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THE PREDICTIONS (July 10, 2015)



So before we get on to predicting a very unpredictable year, the dust seems to be settling after a hectic week but we are back on track and on a new network Reelz and the pageant will likely be webcast on www.missuniverse.com/missusa as the Reelz channel is not available in all states and the rest of the world where Miss USA has a huge following. We also have some new hosts! First, Todd Newton is hosting and he did an absolutely wonderful job being the backstage commentator for Miss Universe 2001 so I’m thrilled to see him return. Props to him and also to Alexandra Wehrley, who will also be co-hosting. Alex was Miss Wisconsin USA 2009 and she did not place at Miss USA 2009 but went on to become a news anchor, host and actress. Jeannie Mai originally stated that she wasn’t dropping as backstage commentator but shortly after announced that she would not participating so backstage commentating will be done by OK! TV's Julie Alexandria.

With that, after reviewing the preliminaries, close up videos and combined with my overall impression, it is now time for me to post my highly anticipated final predictions for Miss USA 2015 so here we go!



TOM’S FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR MISS USA 2015

Winner=Rhode Island-Anea Garcia

So not only does the tallest contestant from the smallest state in the union have the body of the pageant but Anea absolutely knows how to work it. Her catwalk rivals those of Venezuelan pageant powerhouse contestants and her long elegant neck and rich red Dolce & Gabbana gown put this girl over the top and make this girl a total find. Apart from that, this girl has an amazing story about being raised by her grandmother after her mother was raped and she is a Latina who speaks well and looks like she can hold her own facing the media which is exactly the organization needs right now so save face for the pageant given certain comments made a certain co-owner of this pageant.

1st Runner Up=Ohio-Sarah Newkirk

My top 2 ladies are the ones that I consider the bodies of this pageant and Sarah has an incredible body complemented by her stunning overall look. She has beautiful hair and this colorful gown is unique amidst a sea of red and green reminiscent of last year’s top 2. Sarah works in the medical field also and while I think she would be a great Miss USA, I’m giving the edge to Anea because of I think Anea’s speaking skills are excellent.

2nd Runner Up=North Carolina-Julia Dalton

Easily one of the best faces of this pageant, Julia is the gorgeous sister of Miss USA 2009, Kristen Dalton and they are both the daughters of Jeannine Boger, Miss North Carolina USA 1982. She is a knockout in swimsuit and I actually appreciated that she went against the grain and went for a classic look and did her hair in a French roll for gown. While I’m not sure a win is in the cards this year for Julia, I would actually be very happy to see her win.

3rd Runner Up=Florida-Ashleigh Lollie

I wasn’t totally sure about her at first but she shot up my list after preliminaries because she also has one of the best faces and overall looks of the pageant. Ashleigh, at times, reminds me of Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994 and her body is great and this gown is just exquisite and I absolutely love it. I would also be thrilled to see Ashleigh win but her onstage energy could have been turned up several notches which keeps her a little lower on my list but I was considering putting her as winner at one point so keep an eye on her.

4th Runner Up=Maryland-Mamé Adjei

This exotic sista is breathtaking and I was very pleased with the gown that moves so nicely and looks amazing on her. Her body is also very good. Her mouth looked a bit crooked when she was talking on her close-up interview which causes me to put her at 4th runner up but I expect Mamé to get noticed in a big way. Did you also notice that 3 of my top 5 picks (Rhode Island, Ohio and Maryland) were also the top 3 of 2012??

FINALISTS:

Colorado-Talyah Polee

I just like this girl. Talyah has experience competing for Miss Nevada USA three times before winning Miss Colorado USA and she just has a pleasant face, nice body and overall look. On top of that, she speaks well and her gown presentation was fabulous reminiscent of that of Wisconsin’s Bishara Dorre last year.

Nevada-Brittany McGowan

Brittany is a strong follow-up to the reigning Miss USA who also represented Nevada. She has a sensational body and I really like this Joey Galon gown. Upon seeing this gown, I immediately thought of Venezuela’s Carolina Indriago who was my prediction to win Miss Universe 1999 so naturally I had to include Brittany in my list. Can she pull off the first consecutive win for one state which hasn’t happened since Texas pulled off 5 in a row from 1985 to 1989?

Utah-Nicol Powell

Nicol, of course, is the younger sister of Marissa Powell, Miss Utah USA 2013 who was my prediction to win that year but she was relegated to 3rd runner up after a highly publicized unfortunate answer to her final question. Nicol had a great emotional close-up interview with a great body and gown who also has potential to go far in this competition but I just wanted to see a little more oomph in her presentation so I ended up placing her here.

Tennessee-Kiara Young

Let’s call Kiara our golden girl because she looked golden during her preliminary gown competition that her presentation was very eye-catching and she just gleamed across that stage and I happily give her a spot in my top 10 as Tennessee’s girls are always well prepared and Kiara has the speaking ability, the body and overall look to have a great standing in this year’s competition.

Louisiana-Candice Bennatt

Thanks to the host state and the city of Baton Rouge for not bailing on these ladies like so many others did. Your host delegate, Candice has a great body and fabulous hair and I actually love the gown with the silver, gold, bronze gradient design and she seems like a genuinely nice person who is a true representative of your southern hospitality.

SEMIFINALISTS:

Alabama-Madison Guthrie

Madison has a great overall look. Her gown is a bit of a question mark though but I think she has what it takes to get a semifinalist spot at least.

Kentucky-Katie George

Katie also has a very nice body and overall look and I like this sparkly gown also. She has prepared well for this pageant and has an interesting story about being more a jock so this may get her a spot.

Virginia-Laura Puleo

The younger sister of Ashley Puleo, Miss North Carolina USA 2004 and 2nd runner up to Miss USA 2004 is a serious attorney as shown in her close up video who speaks in a very dignified manner and has a great body. This gown is an interesting choice and certainly will have people talking so I’m thinking she will get in.

Massachusetts-Polikseni Manxhari

Pageant photographer Fadil Berisha is also of Albanian descent like Polikseni but she does have what it takes to place as her speaking ability is excellent as demonstrated in her close up video and she did a formidable job in preliminaries with a very nice body and gown.

Arizona-Maureen Montagne

I see it after preliminaries. I wasn’t as sure at first but there has been much talk about her, likely because she is half-Filipina but she does have strong speaking skills and her presentation in preliminaries convinced me that she could get a spot.

ALTERNATES:

Georgia-Brooke Fletcher

Brooke was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2009 and I like Brooke but for some reason, I’m getting the feeling that she is going to get cut like other Teen runner ups such as Meredith Young and Lexi Atkins. I get this impression possibly due to her height and she might come across as being a bit too pageant patty and I’m not particularly fond of the material of this gown. I gave Alabama a pass because it was more about her body.

Texas-Ylianna Guerra

I might be taking a huge risk leaving Texas out but I have to say I expect a lot more from Texan delegates and I don’t feel like this one delivered as I felt underwhelmed after preliminaries. There’s something about her face that reads a bit snarky and while other people really like her, I just don’t find her all that friendly. Some feel that her being of Mexican descent might be advantageous to her this year given certain comments so we’ll see what happens.

California-Natasha Martinez

Also one of the Latina delegates, Natasha is decent and I guess this yellow gown gives more of a sunnier feel and she comes across a bit warmer but I think she’s just okay and not particularly outstanding.

Michigan-Rashontae Wawrzyniak

I was hoping to tell Rashontae, ‘Shanté, you stay’ but unfortunately after preliminaries, I barely told her to sashay away. She has a decent body and a nice story about being raised by a single father but this Gatorade gown that she didn’t walk well in and perhaps a need for a bit more refinement may have sealed her fate.

Oklahoma-Olivia Jordan

Olivia represented the USA at Miss World 2013 but I think she may go the way of Miss World USA 1997, Sallie Toussaint who later competed at Miss USA 2000 and didn’t place. Her body is decent but there's a bit of a gaunt look to her face and this pink costumey gown is a disaster. She didn’t walk well in it either. I think she might have been going for something similar to the gown worn by Ivian Sarcos, Miss World 2011 but it just didn’t work for me.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Illinois-Renee Wronecki

I don’t what’s up with this unusual looking fold on the front of this gown but I found it tremendously distracting. Other people seem to like her. She has a decent body and an interesting story about being of Polish descent but I’m not so sure about her face.

Mississippi-Courtney Byrd

Initially, I thought Courtney would be among the stronger delegates but after preliminaries, I just didn’t feel strongly enough about her but still think she could be a semifinalist so I ended up making her an honorable mention.

Maine-Heather Elwell

I think she’s decent as she has a nice face but not quite there in the body and the gown presentation didn’t really seem on point to me so I think she needs a bit more refinement also.

Wisconsin-Haley Laundrie

So I saved my last two honorable mentions for potential surprises who also happened to be the ones who wore the one-piece-ish looking swimsuits. So the first is Wisconsin’s Haley Laundrie who has a name that is suspiciously similar to the host state Louisiana’s last Miss USA, Ali Landry but apart from that, the co-host Alex Wehrley who stepped in at this turbulent time also hails from Wisconsin which leads me to believe that Wisconsin could get a thank-you spot so this one could be a potential surprise.

New Mexico-Alexis Duprey

She doesn’t have the body but Reelz channel that stepped in to broadcast the pageant is based out of New Mexico so this state might get some recognition as another potential surprise semifinalist. However, Louisiana’s representative, Candice Bennatt was also a former Miss New Mexico for Miss America 2012 so she might be serving double duty here. Interestingly enough, Alexis was also Miss New Mexico for Miss America 2013 so we have an interesting situation with two Miss New Mexicos for Miss America competing for Miss USA 2015.

In my final tier, I will mention the following delegates:
Pennsylvania – She has an interesting story about being adopted but her jaw looked too prominent during her close-up video and she had a nice black gown that photographed well but she could not walk well in it during preliminaries.
Hawaii – She has a decent body but might be considered too thin and perhaps not busty enough. She also wore one of those dreaded granny-panty gowns that I loathe so I’m putting her here.
New York – Another one of the Latina delegates who could have had a lot more oomph in her presentation but her gown was nice. It was designed by Gionni Straccia, noted Venezuelan designer, who also designed Texas’ gown but Thatiana also has wider hips so I think she’s out.
Missouri – She’s a maybe. Her look reads a bit mature for some and she is more of a jock but there’s possibilities here.
South Carolina – This is a strong state but I really don’t get this delegate. She just doesn’t come across as particularly powerful in any area. She worked her gown well but that was about it.
Arkansas – Probably not. A bit over-tanned with a longer face and fuller hips. Her boxing story might be intriguing though.

And there’s my list for this year! So we’ll find out on Sunday, July 12 how I did and who I may have missed that ends up in the mix and who gets to wear the brand new DIC crown. This controversial year of Miss USA will be broadcast on the Reelz channel for those who get that channel in certain states. The rest of us will watch the webcast on www.missuniverse.com/missusa so we’ll find out who wins it all on July 12!



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SECOND ROUND PRETHOUGHTS (July 2, 2015)

CHAOS!!!

How drastically quickly things change but the show must go on. I should learn to expect the unexpected because I was not expecting all of this. We have 51 ladies caught in the middle. All the delegates arrived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to some devastating news. As I'm sure you have heard by now, NBC has stated that it has decided to cut ties with Donald Trump meaning that they are refusing to broadcast their jointly owned Miss USA and Miss Universe pageant and they will not feature Donald Trump on the Apprentice or the Celebrity Apprentice, which Trump says he wasn't going to do anyway given his recent announcement to run for president of the United States. This means NBC has pulled out of broadcasting Miss USA 2015 on July 12 following protests resulting from some things that were said during Donald Trump's speech on June 16 announcing that he is running for president of the United States. Many people took offense to one portion of Trump's speech when he said, "When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically. The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. (audience applauds) Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people. It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably, probably from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast."

A lot of participation from most of the people who were originally scheduled to be involved started pulling out of this year's Miss USA show as a result of these words. Univision was slated to broadcast the Spanish version of Miss USA 2015 which was to be color commentated by Chilean actor Cristian de la Fuente, who has previously participated as a judge for Miss Universe 2000, and the Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sanchez but all of them said they will not participate. Latin performer J Balvin pulled out of the show on June 24, citing his discomfort with Trump's comments. Former Miss Universe, Puerto Rico's Zuleyka Rivera is no longer acting as a judge. Property Brothers star Jonathon Scott also pulled out as a judge. Emmitt Smith also decided not to participate as a judge. The other scheduled performers also probably won't participate if the pageant isn't broadcast. These performers include: Flo Rida, Natalie La Rose and Craig Wayne Boyd, winner of the seventh season of The Voice. Even hosts of the English broadcast, Cheryl Burke and Thomas Roberts said they will no longer be participating. Sponsors are pulling out and NBC has announced that it will not broadcast Miss USA or Miss Universe even after recently signing a five year deal. Naturally, Trump has said that lawsuits will follow since there are many contracts being broken over this. Even former Miss Universe, Lupita Jones who runs Nuestra Belleza Mexico which chooses the Mexican representative for Miss Universe says she will not send the Mexican delegate to compete in the next Miss Universe pageant. Is this the beginning of the end of our beloved pageants? Was the fact that there was no Miss Universe pageant in the calendar year of 2014 (delayed to late January 2015) a sign of things to come? One can only wonder if Trump intends on selling or giving up his share in the pageants or what is going to happen.

Trump took ownership of the Miss Universe family of pageants in 1996 as evidenced by his appearance during the 1996 Miss Universe pageant which was co-hosted by his then wife, Marla Maples, who also hosted Miss USA 1997 and Miss Universe 1997. Some pre-pageant controversy for Miss Universe 1997 was that it was announced that Donald and Marla would be divorcing but Marla would still continue her hosting duties. Later that year, Donald's daughter Ivanka at age 15 co-hosted Miss Teen USA 1997. The Donald's next wife, Melania Knauss was first seen involved as a judge for Miss Universe 1999. The Miss Universe family of pageants have been a joint venture between Trump and NBC since after Miss Teen USA 2002 when the pageants shifted from CBS to NBC started with Miss USA 2003 so will NBC perhaps buy out Trump's share of the pageant? The first Miss USA pageant that was held under Trump's ownership was Miss USA 1997 won by Hawaii's Brook Lee who would go on to win Miss Universe 1997 a few months later. Brook of course won the Miss USA crown when she gave what Trump called at the time a very politically correct answer in response to a question surrounding then Miss Universe, Alicia Machado's weight gain and if that happened to her, how she would handle it. Brook's winning response was, "I think I'd take a good hard look at myself. I'd look from the inside out and I'd know that I was the same girl who was crowned that day and it really didn't matter what I looked like on the outside because I won for who I was in here. So if I go up, I go down, I get taller, I get shorter, my nose gets bigger or smaller. I'm still who I was when that crown was on my head and I'm a good representative no matter what." Trump agreed that Brook's answer was very politically correct but he felt that Miss Universe has an obligation to remain magnificent in terms of both inner beauty and outer beauty, not just inner beauty.

The 2007 Miss Universe pageant held in Mexico City was likely what soured Trump on Mexico. He was booed during his appearance but the recipient of the most boos that night was then Miss USA, Rachel Smith, who placed as 4th runner up even after falling during the evening gown competition whereas then Miss Mexico, Rosa Maria Ojeda Cuen made the top 10 but not the top 5 which angered members of the predominantly Mexican audience. This whole episode was reminiscent of the 1993 Miss Universe pageant which was also held in Mexico City. When Miss Mexico didn't make the top 10 that year, many members of that audience became raucous and booed loudly throughout the show daring to target then legendary host, Dick Clark and especially then Miss USA, Kenya Moore who also participated in the most recent Celebrity Apprentice featuring Trump in the leading role. Also, according to an article from Yahoo Finance, the Mexican businessmen responsible for paying the hosting fee of 6.5 million dollars to bring the Miss Universe pageant to Mexico in 2007 didn't pay the full hosting fee originally. One businessman paid 1 million dollars upfront out of the 6.5 million dollar hosting fee. As collateral for the remainder, he agreed to set up a trust containing 26 properties belonging to a second businessman. After the show was over, they refused to pay the remaining balance and it was impossible to claim the collateral and it turned out that the assets were never actually contributed to the trust. The Miss Universe organization went to court over this in Mexico and won but it got tied up in the Mexican court system and after interest and legal fees, the amount owed to the Miss Universe organization grew to 12 million dollars but they ended up not being able to collect it. On February 24, Trump tweeted, “I have a lawsuit in Mexico’s corrupt court system that I won but so far can’t collect. Don’t do business with Mexico!” Trump shortly thereafter vowed that Mexico would never host another Miss Universe pageant.

When it came to the negative aspects, Trump's recent comments were likely more about some illegal immigrants and not all immigrants but perhaps it could have been phrased in a different way but that isn't his style and he refuses to retract his statements. I'm reminded of some questions from past Miss USA pageants regarding some issues like these such as when at Miss USA 2006, Florida's Christen Duren was asked if society is becoming too politically correct or at Miss USA 2010 when Oklahoma's Morgan Woolard was asked about Arizona's law regarding illegal immigrants and if it should become a federal rule to check citizenship of people who are believed to be in the country illegally.

What a lot of people didn't really understand was why Univision was given rights to the Spanish language broadcast in the first place since Telemundo is the NBC owned Spanish language network and they have been broadcasting the Spanish version of Miss Universe in recent years. This was to be the first year that Univision took over from Telemundo and Univision is partly owned by Mexico City-based Grupo Televisa SAB.

So now I am crossing my fingers, PRAYING, that I was chosen the first one because I did NOT want to go into the booth, which they don't have now. They have earphones. (Oh, sorry. That was me drifting off into Ali Landry speak from her color commentating stint during Miss Universe 1998). What I meant to say was that I am crossing my fingers, PRAYING, that this is all a publicity stunt and that NBC will have a change of heart and think of the people affected by this decision and air Miss USA to what could potentially be its best ratings ever given all of this publicity.

#SaveTheQueen and #SaveTheSash are trending on twitter and online petitions are available for you to sign to hopefully get NBC to reconsider and air Miss USA and not punish the innocent bystanders and especially the 51 delegates that have worked so hard and dreamed of this moment. Here is a link to one of those petitions: https://www.change.org/p/nbcuniversal-savethesash-and-crown-miss-usa-2015-on-nbc-4e015f18-64c7-41dd-8767-f7f23a321edd

This story is changing by the minute and now the latest is that it was announced on July 2 that the July 12 Miss USA finals will be broadcast on a cable television channel, the Reelz channel.


I will be posting my final predictions on July 10 but in the meantime, I will be posting my present thoughts on each delegate.

Alabama Alabama still has the longest running streak in the semifinals placing every year since 2010 so obviously Madison Guthrie hopes to make it a 6th year in a row. Madison would be a top 20 pick for me as she certainly has what it takes to get another semifinalist for Alabama this year. Alabama has won the crown only once back in 1967 with Sylvia Hitchcock who would go on to win Miss Universe that year. Alaska North to the future is their motto! The northernmost state of Alaska hasn't placed since 1990 and is still waiting for that right delegate to do it but this year's delegate is not expected to place. Arizona Height is a concern for me with this one so I am leaning towards putting her as an alternate or honorable mention at this point. She seems to have a lot of fans being that she is half-Filipina and half-French so she is one of the more exotic participants this year. Maureen formerly competed at the Mutya ng Pilipinas 2013 where she was awarded Mutya 1st runner-up. Arizona inherited its only Miss USA crown in 1980 after Shawn Weatherly won Miss Universe and they did place in the top 20 last year. Arkansas There's potential here as she does look decent but somehow I get the impression that she could miss the cut but I will wait until preliminaries to determine where exactly I place her. Arkansas has won the crown once in 1982 thanks to Terri Utley and they last placed in 2012 thanks to the Internet vote. California Natasha Martinez is one of six Latina delegates competing this year but this is another one that I'm not so sure about so I will wait until preliminaries to determine where I place her. California has won the crown 6 times (1959, 1966, 1975, 1983, 1992 and 2011) and did make the top 10 last year. Colorado Talyah is one of my favorites. She is currently in my list as she just has a glow about her and I want to see her in the mix. She had some difficulty trying to win a state title after experiencing 3 close calls at Miss Nevada USA before statehopping to Colorado and earning her shot at the Miss USA title. Colorado last placed in 2012 but they have never won the crown. Connecticut Connecticut won its first crown just two years ago thanks to Erin Brady but I'm not sure about this year's delegate so she is not among my picks at the moment. Delaware Will Renee be the one to break the curse? The pressure is always on Delaware since it is the only state to have never placed in the history of Miss USA. She could place but I'm not totally positive so I will wait until preliminaries to determine where I place her. District of Columbia I think her body needs some toning so I am not so sure about her. The nation's capital last won the crown in 2002 thanks to Shauntay Hinton and they also won in 1964 with Bobbi Johnson. D.C. hasn't placed since 2006. Florida Ashleigh Lollie is among my picks. There's just something about her eyes that just beckon you. Sometimes I'm reminded of Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994 in some pictures of her. She also has the longest reign of this year's participants as Miss Florida USA 2016 is being selected while Ashleigh will be competing at Miss USA so she will not be crowning her successor. Surprisingly, the Sunshine state has yet to outright win Miss USA. Their 1967 titleholder, Cheryl Ann Patton accepted the crown after Sylvia Hitchcock won Miss Universe 1967 and the 1st runner up did not accept the title. Florida was 4th runner up last year. Georgia Georgious Brooke Fletcher hopes to be the next Alyssa Campanella. Brooke was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2009 just like Alyssa Campanella was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2007 then later won Miss USA 2011. Alyssa is the only Teen runner up to achieve this feat as others have tried but haven't achieved it with last year being an example seeing North Dakota's Audra Mari come close being the first woman to be 1st runner up at both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA. Brooke's height is a bit of a concern so I will wait until preliminaries to determine where to put her but at this time, she will probably be in my top 20. Hawaii I think Emma could place. I'm seeing that she is making the most of what she has and has experience being a former Teen so I think she could be among my picks. Hawaii has won the Miss USA crown 4 times with their most recent winner also winning Miss Universe in 1997 and they last placed in 2011. Idaho She has a nice face but doesn't have the body for this competition so I'm not expecting her to place. Idaho last placed in 2009 and inherited the crown in 1997. Illinois Illinois is not among my picks this year as I'm not quite seeing it with her. Illinois placed as 2nd runner up in 2013 and they have captured the crown 4 times. Indiana I don't think this year's delegate will place. Indiana has never won the crown but they do have a 1st runner up with Holly Dennis in 1981 and they also placed last year. Iowa Iowa's delegate is a longshot this year so I don't see it happening for them this year. Iowa did make the top 6 last year thanks to the Twitter save and Carol Morris in 1956 won Iowa's only Miss USA crown and later won Miss Universe that year. Kansas She looks a bit like Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007 but I don't think she quite has the height so I'm not expecting her to place. Kansas last won the crown in 1991 thanks to Kelli McCarty and they last placed in 2010. Kentucky Kentucky's delegate is well prepared and does have a great look so I think she can do quite well actually. Kentucky won the crown once in 2006 and they last placed in 2009. Louisiana This year's host delegate is one to watch. She is one of my semifinalists at this moment as she is quite fit and will be favored by the audience obviously. Louisiana has won the crown 3 times (1958, 1961, 1996) and placed in the top 5 last year also. Maine Maine has never won the crown and they did have a 3 year streak placing from 2010 to 2012. This year's delegate is actually quite photogenic but the body and styling need some work so I will be watching her closely during preliminaries to determine where to place her. Maryland Maryland has a 4 year streak in the semifinals currently with the 2012 delegate inheriting the Miss USA crown. Exotic Mamé is likely to make it a 5th year in a row for Maryland. She is among my picks currently as I just like her look and I think she is poised to do very well. Massachusetts Polikseni is another one with potential. She was born in Albania and is experienced having won her state crown on her 5th try so she is one to watch. Massachusetts has won the crown twice in 1998 and 2003. Michigan Sashay, Rashontae! I'm not totally sure about her so she might have to sashay away. I will wait until preliminaries to be sure though. Michigan won the crown 3 times (1990, 1993 and 2010) and last placed in 2012. Minnesota I'm kinda thinking she may miss the cut but I will watch her closely during preliminaries to be sure. Minnesota won its only crown in 1976 and they did make the top 20 last year. Mississippi I like Courtney so she will likely being among my picks. Mississippi has never won the crown but they were 1st runner up in 2008 and last placed in 2010. Missouri This is another one that I can see being cut though so I will wait until preliminaries to determine where I place her. Missouri last placed in 2011 and won the crown once in 2004. Montana Montana hasn't placed since 1958 and I am not expecting that to change this year. Nebraska She is one of the few Asian delegates competing this year but she does not have the body for this competition. Nevada Brittany McGowan is a contender and looks to be well prepared by her state director, former Miss USA, Shanna Moakler. Nevada, of course, won its first crown last year and has placed 3 years in a row and has a chance to be the first state to win consecutive Miss USA crowns since Texas did it 5 years in a row from 1985 to 1989. Will Brittany do it? New Hampshire This year's delegate is not among my picks. New Hampshire has never won but they did pull off a 1st runner up placement in 2000 and last placed in 2004. New Jersey I'm not wowed so I don't see her placing. New Jersey has never won the crown and did make the top 20 last year. New Mexico New Mexico did pull off a win in 1984 but placements for this state are rare. This year's delegate does not have the body for this competition and is not expected to place. New York New York is not among my picks this year either as she does not have the body for this competition. New York has 4 Miss USA crowns (1952, 1979, 1995 and 1999) and they last placed in 2011. North Carolina Will stunning Julia do it? Will she follow in her famous sister's footsteps and become the first Miss USA to be the sister of a former Miss USA? Julia Dalton is of course, the sister of Miss USA 2009, Kristen Dalton and they are both the daughters of Miss North Carolina USA 1982, Jeannine Boger so Julia is going to be very exciting to watch in this year's competition and I would not be surprised to see her repeat her sister's feat as she has a great, fresh look so Julia will be very high on my list. Even before Kristen won Miss USA, Julia placed as 2nd runner up at Miss Teen USA 2008. In addition to Kristen's win, North Carolina also won the crown in 2005 and last placed in 2013. North Dakota North Dakota earned its highest placement last year when they finished as 1st runner up but this year's delegate is not expected to place. Ohio Yes, I think Sarah is very strong and could do very well in this year's competition and she has a great body and overall look. Ohio has won the Miss USA crown twice (1965 and 1981) and has a very famous 1st runner up with Oscar winning actress Halle Berry. After placing in the top 10 in 2013 is Ohio going to come back in a very big way? Oklahoma Olivia being a former Miss World USA presents an interesting scenario. She could go the way of Sallie Toussaint, Miss World USA 1997 and Miss Connecticut USA 2000 who placed in the top at Miss World but didn't place in the top 10 at Miss USA 2000. Will Olivia follow in Sallie's footsteps or could she do extremely well and potentially become the first Miss World USA to win Miss USA after competing in Miss World? I don't see it happening but you never know what could happen! Oklahoma has placed several times but this is another state that has come close but still has never won the Miss USA crown but they have won the Miss America title several times. Oklahoma has two 1st runner ups: Jill Scheffert in 1989 and Morgan Woolard in 2010. Oregon Oregon has never won the Miss USA crown but they have won Miss Teen USA 3 times (more than any other state) but Oregon hasn't had much success at Miss USA. Oregon last placed in 2004 but I'm not expecting them to place this year. Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is among my semifinalist picks at the moment. She does have a good body and overall look so I'm seeing potential here. Pennsylvania won the crown once in 1971. Rhode Island Anea Garcia is the tallest delegate from the smallest state and she is absolutely one to watch as this girl has catwalk skills that rival those of Venezuelan pageant powerhouses. Rhode Island captured its first Miss USA crown in 2012 and of course that winner, Olivia Culpo, went on to win Miss Universe. Will Anea match that feat? South Carolina South Carolina is usually among the stronger states but this year's delegate is not among my picks at the moment as I don't feel too strongly about her. South Carolina won the crown three times in 1954, 1980 and 1994 and two of those winners won Miss Universe and their 1990 winner won Miss World so South Carolina's universal pageant track record is one to be revered. South Dakota South Dakota has only placed twice in 1958 and 1974 and this year`s delegate is also not expected to place. Tennessee Kiara has an awesome body and obviously moves well being a cheerleader so I can see her doing quite well and she is also quite brainy so she is likely to continue Tennessee's impressive track record as they have placed 10 of the last 12 years. They have won the crown twice in 2000 and 2007. Texas Texas, the most successful state at Miss USA, has won the crown 9 times. Their latest bet is Ylianna Guerra seems to be favored by others. I'm not totally impressed by her but I can see her placing so I will probably end up finding a spot for her. Utah Nicol, of course, is the sister of Miss Utah USA 2013, Marissa Powell who was my prediction to win in 2013 and finished 3rd runner up after an unfortunate answer to her final question so Nicol has a chance to do well. She will be among my picks. Utah won the crown once in 1960 and that winner, Linda Bement, went on to win Miss Universe. Vermont Vermont hasn`t placed since 1982 and that isn't expected to change this year but they did win the crown back in 1955. Virginia The younger sister of Ashley Puleo, Miss North Carolina USA 2004 and 2nd runner up to Miss USA 2004 has potential to do very well in this year's competition. She will be among my picks. Virginia has won the crown twice in the consecutive years of 1969 and 1970 and did make the top 20 last year. Washington Placements for Washington are also rare. They did win the crown in 1968 and last placed in 2004. This year's delegate is not expected to place as her mid-section needs toning. West Virginia She probably won't be in my list but I still will keep an eye on her during preliminaries. West Virginia last placed in 2013 has never won the crown. Their best placement was 1st runner up in 1984. Wisconsin Wisconsin has never won but they did place in the top 10 last year. This year's delegate doesn't have the body so I don't see her placing. Wyoming Wyoming has only placed twice (1986 and 2010) and this year's delegate doesn't quite have the body either so I don't see it happening.

The preliminaries are on the evening of Wednesday, July 8, at 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time webcasted on www.missuniverse.com/missusa so the webcast will be available this year as opposed to last year. I will post my final predictions for Miss USA 2015 on July 10 and then July 12 is the night of finals which will now be shown on the Reelz channel and possibly webcast on www.missuniverse.com/missusa so we shall see what happens!



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FIRST ROUND PRETHOUGHTS (June 22, 2015)


The reigning Miss USA, Nia Sanchez lets Frankie Grande wear her Miss USA sash. Frankie was a Big Brother U.S. contestant last year and he is also brother of pop star, Ariana Grande.


Sunday, July 12 is the date that Miss USA 2015 will air on NBC and Baton Rouge, Louisiana is hosting for a second year in a row and there's a lot of interesting goings-on this year. Miss USA 2015 is also on one month later than last year which immediately makes me believe that there probably will not be a second Miss Universe pageant this year to catch up for the lost year of 2014 so we likely will not see a catch-up year for several years, just like the Miss America pageant which did not have a pageant in 2005 but several years later had two pageants to catch up in the year 2013. The question is if the next Miss Universe pageant will be held in the last week of January 2016 or if it will be pushed even later in the year. The very handsome MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts returns again as host after successfully hosting last year's Miss USA pageant as well as the last two Miss Universe pageants. This year, Cheryl Burke who is regularly featured as one of the dancers on "Dancing With the Stars" who be co-hosting for the first time. Jeannie Mai returns as color commentator as has been her role since Miss USA 2012.

The first half of the judges have been announced and they include Emmitt Smith who won an edition of "Dancing With the Stars" with Cheryl Burke as his dancing partner interestingly enough and Emmitt is of course married to the magnificent Pat Southall who was 1st runner up at Miss USA 1994. Emmitt also served as a judge at Miss Universe 2006 and that winner, Zuleyka Rivera will also be a judge for Miss USA 2015. Other judges include: Property Brothers star Jonathon Scott, E! News co-anchor Terrence Jenkins, and country singer Jessie James Decker.

Earlier this year, Olympic champion athlete, Bruce Jenner announced that he is transitioning to becoming a woman under the name Caitlyn Jenner and there was talk that he might have been a judge for Miss USA but we have yet to hear if that is happening this year but they could be saving him for Miss Universe. Several members of that family have judged pageants. In fact, Jenner's step-son Rob Kardashian asked Olivia Culpo her winning question at Miss USA 2012 which oddly enough asked the twitter question asking if it would be fair for a transgendered delegate to compete for Miss USA. The controversy at that time surrounded Jenna Talackova, a transgendered delegate who was originally disqualified and then famously reinstated as a contestant for Miss Universe Canada 2012. Talackova finished as a top 12 semifinalist at the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant.

On June 16, Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe family of pageants including Miss USA, officially announced that he will be running to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States but that shouldn't affect the pageants being aired as usual but his involvement with NBC shows "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity Apprentice" will be put on hold.



Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves!



“Yes, they can! Yes, they can-can! Whoa-oh-oh-oh!” (performs campy dance routine from opening number of Miss USA 1986). So there are some very notable sisters competing for the 2015 Miss USA crown making this already insanely competitive year among the fiercest and fascinating in history. The first of these notable sisters would be North Carolina’s Julia Dalton who is the younger sister of Miss USA 2009 herself, Kristen Dalton and both Julia and Kristen are the daughters of Jeannine Boger, Miss North Carolina USA 1982 who shockingly did not make the semifinals at Miss USA 1982. Even before, Kristen won her Miss USA crown, Julia proved herself to be a strong competitor on her own when she placed as 2nd runner up at Miss Teen USA 2008 so photogenic Julia now has the opportunity to become the first Miss USA with a former Miss USA as a sister. Beauty clearly runs in that family! But Julia isn’t the only famous sister competing this year. Virginia’s Laura Puleo is the younger sister of the 2nd runner up to Miss USA 2004, Ashley Puleo of North Carolina who also defeated the notable Chelsea Cooley at Miss North Carolina USA but Chelsea would go on to not only win Miss North Carolina USA the following year but would also win the whole shebang, Miss USA 2005! Now, Laura Puleo has an opportunity to capture the Miss USA crown on her own. Utah’s Nicol Powell is the younger sister of Miss Utah USA 2013, Marissa Powell who was my prediction to win Miss USA 2013 but finished as 3rd runner up largely blamed on a highly publicized incoherent answer to her judge’s question. Will stunning Nicol match or even surpass her sister’s placement at Miss USA? Someone else who looks like they could belong to this family and is another contender is Florida’s Ashleigh Lollie. The Sunshine state has never outright won the Miss USA crown even though Florida has hosted multiple Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants including the most recent Miss Universe pageant so will Ashleigh finally bring Florida its reward? And of course, sisters have competed in years past but haven’t had a great success rate perhaps due to all the pressure. One recent example of this is last year at Miss Teen USA 2014 when Connecticut’s Sydney West didn’t make the semifinals even though she is the younger sister of Miss Teen USA 2012 herself, Logan West. How will the sister effect affect this year and will perhaps all of these sisters make the top 5 just like their famous sisters did making this year’s competition a nailbiter to the finish?



Sistahs Are Doing It For Themselves!



Five fOine fierce, fabulous females competing for Miss USA 2015 would be those from Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada and Tennessee. Suddenly, I'm reminded of when Miss DC USA 1996's little cousin was shown during one of those home video segments during Miss USA 1996 before going to commercial classically saying, "I love my cousin LaChanda and she gon' be on Miss USA. GO, GURL!!!!! (throws wrist down fast with maximum sass!)"
Colorado's Talyah Polee has a chance to be that state's first Miss USA. Talyah has competed in state pageants for years and even statehopped to win her title after three years of competing at Miss Nevada USA. In 2012, she didn't place at Miss Nevada USA but did win several awards including the non-finalist swimsuit and evening gown awards as well as the Photogenic award that year. Then, she was 3rd runner up to Miss Nevada USA 2013 and placed in the top 15 of Miss Nevada USA 2014 won by reigning Miss USA, Nia Sanchez and then Talyah competed for and won the 2015 Miss Colorado USA title. Will Talyah's experience and determination pay off in a big way? Next we have Delaware's delegate, Renee Bull who is representing the only state that has never placed in Miss USA history! Renee has competed in the Miss Delaware for Miss America pageants earning high placements before capturing the Miss Delaware USA crown so will Renee finally bring Delaware to the semifinals or will they just have to keep on waiting? Maryland's Mamé Adjei is of Ghanaian descent who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University earning of Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Africana Studies with a minor in Business. Mamé has been professionally modelling since the age of sixteen so will that give her an edge? Maryland has been doing very well recently placing four years in a row and one of those women was Nana Meriwether who inherited the 2012 Miss USA crown after Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe. The pressure is on Mamé to keep the streak going. Maryland hasn't had a full term Miss USA as Nana inherited her crown and didn't reign for a full year and Maryland's first Miss USA winner in 1957, Mary Leona Gage was dethroned shortly after winning Miss USA after it was discovered that she was a married mother of two who also lied about her age. Mamé has a chance to be Maryland's first full term Miss USA. Nevada's Brittany McGowan has the pressure of representing the state of the reigning Miss USA, Nia Sanchez who won Nevada's first Miss USA crown last year and the last time a state won back-to-back Miss USA titles was when Texas did the impossible and won 5 years in a row from 1985 to 1989. No state has won consecutive Miss USA titles since then. Brittany is an exotic multiracial beauty who won a pageant directed by former Miss USA, Shanna Moakler who has helped other Miss USA winners so we'll see if Brittany can also benefit from Shanna's guidance. Oh, I think I found myself a cheerleader. She is always right there when I need her. And she hails from Tennessee! Yes, Kiara Young is a cheerleader for the NFL's Tennessee titans but this dancing queen also has some serious brainpower graduating cum laude from Meharry Medical College where she received her Master's in Public Health with goals of becoming a pediatric gastroenterologist. Tennessee has an excellent track record at Miss USA winning crowns in 2000 and 2007 and placing in the semifinals in 12 of the last 15 years and Kiara is expected to not only keep it going for Tennessee but she could very well take it all.



Georgious Georgia

Last year, we saw two former Miss Teen USA first runner ups compete for the Miss USA crown. One was North Dakota’s Audra Mari who became the first woman in history to place as 1st runner up at both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA. Audra was the 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2011. The other Teen runner up was Lexi Atkins who was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2010 but went unplaced at Miss USA 2014. Now, we have their predecessor, the 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2009, Georgia’s Brooke Fletcher who hopes to capture the crown of Miss USA 2015. The only woman to place as 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA and later win Miss USA was Alyssa Campanella, who was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2007 and winner of Miss USA 2011. Alyssa has also recently announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend, actor Torrance Coombs. Other 1st runner ups at Miss Teen USA have attempted to win Miss USA with scattered results. The first was another Georgian, Meredith Young who was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 1991 but went unplaced at Miss USA 1999. Indiana’s Kelly Lloyd was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 1993 and 2nd runner up at Miss USA 2002. Texas’ Nicole O’Brian immediately repeated Kelly’s feat placing as 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2000 and 2nd runner up at Miss USA 2003. New York’s Gloria Sophia Almonte was 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2001 but went unplaced at Miss USA 2007. As previously mentioned, Alyssa Campanella was next being 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA 2007 then winning Miss USA 2011. Then Lexi and Audra competed last year and now we have Brooke who is adding to this year’s fight to the finish nailbiter of a competition. Georgia has never won the Miss USA crown but has been a runner up multiple times. Even at Miss Teen USA, Georgia has never won that crown either but they were 1st runner up three times: Brooke was 1st runner up in 2009, Meredith 1st runner up in 1991 and Whitney Fuller was 1st runner up in 1994. Whitney is among several other Teen 1st runner ups who did make an attempt at winning their Miss USA state title but were unfortunately unable to win it. Georgia has sent some excellent representatives recently and their delegate last year, Tiana Griggs was even my prediction to win but she finished as 2nd runner up which is still excellent. Will Georgious Brooke be the sweetest Georgia peach and finally capture the Miss USA crown that has eluded them so many times?



We Were the World

Speaking of states that have placed as a runner up many times but have yet to win the crown, Oklahoma is one of those states that has yet to win the Miss USA crown even though Oklahomans have won the Miss America crown a whopping six times. Oklahoma’s representative adds to the intensity of this year’s Miss USA pageant as Olivia Jordan is also a former Miss World USA having competed for the Miss World 2013 placing in the top 20 and getting 1st runner up at the Miss World Top Model competition so will the experience of already representing the United States at an international pageant help or hurt Olivia? It is extremely rare for a former U.S. representative at Miss World to go back to the national level and try for Miss USA but it has happened before. Sallie Toussaint represented the United States at Miss World 1997 placing in the top 10 there and then went on to win Miss Connecticut USA 2000 and although she was a heavy favorite that year, even placing as 2nd runner up in my predictions for Miss USA 2000, Sallie went unplaced at Miss USA that year. A few years prior to that, Sallie made an attempt at a New York state pageant for Miss America where she claimed that one of the judges had made degrading comments about her and her wardrobe describing her slit-up-to-there wardrobe as trashy and that woman stepped down as a judge for that pageant. Other former Miss World USA titleholders have made attempts at their Miss USA state titles after competing for Miss World including Kimberly Harlan, Miss World USA 2003 who was also 4th runner up at Miss Teen USA 2002 but was unable to win her Miss USA state title in neither Georgia nor North Dakota. Nancy Randall, Miss World USA 2004 was 1st runner up at Miss Louisiana USA 2006. Lisette Diaz, Miss World USA 2005 was 1st runner up at Miss California USA 2006. I hope that stories like these make people realize how difficult it can be to win a state title and that just making it to the Miss USA stage is an achievement in itself. The Miss World America pageant for this year is being held on July 3 with some notable competitors including a former Miss America, Teresa Scanlan which marks the first time that a former Miss America has attempted to win the Miss World America title. Miss America winners do not compete at the international level after winning their title but Teresa could become the first Miss America to compete internationally if she wins Miss World America. Other notable participants for Miss World America include: Kristy Landers Niedenfuer who was a top 20 semifinalist at Miss USA 2014 and she also placed 1st runner up in my predictions for Miss USA 2014, Carlyn Bradarich who was 5th runner up at Miss USA 2014, Arielle Rosmarino who placed in the top 20 at Miss USA 2014 and Ivana Hall who placed in the top 10 at Miss America 2014. Going back to Olivia Jordan, she also was 1st runner up to Miss California USA 2013, Mabelynn Capeluj who placed in the top 15 at Miss USA 2013. Olivia hopes to be Oklahoma’s first Miss USA. The closest they have come was two 1st runner up finishes from Morgan Woolard in 2010 and Jill Scheffert In 1989 who also competed for Miss World 1989 placing in the top 5.



Tallest from the Smallest



This year’s tallest contestant at 6 feet tall is glamazon Anea Garcia who represents the smallest state in the union, Rhode Island. With killer catwalk skills rivalling those of Latin American pageant pros, Anea hopes to capture the second Miss USA crown after Olivia Culpo captured their first Miss USA crown in 2012 before going on to win Miss Universe 2012. Anea obviously hopes to repeat Olivia’s feat and she could very well do it. Olivia Culpo is also back in the news following a widely publicized breakup from boyfriend Nick Jonas due to them being apart from each other due to their work schedules. Anea was adopted by her grandmother and raised in Cranston, Rhode Island and attended Catholic school which she says helped her stay morally grounded and is currently majoring in Legal Studies and Philosophy at Roger Williams University with hopes of becoming a criminal attorney. Will Anea win Rhode Island’s second Miss USA crown just three years after winning their first?



On July 2, I will post of second round of prethoughts with comments on each of the 51 delegates competing for Miss USA 2015. The excitement is building with this wildly intense competition! Who will it be?


Watch Miss USA 2015 on Sunday, July 12 on the Reelz Channel or there may be a webcast (www.missuniverse.com/missusa)