Yep, it's almost here. Well, actually the newest season of The Amazing Race won't premiere until February 15, but we can peruse the spoilers that are out and about on the web. Even though the racing teams themselves are under contract not to reveal anything, it's hard to hide the camera crews and teams as they gallop around the globe.

Since I can't really go globe-trotting physically, I roam the internet for the best and most likely to be true spoilers. Then I come back and report them to you. No, I don't have winning team kind of spoilers here. But if you want some information on possible teams and the route taken, read on.

1. One team member, rumored to be a woman, is the first deaf racer on the show. She signs, but we'll be getting subtitles. I'm thinking this might be a benefit -- if she's a bickerer, we won't have to listen! Hmm ... I think the basics of ASL might actually help out in foreign countries as signing is more demonstrative than merely shouting louder at someone who doesn't understand English. This team wears orange and was caught on camera by one of the folks posting at the Reality Fan Forum. The older gentleman with them seems to be the taxi driver. Another uncropped view of the same photo shows only the camera crew and no other teams. Auburn, eh? The woman in this team should be our deaf racer if the speculation is spot on.

2. There's a father/son team from the Los Angeles area. They should be wearing dark blue. This might be a very different kind of father and son team as the rumors have them both being gay. Now, there's no way I can actually verify this information, but this team appears to be Mel White (used to ghostwrite for Jerry Falwell) and his son, Mike White. The son's name might not ring a bell with you, but amongst other things, he wrote The School of Rock which was a pretty big Jack Black hit a few years back. He's vegan which doesn't always work too well on this show.

3. Another team was also snagged on camera in Phuket (Note: Link was removed at the request of the photo's copyright holder - Joel) as they tried to get their rickshaw through the streets. Alas, the cameraman is blocking one of the racers. But it looks like a female team and it doesn't look like they're having an easy time of it.

4. It used to be that this show filmed over a thirty-day period. Last season, it was a bit shorter. This season, it seems shorter still. The time-line for the race has the teams going from October 31 until November 22. That would make it a 23 day race. The Futon Critic has the season capping at a mere 11 episodes (ending May 3). Since the speculation on the internet is running with the thought of either 11 or 12 teams, I would think that would mean no non-Philimination legs. Hey, maybe a double-Philimination?

5. Other team spoilers include: an African-American female team, an older Caucasian couple, a rather typical blond beauties (possibly sisters, possibly Southwest Airline attendants) team, and a male little people team. Yeah, I said little people team, not a single like Charla. That team was reportedly sighted at Romania and Thailand and last spotted on the flight to Phuket which would indicate that they made it to the final four. Of course, they could be just short and not really little. The reports I've been reading seem to vary.

6. Destination spoilers: The teams leave from California, most likely San Diego (although there is a bit of a dispute that they may have gone from LAX). The first destination is Locarno, Switzerland. Leg two has them going via train from Locarno to Interlaken. Leg three heads off to Salzburg with the fourth leg in Bucharest and then Brasov. The fifth leg in in Transylvania and then the sightings stopped for a few legs. In leg eight, they fly from Bangkok to Phuket. Then it's from Guilin (China) to Beijing and it all ends in Hawaii.

7. Various bits with Phil Keoghan have revealed that the teams will be in the cold of Siberia. So, those non-sightings were probably the legs from Russia. They probably don't get too many tourists out there in the bitter weather just hanging around trying to stalk The Amazing Race.

As always, kudos go to the folks over at Reality Fan Forum for having the most avid group of TAR spotters throughout the globe!