Friday, July 30, 2010
The latest on my lymphoma saga....
Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've been trying to gather all the doctor info so I can give you the latest scoop all in one post. I have to say it gets a little tiring talking about this all the time but at the same time it means a great deal to me that so many people care and I thank you all for your continued support. Here is the latest....
On Tuesday, We went to the James Cancer Center and had a very good visit with Dr. Steven Devine, the lead transplant doctor at Ohio State. He felt the best way to move forward would be for me to do a 6 month course of a drug called Bendamustine with Rituxan. He said this should knock the lymphoma back in to remission and buy me several years before the possibility of another relapse. At that time he thought it would probably be the right time to consider doing a stem cell transplant. In the mean time he said we could check my brothers and sister for a potential donor and be ready to move forward if a stem cell transplant is needed. We really liked Dr. Devine and were very impressed with the James Center. It was also nice to hear that we are no where close to needing to consider a stem cell procedure - as I've said before, stem cell is a very scary situation and it takes a great deal of time to recover from.
The following day we did a follow-up meeting with Dr. Leming. He was glad we visited Ohio State and agreed that Bendamustine is a good plan as we move forward but strongly urged us to seek out the advice of other lymphoma experts, most notably in Nebraska and Boston. He said since we have plenty of time we shouldn't settle on one opinion and see what other experts may have to say or recommend. His point was, a clinic that specializes in stem cell research is probably going to recommend stem cell but that doesn't necessarily mean it is the best option for me. What we want is the best possible treatment that will give me the longest possible remission period while causing the least amount of stress to my body. For now, Bendamustine is the way to move forward but who knows what might be best in the event of another relapse. That's why it's important to seek out the advice of other experts. I certainly understand what Dr. Leming is saying and once we get through the next few monist we will try to visit the other places. But for now, I'm getting myself ready to start Bendamustine sometime in mid-August. Before that we will do another round of CT scans and also have a new port inserted, the one I currently have is shot.
I'm not the only one in our family dealing with a health issue. Julie's mom is back in the hospital once again confusing her doctors and her Aunt Sharon is also dealing with a form of cancer so please include them in your prayers, as well.
Here is tonight's list....the top ten Iconic Ohio State football players over the past 25 years.
10. Michael Doss, DB - Doss was the heart and soul of the 2002 National Championship team while shunning the lure of the NFL to return for his senior year - that decision obviously paid off dearly for him.
9. David Boston, WR - an amazing receiver who could catch anything in his general vicinity.
8. Craig Krenzel, QB - His performance in the 2003 BCS Championship game alone makes him an icon - one of the guttiest performances I have ever seen.
7. Terry Glenn, WR - in 1995, Glenn compiled the greatest season by an Ohio State receiver in the history of the program.
6. Cris Carter, WR - the best receiver in Ohio State history - he was a magician when it came to catching footballs.
5. Troy Smith, QB - a Heisman Trophy, 3-0 vs Michigan and 2-0 in bowl games - his 2006 season was incredible until the devastating loss to Florida in the BCS title game.
4. Antoinne Winfield, CB - want to see how to play corner back? watch a replay of the 1997 OSU/Michigan and simply focus on Winfield. He won the Thorpe Award, symbolic of the best defensive back in the country without making an interception.
3. Orlando Pace, OT - his play spawned the term pancake block - what more can you say, he was the best tackle in Ohio State history.
2. Chris Spielman, LB - his play personified what it takes to be a Buckeye. Easily one of the greatest Buckeyes ever.
1. Eddie George, RB - I have a soft spot for Eddie. His career started pretty shaky when he fumbled 3 times in a close loss to Illinois but he fought back, had a solid junior year and followed that with his Heisman year in 1995. Eddie had tremendous NFL career and continues to be a wonderful ambassador for the university.
That'll do it for now. Buckeye fans let me know who your top 10 Buckeye icons from the past 25 years might be.
On Tuesday, We went to the James Cancer Center and had a very good visit with Dr. Steven Devine, the lead transplant doctor at Ohio State. He felt the best way to move forward would be for me to do a 6 month course of a drug called Bendamustine with Rituxan. He said this should knock the lymphoma back in to remission and buy me several years before the possibility of another relapse. At that time he thought it would probably be the right time to consider doing a stem cell transplant. In the mean time he said we could check my brothers and sister for a potential donor and be ready to move forward if a stem cell transplant is needed. We really liked Dr. Devine and were very impressed with the James Center. It was also nice to hear that we are no where close to needing to consider a stem cell procedure - as I've said before, stem cell is a very scary situation and it takes a great deal of time to recover from.
The following day we did a follow-up meeting with Dr. Leming. He was glad we visited Ohio State and agreed that Bendamustine is a good plan as we move forward but strongly urged us to seek out the advice of other lymphoma experts, most notably in Nebraska and Boston. He said since we have plenty of time we shouldn't settle on one opinion and see what other experts may have to say or recommend. His point was, a clinic that specializes in stem cell research is probably going to recommend stem cell but that doesn't necessarily mean it is the best option for me. What we want is the best possible treatment that will give me the longest possible remission period while causing the least amount of stress to my body. For now, Bendamustine is the way to move forward but who knows what might be best in the event of another relapse. That's why it's important to seek out the advice of other experts. I certainly understand what Dr. Leming is saying and once we get through the next few monist we will try to visit the other places. But for now, I'm getting myself ready to start Bendamustine sometime in mid-August. Before that we will do another round of CT scans and also have a new port inserted, the one I currently have is shot.
I'm not the only one in our family dealing with a health issue. Julie's mom is back in the hospital once again confusing her doctors and her Aunt Sharon is also dealing with a form of cancer so please include them in your prayers, as well.
Here is tonight's list....the top ten Iconic Ohio State football players over the past 25 years.
10. Michael Doss, DB - Doss was the heart and soul of the 2002 National Championship team while shunning the lure of the NFL to return for his senior year - that decision obviously paid off dearly for him.
9. David Boston, WR - an amazing receiver who could catch anything in his general vicinity.
8. Craig Krenzel, QB - His performance in the 2003 BCS Championship game alone makes him an icon - one of the guttiest performances I have ever seen.
7. Terry Glenn, WR - in 1995, Glenn compiled the greatest season by an Ohio State receiver in the history of the program.
6. Cris Carter, WR - the best receiver in Ohio State history - he was a magician when it came to catching footballs.
5. Troy Smith, QB - a Heisman Trophy, 3-0 vs Michigan and 2-0 in bowl games - his 2006 season was incredible until the devastating loss to Florida in the BCS title game.
4. Antoinne Winfield, CB - want to see how to play corner back? watch a replay of the 1997 OSU/Michigan and simply focus on Winfield. He won the Thorpe Award, symbolic of the best defensive back in the country without making an interception.
3. Orlando Pace, OT - his play spawned the term pancake block - what more can you say, he was the best tackle in Ohio State history.
2. Chris Spielman, LB - his play personified what it takes to be a Buckeye. Easily one of the greatest Buckeyes ever.
1. Eddie George, RB - I have a soft spot for Eddie. His career started pretty shaky when he fumbled 3 times in a close loss to Illinois but he fought back, had a solid junior year and followed that with his Heisman year in 1995. Eddie had tremendous NFL career and continues to be a wonderful ambassador for the university.
That'll do it for now. Buckeye fans let me know who your top 10 Buckeye icons from the past 25 years might be.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Lebron, All Stars and 2009 movies...
We're kind of in a holding pattern right now. I don't have any doctor appointments scheduled until later this month and I'm actually feeling as good as I have in a while. Last weekend we went to Hocking Hills with all of Julie's siblings and their kids...27 people in one house and as cramped as it sounds it really wasn't too bad. We all had a great time and next year is already booked. We did some hiking, many in the group went zip lining in a downpour and had a great time doing it while Jimmy Judd and I went golfing on what can only be described as a goat pasture...the scores weren't impressive but we can say we've played one of the worst golf courses in America.
I have to comment on the recent Lebron James news. I think Lebron has been great for the NBA and the City of Cleveland. He is a wonderful basketball player and has the right to play where ever he wants. But the way he went about announcing where he will be playing was a complete embarrassment. Add to that the way Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh rubbed it in everyone's faces the next day at that pathetic introduction to the City of Miami and there is no doubt King James has cost himself a great deal of respect. Given his background, I’ve always felt that LeBron has been fairly level headed. If any player ever had a reason to be arrogant, boastful and self serving it would be LeBron and yet despite the attention he’s received since he was a teenager he always appeared to handle his fame pretty well ...that all changed last Thursday evening. The one hour special to announce his decision was nothing but an ego fest, not telling the Cleveland owner of his decision prior to the one hour special was cowardly and solid evidence that LeBron has a lot of maturing to do and the scene of James, Wade and Bosh styling in their Heat uniforms was the equivalent of bullies strutting on a playground. I could care where these guys play, it's just too bad they couldn't have carried themselves with a little more class.
Congrats to the NL for winning last night's All Star game - it's about time! And it was also nice to see some Reds playing in the game for a change. Hopefully, Cincinnati will hang in the division race and make August and September interesting for a change but if not at least they got us closer to football season! Ohio State's opening game is just a month and a half away!
Finally, I finally got a chance to see District 9 so I can now rank the 10 movies nominated for the Best Picture of 2009. You may recall that The Hurt Locker took home the top prize last February but if I was voting here is how I would have ranked the competition....
10. a Serious Man - I usually like the Coen Brother's movies but I didn't get this one. A dark comedy set in the mid-1960's about a Jewish man going through a very difficult stretch in his professional and personal life, A Serious Man is the best argument I can come up with to not nominate 10 movies for best picture.
9. The Blindside - There have been far better football movies and Sandra Bullock's Academy Award winning role had to be for lifetime achievement because there were definitely better female performances in 2009. And the scene where she calls the coach on her cell phone during a game and he answers it is the worst scene of any of the top ten movies.
8. An Education - Coming of age story about a teenage girl who finds herself dating a much older, and married, man. Carey Mulligan gives a breakthrough performance that was among the best of 2009.
7. Avatar - A visually spectacular retelling of 'Dances With Wolves' that made about a gazillion dollars.
6. Precious - Disturbing tale about a poor, teenaged girl who is able to survive and triumph over her abusive and evil mother, chillingly portrayed by comedian, Monique.
5. District 9 - I thought this might battle it out with 'A Serious Man' for the bottom spot but I thoroughly enjoyed this Sci-Fi thriller about a concentration camp filled with alien creatures. I was literally on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. Definitely worthy of the nomination.
4. The Hurt Locker - a graphic illustration of an American bomb deactivating unit in Iraq. Jeremy Renner is tremendous as the soldier who snips the wires on the bombs and the supporting cast is equally good. Very realistic depiction of what the soldiers go through every day and you feel like you are right there with them as the bombs tick down to potentially exploding and wiping the entire unit out.
3. Up in the Air - George Clooney plays a man who spends his life flying from city to city to lay people off until a recent college grad, played very well by Anna Kendrick, encourages the company they could save a ton of money if they did all the dirty work on-line. Throw in Clooney's affair with another woman (Vera Farmiga) who also spends her days flying from airport to airport and you had a very entertaining night at the movies.
2. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarentino's tale about a group of Jewish hit men looking to wipeout Nazis - including the Fuhrer himself - was bloody, funny and sometimes difficult to watch but it was also easily one of the top 2 movies of the year. Christoph Waitz steals the show as a Nazi who is willing to trade his allegiance for the American dream.
1. Up - this tale about an old widower out to live the adventure he never got to take with wife packed more emotion into the first 10 minutes of the movie than many films can in 2 hours. One day an animated feature will win the Best Picture Oscar and I would have been very perfectly happy if 'Up' would have been the first one!
That's all for now. Hope all is well with all of you and I'll be sure to update you after my doctor visits.
I have to comment on the recent Lebron James news. I think Lebron has been great for the NBA and the City of Cleveland. He is a wonderful basketball player and has the right to play where ever he wants. But the way he went about announcing where he will be playing was a complete embarrassment. Add to that the way Lebron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh rubbed it in everyone's faces the next day at that pathetic introduction to the City of Miami and there is no doubt King James has cost himself a great deal of respect. Given his background, I’ve always felt that LeBron has been fairly level headed. If any player ever had a reason to be arrogant, boastful and self serving it would be LeBron and yet despite the attention he’s received since he was a teenager he always appeared to handle his fame pretty well ...that all changed last Thursday evening. The one hour special to announce his decision was nothing but an ego fest, not telling the Cleveland owner of his decision prior to the one hour special was cowardly and solid evidence that LeBron has a lot of maturing to do and the scene of James, Wade and Bosh styling in their Heat uniforms was the equivalent of bullies strutting on a playground. I could care where these guys play, it's just too bad they couldn't have carried themselves with a little more class.
Congrats to the NL for winning last night's All Star game - it's about time! And it was also nice to see some Reds playing in the game for a change. Hopefully, Cincinnati will hang in the division race and make August and September interesting for a change but if not at least they got us closer to football season! Ohio State's opening game is just a month and a half away!
Finally, I finally got a chance to see District 9 so I can now rank the 10 movies nominated for the Best Picture of 2009. You may recall that The Hurt Locker took home the top prize last February but if I was voting here is how I would have ranked the competition....
10. a Serious Man - I usually like the Coen Brother's movies but I didn't get this one. A dark comedy set in the mid-1960's about a Jewish man going through a very difficult stretch in his professional and personal life, A Serious Man is the best argument I can come up with to not nominate 10 movies for best picture.
9. The Blindside - There have been far better football movies and Sandra Bullock's Academy Award winning role had to be for lifetime achievement because there were definitely better female performances in 2009. And the scene where she calls the coach on her cell phone during a game and he answers it is the worst scene of any of the top ten movies.
8. An Education - Coming of age story about a teenage girl who finds herself dating a much older, and married, man. Carey Mulligan gives a breakthrough performance that was among the best of 2009.
7. Avatar - A visually spectacular retelling of 'Dances With Wolves' that made about a gazillion dollars.
6. Precious - Disturbing tale about a poor, teenaged girl who is able to survive and triumph over her abusive and evil mother, chillingly portrayed by comedian, Monique.
5. District 9 - I thought this might battle it out with 'A Serious Man' for the bottom spot but I thoroughly enjoyed this Sci-Fi thriller about a concentration camp filled with alien creatures. I was literally on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. Definitely worthy of the nomination.
4. The Hurt Locker - a graphic illustration of an American bomb deactivating unit in Iraq. Jeremy Renner is tremendous as the soldier who snips the wires on the bombs and the supporting cast is equally good. Very realistic depiction of what the soldiers go through every day and you feel like you are right there with them as the bombs tick down to potentially exploding and wiping the entire unit out.
3. Up in the Air - George Clooney plays a man who spends his life flying from city to city to lay people off until a recent college grad, played very well by Anna Kendrick, encourages the company they could save a ton of money if they did all the dirty work on-line. Throw in Clooney's affair with another woman (Vera Farmiga) who also spends her days flying from airport to airport and you had a very entertaining night at the movies.
2. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarentino's tale about a group of Jewish hit men looking to wipeout Nazis - including the Fuhrer himself - was bloody, funny and sometimes difficult to watch but it was also easily one of the top 2 movies of the year. Christoph Waitz steals the show as a Nazi who is willing to trade his allegiance for the American dream.
1. Up - this tale about an old widower out to live the adventure he never got to take with wife packed more emotion into the first 10 minutes of the movie than many films can in 2 hours. One day an animated feature will win the Best Picture Oscar and I would have been very perfectly happy if 'Up' would have been the first one!
That's all for now. Hope all is well with all of you and I'll be sure to update you after my doctor visits.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Options look clearer following trip to Ohio State/best villains....
Here is an update following our visit to the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University on Wednesday....
We met with Christie Blume, a highly regarded doctor in the field of research and treatments for lymphomas. We were very comfortable with her from the start and she was easy to talk with as well as ask questions about my situation. She spent a great deal of time with us and said there were numerous ways we could move forward. She also added that eventually I will need to do a stem cell transplant as it is the only known treatment that could lead to a cure. She said 30 to 40 percent of the time stem cell therapies can cure people with follicular lymphoma. This was the first time we had truly ever heard there is a possibility for a cure. In addition, even if it's not curative, stem cell therapy also has the best chance at leading to a prolonged remission period. She said this is something we don't necessarily need to do know but recommended we don't do it any later than a third treatment. She said there are a few ways to treat me now that most likely would lead to a remission period of 2 to 3 years but once the lymphoma does return we should take the steps to do the stem cell.
With this being a senior year for both Abbey and Judd (at UD) we are thinking to do the treatment now, buy a few years and then do the stem cell procedure. I really don't want to be weak and/or sick throughout Abbey's senior year and Dr. Blume said there is a treatment that should be effective which is less toxic than my original treatment of CHOP chemotherapy. It will still have a cumulative beat down of my system but it should be easier to tolerate and allow me to keep my normal schedule. When I do finally have the stem cell procedure it will require a 3 week hospital stay at least and a 3 to 4 month recovery period. With all the activities of Abbey's senior year I really don't want to be in a situation where I'll have to miss everything. Things could change down the line but right now we're thinking we'll do the treatment, watch until the lymphoma resurfaces and then take steps to do the stem cell transplant. In the mean time we're going to meet with the transplant docotr to have a better feel for what it all entails and try to line up who the donor will be. Dr. Blume said the best scenario is that the donor comes from one of my siblings - she said 1 in 4 is usually a perfect match and since I have 6 potential donors one of them should be the match. Going outside a sibling is more risky since the donor wouldn't have the same biological make-up. So hopefully we'll find a match among my siblings.
This is all a little scary but also very encouraging to know this could lead to a cure. It would obviously be very worthwhile to feel like shit for several months if the end result is to be cured from this worthless disease. My next appointment at Ohio State is July 27 and we should learn a great deal more about the transplant procedure. I would guess we'll begin treatments for my current situation shortly after that. We will be sure to keep you posted as we move forward.
Since I'm dealing with a pretty big 'villain' in follicualr lymphoma I thought I'd list my 10 least favorite (villains) contestants from Survivor. In my next post I'll list my favorite Survivors....
10. Parvati (Heroes vs Villains, and two other seasons) - To be honest, I just got sick of Parvati - she's been on the show 3 times and her act wore out in the last season - they should have voted her out the first vote. I'm glad she didn't win again.
9. Natalie (Micronesia) Some how she wound up on the fans vs favorites show and she thought she was the hottest thing going. Plus the way she played the idiot, Erik, for the immunity idol and then flaunted it made me glad to see her leave the next week.
8. Courtney (China and Heroes vs Villains) Quite possibly the biggest waste of a Survivor contestant slot of all time and they had her on twice. When your strength is you're weak, an outcast socially and absolute no threat at all you might as well stay home and watch the show on television.
7. Jonathan Penner (Micronesia) This guy was pompous, arrogant and basically an actor. Left the show due to injury, wish he would have been voted off.
6. Corrine (Gabon) Should have been on the villains team, she was a real bitch who thought she had superior intelligence and that her you know what didn't stink. Loved it when Sugar flipped her off at the final tribal council.
5. Lex (Africa) Lex dates back to one of the first seasons. He was plastered with tats and thought he was the coolest thing since Coolio. It was awesome when he got the axe.
4. Randy (Gabon) Perhaps my favorite Survivor moment of all time was when Randy tried to play the fake immunity idol made by Bob. It was priceless and couldn't have happened to a bigger boob.
3. Johnny Fairplay (Micornesia) Just a train wreck of an idiot who went so far as to act like his grandmother ghad died to garner sympathy from the rest of tribe. Then he came back on the Fans vs Favorites episode and quit to be the first contestant eliminated.
2. Coach Wade (Tocantins) The warrior - this guy was a lunatic and no one could have possibly beleived anything he said or have an ounce of respect for him. He was basically played like a pawn both the times he was on the show.
1. TIE Richard Hatch (Borneo) and Russell Hantz (Somoa) - Ironic that their last names are similar. Richard was the original villain and Russell took the role to a new level. Russell's problem was he didn't realize that social skills are a big part of the game - sure he was able to lie and cheat his way to the final but if you piss everyone along the the way, you're not going to win. There is a reason the others want to take a boorish oaf to the final tribal council and it's because they all know no-one is going to vote for him. And yet, there was Russell at the reunion shows insisting that he still won, even though the votes said differently. Just an absolute moron and Richard was so stupid he wound up in prison for not paying taxes on his winnings.
Next post look for my favorites. Happy 4th of July to everyone!!!
We met with Christie Blume, a highly regarded doctor in the field of research and treatments for lymphomas. We were very comfortable with her from the start and she was easy to talk with as well as ask questions about my situation. She spent a great deal of time with us and said there were numerous ways we could move forward. She also added that eventually I will need to do a stem cell transplant as it is the only known treatment that could lead to a cure. She said 30 to 40 percent of the time stem cell therapies can cure people with follicular lymphoma. This was the first time we had truly ever heard there is a possibility for a cure. In addition, even if it's not curative, stem cell therapy also has the best chance at leading to a prolonged remission period. She said this is something we don't necessarily need to do know but recommended we don't do it any later than a third treatment. She said there are a few ways to treat me now that most likely would lead to a remission period of 2 to 3 years but once the lymphoma does return we should take the steps to do the stem cell.
With this being a senior year for both Abbey and Judd (at UD) we are thinking to do the treatment now, buy a few years and then do the stem cell procedure. I really don't want to be weak and/or sick throughout Abbey's senior year and Dr. Blume said there is a treatment that should be effective which is less toxic than my original treatment of CHOP chemotherapy. It will still have a cumulative beat down of my system but it should be easier to tolerate and allow me to keep my normal schedule. When I do finally have the stem cell procedure it will require a 3 week hospital stay at least and a 3 to 4 month recovery period. With all the activities of Abbey's senior year I really don't want to be in a situation where I'll have to miss everything. Things could change down the line but right now we're thinking we'll do the treatment, watch until the lymphoma resurfaces and then take steps to do the stem cell transplant. In the mean time we're going to meet with the transplant docotr to have a better feel for what it all entails and try to line up who the donor will be. Dr. Blume said the best scenario is that the donor comes from one of my siblings - she said 1 in 4 is usually a perfect match and since I have 6 potential donors one of them should be the match. Going outside a sibling is more risky since the donor wouldn't have the same biological make-up. So hopefully we'll find a match among my siblings.
This is all a little scary but also very encouraging to know this could lead to a cure. It would obviously be very worthwhile to feel like shit for several months if the end result is to be cured from this worthless disease. My next appointment at Ohio State is July 27 and we should learn a great deal more about the transplant procedure. I would guess we'll begin treatments for my current situation shortly after that. We will be sure to keep you posted as we move forward.
Since I'm dealing with a pretty big 'villain' in follicualr lymphoma I thought I'd list my 10 least favorite (villains) contestants from Survivor. In my next post I'll list my favorite Survivors....
10. Parvati (Heroes vs Villains, and two other seasons) - To be honest, I just got sick of Parvati - she's been on the show 3 times and her act wore out in the last season - they should have voted her out the first vote. I'm glad she didn't win again.
9. Natalie (Micronesia) Some how she wound up on the fans vs favorites show and she thought she was the hottest thing going. Plus the way she played the idiot, Erik, for the immunity idol and then flaunted it made me glad to see her leave the next week.
8. Courtney (China and Heroes vs Villains) Quite possibly the biggest waste of a Survivor contestant slot of all time and they had her on twice. When your strength is you're weak, an outcast socially and absolute no threat at all you might as well stay home and watch the show on television.
7. Jonathan Penner (Micronesia) This guy was pompous, arrogant and basically an actor. Left the show due to injury, wish he would have been voted off.
6. Corrine (Gabon) Should have been on the villains team, she was a real bitch who thought she had superior intelligence and that her you know what didn't stink. Loved it when Sugar flipped her off at the final tribal council.
5. Lex (Africa) Lex dates back to one of the first seasons. He was plastered with tats and thought he was the coolest thing since Coolio. It was awesome when he got the axe.
4. Randy (Gabon) Perhaps my favorite Survivor moment of all time was when Randy tried to play the fake immunity idol made by Bob. It was priceless and couldn't have happened to a bigger boob.
3. Johnny Fairplay (Micornesia) Just a train wreck of an idiot who went so far as to act like his grandmother ghad died to garner sympathy from the rest of tribe. Then he came back on the Fans vs Favorites episode and quit to be the first contestant eliminated.
2. Coach Wade (Tocantins) The warrior - this guy was a lunatic and no one could have possibly beleived anything he said or have an ounce of respect for him. He was basically played like a pawn both the times he was on the show.
1. TIE Richard Hatch (Borneo) and Russell Hantz (Somoa) - Ironic that their last names are similar. Richard was the original villain and Russell took the role to a new level. Russell's problem was he didn't realize that social skills are a big part of the game - sure he was able to lie and cheat his way to the final but if you piss everyone along the the way, you're not going to win. There is a reason the others want to take a boorish oaf to the final tribal council and it's because they all know no-one is going to vote for him. And yet, there was Russell at the reunion shows insisting that he still won, even though the votes said differently. Just an absolute moron and Richard was so stupid he wound up in prison for not paying taxes on his winnings.
Next post look for my favorites. Happy 4th of July to everyone!!!
