Well, according to one of my favorite guys, Marc Malkin of E! News, he’s heard of two possibilities, one of which I hadn’t heard before.

Sources tell me that one candidate happens to be my E! pal Ashlan Gorse. She’s not commenting (and no, she’s not one of my sources!), but just like Harris did for several years, Gorse would likely do double duty at E! News and DWTS.

Before landing at E! News as a correspondent and fill-in anchor, Gorse was the host of E! News Now.

I’m also hearing that former Access Hollywood anchor Nancy O’Dell is up for the highly-coveted job. As you may remember, O’Dell was a contestant in season nine of Dancing, but had to drop out before the competition even began because of a knee injury she suffered during training.

Was someone mentioning Candace Cameron Bure? Ah yes, she’s the one who’s been “speculated” or “wished for” on DWTS for a few seasons now. Where the speculation came from – her or her fans – I don’t remember. And I don’t really care. But according to her, it ain’t happening. I would suggest she’s lying at the direction of producers, but since she is very religious – well, she best not be.

Okay, this exchange, below, scares me more than LaToya and Pam Anderson combined. Please, God, NO. Please. I don’t ask for much, but I cannot tolerate Marie Osmond. I came to like Donny very much – but save me from Marie, please. To say I disliked her when she was a contestant on DWTS is putting it mildly. And if the dude below ends up being right, I will curse all you Sam Harris haters for making the show WORSE. You know what they say…better the enemy you know. lol

You all know who Billy Bush is – he’s a radio and TV Host. R.J. Johnson, according to his twitter page, is a TV producer/writer in LA. He could be full of crap, he could be right – I’m just reporting the conversation. I want to share my fear.

People is reporting that Melissa Rycroft will be replacing Nancy O’Dell on the cast of Dancing with the Stars. Many of you are probably asking who Melissa Rycroft is. It’s a good question considering it is called Dancing with the Stars and normally we know at least the names of the stars.

I write a bunch of TV blogs and even I had to take a second look to figure out the name Melissa Rycroft. Melissa is a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, but is really famous for her time on The Bachelor. Yes, Melissa was the one that Jason Mesnick through under the bus in the finale of The Bachelor. I will say that I think most people agreed that it really was the best thing that Jason could have done for Melissa. I think I didn’t recognize the name very quickly, because the Bachelor only uses first names. Dancing with the Stars is a great way for Melissa to bounce back.

I’m not really sure how much of a star Melissa is, but I’ll give ABC a break considering Nancy O’Dell was injured and I’m sure ABC was scrambling to find a replacement. Certainly Nancy O’Dell would have been more interesting, but I am excited to see Melissa try and strut her stuff on this season of Dancing with the Stars. I kind of like having one person who’s kind of a bit of a no namer. Maybe they should do one each year. Then, it would be truly Dancing with the Stars for those people.

One other thing that will be really interesting about Melissa Rycroft is that her parents wanted nothing to do with The Bachelor and refused to participate in the home town date. Now Melissa will be on a show that’s even more popular and often cuts to the family. Will Melissa’s parents decide to show their faces on Dancing with the Stars? I’m guessing they won’t and I must admit that if I was in their shoes I probably wouldn’t either.

I’d been reading rumors about Nancy O’Dell and Jewel being out of Dancing with the Stars. I even posted about Jewel’s injury previously, but it’s now official that both Nancy and Jewel are out of Dancing with the Stars.

Let’s take a look at a number of quotes I found around the web from Jewel and Nancy O’Dell about not being able to compete on Dancing with the Stars.

First a quote from Jewel about her injury and Jewel’s ongoing participation on DWTS.

“I originally thought it was tendinitis or ligament strains,” Jewel said before a concert appearance Thursday night in Highland, Calif. — which she would do sitting down. “It was painful enough for a doctor to put me on cortisone. When I went in for an MRI, it turned out to be something else. I had no idea something like this was possible.”

Jewel’s stress fractures are just below her knees, which had been swelling from a practice regimen of up to eight hours a day. They’ll heal in six to nine weeks, says Jewel, who is using crutches to get around.

“Hopefully I’ll get to sing on the show and come back and (compete) again,” Jewel says.

Now, a quote describing Nancy O’Dell’s injury:

“Beyond disappointment doesn’t even being to describe how I feel about not being able to continue on ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ It has been one of my favorite shows since season one!” O’Dell revealed. “But I have torn the meniscus in my knee in two places, which requires surgery. According to the doctor, one is a ‘significant’ tear and it will require my getting knee surgery within the next couple of weeks.”

Looks like Nancy O’Dell might return to another season of Dancing with the Stars and still enjoyed the short time she did have with Tony:

“DWTS’ was a great experience. I’ll miss working with my partner, Tony Dovolani, and all the other wonderful people on the amazing production that is ‘Dancing With the Stars,’” O’Dell added. “Tony has been an amazing teacher and dance partner and I feel horrible I can’t continue for him… Although short, it was a great experience. I challenged myself to take risk at doing something I had never done before!”

And don’t rule out a possible return to the show somewhere down the line.

“After I have surgery and eight weeks of rehab, my doctor tells me my knee will be back to how it was,” O’Dell said. “So that means if I have the opportunity to go back, I could!”

Dancing with the Stars executive producer Conrad Green said the following about injuries on Dancing with the Stars:

“We’ll re-look next season to limit the training in the early weeks, because I don’t want people to get injured,” he says. The 15-week-long show “is a marathon, not a sprint.”

There have been a number of injuries to stars and the professionals on Dancing with the stars. Among DWTS celebrities injured in previous seasons: Olympic volleyball player Misty May-Treanor (torn Achilles tendon); comic Jeffrey Ross (eye injury); actress Susan Lucci (fractured foot); and actor Cristián de la Fuente (torn arm tendon). Also, Julianne Hough had an operation, Derek Hough was taken to the hospital and Karina Smirnoff had some ankle or back issues if I’m remembering correctly. Seems like there was one other I’m leaving out.

Reports are saying that Holly Madison from Girls Next Door will be one of the replacements, but producers of the show are keeping quiet until the DWTS premiere on Monday. The report says that Bridget Marquardt (Holly’s costar on Girls Next Door) let it slip on live TV. This is what Bridget Marquardt had to say about it:

“I’m so excited for her,” Marquardt — who next stars in a Travel Channel show called Bridget’s Sexiest Beaches — told FOX’s Strategy Room Wednesday.

“She’s wanted to do it for so long,” Marquardt added. “It just never worked with her schedule and Hef was always like ‘I don’t want you to do that,’ and now it’s her time, so I’m really happy for her.”

Jewel and Nancy O’Dell are suppose to be at the premiere. Should be an exciting premiere, but I’ll admit that I’m personally sad that these 2 are off the show. They were 2 of the stars I was most excited to see on the show. They’ll definitely be missed. It will also be interesting to see how the judges score the 2 replacements who will have had less time to practice their dances for the show.

The Dancing with the Stars Premiere’s on Monday!

UPDATE: Nancy O’Dell won’t be competing on DWTS due to injury. Read more details about Nancy O’Dell’s injury.

Copyright 2009 Craig Sjodin / ABC

Nancy O’Dell is paired with Tony Dovolani on Dancing with the Stars 2009. I predict that Nancy O’Dell will do a lot better than most of the people from entertainment shows have done previously. I think Nancy is a very popular figure that people really find endearing. She probably has the best looking legs on this season of the show. I hope the show compares her legs with Edyta. Now that would be a tough competition to judge.

One other x-factor for Nancy is that she recently gave birth. This should really endear her to a lot of mom’s out there. Plus, it’s pretty amazing that she could give birth and return to such beautiful form. Many loved this about Brooke Burke last year and Nancy O’Dell should benefit from it this year.

Tony Dovolani has really been working hard in the background. Fans of Tony are very passionate and Tony has been doing a number of side projects which have included a fair amount of PR and should be a benefit for him in getting votes from fans.

Tony and Nancy’s look will be wonderful even if Nancy isn’t the best dancer. Tony will cater to her skills and they’ll look great regardless. This makes Nancy and Tony a very likely top 3 with a great shot at winning DWTS if Nancy is able to dance.

NOTICE: Check out all the Dancing with the Stars music.

I’ve previously speculated about the Dancing with the Stars Cast rumors and Dancing with the Stars Cast suggestions.  Tonight, ABC has been dropping the names of the official Dancing with the Stars Season 8 cast.  I’ll update this post with the latest Dancing with the Stars cast as they’re announced on ABC.

Chuck Wicks, Country Singer

Denise Richards, Actress

Gilles Marini, Sex and the City Actor

Lawrence Taylor, Retired NFL Linebacker

Lil’ Kim, Grammy Award Winning Rapper

Nancy O’Dell, Access Hollywood Co-Host

Shawn Johnson, 2008 Olympic Gymnast

Steve-O, Jackass Performer

Steve Wozniak, Apple founder and Leader of the Nerds

Belinda Carlisle, Singer

David Alan Grier, Actor

Ty Murray, PBR Bull Rider and Cowboy

Jewel, Singer and Songwriter

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Check out pictures of the official Dancing with the Stars season 8 cast after the break:
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