For some reason, I just knew this would happen. A long time ago Erin Andrews was asked if she would take a spin on Dancing With The Stars, and she didn't rule it out. Well now she's actually set to appear in the latest edition of the popular ABC show, and she'll be joined by the craziest group of "stars" that have ever been assembled. Here are your 11 competitors....

- Pam Anderson
- Kate Gosselin
- Evan Lysacek
- Buzz Aldrin
- Shannen Doherty
- Nicole Scherzinger (Pussycat Doll)
- Niecy Nash (Reno 911)
- Erin Andrews
- Chad Ochocinco
- Aiden Turner (Soap Opera Dude)
- Jake Pavelka (Latest Bachelor)

Good god. Not only did they pull the last Bachelor right off the set, but they've snagged Ocho Cinco, Jon & Kate minus Jon and and actually dancer from a pop group. The apocalypse is upon us, folks.

I still have yet to watch an entire episode of "Dancing With The Stars", but with the news of the latest group of wannabe dancers, I might have to check it out. Not only is the arch-enemy of Terrell Owens, Joanna Krupa, involved, but so are Natalie Coughlin, Chuck Liddell and THE Michael Irvin. And those are just the Sports stars (minus Krupa)! Here is the full list....

Kathy Ireland, 46
Joanna Krupa, 30
Mya, 30
Natalie Coughlin, 26
Chuck Liddell, 30
Tom DeLay, 62
Donnie Osmond, 51
Michael Irvin, 42
Louie Vito, 21 (Pro Snowboarder)
Mark DaCascos, 45 (Host of Iron Chef America)
Aaron Carter, 21
Macy Gray
Ashley Hamilton, 34 (Son of former DWTS competitor George Hamilton)
Melissa Joan Hart
Debi Mazar, 45 (Actress from Entourage)
Kelly Osbourne, 24

Now I don't know much about previous season, but this group of dancers seems like it has the potential to be the best. Best on an unintentional comedy level, I mean. Watching Chuck Liddel alone, hammered out of his mind, would be enough on its own.

Given that DWTS is an ABC show, and that EA is a huge draw in the 18-45 male demo, this actually seems like it could happen. Dan Steinberg interviewed her at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and this is what the sideline reporter had to say....

"I want to do it, because I think I'd be good at it," Andrews said yesterday, over a lunch of a hamburger and chicken noodle soup in downtown D.C. (I had iced tea. Too many freebie cookies from the Scripps National Spelling Bee.)

"I want to do it very badly," she continued. "That's the big push."

She joked with DWTS host Tom Bergeron about earning a spot last year during the Spelling Bee telecast, which Bergeron hosts. She said she would ask again this year; ABC is broadcasting the Bee finals tonight, with sideline reporting from Andrews.

"I love the show, and I've grown up around dancing," said Andrews, who, of course, was on the Dazzlers dance team when at Florida. "People say, 'Oh, you're a dancer, how could you do it?' But I've never taken ballroom, I've never partnered dance with anyone. I think I'd be in the top, unless I fall. I'm a big faller. If you fall, that's a hard fall, which I'm sure would make the Internet very happy."

Well then. I might not be speaking for everyone, but on the behalf of bloggers I say....pleeeeease make this happen ABC!

Erin Andrews Returns to Spelling Bee, Says She Wants to be on 'Dancing With the Stars' (The Sporting Blog)

There's nothing more odd, and less funny, than a segment which features Kenny Mayne, Jerry Rice and Dancing With The Stars' judge Len Goodman. But when you add the fact that Rice is shirtless, well....

She's got the "gear in the rear"? I'm going to have to remember that one. Oh and let's save the talk about Jerry Rice's anatomy, especially when he's wearing a vest and no shirt. Thank goodness I don't watch that show on a regular basis.

Last year, the only scary thing about Dancing With The Stars, was Warren Sapp "matrixing" it up in a giant leather coat. Today, comes the news that a stalker of found his way through security and was trying to get to U.S. Gymnast Shawn Johnson. That's not the scary part though. The man was armed with a loaded .45 handgun and a loaded shotgun, and was also carrying duct tape, arm ties and a map on how to get to Johnson. Via Mavrix Online....

Shawn Johnson, the former olympian and current Dancing With the Stars contestant, jetted out of her trailer right before she was set to appear on the show.

It’s being reported that earlier today, a man who claimed he was “meant to be” with Johnson was arrested for trying to sneak onto the set. According to police, the man had two loaded guns ( a .45 handgun and a shotgun), duct tape, zip ties and a map to the victim in his car - items typically associated with a kidnapping - along with love letters, clippings and other information on the victim. Johnson’s mother, Teri, has filed a petition for a restraining order against the 34-year-old Robert O’Ryan seeking protection for Shawn, 17, her mother and father and dancing partner Mark Ballas.

Wow....just wow. I don't even have a follow up for that one. Thank goodness that security handled everything before it got worse.

Horror On The Set of DWTS!!! (Mavrix Online)

After the crew gave Warren Sapp a little bit of praise for his trip to the finals of DWTS, Sapp took the time to apologize for his comments directed at Keyshawn Johnson. The outspoken one, who railed on Keyshawn's new interior design show and the ESPN analyst's masculinity last week, decided to say a few words that were apparently inspired by a talk with his mom. Here's the video complete with a bonus Collinsworth-JB tiff story....

See how easy that was? Sure the comments came at the very end of the show, and after he had already piled on Donovan McNabb, but you have to start somewhere. I still think Warren is a good addition to the show, and as soon as he realizes that he doesn't have to say something outrageous each week, he'll become even better.

Oh and don't forget to vote for the big guy!

Sapp apologizes to Johnson, criticizes McNabb (NFL.com)

So ex-contestant, Kenny Mayne spent a good bit of time on Dancing With The Stars last night promoting his new show. While he has to be happy with the millions viewing that hear his plug, the segment was just about the oddest thing I've ever seen. Kenny, the evil British Judge and a drag queenish Jerry Rice, were in a segment called "Dance Center". Here it is if you missed it....

Seriously though....what the hell was Jerry Rice wearing? Not only did he have a fake afro on, but bedazzled eyelashes??? Okaaaay.

Just a quick note that I wanted to pass along here, but Joe Theismann will be with the Inside the NFL crew on Showtime tonight, instead of Warren Sapp. Sapp will be on the Dancing With The Stars set tonight in some sort of team, battle royale event that I know nothing about. So in his stead, Showtime decided to bring in Theismann to fill the vacancy.

I think Theismann is much better in these formats, rather than live games, so if you're tuning in and looking for him to flub through the show, you might be disappointed. Joseph will be on at 9pm with JB, Phil and Cris, so check it out if you're so inclined. The topics will be The Colts and Patriots, as well as how the Packers are faring without Brett Favre....you know....new stuff!

Oh and Kenny Mayne will also be on Jimmy Kimmel Live as well.

Inside The NFL (Showtime Sports)

I was personally glad that MLB and FOX decided to play Game Three late Saturday night/early Sunday Morning. There's nothing better than going out for awhile and then coming back and watching the rest of a game late night. Well apparently not everyone stays up as late as I do, because FOX's ratings for Game Three were abysmal. So bad in fact, that it's the lowest rated World Series game ever with a 6.1. It was obviously a tough decision to air the game, but when pressed Bud Selig had this to say in support of the decision, "It was a terribly difficult situation. ... You know what, it was a great game and those that saw it enjoyed it."

You never want to completely postpone a Playoff game, but when your start time is 8:30pm, and the first pitch is moved to past 10pm, you might want to think about it. As far as Game Four last night, the numbers aren't nearly as bad. The overnight numbers say that it received a 10.7, which is down 25% from last year, but that game was a Series clincher for the Red Sox. If you're looking for more comparable numbers, the PSU-OSU game on ABC pulled a 7.2 and the Giants-Steelers game on FOX got a 15.6. You'd expect a World Series game to fall somewhere in between those and that's exactly where it wound up.

However, through the four games FOX is averaging an 8.5, which is a full one and a half points lower than the all-time low of 10.0 in 2006. All in all, the decision of airing Game Three pretty much assures this World Series of being the lowest set of Games, on average, ever. The potential of the Phillies clinching certainly helps, but to best that 10.0 from 2006, tonight's game would have to pull over a 16.0.

With Monday Night Football, Dancing With The Stars and a new episode of Heroes....that ain't happening. Unless Tampa Bay comes back and pushes it to seven, this will be your lowest rated World Series in history. Book it.

(Numbers via Sports Business Daily)

So ESPN just shot out their mid-week PR update, and as I was sifting through I noticed this catchy headline....

"Stephen A. Smith Weighs in on Dancing with the Stars in the New Issue of ESPN The Magazine"

Of course I was intrigued so I read on and found this snippet from next week's S.A.S. piece on ESPN The Mag....

"I'm actually thinking about it. Why not? So what if I'd have to put in six hours a day of grueling practice sessions? Who cares if I couldn't eat cheeseburgers and fries in fear of burping in the face of a gorgeous partner? I mean, what are the odds that I'll be worse than Evander Holyfield was in Season 1?"

"DWTS producers have discovered athletes of all types are ideal contestants for the show because they're disciplined and competitive. That explains why Helio Castroneves, Apolo Anton Ohno, Emmitt Smith and Kristi Yamaguchi have all ended up with the cheesy mirrored disco ball. And yes, that thing would look great in my den."

I know what you're thinking right now, and I'm right there with you. Please....PLEASE!....make this happen ABC. He's already been on a soap opera, so a reality show is the next logical step. If he's dancing on said reality show....even better! Plus, he's not really doing much of anything these days. Look at him up there.....all alone and scared....

That's it....I'm starting an internet campaign!

(Via ESPN)

I haven't been paying too much attention to Dancing With The Stars, but when The Sports Hernia pulls photos like the one above, I'm going to take a gander. Here's Sapp's all-leather, Matrix'esque performance from last night....

Again, I'm rather impressed by Sapp's moves, but that leap did not look nearly as good in video form as it looks in that picture. The big man is still alive though and I'll be watching for some more performances like this down the line.

Bedazzled Undertaker invades Dancing With the Stars (The Sports Hernia)

Last year I was intrigued by Mark Cuban's foray into dancing on the reality show and this year it's Warren Sapp who I wanted to check out. Here's his first go at the "cha cha" from last night's debut....

Anytime a dude with a belly can pull something like that off, it's sure to impress some people. The NFL continues to own this show, and while I'm not going to be watching it again the rest of the season, I fully enjoyed that performance. Good job Warren, now go and make Inside The NFL exciting too.