Melissa Rycroft, Gilles Marini, Shawn Johnson
Sixty-eight percent of TVGuide.com voters believe that Shawn Johnson will take the Season 8 Dancing with the Stars crown. But to hear the Dancing cast tell it, it's really anybody's game at this point.
"I think this season it's more of a toss-up than any other one," pro Chelsie Hightower, who was eliminated in fourth place with partner Ty Murray, tells TVGuide.com. "I honestly don't know who will win. Shawn and Melissa [Rycroft] have really big fan bases and for whatever they lack, I'm sure Gilles [Marini] gets a lot of women's votes."
The final three will face off on Monday with three dances — literally, in one case. In a Dancing first, the pairs will dance back-to-back-to-back in a Paso Doble Punch-Out featuring the same song. "It will really show everybody's uniqueness and their strengths because it'll use the same music," Johnson tells TVGuide.com.
So what are their strengths? Let's size them up.
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Chelsie Hightower, Ty Murray
Ty Murray's Cinderella story came to an end on Dancing with the Stars this week after getting booted one week shy of the finale. The bright side? He stayed 10 weeks longer than most expected him to, out-charming, outwitting, but not necessarily out-dancing, his competition. "I think [partner Chelsie Hightower and I] probably brought a bigger fan base than what people expected to start with," he tells TVGuide.com. That fan base unexpectedly propelled them past Lil' Kim — but that didn't surprise them at all. See what else the twosome has to say about their long run, what their finale dance will be and if that rumba solo for Jewel paid dividends.
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Ty Murray
Ty Murray got an eyeful of a microphone pack — and then blood.
The Dancing with the Stars contestant and seven-time rodeo champ was hit in the eye with partner Chelsie Hightower's mic pack during rehearsals Wednesday, but he says the injury's not ...
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Chelsie Hightower and Ty Murray
After scoring a 14 on the first week of Dancing with the Stars, rodeo star (and Jewel's husband) Ty Murray didn't seem like he'll be long for the show. But like any good bull rider, he's holding on for as long as he can. "I think the nature of being a bull rider and being a cowboy is you don't give up that easily," Murray tells TVGuide.com. "It's still really hard for me, but we just keep trying to put in the work." Murray and his partner, Chelsie Hightower, have the Lindy Hop next — a new dance on the show — and took time out to chat about their progress and why Hightower may join Murray and Jewel on the farm one day.
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William Petersen and Nicole Sullivan by Michael Yarish/CBS
Cheers to CSI for taking a ride on the wild side. CBS' drama took a detour off the Sin City strip to probe a string of murders related to the Las Vegas rodeo. The episode rounded up a posse of rootin'-tootin' guests, including Jewel (singing the National Anthem), real-life cowboy-toy Ty Murray, outlaw offspring Shooter Jennings and sitcom vets Nicole Sullivan and Julie Brown. Not to mention a barroom full of catfighting cowgirls. Plus, the script was educational: Who knew there was such a thing as "semen rustling"? Yee-haw!• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on Project Runway, Jon Stewart and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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Fast Cars & Superstars: The Young Guns Celebrity Race
On a steamy March afternoon, former NASCAR Nextel Cup champ Kurt Busch sits in a stock car at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, revving his engine in anticipation. The question hangs in the air: Which of three nearby celebrities, decked out in racing jumpsuits, will be the first to gulp back fear, strap into the makeshift passenger seat, and join Busch in a three-lap, cement-wall-kissing 190 mph run around the famed 1.5-mile track?
Laird Hamilton, best known for riding 70-foot waves, finally stands and pulls a helmet over his long blond locks. "Oh, sure," Hamilton calls to NFL legend John Elway and tennis champ Serena Williams with a grin. "Get the stupid surfer to do it."
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William Shatner, Jewel and Serena Williams put the pedal to the metal.
Various-grade celebrities have already attempted dancing and skating on reality TV shows, and now a fresh slate of would-be winners will turn to driving, mashing the gas for an ABC series set to air this summer.A dozen stars have signed on for the Fast Cars & Superstars—Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, with would-be leadfoots including athletes (2007 Australian Open tennis champion Serena Williams, bullrider Ty Murray, WWE champ John Cena) and performers (singer Jewel, actors William Shatner and
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