Last night’s final on Dancing with the Stars was what I expected. The judges were gushing over Nicole Scherzinger and singing praises to Evan Lysacek and Erin Andrews. Unfortunately, Erin was eliminated and the final competition was between Nicole and Evan. Once again, the judges clearly showed their favorite star and at the end, Nicole Scherzinger and Derek won the Mirror Ball Trophy. I think this is Derek’s second or third trophy in ten years. He is a great choreographer and a great teacher.

I knew that the judges clearly had their favorite in Nicole when Evan took second place in the Argentine Tango and only 28 points for his Quick Step. Nicole was ranked number 1 in the Tango and received a perfect score of 30 for her Jive. I thought it was high energy and lots of fun but I didn’t think it had a “wow” effect for me. Congratulations Nicole and Derek, a new season starts again on September 20^th.

The college dance off was fun to watch and I agree with the judges that Utah Valley University performed the best. They were also awarded a College Mirror Ball Trophy.

Did you see the sexy dances of Niecy Nash and Pamela Anderson? Pamela was lowered onto the dance floor on a swing and was wriggling around on the floor with three guy dancers. Once again, I don’t know if Pamela was acting but at the end of the dance she seemed really spacey – like she was drunk.  Most of the stars of the series performed short dances but the one that was just awful was Kate Gosselin. She said that she and Tony wanted to have some fun with the dance. I thought it was lame. Well maybe she had fun but it wasn’t fun to watch. She of course pitched her upcoming series and I won’t watch it.

Maybe next season the judges will keep their favoritism to themselves and judge the stars on their merits.

Until later,

Linda

Last night’s performances were fantastic. But I see who the judges really like. The gave both the ladies high scores for their dances and claimed they weren’t all that impressed with Evan’s performances.

I disagree. What a great dancer Evan is. He has grace, style and is very entertaining. His technical work is excellent and he has a good connection with Anna. So why did the judges score Evan lower than the ladies? Because they want a woman to win this season. After all they had more ladies dancing than guys. The odds are just there.

Erin Andrews has come a long way in Dancing with the Stars. She is enjoying her dance performances and looks terrific. But, she just doesn’t have that entertainer appeal to me.

 Nicole Scherzinger is also awesome. Derek has choreographed some excellent dances but they seem too theatrical and not technical enough for me. She has the highest scores of any stars in all the seasons of Dancing with the Stars. A clear indication that the judges love her, but I guess I’m just too critical and demand more from her.

So who will win tonight? My heart wants Evan to win but my mind says probably Nicole will win. We’ll just have to see what the viewers think about all of this. Their votes count for only half the scores from last night’s dances. There are two more dances tonight with only the judges’ votes counting.

Until later,

Linda

Tonight’s show clearly showed that all the stars were nervous. I’m glad they announced that Evan Lysacek will be dancing in the finals next week. He and Anna performed their Paso Dobla and it was great. Nicole Scherzinger also will be in the finals. This was a no brainer. I think everyone knew this. What a great final it will be showcasing a showdown of superstars.

But who else was going to join them. As I said in my earlier blog, I wanted to see Erin Andrews return to give the final a twist. I got my wish and she is the third star to be in the final.

Chad Ochocinco was eliminated. He just didn’t quite have the same type of polish that Erin has. In next week’s final, the stars will be dancing four dances. A big job but I know all of them can do it. Good luck to them all.

I was shocked to see Miley Cirrus. I know she is all grown up, but oh my gosh, she looked too grown up in a sort of way you would dress up a ten year old for Halloween. Too much makeup for my taste and the dancers around her were dressed weirdly, like characters from Narnia. Was her song, “Can’t be Tamed” a preview of what we might expect from her in the future?

I really enjoyed seeing the group college dancers from Utah Valley University perform the Cha Cha Cha. They did great! Hope the make it into the finals next week.

Until later,

Linda

What an exciting and fantastic semi-final on Dancing with the Stars. All the stars brought it all to the dance floor and were excellent. The most improved was Chad Ochocinco with this Waltz. His Samba left much to be desired. His overall score was 52 out of 60.

Erin Andrews keeps amazing me with her dancing skills. I loved her Viennese Waltz although she was a bit shaky. She redeemed herself with the Paso Dobla. It was powerful and great to watch. Her overall score was 56.

The two very best dancers in this competition went head to head. Evan Lysachek and Nicole Scherzinger. Nicole was fantastic dancing the Argentine Tango, despite that Derek’s neck was hurting they did a great job and earned 30 points. Her Tango made Carrie Anne cry because she thought it so beautiful. Hey Carrie Anne, there’s no crying from the judges on Dancing with the Stars! Nicole’s second dance the Cha Cha Cha was hot, hot, hot! She’s a great dancer and competitor. Her overall score was 59.

Tonight Evan Lysacek brought out  his personality, his emotions and feelings came out in both of his dances. His Fox Trot was fun to watch. He was smiling and enjoying himself, he must have been thinking about his nephew, what a cutey he is. His Paso Dobla was tremendous. He was powerful, artistic and Anna brought out the very best in him. I loved the vampire idea with this dance and it worked marvelously. His overall score was also 59.

Now the choice of who will be the final competitors next week. Chad’s dancing has come a long way but not enough to make the finals. Erin must stay; she is getting better and better each week and can compete with the Nicole and Evan.

Until later,

Linda

Have you ever wanted to give your Congressman a piece of your mind? Now is the time to tell them to stop spending so much of our money. At You Cut  , the brainchild of Republican Congressman Whip Eric Cantor,  gives you the opportunity to let your Congressman know that you mean business.

YouCut is a first-of-its-kind project designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. On the web site, you get to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact.

Each week new spending cuts will be revealed where you can vote on the ones you feel need to be brought up on the House floor to vote on cutting funding. Take for instance the latest HUD Program for Doctoral Dissertations. We have financed research on media strategies for housing policy and the use of eminent domain for urban redevelopment. The government, which means you and me as taxpayers, fund stipends for those who want to writer their dissertation on certain government preferred policies. Approximately, $200,000 in grants are awarded per year. By terminating this program, we can save at least $1 million over five years.

If that doesn’t make your blood boil, how about cutting subsidizing Union activities. Some federal employees spend up to 100% of their workweek paid by us the taxpayers doing work for the union. Federal employees unions collect millions in revenue each year and spend significant amounts on political activities and lobbying. We subsidize this. In 2008, the Federal government spent $120 million paying employees for their time spend working on union activities. If the Congress would cut this program, over five years we could save a minimum of $600 million.

When you add up a million here and a million there, this would save us a lot of money of the years. Check out You Cut site  and let your voice be heard.

Until later,

Linda

Last night’s Results Show was fun to watch. The dance group of college students was awesome and I enjoyed watching them. The Kenny Mayn, Len Goodwin and Jerry Rice segments had their funny moments. So why was Jerry Rice wearing that blonde wig? He seemed to have more humor than Mayn did. I liked it when he said that not all the jewelry that Chad Ochocinco was giving Cheryl compared to his three Super Bowl rings.

Unfortunately, Niecy Nash was eliminated last night. I will miss her humor and her showing off her “jiggly” parts. She was a fun star to watch. No real drama with her, she just worked hard and did her dancing thing.

Next week is the semi-finals. Chad Ochocinco (I don’t understand why he made it this far), Erin Andrews (you go girl, keep working hard), Nicole Scherzinger (she better watch out, now the real competition begins) and Evan Lysacek (my guy that is going to ramp up his dancing and sprint to the finish) will be competing next week.

Good luck to all.

Until later,

Linda

Last night’s Dancing with the Stars showed that all the stars were ready to compete. However, I think that there are at least three stars that should be in next week’s semi-finals. I know that four are going to the semi-finals but three stars have the potential to make the finals a real competition.

My pick is Evan Lysacek, Nicole Scherzinger and Erin Andrews. As for Chad Ochocinco and Niecy Nash they are entertaining to watch but just don’t have what it takes to win the Mirror Ball Trophy.

The dances last night showed that some of the pros are excellent teachers. Cheryl has done a great job with Chad but he still doesn’t have the pizzazz to go all the way. Niecy is a great performer and Louis has done a good job, but she lacks a lot of the technicality needed. I like her a lot, but she’s not a competitor for the final.

What can I say about Evan, Nicole and Erin? They have mastered the dances by showing that they have the ability to do the technical as well as the performance aspect of each dance. Sure, Evan doesn’t show much emotion. Many competitive ice skaters as well as gymnast have been taught not to show emotion. But you can’t fault Evan for that. He is a master in his dancing. Erin has come a long way and I really love watching her dance with Maks. Nicole is very talented and Derek has put together some great routines.

My prediction of who will be eliminated – it’s a toss up between Chad and NIecy. I would rather see Chad eliminated. Let’s give Niecy one more week to entertain us.

Until later,

Linda

The bottom three stars were Erin Andrews, Chad Ochocinco and Pamela Anderson. At the end of the night, Pamela Anderson was eliminated. This may be good because she suffered an injury and couldn’t perform in the group Cha Cha Cha encore. Tom Bergeron said that having Pamela Anderson on the show made him feel like he was twelve again. Come on, Tom, you are old enough to be her father.

I felt bad for Erin Andrews being in the bottom two. I think she danced fantastically. Hope she stays on for the last three weeks of the show.

Niecy Nash was saved and she really believes that she will win the Mirror Ball Trophy. She said that she would do anything to win the trophy even if it takes a wardrobe malfunction or dance naked. OMG that would be a site!  Hope she doesn’t go that far.

I don’t know what is keeping Chad Ochocinco on the show? But he, Erin Andrews, Evan Lysacek, Nicole Scherzinger and Niecy Nash are left to dance two dances next week. This is when we’ll see who are the real contenders.

Great news! JulieAnne Hough is returning next season. I guess her acting and singer career didn’t take off like she expected. So now she is going to return to what she does best – dance.

Until later,

Linda

Last night, all the stars came with their “A” game on. Their performances were wonderful to watch and my guy, Evan Lysacek, received a perfect score of 30 for his Argentine Tango. He was awesome!  Nicole Scherzinger received the next highest score of 27 for her Waltz. She danced the Waltz flawlessly and it was fun to watch.

I’m still not sure about Chad Ochocinco. His Waltz was good, but he’s no Jerry Rice! The judges liked it and scored him a 25. What’s up with all of these gifts he is giving Cheryl? Last night was her birthday and Chad gave her a diamond necklace. He claims that the gifts are for her being the best dance teacher around. Hmmm.

How about Erin Andrews’ Quick Step! That was fun and it certainly was her best dance. She received a 27.

Niecy Nash’s Quick Step was cute but it seemed a bit too slow. Her footwork was good and the judges gave her 25. Pamela Anderson’s Waltz was nice but I did see that her head position wasn’t the best. However, the judges liked it and scored her with a 24.

The team Cha Cha was fun to watch. Honestly, I like watching a team dance a Pasa Dobla better. Team Ga Ga with Nicole, Chad and Pamela received the highest score of 27. Team Madonna with Evan, Erin and Niecy received a score of 24. That seems right.

Who will leave tonite? Quite frankly, I don’t know. It is going to be tough to pick out just one star to leave. They all performed fantastically last night.

The three stars with the lowest scores are Chad Ochocinco, Niecy Nash and Pamela Anderson. Take your pick because one of them is going home. Maybe Pamela??

 Until later,

Linda

Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars gets twice as tough. The six remaining couples will be performing two dances.

Each couple will perform a dance they’ve not yet done so far. It can be a Quickstep, the Viennese Waltz, or the Argentine Tango. After that, they will be in two teams competing in the Ch Cha Challenge.

The first team called Team GaGa will be Pamela Anderson, Chad Ochocinco and Nicole Scherzinger dancing to Lady GaGa’s song, “Telephone.”

The other team called Team Madonna will be Evan Lysacek, Niecy Nash and Erin Andrews dancing to Madonna’s song, “Holiday.”

Should be fun to watch and hard to score. Maybe the judges will be in a good mood this week and score the stars better than last week.

Until later,

Linda