The 15th (!) season of the Emmy Award-winning "Amazing Race" kicked off Sunday with a hilarious, promising premiere that nearly lived up to the cheese wheel challenge from last season's opener. I'm sorry I didn't post my full blog Monday morning (they're awful busy around these parts), but I figured rather than a blow-by-blow, I'd offer my opinions on the 10 teams remaining.

We actually started with 12 teams of two - one more than usual - and in a nasty twist one got cut right at the starting line (yoga couple Eric and Lisa, who annoyed me even in their super-brief interview). And at the end of the two-hour premiere on-and-off couple Garrett and Jessica got the boot in Vietnam after Jessie totally melted down during a duck-herding challenge (yes, duck herding; it was awesome). Jessie seemed like a brat, Garrett's eyes were way too close together, and he had a minor fit after being eliminated. Good riddance.

But we still have 10 teams loaded with potential tools to wade through. And here they are, in order of most likable to least likable on the Eric Scale. (I confess that cute guys push some teams ahead in the rankings.)

Sam & Dan: Adorable brothers who are both gay. These two were in the back of the pack for the majority of the first leg in Tokyo, although that wasn't really their fault - up until the final task everything was dependent almost entirely on luck (i.e., how fast they got the wasabi bomb in the Wheel of Sushi game show; if you missed this, YouTube it). Thankfully they seemed to get to get it together in Vietnam, until they blew their first-place finish by doing a poor job navigating the streets and totally falling apart as a team because they both tried to be leaders. That's troubling, and it's going to be a stressful season for me if they keep continually putting themselves in danger like that. I'm also going to deduct points for their stupid "We're not going to tell anyone we're gay!" strategy, because a) it's making an issue out of something that's never been an issue on this show and b) all the other teams need to do is take one look at the prancing these two do at the finish mat and that secret's blown. Seriously, who do they think they're fooling?

Zev & Justin: Best friends, and Zev has Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism. These two are totally charming, especially Zev, who in the sweetest moment of the premiere gave his coat to a soaking-wet Vietnamese guy who got caught in a torrential downpour. Aw. He's also really good at duck herding. Justin is dreamy. I'm rooting for these guys almost as much as I rooted for my first Asperger's afflicted reality-show star, the gorgeous Heather from "Top Model" Cycle 9.

Flight Time & Big Easy: Teammates on the Harlem Globetrotters. As my roommate pointed out, the show is milking every second it can out of getting the rights to that Globetrotters theme song. These two are naturally charismatic, and obviously have an edge over many of the other teams due to being working athletes.

Brian & Ericka: Married mixed-race couple; Ericka is a former Miss America. These two ended up toward the back of the pack both legs, and that makes me awfully worried for them. They are adorable together, and although Ericka had a couple irritated moments over the course of the two episodes, I still found her very likable. I don't even think they're bad racers, they've just had terrible luck so far.

Gary & Matt: A rare father/son team. The other teams have nicknamed them Pinky & The Brain, which is hilarious because Gary is this unassuming, tiny middle-aged guy and Matt is this big, burly rocker-looking dude with a variety of visible piercings (including those huge ear plugs that make me flinch every time I see them) and shocking pink hair. We didn't get much of a feel for either of them, but they both seem like nice guys. Just looking at them you might think there would be some lifestyle friction, but if it's there it wasn't evident in the premiere.

Marcy & Ron: Older dating couple. Ron was practically invisible, but Marcy is an inadvertent hoot. In the Tokyo leg the teams had to lead a pack of 20 Japanese "tourists" through the streets to a shrine, and Marcy went full-on wackadoo, spinning and spinning into this hyper state, eventually uttering the quote of the evening: "I'm in my body and having a lot of good times." Amazing. I don't know if they'll be able to keep up with the other racers physically, but I look forward to more spazzing out from her.

Meghan & Cheyne: This young couple is being tipped as the obvious front-runners, and I just don't see it. They're certainly not physically intimidating in any way (I would describe Cheyne's body type as "noodly"), and I don't see them as the sharpest sticks in the bundle either. To me they're just yet another bland blonde duo like we've seen a million times before. Cheyne instantly annoyed me with the spelling of his name (I mean, really), and because he looks like an Aeropostale model circa 1989. There's just something so clueless and vaguely tragic about him. And who wears their hair like that? Especially when you're on a race around the world? He looks like Earring Magic Ken.

Mika & Canaan: Dating aspiring country music stars (Mika actually already had a hit earlier this year with "Runaway"). Canaan earned my ire early on by stating that she felt that their deep faith in Christ would help them in the race, I guess the insinuation being that God would help them out in sticky situations. Dear Canaan: Look around you. God has more important things to worry about than your placement in "The Amazing Race." She also bragged that because they're so religious, she knows Mika's dating her for the right reasons, not because he wants to have sex with her. Oh, Canaan. You are in for a rude awakening one of these days. Actually, she may have already gotten it during the Vietnam leg, when her bungling of the duck task led to Mika freaking out and expressing his desire to rip her head off. In a very Christ-like way, I'm sure.

Lance & Keri: Married couple from Salem, Massachusetts. I'm not sure Keri is actually a person; at this point she seems like a husk of a woman who has been bullied and belittled into wallpaper by a domineering asshole husband. Did she say more than three words the entire two hours? The only thing I can remember is her handing over control of the travel arrangements after Lance yelled that she was doing it wrong. Lance is a lawyer, and he seems like every scumbag lawyer stereotyped wrapped up in an over-compensating muscle-bound package. He reminds me of a slightly less insane version of Jonathan from Season 4.

Maria & Tiffany: Professional poker players, clearly our "villains" for this season. Tiffany Michelle is apparently a controversial figure on the professional poker circuit, and I suspect she will be equally despised by "Race" fans by the end of this season. The two of them started off by lying to everyone about their profession, claiming to work for a non-profit that helps underprivileged kids. Their reasoning that people wouldn't like them if they knew they made mega-bucks playing poker is somewhat understandable. But after a random guy ID'd them in an airport (who recognizes professional poker players?!) the rest of the teams felt totally scammed and started talking about how shady they are. Which is true. But what's worse, they're totally fake. I don't think these two even like each other. Maria certainly seemed perpetually annoyed by Tiffany, and Tiffany didn't seem invested in the actual race at all. She just seemed to be there for camera time. They're also two of the laziest racers I've ever witnessed. They just kind of meandered through the first two legs, ultimately coming in last in Tokyo (it was a non-elimination leg, and their "penalty," an extra task in Vietnam, was a total joke and an affront to any other team that has ever had to accomplish a Speed Bump). They even lost a couple of the "tourists" they were supposed to be leading, and rather than go back and find them, they just gave up, leaving the poor women standing at an intersection in the middle of Tokyo. That's pretty despicable. I can't wait to see what they do next.