Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
How tough is Kristi Yamaguchi? Consider this: While all the cameras this week were focused on Derek Hough's neck injury, Yamaguchi has spent the past two days icing and wrapping a swollen right ankle that collapsed during rehearsals on Saturday. "[We were practicing] those little jumps we do at the end of the routine," she says, "and I landed on the side of my foot and the ankle just rolled." Remember, the female dancers are practicing in heels — in Yamaguchi's case, two-and-a-half-inch ankle straps. The incident scared her partner, Mark Ballas, and put a halt to rehearsals. "I was a bit worried because I've been really tough on her this week and we were really going for it," says Ballas. "So we put ice on it, wrapped it and went to lunch."So she wasn't carted off to have X-rays done? "No," says Yamaguchi. "My ankles have always given me problems. And there's nothing [the doctors] can say except 'ibuprofen and ice.' You just work through it." Which makes Monday night's near-per...
read more
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
This season of Dancing with the Stars is shaping up to not so much be a race for first so much as a heated contest to emerge as the first runner-up. Kristi and Mark still command a huge lead, even as the field is whittled down. Jason and Edyta, who last time placed No. 2 in the TVGuide.com Power Rankings, this week dropped to the five-spot, while Shannon and Derek (perhaps benefiting from some sprained-neck sympathy votes?) claimed second-place status.Dancing with the Stars Power Rankings60.4% Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas8.9% Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough6.7% Cristián De La Fuente and Cheryl Burke6.2% Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez 5.9% Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska4.5% Mario and Karina Smirnoff3.7% Priscilla Presley and Louis Van Amstel3.5% Adam Carolla and Julianne Hough0.2% Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony DovolaniIs it time for Marissa's curtain call? And can anyone catch Kristi and Mark?
read more
Long story short — a gremlin got to the Top 9 Dancing with the Stars reader poll. So in the interest of fairness, please re-cast your vote now for the couple you think will emerge as this season's winner.The new Power Rankings will be posted Monday morning.
read more
Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
Weren't we just saying that Season 6 had no drama? Scratch that. On Tuesday morning, Derek Hough, Mark Ballas and Julianne Hough were rehearsing an up-tempo routine to Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head," when Derek threw his head back "and I just felt my neck go," he says. "It crunched and popped and I said, 'I need some help.'"Paramedics rushed in to stabilize Derek's neck with a brace, put him on a gurney and drove him to the hospital where it was determined that he had strained a neck muscle, much like whiplash. The doctors gave him a neck brace and advised him to go to bed for three days "to get the weight off my neck," says Derek, who plans to forge ahead and dance next week. "We were really worried because Derek isn't one to complain," says his little sister, Julianne. "And so when we saw him run off the dance floor, we were like, 'uh, oh.'" Mark's father, Corky Ballas, was in the ballroom and witnessed the whole thing. "The studio was really cold this morning," s...
read more
The following contains spoiler information about this Tuesday night's Dancing with the Stars results show.Just as everyone was deeming this season of Dancing drama-free, pro shuffler Derek Hough was hospitalized with a neck sprain and one of this round's most amiable participants, Steve Guttenberg, got shown the door. Taking into account these latest developments, who is your current pick to emerge as Dancing champ? Vote now.
read more
Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
Dancing pro Derek Hough injured his neck during rehearsals on Tuesday. By several accounts, the 22-year-old was carried out of the studio on a stretcher and then taken to the hospital, as a precautionary measure.Hough's neck sprain happened during practice with his sister, Julianne, and Mark Ballas. While the 22-year-old reportedly wasn't planning to compete in Tuesday's competition, ET says that Hough — clearly a tough professional — will now appear. Now that the show will go on with him on the dance floor, his partner, Shannon Elizabeth, can let out a sigh of relief... not to mention start warming up. — Anna Dimond
read more
Tony Dovolani by Bob D'Amico/ABC
Tony Dovolani's waiting for more than his scores this season on Dancing with the Stars. The pro and his wife, Lina, are expecting twins, People says. The new babies will be No. 2 and 3 for the couple, who have a 2-year-old daughter together."Kids are a blessing and give your life purpose and meaning," he says, noting, too, that "everything is great" with Lina's pregnancy, now in its fourth month.Dovolani's partner this season, Marissa Jaret Winokur, is also expecting a new addition to her family, via a surrogate, giving the two more in common than their dance steps. "I’m thinking about my babies and she’s thinking about her baby," he confides. "Now, if somebody doesn't point their toe, it's no longer as important as it used to be." — Anna Dimond
read more
Dancing with the Stars by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
Right about now, the producers of Dancing with the Stars must be thinking, "I wish we had a little more of the life-and-death drama that surrounded Season 5." Marie Osmond fainting, Marie and Jane Seymour carrying on despite family crises, Jane and Mark Ballas being carted off to the emergency room for food poisoning and a dislocated shoulder.... There will never be a cycle like Season 5. Instead, what we have is the calm sense that stars are working really hard to dance really well, and then — given permission to let loose by comedians Penn Jillette and Adam Carolla — getting loopy with the judges. Take Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough, sitting on the floor (along with host Tom Bergeron) to catch their breath as they get their scores. "I had to sit down," Elizabeth shares after her jive. Her secret goal in life is to play Wonder Woman, but right now, she wouldn't have the energy. "I was so tired and so happy that it was over. I just wanted to get through this dance so...
read more
Dancing With The Stars by Kelsey McNeal/WireImage.com
Things on the Dancing with the Stars dance floor get hot, but is the romantic beat going after-hours for Mario and partner Karina Smirnoff? The NY Post is reporting that the pair were seen smooching (!!) outside the Four Seasons hotel in L.A. A source says, "They were making out by the valet with their hands all over each other, and he was whispering in her ear. It was around midnight, so there weren't many people around."Smirnoff, who is publicly dating her former DWTS partner, Mario Lopez, denies the rumor. Her rep says that the two "have a completely professional relationship." Mario's rep also denied the claim, telling Us, "This did not happen." Mario, however, has hinted at his attraction to Karina, as well as at his view of Dancing as a potential hotbed for intra-cast hooking up. In this Mega Minute video, he talks about his fondness for Karina (at the 1:30 mark) as well as DWTS' propensity for backstage hookups (2:10):What do you think of the rumor? Is Mario and Karina's on-c...
read more
Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas by Kelsey McNeal/ABC
Uh-oh, is this season's Dancing with the Stars a one-horse race already? Following the first (double) elimination, TVGuide.com polled readers on their favorites to win the disco ball this time around. And again, as she did during the first Power Ranking, Kristi and Mark are looking golden, skating past the rest with a dominating 72.4 percent of the vote. Only one other couple, Jason and Edyta, amassed double digits!Is it simply too soon to see who might gain momentum and challenge the Olympian for the title? Or perhaps Kristi and partner Mark Ballas have peaked too soon, and are subject to David Archuleta-style burnout? As you think about and discuss that, here is the complete chart:72.4% Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas12.1% Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska4.7% Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough2.8% Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez2.3% Mario and Karina Smirnoff1.9% Adam Carolla and Julianne Hough1.4% Steve Guttenberg and Anna Trebunskaya1.4% Priscilla Presley and Louis van Amstel0.5...
read more
