Dancing With The Stars Television Program

Eight hours of practice and an utter lack of common sense have brought me here, poised to descend 19 steep steps to the ballroom floor of "Dancing With the Stars." I lean heavily on a backstage railing, hyperventilating, and await the cue. Outwardly, I have undergone the transformation from entertainment reporter to salsa dancer, ready to perform before a live audience in strappy heels and a zebra dress with a plunging neckline and beaded fringe that sways with every teetering step.

Eight hours of practice and an utter lack of common sense have brought me here, poised to descend 19 steep steps to the ballroom floor of "Dancing With the Stars." I lean heavily on a backstage railing, hyperventilating, and await the cue. Outwardly, I have undergone the transformation from entertainment reporter to salsa dancer, ready to perform before a live audience in strappy heels and a zebra dress with a plunging neckline and beaded fringe that sways with every teetering step.

Kelly Monaco and John O'Hurley will return for a rematch of the "Dancing With the Stars" finale, ABC says. The encore performance, dubbed a "dance-off," will air Sept. 20, with a results show set for Sept. 22. Monaco, a 29-year-old actress from ABC's "General Hospital," and her professional dancing partner bested O'Hurley on the hit ballroom dancing competition show on July 6. O'Hurley is known for playing catalog king J. Peterman on NBC's "Seinfeld."

Can the onetime "Hammer" of the U.S. House of Representatives do a mean Texas two-step? In a move startling even by the outlandish standards of reality television, "Dancing With the Stars" announced Monday that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay -- a pugnacious politician under indictment for alleged money-laundering -- will be a contestant in the upcoming season. DeLay will join the likes of singer Macy Gray, actress Melissa Joan Hart and entertainer Donny Osmond on the ninth season of the ABC show, which premieres Sept.

The votes are in -- and John O'Hurley has bested Kelly Monaco to win the "Dancing With the Stars" title many thought he deserved in the first place. "I'm very rarely beyond words, and I am right now," O'Hurley said after the results were announced Thursday on the ABC show. In a rematch, O'Hurley and his professional dancing partner, Charlotte Jorgensen, bested Monaco and her partner, Alec Mazo.

Stepping in: John Ratzenberger, who played Cliff Clavin on "Cheers," will replace Vincent Pastore as a contestant on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." Pastore, who played a mobster on HBO's "The Sopranos," quit after one week of training.

Jay Pintor was convinced that dancing "didn't look manly." Not even five years of cajoling from his wife, Nicole, could coax him onto the dance floor. But it took only three months for football great Emmitt Smith to change his perspective. Smith, the NFL's career rushing leader, was half of the winning couple on the third season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Marie Osmond may have lost a loved one, but she's not ready to lose her place on "Dancing With the Stars." The 48-year-old singer, who missed Tuesday's results show after the death of father, will continue to compete on the top-rated dance competition, ABC publicist Aime Wolfe said Wednesday. George Osmond, patriarch to the Osmond family's singing group, the Osmond Brothers, died Tuesday, at age 90, at his home in Provo, Utah.

Sometime between the Israeli-Hezbollah cease-fire and the arrest of a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey slaying last week, a story of grave national import broke on the newswires. Yes, MSNBC host Tucker Carlson will waltz -- or perhaps tango, lambada or funky-chicken -- across our screens as a contestant on the upcoming season of ABC's reality competition "Dancing With the Stars."

Tucker Carlson of MSNBC and talk-show host Jerry Springer will be among the celebrities competing on the third season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." The new season of the show -- which pairs 11 competitors of sometimes dubious celebrity and varying skill with professional dancer-partners -- premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 12, the network announced Monday. Also heading to the dance floor: Vivica A.

The show is about dancing, for heaven's sake. How dangerous can it be? Consider this: Before Season 8's "Dancing With the Stars" premiered last week, two celebrity contestants were already on the injured list and off the program. "Access Hollywood" co-anchor Nancy O'Dell suffered a torn meniscus, requiring surgery, and singer Jewel sustained fractures in both tibiae (shinbones).

Shawn Johnson can't stop smiling. She looks into the eyes of her dancing partner, Mark Ballas, the two nod at each other and then the music starts. We can't tell you the music. It's a secret until Johnson and Ballas compete at 8 tonight on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."

Romantic relationships may be put to the test on the new season of "Dancing With the Stars," with couples taking to the dance floor with and against each other. Pop star Jewel and her husband, rodeo champion Ty Murray, will compete for bragging rights on the ABC series' eighth season, which begins March 9, while country singer Chuck Wicks will take the floor with his girlfriend, two-time "Dancing With the Stars" champion Julianne Hough. Professional dancers and series regulars Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, who are newly engaged, will be waltzing in the arms of others.

Put this in the "Wait, really?" category: Steve Wozniak, the computer programmer who co-founded Apple Inc., Monday was named a contestant on the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars." The man known as the Woz created the original circuit board used for the Apple computer and teamed up with Steve Jobs in 1976 to sell it.

In contrast to Season 6 of "Dancing With the Stars," it seemed that any of the Season 7 finalists could win Tuesday, depending on how the audience voted and how the mysterious vote weighting worked. Brooke Burke was technically strong and very consistent, and her and Derek Hough's routines were often more ambitious than those of the other contestants. Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer displayed stage presence and technical skills; their choreography balanced personality and adherence to the rules.

After four consecutive male winners on "Dancing With the Stars," it was finally ladies' night. 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 champion figure skater came into the final contest Tuesday with a perfect score and bested fan favorites Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente to claim the mirrorball trophy. "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.

Country singer Sara Evans is divorcing and will sit out the remaining dances on ABC's hit "Dancing With the Stars," one of the highest-rated reality shows this fall. Evans, one of six final couples in the ballroom dance competition that pairs celebrities with professional dancers, filed for divorce last week from her husband of 13 years, Craig Schelske, a Republican fundraiser.

ABC is dancing its way into television history books. Marking the largest summer launch ever, "Dancing With the Stars" premiered last week with impressive ratings -- 13.5 million total viewers -- and saw those numbers swell to 14.9 million viewers this week, making it the top-rated show in all of prime time Wednesday, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Marlee Matlin had never danced before -- well, other than at weddings and bar mitzvahs -- but for the last two weeks, she's been cha-cha-ing and quickstepping for seven hours a day in preparation for her "Dancing With the Stars" debut tonight. Despite the unforgiving schedule and complaints of constant soreness from past contestants, Matlin, 42, says she's remained pain-free. "Everyone asks if I'm sore," she said after a recent rehearsal at a dance studio in La Canada Flintridge.

Priscilla Presley, Kristi Yamaguchi and Marlee Matlin are catching dance fever. They are among the dozen celebrities who will compete on the next season of "Dancing With the Stars," ABC said. The other contestants are Adam Carolla, Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Guttenberg, Monica Seles, Penn Jillette, Mario, Jason Taylor, Cristian De La Fuente and Marissa Jaret Winokur. "Dancing" returns to the ABC lineup March 17.