DC ExtraTime: AYTO'ers Turned Anchors

Reposted from 'Pulse - AYTO Season 4 Finale, which was posted earlier this evening.

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

The fields of broadcast journalism and sports TV production are something I've long been fascinated with - not surprising given how much of it I watch both in and outside the MTV and sports worlds; we'll be looking as aspects of those in my fall series of posts in between Trifecta cycles. For two members of the Are You The One? alumni who have money now, they have something in common: they have prior experience of doing things on camera before they were put on a reality TV show with money and love on the line.

   Before she was cast on Season 4 of this romantic experiment, Alyssa went to Illinois State University outside of Chicago. And in between looking for guys on her campus she was busy pursuing stories for the local newscast on her college's in-house TV station and it being seen on local PEG cable channels in the nation's 3rd largest media market. She also anchored newscasts as well, honing her craft of reporting news in this suburb of the City of the Big Shoulders.

   About now, the back to school shelves at your local store will soon be shifted over to Halloween stuff with candy, costumes and the like for the big night that comes on Monday, October 31. One of the stories Alyssa reported during her year in the journalism program was going to a synagogue where for one day, it turned into a ghost investigation site as residents came to learn more about the church and whether it's haunted or not. Check that out below, along with her anchor reel.

Well, Alyssa will have someone to look up to when it comes to transitioning from on a nationally shown reality TV show to being a local name. When we met Kayla Lusby on Season 1 two years ago, she was that southern girl who had graduated from Ole Miss -- alma mater of fellow MTV alums Dunbar (RW Sydney) and Layton (AYTO S2) -- and had a toxic relationship with her athlete boyfriend. But she's remembered mainly for what happened late that season when she confessed to Amber about kissing who would ultimately be her husband, Ethan, and getting scolded by the perfect match and the house turning on her. Kayla was also at the heart of a love triangle between her, Colorado guy Ryan and Arizona crush Wes, where the truth booth settled the triangle with the lasers eventually siding with her and Wes as the house's 3rd perfect match.

   It's true that she wasn't the most well-liked person in the mansion in Kauai, but Kayla has definitely found her calling in something she's most passionate about in liking being on camera. Before being cast, she did a DJ shift at Ole Miss' campus radio station, did a project for ESPN-U and interned at TV newsrooms in Memphis and Nashville. That experience, along with a short stint in Phoenix radio, ultimately landed Kayla a job at the NBC/FOX duopoly in Monroe, LA and El Dorado, AR - the Arklamiss as the locals call it. Plus, this is the 137th ranked TV market which serves a large viewing area of northeastern Louisiana, southern Arkansas and western Mississippi.
   By week like many others in the business, she's a general assignment reporter gathering stories for the various newscasts during the day. But since this isn't New Orleans or any other big city, she doubles as a video journalist in shooting video in addition to writing stories and doing on-camera reporting. Yes, Kayla does more of the work you'd find in small market TV, unlike what you'd find in the big cities. But by weekend, she is behind the anchor desk, where after doing some substitute work Kayla became weekend anchor at KTVE back in May. And of course, this past month her newscasts were sandwiched in between NBC's Olympic coverage.
   Below is Kayla's demo reel with a compilation of her work from before she was cast on AYTO.

- I AM DC

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? Season 4 - The Finale (MEGA)

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 

and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long 

length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

Well, here we are at the end of a gripping 12 months following the thing this site covers best: the MTV Trifecta. This is the season finale of DC SocialPulse on this VMA Sunday, and ahead: from betrayals to blackouts - analysis and a full recap of the summer in the two competition shows of this triple crown. And this includes the last act of a season that featured plenty of drama in paradise.

   On Week 8 of the show over three weeks ago, the exes came to town to help dish some juicy info about the singles. Giovanni put everyone on edge when he chose Stephen's girl Julia as a plan to turn the game upside down, but were put into the truth booth which proved costly to the house as they seem to have wasted a truth booth when they most needed it. And to make matters worse, the group got gut checked late when they suffered a blackout in their 8th matchup to lose $250,000.

   The next week: a double shot to wrap up the season. First, as the house tries to recover from the blackout they try whatever they can to strategize a win. But it's when a rap battle takes place that old conflicts decide to reemerge and boils over to divide the house when a fight takes place which leads to shock and to tears. And then in hour two, with the house regaining the momentum they lost after the good start, they face the reality of going home either with money or not, and Asaf finds himself at the heart of the matter in deciding whether to follow his heart or going with the rest of the house.
   As we speak to you days after the biggest day of the MTV year, this post is coming to you a bit later than planned due to both the Rio Olympics and giving you worldwide fans the chance to watch this last act and then head over here for the reaction. But thanks to all of your for your patience...ahead, all of the action, reaction and interaction of the finale and the week that was of what is the last edition of the 'Pulse of this cycle. And if you stick around for ExtraTime, what does this cast have to do with ghost stories? We'll have that and a common link between members of the Season's 4 and 1 casts.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

A rap battle, a big fight, and one last chance to get it all right. Join us for the season finale of the 'Pulse covering the season finale of Season 4 of Are You The One?... coming up.

DC GAMES '16: Hoops International

A DCBLOG Sports Special

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

For basketball fans, this summer of 2016 has been the most interesting offseason in the Association in recent memory...one that began on Father's Day with a Game 7 for the Ages in an all-time NBA Finals. That night, the Golden State Warriors, 73-9 in the regular season, played for survival on their home court in Oakland after squandering a 3-1 lead over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. A man who came home to Northeast Ohio years after being scolded by them for leaving for Miami, delivered an all-time performance and turned into an immortal in his hometown as the Cavs became the first road team to win an NBA Finals Game 7 in almost four decades, and the biggest major postseason comeback in American sports since the Red Sox twelve years earlier.
   It's after this loss that the Warriors looked to rebound from this monumental collapse by making the biggest power move you can make, and successfully landed the pride and joy of an entire heartland in Kevin Durant. Afterwards, a tsunami of free agency activity ensued: Dwayne Wade returned to his roots in Chicago, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah reunited in New York, Pau Gasol went to San Antonio as the Spurs began the post-Tim Duncan era, Dwight Howard headed over to the Hawks, Jeremy Lin brought Linsanity back to the Big Apple to Brooklyn, and Harrison Barnes & Andrew Bogut joined Dirk in Dallas.

And if the countdown to the 2016-17 NBA campaign couldn't get even more amped up as you can possibly get, there's also the fact that this is an Olympic year, and that the many of the best of the best would be spending a summer not relaxing after a long season, but committing themselves to playing for country than city, and playing for the right to be true world champions...as Olympic gold medalists in basketball. Same for the women in them taking a month off of WNBA play to enjoy the strongest visibility that their niche following of women's professional sports can get in a four year period, a year after the U.S. Women's National Team became a pop culture phenomenon.
   Basketball is an American-made sport invented by a Canadian, but has gone on to become the most international of the four major U.S. sports: the NBA is watched avidly by fans on all six continents, for which each of them have solid national teams that don't always get a chance to compete together as much as other major team sports. But when you look at the game played at the Olympics, and the one we all know and love here, there's some numerous differences. And there's also a proud history of players representing the U.S. in Olympic and international play as well.

DC GAMES '16: The Team Of A Generation

A DCBLOG Sports Special

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

On Wednesday, August 3rd, competition kicked off at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the action began - as it always does in the summer games - with the first group stage matches in the women's and men's soccer competitions - two days before the Opening Ceremony officially began the Olympiad. These Games have been anticipated for some time, but after a slew of controversies taking place in the lead-up to this first week of August the attention has turned, as they should be for the next two & a half weeks, on the athletes and the moments they're bringing us from Brazil. So far, the focus has been mainly on them and we've had plenty of great moments with more to come.

   The past three years, American soccer fans have been inundated with the very best "the beautiful game" has to offer as the sport has risen in the world's largest sports market. The 2014 FIFA World Cup attracted record attention here as once again the U.S. followed the fortunes of the Men's National Team in record numbers in Brazil. This year, Copa América Centenario brought top level men's international soccer to these shores for the first time since the '94 World Cup, and overseas there was UEFA EURO 2016 where Christiano Ronaldo and Portugal win the title and capped off a summer that also saw him and Real Madrid capture the Champions League. And as its new season begins, the Premier League has grown in stature in America with NBC's unparalleled commitment to England's pastime and Leicester City winning the EPL title in true underdog fashion.

   But above all else, the biggest story in American soccer, has been the Women's National Team. For one month in June and July of last year, sports fans once again became enthralled in a sport that until the '90s has not thrived in a country grown on a different sports agenda, but this time it was a team that became a pop culture phenomenon. And in a 16-minute span, they went to another level as the United States women won the FIFA Women's World Cup for an unprecedented third time. It would become the defining moment of American soccer in the last 25 years, and quite a ride the women's program has gone through to get to this position as the dominant force in the women's game, despite the ending they had in Rio. In spite of all of this incredible success, it hasn't always been gold for a sport now entrenched as one of the most popular.

DC WRAP: Are You The One? S4 - Episode 8

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

As we prepare for tonight's finale of both this Season 4 of Are You The One? and this MTV Trifecta cycle, we bring you an abbreviated edition of the WRAP. Last week, the cast saw the exes of the guys arrive in the house and saw Giovanni put everyone on edge when he won that week's challenge and threaten to turn the game on its head. But it's the game that caused the house to go haywire when they notched a late blackout and saw them lose $250,000 this late in the game.

   Ahead, we'll head to the Strategy Room to look at what lies ahead for them as they try to recover from that blackout and try to salvage $750,000 just as last year's cast did. Plus, we'll share with you the latest piece of good news for two members of the Trifecta alumni. Join us here next.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S4 - "Great Ex-Pectations"

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

DC WRAP: Rivals Finale & AYTO S4 EP7

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

A bit later than we expected here - and apologies to everyone, but taking a brief break from the Olympics to bring you the WRAP covering last week's Rivals III finale, and last week's Are You The One? as well. Last Wednesday was the season finale of The Challenge, which ended in rather controversial fashion. And last week in Hawaii, we saw a fight between Giovanni and Stephen at the Match-Up which came about a move was made on Julia which - as it turns out - plays a huge role in this week's episode which we'll have it covered on this week's post.

   Due to Rio 2016 being given priority, we'll be discussing the Rivals III finale and the homestretch of this AYTO season on our postseason posts coming next week. But coming up, a scaled down WRAP with the results of several Twitter polls done in the days that followed last week's finale and final fantasy scoring. Plus, we'll show you sightings between several MTV castmates from the South to Sin City. Join in next.

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Rivals III - The Finale

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 
& spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long 

length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

So, as we begin a new week, here we are... This is the season finale  of DC SocialPulse for The Challenge: Rivals III. During the week of the Kentucky Derby, thirteen teams came out of the gate in pursuit of not only winning the largest cash prize in Challenge history, but also overcoming everything they've been through in the quest for that moment in the sun. Now, as the Rio Games are underway, we're at the end of a most eventful season with one of the most shocking moments in the history of the MTV Trifecta.

   Last week as the game started in Argentina, we saw the last elimination battle that saw a familiar scenario as Bananas went into the last elimination battle before the final as he & Sarah faced Dario & Nicole, and the 5-time champ & Exes 2 winner took care of things easily. But as they, Jenna & Vince and Devin & Cheyenne came to the starting gate for the beginning of the final, they didn't expect the words that came out of TJ Lavin's month before they started the race to the summit.
   It's the unprecedented twist that casts a shadow on the finale of this season as the three teams go on a several stages battle towards the summit of a mountain top in the scenic backdrop of Argentina as they battle for the lions share of $350,000 in prize money - $275k going to the winner. This means all the teams have to go all in if they want the cash, and it's a point system that determines who gets to make the choice of either if the cash is split both ways or if the partner gets screwed over while the other takes all of the cash.
   Coming up, all the action, reaction and interaction of the Finale in the unique manner this site is known to you the fans. From the lead up to Wednesday to all the cast and fan reaction from the finale, the reunion and the aftermath, we have you all covered as only we can. Afterwards on ExtraTime, we hope you can be enlightened a little bit as we'll let you in on who in this cast has a knack for doing some comedy.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

It's the Finale... Join DCBLOG for the 'Pulse of the Finale of Rivals III, coming up.

DC SocialPulse: Are You The One? S4 "Pulling Punches"

*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content 

and spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its long 

length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

As you enjoy this first Sunday of August and the opening weekend of the Rio Olympics, welcome on in to DCBLOG's look at a most eventful week in the MTV Trifecta, and to this doubleheader of DC SocialPulse. Straight ahead, perhaps the most infamous move anyone has ever executed in the history of reality competition shows, and Real World reunions aplenty. But first, a mouth-watering episode of Are You The One?.
   Last week, the guys' parents appeared via Skype to reveal the truth about their sons to the house, which even saw John tear up at seeing his mom. Giovanni found himself at the crossfire as Stephen begins to become skeptical at the Wolf trying to get in touch with his crush Julia, while Francesca became the latest one to get close to him. And though the house's luck seemed to have stalled a bit, there was good news in Sam & Alyssa becoming match #2.
   This week, a favorite night of the entire AYTO experience comes ashore in Hawaii as the group gets to enjoy a luau and an Adam and Eve party. This leads to jealousy and hook-ups aplenty as the couples mix it up and look to reverse what's now a game that's slipping away from them. A love hexagon forms in the house as John, Stephen, Gio and (making his first appearance this season) Tyler do what they can to make sense of the hearts which seems to have become confused. And the tension between two of them is so much it leads to punches being thrown.
   Coming up, all the action, reaction and interaction from the AYTO cast and the lead-up to the Rivals III finale which we will cover here in just a bit. And if you're one who loves love, hang around for ExtraTime where we'll introduce you to a newly engaged reality TV original.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)
- Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.

A luau, poles and punches. Join DCBLOG for the 'Pulse of Are You The One?, coming up.

DC GAMES '16: The Movement...Olympic Movement (that is)

A DCBLOG Sports Special

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

With The Challenge: Rivals III now in our rear view mirror after an eventful finale, and Are You The One? Season 4 into its homestretch, our focus here now shifts a bit to our second annual series of blog posts covering the sports world. Last year during a momentous sporting summer, we took a look at soccer, golf, tennis, poker, UFC, Tour de France and Aussie Rules football, and you can check out those posts there. During this Summer of Sports and stretching into the fall, we'll offer a look at the big sports events taking (or have taken) place this summer as well as various topics on the sports we love.

   But for so many years now, I've placed one event at the top of the pecking order when it comes to events I look forward most to in the sports world. Yes, we had a successful Super Bowl here in the Bay Area back in February, the Warriors won the NBA title last year and are poised to come back after a devastating Finals loss to the Cavaliers, as are the Giants who've won 3 World Series titles. But that one event I look forward to is one that is the epitome of a true world championship, competed for by athletes from nations all over the world, with the whole planet watching it all unfold.

For 17 days every two years, it's become a ritual for me to alter the schedule I have a bit and tune in each day and night of the fortnight to the biggest sports spectacle in the world. Being someone who follows a wider variety of sports than the average American sports fan whose preference of sports are different than that of fans outside the continent, this is the one event where my passion for the entire sports scene is on full display. And this will be reflective in how I will be turning that passion into these posts as, once again as it was with the Sochi Winter Games two years ago, I will be doing regular posts on the Olympics during these Rio Games.

   Welcome to DC GAMES '16: DCBLOG's look at the aspects of the Olympics and the name I'll be utilizing to brand my live tweets of the Rio Games on my DCNOW live hub. And as the world comes together tonight for the Opening Ceremony inside the iconic Maracana Stadium, we begin with a primer of what the Olympic Movement is all about. Just as a slew of numerous events are taking place around it, the latest chapter of this now 120-year odyssey is about to hit into overdrive.

DC WRAP: Rivals III Episode 13 and AYTO4 Episode 6

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

Welcome to the month of August and to this edition of DC WRAP, as we begin to get into business mode of the two competition shows of the MTV Trifecta. The Rivals III Challenge has now entered its final after paring down from a semifinal four to a final three by way of a straight trip into the last Jungle that saw something familiar take place in the last piece of prelude to the final. And on Are You The One?, we now have our second Truth Booth match, as well as another love triangle emerging involving the resident wolf of the house now looking at getting close to one of the key girls from earlier in the season, which may spark some fireworks in the stretch run that's to come.

   As DCBLOG will now be devoting energies to doing our posts covering the Rio Olympics, we'll be tabling the Episode recaps to after the Games - and this Trifecta cycle - conclude. But coming up, we'll be taking another trip into the Strategy Room to look at where we now stand with the bulk of the final coming our way on Wednesday. We'll also have the results of our first-ever DC FORUM Polls on three questions that we posed to Twitter followers following the episodes, along with our usual features. And on ExtraTime, we'll tell you who Sarah's other Rival is, and let you in on a sighting between two originals. That's all next.