BotS: Draft Recap

With the new Challenge season mere hours away, I wanted to take a quick look at the draft that we just completed. We were a little under the gun for timing but I think everyone will head into tonight's viewing confident they have drafted the best team. Remember, get your team recaps up soon! Here are the final teams and the draft order.

This entire Battle of the Seasons is pretty much a Fresh Meat for our challenge league. Seriously, who are some of these contestants? We needed this though, an infusion of fresh blood. Plus, Victor tipped me off that it's possible Kenny and Evan may never be back no this show due to a lawsuit involving Tanya and a toothbrush. While I have grown to appreciate the Douchebag Trio, I am ready to part ways with them for a few years, aren't you?

ROUND ONE
After some furious research, Victor led off the draft with a semi-surprise. He selected Zach from San Diego, which surprised some draft prognosticators. Then again, Zach is gigantic, six foot three, and a former college wide receiver. I even looked at his highlight reel. It seems like Zach could be poised to be the Evan of his generation but time will tell if he's actually an athletic marvel or just a mountain.

HT quickly snatched up Alton next, as he's rarely lost Challenges and seemed like a safe top pick. To be honest, even if he's a little older, we're excited to see what the Michael Jordan of the Challenge still has left in the tank. With his first pick, Jon debated but went with Trishelle, who is dear and near in the hearts of any MTV Real World watcher. She's guaranteed at least some hook up points, although time could have mellowed out her wild ways. Nah.

Yasmine and Kim went newbies with their first picks too. Frank from San Diego was a coveted choice because he seems to have all the tools to become a Challenge All Star. He's going to hook up, he's going to get drama, he's prone to crying, and he looks somewhat physically capable. The intriguing pick is Jonna, who has often been overshadowed by her Cancun castmate, Jasmine. We personally think Jonna is wonderful, and is poised for a breakout season. George wrapped up the first round by going with old reliable, Wes. Ugh. Nobody likes Wes. I wish they had left him off this cast. I hope the newbies all just ignore his conniving ways.

ROUND TWO
Somehow, Dustin at the top of the second round seems like a good pick. That's how much this cast is an unknown. Dustin who got a boo boo on his knee and had to leave Battle of the Exes. And how about Marie from St. Thomas breaking into the top eight? I literally know nothing about her, as I've not seen this season of Real World. Kim clearly has the inside scoop there though.

Nany and Jemmye have the best names so I think they were drafted just on the strength of that alone. Plus Nany is very beautiful, which leads HT to believe she will be excellent in the Challenge (even though Yasmine drafted her). I drafted Jemmye based on a Bill Simmons / Jacoby podcast from years ago, talking about how her misshapen name would mean great things.

Bringing up the rear is Sarah and Chet. The upside for Sarah is that she'll den mother everyone but we're pretty sure she's no longer got any championship potential. And Chet, well, we're still trying to figure out how he bagged Mandi.

ROUND THREE
In a gutsy move, Victor nabbed Cara Maria here, even though the official MTV site does not list the Fresh Meat team. So we aren't sure if they're in this season, or when they show up. Still, Cara Maria has to be a steal in RD3, if she's indeed on the show. And as always, I'm bitter someone stole Cara Maria from me.

We think Jasmine and Camila are great value picks here, as both of them are feisty and could be considered almost veterans. Same goes for Brandon, who has proven to be better than most would think. Then again, will being a veteran even count on this season, when the new outnumber the old?

Yasmine took Trey from St. Thomas, and while he looks athletic, and apparently played some college football, he also seems like a clean cut boring guy. We're thinking he's a low end version of Pete. Feel free to prove me wrong Trey. And Ashley is here just to look good and swoon over Zach. If Team San Diego can go far, she'll just be along for the ride.

ROUND FOUR
We think this is the round that will decide the championship. Someone among McKenzie, Laura, or Devyn will emerge as a huge player. Will it be McKenzie (is that her first name?) sloshing her way to big points? Or will Laura use her wilderness skills to great effect? Or maybe Devyn will prove to have some fight in her?

The one thing we know for sure is that Melinda is over the hill. What a big fall from a girl who used to be a princess of the Challenge. And let's not even talk about Derek and CJ, who are probably non-factors as they are both boring and non-athletic -- even though CJ in theory should be good at competitions. Too bad there's not much punting in these challenges.

ROUND FIVE
In a shocker, Eric aka "Easy E" gets selected. Like at all. How this guy gets invited back to these things is beyond me. We know what Eric brings to the table and he's guaranteed to at least last halfway through I guess. The rest of the round was a race to see who wouldn't be selected. I thought it might be Danny, who really must be just insulted to have dropped so far down. But really, what has Danny ever done (recently)?

The steal of the draft here could be Robb, who is six six and a former basketball player. Jon is really hoping Robb's ginger looks hid his ability from the rest of the drafters. In a race to figure who the non-competing contestants would be, Kim and George saved JD and Lacey from the scrapheap. That leaves Knight and Preston sitting on the bench. Preston has his own issues with toothbrushes and despite looking like Rajon Rondo, was probably a good choice to be undrafted. Knight, however, should be worth at least a few drunken points right? I guess people just don't like him!