New Season Of "Amazing Race"
One team will have a leg up on the competition in the upcoming season of "The Amazing Race."
Two of the Harlem Globetrotters are among the 12 teams starring in the 15th edition of the CBS reality show, which premieres Sept. 27. Nathaniel "The Big Easy" Lofton, 28, from New Orleans, and Herbert "Flight Time" Lang, 32, from Brinkley, Ark., believe their experience will help them dominate this season's course, which spans eight countries in 21 days.
"I've been to about 65 countries around the world," said Lang. "I definitely think that gives us a little bit of an advantage when we're traveling to different countries, as far as knowing how to interact with different cultures, managing our money and communicating with taxi drivers and whoever else we need to help us get from Point A to Point B."
Justin Kanew, 30, and Zev Glassenberg, 26, best friends from Los Angeles who met while working as camp counselors at Camp Greylock in Becket, Mass., are more excited about the journey than the possibility of winning the show's $1 million grand prize. Glassenberg has Asperger's syndrome, a milder form of autism.
"I don't think the fact that I have Asperger's will hinder me," Glassenberg said. "I do tend to think outside of the box, so it might help us. It'll be weird going into these social situations around the world. I might not take it all in right away, but I know I'm racing, so I'll probably get past it really fast."
Other teams include Maria Ho, 26, and Tiffany Michelle, 25, who are professional poker players.
"It's obviously different from competition at the poker table," said Ho, who came in 11th place at this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. "It's outdoorsy. This is physical and mental, but we will definitely be applying whatever skills we have as gamers to this competition and push ourselves in different ways that we're not used to doing."
Among the teams who are romantically linked: a feisty engaged couple from Boston; grade-school sweethearts from San Diego; a dating couple from San Francisco who met online; married yoga instructors from Encino, Calif.; dating aspiring country singers; and a former Miss America and her husband.
"They are now suddenly putting their relationship under a microscope," said host Phil Keoghan. "I personally wouldn't want to do that, but teams do, and audiences love to watch it, and there are a number of teams on this season that are coming to the race to test their relationship, and it sounds like some of them might get quite testy in the process."
For the first time, one team will be booted at the start of the trek, and racers will have to tackle the Switchback, a new twist that sends teams back to one of the series' most challenging "roadblocks." Executive producer Bertram van Munster said the racers will set off from the Los Angeles River, then first head to Tokyo to complete several zany tasks.
"Have you ever seen Japanese tourists following a tour guide with a little flag?" said van Munster. "Well, our contestants are going to be the tour leaders. Each team is going to have to run a group of 20 tourists through the center of Tokyo as fast as they can. Whoever brings their entire tour group to the Pit Stop first will be the number one team."
Here's a look at the 12 teams competing in the 15th season of CBS' "The Amazing Race."
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Name: Herbert "Flight Time" Lang
Hometown: Brinkley, Ark.
Age: 32
Occupation: Harlem Globetrotter
Name: Nathaniel "The Big Easy" Lofton
Hometown: New Orleans
Age: 28
Occupation: Harlem Globetrotter
Relationship: Teammates
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Name: Lance Layne
Hometown: Salem, Mass.
Age: 41
Occupation: Lawyer
Name: Keri Morrione
Hometown: Peabody, Mass.
Age: 33
Occupation: Finance manager
Relationship: Engaged
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Name: Maria Ho
Hometown: Arcadia, Calif.
Age: 26
Occupation: Poker player
Name: Tiffany Michelle
Hometown: Los Angeles
Age: 25
Occupation: Poker player
Relationship: Poker players
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Name: Eric Paskel
Hometown: Encino, Calif.
Age: 41
Occupation: Yoga studio owner and instructor
Name: Lisa Paskel
Hometown: Encino, Calif.
Age: 43
Occupation: Yoga studio owner and instructor
Relationship: Married yoga teachers
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Name: Gary Tomljenovich
Hometown: Laurel, Mont.
Age: 47
Occupation: Construction manager and mortgage banker
Name: Matt Tomljenovich
Hometown: Bozeman, Mont.
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Relationship: Father and son
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Name: Zev Glassenberg
Hometown: Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Age: 26
Occupation: Unemployed
Name: Justin Kanew
Hometown: Los Angeles
Age: 30
Occupation: Vice president of development, National Lampoon
Relationship: Friends
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Name: Garrett Paul
Hometown: Aptos, Calif.
Age: 28
Occupation: Day trader
Name: Jessica Stout
Hometown: Larkspur, Calif.
Age: 27
Occupation: Freelance editor
Relationship: Dating on and off
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Name: Marcy Maloy
Hometown: San Francisco
Age: 60
Occupation: Advertising photographer
Name: Ronald Shalita
Hometown: San Francisco
Age: 59
Occupation: Stock trader and math tutor
Relationship: Dating
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Name: Mika Combs
Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
Age: 22
Occupation: Aspiring singer
Name: Canaan Smith
Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
Age: 26
Occupation: Professional songwriter
Relationship: Newly dating
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Name: Meghan Rickey
Hometown: San Diego
Age: 23
Occupation: Account executive
Name: Cheyne Whitney
Hometown: San Diego
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Relationship: Dating
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Name: Ericka Dunlap
Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
Age: 27
Occupation: Entertainer (former Miss America)
Name: Brian Kleinschmidt
Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
Age: 27
Occupation: Marketing tour manager
Relationship: Married
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Name: Daniel McMillen
Hometown: Liberty, Mo.
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Name: Samuel McMillen
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Relationship: Brothers