’m excited to start this new Chapter in my life with my heart ❤️ and best friend! 💕," Faith announced that had become pregnant with her first baby and with her boyfriend as she added, "At the end of the day this is all I live for. God bless all of you!" And with this, she becomes the first present cast member or past alum of Vanderpump Rules to ascend to the role of mom/dad, beating the show's big stars including Scheana, among others to parenthood.
Instead of people going off on her for quitting the show - and in a week that also saw Zahida also leave to tend to a death in her family, reaction to Faith's pregnancy announcement echoed what happened earlier this summer to Amanda and Hunter: nothing but congrats from everyone - fans & reality people alike. This included someone who, last month, became a mom for the second time in Kayla Sessler of Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant who wrote, "Congratulations !!❤️❤️ so excited for you !😘" And Faith can look to those who are (and will become) parents for advice on how to handle the next big chapter in her life that comes in the new year, including Da'Vonne who wrote, "🗣OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m crying !!!! I’m so excited for you !!!"
Two years ago saw one of the most shocking moments we've ever had in recent MTV Reality history: the 10th & last matchup on Are You The One? Season 5. We'll spare the details of that chaotic night here, but in the wake of what happened there in the Dominican Republic, things have turned to be fine for them. Kam has become a Challenge staple, Derrick H. has taken his talents to many other MTV shows (including one new one this fall), Taylor has found love with Ex On The Beach single Cory (and have joined Cheyenne on Teen Mom OG) and so has Ozzy with Season 7's Nutsa; Gianna & Hayden are parents to a 1-year-old boy, Casandra was on a Bachelor show last year, and Edward appeared in the Magic Mike-inspired docu-film This Ones For the Ladies. And with her on season 3, Shannon has followed Mr. Chocolate, Tay, Andre and Alicia to EOTB... with maybe more ahead.
Another person who was on the first cast to not score their matches and win the jackpot was Carolina Duarte, a Brazilian native from Seattle when we met her two years ago in the Caribbean. Until now, Carolina had bad luck in love: her match Hayden stole her money on the Second Chances spinoff that followed Season 5, then she had a few months' romance with Keith from Season 6 that ended badly.
But third times the charm this time: a year ago, she fell in love with Cam Bruckman, the tall Coloradan from Season 4, who didn't figure much into the drama of that season there in Hawaii. And a week ago today came the biggest news of all.
With that moment in Telluride, CO - a bit a ways from Denver, Cam & Carolina got engaged when they went into the countryside, up to the base of a waterfall and the moment that changed both of their lives. She's the second member of her cast to sport an engagement ring after fellow alum Kathryn Palmer said "I do" earlier this year.. and he's the third member of his season 4 class to also make a successful proposal, joining two fellow power couples - Stephen & Julia of his cast, and Tori Deal & her man in Challenger Jordan Wiseley. He wrote on Instagram, "On Tuesday, I asked my best friend and partner in crime to marry me and she said YES! I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you @carooduartee You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am so proud to get to show you off for the rest of our lives."
She captioned, "24 years is how old you are, 7 diamonds are on this ring, and this waterfall is 365 feet, that how I’ll love you 24/7 365 days a year. “ I can’t even begin to describe how much I LOVE THIS MAN! He completely swept me off my feet and I couldn’t be more happy. I was beyond shocked this day but I could be more sure of my decision to say YES! I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with you baby! I can’t believe you really want to put up with my crazy ass the rest of your life 🤪 thank you for loving me for who I am and making me a better version of myself! I AM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU CAMERON CHASE BRUCKMAN!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" Likewise, the Team MTV's reaction to their engagement was filled with love... even the one who stole her money in Australia was nothing but classy as Hayden wrote, "Congratulations to you two!!! This is awesome!"
Our congrats go out to Faith, to Carolina & Cam, and the many of those we have not mentioned as of yet who have announced new news on babies, engagements and the like that's too many to mention, but that we feel proud of them and send our well wishes as their next chapters now await.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of the sensitivity and the recent controversy surrounding the subject being featured here, comments have been turned off for this post.
It's now the month of September, and for those in television land this is the time where the cycle begins all over again: the 2019-20 broadcast year and the fall television season begin this month as the biggest shows on broadcast network television return along with the debut of many new series. The folks in cable land and in the streaming sphere have had a few months' headstart on their free-to-all counterparts with plenty of new shows and seasons.
This Monday, the syndicated shows will get a headstart on their season, with one of those shows getting to welcome three familiar faces to MTV viewers... and we'll elaborate much more on that when it comes around. And for reality fans, in two weeks from now is what is regarded by many as the biggest night in the entire genre: the doubleheader of the season premiere of season 39 of Survivor and the finale of season 21 of Big Brother. And before that, this coming week sees the season finales of both Bachelor in Paradise and Are You The One?.
September also means that the annual celebration of the past twelve months in television will soon take place, when the 71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are handed out on Sunday, Sept. 22nd, just a few days before the official start of the network television year. Last year's Emmys marked a milestone in LGBT community's continued progression in their representation and acceptance on mainstream TV: RuPaul's Drag Race on VH1 added more statuettes to its awards case including the show's host winning the award for Outstanding Reality Host.
But just as impressive was it being given their Emmy on-stage by the Fab Five of Netflix's revival of Queer Eye, which itself also won three awards of their own in Outstanding Structured Reality Program and two others at the 2018 gala. This year, it's up for that Outstanding Structured Reality Program honor again, along with four other Emmy nominations. And Drag Race is up for fourteen statuettes, all part of a summer that's seen AYTO, The Real World Atlanta and Ex On The Beach fully embrace the LGBT community.
In the summer of 2001, the world was introduced to a clique of car hijackers in Los Angeles, and the journey an undercover cop had to discover and expose them in this paradise for those who love the automobile. It marked the green flag for the global phenomenon known as The Fast and the Furious, which made stars of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and everyone who's had a role in the nearly two-decade long series of action films which brought to the fore the world of illegal street racing, which has since become a big deal in cities around the world and in the U.S. on a given weekend's late night.
After focusing on this underground world that keeps both drivers and authorities alike on their toes in its earlier years, Fast & Furious expanded to feature heists and spies along the way, culminating in the most recent installment of the series, 2017's The Fate of the Furious. And there was also the tragedy that proceeded the franchise's seventh film, when a Thanksgiving weekend 2013 car crash in L.A. claimed Walker's life at the midway mark of filming. Production was momentarily postponed and the film's release was delayed in the aftermath as everyone grieved at his sudden death, which saw Paul's character Brian O'Conner being written out in what became Furious 7, which debuted to record numbers at the box office in spring 2015.
The Fast & Furious franchise has garnered over $5 billion in gross theater revenue in becoming Universal Pictures' biggest film series and the 10th highest-grossing movie franchise ever, with two final flicks planned in the coming 30 months with the ninth installment currently in production and slated for dropping in April of 2020. And it has expanded to include an animated web TV series, live shows, top attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando, numerous other media, and additional films both of the shorter and spin-off variety, for which the first of the two based on this mega franchise drops in theaters this weekend.
Shortly after Furious 7, Vin Diesel first mentioned possible movies being in development featuring characters from the series in their own parallel universe. The first of them is Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which sees the one & only Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their respective characters of Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. For years, they've been on opposite sides of a rivalry, but this time they are forced to come together to combat a bigger threat facing them and the world. And in theaters in America and worldwide, the Fast & Furious fandom are getting together once again as the attention turns back to London for this first spin-off film, a special attraction ahead of next spring's release of Fast 9.
As is always the case for these kinds of summer blockbusters that gets brings you to the edge of your seat at your hometown movieplex, action movies require plenty of work of those on both sides of the camera to create the thrilling stunts we come to expect from the movies we love. Filmmakers make sure that their creative vision is realized in every component of the process right down to the most minute of details, including bringing their ideas for thrilling stunts are brought to life in a grand way that gets everyone talking -- at least not socially.
Stunts are defined by Wikipedia as "an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill," and where it's become a part of not just action films and TV shows, but also theaters, the circus and elsewhere. They range from special effects of the early years, to the now ubiquitous usage of computer-generated imagery, to the hundreds of those in Hollywood employed to be stunt performers and stunt doubles. And there are companies in this industry which specialize in servicing this important part of any multi-million summer action blockbuster's skyrocketing budgets.
In 2001, the world of blockbuster movie stunts and reality TV first got together for a memorable years-long honeymoon called Fear Factor. Sure, there's those gross-out contests that defined both iterations of the series with Joe Rogan on the original and the recent MTV version with Ludacris... but it's the last challenge of any episode of the series where the contestants must face their biggest fears yet if they want a cut of the cash that goes to those who survive the test. And those who produce MTV's The Challenge were so much inspired by what happened there, they employ their own team of stunt personnel to test things out before the likes of Johnny Bananas, Cara Maria and friends do what they do best in front of TJ Lavin and all of us.
In the run-up to Hobbs & Shaw, Universal Pictures and the leading behind-the-scenes company in the world of action design, 87Eleven, invited several leading women to join them to try out their talents being stunt doubles for a day. The invitees included model & Instagram icons Jena Flumes and Brandi Marie King, backup dancer turned rising pop star Montana Tucker, artist Jody Steel, YouTube'rs Emily Mei and Mari Takahashi, and fitness guru Iulia Danilova. And two others who got the precious invite are two of those who we are familiar with as multi-season veterans of The Challenge and where their MTV journeys began earlier in this decade.
Eight years ago during the endless summer of Southern California, Connecticut model and all-around sweet girl next door Ashley Kelsey was filming her season of The Real World San Diego. She became attracted to a then long-haired Michigan country boy Zach Nichols, which continued for some time after leaving Surf City and before splitting up years before a Barbie from the Bronx finally became the one who tamed this giant. And like him, Ashley also became a Challenge champion when they, Frank and Sam won Battle of the Seasons as rookies back in fall 2012... and after taking a hiatus Ashley returned as part of the Champs team with the ex on Invasion of the Champions in 2017 and Champs vs. Pros afterwards before a gig serving as a boxing ring lady came her way.
A year before Ashley K.'s Challenge return, Tori Deal came to Are You The One? Season 4, where this one-time intern who interviewed hip-hop's best first made a name for herself with her rap battle that led to the famous "Third Eye" mic-drop moment. Her being a perfect match that season to a guy who looks almost a bit like Barbie's beau Ken started a love journey that went from Morgan on AYTO4 to Season 3 alum Magic Mike, then to Derrick H. from Season 5, and finally to her current boyfriend in two-time champion Jordan Wiseley. And if saw her putting on a Hulk Hogan costume at a deliberation on her Champs vs. Stars season or when she joined fellow AYTO alums to prank call new rookie singles, then you know Tori is one who doesn't take herself too seriously.
Ashley and Tori got together with those other invited guests and specialists from 87Eleven as they got to practice some of the same stunts that The Rock, Statham (who looks like one of those I talked to in a past Forum post here) and others got to do in Hobbs and Shaw. Tori captioned on Instagram @Tori_Deal, "I can’t wait to see the new @hobbsandshaw in theatres! I’m going to practice this fight sequence on anyone who wants this smoke while I watch it Hahahahah! Thank you so much Universal for this amazing experience!" And Ashley wrote on IG @AshleyMarieKelsey, "Now this was such a cool experience! Thank you @universalpictures for having me, getting to learn from the best in the business was an experience I’ll never forget! You guys made my first time doing anything like this so fun and getting to throw around a bunch of men all day, my new favorite thing to do!"
Tonight marks the climax of the Awards Season, as the movie industry caps off a stretch that began in November, seen many important awards and honors take place - including several in the past few days, and culminates tonight with the Academy Awards - the Oscars, at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. After coming seemingly out of nowhere to dominate the Golden Globes - typical for a movie that doesn't garner as much buzz mainstream-wise like a summer blockbuster, La La Land is expected to dominate tonight after receiving the most nominations. Awards shows are always one of my favorite events, as it always brings together the best in any field under one roof for one night.
Two weekends ago saw music's best gather for Music's Biggest Night, as Los Angeles welcomed the best musicians on this planet for the Grammy Awards. Of course, Adele added to her growing legend in snaring five awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Album for 25 (which she felt the first one should've gone to Beyonce for Lemonade and broke off a piece of the award for her), and Record & Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance for "Hello," for which she also performed that song to open this year's Grammys. Chance the Rapper won three awards including Best New Artist and two of the four rap awards - Drake took the other two in that field, while David Bowie was posthumously honored with four awards, and Beyonce & sister Solange took the stage and won awards too. Other key winners included Twenty One Pilots, The Chainsmokers, Pentatonix, Justin Timberlake, Megadeth and The Beatles.
Among those in town to rep Team MTV that week included three members of the Real World Bad Blood house and two of the lone members of their cast to go straight to Thailand for The Challenge Invasion in Anika, Theo and Jordan, who we featured hanging out with Giovanni of last year's AYTO season and the upcoming All-Stars Challenge not long ago. And also joining them for Grammys week was the co-subject of our look at the horror film Habit, AYTO alum Brittany. And when they were all partying in the same Avalon Hollywood nightclub that night, they ran into a very important - or infamous - person in the town where dreams come true.
Over a decade & a half ago, Perez Hilton graduated from New York University with nothing to do and nothing planned in his post-college life, and tried anything from becoming an actor to working for GLAAD and serving as a freelance writer covering New York City's LGBT scene. But one day, this son of two Cuban immigrants from Miami would ultimately find his calling in something we know very well here - the art of blogging. He has become known for looking for those juicy pieces of gossip, both written and visual, that has made his web site, PerezHilton.com, the guilty pleasure of many of those who just love the celebrity culture. But unlike our site, he and his site have often been targets because of his relentless persona, having brought out of the closet a number of celebrities who are gay or lesbian, and Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and one-time BFF Lady Gaga, among others, having brought him to court for over-covering them in a mostly negative light.
Despite his tainted reputation in Hollywood and in this world of celebrities, Brittany, Anika and Jordan all got to meet Perez when they spotted him at Avalon during Grammys week, for which their photo here above. Brittany captioned, "Perez Hilton and a some of my pretty #MTV family ❤, great meeting u! keep shining 🙃⭐," for which the blogger responded with a couple kissing emojis and Anika added a couple purple heart emojis, too.
Ask the MTV Challenge fandom about who had the most successful 2018, and they'll give you varying answers. Maybe it could be the two ladies who took all the $1.5 million from the two Challenge seasons that went down last year in Cara Maria on Vendettas and Ashley M. on Final Reckoning. Maybe, it's Tony for him continuing on that torrid run with a finals berth, winning Champs vs. Stars II and scoring an engagement. Perhaps, it's his partner Bananas for him taking his talents to hosting 1st Look TV, The Miz in hosting CvS and having his own reality show, or Cory for appearing on two Challenges, Ex On The Beach and Teen Mom. But it's likely that you might overlook a person who, fifteen years ago, came to The Real World Philadelphia house as reality TV's first African-American gay man, and who has become one of the most-successful alumni in the franchise's history. After doing that season, a Challenge and an Are You The One? spinoff -- achieving a triple crown of doing shows relating to all three jewels of what we call the MTV Trifecta, Karamo Brown has become a bigger name in the pop culture landscape in the past twelve months, and it didn't involve him with doing something with MTV.
A year ago, Karamo joined Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Booby Berk and Jonathan Van Ness as the new "Fab Five" on Netflix's revival of Queer Eye. Karamo serves as culture and lifestyle expert while the others focus in on food & wine, fashion, design and grooming, as they continued the proud tradition of the original Bravo series of the same name of over a decade ago. Queer Eye scored three Emmy Awards including Outstanding Structured Reality Program, all part of a historic night that saw them present one of the many awards to another LGBT pioneer, RuPaul's Drag Race.
Along with that, Karamo was honored by the Human Rights Campaign with their Visibility Award, and took the stage at March For Our Lives weekend in Washington, D.C. when he shared his personal link to last year's school shootings in Florida: a friend of his was one of the victims killed in that Valentine's Day tragedy at Parkland High School, Brown's alma mater. He also joined with the Creative Coalition to lobby Capitol Hill for increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and got to meet President Obama. And last May, Karamo became engaged to his longtime partner, director Ian Brown.
Also last year, a cable channel that began as The Nashville Network and then became The National Network and Spike TV evolved once again... this time as the Paramount Network: Viacom's first dive into premium-style programming. It's the home of one of last year's most-talked about dramas in Kevin Costner's Yellowstone, Younger with How Far is Tatttoo Far? co-host Nico Tortorella, and screened documentaries on Treyvon Martin and Paul Walker. But it didn't mess with Spike's biggest content: Cops, Bar Rescue, Ink Master, Bellator MMA, and a show that turned an often negative part of the music industry into a viral sensation.
For a place that once hosted country music programming before CMT took over, Lip Sync Battle has become most-popular series in the long history of the network. The series concept may have been first conceived in the '80s, but Jimmy Fallon brought that idea into the streaming & iPod age to create a celebrity version of it, which became a staple of his Late Night talk show before he took over The Tonight Show. The idea is simple: two A-list celebrities facing off in a lip syncing battle of chart hits and classics over two rounds, and the winner being determined by an audience vote, gaining the LSB championship belt and bragging rights.
Jimmy and creators of Lip Sync Battle, Stephen Merchant and John Krasinski, pitched their show to NBC and their cable suite, but after the Peacock passed on the idea it found a home at Spike, as it was going through another rebranding. The rest is history: with over 2 million viewers an episode, it became the network's most-watched series, and it helped to relaunch Paramount Network a year ago this past week with a live episode from the home of the Oscars, the Dolby Theater. Digitally, the LSB YouTube channel has amassed over 600 million views by its 2.7 million followers, and it has also become an global sensation being franchised in 16 overseas countries, plus a kid-friendly spinoff on Nickelodeon.
The show is hosted by LL Cool J and Crissy Teigan, and those who've performed on LSB reads like a who's who: John Legend, The Rock, Emily Blunt, Mike Tyson, Queen Latifah, Justin Bieber, Deion Sanders, Iggy Azalea, Swaggy P. Nick Young, Eva Longoria, Jason DeRulo, Snoop Dogg, Chris Paul, Shaq, Wilmer Valderrama, Laverne Cox, Jay Leno, Ray Lewis, Sarah Hyland, Ricky Martin, Nicole Richie, Zendaya, David Spade, Fifth Harmony, Tara Lipinski & Johnny Weir, Pentatonix, Rob Schneider, Luis Fonzi, Charli XCX, Rita Ora and Pete Davison. Lip Sync Battle is only part of the latest revival of TV music programming: American Idol returned last year to try & regain the buzz from the one show that overtook it years ago in The Voice; the new buzz hit of the moment in The Masked Singer on FOX, and the other big musical staple of late night, the similar must-see Carpool Karaoke on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Last week, Lip Sync Battle kicked off its fifth season by welcoming back Karamo into the Viacom fold for one night along with the rest of his Queer Eye Fab Five. The group gave ode to two divas: they performed to Britney Spears' "Oops I Did It Again" including her famous red cat suit, and did their very best to bring us back to last April and Beyonce's internet-breaking performance at Coachella. In case you missed it, the Queer Eye Five's performances are below for your enjoyment, along with the guys preparing for the big night and post-performance analysis.
February is a busy month for sports fans: of course two weeks ago the New England Patriots pulled off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, by a mile, in stunning the Atlanta Falcons in Houston. This weekend is the NBA All-Star Game, taking place in New Orleans this year on short notice after a controversial state law forced the events out of Charlotte. NASCAR's Daytona 500 is not that far away, and we've also had college basketball, Australian Open tennis, All-Star Games and much more. And the 2018 Olympics begin in 51 weeks from now - evidence being Bob Costas passing his NBC host duties to Mike Tirico, the World Alpine Championships, and an Olympic hopeful, snowboarder Maddie Mastro, giving me an Instagram follow while in Korea for test events ahead of next year's Games. Along with the launch of this Challenge, this offers the backdrop for this piece of ExtraTime, where the person in focus has met a few well-known athletic luminaries.
When we met Ty Ruff on Real World D.C. back in 2010, he came to the District straight out of college. Having being abandoned by his biological parents, Ty was moved around all over Baltimore in foster homes before being adopted at age 5, eventually growing up in a neighborhood he compares to one seen on HBO's The Wire. Being one who relies on just himself, Ty considers himself smart, handsome, athletic, opinionated, funny, and tempered sometimes.
In the house in DuPont Circle, he became close to Emily shortly after moving in and they had an attraction that stayed throughout the season, which challenged the both of them emotionally and physically. He also pushed a Denver cartoonist famous for wearing panda hats in the house, Andrew, off the balcony by the side of their house, and sending him to the hospital. Then, Ty emerged onto The Challenge on Cutthroat where, not surprisingly, he got into words with Gulag master Brandon, which saw them get paired up on Rivals I. There, Ty was also the target of a fight that took place on the first night where Back to Vegas' Adam R. threw a punch at him which sent the bad boy (and now, new dad) home. Then on the first Exes, he got close to Challenge stalwart Paula causing a riff with Emily, but he overcame that to win 3 eliminations en route to a 3rd place finish. And on Rivals III, Ty & Leroy were recipients of a win by a DQ, then lost a close battle to Jordan & J-Deezy Marlon.
Since Ty moved out from the cold of Connecticut to the sunny climate of SoCal, he has had the opportunity to meet three notable people, all having played on the biggest stage in their various sports and also having done broadcast work as well. And you can't ask for a better first subject in offering these photos from his rarely-used Twitter, @The_Ty_Ruff.
● First, the aforementioned NBA All-Star Weekend is taking place this weekend, which again was planned for Charlotte until North Carolina's HB2 law intervened. In 1991 in that city, Charles Barkley had one of his best days of his NBA career when he received the Most Valuable Player award. Sir Charles enjoyed a stellar career as a member of the renowned 1984 draft class along with Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton and Hakeem Olajuwon, all of whom (along with Brazilian basketball legend Oscar Schmidt) would join him in the Basketball Hall of Fame and wore the USA colors at the Olympics - the first three as part of the '92 Dream Team. And though he's never tasted an NBA title, Barkley's shining moment has been of spending over 15 years with Kenny Smith and host Ernie Johnson on Inside the NBA on TNT. And few years ago, Ty met with Chuck at one of those events when the legend wasn't in Atlanta alongside them and Shaquille O'Neal.
● Second, another Hall of Famer who's transitioned to television is Michael Strahan. The NFL player was drafted by the New York Giants in 1993 and in the salary-cap era was one of a handful of players to spend his entire career with one team. Few defensive ends in the league had the kind of dominance Strahan had during his career, being named Defensive Player of the Year three times either in the entire league or in the NFC, and considered by many the gold standard at his defensive end position. Strahan would stick around long enough to receive a Super Bowl ring when the Giants upset the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in 2008 where had a sack and two tackles in what turned out to be his last game, with having the all-time career and single season sack records. And shortly after, he would join the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show, followed by a stint as co-host on Live with Kelly Ripa and on Good Morning America. Ty also met with Michael too.
● Finally, as Strahan was a constant for Big Blue, a quarterback from Syracuse was emerging to become the face of their bitter NFC East rivals. Donovan McNabb played in the NFL for 13 seasons, and was picked by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1999 NFL Draft, becoming their starting quarterback. Under his wing, the Birds won five NFC East titles, went to five NFC title games, and stood strong in Super Bowl XXXIX in stretching the defending champion Patriots to the limit. McNabb became the club's all-time leader in all major passing categories and his career total rushing of just under 3,500 total yards is sixth all-time among QB's when being forced to rush rather than pass. After stints with in Washington and Minnesota after injuries derailed his career, McNabb turned to broadcasting, first with NFL Network, then with FOX, and now with beIN Sports' and ESPN Radio. And like Sir Charles and Michael, Donovan has also met Ty, also.
In what has been a time of welcoming back veterans we've not seen on our screens in many years, back during Invasion earlier this year we caught up with one of those pioneers who, 20 years ago, was a newcomer as a roommate inside the firehouse that was home to The Real World Boston. Well now, you can add two additional people to that list of those Syrus Yarborough has gotten to meet. And he got to share both of those pictures on his Instagram just this past week.
It was during this month 30 years ago when boxer "Iron" Mike Tyson took a bold step in his journey to become the most feared man on the face of the earth. After narrowing missing a 1984 Olympics berth, he began his pro career on a tear in knocking out just about every man that faced him. In late 1986, he ascended to becoming the youngest man to win a heavyweight championship, and by August 1987 he would don all three recognized title belts in the division. He would then save his greatest masterpiece for the following summer when he knocked out Michael Spinks in only 91 seconds to gain the legitimate, lineal heavyweight title… but that would turn out to be the peak of his powers. A failed marriage with Robin Givens, legal troubles and life in the public limelight would ultimately catch on to him, and after his shock KO loss to Buster Douglas in 1990 he was never the same boxer he once was. His 1992 arrest for a rape charge, that bite of Evander Holyfield's ear five years later, and everything else he went through epitomized Iron Mike's downfall from grace. But then again, who else can say that he was part of both a golden heavyweight era and The Hangover trilogy?
Syrus had the opportunity to see the legend in person earlier this week and captioned on Instagram below, "#Boxing #Legend chillin in #VIP on stage w/ Mike Tyson getting it in. Membership has its privileges #Certified #Boss Just another day at the office."
And it was 25 years ago that basketball was the talk of the town for two special reasons. The Dream Team was no doubt the biggest story of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as the likes of Magic, Michael, Bird and a cast of the NBA's best brought hoops to the forefront of the world sporting scene at its greatest event. A month earlier, a new world order was set as a man from LSU was drafted #1 in the NBA Draft: Shaquille O'Nealstarted his career near Disney World for the Orlando Magic in becoming one of the NBA's most dominant players. Then after being part of the '96 Olympic team, Shaq made his way cross country to Disneyland in becoming a face of the Lakers and setting the stage for that team's resurgence once Kobe Bryant was drafted shortly after. Despite the duo's very public feud in playing for a franchise that epitomizes the L.A. way of being famous and well-known, the Lakers won three straight NBA titles. He would later made his way to Miami to play for the Heat, where he teamed with new star Dwayne Wade to bring the NBA title to South Beach, part of a career that included many MVP awards, a Rookie of the Year honor, All-Star selections and other accolades too many to mention. And along with many other honors, he now has a seat at TNT's Inside The NBA desk alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, Jr.
At the same Rehab pool party where Real World and Challenge alum Jonna did her thing as did the Back to Vegas cast, Syrus got to meet the Big Diesel and captioned, "Walked off the stage w/ Shaq. Backstage Pic wit my crew #WorkAtion #GoodLife #WorkHardPlayHarder." Just a reminder, the NBA campaign begins in exactly less than two months from now.
