The Amazing Race 20 -- And The Winner Is

I don't know if keeping a running total of the average a racer scores via at what place they check into the pit stop every week can accurately predict how racers will check into the final pit stop, but last week's overall racing statistics is exactly how the race ended.

1. Rachel and Dave 2.0

2. Team Border Patrol 2.3

3. Team Big Brother 3.5

Granted, Team Big Brother screwed up by reading the clue about going to the helicopter on foot and then getting in the cab. I'm like, "What are you doing?" Brendon realized the mistake and they went back and did it right. Unfortunately, it caused Team Shitbag to be able to get ahead of them.

Who is Team Shitbag? It's what I dubbed Border Patrol. After the little detente Phil arranged at the last pit stop between Team Big Brother and Ralph and Vanessa, the latter stopped their nasty trash-talking and kept their mind on the race. But Border Patrol kept up the trash talking, so I ended up dubbing them Team Shitbag, the worst team on the race. It was ironic the way they kept bashing and trashing Team Big Brother not being able to find the destinations and would only find it if they stumbled over it when the two losers got lost and couldn't find a destination twice. And a couple of times Team BB's Rachel has been neck-in-neck with a member of Team Shitbag and she's beaten them at doing a task. These two are an embarrassment to the Border Patrol by the atrocious way these two thugs conducted themselves on this race.

The two-hour finale was really two episodes played back-to-back. The first hour took place in Japan. All the teams booked on the same flight to Hiroshima, so there was no chance of travel arrangements allowing you to get a leg up on your competition. Upon arriving Rachel and Brendon missed the first bus, but quickly recovered to get to the ferry before Team Shitbag and Ralph and Vanessa made it to the ferry, after Team Shitbag was trashing them for missing the bus. Then Rachel and Dave missed the ferry, which caused Major Dave's ugly personality to come out, once again. Actually that ugly personality seems to be never far from the surface. I don't know how Rachel puts up with him.

The playing field was leveled again when the clue that directs teams to go to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park isn't going to be handed out until sunrise. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park is actually a building that stands at it was after the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by the United States. It was kind of like viewing the remains of the World Trade Center only this was something we did to them. I wasn't aware there was anything left from the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The next stop is to go to TV8 where a game show is being held called, Bring That Chicken Home. A team member has to run on a conveyor belt while jumping up to catch three rubber chickens and to jump on the mat at the end of the conveyor belt. Vanessa, who hurt her ankle last leg, has to run on the conveyor belt and keeps at it, even though Ralph wants them to just take the penalty because he's afraid she's really going to hurt herself because she keeps falling off the conveyor belt. But she keeps at it and finally does it.

The next task is to either play street photographer and get 30 people to put their heads through cardboard cut-out sumo wrestlers while you take their photos or to play something called Sushi Bingo. Dave and Rachel do the street photography task, while the other teams do Sushi Bingo.

Sushi Bingo is a very interesting way to play bingo. You have to put plates of sushi on a bingo card and if you get Sushi you then have to eat it. I don't think I could face eating sushi. I would have definitely gone for the street photography.

Teams checked in at the pit stop as follows:

1. Rachel and Dave

2. Team Shitbag

3. Rachel and Brendon

4. Vanessa and Ralph who were eliminated.

The last three teams had a heck of a time finding the pit stop that seemed to be hiding in some bushes. For a second I was torn between who I wanted to get the boot: Team Shitbag or Ralph and Vanessa. There was a promo of someone crossing the finish line and being sent back because they missed doing a task and I was hoping it would end up being Team Shitbag. That would have been the perfect punishment for them. So there was a bright spot in Team Shitbag not getting eliminated in the final elimination leg.

For the final leg teams were sent back to the US of A to Honolulu, Hawaii. There was no tricky mental memory tests in the final leg. The tasks were purely physical. The first task was to find Twin Towers that stood 45 feet high and rappel.up it to see where your next destination was once you reached the top. Afterwards you had to rappel back down the building face forward. Team Shitbag seemed to have a big problem finding the towers.

Once back on the ground you had to figure out how to get to your destination. Once you arrive, you need to shave a piece of ice with a samurai sword and fill a cut up to a certain amount. After that you're instructed to make your way on foot to an awaiting helicopter. For some reason even though Team BB's Rachel read on foot she and Brendon got in a cab. I don't know how far they traveled before Brendon realized the mistake they made, but they had to go back and do it right. Unfortunately, it allowed Team Shitbag to get ahead of them.

The next task is to become North Shore life guards. One team member drives a jet ski while the other rescue a swimmer from the water. After that your next clue instructs you to the Coral Kingdom Gate.

For some reason Rachel and Dave missed a task and found a race maker telling them to head to the pit stop. So there they are crossing the finish line believing they've just run the race when Phil tells them they have to go back and do the task they missed.

So Team Shitbag actually had a chance to win the race only they couldn't do the task of staying on a sled going down a hill, while both Rachel's were easily able to do it. If Team BB's Rachel had been able to roll a stone into this clothe covered pocket thing before Team Shitbag did, Team Shitbag would have actually come in last, which I would have loved.

Anyway, Rachel and Dave make it across the finish line first for the second time and win The Amazing Race. With Team Shitbag second and Team Big Brother third. While Rachel and Dave won The Amazing Race I'm not sure if these two can make it together. Major Dave didn't seem to have changed much at all on the race. He seemed to have the same ugly personality he had throughout the race. The only thing that happened was Rachel learned how to deal with him; which was just ignore him and his crap and take care of business. But really do you want to stay with someone like that or find someone who will treat you with respect?

As for Team Shitbag. Team Big Brother's Rachel doesn't come off as the classiest person in the world, but even after how nasty Team Shitbag was to her she tried to speak to them during one of the tasks and they wouldn't even acknowledge her. I think it says a lot about you when Team Big Brother is far classier than you are.

It was an interesting race. While if they ever do an all-stars season again, I would love to see Team Big Brother and Bopper and Mark back, please let Team Shitbag fade into obscurity. They've had more than their twenty minutes of fame and I had way more than enough of these two.