The S2 premiere is September 9th, right? Do we know when the next batch of apprentices will be announced?

Yee haw!! More good news for Kwame to rub in Assorama's face:

Just read that Kwame's partnership company (Legacy Development Partners) signed a 3.8 BILLION dollar deal to develop homes, shopping centers, etc. in Maryland. Per the story, the deal will create 32,000 jobs.

Go, Kwame!! Couldn't happen to a nicer or more deserving guy! :)

So Kwame is actually doing what Assy has been only claiming she was going to do: produce a TV show, produce a line of business clothing, and make billions. Go, Kwame! Oh -- and Assorama:

BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!

From today's Newsday

How long do you think it will be before Assy has a blurb in the media congratulating her "brutha" and trying to find SOME WAY for his success to continue her "15 minutes...."!?!

My bet....less than 24 hours.

Yay Kwame! And yeah, Blondie, I don't think it will be very long at all before O has something to say. What I'm wondering.... will she try to get a gig with K's company? I beleve she was showing condos in her area for a time, wasn't she?

Thanks for being on top of things, y'all. I'm still semi-obsessed by the Olympics and haven't been Googling much of late.

In three, two, one ...

"Of course, my brutha came to me for my specialized expertise and input, which I was pleased to provide ... I was the brain behind the concept of an original clothing line. It will feature polyester satin shirts in jewel colors open to the navel and worn with shiny wide-lapel jackets in the finest synthetic fabrics. Men in these suits will be the most classiest guys in business! Just like Kwame, my brutha, whose muse and inspiration I am ... I'll have my own office on the highest floor of whatever it is my brutha's going to build, and an adjoining set in the studio that my brutha's TV show will broadcast from, and a cut from whatever profits he makes ... all because my brutha couldn't do it without me! Did I mention he's my brutha?"

Did a bit of looking while watching the repeat of the women's triathlon. Found a few things worthy of linkage.

DING DING DING!! To the insomniac comes the spoils. CLICK HERE for the NY Post article with a partial listing of the new Apprentices. Note: There is no photo online as yet that I've found, but there will be one in the hard copy of the paper for any New Yorkers to grab. I believe it's on Page 3.

More on Kwame's big Maryland project. I am duly impressed. Wow even. (Heh. Seethe, O. Seethe...)

Scroll down a ways for a brief diatribe about O. So what if the writer misidentifies the bride. Good snark.

Scroll down for Heidi gossip. So the title for her book really sucks a lot. *shaking head* I don't guess the child will ever learn, huh?

Greedy much, NBC? Not the best way to treat your early sponsors. Tsk tsk.

The Tony Danza Show begins on September 13th. Will it be lucky? Or not? I wonder if Ereka's superstitious. Hmmm. Can't you just see O sending her a black cat or something? A miniature one, of course. Heh. With a poisoned tiara...

Today's NY Post has a photo of the The Donald with all the 'cast' members for the new season that starts Sept. 9.

One of the women is a dead ringer for Carolyn. In fact, she's standing next to the Donald in the photo and I thought it WAS Carolyn at first. The article points out that this woman in the photo is an Apprentice cast member, not Carolyn.
How odd is this - this woman definitely looks (from the photo) like she could be Carolyn's twin.

Is this on the NY Post website anywhere? Was this woman in the online video? The one going "My heart was just beating out of my CHEST!" Because I do see a resemblance between the two of them, now that you mention it. There are a few others who I think haven't been shown in that video though, so I don't know.

The photo isn't on the website. I said that in my post. It's only in the hard copy so far as I know. It's supposed to be in the next issue of Entertainment Weekly per the NY Post article. I never buy that mag, but I may have to get this one.

I have a lot of pre-hate for the "what a buncha wimps" guy. I think I am really going to dislike him.

I LOVE living in NYC...just got the entertainment weekly with the whole spread of all the new candidates. And might I say...



Yeah...in two weeks you won't be the only one. While every other candidate is asked who their favorite player was from last season, he's listed as saying his least favorite.His whole little blip is a criticism of last season...and-dare I say- a slight swipe at Carolyn. "George is smarter, older, wiser....he has less to prove."

Bill stepped in for Bernie a couple times and , according to the article, "hazed" the new crop of candidates. Rancis was quoted as saying, "I want to go on record and apologize. I was tougher than I should have been." Heee..big surprise. Bill has an ego.

Guys are hoooooooooooooooooooottttttttttttt. I mean, like, REALLY hot. The women, save for about 3 of them, all look alike. Blonde, shoulder length hair. But you can tell there are many more drama queens this season. I think the short haired brunette girl in the trailer isn't nearly as awful as she comes off. Then again, I could be eating my words in two weeks. She comes off pretty grounded

One woman, Elizabeth, made me giggle when she said Amy was her favorite contestant from last season because she " was really creative...like when she came up with the idea to advertise on ther back of the rickshaws."

Ivana? Yeah, she's an idiot. Her quote about George vs Carolyn? "Geroge was tough on the guys, and with the women he was more like the granddad." That should really help her if she makes ther final two. And in print, no less.



Overall, only 2 women stand out- Maria (short haired brunette from the trailer) and Stacie (subway shop owner, only African American woman.) The other seem like complete bubbleheads.

The guys? Well, Bradford (32 FT.Lauderdale) says something telling when asked about George. "He reminded me of as professor I had in college who was always on my case."

Chris, the obnoxious "these guys are wimps" guy? Total jag and likely pissed everyone off very quickly. Doesn't seem like the play to close to the vest kinda guy.

Kelly (37, Software exec) and Rob (32, Corporate Branding salesman) stand out the most to me.

Oh Tashanir, I was just thinking about you this morning and here you've come through BRILLIANTLY! Thanks so much for taking the time to share all that excellent dish. Yay!

I hate this guy, too. I think he's going to be annoying right off of the bat and get a lot of cameratime, because that's the sort of thing that Mark Burnett likes to display. I can't believe he took a swipe at Carolyn. What a dillhole.

Hey, I'm awesome. I just realized that although NBC.com hasn't officially released the candidate list yet, if you follow the URL http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Apprentice_2/candidates/ you can view all of them. Only some bios and interviews are up at the moment.

And which person looked like Carolyn? Pamela or Elizabeth? They both kind of do.

EDIT: I spoke too soon. For some reason, you can only access Elizabeth's bio and interview.

I was able to get all the other bios too, Scat. And by the way, I think I love you. Yay! But it's interesting. We only get first names this year. I doubt that will last very long, though.

ETA: *happy dance* and a big ol' squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

ETA part deux: I'm able to get the interviews too. Only links not working so far seem to be the photo pages.

Oy...let the spinning begin. this Chris guy was "an entrepreneur since he was 11." (which does not sound grammatically correct so how much you want to be that this tool wrote his own online bio?). He started with a candy business which followed with a landscaping business by 14 and sold flowers every holiday and Christmas trees in the winter.

Translation....he bought a ton of Milky Ways at .50 at the local Kwickie Mart and then brow beat classmates to buy them for $1.50 a pop in the lunch room. Why do I see this guy beating the snot out of smaller kids out of their lunch money to buy the Milky Ways in the first place? (and I swear to God if he starts in with the "Well, living in NYC..." shit I'm going to throw my laptop at the TV.) And the "landscaping" gig? Yeah...what do you want to bet that he got hired to mow lawns at $20 an hour and then hired the little kids to mow the lawns in his neghbor hood for him and he paid them about $5 per hour.

That's not an entrepreneur, NBC.....that's called a con artist. Oh ...and the "only got a high school degree" bit might be why this guy seems to have a rather large chip on his shoulder. You, sir, are no Troy.

Oh my god...I hate him already.

Found a glitch. The link to the guy between Andy and Chris takes you to Andy's bio again.

That's crazy! Those bios totally weren't there when I made that post! I'm glad to see they're up now though. That must mean they'll be revealed officially very soon now.

When I was in elementary school I myself was conned into buying candy at a more expensive rate. So although I liked his comment "What a bunch of wimps", I can no longer root for him.

I wanted to root for Andy, just because he's a nice young guy, but that's part of the problem, he's a nice young guy, and with that In mind I don't know if he has the experience to go all the way.



What the hell are you talking about Raj?

And so it begins.

An unnamed new female cast member has made Page Six.

The Donald and Nick Warnock both get separate mentions in the We Hear, We Hear section of Page Six. Heh. Nick's such the lothario. Not.

TD in the national news section of the NY Post -- DONALD'S LATEST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: TRUMP U.

More on Trump U. from the NY Daily News.

The Smoking Gun link relevant to the above two articles.

TD is introducing the new cast in People. Subscribers to the rag, er, mag and AOLers can access the relevant article HERE.

This article from IndyStar.com has a Zap2it credit but it doesn't appear to be up at Zap2it yet. Anyhow, TD assures us that TA2 will be even better than the original. Oh, I nearly forgot. There are George quotes!

Bill Rancic will be in Chicago October 7th "to Show You How to Take Your Team to the Next Level."

Kwame was back home at UNC last week as reported in the Durham Herald-Sun. Scroll down to bottom of article. Useless trivia related to this item: a. The first item mentioned in that article is about the Center for the Study of the American South which is where Bill Ferris, a former professor of mine, now teaches. And b. When I was eleven my dad arranged for me to go on a behind the scenes tour of the Herald-Sun newspaper offices and printing plant when I was doing a project for school about journalism. Sometimes having a dad who was a minister wasn't so bad. ;-)

Hee! Omarosa is one of the definitions from an article in the Business section of the Detroit News.

Yeah, and as usual, it's about her alleged promiscuity. Although it doesn't offer any info other than she's a female contestant and went to high school. And the tipster's gender? That seems to be a secret, too. Talk about a slow news day. They had to go for the easy "She's a slut" bullshit rumor.

Thanks, Scat! Those bios were very interesting and the new "crop" are very good looking ppl with impressive credentials. Makes me even more interested in the new season!

BTW, I'm thinking Pamela is the one who looks most like Carolyn. And I'm glad to see that most seem to be married and/or with someone already. I wish the producers on these "reality" shows would stop with the lame-ass "romantic" storylines...they are usually just STOO. PID. Hopefully, we WON'T be subjected to it this time.

I just saw the bios on EW's website and I'm feeling pretty good about this season. I didn't find anyone to be remotely attractive and everyone ranged from being irritating to just blah. I tend to get a bit stressed when there's a contestant I'm really rooting for so this means I'll probably get through this season without much of a problem.

I think the most amusing bio so far is the one for Stacie, the model-slash-friend-of-Jared. I am definitely adding the Harlem Subway Sandwich Shop to my reality-TV guided tour.

Sigh...I don't think this cast can surpass the original, but I'll give it a shot!

A general roundup on the candidates, on CNN.com. Nothing much that we didn't already know. But there it is.

Pretty much as I suspected this cast suffers from terminal "2nd Season"-itis. That is they are going to great lengths to prove they are better, smarter, more controversial, sexier, than the beloved 1st season cast. The cast of Survivor 2 is the prime example of this. Big Brother is a major offender in this case. Though no one ever really cared for the cast of the first season of that show. But each year the knuckleheads always try to outdo each other. Anyway after reading the bios of the new cast members, I must say that Maria is instantly going to be the bitch of the bunch. And what can you say about Raj, except that you can't trust a guy who wears a bow-tie! Guys like that wear them to stand out, except that if your idea of standing out is wearing a bow-tie, you are a massive dork!

I went to college with Raj (and Ereka) and he has been doing the bow tie thing for a long time. He is big on traditional/throw back stuff. And preppy stuff (having gone to the same boarding school as the Trump boys).

Certainly some spin in his bio. His dad owned some car dealerships in PA, so I imagine that is where the auto company came in.

He can be very funny, very full of himself, and very confrontational so he should be perfect for the show.

Vent...

I hate it when people state they went to The Wharton School, giving the implication is they hold an MBA, when they in fact graduated from the undergraduate program at UPenn. I was intrigued by the summary of the bios which said "hold degrees from the prestigious Wharton School" blahblahblah, and realized none of them were Wharton MBAs.

Of course, I'm oversensitive as I DID go thru the MBA program at Wharton. If you went to Penn, say you went to Penn!

One of my (former) coworkers was once gushing over a "Whartonite" he wanted to hire, and asked me to take him to lunch. In three minutes I had him admit he was not the MBA he had portrayed himself to be. OK, so maybe that's more my ignorant coworker's fault than his, but still.

Would someone claim to have gone to HBS having majored in business at Harvard?

Me thinks not.

Would-be Apprentice Stacie is a Ford model. Here's her page.

I'm putting it here only because there aren't any individual threads open yet and it isn't a spoiler.

Oh wow. She's incredibly lovely. Her eyes are gorgeous. Thanks for posting that link, oakgal.

Access Hollywood just did a brief interview with some of these new candidates.

Stacie-"Behind every strong white man is a black women."

The girl who is the Bridal Shoppe Owner? She's Katrina all over. She even looks like her.

Chris, the "buncha wimps" guy looks completely strung out and his LoongGiland accent is fucking irritating.

Bow tie boy? Raj? Hate. Him. Already. Seems like a prententious prick. Maria (short haired brunette) is shown saying she wished she could "get her hands around his neck." I really think the reason why she's getting the bad rap so soon is that sever hair cut. But she is really stunning.

Ivana looks like an annoying drama queen.

Honestly? these group looks really, really brutally viscious. Way more than last season. Way way more. i think we can expect twice the drama...and even see some brutal fights. They all look unbelievably competitive.

I said this before and I'll say it again. It's as if they took the season one prototypes and said while casting this season, "Find me another Troy/Sam/Omarosa/Nick." Literally exactly the same type of personalities...but to the nth degree.

This is hilarious: Stacie (the African-American model/Subway franchise owner in Harlem) totally lied about her age. In the official NBC press release for "The Apprentice 2," her age is listed as 35. But in Entertainment Weekly, her age is listed as 29. Also, based on her upraised fist pose on the Entertainment Weekly cover, it looks like she's quite a drama queen.

Official NBC press release w/photo.

Photo pages at NBCMV with vague pictures of Mattel task and photos of each cast member individually through page four.

Tashanir read my mind. Think about how dramatic (not to mention famewhorish) the 1st season crew turned out to be. Now consider that this is a group that has actually seen the 1st season and the "rewards" reaped by its participants, and wants to outdo that group. Yikes.

These folks will create drama not because they are actually pissed off at someone, but just because they know it's what they're expected to do.

I also think that this group has more "serious" business people. Few actor of famewhore wannabes. Although I think Stacie & Chris are just looking for a quick route to their 15 minutes of fame. Last season we had Omarosa, Amy, Nick, Ereka, Heidi, and Kristi. I don't care what anyone says....those candidates were not "cream of the crop/geniuses/mini-moguls in the making." The were average people with average jobs who either looked great on TV or were toxic characters needed to induce stress and drama. I'm still boggled by how Kristi, Ereka and Heidi got chosen for that show. They showed nothing in terms of skill or know how. And their "people skills" blew.

But even better? Just think how desperate the last crew is now, knowing that in 2 weeks people won't even remember their names because they've been replaced. Amy can hawk her book all she wants.....no one os going to care about her. Hell, even Bill is goign to be forgotten once this season starts

Eonline article on Apprentice 2

There's a rundown on all the contestants. They seem older and more experienced than last year's crop. Most are in their 30's. Also, a short update on some of the A1 gang:


Kwame's in real estate now? Ereka hosting a talk show....ick.

It's definitely a more accomplished bunch, but I don't know if that means fewer of them are wannabe famewhores. I'm sure a lot of them could and would step away from their careers if fame (even crappy, post-reality-TV "fame") beckoned. A lot of really successful business types - like Trump himself! - prefer to move around between various projects rather than stay tied to one thing, so I could see some of these folks justify "cashing in on their 15 minutes" as another "project".

Given the high potential for conflict, I think one of the tasks should involve starting a Fight Club.

The bios and pics are up at nbc.com. And yes, an older group of apprentices, that's fer sure. I see George and Carolyn are pictured, too. I hope that means they'll be back!! I get a bigger kick out of them than most of the apprentices.

Pamela's "George or Carolyn" answer sort of cracked me up.

That's so random.

And Ivana can go ahead and STFU already with her "Why I should win" answer.

I hate when people refer to their own 'sass.'

Rob's answer to 'lesson learned from season one': Watch out for falling pieces of drywall. Heh.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has an article about Maria.

More info from the Chicago Sun-Times about Kevin.

Wow, Kevin quit football so he could be a bone-marrow donor for his brother? I don't know how he'll do on the show, but I like him already.

Not to sound heartless, but Kevin's biography indicates that he gave up a shot at the NFL. I don't think, in the last 20 years, more than 3-4 players have ever gone from playing for an Ivy League school to having a significant NFL career (Jay Feidler, Sean Morey [questionable how "significant"] are the only ones that come to mind). That being said, he seems like a nice, smart guy, but that "sob story" may be taken a bit too far.

This isn't recent media and I hope it's not too tangential but I'm looking for ANY sort of Apprentice fix right now.

An archived run down of Ivy League schools, leaguewide best teams, and the NFL draft is here.

Kevin Allen was 1st team all conference in 95-96. ie the year of the '96 draft.

He was 2nd team all conference in '94-'95, and compared to the guys who got drafted he's with the one guy(2nd team, 1st team) but behind the rest.

It would have been a stretch but maybe he could have signed on as a free agent.

Just to give information about the candidates to the masses, the Wharton undergraduate program is far more selective and prestigious than the MBA program. I'm very psyched to see two Penn grads on the Apprentice this year (not that I knew either of them). Even though my screen name references my grad degree, I'm all about Penn - although I was in the College of Arts & Sciences, not Wharton.

Watch for the new TV Guide with the football players on the cover.

I'm just saying.

Oooh, Miss Alli, are you mentioned? Or are they publishing an article you wrote? I'm so curious now!

You'd think that with the GOP convention that there wouldn't be too much TA news on a Tuesday, but looky here:

The Denver Post reveals Raj's last name. Like we ever thought it wouldn't come out.

HERE is the Vail Daily News article mentioned in the above Denver Post one. Lots more info on the bowtie guy.

Bit of a spoiler offering, well okay, not much of one, about rewards for TA2 from the Chicago Sun-Times' Quick Hits column. Scroll down to the headline, "Table for Anna, Piazza is waiting."

Multibillion $$ projects make for strange bedfellows. Kwame, an avowed Democrat, spotted at a Republican event. Baltimore Sun. Free registration needed.

The People Magazine website has a story mentioning Kwame that I can't get to because I'm not a subscriber. If anyone who is wants to offer a brief recap for the rest of us, I for one would be grateful.

O has an actual acting gig playing a lesbian. Really. TV Gal says so. Scroll down to the first item in the spoiler section of her column. No. Seriously.

Actually, there are more Ivy Leaguers in the NFL than that - Matt Birk of the Vikings (all-pro) went to Harvard. Marcellus Wiley went to Columbia.

Usually there are a few in training camps so it's definitely not out of the realm if he was an all-conference player at Penn, since Penn is usually at the top of the Ivy in football.

According to the above-linked article, there have been 11 Ivy-leaguers drafted in the past 17 or so years. Matt Birch (I forgot about him) is the only Pro-Bowler from an Ivy League school since 1982. Again, I did say "significant" NFL carreer. So I'll give you Fiedler, Birch and Marcellus Wiley, but not Sean Morey, who is only going in his second year as a special teams player with my beloved Eagles.

But Basset - just because he's not drafted doesn't mean he didn't have a chance at the NFL. Many players are non-drafted free agents. They bring 80-85 players in camp (counting NFL Eurpoe exemptions) for a roster of 53 plus a practice squad. And ask anyone in camp for an NFL team and they're thinking they can make the team. Otherwise, why would they be there?

Many teams are giving these players a chance due to the salary cap, where a player with 4 years of experience has to make a certain amount of money.

Sure he may not have been a star - but he gave up a chance to play in the NFL, or at least be on the practice squad and play in NFL Europe. If I could have - I would have.