Dancing with the Stars

Octomom's legal eagle, Jeff Czech, tells TMZ, "Nadya is in top physical shape. She has been working out for months. She has had a strong interest in dance and 'Dancing with the Stars' is one of the few shows that she takes time to watch."

Czech adds, "She'd love to do it."

Our spies at "Dancing" tell us Nadya is not on their short list. We're thinkin' she should be ... because at the very least she's got a built-in audience at home.

Nothing's official yet -- but according to sources close to the reality star, the deadline for negotiations is Monday ... so we should have a definite answer by then.

Troy was leaving Red O restaurant in L.A. when he broke the news.

It's pretty unusual for a celeb to spill the beans before ABC makes its official announcement ... so if he was being serious, there might be some hell to pay down the line.

Calls to ABC have not yet been returned.

UPDATE: Apparently, Troy was kidding ... and posted the following message on his Twitter page -- "I will not be on DWTS ... interferes with American Idol auditions."

The U.S. Attorney is now deciding whether to charge the man who threatened Erin Andrews with violent emails with making criminal threats.

TMZ broke the story ... a man in Newport News, Virginia sent a series of threatening/violent emails last March to "The Dan Patrick Show," directed at the ESPN star. Among them:

- "I hope she gets shot in the face. I would love to see if she can dance away from a hail of gunfire. That would really make my day."

- "I'm one in a million. She'll never see me coming."

- "Somebody should shoot her in the face."

Sources tell us the FBI went to the suspect's house and spoke with his dad, who explained his son -- who is in his 30's -- had serious health and mental issues. Sources tell us the suspect had a stroke earlier in his life.

We're told the FBI forwarded the case to the U.S. Attorney 2 weeks ago for review, but so far no decision has been made.

One source close to the investigation tells us ... given the man's mental status, it's "doubtful" criminal charges will be filed.

We just spotted Maksim out in L.A. -- just a few hours before the big "Dancing with the Stars" finale ... and dude told us the cop merely warned him about his lack of license plates on his brand new Mercedes.

Problem is -- the cop was driving in the other direction, and probably wouldn't have even noticed Maksim if he wouldn't have gunned it out of STK.

Our TMZ camera rolled as Maksim left STK after a dinner with his partner Erin Andrews -- got into his Mercedes -- and punched it down La Cienega ... burning rubber as he left the restaurant.

Seconds later, Maksim was staring at red and blue lights in his rear view from an L.A. County Sheriff's car who pulled his butt over.

TMZ has learned Michael David Barrett is allowed to watch whatever he wants inside the media room at the federal prison in Atlanta where he's serving time -- as long as the other inmates approve of the program.

So far, officials tell us they haven't noticed if MDB has tuned in to "Dancing" during his stay -- but then again, he does have very, very sneaky viewing habits.

There's a story out there that Tiger Woods' Mistress #1 -- Rachel Uchitel -- is hitting a Vegas dance studio so she can be on the next installment of "Dancing with the Stars" ... but TMZ has learned Rachel has become far more entrepreneurial and is pitching her very own reality show.

Sources tell TMZ Rachel, along with two producers and an agent, have gone to 4 different cable networks, pitching a show called "Romancing Rachel." We're told the premise is that Rachel has a hard time meeting guys, given what's been going on with her. The pitch -- watch Rachel try to find true love ... with single guys.

We're told Rachel was in L.A. earlier this month and pitched the show -- along with her producing entourage -- to E!, VH1, Oxygen and Lifetime. We're told Lifetime and E! have passed, but VH1 and Oxygen are still in play.

As for Rachel's entourage -- one of the producers is Scott Jeffress, who produced "Jersey Shore," "The Bachelor" and a bunch of other shows.

As for "DWTS" ... we're told Rachel isn't taking dance lessons to get on the show. She just wants a new hobby.

In an interview with CYInterview.com, Ripken was asked if he ever had any interest in becoming the first baseball player to appear on "Dancing with the Stars" -- to which he responded, "probably not."

The Orioles legend admits to having "two left feet"... and although he accomplished almost every imaginable milestone during his 21-year career, he is still "uncomfortable with the attention away from the field."

Kate -- and her 8 -- are staying at the swanky Beverly Wilshire hotel for "Dancing with the Stars" -- and we're told the kids enjoyed a relaxing Monday at the pool with their nanny while Kate prepped for last night's show.

Meanwhile, Prez Obama's in town until Wednesday to lend his support to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) during her campaign for re-election.

Jon's lawyer, former assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony F. List, tells TMZ "under the right circumstances" Jon would do a show with Kate, but "the contract would have to be tighter." He did not elaborate, but we're guessing it has something to do with the way TLC cleaned Jon's clock in court.

List did not say what type of show he'd like to do, but said having Jon and Kate around the kids more would be a definite plus.

List says Jon would "love to settle" the latest legal dispute he ignited. TMZ broke the story that Jon filed legal papers asking for primary custody and child support. But Jon will press on with the case, unless Kate gives up her "global commitments." According to List, Jon feels Kate can't have it both ways -- being both a star and an attentive parent.

List says he and Jon both feel Kate is "addicted to the paparazzi." He says even if Kate is booted from "Dancing with the Stars" on Tuesday, he won't drop his custody case because Kate is "caught up in the glamour of Hollywood" and will take other jobs.