Well, at least I’m consistent so far in 2010—I’ve sucked in my predictions for the first two shows. My bad streak began by picking Toney Freeman to win the Phoenix Pro, and putting Melvin Anthony in 6th. And, as we all know, Marvelous won the Arizona muscle fest, with Freeman dropping to 3rd.

Then, even though I had a disclaimer for the Arnold Classic, saying loud and clear in my blog than ANY of FOUR dudes—Dexter Jackson, Kai Greene, Phil Heath or Branch Warren—could take top honors and that all four were legit pre-contest favorites, I am still responsible for my eventual top 6 listings.

I initiated a rule for “The Experts” a couple of years back that we (me, Yogi Avidan and Hardbody Hinds) had to selected different choices for the top slot to make things more entertaining.

So, my choice in Columbus, Ohio, of course, was 3-time champ Dexter Jackson, feeling The Blade still had the goods to tie Flex Wheeler for the all-time ASC record of four wins. Jackson winds up 4th.  Yogi went with Greene, and Hinds tabbed Heath so, on the surface, Avidan wins the Swami crown on this one. Like I said, on the surface, Yogi had a great night. Even picked Heath in second.

But, after LYING on the video wrap of the show, claiming he had the first four dead on, I’m officially disqualifying him for the egregious lack of integrity. And, to pour salt in the wound, he continued to fabricate his pick of Warren in third even after I quickly brought up the fact he had Dexter in fourth on our preview, just like I did, in our picks.

Hinds is another story all together. After assuring me he would be available for the wrap-ups videos for both Friday and Saturday night, he was a no-show. To make matters worse, Hinds was the one to make sure the entire crew knew to meet in the pump up room immediately after the finals so Roland Balik could get our word side view on video.

Stunned with the Heath loss (Heath was ahead by 3 points points after the prejudging, but Greene bested him by 8 at the finals and won by 5), Hardbody made sure the other duties he had snapping away for the NPC News, Bodybuilding.com and ifbbpro.com  (that he ASSURED me would NOT get in the way of taking part in the weekend wraps) did get in the way. Oh, he did finally make an appearance, 45 minutes after the contest was completed, but knew the video would be shot before then.

I guess I shouldn’t be too hard on Mr. Hinds; it was, in fact, his on-the-spot research that verified that Avidan absolutely, positively, had Jackson in third in his predictions. Then again, Snookie, of the hit reality show “Jersey Shore”, pulled a Hinds as well. Hardbody told me she was coming to the prejudging and finals, and I was hoping to add her as the “celebrity” commentator. Wait, I’m starting to connect the dots…Snookie thought Hardbody was “The Situation” (the biggest star of the show, with his sliced mid-section and Guido persona), and convinced him to do a wrap up with her instead of me. Somewhere outside of Veterans Memorial Auditorium.

So, after taking this all into consideration, I think I still deserve the Swami crown. Integrity, and reliability, gets the nod over knowledge any day.

OperationFitness.com Launches The Shape Up America Campaign 30-City Tour To Fight The Obesity Epidemic

WHAT:

OperationFitness.com presents the Shape Up America: Free Health & Fitness Expo. At this monumental event, The Biggest Loser will be hosting an open call for season 10 of NBC’s hit show. This event will also offer something for every member of the family including complimentary massages, health screenings, lectures, fitness demonstrations and free product giveaways. Obstacle courses, face painting and aviator simulations will be available for the kids as well a variety of information and products for pet owners and lovers alike. This event will also honor top celebrities for the impact they have made to the health and well being of our nation.

WHEN:

Sunday, March 14, 2010
10:00am – Event Opens
3:00pm – Q&A with top Fitness Experts
3:30pm – Awards Ceremony honoring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Health Advocate Lifetime Achievement Award), Cesar Millan (Animal Health Advocate Achievement Award), Mayor Villaraigosa, Councilwoman Jan Perry and 8-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman

WHO:

Sinbad (Master of Ceremonies), Bill Germanakos, the season four winner of the The Biggest Loser, Ronnie Coleman (8-time Mr. Olympia), Sebastian Siegel (Actor/Athlete/Artist), Michael O’Hearn (American Gladiator), Patricia Pease (Days of Our Lives), "Shorty" (Pit Boss/Animal Planet), Lauren Mayhew (Recording artist, WWE), Renowned Doctors, Fitness Experts, Holistic Practitioners, Pro Athletes, Bodybuilding Champions, and celebrities from the entertainment industry.

Health organizations who have already joined forces for the Shape Up America 30 City Tour include: The American Diabetes Association, The Alzheimer’s Association, The National Fibromyalgia Association, The Liver Foundation, The American Red Cross, The National MS Society, The American Heart Association, The American Cancer Society, Generation Rescue, After-School All-Stars, Boys and Girls Club of America and The P.S. I Love You Foundation.

WHERE:

Pershing Square Park
532 South Olive Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

· Announcement of Resolution passed in Los Angeles marking March 14th as “Health & Fitness Week in the city of Los Angeles
· The Biggest Loser Casting Call
· Performances by The Activators, Martial Art Experts, Champion Boxers, Sumo Wrestling Stars, Laura Mak Fashion Show/Dance Routine Troop, Yogi Ramesh "Laughing Yoga", free gift bags for the first 100 attendees
· Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) introduces their Teen Aviator Program with flight simulator on hand for children to experience

Dexter Jackson
 

Kai Greene
 

Branch Warren
 

Phil Heath
 

As always, there will be plenty of new highlights at the Arnold Sports Festival, which gets underway with a bang Thursday night. That’s when the prejudging for fitness, figure and bikini will take place—at Veterans Memorial Auditorium—for the Arnold Amateur. And, as always, I’ll be behind the podium, so make sure to come by and say hi if you make it there…100 bikini competitors in only its second year!

One impressive new look this year will be the bodies of “The Experts” after the Swami, Hardbody Hinds and Yogi Avidan had to purchase new pants last season for our rapidly expanding waist lines. After tipping the scales are nearly 200 pounds a while back, I’ll be at 188 come show time (at 5’10”), with 16” guns.  The 5’11” Hinds, up to 225 over the holidays, swears he’ll be a trim 205 by the time he arrives in Columbus on Wednesday, with 15” guns. Avidan, at 6’1”, ballooned up to a disgusting 259 after the ‘Olympia, but will be under the 240 mark in Ohio, with 14” guns.

Okay, so we still suck, physique wise, but we’re known for our vaunted cerebral gifts anyway, not mind-boggling muscle mass. And here we are to tackle—as I point out on my inside look in the ASC video on this site—what could be the most competitive event ever. With four—yes FOUR—legit title contenders.

Who else to start out the prognostications but the elder statesman and the group. And the sharpest of them all….me.  Oh, just to let you know, the rule for this one was we had to all make different selections for our winner, just to mix things up a bit. And, as you see, I’m the only one who still has faith that “The Blade” is still sublime enough to cut up this tough field.

SWAMI:
1. Dexter Jackson (ties Flex Wheeler for all-time ASC record with his 4th win)
2. Kai Greene
3. Branch Warren
4. Phil Heath
5. Toney Freeman
6. Melvin Anthony

HARDBODY:
1. Phil Heath
2. Dexter Jackson
3. Branch Warren
4. Kai Greene
5. Melvin Anthony
6. Toney Freeman

YOGI:
1. Kai Greene
2. Phil Heath
3. Dexter Jackson
4. Branch Warren
5. Toney Freeman
6. Melvin Anthony

*SWAMI LONGSHOT: Don’t be surprised if Ronny Rockel finds his way into the top 6. My counterparts feel the same way about Hide Yamagishi.

Are you ready? Let’s get ready to rumble…or is it crumble?

Shawn Ray has reminded me how he predicted Melvin Anthony would not land in the top 10 at last season’s Mr. Olympia. And Ray was correct; Anthony finished 11th, although he should have been in the 9th or 10th slot.

Shawn also told me Anthony would not be marvelous in the Phoenix Pro over the weekend, the 2010 opener now that the IRON MAN PRO has been put to rest. “I heard from somebody in Phoenix that Melvin is way behind,” Ray said last month’s FitExpo. “He won’t make top 5 in Arizona.”

So, I took Ray on his word, and didn’t include Anthony in my top five when I went on Heavy Muscle Radio with Dave Palumbo and John Romano to handicap the contest. And, because of the “inside” info I said I had, neither Dave nor John included Anthony in their top five as well.

Hey, at least I named Anthony as the one guy I left out who had the best chance of ruining my predictions (Palumbo and Romano still didn’t include Melvin even in that category—“because you’re telling us he’s off”), so don’t swipe my Swami hat just yet.

Anyway, as you all know by now, Melvin made Shawn, me, Dave, John and everyone else who didn’t give Anthony a shot look bad by winning the show. Now Marvelous assures us he’ll be in the top five at the Arnold Classic in two weeks. Check out my inside look at the ASC video on this site later in the week to see my thoughts on who will land where in what could end up as one of the most tightly contested shows in Columbus, Ohio history (hint: I did the picks last week, before Anthony’s strong finish in Phoenix).

Hide Yamagishi finished second, Toney Freeman (my pre-contest pick) placed third, Grigori Atoyan surprised with a fourth place landing, and home boy Troy Alves round out the top five.

In the 202 and under division, (don’t knock the) Roc Shabazz dominated the seven-man field to take top honors. Roc’s a good man with a fine, balanced physique. Congrats to Melvin and Roc.