And so ends another season of "Survivor".  Sandra is the winner.  Yes, I
know.  I predicted Darrah to win, and Sandra to be the 13th player booted.  So
I had that twisted around.  I was right that Jon would make it to the Final 3,
and more importantly, the resounding disapproval of Lil by the Jury.  Why
Tijuana voted for Lil is beyond me, but I claim no intimate knowledge of her
brain functions.  After all, she was part of the Socialists of the Morgan Tribe,
so that should have told me something.  Fortunately, RyanO and Darrah were
less encumbered by their previous circumstance.

Sandra played a very good game.  She did everything right.  She remained
true to herself, not to mention focused.  Sandra stuck to her convictions and
opinions.  She even acted accordingly, such as when she tossed away the
fish Rupert had caught for the ingrates.  Sandra was very fortunate that the
others were not concerned about her and too busy plotting against the rest.
She slipped under the radar and danced well when called upon. 

Lil, on the other hand, played a very confused game.  She should not have
been returned by the Outcasts.  Trish or Nicole would have been better to
team up with Burton for an Outcast revenge strategy.  In the end, Lil betrayed
everybody, including herself.  Her pitiful performance with the Jury was sad
indeed.  There was no way she would win.  She may have done better had
she told a real lie and claimed to have played the fool just long enough to
back-stab everyone.  But, Lil tried to have her cake and eat it too.  Fuzzy-
headed thinking led to her downfall.  Jon probably could have beat Sandra in
the finals. 

My kudos to the Evil-One, Mark Burnett.  It was an enjoyable season with all
the new twists and turns.  He certainly fooled me.  My prediction rating for
this season absolutely sucked.  I ended with a 7-9 record, and failed on the
big one.  Yuk!   But that's okay, as I base my predictions more on analysis
and logic, plus usually two days before hand, unlike many of my peers, who
do not post until a few hours prior to the airing of the show.  I'm not accusing
them of calling someone in the Philippines to find out what happened, or am
I?  Hehehe!  No, most of them do indeed have an 'inside' source, or so they
say, since many of the rumors on boots begin about two or three weeks from
show-time.   

I can't walk away from this season without talking one more time about our
hero, the Mighty Rupert.  From Episode One, he enchanted us.  By the third
show, he was well entrenched as America's favorite contestant.  I have no
doubt that he shall return this February 1st in "Survivor:  All Stars".  Mark
Burnett knows a good thing when he sees it.  Rupert ascended quickly to a
new height in the hearts of fans.  He's the kind of person anyone of us would
love to be stranded with, since we would have full confidence in his ability to
provide food and shelter.  I bet he'd make a great next-door neighbor, too!
While Sandra won the million dollars, I am certain that in the long-run, Rupert
will do just fine with appearances and endorsements. 

In closing, I want to thank you, the readers.  You have made this web site
more popular than ever.  With well over 50,000 of you visiting in the past few
weeks, alone.  I can only hope I can keep up the good work and not disap-
point you in the future.  I also want to thank Warren and Melissa over at
SirLinksALot, for their support.  They are the only active Survivor web site
that currently exchanges links with me, and I'm sure that much of the suc-
cess I've had this season was due to that.  So relax and enjoy the holidays
as I intend to.  In a few short weeks, I'll be back, with more of Survivor Review.