Last October, NBC invited a bunch of us TV critic types to meet and interview the cast of the current season of 'The Celebrity Apprentice.' This was before an episode had even been shot; in fact, this was the first time many of the contestants had met each other.

Even then, I knew that Bret Michaels had what it took to win the whole thing.

And now, it's coming to pass. He's only one of two men still left in the competition (the other being Curtis Stone). He's either led or taken over three of the tasks so far, and has done a very good job each time.

But what led me to believe that Michaels was going to win it all was what he told me that morning in New York. "After 22 years of running Poison's business, that's out on the road handling 48 people on the road crew, I think that people are going to see that there's this other side of me that brings, not only these people skills, but my ability to work hard and play harder," he told me.

Fired up for a new season of 'The Celebrity Apprentice'? Fourteen celebs -- of varying levels of celebrity-dom -- are working for a bonus of $250,000 to be donated to a charity of their choice. And maybe a chance to spark up a little interest in their careers, too.

Business mogul Donald Trump will do the firing once again, aided by son Donald Trump Jr., daughter Ivanka Trump and long-time adviser George H. Ross on this third season of 'Celebrity Apprentice.' The teams, incidentally, are divided by sex.

The action starts 9 PM ET Sunday on NBC. Before then, we've studied the field and calibrated who the likely winner will be.

See for yourself after the jump.