2010 Nationals Preview with Shawn Ray and Lonnie Teper

Here is a transcript to the video shot in Venice beach where both Lonnie Teper and Shawn Ray run down the list of probable players by class and try and make a determination on what we expect to see on stage this weekend.

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Below is the transcript done by our board member FitAdina

2010 Nationals Preview with Shawn Ray and Lonnie Teper

iForce Nutrition presents the 2010 NPC NATIONAL Bodybuilding, Figure & Bikini Championships

SR: Shawn Ray here from musculardevelopment.com, live from Venice Beach California. Midway through October heading into the 28^th annual NPC National Championships.

LT: Aren’t you Shawn Ray?

SR: And look what the cat drug in. They let anybody in here.

LT: Ohhh!

SR: Crawling out from under a rock, Ironman’s very own writer, MC Extraordinaire, Lonnie Teper. Welcome to MD.com.

LT: What’s going on? Man, you look good on this new MD cover.

SR: That ain’t me. That’s Seth Feroce, man.

LT: This is.

SR: Woooo!

LT: Blast from the past, circa 1987, Grace Jones, herself!

SR: Gotta talk into the mic!

LT: Oh!

SR: That picture was from 1990’s Iron Man.

LT: …Michael Neuvex

SR: Yeah, that was… I had hair back then. So, so did you.

LT: You had hair.  And muscles. And muscles! I didn’t have muscles.

SR: Lonnie Teper for the 18^th year in a row, you’re gonna be emceeing the National Bodybuilding Championships out in Atlanta, Georgia, October the 15^th and 16^th. And we’re here to preview and handicap the upcoming challengers for the throne. We know that last years champion, Cedric McMillan, uh, wound up walking off, it seems like it was a pretty ranawy victory for him in the overall.

LT: He was solid. I thought Seth Feroce actually did give him a battle, I don’t know if Seth got any points in the overall. But I think now, we see a year later, where Cedric didn’t qualify for the Olympia, and Seth dominated that 202, and I think he would have been a top three candidate at the 202 at the Olympia. Me thinking that Seth, you know, provided a little bit of a battle isn’t that crazy.

SR: Right. Well, it’s amazing, Lonnie. It’s been since 1982 when one, young Lee Haney walked off with the first ever NPC National Championships, and we’re headed into our 28^th year. And that contest has yielded a lot of champions and Hall of Fame bodybuilders, has it not?

LT: Yeah, it really has, uh, you know, like you say, Haney won the first one back in ’82. He won his first Olympia in ’84, which is the start of, uh, eight in a row. A string of eight in a row.

SR: The year I graduated. High School.

LT: In ’84?

SR: (laughing) Yes!

LT: Yeah, I remember seeing you at the L.A.. I took my classes, my bodybuilding classes, and you were supposed to do the teenage. They didn’t have a teenage, so they threw you in, throw you in the open. And tt’s a fine third place finish, but it was good for a kid.

SR: I lost to Bob Paris’ boyfriend back in the day. The 1983 National Champion, Bob Paris. Uhm, but since that time, what we noted, there’s been only one overall NPC National Champion, Mike Salazar pointed this out, to ever win the Mr. Olympia Championships.

LT: Whoa.

SR: Yeah.

LT: First one was the only one!

SR: First one was the only one.

LT: So, it’s a hex! So, the bottom line is, you do not wanna win this show, if you think you’re gonna be Mr. O!!!

SR: Well, at the same time, there’s been a USA Champion to win the Mr. Olympia, and there has been only one North America Champion, in the form of Dexter Jackson, that has actually went on to win the Overall Mr. Olympia title, and that was in 2008. But we’re in 2010, and we got a lot of guys challenging for the title. Let’s start off with our Super Heavyweight Class, where there’s a lot of action heating up with one, possibly Todd Jewell. Uh, who else is in this battle?

LT: Well, Todd’s a jewel, but I’m telling you who I’m gonna pick right now. Keith Williams.

SR: Wow.

LT: You were with me two years ago in Minnesota when he took Flex Wheeler’s overall. But the guy has been second three times in a row: in the Nationals, The USA, and the North American. Just with the law of progression, it’s Keith Williams’ time. I don’t know if he’s in shape. I haven’t seen any videos of him or pictures, but I, I’m going to go on record right now and say I’m picking Keith Williams to win the Supers at the Nationals.

SR: And there could be an argument that he may have competed one too many times, where somebody coming in fresh might have an opportunity to sneak in the Super Heavyweight Class.

LT: Well, there’s no question, like I said, I haven’t seen him. I don’t know. If he, if he can come in  in the condition that I think he was at the USA… You know, of course, we don’t know what Todd Jewell’s gonna look like. This guy’s got mountains of muscle, and if he ever nails his conditioning…

SR: Right.

LT: This guy could win that class, there’s no question about it.

SR: I saw some pictures of Todd Jewell, and it seems to be on track for the best Todd Jewell that we’ve ever seen. He was third place not too long ago in September at the North America Championships, one of his better finishes. But also coming into this Super Heavyweight class, a veteran of the stage, Kirk DeFrancesco, whose wife was second place to Kris Murrell, the overall NPC Champion of a year ago.

LT: Yeah, he, he’s very good. He’s very consistent. He seems to have trouble really nailing his conditioning 100%. A guy that I’m really interested in looking at is Steve Kuclo. Kid Kuclo. He’s only 24 years old. Last year at the Nationals, he went down too far. He was flat like air out of a balloon. This year he got bigger at the USA, and they said he wasn’t tight enough, but we, we were looking at him the day, the day after the pre-judging, and Per was shooting him for you guys. And I mean the guy’s a great specimen. He’s just a young kid. Could Steve Kuclo be the surprise of this Nationals?

SR: Well, he was sixth place at the USA Championships, and arguably could have been higher. From the Friday night to the Saturday, made dramatic improvements. If he stayed the course, Lonnie, I believe he’s gonna be one of the favorites to beat at this competition. But not to be outdone, there’s other guys. Big Robert Burneika, coming by way of Las Vegas. This guy looks like he’s pro material, if he can dial it in right.

LT: Yeah, I think he had an injury last year. Sometimes they have an injury, and they don’t want to let it out in the media. He was not as good at the USA as expected. I thought he was one of the favorites going in. So, he’s got a lot to prove, and he’s now on the bubble.

SR: Yeah.

LT: ‘Cause if he doesn’t do well here, now people are gonna say, OK, he was at one time a contender, but now he’s only a pretender.

SR: Right. And he’s out there in Vegas training with Big Bad Wolfe, Dennis Wolfe. So, this is make or break it for Robert Burneika. Either he brings it, or he can go home. Uh, let’s go to New Jersey and talk about Big Drew Jemmott. This is a guy that’s got shape, symmetry, and balance. And if he brings his legs up to match  the upper body, and comes in hard, he could be a threat.

LT: You know, I’m glad you brought him up, Shawn. I think this guy may be the most underrated bodybuilder in the NPC. He’s got beautiful shape. He’s got a lot of muscle. Like you say, brings up the lower body just a little bit, he comes in in prime time condition, this guy could be walking off with the crown.

SR: Yeah, well, let’s drop down a little bit to the heavy weight division, up to 225 pounds and in between 198 pounds. Big Freddie Smalls out of Maryland, has got to be the odd’s on favorite, coming in second from the USA’s earlier this year.

LT: Well, I had a conversation with Fred “Biggie” Smalls, and I said, “Biggie, you know I gave you your nickname, made you a star, but you’re not winning this thing. You know, you’re making me look bad. Every time you’re coming in, you’re not quite as sharp as you were.” He says, “But, Swami, I guarantee ya, this is the best I’ll ever be. I’m walking off, not only with that heavyweight crown, but with the overall title is all.” He said, “Take that to the bank.”

SR: Wow, well, he’s got a lot of pressure on him. I know he works with the Training Guru, George Farah. He’s gonna be put to the test. An unknown, relative new, bodybuilder, Joel Thomas, 26 years old. I saw some pictures of this guy online. He’s pretty much coming out of nowhere, and he looks like he’s a phenomenal bodybuilder with a great future.

LT: Yeah, “Billy” Joel Thomas, uh, he may be singing Piano Man at the end of that night. Man, this guy, I, you know, I’ve heard a lot about him. I have not seen him, but you’re the, you’re the third person that has talked about all the potential that this kid has. And, uh, from what I hear, he could be coming out almost of nowhere, and, and really causing some damage here in Atlanta.

SR: Right, well there’s, I’m sure there’s a lot of other heavyweights coming back, returning to this show, and throwing their hat into ring. Let’s talk about a few of the light heavyweights. This is what produced Seth Feroce, our 202 winner of the Europa Dallas Pro Championships this past August. Uh, the light heavyweight division actually seems like it could be open to anyone. We saw a year ago, Branden Ray, who was a promise not kept yet, miss his peak, and tumble down a few spots. Is this his time right now, Lonie?

LT: Well, I don’t know, ‘cause a year ago, we, you asked me that question. You said, “Is he on the bubble?” and I said yes. People are starting to wonder whether Branden Ray’s the real deal now, after opening up his career with a victory at the Jr. Nationals. But I don’t think he’s been better since then.

SR: Right.

LT: But he’s had a lot of, you know, things going on in his personal life. He’s moved from the East Coast to the West Coast.

SR: Oak Town.

LT: He’s got the, he’s had a whole year to prepare. He’s no kid. Branden’s 30 or 31 years old. This is the time to bring it. But don’t forget this Lorenzo Jones, who, he did like, 79 contests last year.

SR: Yeah, this will be his 8^th competition in one year.

LT: He’s really good, and, and I have to put Lorenzo. Now, he, that’s another thing. Can he come in spot on after competing, you know, in every contest since 1952?

SR: (laughing in the background)

LT: I don’t know if he can do this, but if Lorenzo Jones comes in in great condition…

SR: (in background) That’s right.

LT: Can anyone beat him in that class?

SR: An over 40 competitor and very complete and challenging. Had a great year so far. Hopes to cap it off with a victory, and would go on to win his Pro Card. Uh, in the light heavyweight division, let’s talk about who’s not there. Tamer El-Guindy, who was the USA lightweight winner a year ago, is missing from this line-up. Is that a mistake?

LT: No, uh. He competed. He did the Nationals and the USA last year, I, I was one of the people advising him not to compete.

SR: Wow.

LT: He needed to take time off to let his body recover. Tamer beats you on shape and conditioning, he doesn’t beat you on size. I think he needs, uh, you know, he needs 3 or 4 more pounds, another year of muscle maturity. And, you know, if he would have gone into the USA, Al, he would have had to deal with Al Auguste, who was gonna win that class.

SR: Let’s talk about the guy that got second to Al Auguste at the USA Championships, Pistol Pete Ciccone, out of San Diego. Will he wind up on stage in Atlanta?

LT: I don’t think so. I think Pete’s taken the year off. I think the USA, it’s kind of a, he’s a West Coast guy. The USA is a West Coast Show. The Nationals more of an East Coast Show. Unless you live in Placentia, California. Then you can do the Nationals.

SR: (laughing) My home town.

LT: Yes, but, uh. No, I think Pete just needs to sharpen up his strong second place, and a very close finish with Al Auguste, I must say!

SR: Right, well, not to be outdone, there’s a lot of other lighter bodybuilders in this contest. Two time USA Champion, Luis Santa’s gonna be competing. Of course, Ronald Torres, I heard, is moving up to, up a weight class, while Luis’s dropping down a weight class. There’s gonna be a plethora of bodybuilders, Lonnie. A plethora means a LOT of bodybuilders descending in Atlanta on October the 15^th and 16^th. Are we gonna expect any surprises? Is anybody just gonna come out here and sweep people off their feet?

LT: I, I, I like what you said about the lighter class. A lot of times people ignore these lighter classes, but the welter weight division could be a blockbuster. You mention Luis Santa Claus. You know, will it be an early Christmas for Luis?

SR: He’s dropping into the Bantams.

LT: Oh? He’s going to the Bantams?

SR: I heard he’s dropping down a weight class.

LT: Because I have Victor Prisk, who’s an orthopedic surgeon,

SR: Doctor.

LT: I think he’s gonna cut-up the field at the Nationals. I think Prisk, who was second in his class last year, is gonna be so hard to beat. But this is a tough class. Jesse Sabater.

SR: Oh!

LT: Who was second to him at the USA. He’s tall. Jesse’s tall, so he’s not as thick, but he got, he gets hard as nails.

SR: Yes, he does.

LT: And Alan Bailey, you know he won the middle weight class at the North American. I heard he’s doing the show. So, don’t discount Alan Bailey.

SR: Well, definitely it’s gonna heat up in Hotlanta, come October the 15^th and 16^th. Lonnie Teper will be there rockin’ the microphone for the 18^th consecutive year. I’ll be there with Team MD to bring you all the play-by-play, along with Cedric McMillan. Your USA Champion, Jason Huh. We’ll have the middle weight winner of the female division, uh, Lisette Acevedo helping along with the women’s division, and also Marcy Porter bringing us the play-by-play on the Women’s Figure. For Lonnie Teper, I’m Shawn Ray. Musculardevelopment.com.

LT: I’m out!