Lysacek shines on 'DWTS' but falls out of first place
Naperville's Evan Lysacek drew rave reviews again, but for the first time in three weeks did not land atop the leaderboard on "Dancing With The Stars" Monday night.
That honor went to Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer for Pussycat Dolls, who drew a "best dance of the season" from the unusually cordial Judge Len Goodman. She and partner Derek Hough scored 29 out of 30 points for their tango to the tune "Pretty Woman.'"
It was "Movie Night" on DWTS, and Lysacek and partner Anna Trebunskaya drew inspiration from the movie "Armageddon." They performed a rumba to "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing."
Goodman was the most effusive of the judges. "It had artistry. It had musicality. Wonderful fluidity through your arms; you got the hip action going. I thought you did a great job," he said.
Bruno Tonioli said the Vancouver Olympic gold medalist figure skater was "just exquisite. Your spins are absolutely spot on."
So far, Lysacek has battled through two broken toes. This week's challenge was the start of the "Stars on Ice" skating tour. Jumping from one sport to the other wasn't too bad, Lysacek said, noting that he put a rumba move in his ice skating routine.
Lysacek and Scherzinger should easily be safe from elimination tonight when the public votes another couple off the show.
Kate Gosselin had her eight kids visit this week, and said she put all of her energy into them instead of her dance routine. It showed; judges gave her a combined 15 out of 30 points.
Also possibly on the bubble are comedian Niecy Nash and Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver. who each drew only 28 points from the judges.
Awkward moment of the night came when host Brooke Burke grilled ESPN reporter Erin Andrews about her rumored off-screen romance with partner Maks Chmerkovskiy.
"Is there love in the air or is it not in the air here on 'Dancing With The Stars' Romance 101?" Burke cooed.
"Not until he gets me a ring like Chad got Cheryl," Andrews replied, referring to yet another possible DWTS fling between Ochocinco and partner Cheryl Burke.