Celebrity Apprentice: The Final Four

This season of Celebrity Apprentice has been FULL of massive throwdowns and fights.  (And it has been freakin' AWESOME!!)  First, the ladies railed against that shrew Dionne Warwick and got her sent home.  Then, Meatloaf snapped on that fruitcake Gary Busey and nearly ripped his head off!  And, then . . . NeNe Leakes got all up in Star Jones' face and told her she was going to take her down!  As Star cowered under the oppression of a Real Housewife of Atlanta, NeNe asked the question heard round the world, "Now, where's Barbara Walters?"  (That moment was ghetto-fabulous and I've told all my friends I'm gonna get that catchphrase on a T-shirt!)  This season has been HILARIOUS and the stage is set for an epic fight to the finish.  And country star John Rich is STILL in the mix!  And, by golly, he's a contender!

Look!  I have said this before about John Rich and my opinions of him before this show.  Honestly, I always thought he was a sawed-off little twerp with a bad attitude and a fur coat!  But his stint on Celebrity Apprentice has totally changed my mind about him.  John Rich is smart, hard-working, imaginative, humble, and has a heart the size of his ranch in Tennessee.  During the course of Celebrity Apprentice, he has been Project Manager on three different tasks (more than any other contestant), is 2 for 3 in that capacity, and he has won $695,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.  I think John is a shoe-in for the finale and will follow in Trace Adkins' footsteps of getting to battle for the title of Celebrity Apprentice.

His competition in the finale will come in the form of Meatloaf, Lil Jon or Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin.  All three have been standouts during this season.  Meatloaf has shown everyone TONS of heart.  He has frequently been reduced to tears as he fights to raise money for his charity, a camp called The Painted Turtle.  Lil Jon has shown audience he's more than just a hip-hop star with diamonds encrusted into his grill.  He's a great frontman,with a huge personality and a double-dose of creativity.  He has generated terrific ideas and has been a team leader and team player from the start!  And then there's Marlee Matlin . . . 

Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, won an Oscar for her role in Children of a Lesser God, surprised television audiences when she competed and showed unbelievable rhythm on Dancing With The Stars, and has, most recently, proven herself to be a contender on Celebrity Apprentice!   In fact, earlier in the season, she set a fundraising record for the show when she earned $1,000,000 for her charity in a single task.  Marlee Matlin is AMAZING and has rightfully earned her place in the Final Four.

On next week's edition of Celebrity Apprentice, The Donald (and his hair piece) will bring in former winners Piers Morgan, Joan Rivers and Brett Michaels to interview the remaining hopefuls.  After those interviews, Mr. Trump will fire two of the four and set the stage for the finale!  I fully believe that finale will pit John Rich against Marlee Matlin.  Together, they represent the biggest fundraisers on the biggest fundraising season of Celebrity Apprentice.  I personally feel it's only fitting for them to battle it out in the finale!

Celebrity Apprentice airs Sundays on NBC.  If you haven't watched it, give it a try.  And be sure to cheer John Rich on.  The title is in his grasp and he's got a GREAT shot at showing those city folk in the Big Apple that a COUNTRY boy can survive!