Injuries With The Stars

When Ty Murray signed on to do Dancing With The Stars, it’s doubtful that he thought to bring his Kevlar vest. Yet with the injured list lengthening, ballroom dancing is turning out to be more dangerous than facing a 2000 pound bull. During yesterday’s rehearsals, celebrity dancer Steve-O was added to the injured list after he performed a front-flip at the end of the routine, landed on the dance floor flat on his back, and crushed his mic pack. His partner Lacey Schwimmer explained that his back was iced at that point, but during a later rehearsal his back struck her hip bone and the immediate swelling sent him to the emergency room. Missing the live show, Steve-O and Lacey were judged via previously recorded rehearsal footage. We’ll find out tonight if Steve-O will dance again or if he will be forced to withdraw. If he does withdraw, that will be the first out, and the remaining twelve couples will dance again. So it’s only the second episode and already this season there’s been a knee injury, broken tibia's, back injury, and potential problems from Steve Wozniak’s crushed foot and Gilles separated shoulder. At this rate, the mirror ball trophy may end up being given to the couple that can survive the longest!

So far, there have been no injuries for Chulianne. What there has been is the lubrication of an ol’ country boys hips! Julianne Hough taught sexy, and Chuck Wicks brought sexy. If voting for Country Weekly’s Hottest Bachelor wasn’t already over, Chuck would have won the vote hands down after last night’s steamy romp across the floor with Julianne. The judges weren’t impressed though, accusing Chuck of not dancing enough and leaving Julianne to do all the work. True enough, it was more of a mixture of Latin dances than a true Salsa, but Chuck did his share of gyrating. It should be plenty to keep Chulianne in the game for awhile. Also last night, Ty Murray finally relaxed and danced. He missed a few steps, but the judges complemented his frame and rewarded an improved performance with improved scores. There were other performances which were more worthy of a chop with the first ax. If it’s not Steve-O, it’s still likely Holly and Dmitry. On the plus side, it’s obvious who the judges have already pegged as leaders. Melissa and Tony earned the first two nines of the night; it was only head judge Len Goodman who bestowed a measly eight, despite admitting to gyrating in his chair. What would it take to get a nine out of Len? A fairly clean Quickstep from early favorites Gilles and Cheryl. Results are tonight.

Who’s the next reality TV star? Likely James Otto, if he can sell his show. James has created his own show inspired by his cross-country travels, Desperotto. James says that he got the idea when he realized he was seeing more of the inside of his tour bus than of the great sites across the country. So now at each tour stop, he hops on his motorcycle with his video camera and heads out to shoot footage and learn about the places he plays.

So who’s your pleasure? Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban or Brad Paisley? Again this year, the Academy of Country Music is letting fans vote for Entertainer of the Year by logging onto the ACM website. Voting runs through the last hour of the show, which airs live on CBS, April 5.