For the first time since Jesse Palmer made a desperate attention grab on the show, ABC’s “The Bachelor” is back on my radar screen. But thankfully, not because of another Spurrier-enabled, pseudo-celebrity. (Danny Wuerffel & Shane Matthews were late cancels.)

This time, one of the prospective females in what is now season 13(!) of the show is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader named Melissa Rycroft. Rycroft apparently spent two years on the squad before settling into the ever-rewarding “sales representative” field.

So far on the show, Rycroft has been on a date with the bachelor guy, whose name escapes me. During that first meeting, she blanched at doing oyster shooters, took a blimp ride and then sucked face with the dude. The date apparently went well, as the bachelor fella gave her a rose, indicating she would remain on the show - and away from her cubicle for one more fleeting week.

The question begs, why is she off the Cowboys cheer squad? Well based on another reality show she was on, I have a definite clue. (More photos, video after the jump - including Ms. Rycroft in an enrapturous bikini *fitting* video):

Rycroft also appeared on something called, “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team,” in which she had to make the squad again, despite having been on the team for a year.

Excerpt from a review of the show:

We’re amazed Melissa Rycroft will be returning for her second year. She knew she messed up when she forgot her choreography; she told the camera all she remembered was wiggling and standing a lot. Maybe the judges kept her in for her humor.

That was 2007. And now she’s not on the squad anymore? Hmmm.  Well, at least “wiggling and standing a lot” is all that’s required for The Bachelor, so she ended up the perfect cast, and a sure-fire favorite:

Jer, you’re telling me you couldn’t fit this onto the squad this season?