Meryl & Maks Win The Mirror Ball Trophy After An Excellent Edition Of Dancing With The Stars

To the right you are looking at Meryl Davis & Maksim Chmerkovskiy a moment or two before they won the coveted mirror ball trophy in the latest  iteration of Dancing with the Stars.

This makes two Reality TV competition shows with satisfying endings this week. First was Dave & Connor winning The Amazing Race All Stars, and now Meryl and Maks winning DWTS.

It would have also been a satisfying win if Amy Purdy and Derek Hough had won the mirror ball. But Derek has won something like five times, whilst Maks never won til last night.

Everything about Dancing with the Stars seemed to be a vast improvement this season.

The guest judges added an interesting element. The production values of the dance numbers and the stage sets and the packaged pieces seemed greatly amped up.

Cheesy, sort of embarrassing elements, like Dance Center with Kenny Maynes, or whatever his name is, were axed.

And the new co-host, Erin Andrews, was such a witty, funny, likable change from the previous rather wooden, leaden, dull, humorless co-hosts who came before her.

And then there were the dancers,  I mean, celebrities. I knew who more of them were this time than ever before. And some were  actual celebrities. Like Drew Carey.

And some with whom I was not familiar, as in James Maslow, Amy Purdy, the Olympic Gold Medalists, Charlie White and his skating partner, the winner, Meryl Davis, I came to like and to understand why they could be considered celebrities.

The effect Meryl had on Maks, changing him from the Bad Boy of the Ballroom, into a Teddy Bear, including a scene of Maks crying and getting comforted by Tony Dovolni, well this was not the Maks we'd seen before.

I half expected Maks to actually spout off an actual marriage proposal in the chaos which ensued after he and Meryl won. That would have been Reality TV Gold.

The next season of Dancing with the Stars has its work cut out for it if it is going to top what the show did this year.

Cher Successfully Adds Being A Dancing With The Stars Judge To Her Resume With Brant Daugherty Leaving The Ballroom

That is Cher sitting in Len Goodman's chair this 8th week of Dancing with the Stars.

I had no idea that being an expert judge of ballroom dancing was among Cher's amazingly varied talents. The show open with Cher descending from above, singing Believe, wearing a mini-skirt.

A few decades ago there was a lame joke, often  repeated, that two things would survive a nuclear holocaust, those being cockroaches and Cher.

Cher is now in her 6th decade in show business. Cher is 67 years old. Cher is the youngest looking person in their 60s I have ever seen. Cher has won Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes, Oscars and multiple other show business awards around the world.

Is Cher currently the most famous celebrity, world-wide? If not Cher, who is it?

The studio audience was loving everything that Cher said, including a moment that got bleeped whilst commenting on Elizabeth Berkley.

Dancing with the Stars has suffered a drop in the Nielsen ratings, what with being up against NBC's The Voice. I suspect this week's Cher episode will see a bump up in the ratings.

Cher's critique of Brant Daugherty was basically that she liked his smile. So, along with the other judges, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, Cher gave Brant a 9.

A total of 27 did not save Brant Daugherty and partner Peta Murgatroyd from being the pair asked to leave the ballroom this week.

Dancing with the Stars Season 17 Premieres with Valerie Harper in a New One Night Two-Hour Format on Monday, September 16 at 8|7c

Above you are looking at the "Stars" who will be dancing on Season 17 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

Usually I only know who about half of the "Stars" are.

This time I am familiar with all but one of the dancing women. I have no idea who Christina Milian is.

Of the dancing men I only know of half of the six. I have no idea who Keyshawn Johnson, Brant Daugherty or Corbin Bleu are.

This season Dancing with the Stars has one of the biggest stars in TV history dancing. Valerie Harper of Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda fame.

The Rhoda and Joe wedding episode of Rhoda remains one of the most watched TV episodes in TV history, with something like 52 million viewers watching.

I suspect the ratings for Dancing with the Stars will be up this season due to Valerie Harper being one of those dancing.

Just a couple months ago Valerie Harper was in the news with the announcement that she had a very serious rare brain cancer with a very dire prognosis. Chemotherapy and radiation has reduced the cancer, with the result being that Valerie Harper is currently in good enough health to do some heavy duty dancing.

Below is the entire DWTS CAST & PARTNERS.......

Amber Riley & Derek Hough
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi & Sasha Farber
Leah Remini & Tony Dovolani
Christina Milian & Mark Ballas
Valerie Harper & Tristan MacManus
Elizabeth Berkley & Val Chmerkovskiy

Jack Osbourne & Cheryl Burke
Bill Engval & Emma Slater
Keyshawn Johnson & Sharna Burgess
Bill Nye & Tyne Stecklein
Brant Daugherty & Peta Murgatroyd
Corbin Bleu & Karina Smirnoff

Dancing with the Stars Premieres in a New One Night, Two-Hour Format on Monday, September 16 at 8|7c

Dorothy Hamill's Doctor Orders Her Off Dancing With The Stars Saving Lisa Vanderpump

I am guessing that even though Dorothy Hamill's doctor had told her she could no longer dance due to the painful spinal cyst that dancing had exacerbated, she wanted to see if she was going to get the natural boot before auto-booting herself.

So, after Andy Dick was saved to dance another week, it was down to Lisa Vanderpump and her boytoy partner, Gleb Savchenko and a pair I don't remember, in the Bottom Two.

With a minute or two to go, Tom Bergeron directed Dorothy and partner, Tristan McManus to hurry to make their way to him, where Dorothy announced she was unable to continue.

And so, the extremely popular (with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills viewers) Star, Lisa Vanderpump, lives to dance another week.

I suspect one of the reasons the extremely likable Lisa was in the Bottom Two was the fact that the Season Finale and Reunion Part 1 of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills aired at the same time as Dancing with the Stars, thus cutting down on the number of Lisa fans voting for her.

Next week I suspect Lisa and Giggy's fans will be watching in full force, with Lisa Vanderpump not in the Bottom Two.

Has Bachelor Sean Lowe Become A Dancing Diva?

A couple weeks ago I blogged about The Bachelor Sean Lowe dancing on Dancing with the Stars.

In that blog post part of what I opined was....

The last Bachelor to dance on DWTS, I think, was the notorious Jake Pavelka.

I don't remember when it was that America and the rest of the world figured out that Jake was not the nice guy we'd met whilst he was doing his wife hunting. Was it on DWTS we learned that Pavelka suffers from an extreme case of Little Man Syndrome?

Am I remembering right? Was there some sort of TV special hosted by Chris Harrison in which Vienna Girardi told tales about how abusive Pavelka was, with Pavelka losing his temper on the air, and Vienna storming off the set?

Will Sean Lowe unravel before us ala Jake Pavelka? I am fairly certain Sean does not suffer from Little Man Syndrome. He appears to be a rather big guy.

______________________________________

Today I learned, from TMZ, that, apparently, Sean Lowe is being a bit of a spoiled brat diva on Dancing with the Stars.

I am shocked.

In an exclusive TMZ article titled...

'DANCING WITH THE STARS''
BACHELOR' Sean Lowe...
HUGE DIVA

We learn the following....

With every new season of "Dancing with the Stars" ... a new diva shall emerge amongst the cast ... and this season it's "The Bachelor" Sean Lowe. Sorry ladies. 

Sources close to "DWTS" tell TMZ ... ever since filming began, Sean has caught a baaaad case of DIVA-itis ... demanding to be shot from certain camera angles, talking down to crew members, acting like a brat and bragging to other cast members, "This show NEEDS me." 

We're told Sean's ego has gotten so big ... he now considers himself a brand and must "market accordingly". 

As for other cast members ... we're told they've already started brainstorming nicknames for the reality star in light of his behavior -- like Princess Sean -- but have yet to find just the right one.

We could probably think of a couple.

FYI -- The executive producer of "DWTS," Conrad Green, tells TMZ, "Sean is a pleasure and there is nothing diva-like about him."

____________________________________ 

Sean now considers himself a brand? To be marketed? It appears Sean is veering into Jake Pavelka territory.

Dancing With The Stars Along With Sean & Catherine's Million Dollar TV Wedding

Last night, on the season finale of The Bachelor, America and the rest of the world learned that my Dallas neighbor, Sean Lowe, had been directed by God to choose a wife candidate from my old hometown of Seattle to get the Final Sacred Rose, a ring and a marriage proposal.

The name of the recipient of the Final Sacred Rose is Catherine. Catherine seems like a nice girl. Sean seem like a nice boy.

They barely know each other but they are deeply in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together. And they are each other's best friend.

Even though they barely know each other.

I think, maybe, once Sean gets to know Catherine better he may find her to be a bit boring. And odd. I fast forward through a lot of The Bachelor, but watch all of the drunken cocktail parties.

At one point at a drunken cocktail party Catherine told Sean she decided she wanted to get married and have a litter of babies after an experience at camp when she was 12 where she saw a tree fall on and kill a fellow campmate.

At another drunken cocktail party Catherine told Sean a strange story about her dad. I think it ended with dad abandoning his family and moving to China. Or maybe it was the Philippines.

During the After The Final Sacred Rose show Sean announced that the wedding will happen as soon as possible. Just as soon as the details can be worked out for the televised wedding.

That's right. ABC is going to turn this wedding into a TV Special. I think ABC did that for at least one of the other one or two Bachelor/Bachelorette couplings that actually made it to the alter.

Just a few minutes ago I was standing in a grocery store line and saw a story headline on one of the tabloids that said something like "Sean & Catherine's Million Dollar TV Wedding."

I thought it was a joke when I read this morning on Survivor Sucks that Sean will be dancing with Peta Murgatroyd on the Season 16 premiere of Dancing With The Stars, next Monday, March 18.

The last Bachelor to dance on DWTS, I think, was the notorious Jake Pavelka.

I don't remember when it was that America and the rest of the world figured out that Jake was not the nice guy we'd met whilst he was doing his wife hunting. Was it on DWTS we learned that Pavelka suffers from an extreme case of Little Man Syndrome?

Am I remembering right? Was there some sort of TV special hosted by Chris Harrison in which Vienna Girardi told tales about how abusive Pavelka was, with Pavelka losing his temper on the air, and Vienna storming off the set?

Will Sean Lowe unravel before us ala Jake Pavelka? I am fairly certain Sean does not suffer from Little Man Syndrome. He appears to be a rather big guy.

Supposedly Sean Lowe has some sort of custom furniture factory in Dallas. The business must run itself. Sean spent months on The Bachelorette, then more months on The Bachelor. And now I'm sure he'll make it to the finals of Dancing With The Stars.

And then there's that televised wedding.

How much does one get paid to be The Bachelor?

Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars with Lisa Vanderpump

It seems like only yesterday a new show started up on ABC, the premise of which seemed silly to me, and now we are about to have the premiere of Season 16 of Dancing with the Stars.

The premise no longer seems silly to me. Although the use of the word "Stars" in the title remains a bit silly, what with many of the "Stars" usually being people I've never heard of.

The "Stars" doing the dancing this time are Kellie Pickler, Dorothy Hamill, Ingo Rademacher, Aly Raisman, Zendaya Coleman, Victor Ortiz, Andy Dick, Lisa Vanderpump, Jacoby Jones, D.L. Hughley and Wynonna Judd.

I am familiar with more of these "Stars" than I usually am when I learn of the new dancing cast of "Stars" on a new edition of DWTS.

This time I am aware of the "Stardom" of Kellie Pickler, Dorothy Hamill, Ingo Rademacher, Andy Dick, Lisa Vanderpump and Wynonna Judd.

I had read that Derek Hough was bailing on Dancing with the Stars. But that turned out to be not true, because he is paired with Kellie Pickler. Kellie Pickler I remember from American Idol. She is amusing.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, my favorite of the professional dancers, because he is one amusing Ukrainian, is off the show. However, Mak's brother Valentin, is paired with a Disney "Star" I've never heard of before named Zendaya Coleman.

My favorite of all the "Stars" is Lisa Vanderpump. I know Lisa from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I think Lisa is about to find herself millions of new fans. And millions of viewers are also about to find themselves totally charmed by a little Pomeranian named Giggy. Lisa will be dancing with a new pro named Gleb Savchenko. The name makes me think it's another Russian. Lisa paired with Maks would have been fun.

Andy Dick is a funnyman. He is paired with another new pro, Sharna Burgess.

Wynonna Judd is hoping that doing a lot of dancing will help her lose some weight. I think she looks just fine just the way she is. Wynonna is paired with Tony Dovolani, who won the previous season of Dancing with the Stars, dancing with Bachelor reject, Melissa Rycroft.

D.L. Hughley is a stand-up comedian who I've never seen. He will be dancing with Cheryl Burke. Usually whoever gets paired with Cheryl Burke does real well.

Dancing with the Stars always seems to have a professional basketball or football player I've never heard of. This time it is a Baltimore Ravens wide receiver named Jacoby Jones. He will be dancing with Karina Smirnoff. Karina's partners usually do well, except for ex-fiance, Maks, who Karina dumped.

This time we have 2 professional sports people. In addition to Jacoby Jones, a boxer named Victor Ortiz is paired with another newcomer, named Lindsay Arnold.

We also have a couple non-professional athletes.

Famous Olympian figure skater, Dorothy Hamill, is paired with the Irish pro dancer named Tristan MacManus. Tristan always seems to do well with his partners.

Another Olympian, Aly Raisman, she being a gold medal winner at last summer's London Olympics, is paired with two-time winner, Mark Ballas.

And finally we have an ABC soap star, Ingo Rademacher, Jax on General Hospital. Ingo will be dancing with Kym Johnson.

I did not watch the All-Stars version of Dancing with the Stars. Watching former "Stars" be "All-Stars" did not interest me. Watching a new set of "Stars" try to learn to dance, that interests me.

It will be amusing to see how Lisa Vanderpump does. I suspect she may do surprising well.

After Derek & Maria Got The Boot Maks & Me Want To Know The Full Dancing With The Stars Voting Results

Hot Couple Derek Hough & Maria Menounos

I thought, watching Tuesday night's Dancing with the Stars Results show, that the dancing pair that had a lock on not getting the boot was Derek Hough and Maria Menounos, due to their perfect scores from the judges, and the fact that, to me, the pair are just so darn likable.

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas were informed early in the show that they would not be getting the boot. I find Katherine Jenkins really cute and likable. Mark Ballas I do not find cute and likable.

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas did not get perfect scores from the judges on Monday's show. Katherine had a fall. Maybe she got sympathy votes.

Which brings up something that has bugged me ever since I started watching Dancing with the Stars.

The voting.

Tom Bergeron says something like 'Combining the judges' scores with the public vote I can tell you right now what couple is in jeopardy."

We are never told what the public vote is that got the couple in jeopardy.

How did Derek & Maria go from being in 1st place on Monday's show, with Mark & Katherine in last place, to Derek & Maria getting the boot? It would seem that Mark & Katherine would have had to come in first with the public vote and Derek & Maria last, for this outcome to occur.

Makes no sense to me.

Makes no sense to Maks either.

In an article in TV Guide titled Dancing's Maks: I Hope There Are "Major Discussions" in the Off-Season Mr. Maksim Chmerkovskiy gets a lot of pent up Dancing with the Stars frustration of his chest, with the below blurb being one example...

We're dancers and professionals and we're proud of ourselves, but we all want to know what we're a part of. I would like to know the ins and outs of a show I'm putting my blood, sweat and tears into. I want to know why the judges have lost consistency and how many votes we got. How much did Kirstie and I lose by? How much did Mel and I lose by? We dancers will all pull together to get on the same page with the producers. We're all going into a season blindfolded and it's frustrating when you're in the middle of an exhausting and demanding season.

So, the professional dancers don't get told the voting details that got them the boot?

I would like to have how the judges' scores are combined with the public score to arrive at the bootee, and have it explained in a coherent way that makes sense to a math challenged person like myself.

As for Maks and continuing to dance on Dancing with the Stars. I find Maks to be very amusing. I am surprised that a TV sit-com producer has not seen the comedic possibilities of Maks on his own sit-com.

As for the romance between Derek and Maria.

Derek is 26. Maria is 33.

Does this make Maria a cougar in this relationship? In the picture above the couple seems to be enjoying some pool time and adult beverages. An empty Bud Light appears to be on the ground next to Derek. I can't tell what type cocktail Maria is holding.

Dancing With The Stars With Hope Solo & Maks Last While Bruce Jenner Sports His Updated Aged Lesbian Look

That's a screencap off my TV from last night's Dancing with the Stars.

Bruce Jenner on the left, wife Kris Kardashian on the right.

When I Googled "Bruce Jenner's Old Lesbian Look" looking for an image, before I gave up, I read in more than one location that those awful Kardashian girls did a makeover of their step-dad, modernizing his hairstyle, which is an improvement, and adding diamond stud earrings, which look ridiculous on a man in his 7th decade.

When Bruce Jenner was on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here we learned he was a a bit of a dimbulb, prone to repeating himself. I don't get why someone like Bruce Jenner does not just allow himself to age normally. Let the hair go gray, knock off the botox, or whatever it was that was done to his face.

I know it's a rude thing to say, but I agree with what I read someone say on Survivor Sucks, that being that Bruce Jenner nowadays looks like an aged lesbian spinster and wife Kris looks more macho than he does. Maybe Bruce needs a testosterone boost.

Anyway, regarding last night's Dancing with the Stars semi-finals, down to only 4 pseudo stars remaining, with one to be eliminated tonight, I made a lot of use of the fast forward button.

There were long filmed spots spotlighting sad sob sister stories of each of the "stars."

The only sad sob sister stories I listened at all to were Ricki Lake's and Rob Kardashian's. Ricki's was actually a real sad sob sister story. I've always liked Ricki Lake.

I don't know what Hope Solo's sad sob sister story was. Maybe hers was being picked on by the DWTS's judges.

Hope came in last place last night, by quite a margin. I thought she did well, but those who judge, did not.

I've been at this point in Dancing with the Stars before, where I quit watching. I'm likely at that point now. I don't care who wins that coveted disco ball trophy.

Mad Maks Attack On The Dancing With The Stars Judges Was The Best Part of Week 6

Maksim Chmerkovskiy & Hope Solo

Will Maksim Chmerkovskiy's amusing tirade directed at the judges on Monday night's Week 6 of Dancing with the Stars get him and Hope Solo eliminated? Or did it cause a lot of viewers to vote for Maks & Hope?

I have never voted on any Reality TV show and don't actually know how to do so. But, if I did go to the effort I would have done my voting for Maks & Hope last night.

I really think Dancing with the Stars should drop the judge's scoring. Just have them comment, ala American Idol. And leave the voting to the viewers, ala American Idol.

Maks & Hope ended up in next to last place, only one point ahead of clunky, chunky Chaz Bono.

The brouhaha with Maks started when cranky old Len Goodman told Hope this was her worst dance yet. The audience began to boo, with Maks urging the audience to boo more.

Maks encouraging the audience in their booing had Len Goodman telling Maks that "Half the fault is yours."

Maks then said something like the audience enjoyed the journey of him and Hope. Whatever that meant.

But, whatever it meant, it had Len Goodman retorting that "I've been in this business for nearly 50 years."

To which Maks, with all due respect suggested, "Maybe it's time to go."

This had the super annoying Carrie Ann Inaba chastising Maks with "Don't be disrespectful like that." Which had me wondering what type of dis-respectfulness meets Carrie Ann's approval?

Maks accused the judges of being judgmental. I give Maks the benefit of the doubt on that one, with the heat of the moment causing him to say something silly. Like when he and Hope were up in the Skybox, awaiting their scores, or maybe it was after they got their low scores, when Maks said to Brooke Charvet, "With all due respect, this is my show. I helped make it what it is."

Well, that sounded silly, but it is sort of true. Maks and several of the other professional dancers have become bigger "STARS" than the mostly pseudo-stars they dance with.

The DWTS results show will be DVRed tonight for my fast forwarding viewing pleasure, zipping to the end to see if Maks & Hope get the boot and if this causes another amusing mild temper tantrum from Maks.

Dancing With The Stars Boots George Clooney's Ex & Maks' Brother Val While Chaz Bono's Knees Ache & Nancy Grace's Boobs Get Noticed

Last week I opined that I thought Val Chmerkovskiy and Elisabetta Canalis would get the first boot from Dancing with the Stars.

I was off by one week.

Maks' brother Val did not seem to share his brother's natural entertainment ability. And the "star" Val was partnered with who's chief claim to fame, near as I can tell, was hooking up for awhile with George Clooney, well, Elisabetta really did not look like she was having herself a fine, fun time on Dancing with the Stars.

Joining George's ex in the bottom 3 where David Arquette and Chaz Bono, along with their pro partners, Kym Johnson and Lacey Schwimmer.

I figured it would be either Chaz or Elisabetta who got the boot this week. Chaz seems like a nice kid, but he is pretty much morbidly obese and the dancing is buckling his knees. The novelty of watching Chaz attempt to dance has worn thin for me. And I wish he'd lose that sad beard. A beard does not a man make.

I really do not like David Arquette.

I am in the Central Time Zone. Unlike the West Coast, I get to watch DWTS live. However, I did not see Nancy Grace's alleged wardrobe malfunction and nipple exposure. That exposure has been denied by Nancy Grace.

Yet, for some reason when the dance was over, in my time zone, I heard cheering and applause, yet twice we cut to a group of people sitting quiet like they were waiting for church to start.

And Tom Bergeron said, for some reason, that what had just happened would be just fine on European TV, but not on American TV. So, something must have happened.

I do not know if an investigation is underway to get to the bottom of Nancy Grace's Nipplegate Scandal.

I am liking Nancy Grace much more than I thought I would.

Dancing With The Stars Season 13 Premiere With Chaz Bono Doing Well

My impressions of the bloated 2 hour premiere of Season 13 of ABC's Dancing With The Stars?

Well, ABC has built a nice new big ballroom for its top-rated show.

Carson Kressley, so far, appears to be this season's amusing Kirstie Alley/Cloris Leachman combo. I suspect Carson will be dancing for many weeks.

David Arquette. Not a fan. But, he did well, if overly intense. I don't know if he is divorced from Courtney Cox, or what, but she was in the audience, being supportive, along with their kid.

I only fast forwarded through one of the "Stars." That being a pro sports guy I'd never heard of, Ron Artest. He seemed annoying to me. I liked his pro partner's name though, Peta Murgatroyd.

Mark Ballas wears on my nerves. His "Star" is a Reality TVer I'd never heard of, Kristin Cavallari. Kristin is cute. Mark is not cute. Mark flails around way too much with his routines, drawing attention to himself, rather than directing attention to his "Star."

I think fan pro favorite Maks' brother Val Chmerkovskiy's "Star" partner, Elisabetta Canalis, may be the first to get the boot. Near as I can tell Elisabetta's primary claim to stardom was being George Clooney's bedmate for a period of time. Val appeared to be trying real hard to be Mr. Personality, but he seems to lack his brother's likability factor.

Speaking of Val's brother, Maks lucked out in the "Star" department with an Olympic soccer player I'd never heard of before, named Hope Solo. Hope is very likable and seemed to adjust to doing the dancing well. This may be Maks' best shot to win the coveted mirror ball trophy yet.

Nancy Grace surprised me by being somewhat graceful. She's got a pro partner we'd not seen before. An Irish guy named Tristan MacManus. Tristan has a thick Irish accent. It was amusing when he confused Nancy by saying "turd" whilst meaning "third." Apparently "turd" is how "third" is pronounced in Ireland.

I knew nothing of J.R. Martinez. I was ready to hit the fast forward button, but then I watched, drawn in by his partner, one of my favorites, Karina Smirnoff. J.R. turned out to be quite remarkable. I suspect it will be awhile before he gets the boot. And he may end up being the mirror ball trophy winner.

Cheryl Burke appears to have slimmed down. She is also one of my favorite pros. She got stuck with Rob Kardashian. Rob was better than I thought he would be. Rob has been in the press saying he hoped doing the dancing would help him lose some of the 200 plus pounds he's put on his 5' 10" frame.

Chynna Phillips did well, according to the judges. But, I was bored by her. Chynna's pro partner, Tony Dovolani, nice guy, but not one of my favorites.

Derek Hough is back. Partnered with Ricki Lake. Ricki did surprisingly well. I think she could be the possible winner. It helps having multi-winner Derek as your partner.

That leaves only one "Star" remaining. My favorite of the night. Chaz Bono. Paired with Lacey Schwimmer. Chaz has put on weight since losing weight on Celebrity Fit Club. And yet Chaz was able to move that body of his. I was surprised at how at ease Chaz seemed when it came his turn to dance, at the end of the 2 hour show. That is a lot of anxious waiting. Chaz looked pretty much effortless and like he was having himself a real fine time.

Methinks it will be either Ron Artest, Elisabetta Canalis or Rob Kardashian who gets the boot from DWTS tonight.

Over on Survivor Sucks I thought natnyc911's overall thoughts were cogent....

Ron (Meta whatever stupidity he decided he wanted his name to be)... Awful. He may do a bit better in ballroom as compared to fast latin dances but that was so rough. It was as if Lurch was dancing.

Rob... Better than I expected but nothing at all to write home about. He actually looked like a little kid that was trying to do something correct that was taught to him. The footwork when it was supposed to be gliding was anything but.

Kristin... It was okay. A little awkward when she was without Mark and he continues to grate on my nerves, season after season. She could improve a whole lot though if she sticks around.

Chynna... Nice! Really elegant. I wasn't going nuts or anything but better than everyone who came before and she should be really proud of that. Kudos to Tony for finally (maybe) getting a partner to go deep in the competition with.

Nancy... Yep, better than expected for me. A tad awkward from time to time (I expected that) but no denying that she did not stink up the floor as many just assumed she would. And her personally was good tonight and for her, that's a major plus.

David... Whoa. Relax! It looked like he drank about 5 red bulls before going out there. At one point, he was running. But he is charming and the dancing was decent. He is another that will go really far because he will improve.

Elisabetta... This was a worse than I expected situation. As awkward as Kristin was alone, Elisabetta was worse. And Val is trying TOO hard to be like Maks but it doesn't work for him. They are in major trouble tomorrow night I think.

Hope... Good! Sure, she is masculine and stuff but that can worked out. Maks has another decent shot at the trophy this season. She reminds me of the Shawn Johnson in terms of needing to be more feminine and elegant but all the tools are there.

Carson... Fun! I laughed throughout. The dancing was pretty bad but I don't think he or anyone who is a fan of his cares at all about that. He could last as long as the fans keep him in for me because he brings the entertainment. Think of it like Cloris Leachman in that respect.

JR... Now, I watch All My Children (RIP this week by the way), so I am a bit biased toward him and any soap star that does this show. That being said, he is right up there with Chynna for best of the night. It was just a really good first routine.

Ricki... Go Ricki! I think out of everyone, I would give up time to vote for her as much as I did Kirstie last season. It was a really decent job and she looks like she cares a whole lot about trying each and every week.

Chaz... I might be alone on this but I thought the scoring was low on him. He didn't deserve 8's or anything but I thought he did better than a 17. Eh. I thought he did well and definitely another better than I expected dancer.

Dancing With The Stars With Chaz Bono Along With Mostly Unknowns Plus a Few Names I Recognize

Is this going to be unlucky Season 13 for ABC's Dancing With The Stars? I was pretty much non-plussed when I saw Season 13's so-called "Star" with the highest percentage yet of "Stars" I've never heard of.

Elisabetta Canalis is a star, near as I can tell, due to being George Clooney's ex-girlfriend. George's ex will be doing the vertical tango with Maksim Chmerkovskiy's brother Valentin.

I wonder if Valentin is as funny as his brother?

Another unknown to me, Kristin Cavallari will be subjected to the Mark Ballas treatment.

An unknown to me, baseball player, Ron Artest will be twinkling the toes of Peta Murgatroyd, new to the DWTS pro team. Peta's last name is certainly easy to remember.

I have no idea who Hope Solo is. Daughter of Napoleon? Hope will be dancing with my favorite pro, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. I hope Hope is as funny as Mak's partner for Season 12, Kirstie Alley.

Mak's ex-wife-to-be, another favorite of mine, Karina Smirnoff, will be trying to teach someone to dance who I've never heard of, J.R. Martinez.

And then we come to "Stars" I have sort of heard of to varying degrees.

David Arquette I do not care for. But, he gets points for marrying Courtney Cox, even though she eventually dumped him. David is paired with another of my favorite pros, Kym Johnson.

Annoying TV reporter Nancy Grace gets graced with another pro dancer newcomer, Tristan McManus.

The funniest of the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy guys, Carson Kressley dances with Anna Trebunskaya.

I have found Ricki Lake amusing in the past. But, what amused me escapes my memory at the present moment. Ricki is paired with Derek Hough. I don't mind Derek too much, if he keeps the camera mugging to a minimum. And his shirt on.

Chynna Phillips I sort of remember from Wilson Phillips. But I could not pick her out of a lineup. Chynna will be dancing with Tony Dovolani.

And then there is Kim Kardashian's little brother Robert. I do not know if Robert is blessed in the humongous derrierre department like his sister is. I guess we will soon find out. Robert is partnered with Cheryl Burke. Most of Cheryl's partners do well. Either winning or coming close to winning.

Finally, for me, the only "Star" who comes close to being one. Chaz Bono. This individual has been in the public eye for decades. I first met this dancer on the old Sonny and Cher Show, when her name was Chastity and she was a cute little girl.

Over the years we've watched Chastity grow up. I last saw a lot of Chastity Bono when she was on Celebrity Fit Club. She was very likable.

At some point in time after Celebrity Fit Club, Chastity decided she was meant to be a man. And so she became Chaz.

Chaz Bono and Dancing with the Stars has taken some flak for the casting of Chaz Bono. Methinks those tossing flak need to shut up.

Chastity/Chaz has been through a lot. And now he has to contend with being a man, which he has acknowledged has its challenges. Just dealing with the male libido can be exhausting. Chaz will likely be experiencing that male libido acting up problem due to the fact his dancing partner is Lacey Schwimmer. I like Lacey.

Will we be seeing Cher in the audience? I hope so.

Dancing With The Stars Disco Ball Trophy Goes To Hines Ward Instead Of Kirstie Alley

I bailed on watching the Dancing with the Stars results show. I got tired of way too many weather interruptions.

Or split screens like you see in the screen cap, with Chelsea Kane dancing in the lower right corner, with the upper right and lower left showing important still images of lightning strikes. I suppose in case a viewer does not know what lightning looks like.

The upper left shows a tent either being blown by the wind, or being hit by hail.

I figured Kirstie Alley was going to be the shoo-in winner. As fun as that would be to see, I turned off the TV.

This morning I was slightly surprised to learn that Kirstie did not win. Instead the NFL footballer, Hines Ward, won the coveted mirror ball trophy.

Kirstie had lower scores from the judges than Hines or Chelsea. But, I figured she had so many more fans. That and I thought her freestyle was far more entertaining than either of her competitors.

How could she not win after losing so much weight and doing those cartwheel flips?

What an injustice.

I figured there could not possibly be all that many football fans who also watch DWTS. I am not a football fan, so it is not too shocking that I'd never heard of Hines Ward before he started dancing.

Anyway, methinks Kirstie was a winner in DWTS even if she did not win that shiny trophy.

Kirstie Alley Flips During Dancing With The Stars Finale Freestyle

That is not a screen cap of Kirstie Alley falling during her freestyle routine on the Dancing with the Stars finale. Instead of a fall, it is Kirstie going into a cartwheel move.

Just a few weeks ago I would not believe what I saw tonight on Dancing with the Stars would have been possible.

A few weeks ago, in a relatively simple move, as Kirstie wrapped a leg around Maks, Maks' leg could not handle the stress. And to the ground they fell.

During tonight's freestyle routine of the finale, the extent of the transformation of Kirstie Alley during the course of this season of DWTS was clear.

Kirstie Alley is no long the Fat Actress. She is now the shapely, well-rounded actress. Who dances well.

The Kirstie/Maks freestyle started off nice and slow. And then Kirstie ripped off some of her clothes and ran towards Maks who caught her and spun her around like a light feather. This was followed by Maks lifting Kirstie into the air in multiple formations, with Kirstie at times doing gymnastic flips.

Along with 2 instances of a Kirstie cartwheel.

I think the audience in the studio, along with the viewers, were a bit happily shocked at the Kirstie freestyle. And then those stingy judges gave Kirstie & Maks all 9s, just like they'd done for their first dance, a samba. The audience booed at the three 9s for the freestyle.

There were two other couples dancing. I did not care for the Chelsea Kane/Mark Ballas freestyle. It seemed frenetic and goofy. I also did not care for the Hines Ward/Kym Johnson halftime show freestyle. But those annoying judges did, giving those couples all 10s, except one 9 for each, giving both a total of 59, for their 2 dances.

So, it is Kirstie & Maks in 3rd place with 54 points. And the other pairs tied for first with 59.

Apparently there is one more dance for the judges to judge tomorrow.

I suspect that the huge number of votes that Kirstie gets from the viewers, will give Kirstie the coveted disco ball trophy and Maks his first win.

Then again, I don't bother to vote. I suspect others don't as well. Which means the Disney kid and her annoying partner could win. Or the football player with the Aussie partner.

Dancing With The Stars Hines Ward Gets Perfect Scores But Chelsa Kane Gets More Points

Last night was the first time I watched Hines Ward dance on Dancing With The Stars. To shorten the two hour dance marathons I had been fast forwarding past dancers I had no interest in, or had no clue as to what made them a supposed star.

Like that Romeo kid who left last week.

This week on DWTS long bios introduced each dancer. The bio suddenly turned Hines Ward into someone very interesting.

Til last night I had no idea Hines Ward was born in Seoul, South Korea, to a black dad, Hines Ward Sr. and a Korean mom, Kim Young He. When Hines was 1 the family moved to Georgia, with his soldier dad soon sent to Germany on a tour of duty. A year later Hines mom and dad divorced, with his dad convincing a court that Hines' mom could not raise him because she did not speak English. So, Hines went to live with his dad's mom til he was seven.

We heard from Hines' mom on Monday's DWTS. She now speaks English.

Hines' mom seemed to think he really had no business dancing. But, on Monday's show, Hines and partner, Kym Johnson, scored all 10 on both dances, getting 60 points for a salsa and Argentine tango. I am sure someone has made perfect scores before, but I don't remember who.

The perfect scores were made even more impressive due to the fact that Kym injured her neck while practicing on Friday, while attempting a tricky lift which had Kym falling on her neck and Hines falling on top of her. Paramedics rushed in and took Kym to the hospital.

Carrie Ann Inaba is way too easily driven to tears, and was so driven on Monday by the Hines and Kym tango.

Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas came in first for the night, with 73 points, after winning the third dance of the night, something called the "Winner-Take-All Cha-Cha."

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy came in 3rd with 54 points after doing some Viennese waltzing and  and paso dobling. Carrie Ann was not driven to tears, but did crown Kirstie as the "Queen" of the dramatic Latin dance.

Ralph Macchio and Playboy model, Karina Smirnoff were in last place with only 48 points. For the salsa Ralph wore something called a "booty pad" to make his butt bigger to supposedly improve his butt-shaking moves. I did not notice any increase in butt size. Or any consequent extra shaking. I probably was paying more attention to the Playboy model.

Next week is the DWTS's finale. I'd like to lose Chelsea and Mark tonight and have Ralph, Kirstie and Hines in the finale. I like the Chelsea kid, but Mark wears on my nerves.

Dancing With The Stars Eliminates Petra & Dmitri While Next Week American Idol's Pia Toscano Sings for Her Boyfriend Mark Ballas

Well, the theme this week for Dancing with the Stars was Patriotic Americana. Or something like that.

I think both Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin are former communists from the former Soviet Union.

So, I guess it makes sense that that they'd get the boot because neither is American.

No.

That really does not make sense.

Both Petra and Dmitry are very likable.

I thought their quick-step to the Elvis classic "Viva Las Vegas" was very American.

Petra and Dmitri seemed to take getting the boot very well.

At the end of the DWTS's results show Tom Bergeron announced, "Thanks to our friends at FOX and American Idol, it's the network return of the sensational Pia Toscano. She'll be singing and it features what promises to be an amazing dance by her close friend, Mark Ballas."

How did Mark Ballas and Pia become such close friends, one can not help but wonder? Are American Idol and Dancing With The Stars filmed on the same studio lot?

Dancing With The Stars' Karina Smirnoff's Playboy Cover with Kendra Wilkinsons's Sex Tape

That is Dancing With The Stars Karina Smirnoff on the cover of the May Playboy.

No official word yet on whether or not Karina is in trouble with her dancing bosses for appearing in Playboy.

Supposedly Dancing With The Stars is considered a family show.

I'm sure it is.

But, has no one noticed some of the outfits the lady dancers wear?

Very Playboy Magazine worthy.

And some of the dances can get a bit risque, as well.

And many of the male dancers frequently go topless.

So many double standards.

Meanwhile, all over the Interwebs it is being speculated that the reason Kendra Wilkinson seemed a bit down and cranky on this week's Dancing With The Stars is because her husband is upset with Kendra because yet one more Kendra sex tape has come to the surface and gone into circulation.

Kendra is rumored to have made over half a million dollars from her first sex tape.

Now, why would DWTS kick Karina off the show over some likely almost tasteful photos, while they invite to dance a woman who has posed in Playboy, sold sex tapes, lived as a kept woman of Hugh Hefner's and I forget what else?

So much hypocrisy.

And why do celebrity types make all these tapes? That then somehow manage to go public?

I know, with 100% certainty, if I somehow suddenly became a celebrity, that no sex tapes of me would find their way to the Interwebs.

Will Posing Nude in the May Playboy Get Karina Smirnoff Kicked Off Dancing With The Stars?

It has been years since I bought myself a Playboy magazine. At one point in time I was a subscriber.

Seconds ago I learned of Hugh Hefner's tweeting of the fact that Dancing With The Stars' Karina Smirnoff will be on the May issue's cover.

And nude inside.

Karina is my favorite of the DWTS Russians. Along with her ex-fiance, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Word is that Karina will be fired as a Dancing With The Stars dancer if it's true she get nekkid in Playboy.

Some sort of violation of contract deal.

Which seems just a tad hypocritical to me. Currently on Dancing With The Stars we have Kendra Wilkinson dancing. Kendra has been naked in Playboy. Holly Madison has danced on DWTS. Also naked in Playboy. Pamela Anderson has danced on DWTS. Naked all over the place, including multiple times in Playboy.

Methinks Hugh Hefner should have convinced Karina to do a Playboy photo shoot with her ex, Maks. That likely would have turned into an all-time Playboy magazine best seller.

A couple Internet buzz blurbs about this serious issue....

The San Jose Mercury News reported that an unidentified Dancing with the Stars insider told the Popeater website, “If Karina posed naked, she can kiss her dancing days goodbye.” ABC has not released an official statement on the matter.

According to AceShowbiz, by posing nude, Smirnoff would have violated her contract because she did not get consent from the Dancing with the Stars executives prior to posing for the May 2011 issue of Playboy. Smirnoff reportedly will appear on the cover and inside the issue.

Dancing With The Stars: Mike Catherwood First to Leave the Ballroom

With the lowest scores last week and Monday night, it was not a shocking surprise that Mike Catherwood was asked to leave the tribal council area immediately, I mean, leave the ballroom on Tuesday night's Dancing with the Stars.

I had never heard of the "star" Mike Catherwood before he became a "star" on Dancing with the Stars.

Mike Catherwood is a "star" because he is a radio personality on a radio station with the call letters, KROQ. He is also on something called "Loveline" which he co-hosts with Celebrity Re-hab's Dr. Drew.

Dr. Drew was in the audience watching his co-host get low scores Monday night.

Mike Catherwood seemed to be an amusing guy. He took losing his chance to go home with the glittering disco ball trophy with good humor, saying something like he was honored to be in the Elite Loser's Club along with Kenny Mayne, Jeffrey Ross and the Hoff.

Mike Catherwood heaped praise upon his pro partner, Lacey Schwimmer, who also lost her chance to take the glittering disco ball trophy home for the first time.

My favorites, so far, are definitely Kirstie Alley. Plus the Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio. I did not know that Ralph Macchio had reproduced. His son looked to be about the age Ralph was when he was the Karate Kid. The kid's name was Daniel. Wasn't that also the Karate Kid's name?