Ox Notes: August 13. 2009

In an effort to prevent injuries, Dancing with the Stars producers instituted new rules to limit the amount of time Season 9 contestants spend in rehearsals. It's about time.

LaToya Jackson is the latest celebrity rumored to be joining the DwtS 9 cast.

It didn't take the Emmys long to scrap plans to pre-record several awards presentations and play edited versions of the acceptance speeches during the primetime broadcast.

Top Chef: Las Vegas debuts next week, inspiring EW to post a slideshow of the Best TV Shows for Foodies. Bravo announced the names of the companies sponsoring the new season, in addition to the ever-present "Glad Family of Products."

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi admitted to The New York Times that she "keeps two dress sizes on the set" in order to accommodate the 10-15 pounds she gains over the course of each season.

Speaking of wardrobe issues, actress Mayim Bialik wrote about addressing her religious views regarding modesty with the crew of What Not to Wear: "When the show aired, I saw that my qualifications and explanations did not survive the cutting room."

AMC is developing a TV show about surviving a zombie apocalypse. Woo hoo!

I've got less than 48 hours until the start of the English Premiere League football season; gotta go tweak my fantasy team. Here's where you can watch games on United States cable channels.