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The Amazing Race - now 100 percent mullet-free. With the elimination of Chuck & Wynona, the Race not only improved its follicular style but also proved that luck plays a huge part in the competition. There really isn’t any other explanation for why/how this Southern-fried couple hung around this long.

Well, we are now down to five teams and by my estimation, we’re only two weeks away from the finale. That means that unless they make the finale a two hour affair, then we don’t have to worry about another unsavory non-elimination. My fingers are crossed that this is the case and I implore you to do the same.

Here’s how Bates and Anthony and the other four teams, who are just competing for second place, stack up in my latest power rankings.

1. Bates & Anthony: Shocking, right? Well, with each passing episode, the hockey brothers continue to put distance between them and the others in the court of public opinion. (Of course, when it comes to these rankings, the "public opinion" is really just my opinion.) Once again last week, Team Slapshot dominated the leg and without the help of a Fast Forward. No matter how many times the producers may try to wring drama out of these latter legs by continually clumping the teams together, these guys still come out on top. Why? 1) Because they know how to work together as teammates and not sparring partners. 2) Because in eight legs so far I don’t believe that either one of them has raised their voices or argued. 3) Because they simply aren’t one of the other remaining teams, who may be the sorriest collection of teams the Race has ever seen. Unless a fate similar to the one that knocked out their only competition - David & Connor - is on the horizon, Bates & Anthony should be this year’s newest millionaires.

Dang, I don’t even know where to go from here and I question whether it really even matters because I view the other teams as so marginal. So let’s just say…

2. Mona & Beth: The roller derby mommies have shown over the last couple legs that when a traffic jam occurs at a challenge, they are scrappy enough to pull ahead of at least a team or two. Last week’s cheese-hauling Switchback proved this. It’s when the Sock ‘er Moms branch out on Detours that gets them in trouble. These ladies have proven their toughness in competitions but it’s that questionable task judgment that separates them from being serious competitors. On a season with stiffer competition, there is no way that I could in good conscience give them this high a ranking. But here we are and they should be happy with being labeled “good enough for second place.”

3. Caroline & Jennifer: Have the girls done anything remotely impressive competitively-speaking this season? Personally, I don’t think so. They are adequate at challenges and have consistently been a middle-of-the-pack team. So by virtue of the fact that the middle-of-the-pack is now third place, I guess this is where they should land. It’s not their Racing ability that is serving them best over the last eight legs but their flirtatious alliance with the brothers. The one-time country singers (I’m not sure if they are still in a band and I’m not really that interested to find out) have gained more on the Race from this alliance because they bring nothing to the table other than looking pretty, which is about all that Bates & Anthony admittedly want out of them for the alliance. If there is a chance for the hockey brothers to throw them a bone on a challenge or travel arrangements, they probably will. That’s why I put them ahead of…

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