…Brooke Burke.  Keeping in mind that I can’t see the announcement on GMA for another hour or so – but Twitter is lighting up in congratulatory messages.  So…CONGRATULATIONS BROOKE!!!

ETA2: Finally!!!

Pamela Anderson

Buzz Aldrin

Aidan Turner

Erin Andrews

Chad Ochocinco

Shannen Doherty

Niecy Nash

Nicole Scherzinger

Evan Lyacek

Kate Gosselin

ETA1 – AAArRrrrhhh

I think I might hate you, Tom Bergeron.

Okay, just kidding, but the teasing is killing me.

I decided to move this up to the top of the page for easier access. I hope everyone finds it!! The evil folks at DWTS are going to make me sit through the whole damn show before they tell me anything, I just have a feeling.

Ever since Samantha Harris got kicked off left Dancing with the Stars there has been a lot of speculation about who will replace as Samantha as the co-host of Dancing with the Stars. I think the speculation is finally over, but here’s a review of the various possibilities in case you missed it.

We first talked about Melissa Rycroft hosting Dancing with the Stars at the beginning of this month. There were also rumors of Ashlan Gorse and Nancy O’Dell hosting Dancing with the Stars and Lynn Hoffman co-hosting DWTS alongside Tom Bergeron. There were also rumors about Brooke Burke, Marie Osmond (thank goodness this wasn’t true), and Paula Abdul. Luckily, last week E! News said there were only 3 serious contenders for the co-host position: Melissa Rycroft, Brooke Burke and Vanessa Minnillo.

Although, tonight during a commercial for the Bachelor finale, they talked about the announcement of the new Dancing with the Stars 2010 cast during the Bachelor finale. Heidi will be live blogging the announcement, but more on that soon.

What was most interesting about the commercial was that they said, “listen to Tom Bergeron and Melissa Rycroft as they announce the new couples on Dancing with the Stars.” Does this mean that Melissa Rycroft will be the host that’s replacing Samantha Harris on Dancing with the Stars? Seems like it to me. She’ll be a busy girl hosting Dancing with the Stars with Tom and as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. Although, Samantha Harris did that for quite a while.

I think this will be a good thing for Dancing with the Stars. No doubt that Melissa Rycroft will be an upgrade at the host position.

Find out during the finale of The Bachelor!!  According to Entertainment Tonight online, Tom will be doing the announcement during the two hour finale of that show – I guess the ratings need a boost?   Get your Tums ready.

ABC says they will make the most of “The Bachelor” finale, airing Monday March 1, during which “Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron will announce new dancers throughout the dramatic two-hour conclusion to the popular romance reality series.

I’ve seen a number of different possible scenarios for Paula on Season 10, in addition to the possibility of her competing. The way that TMZ worded their article, I assumed they wanted her as a contestant. However, I’ve seen some assume she would be on as a Judge. I’ve also, since Sam quit, seen quite a few people state that it seems obvious that Paula would take Sam’s place – including Annie Barrett from Entertainment Weekly (via Twitter).

What is the likelihood of either scenario?? Well, considering that Paula was supposedly offered 1 million dollars, I have to believe that it’s either for competing or judging and that if it’s judging it’s one season only. Paula made many times that on American Idol, so she doesn’t need the work, plus that number seems too low!! Additionally, I have to think that hosting with Tom Bergeron would be a step down, in her mind, from judging on American Idol (and possibly, now, X-Factor). Also, since one million dollars is far above what I’ve heard the most popular celebs have made on that show, I’m starting to lean towards her being the fourth judge. Since the British version of DWTS has four judges on a regular basis, this isn’t out of the question. She would definitely add a different judging element to the show and, frankly, she’s every bit as qualified as Carrie Ann and Bruno, maybe more so. That’s why I’m so opposed to her being a contestant. I think I actually wouldn’t mind seeing her on as a fourth judge. AND, a fourth judge would mean less filler on a two hour performance show when only 12 couples are dancing.

So…contestant, judge or host? Your vote? Mine is for judge, definitely not for either contestant or host. Tom is awesome enough – add in Drew or maybe Brooke Burke. Heck, even Melissa Rycroft!

The news was just announced that Samantha Harris will not be back as host of Dancing with the Stars 2010. People reports that she’s leaving the show as her work on The Insider has increased along with working at Entertainment Tonight Weekend.

People also reported this quote from DWTS co-host Tom Bergeron, “Still, if Bergeron has his way, he will try to get Harris to return to the ballroom. “I’ve been known to try to twist arms behind the scenes,” he says. “I’m hoping this frees her up for us to have her as a contestant.””

I don’t believe Tom when he says that he will try to twist arms to get her back. Although, maybe he likes having Samantha make him look good. If you’ve read this blog for any time, you know that I’m not a fan of Samantha Harris at all. She’s nice on the eyes, but otherwise was a bad fit for me. I’ve certainly learned in the past that change isn’t always better. However, I think Dancing with the Stars has a good chance that this change will be better.

No hard feelings towards Samantha. I don’t mind her on the entertainment shows and I also wouldn’t mind her coming back to dance on DWTS at some point. Best of luck to her in her future endeavors.

Now to think about who might replace her.

Access Hollywood post-elimination interviews with Louie/Chelsie and Melissa/Mark:

Access Hollywood with Julianne Hough and her sister Marabeth on Jules coming back (eventually) to DWTS and their thoughts on Derek/Joanna!

People Online’s TV Watch – Tuesday’s ‘Dancing’ – What you didn’t see:

Tight-Knit Group: As the dancers continue to get eliminated, the group appears to be getting closer. Throughout the night, celebs and professional dancers were always reaching out to each other and giving hugs and pats on the back. Before the dance-off, Michael Irvin, his partner Anna Demidova, Louie Vito and his partner Chelsie Hightower exchanged big hugs with each other. What? No fights? “I thought about it, but this is a family show,” Vito joked.

A Ghoulish Night: Every Tuesday before the show goes live, the dance floor turns into a dance party for the guests of the show. Since Halloween is days away and it was the premiere of Michael Jackson’s This Is It, guests learned the steps to “Thriller” and performed it all the way through. Derek Hough, a fan of Jackson and who also performed the famous routine last week for the show’s tribute to the King of Pop, watched on from behind the stage.

Melissa/Mark and Louie/Chelsie with George Pennacchio at the LA Local ABC Affiliate:

I thought Tom Bergeron was GOD before this question he answered for AOL Television, but I really, really HOPE he’s on to something here:

Tom Bergeron, what do you think of the double elimination tonight?
Tom: I think, in all honesty, we learned that you can’t have 16 couples to start a season. We came out of the gate learning some things that I hope you’ll never see again. Having said that, though, I like the way this season is picking up. I think people are coming back. [Viewers] may have thought, “We don’t know who to support here because the body count is so high.”

Via Jimmy Kimmel. LO freakin’ L!!

People’s TV Watch- DWTS What You Didn’t See – funny excerpt:

Team Spirit: Oscar-nominated actor Mickey Rourke strolled into the ballroom Tuesday night. Seated in the front row, Rourke was there to cheer on pal Chuck Liddell. “He’s a friend of mine,” Liddell said. “I hope he had a good time here. I think he’s going to try to make it back in one of these times to see me dance.” The other big excitement in the ballroom happened before the show began. As he often does, warm-up entertainer Corey Almeida invited audience members to do some dancing of their own on the ballroom floor. Nearly 100 people jumped at the opportunity. When The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” came on, Michael Irvin,Tony Dovolani, Schwimmer and Chmerkovskiy helped him lead the masses. Now that’s team spirit!

Annie at Entertainment Weekly gets snarky.

Meanwhile, Tom and Sam announced Debi Mazar and Maks as the other of the ”bottom two” couples. What?! They so rarely announce the real bottom two that this seems suspicious. But you can’t argue with the English language (unless Bruno is speaking it), so yeah, Tom DeLay is officially more popular with the DWTS audience than Debi and Maksi. Louie Vito and Chelsie, by the way, were announced as ”in jeopardy” along with Debi/Maks and Kathy/Tony, but that was just for show; they could be anywhere in the pack.

For this week’s encore: Surprise! Baz picked Mya and Dmitry’s jive. I thought for sure ABC would want to trot out the Muppets again. In fact, I think to level the playing field next week, one Muppet should descend the technicolor staircase with each couple except Aaron and Karina. The Swedish Chef for Mark, Big Bird for Joanna, a disapproving Sam the Eagle for Tom DeLay. Definitely Janice for Louie, as they seem to share a similar ”Far out!” vibe. And so on.

Two random but noteworthy points from last night: First, Tom’s improvised joke that ”Kym and Samantha kind of look like sexy Chia Pets, just a little” didn’t seem to go over as well on Planet Mirrorballus as it did on my sofa. Second, I’m so glad famous wrestler Mickey Rourke, who was in the audience to cheer on his fighter buddy Chuck Liddell, decided to don an open shirt and sparkly cap in an effort to seamlessly assimilate into the ballroom culture.

Interview with Baz Luhrmann. Cool dude.

Couple of Vids from George Pennachio at the ABC Affiliate in LA – this guy gives good interview. If you want to see them all, visit ABC7.com!

Maks and Karina were on the Emmy’s last night and they were amazing. Apparently NappyTab from SYTYCD choreographed and I recognized some so the other dancers from SYTYCD as well. Cat Deely (SYTYCD host) was also on hand to give out an award. Sadly, Tom Bergeron lost to Jeff Probst as best reality host.

P.S. It’s MONDAY!! Season 9 is finally here!!!

Enjoy the video!