Amazing Race Week 3: I'd Rather Take the Wrong Path than the Wrong Plane

Just like last episode, this week's elimination was determined by which of two teams screwed up more badly.

We're already a quarter of the way through the season, so here's a quarterly report on the strength of the teams. The number is based on their finishes over the course of the first three legs.

Power Rankings

Mel and Mike
Score to date: 27 of 30
The old gay activist and his gay Hollywood son didn't seem destined for greatness after the first episode. Their codenames could be Twig and Twiggier. But the old guy with a strained groin has managed to outrace the other teams, and the twosome came in first place this week. They show no signs of losing their cool, and have been unfailingly affable so far. The physical strain might catch up with them at some point, but it's nice to see a team getting ahead by keeping cool.

Amanda and Kris
Score to date: 23 of 30
The youngest team in the race, this dating couple has consistently finished in the upper half of the field, marking them as true contenders. This week, they were able to use their physicality to their advantage, as Amanda cruised through a gymnastics roadblock before Kris flexed his muscles on a gypsy-moving detour choice. They haven't gotten a lot of camera time just yet, which might be another indicator that they're around for the long haul.

Tammy and Victor
Score to date: 22 of 30
This week, the asian siblings fell apart after Victor refused to acknowledge that they were on the wrong path. After following a nature trail for what seemed like hours, they barely recovered in time to take advantage of Brad and Victoria's horrific airport meltdown. They looked great the first two weeks, so we'll have to see whether they're going to make stupid mistakes in the future. Here's their paradox: they are frontrunners who are lucky to still be in the race.

Margie and Luke
Score to date: 22 of 30
Margie and Luke have been great competitors to date, but I think they're starting to show just a bit of strain under the pressure of the race. Luke is frustrated by his inability to easily communicate without using his Mom as a go-between, and the team has formed an alliance with cheerleaders Jaime and Cara. Neither of these developments bodes well for the future. But if they keep their head in the game, they have a chance to win it all.

Mark and Michael
Score to date: 17 of 30
If someone is small and does well, there's a rule that we have to call them plucky. I'm not going to fight it, so here goes: This plucky duo has managed to overcome their diminutive stature by dint of hard work. It seems to me that their shortness isn't really holding them back. But they don't seem to be making the best decisions, and they always seem to get eked out of the best flight. They're outside contenders for the finale, but they need to be smart if they're going to get there.

Kisha and Jen
Score to date: 14 of 30
I thought these two were going to fall apart in a whirlwind of sibling rivalry, but last week's early indicators didn't come to a boil this time around. Instead, they showed an ability to follow directions and get things done. They haven't made any big mistakes yet, but they need to step up their hustle factor if they want to make the finale.

Jaime and Cara
Score to date: 13 of 30
The best move these two lookers have made is to partner up with Margie and Luke, a team that is both strong and nice enough to provide help (within reason). This week, Jaime and Cara bitched out a clueless cab driver, but seemed content to complain bitterly rather than hopping out of the cab and actively changing their situation. They haven't been impressive in any way, and they need some real luck to hang around.

Christie and Jodi
Score to date: 8 of 30
Christie and Jodi have been as hapless a team as can be imagined. Only complete meltdowns from other teams have prevented them from being eliminated before now. A serviceable showing in the last episode doesn't erase their overall lightweight status. If they want to get anywhere in this game, they have to step it up or get very lucky.



Finishing Order

1st: Mel and Mike (+1)
2nd: Amanda and Kris (+1)
3rd: Kisha and Jen (+4 = most improved)
4th: Margie and Luke (no change)
5th: Mark and Michael (+3)
6th: Christie and Jodi (+3)
7th: Jaime and Cara (-1)
8th: Tammy and Victor (-7 = biggest slide)
9th: Brad and Victoria (-4 = eliminated)



The Standings

Dawn pegged Mel and Mike as the Fastest Team, leaving her to nab all 42 bonus points. Be sure to send me your FT predictions for next week!

1st: Kim 1030 (+50 +0)
2nd: Dawn 1007 (-10 +42)
3rd: Paul 916 (-20 +0)
4th: Carl: 910 (-10 +0)
5th: Experts 890 (-10 +0)
6th: Matt 880 (-20 +0)
7th: Mom 826 (-80 +0)

For the second week in a row, our pool members did a fantastic job of predicting the race. Last week, Steve and Linda surprised nobody, and this week, oldsters Brad and Victoria were eliminated early, which is always a good bet.

Also for the second week in a row, Kim got it exactly right, which has padded her lead in the pool. Her only real competitor is Dawn, whose FT bonus points allowed her to break 1000. By contrast, third place Paul is nearly 100 points behind, which means a lot of people need to make up a lot of ground in order to be competitive.

No one lost more than 20 points on Brad and Victoria's elimination. No one, that is, but Mom, who bled a whopping 80 points after predicting that they would come in first place. This has placed her firmly into last place. So, she's my buffer between second-to-last, and embarrassment.

But no one should give up just yet. We have a lot of game left to play, and four different pool players have four different teams predicted for the elimination next week, which means that someone is very likely to get a nice, fifty point bonus to narrow the gap. Let's just hope it's not Kim.

Good luck, everyone, and please me sure to send me your FT picks for next week!