Natalie Coughlin rocks the Rumba

Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin keeps on rolling at Dancing with the Stars. This week, she and partner Alec put together a steamy Rumba en route to a total score of 26. In addition to being a fan favorite, she’s become one of Carrie Ann Inaba’s picks as well.

Here’s Natalie’s segment from this week’s show for those who missed it:

Throughout the season, Natalie will be sharing her DWTS experience through her Twitter (@nataliecoughlin) and Facebook pages so be sure to follow along and VOTE for Natalie all season long.

Natalie and Alec’s official voting number is 1-800-VOTE4-13 or 1-800-868-3413. You may also vote online at www.abc.com starting from the opening of each episode on the East Coast and until 12:00 Noon, ET the following day.

Ouch: Misty May Treanor hurts ankle; out of DWTS?

October 6, 2008 – According to Access Hollywood, Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor’s “Dancing With the Stars” status is in question after suffering an injury on Friday.

“Misty May-Treanor sustained an injury on Friday and received immediate medical attention,” show producers told Access on Saturday in a statement. “Despite previous reports, she did not break her ankle. She is resting comfortably at home. Doctors will reevaluate her condition on Monday and determine the outcome of her participation on the show.”

Star Magazine reported that Misty broke her ankle cutting her out of the Dancing With the Stars competition completely.

The two-time beach volleyball Olympic champion suffered the injury on Friday afternoon when rehearsing with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy at a dance studio in L.A.

She entered Cedars Sinai hospital in the late afternoon and was given a cast.

“I had problems with this ankle in March so I knew it was delicate, but I just can’t believe it broke and I am off the show now!” a devastated Misty told Star.

Since two Olympic gold medalists had previously won “Dancing with the Stars” Misty was an obvious pick to succeed this season.

She may not have been as fleet on the ballroom as she had been on the beach but she did have some consistent scores. Now her involvement in the show is up in the air.

On the official Dancing With The Stars message board, rumors are running rampant.  Some posters suggest Misty is definitely out of the competition, but ABC doesn’t want to confirm it, because they want people tuning in to the show tonight to find out.

Who will take Misty’s place if she is forced out of the competition?  One rumor suggests that Misty’s volleyball partner Kerri Walsh will be stepping in to dance with Maks though that seems unlikely.

Another rumor is that Kim Kardashian will be returning to the competition. If Kardashian does return, will she partner with Mark Ballas or switch partners and dance with Maksim Chmerkovskiy instead?

Guess we’ll just have to tune in to find out.  Whatever happens, we wish Misty a speedy recovery!

(Editors Note: Official word is that Misty ruptured her Achilles tendon rehearsing the jive (double ouch) and will need surgery and about nine months of physical rehabilitation.)

DWTS: Season 7 welcomes Misty May Treanor

August 25, 2008 – Now that the Olympics are over, let’s get back to REAL life. 

DWTS’ seventh season airs on Sept. 22 and what’s on everyones mind is:  Who will shake a leg on the award-winning reality show in hopes of winning the coveted mirror ball trophy?

Announced today, here’s a rundown of the Dancing with the Stars contestants and their professional dance partners:

• Singer Toni Braxton, 40, and Alec Mazo
• Singer Lance Bass, 29, and Lacey Schwimmer
• Actor Ted McGinley, 50, and Inna Brayer
• Actress Cloris Leachman,82, and Corky Ballas
• Warren Sapp, 35, and Kym Johnson
• Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, 31, and Karina Smirnoff
• TV personality Kim Kardashian, 27, and Mark Ballas
• Track star Maurice Green, 34, and Cheryl Burke
• Beach volleyball star Misty May-Treanor, 31, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
• Soap star Susan Lucci,61, and Tony Dovolani
• Comedian Jeffrey Ross, 42, and Edyta Sliwinska
• Actor Cody Linley, 18, and two-time DWTS champ Julianne Hough
• TV personality Brooke Burke, 36, and Derek Hough

Our fave? Beach volleyball player and recent Olympic gold medal winner Misty May-Treanor!  She’ll go straight from Beijing where she and Kerri Walsh won their second gold medal in beach volleyball to the DWTS comp where we hope she’ll follow in the footsteps of another Olympian – last year’s winner Kristi Yamaguchi.

Ladies Night at DWTS

May 21, 2008 – After four consecutive male winners on “Dancing With the Stars,” it was finally ladies’ night.

Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi was named the new “Dancing” champ on the show’s season finale, becoming the first woman to win the ABC dance-off since its inaugural season. The Olympic gold medalist came into the final contest Tuesday with a perfect score and bested Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente to claim the championship.

“This is definitely for all those women out there to continue to be strong,” she said after the show, hoisting the prize above her head.

The Olympic gold medalist was clearly the most talented dancer on this season’s competition, regularly landing atop the judges’ scoreboard.

Yamaguchi’s athletic background helped make her a winner, said judge Carrie Ann Inaba, because athletes know how to channel criticism into competition.

Pretty? Definitely! Tough? You bet! Yamaguchi’s got it all – including the mirrorball trophy.

You go, girl!

Perfect 10: Kristi Yamaguchi rocks the finale

Will we finally see a woman win DWTS? Kristi really rocks her freestyle routine. Check it out:

Monica missteps on ‘Dancing with the Stars’

March 26, 2008 – Tennis champ Monica Seles (along with magician Penn Jillette) got the boot on Dancing With the Stars’ double elimination episode last night. Obviously a great serve isn’t enough to win a DWTS Championship.

An obvious newcomer to dancing (god bless her), Seles, who recently announced her retirement from professional tennis, never seemed comfortable on the ballroom floor.  Still, she said she enjoyed the experience because she never got to go to prom and this made up for it. After her elimination Seles, 34 (who had only earned a combined score of 30 for two dances in two weeks), told Usmagazine.com  she’ll hit the floor again “only after my blisters heal first!”

We love Monica and truly admire her game but now that’s she out of the competition, we’re placing our bets on figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

Can Monica Seles serve an ace on Dancing with the Stars?

March 17, 2008 – When she was 16 and the youngest-ever French Open tennis champion, Monica Seles probably never imagined she would one day be dancing  in a TV reality show.

Fast-forward 18 years, and Seles is one of six women and six men vying for the dance crown on the newest season of Dancing with the Stars, which bows tonight on ABC. In the interim, the tennis champ won nine grand slam singles titles and was the top-ranked player in the world so she obviously knows a little something about competition.

In addition to Seles (partnered with Jonathon Roberts), the latest DWTS field includes a Tony winner (Marissa Jaret Winokur), an Academy Award winner (Marlee Matlin), an Olympic gold medal winner (Kristi Yamaguchi), and NFL’s Man of the Year (Jason Taylor who will do his best to tackle the show).

Who will win? It’s never a good idea to bet against any of the contenders. Then again, no one’s going to file a protest or demand a recount. The show is all in good fun. If watching the weekly dance-off isn’t enough for you, follow Seles’ progress in a series of short segments that will appear on the Tennis Channel.

Monica Seles & Kristi Yamaguchi are “Dancing with the Stars”

It’s back!!

ABC announced the celebrity lineup for next month’s sixth cycle of Dancing With the Stars. The contestants will include: actress-model Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie, Love Actually), who has been paired with partner Derek Hough; Steve Guttenberg, dancing with Anna Trebunskaya; Priscilla Presley, with Louis van Amstel; radio jock-comedian Adam Carolla, with Julianne Hough; actress Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God), with newcomer Fabian Sanchez; recently retired tennis champ Monica Seles, with Jonathan Roberts; illusionist Penn Jillette, with Kym Johnson; R&B singer Mario, with Karina Smirnoff; this year’s NFL defensive player of the year, the Miami Dolphins’ Jason Taylor, with Edyta Sliwinska; Tony Award-winner Marissa Jaret Winokur (Hairspray), with Tony Dovolani; Olympic gold medalist figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, with Mark Ballas; and Chilean actor Cristián de la Fuente (CSI: Miami), with Cheryl Burke.

Dancing returns on March 17 at 8 p.m. for the first of a two-night premiere. Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris will host and Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba will judge.

Boxer is Champ on Dancing with the Stars

DWTS is the hottest, most important thing on TV. Well maybe not THE most important. But Laila Ali, the last remaining female contestant on Season 4 was Pretty Tough and we stayed tuned.

It’s no surprise that Laila float like a butterfly on the dance competition show. The undefeated boxing champ (and daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali) used her athleticism and fitness to conquer dances including the mambo and rumba. Along with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy she garnered high marks from the contest’s judges and won viewer approval.

Ali made it to the final three and was definitely our choice to win the whole thing. In the end, another athlete, Olympian Apolo Ohno, took home the big prize. Ali may not have won the comp, but she won America’s hearts. [+]

Laila Ali on Dancing with the Stars