Blogging with the stars

You want excitement? Here it is - liveblogging "Dancing with the Stars"! Well, you're getting what you're paying for, anyway.

Well, I'm not quite live. I let Stacy Keibler's first dance (quickstep) pass uncommented. Two weeks running she got perfect scores (3 10's), and this week she fell all the way to 3 9's. IMO that has more to do with the judges being tougher than anything she did wrong - she's not a pro, but she probably could be.

Jerry Rice? I love ya, man, but that wasn't a tango. As one of the judges said, he was Jerry "Springer" - he was bouncing, while tango should look like more of a stalking motion.

And they had a broomstick for a prop - I'm thinking that the real reason for this was to help him with his dance frame. He didn't have it, and that's a shame. Bottom line - this should be his last week unless the rabble forces him back. And now that George Hamilton is justly gone, I don't think Jerry will mind leaving too much.

I can relate to JR a bit. Yes, I am a competitive ballroom dancer (not *very* competitive, but I'm not the worst). But if "What's My Line" were still on TV, nobody would ever guess - I don't have any particular physical or other relevant gifts. I just woke up one morning with a really wild hair and decided to do something unlike anything I had ever done before. And I know just what the man has gone through, only he had to do it in a much shorter period of time. So that man has absolutely nothing to apologize for, and I hope he sticks with it.

Lisa Rinna is doing a pretty good foxtrot right now to the old standard "Fever". I'm guessing that this is her next to last week though - I can't see her beating Stacy or having a 2 girl final. (Incidentally, in real competitions amateur men do not compete directly against amateur women most of the time. That's because the roles are different enough to be largely incommensurable).

Drew Lachey is talking about rumba and the hip action. Believe me, it feels unnatural as can be for a small-town straight Midwesterner like me, and it uses muscles I don't use, so it doesn't take long to get sore from it. It has to be good for the obliques and other ab muscles.

Whoops, he's doing his foxtrot now. They're doing a lot of open choreography, where you're not in contact with your partner. This is probably easier for Drew, with his background in pop dance. Although I was typing for part of the time, I didn't notice any screwups, but one of the judges is picking on him a bit. He'll be OK - I'm guessing a 26 or so.

Back to that hip thing, aka the "Cuban Motion". Actually it's not the hips at all - the motion is all in the knees. If the shoulders are to remain in position as they should, the hips have to move, in a motion that's a little up and down and a little

Oh yeah, the feet. Keep the toes on the floor - the dance gods will smite you hard if you do "heel leads". And keep your toes pointed slightly outward.

Stacy again. A good cha-cha - probably a 27 or so. Whoops, she got 28. Hey, she can have anything she wants...

Back to Jerry. He's still stiff and doesn't have the hip motion down right in his rumba. But if I pick on him, remind me that I have some video of myself...ewww. Sorry bud, but this should be your last week, because anything else is an insult to your competitors. I can't see him getting much better than his last score of 20. He got 21.

Lisa Rinna just did a cha-cha. She looked good. The way the scoring is going this week I'll give her a 26. I could do without all the open choreography and the funny arrangement of "Material Girl", but it works I guess. They got a 27.

Now they're talking to Lisa, and she's concerned that this could be her last week. Not if there's any justice, babe. She's certainly better than Kelly Monaco was, and Kelly won the first edition of the show.

Now Drew Lachey is back at it. He's doing well. He doesn't quite have the hips yet, but he's getting there. I'm guessing a 27. It ought to be enough to keep him in the show. Wow, they gave him a 29, which is enough to tie him with Stacy.

Of course we won't know until tomorrow who lives and who dies. Jerry Rice should be gone, but the audience could foul things up.