It’s been almost a week since Survivor 48 premiered, and I am finally getting around to jotting down a few thoughts and observations. I enjoyed the first episode, although I felt a little blah as there was really no contestant I connected with. Nobody stood out as somebody I really wanted to root for, as well as nobody I really disliked. Usually, there is somebody who stands out to me after the first episode. Things do change as the season goes on, and I end up liking and disliking different contestants before gravitating towards a few favorites. But this season, everybody was just the same.

I still enjoyed the show and think it is a great microcosm of society, but I think casting has gone a little too far to trying to cast people who are more interested in the experience and making friends, than in playing Survivor as a game and wanting to win the $1,000,000.00 grand prize. The last few seasons have seen too many players who don’t seem to mind getting voted off. If I was a contestant, I hope I would be upset getting voted off.

Hopefully, players start to settle in, and their true feelings and ideas start to come out and the game gets a little more serious.

During the episode, the first of the Survivor 50 Fan Votes were announced with the fans getting to vote on different aspects of the Survivor 50 Season

Here are my votes:

Tribe Colors: Doest really matter to me (choose whatever you want)

Rice of No Rice: I voted for Rice. Hoping it will make it a bit easier on the contestants so that there is more gameplay

Final Four Firemaking: I voted No. Never liked it since it was introduced and cost Chrissy Hofbeck the game. It almost gives some players a get-out-of-jail card at the end when they should be voted off

Vote reveal in Los Angeles of Fiji. For Season 50, the reveal should be in Los Angeles in front of a live studio audience. Other seasons are fine having the reveal in Fiji

Here are some other thoughts for the past week

I watched the Academy Awards on Sunday. I do not care at all about the Pre-Oscar Red Carpet stuff, so tuned in at 7:00 PM EST just as the show started. I liked the montage at the beginning of LA Films, and wish they showed a lot more movie clips (of both the nominated films and just popular films in general). As a kid, I remember there being many more movie clips usually tied into a tribute to a movie/actor/director who was being honored. Other than the opening, the only other montage of clips from the James Bond films. ** This was for no reason, and they cut the clips short to have singers and dancers do a few Bond themes that were not necessary **

I did think they did a good job with the In Memoriam segment, just showing the people we lost while the music played in the background. No singers or dancers that add nothing and are just a distraction

Overall, I thought Conan O’Brien did a good job. Here kept things movie (almost to fast) as the show ended around 10:45 PM EST (I Hope they didn’t cut things short just so ABC could promote itself and show a preview of American Idol which premiers this Sunday. Seems they could have shaved 15 minutes of non-move stuff, and along with the 15 minutes at the end, had a good 30 minutes of time to show more movie clips.

And finally, I have written a lot without even mentioning any of the movies/actors/directors that were nominated and won the Academy Awards. Could be that none of the movies (other than Wicked) have really caught on with the average moviegoer. Congratulations to Anora for winning Best Picture.

Here is a list of all the 2025 Winners

2025 Acadamy Award Winners

My suggestion would be to have two Best Picture Categories (Big Budget Block Busters, and Low Budget Artistic). This would allow all movies to be recognized and not just ones that are loved by critics, but also movies loved by the moviegoing audience

Catching up on some good TV Shows

Severance (Apple TV): Second Season is a bit strange, but really enjoyable
Paradise (HULU): Very well done, and keeps you on edge
Reacher (Amazon): Season 3 is a bit over the top, but still entertaining
DOC (Fox): Cant go wrong with Scott Wolf.
The Hunting Party: Im a sucker for these NBC Serials (The BlackList, Manifest)

Also been getting back into Jeopardy lately, and enjoying the Invitational Tournament. Rooting for Matt Amodio to take home the win

Spring Traing is in full swing, and I need to find some time to get my Roto Baseball Rosters set up and ready to go. I do feel a bit old going through some things. There are far more players that I have never heard of than the players I have. Makes things tough to start out, as I am basically guessing on a lot of players.|

Here is the list of Rookie Cards in Topps 2025 Series 1 Baseball

• Tyler Gentry Kansas City Royals RC
• Luis De Los Santos Toronto Blue Jays RC
• Carlos Rodriguez Milwaukee Brewers RC
• Jack Kochanowicz Los Angeles Angels RC
• Orelvis Martinez Toronto Blue Jays RC
• Coby Mayo Baltimore Orioles RC
• Jhonkensy Noel Cleveland Guardians RC
• Cade Povich Baltimore Orioles RC
• Angel Martínez Cleveland Guardians RC
• Pedro León Houston Astros RC
• Chayce McDermott Baltimore Orioles RC
• Greg Jones Colorado Rockies RC
• Jake Bloss Toronto Blue Jays RC
• Trey Sweeney Detroit Tigers RC
• Hunter Feduccia Los Angeles Dodgers RC
• Dylan Crews Washington Nationals RC
• Jace Jung Detroit Tigers RC
• Kameron Misner Tampa Bay Rays RC
• Shay Whitcomb Houston Astros RC
• Zach Dezenzo Houston Astros RC
• Nick Sogard Boston Red Sox RC
• Will Warren New York Yankees RC
• Spencer Schwellenbach Atlanta Braves RC
• Yilber Diaz Arizona Diamondbacks RC
• Carlos Narváez New York Yankees RC
• Cristian Mena Arizona Diamondbacks RC
• Dillon Dingler Detroit Tigers RC
• Connor Norby Miami Marlins RC
• Bradley Blalock Colorado Rockies RC
• Andrés Chaparro Washington Nationals RC
• David Festa Minnesota Twins RC
• James Wood Washington Nationals RC
• Adael Amador Colorado Rockies RC
• Tyler Locklear Seattle Mariners RC
• Michael McGreevy St. Louis Cardinals RC
• Aaron Schunk Colorado Rockies RC
• Justin Wrobleski Los Angeles Dodgers RC
• Rhett Lowder Cincinnati Reds RC
• Grant McCray San Francisco Giants RC
• Rece Hinds Cincinnati Reds RC
• Nacho Alvarez Jr. Atlanta Braves RC
• Adrian Del Castillo Arizona Diamondbacks RC
• Sean Reynolds San Diego Padres RC
• Brooks Baldwin Chicago White Sox RC
• Ryan Bliss Seattle Mariners RC
• Hurston Waldrep Atlanta Braves RC
• Justyn-Henry Malloy Detroit Tigers RC
• River Ryan Los Angeles Dodgers RC
• Blake Dunn Cincinnati Reds RC
• Niko Kavadas Los Angeles Angels RC
• Ky Bush Chicago White Sox RC
• Zebby Matthews Minnesota Twins RC
• DJ Herz Washington Nationals RC
• Tyler Phillips Philadelphia Phillies RC
• Drew Romo Colorado Rockies RC
• Adam Mazur Miami Marlins RC
• Jacob Wilson Athletics RC
• Brooks Lee Minnesota Twins RC
• Joey Cantillo Cleveland Guardians RC
• Drew Thorpe Chicago White Sox RC
• Ben Rice New York Yankees RC
• Brant Hurter Detroit Tigers RC

If you’re still reading at this point, thank you very much.

Still takes some effort for me to write, so if anybody has any thoughts or topics, they want me to write about, let me know and I will see what I can come up with

More to come

Average Andy

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