Confession & Prediction

Confession: I love Dancing With the Stars. I used to dance - in a "pre-professional" company, if that impresses you - and I love dancing shows. I tivo'd So You Think You Can Dance, but missed the final episode because Mr hated it with a passion, we only have one tv, and there was nothing tivo'd that he could watch while it taped. Whatever, I'm over it.

I haven't been watching Dancing with the Stars because it's on Monday nights and we bowl on Mondays. I don't care for the elimination show because I can just find out online the next day without having to sit through their crap.

Anyway, I was curious about Ian Ziering* and, after hearing about Heather Mills' (honestly? Why was she on this show? She's not a star. She married and divorced Paul McCartney. She isn't a "star." I'm so glad shes' gone.) fall, I wanted to see some of it. So I watched the episode on ABC's website. Now, I'm hooked.

I'm in the middle of this week's episode and I have to say, Apolo Anton Ohno (if you go to the bio, tell me - is it just me, or does he look like he could be one of the Lawrence brothers? Maybe a half-brother?) is totally going to win this thing. That guy is smooth. He's not the best dancer ever, but he really is head and shoulders above the rest of the competition (though only in the metaphorical sense. Dude is short).

Ian is teamed with two-time winner Cheryl, so he's going to get far. Plus, he works really hard. Ultimately, though, he's very stiff. He's trying so hard that he never relaxes and just dances. He's doing everything, but there's not enough breath, if that makes sense.

The other potential is Laila Ali. She's got a lot going against her because women traditionally don't do well in this competition. They're the focus of any partner dancing - it's the nature of ballroom - and so, though the professional partner definitely raises their game, but the pro can't carry a woman the way a female pro can carry a man. However, Laila is awesome. She has the moves and she's graceful, which is tough when you're dealing with complicated footwork. She learns the moves and, unlike Ian, internalizes them and then dances, emotes. But it is going to be tough. I'm really surprised with how good she is. She's a boxer, so I wouldn't expect her to be so smooth. Boxing is so powerful - short bursts of strength. I know there's footwork involved, but I just didn't expect her to do so well.

So, that's my prediction: Apolo v. either Ian or Laila. And Apolo is totally going to win.

*note: I have no idea how to spell these people's names, and I'm not looking it up.
Edited: Ok. I went back and fixed their names. Plus, I added links to their bios.