Martina Navratilova
If I saw Martina Navratilova on the street, I wouldn't know who she was. If I saw her on television, I still wouldn't know who she was. I did, however, recognize her name. I think I recall hearing that name associated with tennis. (I don't watch tennis) The first thing I noticed about Martina was her outfit. She came to the cast announcement (what is that called? "appearance" "show"…thing) She came to the cast announcement thing wearing jeans, flats, and a long sleeved shirt. This makes me think that she might have a hard time being sexy. The latin dances require a certain element of hip shaking and sexiness. Usually, women who prefer pants all the time don't bring out the sexy. Now, I'm not saying ALL pants lovers CAN'T be sexy, I'm just saying my first impression of anti-heels and anti-dress women is: "me no like sexy". The female athletes usually fall into three categories.
A) Girl sports…..Figure skating, Gymnastics….Winners…..Kristi Yamaguchi…Shawn Johnson
B) Sports girls play that aren't that girly…..Soccer, Volleyball….Hope Solo…Misty Mae Trainor
C) Laila Ali…..Laila Ali
Martina is dancing with Tony Dovolani.
Tony has danced with the "older" Dancing With The Stars cast members….WELL, "older" is not the correct word. The correct term would be "woman of a certain age". That age would be "over 40", because "over 40" is an age. The farthest Tony has gone is third place, with Melissa Rycroft. Melissa is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. (I watch that reality show too.) Her "star" title is from The Bachelor….in which she played herself. I like Tony because he's a Cancer like me, and he danced with Wendy Williams, who is also a Cancer, and also from New Jersey.
Jack Wagner
Jack is known for being on Melrose Place. I never watched Melrose Place. I've seen every episode of Beverly Hills 90210, but I've never seen a single episode of Melrose Place. Perhaps I should track down Melrose Place. I know Jack as Nick Marone on The Bold And The Beautiful. As a child who was forced to watch soap operas at various babysitter's houses, I'm a fan of The Bold And The Beautiful. I also hate Brooke and Ridge being together on The Bold And The Beautiful, so I was thrilled when Jack Wagner joined the cast. Brooke finally had someone to distract her away from Ridge…BUT, I DIGRESS…..I think Jack is a sexy older man. Now, most people know I like older men, BUT older for me is like, 40. I'm sure Jack is in his 50s. I think Jack will look hot in his costumes, but I have a feeling he has no rhythm.
Jack is dancing with Anna Trebunskaya.
I like Anna. Anna has placed second twice; during her first season with Jerry Rice, and in season 10 with Evan Lysacek.
Melissa Gilbert
Little House On The Prairie: WAAAYY before my time. I hear Melissa is pretty tough, which is good since she's paired with Maks. I think they purposely pair Maks with strong ladies, so they can handle him. Melissa is also the former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Don't even get me started on what's going on with Screen Actors Guild right now.
Maks is obviously very good looking.
He's described as, "the bad boy" of ballroom dancing. Really? Why, because he's honest and tells it like it is? I definitely think you can get your point across in a kind and friendly manner. I just think Maks has issues with patience. Maks came in second place with Mel B, third with Laila Ali, and also made the finals with Erin Anderson.
Donald Driver
Donald Driver is a sports guy. He wore a black guy suit on the cast announcement thing. A black guy suit resembles a zoot suit, or a regular suit that happens to have an extra long jacket, in a color other than black, sometimes with a pinstripe pattern. (see any football commentary show) Traditionally, football sports guys do better than basketball sports guys. You also have your "other" sports guys like Apolo Anton Ohno (speed skating), and Helio Castronouves (Nascar). (they both won, by the way) Jerry Rice came in second in the second season. Emmit Smith won season three. Jason Taylor came in second in season six. Lawrence Taylor. I wouldn't mind seeing Donald shirtless at some point in the season.
Donald is dancing with Peta Murgatroyd.
Peta is a former member of the Dancing With The Stars Troupe. The troupe is basically six additional good-looking people who dance on the results show. It wasn't a necessity, but it's cool for now. Peta was upgraded to "Pro" last season. Her partner was Ron Artest Meta World Peace. They were eliminated first, but Peta stuck around for a few results show performances. I hope she gets a chance to show her skills as a pro, even though she is with another athlete, BUT, he's a football player, not a basketball player.
William Levy
I've never heard this name. I've never seen his Jennifer Lopez music video. I don't watch telanovelas. I don't speak Spanish, but I will enjoy looking at William Levy. I always enjoy the male eye candy. He's being called the Brad Pitt of Mexico. I'm going to think of that term as him being as big in Mexico as Brad Pit is in the Ewe Ess Of A. (USA) I also wouldn't mind seeing him shirtless.
William is dancing with Cheryl Burke.
Cheryl won her very first season with Drew Lachey. She also won her very second season with Emmit Smith. Cheryl was in the top four with Ian Zeiring in season four.
Sherri Shepard
I LOVE Sherri. The View is my only source for the news. (except for US Weekly) I wasn't really surprised when Sherri was announced. She's been talking about wanting to be on the show for years. I'm curious about how she's going to handle going back and forth from New York to L.A. every week, but I'm sure she'll handle it well. I'll also enjoy the little tidbits on The View. Sherri's only possible weakness may be her huge, gigantic boobies. They may get in the way.
Sherri is dancing with Val.
Val is Maksim's younger brother. He is also sexy. They have some good genes in that family. Val's first season as a pro was last season. He's appeared on the show in the past. The most memorable appearance was the dance-off between Val and Mark Ballas. It wasn't just a dance-off, it was a violin/guitar-off. There's nothing like a violin/guitar-off. Val was paired with Elisabetta Canalis last season. They were voted off second. So, like Peta, we have yet to see what he can bring to the table. Doesn't Val look like a thinner Chaz Bono? (just saying)
Roshon Fegan
He's a Disney kid. They filled the kid quota. I really don't know anything about this kid. I'm a 90s Disney kid. I know The Mickey Mouse Club, Kids Incorporated, Avonlea, Fast Forward, and Bug Juice. I never messed with Just So Raven, Hannah Montana, or any other modern Disney Channel stuff. I know the Cheetah Girls, because I remember 3LW. I also watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Rob got Adrienne's name tattooed on his chest. Getting your lover's name tattoooed is always a great idea. Anyway.....Back to Roshon.....He's pretty cute. He's half black, and half Filipino. We know blacks and Asians age well, so he could be 35 years old. That's all.
They brought back Chelsea Hightower.
Chelsea has danced with most of the younger guys on the show. She seems pretty easy going, and nice. That's all I have to say about them.
Maria Menounos
Maria is filling one of the two, younger, pretty girl spots. People expect the pretty, skinny girls to do well. This isn't always the case. She's known for being an "entertainment host". I don't think I've ever seen Maria not smiling. Maria is one of my picks to win for no other reason than, she's dancing with Derek Hough..
Speaking of Derek Hough, who doesn't love Derek Hough? Besides being an excellent dancer, he seems very sweet and nice. Every mother dreams of her daughter bringing home a boy like Derek. When Derek first came to DWTS in season 5, I didn't think he was sexy. Then, all of a sudden he's kissing Shannon Elizabeth, and I saw the light. I enjoy seeing Derek topless as much as possible. I've never been into blonde guys, but I'll make an exception for Derek.
Jaleel White
Jaleel is my favorite celebrity this season. I've been revisiting my youth and recording episodes of 90s sitcoms. I went through all of Full House, Married With Children, The Golden Girls, The Nanny, My So Called Life, Saved By The Bell, and now I'm on Family Matters. (90s shows and films are more entertaining when you're an adult, and you get all the jokes) Family Matters was brilliant. Steve was the breakout star of the show. His behavior in regards to Laura was full on stalker. He was downright delusional, BUT he got her in the end. (PSA, that doesn't usually happen, please don't stalk girls who aren't interested) Jaleel has a fan advantage, because everyone loves Urkel. I'm pretty sure Jaleel is still rich from all those years as Urkel, so I don't think he minds hearing the name "Urkel" every single day of his life. (because after hearing Urkel, he hears that cash register bell sound)
I always compared the Steve Urkel/Stefan transformation to Superman/Clark Kent. Clark is clearly Superman with a pair of glasses. There are plenty of clear photos of Superman's face, yet nobody suspected it was Clark. Stefan was Steve without glasses. All Steve had to do was stand up straight and take off his glasses. Steve was capable of inventing all kinds of machines, yet he couldn't go to the store and shop for non-dork clothes.
Jaleel is dancing with Kym.
Kym has won twice. She won with Danny Osmond, and Hines Ward. Kym is Australian and speaks with an authentic Australian accent. I think Kym is good at comforting her partners, and creating fun routines. She also won after almost getting her neck broken by Hines; double kudos for that.
Gavin Degraw
Gavin goes into the pile of names I've heard before, but don't know who they are. I knew he was a musician, but for some reason, I thought he was a country singer. Perhaps I associated Macgraw with Degraw. He's a pretty average looking guy. I don't know much about him, but I'm sure he's cool.
He's dancing with Karina.
She won for the first time last season with J.R. Martinez. She came in second during her first season with Mario Lopez. A lot of people, including myself, thought she would get farther with Ralph Macchio. Karina may come in a small package, but I think she's one of the better choreographers. She knows how to put together a nice dance, while not taking the shine away from her celebrity partner.
Gladys Knight
Gladys is representing the senior citizens. Cloris Lechman, Florence Henderson, that old astronaut guy, and my favorite, George Hamilton, have previously held this spot. George reached out to all his peeps in the hood; you know…Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, hood. Gladys is probably the most famous cast member, but since I'm still in my 20s, Jaleel is the most famous person to me. Gladys probably has natural rhythm. I see her doing really well with all the ballroom dances, but I don't see her getting down and dirty with the latin dances. Like I mentioned with Martina, latin dances require a lot of sexy, and I can't see Gladys grabbing Tristan, and hopping on that midnight train to Georgia.
Tristan is a former troupe member.
He was upgraded to pro dancer along with Peta last season. He danced with Nancy Grace. I didn't appreciate Tristan's hotness until it was too late. Now, I watch old episodes from last season, and enjoy watching Derek, Maks, and Tristan. He also has an Irish accent. I like accents. I would enjoy listening to him say anything. He can also dance shirtless as much as possible.
Katherine Jenkins
Apparently she's an opera singer. I've never heard of her, but she's pretty.
She's dancing with Mark.
Mark won with Kristi Yamaguchi, and Shawn Johnson. That's all I have to say about them.
