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Kaylani & Lisa (Friends) - This pair of Vegas waitresses don’t give off the air that they are the team to beat. Unlike winning female friend team Nat & Kat and Team HSN Brooke & Claire, Kaylani & Lisa come across as less cohesive than the race requires. When reading Kaylani’s overly descriptive answer about Lisa’s pet peeves (it is her second longest answer), you get the sense there will be more fighting and less racing for these girls. Let’s put them in ninth place.

Ernie & Cindy (Engaged) - This team may be dubbed Team Corporate America based solely upon the first half of their Q&A answers, which sounded like it came directly from their resume, job description or employer’s Web site. Basically, there's nothing that jumps off the page. As for the other answers, these two nuggets stand out. Cindy says that people say she reminds them of Lucy Liu but she’d prefer to be compared to Lauren Conrad from the “The Hills” (This either an indictment of Lucy Liu’s fallen celebrity status or further proof that vapid reality stars are role models). And both people said that Ernie has an inability to be direct in communicating. Not a good trait on a race that requires good back-and-forth. This is the primary reason that I am giving them a middle of the pack eighth place.

Liz & Marie (Siblings) - While siblings have only won four times (less than "Friends" or "Dating" teams), those four times have been in the last six seasons. Siblings are on a hot streak but for the two such teams this season, neither seems likely to extend the streak. The twin sisters from Kentucky both list "ambitious" as one of their traits but both continue to say they are trying to figure out their life or are in "transition." Not sure those go hand-in-hand but Liz & Marie comes across as confidently happy with what they’re not doing. Their inexperience could carry them to seventh place just behind…

Justin & Jennifer (Siblings) - Educationally, this brother and sister team just may have done everything to make their parents proud: Justin’s a doctor and Jennifer’s a special education teacher. They seem to be the team that I will probably root for the most but I don’t know how their skills will translate to the Race. Also, Justin raises this red flag about Jennifer: “She shuts down when she gets hungry or sleepy and has a tendency to get really mean when this happens.” Not good on a race that breeds fatigue and hunger. That’s why I think they won’t get much higher than sixth because at that point the race may have taken a toll on Jennifer.

Ron & Bill (Domestic Partners) - This team has one huge advantage over the others in my mind and it is their shared occupation – flight attendant. If you have watched the Amazing Race at all you know that airport/airlines can be the great equalizer and Ron & Bill will have the benefit of knowing how to work their way around the best method of securing the best route. They will likely rely upon their familiarity with certain airlines, airports and destination cities and I expect others to piggy back this team while traveling, which can create a strong Race alliance or make them shun the others that are taking advantage of them. They should be able to claim fifth overall.

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