So it may make no sense that I am dedicating the sports blog to announcing the line-up for this season of “Dancing With the Stars,” but before you hit the back button and stop reading this blog, read my next line:

Dancers are athletes...

Trust me, if dancing weren’t a form of athletics there would not be so many athletes signing up for each season and challenging themselves to push their athletic talents to the limit. And I totally give kudos to every single athlete who has competed on “Dancing With the Stars.”

Yes, I am talking about Evander Holyfield, Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne, Emmitt Smith, Clyde Drexler, Laila Ali, Apolo Anton Ohno, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Helio Castroneves. Now add to that list Kristi Yamaguchi, Monica Seles and Jason Taylor.

Also part of the cast for Season 6 of the show that just seems to get more and more popular each season are:

• Adam Carolla — comedian and host of “The Adam Carolla Show,” a syndicated radio morning show in Los Angeles.
Claim to fame: he and Jimmy Kimmel were the creators and hosts of “The Man Show” on Comedy Central.
His partner: Julianne Hough, who is the two-time defending champion. Both Castroneves and Ohno were crowned the winners of seasons 5 and 4 respectively with her at their side.

• Cristian de la Fuente — international film star
Claim to fame: novela heartthrob who will star in the TV series “In Plain Sight” to air on USA.
His partner: Cheryl Burke, who before Hough, led Smith and Drew Lachey to capture the “Dancing With the Stars” coveted disco ball.

• Shannon Elizabeth — film and television star
Claim to fame: She had an interesting wardrobe in “American Pie.”
Her partner: Derek Hough who is the older brother of Julianne. Last season was his debut season and he and his partner, Jennie Garth, survived through nine of the competition’s 12 weeks.

• Steve Guttenberg — movie star
Claim to fame: “Three Men and a Baby”
His partner: Anna Trebunskaya, who is married to Jonathon Roberts. She joined the cast in Season 2 and was partnered with Rice. The couple came in second to Lachey and Burke.

• Mario — R&B star and actor
Claim to fame: Just listen to the radio and find out for yourself.
His partner: Karina Smirnoff who was lucky enough to be partnered with Mario Lopez in Season 3 and Billy Ray Cyrus in Season 5. She seems to somehow to draw all the good-looking guys.

• Marlee Matlin — Academy Award-winning actress
Claim to fame: Uh, she won an Academy Award and is legally deaf.
Her partner: Fabian Sanchez, a newcomer to the show, but well-known in the dancing world.

• Penn Jillete — Magician
Claim to fame: He is “Penn” of the “Penn and Teller” Las Vegas act.
His partner: Kym Johnson, who is best known as Joey Fatone’s partner in Season 4. Before that she was Jerry Springer’s partner.

• Priscilla Presley — Actress, producer and entrepreneur
Claim to faim: Besides being Elvis’ wife, she starred in the “Naked Gun” movies.
Her partner: Louis van Amstel, who has not been on cast for the last two seasons but is best remembered for Season 3 when he partnered with Lisa Rinna.

• Monica Seles — tennis player
Claim to fame: She’s a Grand Slam champion.
Her partner: Roberts, who is the sweetest-looking guy on the show and almost captured the title last season with Marie Osmond. The couple came in third.

• Jason Taylor — Football player with the Miami Dolphins
Claim to fame: He’s the current NFL Man of the Year and last year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
His partner: Edyta Sliwinska, who is married to Alec Mazo and who has partnered with Cameron Mathison, John Ratzenberger, Joey Lawrence (they came in third), George Hamilton and Holyfield.

• Marissa Jaret Winokur — Broadway star
Claim to fame: She won a Tony for her role as Tracy Turnblad in “Hairspray.”
Her partner: Tony Dovolani, who has partnered the likes of Jane Seymour, Leeza Gibbons and Sara Evans. However, he is best known for coming in third with Stacey Keibler.

• Kristi Yamaguchi — figure skater
Claim to fame: She has won Olympic gold in 1992 and is a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
Her partner: Mark Ballas, who made his “Dancing With the Stars” debut last season with his partner Sabrina Bryan.

Here are my quick thoughts on the season:

- Mario deserved a better partner than Smirnoff and her big forehead

- Marissa Jaret Winokur could be Tony’s best partner since Stacey Keibler and since I didn’t like her, I am thrilled that I can root for him this time!

- Yamaguchi and Ballas stand a real to chance to go rather far in the competition.

- I am somewhat sad to see who Julianne and Cheryl have been partnered with. Guess the producers want to see someone new win this season.

- Matlin will be interesting to watch. Heather Mills was the show’s first contestant with a disability but she made do with her prosthetic leg.

All in all, this season has the makings to be very much worth watching. It premieres March 17 and I am already counting down the days.

Do you have any “Dancing With the Stars” predictions? Share them on the Lake Front’s myspace page, www.myspace.com/ollulakefront.