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James & Abba (Friends): And now from the world of entertainment, one’s a professional heavy metal bassist who has played with White Lion and Megadeth (James) and the other’s an entertainment lawyer (Abba). The fact that neither of these guys anticipates there being any challenges working together spells either delusion or self-awareness. Not sure which at this point but the extensive traveling of James as a musician will probably be a benefit even though he is probably not as recognizable to the general public as he would like to think he is. I could see these guys filling the sizable sneakers of the Globetrotters as a team that works well together because they are just in it for the ride and the fun. Mental note for distinguishing between the teammates: They both have long brown hair and goatees. They are supposedly not twins but I don’t know if I buy that story. Gonna be a tough season.

Abbie & Ryan (Dating divorcees): Finally we get our requisite “figuring out our relationship” team. Abbie wants to be more than just his girlfriend and Ryan is content with the status quo. To complete the predictable cycle of this Amazing Race staple team dynamic, both admit to being stubborn and quick to anger. Ryan takes it even further and says that Abbie is happy to play the victim when they fight. This has the makings of reality show fireworks that are unconformable for viewers to watch but we can’t look away from the accident. I feel good about labeling them Team Trainwreck.

Jaymes & James (Best friends/Chippendales dancers): Great…if having a difficult enough time telling people apart wasn’t bad enough here comes these two with both guys having the same dang name. I think that Jaymes (with the “y”) is blond-ish and James (sans “y”) is brown-haired. Obviously, James-squared should prove to be a threat in physical tasks but they will have to prove they aren’t just a couple of himbos and they have the ability to back up their cocky claims in their interview about their guaranteed victory. (Yes, the double entendre in the last sentence was intentionally.) Wow, there are too many choices on nicknames for these guys. Right now I am torn between the throwback Team Beefcake or the more current Team Magic Mike. Either way, I suspect that Jaymes & James will ask for their winnings in singles.

Rob & Sheila (Engaged): Another Rob this season with a unique job –lumberjack. Sheila, on the other hand, has a pretty mundane occupation of retail manager. Honestly, this team seems to have a rough road ahead because both point out Race-fatal challenges with their teammate: Rob cites her extreme stubbornness and a need for “her to learn to listen well,” while Sheila gives a similar complaint that if Rob thinks he is right no one will convince him otherwise. There doesn’t seem to be much eagerness for compromise here, folks.

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