Dancing Through Life

For those less obsessed, or those who don't really care at all, I give you the celebrities that will be learning the waltz, jive, foxtrot and paso doble on ABC's Dancing With The Stars. Season starts March 19th!
(Sort of bummed that they changed the schedule on me...Monday and Tuesday nights now so as not to coincide with American Idol. Which was good from the show's point of view. I don't really care as I don't watch Idol. Never have, never will. Fortunately the results show will be between Gilmore Girls and L&O:SVU.) Be that as it may, here are the names, claims to fame and partnerships for Season 4.

1. Laila Ali - daughter of Muhammad Ali, oh yeah and boxer herself - Maxim Chmerkovskiy (love him - no one is built better than a professional dancer IMHO)
2. Billy Ray Cyrus - singer mostly, jack-of-all-entertainment-trades - Karina Smirnoff (this should be interesting, she's highly competitive and kind of annoying)
3. Clyde Drexler - basketball star, I don't watch b-ball so I have nothing on him other than he's probably tall and athletic, perhaps gangly - Elena Grinenko (who's also tall but she got eliminated first last season so I don't know much about her)
4. Joey Fatone - *Nsync member, just because Drew Lachey could do it does not mean every boy band guy is a natural dancer - Kym Johnson (she seems really nice)
5. Shandi Finnessey - Miss USA 2004 - Brian Fortuna (he's new so I don't know anything about him)
6. Leeza Gibbons - talk show host - Tony Dovolani (love him - SO hot and he's funny too!)
7. Heather Mills - married to Paul McCartney, has an artifical leg - Jonathan Roberts (love him and real life wife and dance partner Anna Trebunskaya)
8. Apolo Anton Ohno - Olympic speed skater - Julianne Hough (she's new so I don't know anything about her either)
9. Vincent Pastore - a Mafioso, or at least he plays one on TV - Edyta Sliwinska (I like her more each season but is it just me who thinks Edyta gets the old guy every time?)
10. Paulina Porizkova - supermodel, enough said - Alec Mazo (he's from Season 1, I kinda forget what he's like)
11. Ian Ziering - Steve on 90210 - Cheryl Burke (she won the last two seasons and I like her but it seems like she has an advantage somehow)

Does anyone know how the couples are decided? (The studio swears it's a secret from the performers until the first taped meeting.) So...bets on the winner this time around? I predict some temper tantrums (duh) and some tears (duh). At first glance - having not seen them dance yet, I say either Ian or Laila.

Ack! I just realized that Louis van Amstel is not back this season! Louis is awesome - his legs looked like they were made out of rubber when he danced - especially jive. I wonder if he's doing more choreography for the show. Ack! And neither is Nick Kosovich (we also love him and his real life wife and dance partner Lena Bahcheva.) Ack! Neither is Ashley Delgrosso (rumor has it she's Mormon.) It's a good thing I don't believe any of this 'reality' business, thinking people are really like what we see on the TV, betting on the results, concerned that the votes might not be based on actual talent (ya think?) I just watch it for the dancing.

(Hee hee, did you get the double meaning with the title there, the song and then DWTS?...Oh never mind.)

This is me liking the sound of March.