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Heidi Strobel Update

Heidi Strobel, who finished fifth in Survivor Amazon, is dating Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels.

Heidi got naked on Survivor for food and later posed for Playboy. She also contracted malaria while on Survivor.

Cole Hamels is a young pitcher recently called up by the Phillies. He has a colorful past that includes a bar fight while he was in the minor leagues in which he broke his hand (really not a good idea for a pitcher).

The lovely couple at Wikipedia: Heidi and Cole.

'Survivor' Winner In Trouble at Work

Million-dollar winner's $34,000-a-year highway job on the line.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Ted Wendling, Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus -- Chris Daugherty, a state highway worker, survived 39 days on the volcanic South Pacific island of Vanuatu in 2004, walking away with $1 million for winning the CBS reality show.

But it looks like he may not weather an Ohio Department of Transportation investigation into the unauthorized leave of absence he took last fall to join past "Survivor" winners for a European tour.

An ODOT hearing officer ruled Thursday that Daugherty, 35, was guilty of taking the unauthorized leave and of dishonesty for falsely claiming that he needed time off work because he was under stress and suffering from depression.

ODOT investigators concluded that, after being denied a leave because he had used all but 29 hours of his vacation, sick leave and personal leave, Daugherty submitted a bogus excuse from a doctor in London, Ohio, that said he needed to take off a month because he was suffering from anxiety and depression.

Daugherty later admitted to an ODOT investigator that he cured his depression by attending the CBS-sponsored "Survivor" tour.
full story

My Take
I admire him for not quitting his job after winning the million dollars, but did he really expect to get away with lying in order to go to Europe? The excuse about the trip curing his depression also sounds questionable. Good luck with all of that, Chris.

'Survivor' Ratings Flagging

Off 17 percent heading into its Sunday finale.
by Toni Fitzgerald, May 12, 2006

Ratings for CBS's "Survivor: Exile Island" have been eroding all season, and with the final episode just days away, they are not getting any better.

Last night's penultimate episode averaged a 5.7 overnight rating among adults 18-49. While that was well ahead of the second-place finisher, NBC's sitcoms, it was down 17 percent from the same night last year, when the second-to-last episode earned a 6.9.
full story at Media Life Magazine

Is the end near for our favorite reality show? I'm fairly sure it will last at least another year (two more Survivor seasons), but what about after that?

Are there any changes that can be made to extend the life of the show? New host? New locations? New format or challenges? Include Survivors from other English speaking countries?

What I like about Survivor is the interaction of people. And people-wise Exile Island was more interesting than Guatemala, although Guatemala was one of the more interesting locales.

Now it is hard to imagine anyone other than Jeff Probst hosting Survivor, but before Survivor I would not have thought that the former host of Rock 'n' Roll Jeopardy would have done this good of job. So I'm open to the idea of a new host, but I don't think any former contestants will be very good as host.

Well, that's about all I have for now.
Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend but don't forget its meaning.

Terry 'Deserved' to Win?

A lot of people seem to think that Terry 'deserved' to win. Their argument is that he won most of the challenges and that he is 'honest' and has 'integrity,' so he should get the million dollars.

Well, here's some food for thought:
1. Terry had an alliance with Dan, so much so that Dan said that he felt betrayed by Terry when he was voted off. Terry voted to remove Dan after promising him he wouldn't. Is that being honest or acting with integrity? I don't think so.
2. Survivor is a game of social interaction much more than a game of competitions. Group Immunity challenges are largely a crap-shoot and no one can expect to win all of the Individual Immunity challenges. Terry couldn't break into Casaya because he lacked the social skills. His only 'strategy' was to win all of the Individual Immunity challenges which is not a realistic game plan.
3. After the merger Terry couldn't make any real alliances with former Casaya members so he had no alliance to betray, so he looks honest. Late in the game it was easy for Terry to promise Danielle the final two with him and even easier to remind her of the promise after she won the final Immunity. Terry may be socially retarded but he's smart enough to know that he would have won the money sitting next to Danielle.

So please spare me the 'Terry deserved to win' talk. Yes he's a good father, husband and he honorably served our country as a naval aviator but in the game of Survivor he was one dimensional. He was good at the challenges but lacked in the social aspects of the game.

I like Cirie but she was the opposite of Terry. She was good at the social aspects of the game but weak in the challenges. Aras was well balanced at both parts of the game so he won.

News Flash: Hatch Sentenced (updated)

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP)
Richard Hatch, who won $1 million in the debut season of "Survivor," was sentenced Tuesday to 51 months in prison for failing to pay income taxes on his reality TV prize and other earnings.

Hatch, 45, was convicted in January. The charges carried a maximum of 13 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said he issued a harsher than expected sentence because Hatch had committed perjury repeatedly during his trial.

"It seems unfortunately very clear to me that Mr. Hatch lied," Torres said.

full story (at CNN)

Update: several news organizations are reporting that Richard Hatch must also "undergo psychological counseling." Also his web site www.RichHatch.com has been inactive for at least several days now. What? No jailhouse blog from Hatch?

Ain't That A Shane?

At the Jury Shane was full of righteous indignation towards Aras and Danielle. I know Shane is crazy and all, but wasn't he being hypocritical?

Shane was going to betray Aras but Aras beat him to it and yet this is why Shane was so upset with Aras - that Aras betrayed him!

Shane was similarly upset with Danielle for wavering in the Casaya alliance but wasn't it Shane who sat down with Aras after the merger and tell him that he might 'shake things up' by aligning with some former La Mina members? Later in private, Shane hailed his acting as brilliant strategy and said that he was in control of the game. I guess it's all right when Shane does such things but wrong when Danielle does it.

However I'm glad for Shane's performance at the Jury, otherwise it would have been boring. "Why should I vote for the other of you?' 'What will you do with the responsibility of the million dollars?' 'What was your best and worst move in the game?' (I'm still trying to make out what the heck Courtney was talking about.) These questions make for a boring Jury, it needs a little venom and bile to make it interesting.