Hilltopper39

Awesome! I know everyone must have been disappointed when they missed the Extreme Rusher credit so I'm glad they managed to get on Bullet. All of those S&S launched coasters over there look crazy! I can't wait to see some more photos and videos after the trip is over and you guys have had a chance to relax a little (sounds like you need a little R&R after this one).

Congrats Shane! The park in Utah looks fantastic, and I would imagine the project in Vegas will be even better. Good luck!

How was the S&S Bullet Coaster in Shenzen? I saw several pictures on the FB page but didn't notice any comments about how the ride actually was.

Bad football is still better than good baseball..............

Haha you got me, long time listener! That was one of the better lines he's had in a while on there.

Mitt Romney needs to put of $50 million of his own money to end the officials lockout, saving the game of football and maybe his Presidential campaign at the same time. It is the greatest political strategy of all time, saving football has to be worth a couple poll points right?

When this trip was announced it seemed like a can't miss kind of trip, but after reading the reports from everyone I'm not in any hurry to get over there any time soon. I'm sure being in China with TPR would have been the trip of a lifetime because of the amazing planning and detail Robb and Elissa put into their trips, but under any other circumstances I'm not interested. It's cool to see you perspective on the place though, looks like well China I guess.

My lock of the week is South Carolina -21 at Kentucky. Then again my lock every week is whoever is playing Kentucky.

^ I completely agree, put em away in regulation and you don't have to wait till the last second to win or lose. I kind of feel bad for these replacement officials at this point to an extent. They don't deserve the amount of ridicule and scrutiny that they are receiving, officiating a game in the NFL is a tough job and to expect someone who has never done it to be successful at it after 3 weeks isn't really fare. We'll see how it all works out.

Oh Tennessee, I know this story has nothing to do with football but it was to good not to share. There is still no official word on weather not Tyler Bray was involved but no one was injured by thrown glass bottles so it's probably safe to assume he wasn't present.... UT Student Hospitalized after Alcohol Enema

That is a game that I think has a lot of meaning surrounding it. I'm not totally out on Tennessee for this season yet, and I'm starting to think that Georgia might be the real deal and a team that can seriously contend for the SEC/National title. If Tennesse wins or keeps it close that might show they are legitimate and making steps in the right direction as a program, and Georgia is still Georgia. But if Georgia beats them by 30 it might show Georgia is a legit title contender.

I kind of disagree with your logic a little bit. Yes I think the topper track can be used to help rides that have grown rough or have significant maintenance costs, and to upgrade rides that "suck", but i also think it can be used to breathe life into an old coaster this is still good but maybe not great by today's standards. Take a ride like Screamin Eagle at Six Flags St. Louis, it is still a really good coaster by most accounts, but not really in anyone's top 10 anymore. You could Use iron horse track to make a steeper drop, overbank a turn, add some extra pops of air throughout the layout, and turn the ride into a brand new first class coaster again. Is there any reason Cedar Point couldn't rework Gemini with iron horse track utilizing the existing structure and new trains to make that layout all new and exciting? I just see this technology as having very few limitations as far as as it's applications go, if it is successful that is.

^Yeah I don't think Auburn is sneaking up on anyone this year, but Jordan-Hare is a tough place to play regardless, especially in a night game for LSU. I don't think Auburn is going to compete for a BCS game or anything but looking at their schedule it's not far fetched for them to win 6 of their next 8. This week doesn't have any really elite matchups but there are some decent games mixed in here and there. Baylor at West Virginia could turn into a ridiculous shootout, Ohio State Michigan State should be a nice match up of two slow teams with a little talent, and Oklahoma State should be the first real test for Texas. Also, not that anyone cares, but Western Kentucky at Arkansas State is big game in the Sunbelt Conference between probably two of the better mid majors in the country. Go Tops.

Ya know what in the refs defense, that is probably the most difficult call possible to make. Dual possession goes to the receiver, that that was what was called on the field, and the replay evidence has to completely over rule the on field call which I don't know if it did in the context of review process. The pass interference was there yes, but it wasn't called and it is unreviewable, besides in a 6 man melee in the corner of the endzone that instantaneous interference is not the easiest thing to see. I'm not defending the call because I do think after hundreds of HD slow mo reviews dissected by everyone in the world it was wrong, but it was awfully darn close and making that call correctly in the heat of the moment isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. I will say that yes there have been a lot of terrible calls, some that have decided games, some that didn't that could have, and the officials are taking a little longer than normal to review and make calls, but otherwise I feel like they have been letting a lot of stuff go and letting the players play which I appreciate to a degree. Also, I kind of like the extra scuffling that has been going on, there is a point where it is too much that I don't think has been reached yet, but a couple of good all out post whistle shoving matches makes for good television. If punches start getting thrown and someone gets hurt it has gone to far, but in the meantime I kind of like seeing Bernard Pollard and Logan Mankins get into it after the whistle without flags being thrown.

With that much raw material being completely "destroyed" it is a shame they can't salvage some of it for something, scrap, fire wood, something? Eh oh well. I can't imagine Top Flight Gun Deck has many years left given the recent fate that every other major Arrow suspended has suffered, so I'd like to see them turn that entire section of the park into some type of new themed section maybe with multiple flat rides, coasters, new restaurant, etc. That part of the park has some fairly wicked terrain so as far as coasters go I'd love to see a new terrain twister woodie (T Express 2.0) and maybe a multi-launch steel coaster like Maverick. We'll see what happens but hopefully the new addition will fare slightly better than the Son of Beast did.

I might have said it here before, but Toverland has slowly turned into a must visit park for me if I ever make it over to Europe. Looks like a great addition to an great little park.

I've been listening to the new Killers album ,Battle Born, all week and "Deadlines and Commitments" is currently stuck in my head. At first I didn't love the album, a few really good songs and a lot of just average ones, but it starting to grow on me quite a bit.

I had a college roommate from Centerville and his parents used to bring us boxes of Bill's donuts every time they came to town, very very good donuts, even after a half day's transit (although not as good as my hometown donut shop, Dough Daddy's Donuts haha!). Cincinnati style chili is one of my all time favorite dishes, it makes me feel like a complete slop tart after I'm done eating it but no amount of shame could keep from devouring a glorious pile of noodles covered in chili and cheese! One thing I never quite understood was the the disdain among people from southern Ohio for brands of chili other than Skyline. I always went to a Goldstar Chili in Lexington growing up because that's all there was and honestly didn't find it to be any better or worse than Skyline yet everyone I know from Ohio will look at you sideways if you say you prefer Goldstar haha. Anyways, a 4 Way bean and 2 Coney's no mustard or onions makes me a happy happy man, and if I'm wasting it at Kings Island even better! Great reports as usual Jason, thanks for making me hungry and making me miss home in the process!

So, week 3 has been insane, just when I thought I was getting a good feel for who is who in the league Minnesota goes off and beats San Francisco, Arizona starts 3-0 by blasting Philly, New Orleans loses to the Chiefs at home to start 0-3 and Detroit scores 14 points in 20 seconds to force OT then lose to Tennessee. Crazy week of Football but right now Houston and Atlanta look the best two teams in the NFL to me.

I was pretty impressed with Florida State, they're athletic and have a lot of big time playmakers. I'm not going to look to far into LSUs close win. I still think LSU is an elite team but I think Auburn had a lot to play for and aren't as bad as people might have thought. Next weeks LSU @ Florida should be a huge matchup and the first real test for either team. I stayed up later than usual last night to watch Oregon and Arizona and was pretty impressed with Oregon. Everyone knows how fast and explosive they are but their offensive efficiency and toughness on defense made them really look like a complete team to me. With that being said I still think they will struggle against really big athletic defensive fronts like Bama and LSU and maybe even FSU. I could be wrong but I just don't see them being able to make as many plays in space against guys that are bigger faster and stronger then they are. And Arkansas continues to be a complete train wreck, even knowing off season issues surrounding Petrino I don't think anyone saw this start coming.

Oklahoma loses while ranked in the top 10, nothing new there. Clemson is soft.....

I think Missouri will be okay against the majority of the sec, just not against the elite defenses like LSU, Bama, South Carolina, Florida, or Georgia. They should be able to compete with everyone else.

South Carolina looks pretty solid right now, not sure how good Missouri really is but with the style SC plays they can beat anyone Bama and LSU included.

I still like the idea of mean Streak getting some type of a RMC treatment, even if is just topper track and some slight modifications instead of a complete Texas Giant style overhaul. Even though it's a pretty average coaster as is, Mean Streak is still one of the most photogenic rides around and just completely dominates that section of the park. I'd love the see the presence of a gigantic wooden coaster in that section remain I just wish the ride experience was more exciting and consistent, so if a RMC treatment is a solution for that I'm all for it. Other than Mean Streak, I think it would be really cool to see what RMC could do with the Beast, even though it will likely never happen. I know the enthusiasts in Ohio will likely shun me even mentioning such a travesty but we can all agree that the Beast is no where near as exciting as it once was, and is kind of lame by today's standards. I'd love to see a taller steeper drop, some insane airtime hills and maybe a barrel roll built into the long section between lifts, then maybe even extend the ride after the double helix into the nearby woods for some type of crazy airtime and tunnel filled ending that reclaims "World's Longest Coaster" in the process. Again, I know it will probably never happen, but try to convince me that it wouldn't be awesome, and that it could potentially make the Beast a legit top 5 coaster in the world (Top 5 by real coaster standards, not Golden Ticket standards).

WOW ! looks like you guys got some great access to restricted areas to shoot on this trip!