I read that she will dance with him. Last year, she said she would sit out this season to concentrate on her singing career. Glad she changed her mind.

Steve Wozniak is a surprise.

She can't be worse than the former one legged Mrs. McCartney.

Rumor was that Donnie Osmond would be in the cast this season. I'm happy he isn't.

Damn ....soooo wanted Denise Richards to be the first one out...
But if she is paired with Max...........damn that changes everything!

Not too thrilled about this cast, but I never really am, and then the show starts and it ends up being alright.

Steve O will be the first one eliminated.

So are Cheryl Burke and Lacey Schwimmer back this season?

I hope Cheryl is back, and she has some back, so we get Jadzia's commentary.

I just pray that Karina is back and gets a half-way decent partner this time.

Looks like SYTYCD alum Chelsie Hightower is one of the new pros.

Whoa, Chelsie? Awesome!

Yeah, Chelsie is good.

Heard that Nancy gets Tony as a partner.

Steve-O was on Jimmy Kimmel Live and said that his partner is Lacey Schwimmer.

Here's the rumored list:
Belinda Carlisle and Louis van Amstel
David Alan Grier and Edyta Sliwinska
Jewel and Dmitry Chaplin
Lil' Kim and Derek Hough
Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower
Lawrence Taylor and Karina Smirnoff
Steve Wozniak and Kym Johnson
Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer
Nancy O'Dell and Tony Dovolani
Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas
Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough
Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke

All I can say is poor Lacey.

I dont see Kym lasting long with Wozniak

Aw, crap.

So I guess I'll only see Lacey Schwimmer for an episode (maybe more if Steve-O's fans pull a Master P on us). I've never heard of Gilles Marini so I dunno how well his pairing with Cheryl Burke bodes for my need for a regular Cheryl fix.

It's not that Steve-O would have made it far, but the guy seems to have some serious issues. But I guess ABC will make sure he behaves.

Louis and Belinda. Cool.

The penalized Kym for doing such a great job with Sapp last time.

I hope LT is as light on his feet as Warren was, for Karina's sake. Edyta should be able to stick it out for awhile with DAG.

Who is Chuck Wicks.....edit: nevermind, although that seems a tad unfair that they have a preexisting relationship.

I just saw this line-up, it's supposed to be official:

Belinda Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts (should be OK)

David Allan Grier and Kym Johnson (looks good. Glad she didn't get stuck with a rotten egg.)

Jewel and Dimitry Chaplin (no clue)

Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower (I'll take everyone's word and say they'll be good because of her)

Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska (a football player + Edyta should = a lock for the Top 5)

Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff (she must have pissed someone off REALLY bad at some point beacuse she seems to get more duds, moreso than even Edyta and Kym. But whereas Edyta and Kym tend to get stuck with bad dancers because they seem to be so nice with everyone, Karina gets them because someone really doesn't like her.)

Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough (I'm not liking this pair because of the RL situation)

Denise Richards and Maks Chmerkovskiy (will stick around because most women love Maks)

Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer (trainwreck, here we come!)

Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas (the early favorites)

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke (another Top 5 contender if he's coordinated at all)

Nancy O'Dell and Tony Dovolani (should be OK)

Lil Kim and Derek Hough (actually, wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be good. Bad repuation aside, I don't see her being that big of a problem for the show. And I think she'll try hard.)

That would fucking suck.

^^^ People.com confirms the above list of pairings.

The entire season eight lineup is as follows:

• Former NFL star Lawrence Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska
• Actor Gilles Marini and two-time DWTS champ Cheryl Burke
• Rapper Lil’ Kim and season seven champ Derek Hough
• Actress Denise Richards and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
• Pop star Belinda Carlisle and Jonathan Roberts
• Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and season six champ Mark Ballas
• Reality star Steve-O and Lacey Schwimmer
• Rodeo star Ty Murray and first-time Dancing pro Chelsie Hightower
• Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff
• Country singer Chuck Wicks and two-time champ Julianne Hough
• Access Hollywood’s Nancy O’Dell and Tony Dovolani
• Actor David Alan Grier and Kym Johnson
• Singer Jewel and first-time Dancing pro Dmitry Chaplin

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/02/12...ts-dance-pairs

I last saw LT when he hosted the toughman boxing show on FX. That was a long time ago. Anyone see him recently? He's still in shape?

LT has lost 20 lbs recently. And he seems to be willing to put in the time necessary to train properly. I expect him to be decent on the dance floor. The desire to be good at it appears to be there.

Here's a link to a LT interview:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/sp...n.html?_r=1&em

I'm surprised to learn that Nancy O'Dell was 43. Thought she was in her early thirties.

Dmitry Chaplin (the other first timer) is also an SYTYCD alum but I can't remember who he is. Probably not on last season's cast.

He was on season 2, when Benji (Lacey's brother) won, his real-life partner (Heidi) was Benji and Lacey's cousin (she was Benji's partner but changed when he went on a mission), and, according to Wikipedia, his coach was Louis van Amstel. It's amusing to me how inter-related the whole dance world is.

I just heard on the radio that sources are reporting that Jewel is dropping out due to knee problems and producers scrambled to find a replacement...

... and the report is that Holly (from The Girls Next Door) is the replacement. She's been wanting to do it for a long time, but Hef wouldn't let her.

No official comment from ABC.