Biggest Loser, Season 9 - Finale

Highlights of the Finale:

Daris now has a girlfriend.  If he was still overweight, would that girl still be interested in him?  Probably not.

Koli is just as obnoxious.  I think that when he lost all that fat, he also lost some brain cells.  What was he thinking, wearing pink pants and that ugly grey jacket!?  Ew!  During a flashback, Koli commented that he never valued himself because he was so overweight.  Well, I think he values himself a tad bit too much now.  I'll say it again - it's ok to be proud, but there's this teeny little thing called tact and down-to-earth appreciation (look at O'Neal, Mike, Daris... the list could go on).

Daris won America's heart and votes - he made it into the finale.  However, now that I think about it - I think we made a mistake...keep reading to find out why.

Three previous contestants returned to watch the finale - Erik, Danny and one other.  They looked great, especially Erik!  He won the title of the Biggest Loser when he was there, gained almost all his weight back and is now fighting to lose that weight.  He has lost 150 pounds to date.  He's supposed to come back to the next season's finale and show us that it can be done.  Sure - we already know it can be done.  The question is - can he keep it off?

All season long, we've been waiting to see how Shay turned out.  She was given a sweet deal by Subway.  For every pound she lost (in between last season and this season's finales), she would get $1,000.  She ended up losing 52 pounds for $52,000.  However - it isn't over yet.  Subway said that if she ran a marathon with the Subway dude at the end of the year, they'll double that money.

Yeah - I bet Shay was thinking "Oh damn, it's not over yet!?"  She had that fake smile on her face.  Now I am actually starting to feel bad for her.  She's probably sick of all the media attention, take her money and live her life.

Now - we went through the weigh-ins of 19 contestants that went home.  Some were shocking and some weren't.  Some accomplished their goals, and others did not.  What was extremely surprising (and rewarding) was Darrell taking Sherry's spot while competing for the $100,000.  Sherry weighed in early on and held on to the winning spot for about 9 weigh-ins.  When it seemed like she might just end up winning the prize, Darrell comes on and beats her by 2 pounds.  Darrell was marked as the sickest man on campus when he arrived and has since then pulled a complete 180.  It's amazing how many of them turned their lives around.

Koli ends up winning the $100,000 at home prize.  Here's why I think we made a mistake by voting Daris into the finale.  If Daris had been the one that joined the 'at-home' people, he would have been the one to get the $100,000 instead of nothing.  Now Koli has $100,000 and his ego has multiplied by 100,000 as well.  Oy vey!

For about a few weeks now, I swore that Daris would end up winning the title of the Biggest Loser.  He never caused any trouble on campus and he looks so great.  He weighed in first and lost at least 48% of his body fat.  That is a huge feat to accomplish - especially in 7 months.

Ashley weighed in second and shocked the nation by beating Daris by 2 points.  She still has more weight to lose - I wonder if she'll keep losing weight now or if she'll slack off a bit, now that money isn't on the line anymore...

I hate pink.  I loathe pink.  But if I ever gain weight and go on the Biggest Loser, I will ask to wear the pink shirt.  It's good luck.

When Mike came out from behind the white screen, four jaws dropped in my living room.  He is looking to be the favorite contender to win the whole thing.  He obviously has lost so much, but can he beat the magic touch of Pink?

Right before they weighed in Mike, the trainers talked to him, Mike handed his mom a white rose and they talked about his time on campus.  During that dragged-out moment, Ashley was standing there with a look on her face that said "ok enough - shut up and let's go!"  It's ok Ashley, I would have felt the same way.

Mike needed to lose more than 256 pounds to take the the position from Ashley.  He ended up losing 264 and won the title of being the Biggest Loser.

If Mike could do it, anybody can!

Don't forget to tune in next week for Jillian's series.  Even though I'm not too crazy about her, I'm curious enough to watch.