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5, Caroline & Jen (Friends/relatives of John Wayne and Daniel Boone): With regards to Cowboy Royalty, this is a tricky one for me because they allowed themselves to be manipulated into taking the four-hour penalty at the end of the first leg. BUT on the second leg, they leapfrogged three other teams, in spite of the penalty for a seventh place finish. How? By not stumbling at all in the Detour or the Roadblock. That has to count for something on this Race and I feel that it is indicative of their potential. Plus, they don’t seem to be naïve enough to fall for Max & Katie’s shtick a second time.

6. Chuck & Wynonna (Married/Permed Mullet proponent): Speaking of naïve, The Mullets are strictly a middle of the pack team, so that is where I place them. This is an instance where it is a no-brainer to rank them closely to where they end up in the legs. But I predict that Wynonna will be their downfall. She has shown that she can’t run and race as hard as the other teams but more importantly, it’s her overall "poor me…I suck" attitude that will be the team’s biggest liability. But as long as the other teams listed below are still around, Chuck will likely continue to carry The Mullets deeper into the Race.

7. Pam & Winnie (Friends): Our navigationally-challenged friends did themselves no favors by bobbing up and down and floating aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean. The lack of screen time or screen presence has led me to label them The Chameleons since they fade into the background but last week they stood out for the wrong reason: a pathetic performance. They struggled with the oysters, they got lost on the jetski, and Pam proved incapable of walking on stilts. Combined it was a sad display of ability for an Amazing Race team, yet the more pathetic twins allow these friends to stick around.

8. Max & Katie (Newlyweds/Villain wannabes): Team Cape Fear of Max & Katie likely want to be viewed as the brilliant strategic players more than even winning. The newlyweds are quick and eager to point out when they have a "genius" plan or detail on why the Race decisions they make are so wonderful. Yet, their current status in the Race hasn’t shown a glimmer of frontrunner shine or produced even a middle-of-the-pack finish. My confidence in them is so low that they would be in bottom of my rankings, if it wasn’t for the sure-to-be-eliminated…

9. David & Connor (Father/son/cancer survivors): This second place finisher of Team Livestrong doesn’t just slip and fall (yes…allusion to David is intended) but they seem to be careening off a cliff. Why? Simply because of injury. While there was supposedly some mystery as to whether or not David’s ankle was as bad as he suspected by the end of the episode, this week’s previews during other CBS shows feature David either using crutches, a walking boot or being pushed in a wheelchair by his Connor. I don’t envision this ending well for them unless David is a medical miracle and his ruptured Achilles can heal itself without being rested and being subjected to the trials of the Race. (After all, it’s the Amazing Race and not The Amazing Hobble. Not likely, which is sad because I like them more than at least four other teams that will still be competing.

It’s almost time to start to third leg, happy viewing.

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