DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - The $500,000 Finale

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

It was back during one particular lost summer that a fan made a bold suggestion that would once again move the needle for the one reality competition show you love. Well, here we are two years later and fans of MTV's The Challenge have much more to talk about as -- right after we've gotten to witness history in the making in Los Angeles and before we head to Beijing -- we are about to wrap up another cycle of covering the fifth major pro sport with Season 2 of The Challenge: All-Stars on Paramount+.

When we left the action in Cancun, Mexico a few days ago on here, it was the final week of the regular season with the last regular challenge and elimination -- which at this site we refer to alternatively as "semifinal week." Having won in the arena the previous week, Melinda & Nehemiah really had nothing to compete for and had already claimed their spot in the final... but in a daily game where the teams had to solve a puzzle while aboard a moving truck they came away with the win, which set the stage for who was arguably the strongest pair of this season, Brad & Jodi, to go voted in. In the end, the Cutthroat champ and Duel I winner lost in that last arena... setting the stage for a final where anyone can win.

For the players who did make it to the end, they are all worthy of being finalists: Darrell has the unique status of winning those four titles in his first four seasons and won Season 1 of the Champs vs. Stars trilogy, while Janelle beat the rest of her Key West mates to victory lane on Inferno III. Jonna has the experience of having ascended to the top on Discovery's Endurance many years ago but this is her first trip to a final, while MJ has come here to win. Teck & Ayanna might be considered the bettor's choice to be eliminated first, but we have seen stranger things before on this show. And Nehemiah knows that feeling well considering what happened the last time he contested a Challenge in Mexico, and he would love nothing more than take the W... though his partner is the sentimental favorite for many after what happened to Melinda before coming here.

One final test awaits the final eight as they will take on the jungle in Yucatan as they battle each other and the stifling heat, as they will be pushed to their limits on a physical, mental and emotional level as they race all the way to the end. And after the break, it's the finale of Season 2 of All-Stars on the 2021 season finale of the DCBLOG MTV Reality SocialPulse... and thanks for joining us this Super Sunday...

Summer of Sports Winter Edition: My Olympic Obsession

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Last year -- just as it was in 2015, DCBLOG devoted a series of posts to covering the world of sports to coincide with last summer's pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympic Games. In addition to covering the finale of Season 2 of MTV's The Challenge All-Stars this weekend -- during this month of February and continuing into the month of March as well, we're offering a special Winter Edition of "Summer of Sports" to cover not only the ongoing Beijing Winter Olympics, but also Super Bowl LVI which takes place this weekend in Los Angeles following the expanded 17-game NFL regular season and historic conference playoffs, as well as the traditional slate of big sports events of the year's first quarter.

If you know me from the social sphere, then it's likely that you know that I have four principal passions of mine: MTV reality TV shows, music, Las Vegas and sports. And on the topic of the ladder, the consequences of the past couple years has been able to produce a packed schedule of sporting events: more overlap among the four major sports leagues, international soccer, golf and so much more.

But if you've been following me on @DC408Dxtr in the past seven months or so, then you know that the main event is ongoing... and it's the one event than I look forward to more than any other: the Olympic Games. What we're seeing right now is taking place in a shorter turnaround than it has been in three decades: two Olympics being held within the space of a calendar year -- once the norm when both the Summer and Winter Games were held in the same year until a '90s scheduling change separated them and have made the Olympics a more frequent happening taking place every two years.

For this sports fan who loves so many of the kinds of sports that don't get the mainstream exposure, Olympics time means that I get to become a super-fan whenever the calendar hits summer or winter in an even-numbered year -- or in this case, last July 20th followed by February 2nd over a week ago. Whatever the case -- and aside from few exceptions like working on this blog and getting sleep, over the past decade or so I have altered my schedule for the one and only thing that I consider getting to binge watch when I go into full Olympic mode. Both Tokyo and Beijing represent the latest installment of this obsession I have with the world's greatest sporting spectacle.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - Semifinal Week

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Hello again everyone... we've now into the month of February, which as we described on here is a dream month for those who love competition. But before this blogger gets consumed by Olympic fever for the second time in six months as well as a Super Bowl matchup nobody expected over a month ago, DCBLOG has this business to take care of: covering the homestretch of Season 2 of The Challenge All-Stars -- and in turn a Challenge cycle that began when the flame in Tokyo went out back in August.

Last we brought you to Cancun on here a week ago last week (and after returning from a detour to edit my 2021 Vegas vlogs), the game had become to get a little bit serious in the teams being set in stone before Nehemiah's Palace alliance and Brad & the rest of the house took off for a challenge on monster trucks. But weeks after what we saw with Ayanna and Leah in that first elimination, there was a heartbreaking moment in the arena that didn't involve players competing against one another: a talk back home with her fiancé revealed that Casey had been competing while pregnant and had to withdraw, similar to what we saw with Michelle and Natalie last year and Melissa the year before that.

For all intents and purposes on this page, this site refers to the last week of the regular season on any Challenge season as "semifinal week," regardless of whether it's the normal show or a spinoff such as this. As we return to Mexico, it is no different as this game is reaching the starting line of the final, as the Stars take to the tarmac once again to undo complicated puzzles aboard a moving semi-wheeler. One team is already into the final by way of winning the last arena, but could they give a full 110% to put a leg up on the rest of the competition? And could what happens in the house and another having a sore back dent their hopes on making it to the end?

After the break, it's the 'Pulse of Semifinal Week on The Challenge All-Stars, and thanks for joining us...

DC ExtraTime: Finally Reunited on Winter Break - A Trans-Pacific Match is Together Again

 FOLLOW-UP  Love Knows No Borders: 

A Fight to Reunite in a Pandemic (May '21)

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

This week marks the start of an epic sporting stretch that rivals the twenty-plus times that America's four major leagues have played regular season games on the same day, or that May Saturday in 2015 when the NBA, NHL, baseball and the NFL Draft shared the stage with horse racing, boxing and many other big events. Today (February 2nd), mixed doubles curling begins the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China two days before the Opening Ceremony, followed in two weeks by Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles between the hometown Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. Add the Daytona 500, All-Star Games, Royal Rumble, golf, college hoops, soccer and more -- and February is a sports fan's dream month.

In Australia, last weekend was championship weekend of the biggest annual international sporting event to take place in that sports-mad country. The Australian Open, tennis' first grand slam of the year, culminated down under in the capital of the nation's sporting obsession of Melbourne, where Ashleigh Barty became the first Aussie woman to win the crown at home since the late '70s, and Rafael Nadal winning his record 21st major title to surpass longtime rival Roger Federer. But before the first ball, the action was overshadowed off the court by the circus surrounding defending men's champ Novak Djokovic when he was deported for refusing to get a shot, and Peng Shuai's ongoing dispute with the Chinese government in the latest high-profile episode of #MeToo.

The situation involving Djokovic and the Australian government is the latest story that's put the world's only island continent in the spotlight... and as those on Capitol Hill start planning their midterm strategy, this spring will see Australians head to the polls for a generation-defining election. As it will be later this fall here, the events of the past few years will act as a referendum on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government. And it's with this backdrop that we offer a follow-up to a story that's been affected in a way by the goings-on in the national capital of Canberra, and one that now has its happy ending. Here, a multi-national couple separated by thousands of miles by not only a pandemic, but also politics that prevented them from a moment they never thought they would have just months ago: an MTV reality alum and his overseas girlfriend finally being reunited.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - "(You Drive Me) Crazy"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

We welcome you back here on this Sunday, January 30th, which means we get to join Challenge Nation in saying Happy Birthday to Challenge legend Abram Boise on his 39th birthday. That manic who calls Montana home was born on the same day as a Super Bowl taking place back in 1983 when Washington defeated Miami in Los Angeles, and we've just witnessed the two combatants for this year's Lombardi Trophy being decided in the Rams and the Bengals -- also taking place in SoCal... and now we bring this night to an end with the 'Pulse of Week 8 of The Challenge: All-Stars 2.

Back on Friday on here, we resumed covering the Paramount+ spinoff with the game getting serious and key men on two alliances realizing that money is a bigger thing, as Nehemiah's Palace alliance and Brad's group are on opposite ends. They and the rest of the players took to the skies for a Mad Max mission that saw them tackle the same kind of challenge that we've been seeing on the main show itself. But a zoom conversation that she had back home with her fiancé in Texas revealed that life can be bigger - and Casey's prognosis of being pregnant forced her and Cohutta to head home.

Whenever the amount of players are getting down to just a handful in the house, then we know this is gonna get more testy... and the one sign that the final is nearing is when TJ Lavin gives the players a test worthy enough to determine who really is in it. As we return to Cancun, the Stars are embarking on a mini-final that will see the teams -- now paired up with one another for the rest of the season -- put their partnerships to the test... and whoever comes away with being power team will be in a strong position to perhaps pull off a power move. And if you thought you've seen everything on All-Stars, then a familiar scenario of an odd plate of food could prove to be fatal to one team's chances.

After the break, we bring this weekend to an end with the 'Pulse of Episode 8 of All-Stars 2, and we'll also delve into future plans for this coming month from yours truly. Thanks for joining us...

DC ExtraTime: Someone You Should Know - The Bad Boys of TikTok

*** NOTE: Due of the subjective nature of the subjects of this story -- and as part of an effort to promote a negativity-free zone across all of my social channels, DCBLOG has disabled the comments section at the bottom of this article. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Estimated Reading Time: 16 Mins.

Over the part of the ten years this DCBLOG site has been running, this ExtraTime series has afforded us the chance to introduce everyone to some amazing people who the stars of the MTV reality shows we cover here get to mingle with around this world of ours. And a frequent subject of this series has been of social media stars and influencers, including a pair of brothers who have been in the news quite a bit.

On several occasions on here we have focused our lens on the Paul brothers, who take on the status of being without any question the biggest and most scrutinized pair of siblings in all of YouTube. Logan got to take on Floyd Mayweather in the ring last year, and who recently admitted to having been forged out of $3.5 million for a shoebox which he thought were full of valuable Pokémon cards -- only to find that it was not the case. Not long ago, the older Paul brother was aboard the same L.A.-bound plane from London as the only one of The Challenge's British Invasion to take the crown back to the Isles when he shared that long flight to California with one-time exotic dancer Rogan O'Connor.

The younger half of this dynamic duo is Jake Paul, who a few years ago found himself on an MTV show -- but one that didn't air on the linear channel itself. In 2019, he had his big and much-publicized wedding night that crowned his now-infamous showmance with Tana Mongeau chronicled for the first generation of MTV's No Filter series on its YouTube channel. A year prior, Jake invited MTV king Cory Wharton's girlfriend -- Are You The One and Ex On The Beach alum Taylor Selfridge -- to play a viral YouTube challenge to be the last one standing in a frozen pool for $10,000, and she won. And shortly after, Jake scored his perfect match in another alum of an MTV reality dating show: Julia Rose of Season 4 during her battle for social media freedom from the World Series to the Hollywood sign.

Last month, the world of fight sports once again focused their eyes on the Paul brothers as the younger half took to the boxing ring for his latest battle as Julia watched from ringside. But as it turned out, the focus on that last December 18th night in Florida were on another pair of social media stars who found themselves center stage, and who are our focus of this latest installment of Someone You Should Know: The Bad Boys of TikTok.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge All-Stars 2 - "Save The Palace"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Welcome back everyone... as this blogger has been concentrating his efforts on crafting my Vegas vlogs in the past month, it has been a long time since we have covered MTV's The Challenge All-Stars Season 2 on here. We do want to apologize to those who've been expecting blog coverage of it here, but the time I've put into videos and other things have diverted those plans... but the good news, we plan on wrapping up our Challenge cycle here this weekend.

Last we left covering the Paramount+ spinoff on here -- which was back on Christmas Eve Eve before a bout with pinkeye took me out of commission for a bit, the second half of All-Stars kicked off with the one sign that things are getting serious: TJ Lavin deciding to throw a twist at the players to start the season's second half. A scary challenge that combined heights and sea became too tough for the most beloved of the All-Stars on its two seasons to handle when Kendal got injured... and it led to just a men-only arena elimination that saw Latterian take down Tyler.

Now as we finally get to rejoin things in Mexico, the game is about to get into the heads of the remaining Stars here, and that includes two friends who got to share a moment comparing their hair but who now find themselves on opposite alliances that has divided the house. To think that this game is just another spinoff with the daily challenges being truncated a bit is not the case as the Stars tackle an adrenaline-pumping mission that will see them harness their own Mad Max. But if what we saw to begin this season in what happened with Ayanna helping out Leah after winning that first arena was something, then get that tissue box ready for a secret that proves that things are bigger than this show.

After the break, DCBLOG resumes our coverage of The Challenge: All-Stars with the Pulse of Week 7 of Season 2 that takes place on Christmas... and there's something else here too. Welcome on back...

DC SocialPulse - The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies - The Reunion

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Instagram @KCSince1987

We at DCBLOG are in the last stretch of covering a year in the world of The MTV Challenge that started with an episode of Season 36 that gave us relief on a most surreal Wednesday. And here we are more than a full year later as we now get to wrap up covering 2021 in this world where, in between, we've seen two full regular seasons and two full spinoff seasons. The ladder of those will be the focus of the rest of this wave of posts, and we'll be covering all of that here a bit later on here.

For the first of this last wave of posts covering the fifth major pro sport, it was back in August that Season 37 of Spies, Lies & Allies began. Without getting to elaborate on all transpired between then and the holidays, it was quite a mish-mash. But the last time we talked to you on Challenge matters was on Christmas: that was when we covered the finale. The eight who made it to the end -- CT, Devin, Emy, Kaycee, Kyle, Nany, Nelson and Tori -- earned their way into the season's last act, and they were split into two teams for the first half of the two-day final before being paired up one more time as they were tested in every aspect of this game... but it was what happened at the start of day 2 that brought out the feels: the lovers were split up during a heartbreaking double elimination. In the end, it was Kaycee who won that battle and proved that you don't have to make a lot of noise and still be victorious: she won that final in the company of CT, who now becomes a five-time champion.

All that is left to do is for the champions, the runners-up and other members of this cast to join up one more time, both in-person and virtually, for the season-ending reunion. One who is a veteran of all of these discussions, Maria Menounos, is serving as our moderator once again as she will help to debrief everything that went down in Croatia -- from Nany & Kaycee's relationship to the game and everything else. And after the break, we bring you -- in an embedded style -- our final DCBLOG Challenge SocialPulse of Season 37: the reunion, along with the big news involving a reigning queen & king who are about to become parents. And welcome to the weekend... and welcome back Inside MTV Reality.