amy farafowler: Mike richards was definitely part of this process, though they have said that he stepped back from that am once he himself became a contender. And ar burton was not announced as a guest host till the very end of the season,. He only got one week of episodes, when a lot of the other guests hosts got two. His episodes ended up airing during the summer olympics, which, of course, kind of contributed to lower ratings perhaps might have had otherwise. What happens to richards next has a lot to do with your reporting.