Priscilla Presley - Presley studied ballet when she was younger which should give her an edge. And maybe she learned a few hip-swiveling moves from her famous ex-husband. She could get the nostalgia vote if Elvis fans are watching.

Kristi Yamaguchi - Ice skating requires grace and fancy footwork, so Olympic medalist Yamaguchi will nail lyrical dances like the waltz as well as the intricate moves of the jive and the quickstep. Skating fans are likely to enjoy “Dancing With The Stars” - and assure Yamaguchi some votes - so she should end up one of the favorites. Several betting sites have already pegged her as the winner (see more odds below.)

Adam Carolla - As a former Golden Gloves boxer and high school football player, Carolla has athletic experience. He just doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would be light on his feet, and on the surface he appears too goofy to take the competition seriously. But, he’s paired with two-time winner Julianne Hough, and might be able to rally his radio listeners.

Marlee Matlin - Matlin says her hearing impairment will help her focus on the dancing, and keep her from becoming distracted by everything going on around her during the competition. In ballroom dancing, the woman must follow the man’s moves, so as long as she follows her partner, she could do well. She is a respected actress, but may not be popular enough to have a built-in fan base.

Shannon Elizabeth - Elizabeth studied dance when she was a girl, and was an athlete in high school. She also studies Krav Maga, the martial art developed by the Israeli Defense Forces. She’s got discipline and her sex appeal puts her at an advantage with fan votes.

Steve Guttenberg - He starred in the notably awful “Don’t Stop The Music,” about disco icons The Village People, so there’s a chance he can at least do the hustle. Other than that, he doesn’t have much going for him.

Monica Seles - Speed and discipline she’s got, but she doesn’t appear particularly graceful. She’s also 5′10″, which doesn’t help, but at least her professional partner is Jonathan Roberts who is around 6′0″. If tennis fans tune in, she’ll have more of a chance.

Penn Jillette - The hulking illusionist/comedian might turn out to be a dark horse. He’s an accomplished juggler and there’s certainly grace to that skill. Many big fellas are known to be much lighter on their feet than expected, so don’t rule him out yet.

Mario - The 21-year-old R&B/pop singer shows off some smooth moves in the music video for his mega-hit “Let Me Love You,” which spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart a couple of years ago. That, along with the fact that he’s paired with the sizzling Karina Smirnoff, should give him a nice advantage. He’s definitely one to watch this season.

Jason Taylor - Emmitt Smith won season 3 and fellow NFL legend Jerry Rice was the runner-up in Season two. Will 6′6,” 255-pound defensive end Taylor be able to have the same success? He towers over his 5′6″ partner, Edyta Sliwinska, which doesn’t help, but he does have his own set of fans and the edge of being a disciplined (and handsome) athlete. The sexy Silwinska ain’t chopped liver either.

Cristian De La Fuente - Cristian says on his MySpace page that he’s “always wanted to learn how to dance,” so it doesn’t seem like he’s had past experience (although he was involved in athletics at school). He’s lucky to be paired with Cheryl Burke, the professional partner who won with Emmitt Smith and Drew Lachey. He’ll earn fan votes for being a hottie - especially if he has an opportunity to take his shirt off.

Marissa Jaret Winokur - She won a Tony award for playing the starring role of Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of “Hairspray” and before that she was Jan in the touring company of “Grease.” So she has dance training and - based on the choreography of those two musicals - she’ll probably do really well with the high-energy jive and swing. But, in a competition where fan loyalty can easily trump the judges’ approval rating, Winokur could be at a disadvantage.

And then there were 11.

At the conclusion of Wednesday evening’s “American Idol” results show, 24-year-old contender David Hernandez — who’d been one of the competition’s earliest frontrunners, along with adorable 17-year-old David Archuleta — was banished to the annals of “Idol” lore, in what was one of this season’s first real shockers.

Hernandez, who hails from Glendale, Arizona, became this year’s token sex scandal last week, when it was revealed he used to work at a male strip club. Reports claimed that Hernandez, in addition to dancing at the club, also provided lap dances to its customers.

“Honestly, things happen for a reason,” Hernandez said after host Ryan Seacrest revealed the results of the 29 million votes. Hernandez himself was visibly surprised, even mouthing the word “wow” as he hugged Kristy Lee Cook, who’d just avoided elimination. “I think we all have a plan. This isn’t it for me.”

On Tuesday’s performance show, when contestants were permitted to tackle Beatles tunes for the first time in “Idol” history, Hernandez performed “I Saw Her Standing There,” which the judges characterized as “not strong enough.” Of course, we may never know whether it was Hernandez’s performance or the scandal that ultimately ended his “Idol” run.

As with previous contestants, who’ve seen aspects of their past come back to haunt them (see Frenchie Davis, Antonella Barba), Hernandez didn’t survive the bad press beyond a second week, after being spared during last week’s ouster.

The show’s usual parting montage, chronicling Hernandez’s “American Idol” ride, was capped with an image of Hernandez staring into the camera, saying, “That’s a wrap.”

Wednesday night’s elimination episode featured surprise appearances by season-six finalist Sanjaya Malakar and actor Jim Carrey (on hand to promote his “Horton Hears a Who” flick) and a performance by Katharine McPhee and musician David Foster. It was the first episode during which Seacrest, the judges and the contestants fielded live questions from viewers who called into the show — an experiment that almost worked, but felt more like unnecessary filler.

Joining Hernandez in the bottom three were Kristy Lee Cook, a 24-year-old from Selma, Oregon, and Syesha Mercado, a 21-year-old from Sarasota, Florida. When asked if the viewers got it right, judge Simon Cowell said he believed “America got this absolutely spot on.” When Seacrest told Mercado she’d escaped eradication, she expressed genuine shock.

This week’s best performances were turned in by Carly Smithson (who sang “Come Together”), Brooke White (”Let It Be”), David Cook (”Eleanor Rigby”) and Chikezie (”She’s a Woman”). Favorite Archuleta — whose cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” drew unadulterated praise two weeks ago — avoided being relegated to the bottom three, despite forgetting the lyrics to “We Can Work It Out” at least three times during the song.

February 29, 2008 — The “other man” who helped destroy a marriage on national TV - getting his ex to admit to 8 million viewers that she’d rather be married to him than her hubby - is “sick” over his role in the scandal and says he made a mistake appearing on the show.

“I really just want all of this to be over,” Frank Nardi Jr. wrote in an e-mail to The Post yesterday about his stomach-churning appearance on the lie-detector reality show “Moment of Truth” Monday.

The fledgling New York actor, who goes by the online nickname “Nardiballs,” also wrote on his MySpace.com page yesterday: “This whole experience was a mistake . . . I haven’t been this sick ever in my life.

“It wasn’t my intention to go out and ruin a marriage.”

But that’s what happened when Nardi, 25, turned up as a surprise guest on the controversial Fox show where his one-time gal pal, Lauren Cleri, 26, made viewers squirm after admitting she’d cheated on her husband.

She then dropped a stunner, confessing she wishes she’d married Nardi instead of her hubby of two years, NYPD rookie cop Frank Cleri, 24.

“I thought it was gonna be fun when the producers from the show invited me out to LA,” Nardi wrote on his blog.

“Quite the contrary . . . It was supposed to be a surprise, a good surprise, but unfortunately it backfired right in my face.”

“As we all know the show was nuts,” added Nardi, who has been labeled on several TV message boards as a homewrecker.

I’m sorry I ever did it.”

Before his small-screen debut, Nardi - who has appeared in the Philadelphia production of the off-Broadway hit “Tony & Tina’s Wedding” and attends acting classes at Manhattan’s William Esper Studio - touted his prime-time appearance to his online friends, and urged them to watch the show.

Lauren Cleri, a New York salon worker and aspiring actress, and Nardi were classmates at New Jersey’s Pennsauken HS, where he was president of the drama club.

They dated before she wed Cleri in 2006.

As the cameras rolled and a visibly shaken Frank Cleri cringed, Nardi boldly asked Lauren: “Do you believe I am the man you should be married to?”

She answered “yes” - and racked up $100,000 when the lie-detector results said she was telling the truth, but wound up with nothing when the machine rejected her answer that she was a good person.

Losses are narrower-than-expected loss on Thursday as it added more than 1 million subscribers during the quarter that included the holiday season.

But the results failed to excite investors who have been waiting more than a year for regulators to approve XM’s plan to be acquired by rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research). The proposed deal was first announced in February 2007.

XM reported a fourth-quarter loss of $238.8 million, or 78 cents a share, compared with a loss of $263.2 million, or 90 cents a share, a year earlier.

The loss includes 25 cents a share in merger and settlement related charges, XM said. Excluding those charges, its loss was 53 cents a share, better than the average analyst expectation of 63 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

U.S. regulators have yet to decide whether to approve the XM-Sirius deal. They include the Federal Communications Commission as well as the Department of Justice, which will decide if combining the two U.S. satellite radio companies would be anti-competitive, as some critics have charged.

Analysts’ opinions about the potential success of the deal have been mixed. Several have recently said they are now more optimistic, while other remain skeptical.

“Since the one-year anniversary of the deal has passed with no word from the DOJ, risk continues to exist that the deal will not happen,” Barrington Research analyst James Goss said in a client note earlier this week.

On a conference call with analysts, XM Chief Executive Nate Davis said the company does “continue to look forward to a positive resolution to this matter soon.”

Now that Nicole Richie has gone and, selfishly, had a baby, Paris Hilton needs a new best friend. So, what’s a celebutante to do when she is looking for Miss Right to go clubbing with? Create a reality show, of course!

According to Usmagazine.com, Paris will star in a brand new reality show depicting her search for Nicole’s replacement. “The show is going to be about her searching for a new best friend,” a source said. “Paris is tired of the haters and she’s looking for someone new. She’s looking for someone new and cool who she can trust.”

Right, and what better way to find a trustworthy individual than to put out an open casting call.

This masterpiece is expected to be picked up by either MTV or VH1 and is “going to be full of good chick drama and you will see a side of Paris not seen on Simple Life.”