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RealityFreakWill:
Dancing with the Stars Episode Recap: Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Just a week shy of the Season 8 finale, one last couple is eliminated from Dancing with the Stars, while the pro competition pairs remaining contestants with current pros. Which celebrity fell short, and which pro heated up the floor? Find out below.

Here we go, y'all! Who's going to make it? Is it finally Ty's time to go? I'm not even going to predict his departure because I won't believe it until it happens. However, I do think it's his time, and I'm missing him already. Shawn gets her first encore for her Argentine tango... which is unexpected. Was Gilles too obvious a choice? Could they not decide between his two perfect numbers (no pun intended)? Or is he trying not to re-injure his shoulder? Hmm... Shawn does another taut routine, but boos that the judges didn't like their jive on the recap. Gilles, meanwhile, has achieved his dream from Day 1, which is to get six 10s. So you don't want that Mirrorball?

Because you know we won't get any results for, oh, probably 50 minutes, we fill up some time with an analysis piece from three former champs, Brooke Burke, Helio Castroneves and Drew Lachey (Drew, come back as co-host!). Brooke wants Melissa to be dirty. Was anyone else bracing for her to follow up with "dancing"? Drew thinks Gilles needs a bigger female fan base (you mean like 98 Degrees?) and thinks Ty can hold onto the ball since he can hold onto the bull. And Shawn? Well she needs to relax, they say. Brooke closes by reminding us it's not all about the dancing, but who the people relate to the most. No truer words were ever spoken.

Pick a Pro
Pros pick pros! Ha. The remaining two are paired with Kym and Maksim to choreograph two dances — Latin and ballroom.

Mayo Alanen & Kym Johnson: Tango
Kym is wearing a longer version of that sheer, one-piece bodysuit that Karina wore earlier this season. It's hard to say which one of them was more covered-up — Kym or Karina, that is. Anyhow, the tango's nice, very traditional, but frankly, I'm kind of bored by it. It reminds me of a Melissa dance: It's technically great, but I'm not going to remember anything special about it in five minutes. Len likes it. Bruno loves Mayo's long legs. Carrie Ann is impressed with the choreography, but wants some personality in his next dance. Does she know they already prepared it?

Anna Demidova & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Quickstep
Maks thinks she's more difficult to teach than a celebrity. I think we all know that. Anna puts him in the corner. Nobody puts Maksy-poo in the corner. Except Karina. (Did I really just make two Dirty Dancing references in one recap? How cliche. I apologize.) Um, wow. I think I missed the first 10 seconds because I blinked. This thing is fast, as it should be, so it looks awesome. It's dynamic and animated, and they make great use of the whole floor. Plus, Maks looks like he's having more fun here than he ever did with Denise. Bruno calls it magnificient. Carrie Ann thinks she outshined Maks. Len loves her maturity and thinks she brought the best out of Maks.

Mayo Alanen & Kym Johnson: Cha-cha
There's a little more personality here, but I think it pales in comparison to Anna's quickstep. It's a perfectly fine number, but again, there's nothing eye-popping about it. Except for maybe Kym's skimpy fringe outfit. Maybe Mayo's feeling the pressure. Carrie Ann is concerned about his versatility because he didn't wear Mark's gym shorts. Yes, you do have to be well-versed in cheese-tastic outfits to be on Dancing. Get with it, Mayo! Len likes the pace and gives him a job well done. Bruno wants him to be careful about the risks as they went with a disco theme with the cha-cha. Hey, Mayo? There's the bus. Get under it.

Anna Demidova & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Samba
It's kind of heartbreaking to see the differences between Anna and Mayo. This chick is, like, the Gilles of the pro competition. The samba is grossly electrifying and the choreography, once again, makes good use of the floor. Also, I don't think I've ever seen Maks shake his ass like that. Len declares her the pro. Bruno says she did a fantastic job with all of her partners. Carrie Ann wants to see more of her.

So we don't have a Hough-less semifinal after all (sort of). Derek, Julianne are back, along with Lacey and Mark, for the Design a Dance, uh, dance. This time, with trumpets! This is... a hot mess. Were the tables at the end necessary? No more props, people! Oh hey, we're at the 50-minute mark, which means results. Finally. Did ya forget? It's a results show.

First two safe couples:
Gilles & Cheryl
Shawn & Mark

That leaves Ty and Chelsie, and Melissa and Tony, who are not necessarily the bottom two. So who's going to be "illiminated," as Sam says? Alas, it is the cowboy.

OK, I'm not going to be sad about this, but happy and hopeful — happy he made it so far and improved so much, and hopeful that he will — one day, someday — join the hosting panel and be totally awesome and witty alongside Tom. How do we make this happen?

Speaking of, Tom interrupts their goodbyes to say that Dancing is not about the steps, but the total package, which is what Ty is. Man crush! Loves it! (I refuse to say "bromance.") He then asks him to do the "weird shaking thing" for Jewel.

What did you think? Are you relieved Ty didn't make the "finaale," as Sam would say? Or are you still mourning his departure? Should Carrie Ann encourage male pros to wear dorky gym shorts? Fetish? Did Raphael Saadiq rock it out? Are you looking forward to everyone's freestyles? Who's your pick to win?

http://www.tvguide.com/Episode-Recaps/dancing-stars/Dancing-Stars-Episode-1006025.aspx

RealityFreakWill:
Jewel posted on Ty's blog yesterday:

‘What an amazing week this has been’



Hi everyone, it's Jewel!

Well, as we head into the final two weeks what an amazing week this has been and what a show last night!

Unfortunately, I won't be able to see Ty and sweet Chelsie tonight on the results show because I had to go to NYC to be on "Regis and Kelly" tomorrow and then with Kathy Lee Gifford the next morning on the "Today show," but I'm racing to the hotel right now to catch it live on the east coast!

Fingers crossed! But, no matter what happens, we sure are lucky to have the support of the amazing cowboy army.

Anyway, I was asked to write up a little something for a men's magazine so they could get a feel for the type of training Ty did to get in shape for his sport, and what it took for him to finally win the 7th all-around title, breaking the world record.

I thought maybe instead of some pics and an overview of the last week that I would share the men's magazine piece I wrote, in case you find it interesting... hope you enjoy the piece about his training program.

There is no formalized training in the sport Ty chose to go into so it was up to him to develop a style that worked for him. Ty was always strong and dedicated physically. He studied gymnastics to get good since of feeling in the air and how to flip so that when he rode he always landed on his feet--well, most of time.

He walked miles of fence line to teach himself balance. He breezed race colts on the track to build strength and muscular endurance.

Starting at age 19, Ty won six world all-around titles in a row and was now only one more away from breaking the world record set by Larry Mahan – a goal he had set for himself when he was in 3rd grade.

But after that 6th title he began a downward spiral for next three years of what would have been career-ending injuries for other riders, and this forced him to realize he had to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to make a comeback.

His first injury was the reconstruction of his left shoulder, which he rehabbed religiously and then went back to competing only to realize his right shoulder had atrophied and wasn't in good enough shape after having torn both ligaments in that shoulder.

This forced him to get surgery and take another year off.

So this time he rehabbed both shoulders to get them in great shape, but when he began competing that next year his knees were weaker from the time off and eventually he damaged all ligaments in both knees.

In fact, two ligaments in his right leg snapped completely while he was actually riding. As a result his lower leg came loose and detached from his upper leg and was just being held loose inside his skin.

He still had to figure out how to get off the bull safely!

He now had to take a third year off and several sponsors dropped him. And everyone whispered that Ty would never make it back at all, much less break the world record.

This is when Ty decided to radically rethink how to train for his sport and enjoy a full range of motion so that he could even walk well again, much less break the record and get that 7th buckle.

Not to mention he had the added pressures of a ranch he just bought and that he was suddenly unemployed and had to deal with the stress of how to keep making his payments.

But in typical Ty fashion he didn't waste time worrying and instead focused on the single most important thing--training.

He found a man named Jesse Marquez Lomali, who is a 4-time national Nippon Kenpo champion.

Ty explained what he needed to compete: explosive strength and flexible tight muscles that weren't bulky.

The cowboy and the martial arts fanatic made an unlikely team, but they designed a plan for Ty.

All workouts took place in an abandoned meat locker and the Texas summers made it so wet and hot in there that just sitting was nearly unbearable, much less doing the hard core intensive torture sessions they had planned for Ty.

They did not use any weights because they didn't want to increase his size. They wanted to increase his strength and his explosive fast response time.

Exercises included 2,000 sit ups a day where Ty would lay flat on the ground, lift his legs and then Jesse would throw Ty's feet to the ground as hard as he could. Ty would have to stop his legs just before they touched the concrete and then Jesse would quickly and simultaneously punch him in the stomach to force an even tighter contraction.

Another exercise was where Ty would extend both arms fully open and full close his hands as fast and as tight as he could for thousands of reps. He also made to do tiny pushups that were done on fisted hands where he would lift just enough to engage the muscles and then rapidly and repeatedly pump out these pushups to failure and beyond.

They did this to his neck, shoulders, back, legs and every single muscle, all with series of intense and changing challenges.

They were building Ty's muscles to be woven tighter and stronger and to create a rock hard body armor that was so tight and so responsive that it would serve as a living body armor that would protect all his joints and ligaments, quickly responding and protecting him instantly if he found himself being stepped on by an animal.

He also improved his flexibility to the point that he could stand at a wall and have Jesse raise his free leg all the way up behind his head to touch his toe to the wall in a standing split. This would come in handy to remain fluid and flexible in a tight situation, which would help avoid injury that way also.

After a year of this full-out training, Ty looked and felt like a warrior, and he felt confident to go back at it and compete.

He took the circuit by storm – competing in all three rough stock events: saddle bronc, bare back and bulls. Those are the three most punishing events there are and that year he was injury free, but also the world record holder for all-around championships! There is still no formalized training program in the sport of bull riding, though that is something Ty would really like to implement.

Now younger guys like Brian Canter are coming to him looking for an edge on their competitors and asking Ty if he can show them what to do to get in shape and protect them self from injury.

Something most people don't realize is how freakishly strong Ty is.

He has twice the bone density of other people (just ask Chelsie, she is getting bruised and cut just from running into his knees or elbows!) due to a life of stress testing his bones to respond by beefing the bones up.

And his training style has made his whole body so dense and tight that I have seen huge men – pro wrestlers and pro football players and body builders – challenge my smaller husband to an arm wrestling match.

And Ty beats them easily every time.

The type of training he did gives such power from the core and such coordinated support by every single muscle that he's like arm wrestling a block of steel, not just an arm. And you'd never know it by looking at him in jeans and button down denim shirts.

But, as you can see, the results of his workout routine are impressive and he thinks a similar approach would be great not just to protect rodeo athletes from injury, but any extreme sport athlete from injury.

Ty always says, "The stronger you are the more prepared you feel and the more confident you are the more you win. And your game can only get better."

He thinks proper training is the key to winning because he says, "Winning is when preparation and opportunity meet."

Ty always wanted to be prepared.

And, by the way, he still stays in touch with Jesse, who is now a cop in Redmond CA.

Love to you all, xxjewel

http://www.pbrnow.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/5/12/What-an-amazing-week-this-has-been#more

RealityFreakWill:
Ty Murray Opens up About 'Dancing' Departure

click on link below to view video

ET was backstage with rodeo cowboy Ty Murray and his partner Chelsie Hightower after the couple was booted from the ballroom on Tuesday night's "Dancing with the Stars." Ty reveals that he surprised himself by making it to the semi-finals, and he is very proud of his performance.

"I started surprising myself when I made it to the second round," he says. "We worked hard and we tried to represent our fans the best we could. We really felt like they were cheering us on the whole way through it. That's the thing that's nice about a show that America keeps you on or votes you off. When they vote you off you know it's time for you to go."

Ty also thanked his partner for her hard work and her patience.

"Chelsie thanks for working so hard with the wooden cowboy for the last 10 weeks," he says. "I'm so glad I don't have to learn anymore dances."

Watch the video to hear the remaining contestants Gilles Marini, Melissa Rycroft, and Shawn Johnson reveal their excitement and their strategies for next week's "Dancing with the Stars" finale!

http://www.etonline.com/news/2009/05/74086/index.html

RealityFreakWill:
Ty and Chelsie on Jimmy Kimmel Live


credit to jimmykimmellive

RealityFreakWill:
Tuesday’s Dancing: What You Didn’t See

Déjà Vu?: When it got down to the final two contestants, Melissa Rycroft stood nervously waiting for her name to be called. Seated just a few feet away from the Dancing stage was Bachelor host Chris Harrison. The most dramatic rose ceremony ever? “Totally!” Rycroft said, laughing at the coincidence of being in a situation similar to when she was on The Bachelor last season. “This time it had a happy ending,” Rycroft’s partner Tony Dovolani said. Rycroft certainly thought her number might be up when she suffered a painful rib injury several weeks ago, forcing her to sit out one night of the competition. “Tony and I sit back and remember where we were a few weeks ago and to see where we are now, it’s something that couldn’t have been scripted,” Rycroft said. “Shawn and Gilles — to be compared to them and in the same league as them is really cool.”

All Bets Are On: After learning they would advance to next week’s finale, Shawn Johnson and partner Mark Ballas simultaneously hugged each other and jumped up and down. Gilles Marini put the squeeze on partner Cheryl Burke. Marini and Johnson embraced and then ran over to their families, who were sitting next to each other in the audience. “I went over to my mom and dad during the commercial and they were so happy,” Johnson told PEOPLE. How does this compare, if at all, to her Olympic experience? “Pretty close – I’m ecstatic!” she beamed. “Last week was like the Olympic trials and tonight was like qualifying.” Little did Johnson know she was the subject of a wager between her partner Mark Ballas and Bachelor host Chris Harrison. “Mark and I had a bet that Melissa Rycroft would go further than Shawn Johnson,” Harrison explained. “So when Shawn was saved Mark walked over to me and was giving me the money sign and I said, ‘Not yet! Not yet!’”


Three Musketeers: When Marini, Johnson and Rycroft take the floor next Monday night, it will arguably be the most evenly-matched finale in Dancing’s history. Just don’t look for any backstage drama. “Ooh, the fight against Melissa and Gilles and Tony – no,” Marini said, shaking his head. “Shawn, Melissa and I won (already). We’re there and now it’s going to be so much fun.” The one person absent from Tuesday night’s post-show backstage celebrations was Marini’s partner, two-time DWTS champ Cheryl Burke. “Cheryl is not here because she already went to work,” Marini said. Is the pro feeling the pressure to win a third championship? “She’s not ‘Oh my God, I’m going to win three times,’” Marini assured. “She is there to make me look amazing. She is working as we speak. No one else does that. That will give us the edge next week.” As Marini spoke, Tony Dovolani came up and gave him a big hug, followed by a bear hug from Mark Ballas. Maksim Chmerkovskiy then snuck up behind Marini and goosed him on his behind. “Maks just pinched my butt and I kind of like it!” Marini joked.

Freestyle Trash Talking: Dancing fans know that the finale night freestyle routine can make or break a couple’s chances of winning. The contestants know this, too. Despite Rycroft’s still-tender rib injury, Dovolani promised: “We’re going to get everybody dancing on their feet. Lifts, kicks – we’re going to throw everything in.” “He’s going to try to break [my ribs again]. I can almost guarantee it,” Rycroft quipped, noting that she’ll do whatever it takes. “It’s kind of the mentality of what do you have to lose at this point? It’s not every day everyone gets a chance to be in the finals of Dancing with the Stars.” As for his own freestyle plans, Marini, who revealed he’s in talks to guest star on Brothers and Sisters next fall, declined to get specific. “We’re going to have a lot of fun. I promise you it is going to be one of the most memorable dances of all season. I’m going to do my best. America will choose.”

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/05/13/tuesdays-dancing-what-you-didnt-see-23/

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