Looking at The Amazing Race Teams - Part 2

Yesterday I took a look at six of the teams we'll see on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race. Today it's time for the remaining five teams. The show premieres this coming Sunday at 8 PM ET/PT. The deadline for signing up to be in the blog pool is tomorrow. Margo is gathering names and will be posting who gets to cheer on whom after tomorrow.

Dan and Jordan - I guess this is our alpha male team for the season. Dan (24) and Jordan (22) Pious are brothers hailing from Barrington, Rhode Island. Dan is a financial advisor while Jordan is a strategic consultant. Um. Okay. When I was 24, no one would want me advising them on their finances. And, what exactly does a strategic consultant DO? Gotta love these listed careers.

Pros for them: They're young, they're healthy-looking, and probably more athletic on the whole than most of the other teams. They seem to be relatively intelligent. I bet they could even answer a question about geography.

Cons for them: They don't seem that well traveled. One of them, Dan, actually admits hating traveling. That could be interesting. They also are competitive and intense. I hope that doesn't equal fussing and fighting with each other like the last set of brothers on the show.

Jordan and Jeff - Well, these two look familiar! Where have we seen them before? Heh. The sweethearts from last season's Big Brother are listed as "newly dating" for TAR. Jordon Lloyd is 22, a receptionist (and BB11 half-million first place winner) from Charlotte, North Carolina. Jeff Schroeder is 31, a salesman and BB11 runner-up, from Norridge, Illinois.

Pros for them: They have the reality show experience and are used to being cooped-up with each other. Jeff, in particular, is pretty smart while Jordan definitely has her moments despite her reputation on BB11 and her phraseology. A pro for me is that I enjoy watching these two.

Cons for them: Jordan, in particular, hasn't traveled much at all and is very naive. In many online articles they've mentioned they bickered a lot on the race. I don't like that. Jordan doesn't always think quickly and Jeff tends to be impatient with her. We'll see. I'm still glad they got the chance to do the show.

Louie and Michael - These two are listed as friends and police detectives. Louie Stravato is 47, an undercover detective from Providence, Rhode Island. Michael Naylor is 45, also a detective from Providence.

Pros for them: I can only hope they're as entertaining as the clown team a few seasons back. Not that cops are clowns, but most cops I've known definitely have a great sense of humor, or at least one I can appreciate. Louie is also a cool name for a cop. Heh. They're both into weight-lifting and are athletic-ish. They're probably used to reasoning and following instructions, too.

Cons for them: Michael complains that Louie loves everyone while Louie claims Michael is a control freak. But I bet we're going to see these two get along very well as a team. I'm not seeing any real cons about the team. Perhaps they're not real well-traveled, I guess. I hope they live up to my entertainment expectations!

Monique and Shawne - Well, we had the cops, now we're to the attorneys. These women are listed as attorneys/moms. They're friends, too. Monique Pryor is 39 from West Orange, New Jersey. Shawne is 39 from Bowie, Maryland.

Pros for them: I have to say that since West Orange is near me, I need to root for Monique! That aside, they seem to be a strong female team. Both enjoy traveling and have indeed traveled outside of the country before. They're intelligent. They're both in good physical condition and younger than some of the other teams.

Cons for them: I'm not seeing too many cons at all. Perhaps an over-confidence in their own abilities might translate as cocky to other teams? I don't know. I think these two are going to be strong competitors.

Steve and Allison - This father/daughter team hails from Encinitas, California. Steve Smith is 47 and a professional baseball coach (Cleveland Indians). Allie Smith is 23 and in marketing.

Pros for them: They're probably fairly well-traveled (at least more than Jordan!). Unlike some father/daughter teams we've seen, they're not mending fences or working on their relationship. They're out to have a good time, create great memories, and maybe win a million dollars.

Pros for them: I think they're going to be a solid team, but perhaps not the best on an athletic angle. I also think the fact that he's a pro ball coach (he also coached the Phillies for their World Series win) might work against them. I'm always of the mind that if people really need the money, they should be working and not on reality television shows. However, lots of folks (including some others on shows) go by "need."

Racers ready?