"The Bachelorette" Predictions(No Spoilers)

"The Bachelorette" predictions are perhaps the toughest ever to make at this point in the ABC reality television show. Why? Because Ashley Hebert is so connected to Bentley that she hasn't really pointed any other direction during the show so far.

We can make one "The Bachelorette" prediction for sure. Bentley will be going home sooner than later. It appears Bentley is on his way back much to the chagrin of the other participants on the show in the coming week or so. It seems inevitable that he'll get cut at some point. I don't think it takes a genius to figure out that Ashley isn't going to take Bentley to the finals-especially the way she's talked about Bentley during nationally televised interviews on talk shows in retrospect. How she dumps Bentley will certainly be the most compelling part of what is left of the season on "The Bachelorette."

In Touch magazine reported that Ashley Hebert actually slept with Bentley-thus the incredible hang up for the total bad guy. Whether that's true or not, it appears any predictions relating to Bentley will be a matter of when he is tossed-not if.

So with that in mind, who is left to win the heart of Ashley on "The Bachelorette?" It's tough to predict since Ashley was so hung on a guy who didn't seem to give a darn about her. But we'll have to make do since it's about time to make the old annual predictions.

Who is left? Ames, Blake, J.P., Ryan, Ben, Mickey, Constantine and Lucas. It doesn't seem that any of these young men have an incredible connection so far to Ashley. In fact, I'd be quite amused to know if Ashley has any strong connection to the guys who remain. So the way things go down can certainly be unpredictable from this point forward. Still, Ashley seems to be happy in post "Bachelorette" interviews so it's apparent she fell for at least one of the remaining men.

Who will that lucky guy be? I'm going to go on the line and say the two finalist will be Ben F. and J.P. I could be way off and time could certainly change her likes and dislikes once she is rid of Bentley. I think the two guys she has the strongest remaining connection with, if it can described as that, are these two. Ashley had a terrific date with Ben and she seems to like the longer haired gentleman. But I also wouldn't rule out the shaved head look of the unassuming J.P. I think in the end she'll probably pick Ben F. as her husband to be-but I'm kind of rooting for J.P. to get that final rose. There's just something about the guy that seems way more sincere than many people we typically see on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." In fact, if J.P. doesn't get that rose, I think he would make an excellent "The Bachelor" candidate. Although producers of the show usually like to throw the high strung and more open personality contestants into that role. If that's true, watch out for the always smiling Ryan P. to possibly get that opportunity as the next "Bachelor."

Are there any darkhorses left in the field? It's certainly still wide open at this point. There seems to be plenty of room for the guys remaining to continue to make moves in this competition-particularly once Bentley is out of the picture. I can't imagine Ames or Constantine being in the final two but you never really can say never. Ashley has been completely unpredictable and, unlike previous years, it's very difficult to determine whether or not she has stronger feelings for one guy or another.

So with that in mind, my "The Bachelorette" predictions have Ben F. as the final guy for Ashley. Could it happen differently? Of course it could. I'm sure there a dozen "spoilers" out there that reveal more of what is to come. I'm trying to steer clear of those this year as I have in the past few years because those "spoilers" kind of taint the old prediction game--which is always fun for me. That's the fun thing about watching the plot unfold on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." As fans of the show, we get to make predictions and forget the "spoilers" and watch everything develop as the producers want us to. Unfortunately, sometimes the foreshadowing is a bit misleading and some participants storylines are built up in such a fashion that we're surprised to see some go. So far this season that storyline has revolved simply around Bentley. That means heading down the stretch that viewers don't have a whole lot of information to base predictions on. That should change in the next few weeks as Bentley gets the boot--or at least we hope, right? The guy certainly does add a little drama to the mix. The show with Ashley this season could be completely boring once he's gone. And Ashley might be completely bored, too. Not a good sign for a future relationship, right?