Dancing with the Stars Lineup Set - Odds on the Winner

The much-anticipated pairings for the hit ABC TV series "Dancing With the Stars" were announced on Monday, and while many of the celebrities will be seeing action for the first time, almost every one of their partners are wily veterans.

All these dancing partners appear to have prior experience, with the exception of Michael Irvin's partner, Anna Demidova, who is on this season's show by virtue of winning the Season 8 Professional Dancer Competition.

This year there are four noted athletes in the competition - Irvin (+800 to win it at BetUS), the NFL Hall of Famer who starred with the Dallas Cowboys, Chuck Liddell (+900 at BetUS), the former UFC light heavyweight champ, Louie Vito (+1200 at BetUS), a professional snowboarder, and Natalie Coughlin (at +600, the favorite at BetUS), who won six swimming medals at the 2008 Olympics. Also, Mark Dacascos (+750 at BetUS), the star of "Iron Chef America" on the Food Network, competed extensively in martial arts as a youth.

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All of this is important to mention because of the fact that athletes have done very well in the competition. Emmitt Smith, one of Irvin's teammates with the Cowboys, won in Season 3, and he was followed by Apolo Anton Ohno, the Olympic speed skater, who won Season4, Indy driver Helio Castroneves, the Season 5 winner and Kristi Yamaguchi, the Olympic figure skater, who won the Season 6 competition. Shawn Johnson, and Olympic gymnast, won last time out. Also, Kelly Monaco, who has competed in extreme sports, was the winner in the inaugural season of Dancing With the Stars.

NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice was the runner-up in Season 2, while Jason Taylor (Season 6) and Warren Sapp (Season 7) have also finished second. Third place finishers have included pro wrestler Stacy Kiebler (Season 2) and Laila Ali (Season 4).

Of course, some athletes have not done so well. Clyde Drexler, formerly of the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, was stuck in eighth position in Season 4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be able to dance around the ring with a great deal of success, but the best he could manage was a ninth place finish in Season 5. Monica Seles was not an ace, as she got only as far as 11th place in Season 6

A quick glance of the field tells me that the competitor who might need the most help is ultra-conservative Tom Delay (bringing up the rear at +1300 at BetUS), the former House majority leader who is 62 years old. He's got some of the best help available, as he's paired up with Cheryl Burke, who won this competition with both Emmitt Smith and Drew Lachey. Burke was the runner-up last year with actor Gilles Marini.

There is another two-time champion who will be in the field. Mark Ballas, who has taken two titles in four seasons, with Yamaguchi and Shawn Johnson, teams up with a non-athlete this time - Melissa Joan Hart (+700 at BetUS), former star of "Sabrina The Teenage Witch." Ballas' ex-girlfriend, Julianne Hough, who won back-to-back titles with Ohno and Castroneves, is not in the competition, but his best buddy, Derek Hough, who is Julianne's brother (try to keep up with us here), who won in Season 7 with Brooke Burke, is back and partnered up with model Joanna Krupa (+650 at BetUS).