LAST EDITED ON 03-11-04 AT 06:00 PM (EST)

According to an article in the USA Today (today) Troy is the most likely winner of the job offered in this challenge. The gist of the article has Troy back in Idaho waiting to learn if he will win on April 15th. "I'm feeling cautiously optomistic" says Troy. Therefore, we can assume that Troy hangs around for at least the next five weeks. According to USA, "only Troy knows whether he made the final two and he won't say? Well, he wouldn't be back home in Utah after the competition has ended and still be "cautiously optomistic" about winning if he was not still in the hunt for the job and had not made it to the final two. Duhhhh. Haven't we just given away half of the ending? Given this new information.....I pick Troy to win it all!!

• RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,choochoo, 04:19 PM, 03-11-04
  • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,subman, 06:06 PM, 03-11-04
    • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,choochoo, 06:53 PM, 03-11-04
      • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,subman, 07:20 PM, 03-11-04
        • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,choochoo, 07:34 PM, 03-11-04
          • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,choochoo, 01:19 AM, 03-12-04
• Take it with a dose of salt,AZ_Leo, 04:28 PM, 03-11-04
  • RE: Take it with a dose of salt,subman, 06:40 PM, 03-11-04
    • RE: Take it with a dose of salt,Pepito, 06:56 PM, 03-11-04
      • Or...,Mizz Eve, 07:06 PM, 03-11-04
        • RE: Or...,subman, 07:37 PM, 03-11-04
      • RE: Take it with a dose of salt,subman, 07:22 PM, 03-11-04
• RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,Bebo, 04:30 PM, 03-11-04
  • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,subman, 06:30 PM, 03-11-04
• RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,managerr, 04:31 PM, 03-11-04
  • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,subman, 05:39 PM, 03-11-04
    • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,AZ_Leo, 05:59 PM, 03-11-04
      • RE: USA Today "Troy is the likely winner"!,subman, 06:22 PM, 03-11-04
• Troy repeating himself?,mavsfan, 11:53 PM, 03-11-04
  • RE: Troy repeating himself?,subman, 00:22 AM, 03-12-04
    • RE: Troy ,leogirl_21, 11:55 AM, 03-12-04
      • RE: Troy ,subman, 12:59 PM, 03-12-04
      • RE: Troy ,subman, 11:23 PM, 03-12-04

"Final two"??? It doesn't add up to a two person final if you believe this link for Week 11!

It says that no one gets fired in Week 11! That would leave six player with 4 weeks to go after Week 11. That makes for three players in the finals? Huh? Does this make sense? Will the final have three or two people going to the board room? Confusion or just misdirection?

week 10 - one person gets fired, six are left.
week 11 - no one gets fired, six are left
week 12 - one person gets fired, five are left
week 13 - one person gets fired, four are left
week 14 - one person gets fired, three are left
week 15 - one person gets fired, two are left
week 16 - winner announced live between the final two players,
Troy and ???? Amy??

Nice try, but final episode is April 15th. There are only 15 episodes in this season. By your calculation that means 3 in the final, April 15.

OK choochoo, my bad. Maybe Heidi decides to quit either this or next episode. In tonight's episode, she has gone home to spend time with her mom. I think that she gets home and just says "screw this". I'm not going to win anyway, I quit. Therefore, Trump doesn't need to eliminate anyone next week and can have a "best of apprentice" review show. Heck Choochoo, I don't friggin know?

LAST EDITED ON 03-11-04 AT 07:38 PM (EST)

I think you hit it! Kinda what I was thinkin'. Trump can't bring himself to fire Heidi, so when the other players arrive for Week 12 challenge, one player is mysteriously missing. Wouldn't put it past MB to have Heidi leave the show on her own. Makes it nice and tidy, and explains the "no one fired" Episode 11. Good job, I like it.

Oh well, so much for that theory. With Heidi gone, that still leaves 6 people with 4 weeks to go (not counting the "no fire" recap next week). I give up!

This wouldn't be the first time that a losing player on a Mark Burnett show has encouraged others to think that they win, when in fact they don't. There are usually hefty penalities if a contestant gives away the truth but none if they lie. With Troy's apparent ego, I'm guessing he would want everyone to believe he won for as long as possible.

Troy didn't imply that he won the job. What he said was that he "was feeling cautiously optomistic" about the outcome. In my opinion, the only people who would be cautiously optomistic at this point are the two finalists who have completed the competition and who are sitting at home and waiting for the final show on April 15 like the rest of us. I know...I know... maybe Troy is just saying that because he has to be vague about the actual outcome. Maybe he was fired and is just saying that to throw people off? However, I think that if Troy had been fired and was out of the competition he would say something like "it was a great experience" or "I can't comment on the show or its outcome until afterwards". I just don't think that he would say he was "optomistic about the outcome" if he was not still in the game. I think he made an honest comment about the show and someone screwed up in letting it get in the printed article. Moreover, although his comment can't be retracted from print, it can be deleted from the online article and that is what happened.

I agree with you, subman. I think he made an honest comment that had to be removed from the online article.

Unless, of course, Troy's "cautiously optomistic" means that he was already fired, but he's praying that history will reverse itself. He's not sure that will happen, though, and that's why his optomism is "cautious"...

He's cautiously optimistic that there will be a rip in the time/space continuem, allowing him to take the place of the "other" Troy who sealed the win when he ripped off, then ate the "other" O's fat head in the presence of the "other" DT during a boardroom confrontation.

Is that you or the "wild' mushrooms talkin?

It could mean almost anything couldn't it? We'll just have to see how it plays out. It will be interesting to see in the next few weeks whether this was a slip up on USA Today's part.

Of course he's going to say he's "cautiously optimistic" right now - as far as the public knows, he's still in the game! It's not like these folks are going to get interviewed and admit to their fate.

Snarky, smart, S7 Anti-Bootee Champ

I'm sure that's the case. However, Managerr pointed out that the USA Today article on the internet does not have this quote from Troy and I think that's odd? If it was not a significant statement, why remove it from the online article? C'mon Bebo , can't you get with the conspiracy theory? I smell a coverup?

Where does it say that he's "cautiously optimistic?"

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-03-10-apprentice-troy_x.htm

LAST EDITED ON 03-11-04 AT 05:56 PM (EST)

Troy's picture is on the front page of Thursday's USA Today. The article featuring Troy is on page 1d of the Life section. I checked out your link to USA Today and understand your question. The article on the website doesn't have the quote. Apparently, the sentance I was referring to is only in the print edition of USA Today and appears right after Troy discusses his odds of winning that once were 40:1 and are now 3:1. The next paragraph starts with this sentance including a quote from Troy. "I'm feeling cautiously optomistic" he saya via telephone from his home outside of Boise. This whole sentance is missing from the online article. I think you may have uncovered an attempt of USA Today to cover up someone's error in printing that comment from Troy in his interview. Check out a print copy of USA Today for the complete article. All of a sudden, Troy's comment in the paper this morning seems much more significant than I thought it to be this morning. Why would they have deleted it if it didn't mean something in terms of the final outcome of the show? Is this a smoking gun? Thanks for your observation.

Still think it is smoke and mirrors. I'll bet if you comb through the article carefully you will find other things missing to shorten it for the web.

No, with the exception of that one sentance, the online article is a word for word reprint of the article that appeared in today's paper.

I find it interesting that 1st Bill and then Troy said in the boardroom that they were "cautiously optomistic" about winning the rickshaw contest.

Now we have the supposed quote from Troy about being "cautiously optomistic" about his chance of winning the game.

I wonder if Troy is playing with the USA Today reporter/readers.
If Troy had said it 1st in the boardroom, I'd think it was just a Troyism. But Bill said it first, Troy copied him.

LAST EDITED ON 03-12-04 AT 00:24 AM (EST)

LAST EDITED ON 03-12-04 AT 00:23 AM (EST)

I think that both Bill and Troy were trying to be too cute with their responses to Trump's questions tonight. If I'm looking for a leader for one of my companies, I would not be excited to hear them describe themselves as being " cautiously optomistic" about their chances or their performance as leaders. Also, when Trump asked Troy to descibe Heidi's contribution, Troy said that she was a good salesperson. When Trump asked Troy whether Heidi was a leader, Troy responded that she was a good salesperson. To me, that's a smarta$$ response and Troy should have lost points. These guys are obviously on pins and needles at this point but they have to learn to call a spade a spade and make the tough calls. No one wants to hurt anyone's feelings but George said that the person who gets this job will have to make tough decisions and they had better starting acting the part.

I think that it is going to be a tough call on whether or not Troy won or not but I am not all that convinced that he will win because there are some pretty strong players left such as Amy, Nick and Bill. I don't think that Katrina nor Kwame are such big threats at this point but you never know what can happen and what Trump and his team are thinking.

No one has won the competition yet because this will not be decided "formally" until April 15 on live TV. The question is whether Troy will be one of the two finalists. Judging by the article I read yesterday and the suspicious way it was later editied before posting on the web site, I think Troy is a finalist. My choice for the other finalist is either Amy or Bill.

I'm not convinced that Troy will win either but, I am convinced by what I have read lately that Troy makes it to the final two players on the last day of the challenge.