Hines Ward scores, takes home mirror ball trophy on 'Dancing with the Stars'

It's all over but cleaning up the tons of confetti on the dance floor of "Dancing with the Stars" Season 12, and by winning it all, Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward, with his partner Kym Johnson, upheld the tradition of the dancing football star. Hines was the odds-on favorite to take home the trophy after weeks of outstanding dancing, along with showing a captivating smile and personality. And I have to say: I called it last week!!
If there was a shocker for the night, it was that Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas, tied with Hines and Kym atop the leaderboard, were eliminated and had to settle for third place. It just proves that DWTS is as much a personality contest as a dancing competition.
Kirstie Alley and Maks Chmerkovskiy did their level best to wow the judges and viewers with continued improvement in dancing, while Kirstie gained confidence, endurance and a new figure. I think that Maks was hoping to break into the circle of mirror ball winners after 10 years, but Hines and Kym became a team that was just too tough to beat. Hopefully, the rumors are wrong and he'll be back next season to show off his best moves -- and bare chest.The two-hour finale was just as bloated with commercials and padded with repeats and look-backs as ever, although there were a few surprises. Josh Groban's appearance to surprise Petra Nemcova with her favorite song as she waltzed with Dmitry Chaplin was one, and Chris Jericho's spot-on impression of over-the-top judge Bruno onioli was another. The audience was packed with stars of ABC shows, celebrities, including Sarah Palin, and family and friends of the contestants. All in all, it was exactly what we've come to expect on "Dancing with the Stars." Now, how many weeks is it until the next season starts in September?

American Idol' Finale: The Case For Lauren

We realize this is a futile effort. Everyone knows that Scotty McCreery, the clean-cut, mild mannered, country kid with the aw, shucks grin from Garner North Carolina, has this contest pretty much sewn up. And we’re not just talking about Tuesday night’s DialIdol results that has him leading with twice as many votes as Lauren Alaina. Let’s face it, he’s never been in the bottom three, and a source tells THR that earlier this month, Scotty led his fellow finalists by a country mile over the number two vote-getter that week. So Wednesday night’s result show should come as a surprise to, well, nobody.
Even so, this should not dissuade Lauren Alaina’s fans from harnessing their power and influence to put the Georgia peach in the winner’s column. There’s still time! But even beyond tonight’s four-hour window, we’d like to offer top five reasons why Lauren is the better choice for Season 10.
5) Lauren has versatility. Her range not only suits the country genre she so clearly loves, but it has pop undertones that would work very well with what we like to classify as “crossover” potential. Think: Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood.
4) Look at the Top 40 and the iTunes charts these days -- the biggest sellers of the past two years are female: Pink, Lady Gaga, Adele, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Rihanna, Beyonce, and, yes, Jennifer Lopez. Girls are huge sellers in multiple genres, or, in the words of Beyonce, “run the World.”
3) The top two bests-selling most beloved Idols? Women. The aforementioned Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, ‘natch. And can’t you just see Lauren fitting nicely into that coffee klatch?
2) Despite nearly losing her voice last night, Lauren soldiered on and did more than “work it out,” as Randy Jackson would say. She put heart, soul and every muscle she had into that performance Tuesdya night, showing true poise and professionalism. The show must go on, and it did. Some say Scotty is the more mature of the two. We say, who cares?
1) It has been far too long since a girl won American Idol. The last one was season 6’s Jordin Sparks who won in 2007 and, incidentally, has multiple singles still being played on the radio. No, the closest Idol had to a female winner was last year’s Crystal Bowersox.
Bottom line: Lauren has marketability and the most potential to strengthen the Idol brand by selling music, and isn’t that really what this exercise is all about?
As always, we welcome your thoughts, Idol Worshipers...