Dancing with the Stars 3, November 15: We Have a Winner!

After nine eliminations, hours and hours of rehearsal, tons of filler, and performances running the gamut from the good, to the bad, to the ugly, we’ve finally arrived at the night we’ve all been waiting for. Who among us thought Emmitt would be standing here right now? Admit it, you didn’t think Emmitt would come as far as he has during the first few weeks of this season. Mario, on the other hand, seemed a sure bet from the word “Go.”

My faithful and very able assistant, Ally the Maryland SPCA adoptee, is openly rooting for Emmitt tonight, and though I’m appalled at her lack of journalistic integrity and impartiality, I can’t say I disagree. Don’t get me wrong, Mario is great and perhaps the better technical dancer, but Emmitt just has that certain je ne sais quoi that makes him a real joy to watch. But for a nit-picky nine awarded by Bruno last night, Emmitt would be in first place all by himself. I’m warning you Bruno, Ally is really mad about that!

If you missed any of last night’s action, click on over to my recap. At the end of the night, the standings were as follows:

Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris welcome us, and introduce finalists Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke and Mario Lopez & Karina Smirnoff. They review last night’s final performances. This should take at least 15 minutes knowing this show. The judges gush over Emmitt and Mario and perfect scores abound. Len and Bruno draw boos from the crowd for awarding nines. Overall, it was fun and the best dances of the season took place last night. And as you already know, at the end of the night our stars were tied.

Karina and Cheryl both believe their partners deserve to walk away with the trophy. No matter what happens tonight, they can both be proud of their accomplishments. Awww. Samantha reminds us that tonight, it can’t be a tie. Tom says the judges couldn’t even pick a winner, so it was up to you, the viewers. We’ll find out who you chose in a little while.

But first, the finalists get to repeat one performance from last night. Len tells us the judges selected Emmitt & Cheryl’s first dance, the samba to Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke.” They look great again and I love Emmitt even more after watching him work it up there! They hug at the end once again, and Emmitt’s family explodes in applause, along with the rest of the audience.

For Mario & Karina’s encore performance the judges chose their final freestyle dance, performed to “It Takes Two.” The music still distracts me but they put on a great show once again. It’s a good thing Ally is 63 years old in people years, because some of those moves—wow! Definitely for adults only. It’s a fun performance and Mario ends with that adorable smile, just like last night. The audience cheers again.

It’s time to check in on Tysonia and the Slim-Fast Challenge! She’s come a long way. It took her a bit to catch on at first, but as the weeks progressed she did better and better and she gained confidence, poise, and energy—and lost 15 pounds along the way! As if that wasn’t enough, she got a promotion at work! Tysonia encourages everyone to take on a new challenge. As someone who recently took up running, I could not agree more! Tysonia looks great and should be an inspiration to us all. Great job, Tysonia!

Tom introduces last season’s champion, Drew Lachey, who will be performing on the Dancing with the Stars tour! Tom reviews the season (again), and you can read about it all in Jill’s excellent recaps.

Our eliminated stars are back! Tucker & Elena cha cha cha. Tucker still looks stiff but seems to have improved some since week one. Shanna & Jesse mambo. They do a great job, though I don’t see much energy in the performance. Harry & Ashly quickstep and I remember why I loved Harry so much. He really looks like he’s enjoying himself. Vivica & Nick paso doble in their turquoise outfits and it’s very crisp and clean. The music ends with all the performers lined up on stage, right fists raised in the air.

After what feels like an hour of commercials, the rest of our eliminated stars perform. Willa & Maksim rumba and they still appear to have a little somethin’ somethin’ going on off the dance floor. They look great together. Sara & Tony jive and it’s good to see Sara back and smiling. I still don’t get the country thing but she seems to be having fun.

Jerry & Kym samba. Complete with maracas and feathers. Jerry is goofy, fun, and entertaining. Monique and JILL’s Louis jive and I realize how much I’ve missed Louis these last few weeks. (Don’t worry Jill, he’s all yours!) Joey & Edyta foxtrot with an umbrella. Joey looks great but after last night’s performances, it’s clear the right two stars made the finals. The last five couples line up on stage and blow kisses to the audience.

Emmitt’s wife Pat says when she first saw him out there she was blown away and knew people would be shocked. Mario’s mom wanted to cry when she saw him up there. Emmitt’s former teammate Rodney Peete looked forward to seeing what outfit he’d be wearing each week, and Ryan Seacrest says the same about Mario.