1) Might the reasoning of skipping the introductions of the new Fastest Finger Contestants each night is to hide the fact that the "Middle-Aged-White-Man" syndrome is back at full strength again?
I kind of doubt that that would be the primary reason. If it was the primary reason, it would have been axed/phased out in the original run, sorta like how they got rid of the "Last Night..." recap at the beginning of the show. I think the primary reason is time constraints. I missed last night's episode (cursed campus with its L&O die-hards, can't find a TV with ABC anywhere), but on Monday Bob-O's first question of the night didn't happen until 5-7 minutes into the show.
However, once the excessive explanations become less necessary, the amount of time freed up would probably allow the shout-outs to the ring of fire. After all, they brought back the recap segment.
