I know last week tribephyl started this list and I don't want to take anything away from anyone, but I won't be around Fri/Sat so wanted to get my rankings up before the weekend.

In the first Love/Loathe List I said "go home with the one you brought to the dance." But here's the question...what if the one you brought causes a scene, disrespects everyone, is jealous of girls you talk to, and calls another invited guest (along with a city pop. 8 million) "gay?" I could sum up that decision with three words, "DUMP THE B!TCH."
That's why (not only Chase but) La Flor got it right.

MARTY - Showed restraint at camp when you knew he was dying to interrupt and question Coach Jimmy. Was part of a great group effort to find the HII. Nice save with Jill changing the "I" to "we," but the HII is still on his person, so the way I understand the rule, it's HIS to use.

TYRONE - The MVP of the IC. If not for his toss and aim, the MoP advantage would have meant squat for Espada. Looking forward to some animated and entertaining confessions from him down the road.

CHASE - As stated in my above intro, he (La Flor) made the right decision. Such is the benefit of a contingency plan, but you don't want to have too many irons in the fire. He should just stick with Brenda and run with it. There's something to be said about being approached by more than one and NOT being a prime target even when the whole tribe knows you're trying to burn the candle at both ends.

KELLY B. - Still a sentimental favorite; gotta love her effort. I also love how at TC sitting on the end, staying away from harm's way, and probably saying to herself, "all this whoop a$$ and personal attacks are nothing compared to what I had to go through growing up."

BRENDA - Arguably in the best position so far. She doesn't have to sit on Chase's decision thanks to Shannon's self-destruction, and got sucked into Matt and NaOnka's alliance for no other reason than being a minority. How well she takes advantage of those situations will determine how far she goes.

JILL - Solved the final piece to the HII puzzle. Her best play is to stick with Marty. Being a Doctor I don't think she's a "dope" so should be smart enough to play a decent game.

JIMMY J - Up here for entertainment value. Coach Jimmy making the merge would be a more monumental accomplishment than whoever emerges as the sole Survivor this season. But frankly, I don't see that happening.

FABIO - Aside from being an obvious moron, I still can't quite figure Jud out. He's this high mainly because I feel sorry for him. He kinda reminds me of a pet mistreated by a cruel person, but doesn't run away because it has nowhere else to go.

JIMMY T. - What may be overlooked greatly is now he came up with "yard" knowing what a yardarm is. If not for that, the HII is not found. His occupation as a commercial fisherman probably provided that knowledge; so it makes you think if anyone else on Espada would have figured it out. But the guy still rubs me the wrong way.

YVE - Nothing going on with her this episode, but still the hottest to look at on Espada.

JANE - She goes from stating fire and humbling Jeff at the first TC to being virtually invisible.

PURPLE KELLY - It's one thing for Jane to be invisible; it's another when a hot bod in a purple bikini is invisible. Could mean only one thing...a coattail rider who will advance far in the game.

BENRY - Reminds me of Brett the last time CBS aired a REAL Survivor season. Young guy mostly out of sight early on only to finish up with an impressive IC run. But if lightening is to strike twice, the final ICs better not involve tossing balls in a barrell.

ALINA - Writing Brenda's name at TC means one of two things. 1) she's out of the loop, or 2) she's jealous Brenda hooked up with a hunky guy and she has Kelly B. Either one supports my ranking.

DAN - I never thought anyone would be more ridiculous than Robbbbb in Thailand bringing a skateboard when the game was played on a sandy beach. Alligator shoes are just as useless, but boasting a $1,600 price tag puts a neon sign on his back saying, "this guy does NOT need the million dollars!"

HOLLY - Biggest disappointment for me thus far. A female athlete who's no stranger to hard work melting like a pat of butter in the Sahara desert. Once a coach always a coach, so I guess you can't blame Jimmy J. for trying to pick her up. But I would have to favor Cirie's approach at Exile Island pertaining to Shane, "If he wants to quit...LET 'EM QUIT!"

MATT - Oh brother, a racial alliance...ain't that original! Imagine ep. 1 when Chase and Shannon joined forces, but instead of targeting the females, Shannon's master plan is to eliminate the blacks. I guarantee a protest staged by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton outside CBS studios the following morning. Oh but silly me, Matt is just trying to see where the caucasion players stand? Or perhaps months later he'll come up with some other lame explanation to mask the bitter racist bigot he portrays. Either way I don't care--despite the racism, he's a major league douchbag.

NAONKA - Last week I used the "strand of hair in the eggs" analogy. After ep. 2 she's more like finding an entire hairpiece in my omlette. On Kelly B...she's a "charity case" but I admire her effort. That's like walking up to an obese person and saying, "Hey, for a fat, sweaty pig you sure don't stink." Unfortunately being wedged between Matt and Brenda in a racial alliance she'll be in the game for a while. UGH!

BOOTED

SHANNON - I'm sure next week no less than 3 - 4 players will take credit for Shannon's boot. But the truth be told--the player responsible for Shannon's boot was Shannon HIMSELF. I'm thrilled he's gone. But unfortunately with the Reunion Show alternating between both coasts, I think this season's Reunion will be in CA? If so, I'm majorly bummed because I would give anything to force Shannon to come into NYC for the Reunion.