Trav's Thoughts

Edit: Photos went wonky...had to take them out.



Delayed but not forgotten, here are the celebrities for Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars.

Kimberly Denise Jones, aka Lil Kim, is paired with Season 7 champion Derek Hough. She is a Grammy winning rapper and singer. She has also had success as an actor. I don't know much about her, but she's got a couple of things going for her. She's a performer and has likely had some exposure to hip hop dance. She's also paired with Derek, who I think is an outstanding teacher and choreographer. Derek returns for his 4th season. Derek has partnered Jennie Garth, Shannon Elizabeth, and Brooke Burke with whom he won season 7.

Steven Glover, aka Steve-O, is paired with Lacey Schwimmer. YAY! Lacey is back! Evidently, Steve-O is a creator of idiot television. He is classified as a "reality star", having made videos for the MTV program Jackass. Oh joy. Well, I won't judge until I see what he's going to bring to the dance floor. Lacey joined the cast of professional dancers in season 7 after finishing 3rd on So You Think You Can Dance. She returns for her second season. Lacey has partnered Lance Bass.

Nancy O'Dell is paired with Tony Dovolani. Ms O'Dell is co-anchor of Access Hollywood and has co-hosted the Muscular Dystrophy telethon. She has also done some acting. She covers most of the awards shows for her network. Tony is the retired undefeated American Rhythm Champion. He has been nominated for an Emmy for his choreography on DWTS, specifically for his Jive in 2006, and returns for his 7th season. Tony has partnered Stacy Keibler, Sarah Evans, Leeza Gibbons, Jane Seymour, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Susan Lucci.

Lawrence Taylor is paired with Edyta Sliwinska. Taylor revolutionized linebacker play in the NFL, basically creating the position of pass rushing outside linebacker. He is in the hall of fame, a 2-time Super Bowl champion, and a member of the 75th anniversary team. It is widely argued that Taylor is the best defensive player ever to play the game. And football players have traditionall done very well on this show. Edyta is the only professional dancer who has appeared on every season of DWTS. She has partnered Evander Holyfield, George Hamilton, Joey Lawrence, John Ratzenberger, Cameron Mathison, Jason Taylor, and Jeffrey Ross.

Shawn Johnson is paired with Mark Ballas. Miss Johnson is an Olympic champion gymnast and at 17 is the youngest ever celebrity on the show. She won the gold medal on balance beam last summer in Beijing, along with 3 silver medals for team, floor exercise, and all around. Like a figure skater, she'll have an edge because of her dance training. And Mark is an excellent partner to take advantage of her athletic ability. He'll push the limits of what she can do. Mark returns for his 4th season. He has partnered Sabrina Bryan, Kristi Yamaguchi with whom he won season 6, and Kim Kardashian. Mark has the highest scoring average of any pro dancer, at 26.73.

Chuck Wicks is paired with Julianne Hough. Mr Wicks is a singer-songwriter who released the fastest rising single by a country artist in 2007. He was a cast member on the reality series Nashville. He has been on tour with Brad Paisley, and has been linked romantically with Julianne. In addition to her dancing career, Julianne's debut country album hit #1 on the Billboard country album chart. She returns for her 5th season. Julianne has partnered Apolo Anton Ohno with whom she won season 4, Helio Castroneves with whom she won season 5, Adam Carolla, and Cody Linley.

Gilles Marini is paired with Cheryl Burke. Mr Marini is an actor evidently famous for portraying Samantha's next door beach neighbor in the Sex and the City movie. He has appeared in several tv series. Cheryl has been nominated for two Emmy awards for her choreography on DWTS, and is a 2 time champion. She returns for her 7th season. Cheryl has partnered Drew Lachey with whom she won season 2, Emmitt Smith with whom she won season 3, Ian Ziering, Wayne Newton, Cristian de la Fuente, and Maurice Green.

Denise Richards is paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Ms Richards is a former model, an actor, a Bond girl, and host of her own reality show. She has appeared in pictorials in Playboy and Jane magazines, as well as ranking #9 on Maxim's 50 Sexiest Women. Maks is an outstanding teacher and choreographer, owner of three dance studios, and one of the creators and directors of Dance Team USA. He returns for his 6th season. Maks has partnered Tia Carrere, Willa Ford, Laila Ali, Mel B, and Misty May-Treanor.

Steve Wozniak is paired with Karina Smirnoff. Mr Wozniak designed the first Apple computers, and he is credited with significant contributions to the advancement of personal computing. Since 1985, he has been a philanthropist focusing on improving computer capabilities in edcuational settings. I could be wrong, but I predict the geek's feet for this gentleman, which will deprive us of Karina much too early. Karina is a world champion professional dancer and the first woman to make the British professional final with three different partners. She returns for her 6th season. Karina has partnered Mario Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus, Floyd Mayweather, Mario, and Rocco DiSpirito.

Belinda Carlisle is paired with Jonathan Roberts. Ms Carlisle is the former lead singer of the Go Go's, which was the first all female band to achieve a #1 album while writing and performing its own music and playing its own instruments. Ms Carlisle also had an outstanding and successful career as a solo artist. I. AM. A. FAN. Jonathan spent 2008 successfully focusing on his competitive ballroom career, capturing the 2008 World Professional Smooth and US National Professional Smooth championships with partner Valentina Kostenko. He returns for his 6th season. Jonathan has partnered Rachel Hunter, Giselle Fernandez, Heather Mills, Marie Osmond, and Monica Seles. I have very high hopes for this pair.

David Alan Grier is paired with Kym Johnson. Mr Grier is a veteran comedian with roots going back to In Living Color. His string of comedic credits is quite long. I suspect that we'll find there is more to Mr Grier than silliness, as he earned a Tony nomination for his role as Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson in The First on Broadway. Kym has been a dancer since she was 15. She returns for her 6th season. Kym has partnered Jerry Springer, Joey Fatone, Mark Cuban, Penn Gillette, and Warren Sapp.

Ty Murray is paired with Chelsie Hightower. Mr Murray is one of the most successful rodeo cowboys in the history of the sport, earning the title King of the Cowboys. He is a 7 time all-around world rodeo champion and has won two bull riding championships. By hiring an agent to help capitalize on his success, Mr Murray helped pave the way for other cowboys to earn endorsement contracts. He is also Jewel's husband. Chelsie is another cross over from So You Think You Can Dance. She finished in the top 6 on season 4. Chelsie has studied with Corky & Shirley Ballas among others, and is well grounded in ballroom dance.

Jewel Kilcher is paired with Dmitry Chaplin. She is a platinum selling singer songwriter with appeal across many different music styles. She has been nominated for three Grammy awards and has sold more than 27 million albums worldwide. She is also married to Ty Murray. Dmitry is the third SYTYCD alum dancing this season. He finished in the top 10 on season 2. He has returned to choreograph ballrooom routines on SYTYCD and has taught at Mary Murphy's ballroom academy. Last season he danced on a couple of DWTS results shows.

Count 'em! Three alums from So You Think You Can Dance! I love this cross over. I think I may be more excited with the professional dancers than I am for the celebrities.

Tune in to ABC on March 9 for the premier. And check in here on March 10 when we say cue that theme music!