ABC announced the identities of the Dancing with the Stars 9 celebrity contestants this morning. They are:

Aaron Carter
Ashley Hamilton
Chuck Liddell
Debi Mazar
Joanna Krupa
Kathy Ireland
Kelly Osbourne
Louie Vito
Macy Gray
Mark Dacascos
Melissa Joan Hart
Michael Irvin
Mya
Donny Osmond
Natalie Coughlin
Tom DeLay

Looks like ABC is trying to one up NBC by casting Tom DeLay. NBC was only able to get the wife of a disgraced politician for I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!. ABC got an actual disgraced politician!

I’ll update the list when the celebrity-pro dancer pairings are posted. On Good Morning America, Tom Bergeron said that the new season will feature new dance styles and will debut with a three-night premiere.

I’ve at least heard of all but one of these celebs, so that’s a better ratio than seasons past. Are you excited to watch the new season based on this cast? Is there an early favorite?

In an effort to prevent injuries, Dancing with the Stars producers instituted new rules to limit the amount of time Season 9 contestants spend in rehearsals. It’s about time.

LaToya Jackson is the latest celebrity rumored to be joining the DwtS 9 cast.

It didn’t take the Emmys long to scrap plans to pre-record several awards presentations and play edited versions of the acceptance speeches during the primetime broadcast.

Top Chef: Las Vegas debuts next week, inspiring EW to post a slideshow of the Best TV Shows for Foodies. Bravo announced the names of the companies sponsoring the new season, in addition to the ever-present "Glad Family of Products."

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi admitted to The New York Times that she "keeps two dress sizes on the set" in order to accommodate the 10-15 pounds she gains over the course of each season.

Speaking of wardrobe issues, actress Mayim Bialik wrote about addressing her religious views regarding modesty with the crew of What Not to Wear: "When the show aired, I saw that my qualifications and explanations did not survive the cutting room."

AMC is developing a TV show about surviving a zombie apocalypse. Woo hoo!

I’ve got less than 48 hours until the start of the English Premier League football season; gotta go tweak my fantasy team. Here’s info on where you can watch games on United States cable channels.

With less than a week until the cast of Dancing with the Stars 9 is revealed, show producer Conrad Green confirmed that the new cast will include 16 celebrities, with double eliminations occurring around mid-season. He said that Paula Abdul can have a spot in the cast if she wants it.

Green also mentioned that the new season will feature more athletes, including some from sports that haven’t been represented on the show before. In my mind, that all but confirms that Jeremy Roenick, who retired from pro hockey last week, will be on the show. Looks like his fans want that, too.

*In related but totally unsubstantiated speculation, my husband suspects that former soccer star and ESPN commentator Alexi Lalas could also join the DwtS 9 cast. Greg has no proof, he just wants to be on record in case he’s right.*

DwtS pre-season rumors wouldn’t be complete without perennial contestant-to-be Aaron Carter. And Tori Spelling’s husband, Dean McDermott, is campaigning for a spot on Season 9.

Bachelor host Chris Harrison predicts that the show will be responsible for three weddings this year. Meanwhile, The Root wonders why there hasn’t been a black Bachelor or Bachelorette yet.

The Futon Critic interviewed Regis Philbin about the return of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which debuted with just okay ratings on Sunday night.

In other game show news, Wayne Brady will host a daytime revival of Let’s Make a Deal, debuting on CBS on October 5.

The Watcher reports that Paris Hilton will play a "demonic creature" on the upcoming season of Supernatural.

Gordon Ramsay’s record for successful makeovers isn’t good; 8 of 13 New York area restaurants featured on Kitchen Nightmares have since closed.

Lucky folks in Hollywood will get to see The Pee-wee Herman Show on stage starting November 8. I wonder if Laurence Fishburne will reprise his role as Cowboy Curtis?

The summer season of So You Think You Can Dance wraps up tonight on FOX at 8 ET. EW compiled a list of the 15 Greatest SYTYCD Routines, while show creator Nigel Lythgoe spoke about his desire to have Paula Abdul appear on the upcoming fall season.

SYTYCD vets Pasha Kovalev & Anya Garnis will join the Broadway cast of Burn the Floor on August 18.

In Dancing with the Stars alumnae news, Lisa Rinna is working on a novel, Marie Osmond’s talk show has been canceled and Heather Mills got a Kate Gosselin haircut.

Chris Kattan is starring in a new mini-series called Bollywood Hero that premieres tonight on IFC. It sounds right up my alley.

To promote the new season of Project Runway, Tim Gunn will call your friends with a prerecorded, personalized message. I can’t wait to prank my brother with this.

At the Movies is ditching Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz in favor of newspaper film critics A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips. Variety’s Brian Lowry considers the move an admission by Disney that their attempt to "go younger" failed.

Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn should become the celebrity spokesman for American health insurance reform. He told People that each of the six chemotherapy treatments he needs to treat his Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Disease costs about $23,000. His insurance only pays 80% of the cost.

Variety highlighted some of the food shows nominated for Emmys.

In a lengthy but thought provoking New York Times article, author Michael Pollan explores how our increased interest in TV shows about food coincides with a decrease in the amount of time we spend cooking for ourselves, resulting in higher obesity levels. As if that wasn’t bad enough, watching TV raises kids’ blood pressure.

The Emmys are stirring up controversy with a decision to pre-record eight of the award presentations for writing, and then showing edited portions of those presentations during the live ceremony. Host Neil Patrick Harris defended the move, saying the editing will only remove things like the recipients walking to the podium.

The Writers Guild of America issued a letter of protest. The Chicago Tribune’s TV critic Maureen Ryan isn’t happy about the move either.

Emmy Awards producer Don Mischer says it’s part of an effort to keep the ceremony relevant. TV’s most popular shows are notoriously underrepresented in the nominations every year, giving people less incentive to tune in to ceremony.

Is the alternative keeping the award show format the same, but moving the broadcast from a major network to a cable channel? Since it seems like most of the nominations are for cable shows anyway, it might make sense.

The Television Critics Awards were handed out over the weekend. The only network show among the winners was The Big Bang Theory.

In Dancing with the Stars news, it sounds as if Lou Ferrigno is as close to a lock for Season 9 as you can get (or at least as close to a lock as Vera Wang is). Pro wrestler Kurt Angle is the latest celebrity to join the list of rumored contestants for the new season.

Good news, Futurama fans. The original voice cast has signed on for the new season.

The New York Times has an article about the long work days, sleep deprivation, and booze that reality show producers use to keep contestants on edge.

Taking the torture of reality show contestants one step further is E!’s new show, Reality Hell. Each week a new contestant will be tricked into believing he or she is on a new, legitimate reality show, kind of like Spike’s Joe Schmo.

In non-TV news, go see the Bollywood movie Love Aaj Kal if it’s playing at a theater near you. It’s a great summer romance and a terrific introduction to Indian films, if you’ve never seen one before.

Also, watch this Special Comment about health insurance reform from last night’s episode of Countdown. It explains why the reforms the majority of Americans want are being held up in Congress (hint: it’s about money):

There’s exciting stuff happening on TV this weekend. Saturday marks the start of TCM’s month-long Summer Under the Stars. Each day in August will feature the films of a different actor, starting with Henry Fonda. The ad campaign for the event, featuring new posters for old movies, is getting some positive press.

Sunday, August 2, marks the return of Shark Week to Discovery.

Sunday’s also the last day to bid on a package of tickets to see Dancing with the Stars cohost Samantha Harris perform in the musical Chicago.

In other DwtS news, judge Carrie Ann Inaba has been hired to host TV Guide Network’s red carpet coverage alongside Bachelor host Chris Harrison.

Karina Smirnoff told People that she hopes Vera Wang participates in DwtS 9 so that she can beg the designer for a wedding dress.

When Who Wants to Be a Millionaire returns to primetime on August 9, it will feature an "Ask the Expert" lifeline. Among the celebrity "experts" available for help are Al Sharpton and Connie Chung.

Starting in October, ESPN will air an ambitious film project called "30 for 30", which will feature 30 short films about sports topics like BMX racing and Marion Jones’ steroid use. Some of the filmmakers already attached to the project include director Peter Berg and my favorite Canadian point guard, Steve Nash.

Maureen Ryan, better known as The Chicago Tribune’s The Watcher, wrote about a day in the life of a TV critic.

My brother will appreciate this Where Are They Now post about the cast of Night Court, since I’m pretty sure he still carries a torch for Markie Post.

Reality Blurred has an interview with Deadliest Catch creator Thom Beers. Last night, Discovery featured a fascinating special about the producers who work aboard the crab boats, which was more or less a chronicle of greenhorn cameraman Josh Silberman’s battle with seasickness. I have no idea how he was able to blog between his frequent bouts of vomiting.

Reality Blurred also reviews this season’s new dating shows, More to Love and Dating in the Dark.

In case you missed last night’s Bachelorette finale, ABC reorganized its schedule to give you a second chance to see it tonight.

FOX reorganized its fall schedule, giving the next season of So You Think You Can Dance a twelve-day head start on Dancing with the Stars 9.

Pure DwtS compiled a list of all of the credible Season 9 cast rumors thus far.

American Idol 8 made $50 million less in ad revenue than AI 7, but $850 million is still a pretty good haul.

Paramount is working on a feature film version of the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. Why bother when the 1982 animated version, The Secret of NIMH, is so good and features such a pretty theme song?

So You Think You Can Dance celebrates its 100th episode tonight. Variety has a bunch of articles about the show, including an update on what past winners are up to. Cat Deeley interviewed Katie Holmes about tonight’s special tribute to Judy Garland.

MOIB reader Katy pointed out the rumor that Ashley Hamilton may compete in Dancing with the Stars 9. Ashley’s best know as the son of DwtS 2 contestant George Hamilton, as well as the ex-husband of both Shannen Doherty and Angie Everhart.

In other DwtS news, Gilles Marini’s new calendar belongs on the top shelf at the newsstand, wrapped in a foil cover. Don’t click on the link if you’re at work.

Variety has an article on the increasing number of Hollywood prop and costume auctions.

Before the sixth season of Project Runway debuts in late August, Lifetime will air a special All-Star Challenge featuring past competitors Santino Rice, Daniel Vosovich, Uli Herzner, Jeffrey Sebelia, Mychael Knight, Chris March, Sweet P and Korto Momolu.

Survivor‘s upcoming all-star season may feature some contestants for a third series appearance, including Rupert, Cirie, Stephenie and Jonny Fairplay.

Wipeout has been officially renewed for a third season. Sadly, I Survived a Japanese Game Show probably won’t be back next summer.

As soon as Japanese Game Show‘s run ends this summer, its timeslot will be filled by another reality competition. Crash Course will feature couples doing stunts with cars. I’m not sure it will be as entertaining as watching people bob for frozen fish in a tub of ice water:

Tom Bergeron will reveal the identities of the Dancing with the Stars 9 cast members on Good Morning America on August 17. MOIB reader Deb noticed a rumor that DwtS 9 may feature 16 couples. I’m cool with the change if it means that couples won’t start doing two dances per week so early in the season, but something tells me that won’t happen.

Derek & Julianne Hough spoke with People about being nominated for an Emmy for their DwtS choreography. E! compiled a list of videos of the four So You Think You Can Dance routines nominated for choreography Emmys.

Reality Blurred has a list of all of the Emmy nominations earned by reality shows.

Paula Abdul may not judge American Idol next season.

What’s the point of new episodes of Futurama without the original voice actors?

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi may get her own sitcom on NBC about "a woman working in the culinary world."

NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is set to take on other athletes in the series Shaq Vs. starting August 18 on ABC. The Big Aristotle will swim against Michael Phelps and play tennis against Serena Williams. This I’ve got to see.

ABC, CBS and NBC will broadcast President Obama’s speech to the nation on Wednesday night at 8 ET. ABC will air new episodes of Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game Show one hour later than their normal broadcast times.

I’m excited about casting news from the set of A Game of Thrones, the new HBO series based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. Sean Bean was cast in a pivotal role, and several other roles have been filled as well. This series can’t come to cable soon enough.

Emmy nominations were announced this morning, including a nod to the best host in the biz, Tom Bergeron.

In other Dancing with the Stars news, the show is being sued by a couple of disabled men after a cameraman threatened to run over their service dog at a show taping.

There’s no DwtS Tour this summer, but you can catch "Shawn Johnson and Friends: An Evening of Music, Dance and Shawn" in Des Moines, Iowa on July 26. Gilles Marini, Cheryl Burke, Steve-O, Kristi Yamaguchi and The Ballas Hough Band are all scheduled to appear.

Fans of I Survived a Japanese Game Show can get the inside scoop on the show from Executive Producer Kent Weed at his MSN blog.

EW graded the outfits So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley has worn this season.

Speaking of outfits, actress Mayim Bialik talked to Starpulse about what it was like to be made over on What Not to Wear.

British judge Toby Young promised to tone it down a bit for the sixth season of Top Chef.

Lifetime revealed the identities of the models appearing in the new season of Project Runway. The gals also get their own show this season, called Models of the Runway. It’s about time someone showed the models some respect for putting up with those crazy PR contestants.

Harper’s Island stars Elaine Cassidy and Christopher Gorham spoke with TV Guide about the series finale.

MSN featured a couple of interesting lists recently: TV’s Best Shows About Showbiz and Best and Worst Travel Shows. Kudos to the "Travel Shows" author for saying of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host Guy Fieri: "When the most interesting part of your personality is your spiky bleach-blond hair, it’s time to relinquish your hosting duties."

Last week, MOIB reader Jen C and I couldn’t stop commenting about how goofy we thought it was for The Sci-Fi Channel to change it’s name to SyFy. Network exec Michael Engleman offered the silliest rationale for the name change to date: "The Y’s feel like they’re smiling at you."