Trav's Thoughts

Seattle clearly wants to focus on stopping the 49ers running game and forcing the ball into QB Alex Smith's hands. Smith is improving steadily, but is still prone to mistakes.

The Raiders get a big win, 35-17 over the now 0-4 Dolphins. Yes, I consider it a big win. They went on the road, overcame the loss of their primary running back, played strong defensively, and answered every challenge. That is the sign of a maturing football team. I will take the rest of the afternoon to celebrate and enjoy the fact that my boys are 2-2 now, the same number of wins they had all of last season. Time enough tomorrow to think about facing a struggling Chargers team next weekend in San Diego. Go RAIDERS!!

Tough break for the 49ers as Alex Smith has gone down with a shoulder injury on the first offensive series. Veteran Trent Dilfer is now the QB. But the major problem at the moment is that Frank Gore can't seem to hang on to the football!! Dangit! That's his second fumble, but luckily SF got the ball back.

Denver has started the game very well against the Colts. The Broncos drove down on the first series to get a field goal, then kept Indy from scoring on their first drive. That's 22 games in a row that Denver has not given up a score on an opponent's opening drive. Peyton Manning is usually unstoppable on that first drive too.

Pam just twisted herself into a pretzel. Seattle LB Julian Peterson just got a big sack against his former team. Then he proceeded to behave like a jerk and incite the crowd. Pam loved the play, but then she yelled at the TV for Peterson to get off the field and act like a professional. Heehee. She loves her team, but she hates a showboat.

I need to pay a little more attention to Tampa because Jeff Garcia is in a rhythm right now and playing very well.

I like that Mike Nolan, head coach of the 49ers, dresses in a suit for home games. I don't know why I like that, but I do.

SF just got a big play on a blocked punt. Now that's defense and special teams stepping up. Too bad the offense is pathetic at the moment.

Pam is really annoyed with Julian Peterson pointing to his name on the back of his jersey every time he makes a play. I also think it's a stupid thing to do.

Wooooooooooooooooo!! That's how you make your own momentum!! SF recovers an onside kick to begin the second half. Now the question is...can they actually get a drive going? And the immediate answer is...NO as Trent Dilfer throws an interception on the first play. Nice.

The Phillies put the capper on the Mets late season collapse by winning the NL East. And Colorado will host San Diego in a one game play off tomorrow for the NL Wild Card.

Damn. All the progress that SF has made this season is being deconstructed in this game. The injury to Alex Smith was the key. Trent Dilfer just is not getting it done.

Well gang, thanks for tuning in for my Sunday observations. We gotta get laundry organized and finish up the afternoon games. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lightening in Miami caused a delay in the start of the Raiders vs Dolphins this morning. The stadium is still configured for baseball, so when they do finally play it could be a sloppy field. We've got a little bonus coverage of the Jets at the Bills.

As of this morning, four teams still have a chance at the NL Wild Card on the last day of baseball's regular season. Up for grabs today for San Diego, Colorado, New York Mets, and Philadelphia are three playoff spots - NL East, NL West, and Wild Card. Chicago has already clinched the NL Central.

The American League playoff line up is set. Boston in the AL East, Cleveland in the AL Central, Anaheim (which is not Los Angeles no matter what MLB says) in the AL West, and the Yankees are the Wild Card.

The game has finally started and the Raiders are looking very strong so far. They didn't move the ball on their first possession, but got an interception return deep into Miami territory. After an offensive pass interference call in the end zone, they got the touchdown.

Dolphin LB Joey Port guaranteed a victory for Miami this week. You should really have something in your back pocket if you're going to do that. Oakland is running the ball right over and through Miami's defense. And the Raider defense has the Dolphin offense bottled up so far. It's still early, and I'm not talking smack - not with my Raiders' recent history. I'm just saying that if you open your big mouth with a guarantee, you best be prepared to back it up.

Heehee.


Bad luck for the Raiders - RB Lamont Jordan went down with a back injury at the end of the half. That puts an end to the success they were having with the power running game. We'll see if the defense can continue to play well, and if Justin Fargus can still be explosive as the every down back. And whether he can be durable.

I'm feeling good about my boys now. Fargus broke off a big run and QB Daunte Culpepper ran it in for the score. The defense is still playing strong. But dammit! Now there's a turnover on the punt! Grrrrrrrrrr. These are the ups and downs you go through when your team is coming off a 2-14 season.

YEAH!!! Raiders score!! Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! That's the kind of drive I like to see. There's still quite a bit of time left in this game because of the 30 minute delay this morning. But at 28-17 and less than 7 minutes to play in the 4th quarter, I'm feeling pretty confident as we get ready for Seattle vs San Francisco.

I may post later with some afternoon observations. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!! And don't forget to tune in to Turnbaby Talks at 8pm EST, 5pm here on the west coast.

Call it the first upset weekend of the college football season, as seven top 25 teams went down. Half of the Top 10 were upset.

Colorado beat #3 Oklahoma
Auburn beat #4 Florida
#18 South Florida beat #5 West Virgina on Friday
Kansas State beat #7 Texas
Maryland beat #10 Rutgers

Kirk Herbstreit suggested this evening that a single loss doesn't necessarily eliminate a team from the national championship picture. Florida won the championship with one loss. But the margin for error is less for the teams that lost today.

It's definitely an exciting time for schools like Cal and Kentucky and Wisconsin, which should all move up in Monday's polls.

#1 USC had some early injuries on the offensive line, and UW came out inspired early. The Trojans gained control of the game, but allowed UW to stay close on the scoreboard because of turnovers and penalties. And the Huskies were just a fumbled punt away from an opportunity to drive for a TD to tie the game.

But then, just as the game was about over...UW blocked a punt and scored a TD with :34 left on the clock!! They didn't recover the onside kick, so USC was able to escape Seattle with their unbeaten record intact. But did they leave as the #1 team? Or will voters decide to set current #2 LSU ahead of USC in this week's poll?

I think it's clear that Kentucky will be moving up in the rankings after they took care of business against Florida Atlantic. I think in my post yeseterday I incorrectly said this was a road game for UK. The game was actually played in Lexington. QB Andre Woodson continued to play well and make his case as a Heisman front runner. The Wildcats now lead the SEC East as they prepare for the toughest part of their schedule, South Carolina followed by LSU and then Florida.

Any turnover is devastating for an offense, but I think the worst turnover is the fumble out of bounds through the endzone. Oregon was about to score a TD and kick an extra point to tie Cal, but the receiver lost control of the ball as he was trying to force it over the goal line. The ball bounced out of bounds, and that's a touchback. That's painful because the ball turns over without a defensive recovery of the fumble. The game turns on the width of the pylon - if the ball bounces out of bounds on the outside of the pylon, the offense gets it back inside the one. Inside the pylon and into the endzone, then out of bounds? Touch back. Ouch.

Well, when your team is 0-5 you look for any positive sign you can take away. It's tough to rely on moral victories for a once proud program, but that's the life of an Irish fan these days. The haters gleefully taunt. And I find the positive in noting that although Notre Dame fell behind 23-0 at halftime, they won the second half of the game 19-10. The Irish QB's - Clausen and Sharpley - combined for 377 yards passing and the offensive line only gave up 2 sacks. Perhaps there is hope that they will continue to improve, and so have a chance to win against Navy, Air Force, Duke, and Stanford.

Looking ahead to Sunday football, I'm excited to see that we get Oakland at Miami on CBS in the morning. YAY! Of course we also have Seattle at San Francisco on FOX in the afternoon. And we'll be keeping a clicking eye on CBS, where Denver at Indianapolis is also televised.



Tune in Sunday evening and you'll probably hear Turnbaby Talk a little UK football. Don't worry if you're not a football fan. The conversation is dynamic and fluid. And the new chat feature on Blog Talk Radio adds a fun new element to interacting with the host and fellow listeners.

We have to get up and get out the door this morning. Last week, we caught the lazy bug and never got our errands done. So, apologies to Kyra at The 108. We'll have to catch today's Bloviation Nation on the archive.



Notre Dame, 0-4 for the first time in school history, heads to Purdue (4-0). It doesn't look good again for the Irish, as Purdue is averaging 48.5 points per game. Notre Dame has scored 2 offensive touchdowns this season. I see no reason to suspect a new result for Notre Dame this week. It's a silly thing to say, but I don't stop being a fan just because they suck...go Irish.

The Ducks, 4-0 and ranked #11, host #6 Cal, also 4-0 on the season. Oregon must contain Cal's high powered offense. The Golden Bears are built on speed. This should be a great game, and it's kind of tough for me to choose sides. Pam says she may have to choose Cal because although their uniforms are ugly, they're not nearly as ugly as Oregon's. Now you remember that she knows football...she's just being silly. Go DUCKS!

After two promising wins to open the season, UW has dropped it's last two games mostly because of turnovers and other bad mistakes. And guess who comes to Seattle this weekend? It's #1 USC. The town is abuzzin y'all. But USC has won the last five meetings between the two programs. UW needs all the breaks for the Huskies to have any chance to upset the #1 Trojans. Go Huskies!

#14 Kentucky (4-0) hosts Florida Atlantic (3-1). This is a potential gotcha game for the Wildcats. It would be easy to look past FAU to the three straight ranked opponents waiting for UK. But I learned a long time ago that you have to play the 11 guys that line up across from you on every play. Senior leadership is needed, and Kentucky is heavy in that department. Go 'CATS!

It looks like Road Warrior week as Top 10 teams are mostly away on Saturday. Here are some other notables:

#2 LSU at Tulane
#3 Oklahoma at Colorado
#4 Florida at Auburn
#5 West Virginia is upset by #18 South Florida
#7 Texas at Kansas State
#8 Ohio State at Minnesota
#9 Wisconsin at Michigan State
#10 Rutgers at Maryland



And what is in store for my NFL interests this week? I'm glad you asked. Let's check it out.

After picking up a tarnished win at home against the Browns last Sunday, my Raiders head on down to Miami. Oakland continues to improve, and they are competing in every game. The Dolphins are struggling on both sides of the ball right now. Ordinarily I don't know that I would pick the Raiders on the road, but Miami seems to be in worse shape at the moment and I'm thinking my guys can steal one here.


SF got spanked last weekend. I look at that as another step in the maturity of a young team. Now this week is rivalry week at our house. It's like this...baby likes to win. Pam's Seahawks are in SF Sunday and she's looking for some revenge. Seattle had won 6 in a row until last season when the 49ers swept both games. But she also realizes that the Seahawks are in a bit of trouble after a couple of shaky wins and a bad loss on the road. SF is on the rise, but not quite there yet. Should be an interesting day at our place.

The Colts host Denver. The Broncos have the top ranked defense in the NFL against the pass. Indy has the 4th best passing offense. My money is always on Peyton Manning until some team proves they can stop him. I think the key in this game though will be the running game, as it is in most NFL match ups. Denver gives up 166 yards per game against the run, while Indy averages 112 yards running the ball. If the Colts can run against Denver, then that makes life easier for Manning and the passing game. And Indy's defense is ranked 5th overall against Denver's 6th ranked offense. This should be a good game.

Week 1 results = 12-4
Week 2 results = 11-5
Week 3 results = 10-6

I'm 33-15 so far, which isn't bad.

My picks for week 4:

Packers over Vikings
Raiders over Dolphins
Bills over Jets
Texans over Falcons
Lions over Bears
Ravens over Browns
Cowboys over Rams
Panthers over Bucs
49ers over Seahawks
Chargers over Chiefs
Steelers over Cardinals
Colts over Broncos
Giants over Eagles
Patriots over Bengals

Bye: Titans, Saints, Redskins, Jaguars

I made some good progress on blog rounds tonight. I didn't get to all of you, but I am catching up.

If I wrote about politics, world events, or social interaction I could have post fodder for days. Some of the stuff going on in the world these days...yeeeesh!

I usually try to sit on The Couch in the morning before I leave for work. So on Wednesday I cruised on over and found that my pal Vinny listed me as one of three bloggers he thinks is worthy of the Breakout Blogger award.



Wow.

Vinny tells how the award was started in his post here. This is the second time a heavyweight blogger has recognized my place. Miss Polli from Polliwog's Pond was kind enough to name Trav's Thoughts a Best Kept Secret.

I'm babbling a little 'cause I'm all kerfluffled. I'm also incredibly honored.

My sweet friend Sanni from Coffee 2 Go tagged me with a very cool Desktop Meme. I'm such a tech idjit...it only took me three hours to figure out how to do this. And that was following the most excellent and clear directions from Sanni!



Geeez Louise!! I won't tag anyone on this, but if you want to participate head on over to Sanni's and she'll tell you how this is done.

I swiped a cool Foodie Meme over at Songbird's. She swiped it from Exceedingly Mundane, who got it from Magnolia Mom, who got it from...wait...if I keep tracing the dang thing I'll never actually do it!

1. How do you like your eggs? Mmmmmmmm...must have scrambled with a bit of shredded cheddar, a touch of garlic, and a dab or two of Ranch dressing mixed in.

2. How do you take your coffee/tea? I like a nice flavored creamer with my home brew. My current favorite is a cinnamon vanilla cream. It's also about time for punkin spice - the latte at Starbucks is particularly good.

3. Favorite breakfast food: Cream of wheat from the cafeteria at my office.



4. Peanut butter - smooth or crunchy? Smooooooooooooooooooth

5. What kind of dressing on your salad? Ranch or 1000 Island, although I like a good French every once in awhile. Hey! I see you smirking over there! I'm talking French dressing.

6. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi please...in those little 12oz bottles.

7. You’re feeling lazy, what do you make? Toasted PB sammich with butter on one slice and PB on the other - lightly toasted.

8. You’re feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Pepperoni, mushroom, black olive on thick hand tossed with extra cheese and light sauce.

9. You feel like cooking. What do you make? Lasagna.

10. Do any foods bring back good memories? Actually, it's not the food. It's IHOP...International House of Pancakes. There was one particular trip to my gram's house. We stopped at IHOP for breakfast. It wasn't so much the food, as the giggle fit. In my mind this is the funniest thing ever. Do you remember ALL detergent? There used to be a commercial for this with a little guy who would spell out the letters. Well, my mom and my sister and I were sitting in our booth, munching on banana pancakes and eggs. We were laughing and enjoying ourselves to begin with - I was about 14 and my sis was about 9. Anyway, this little kid was in the booth next to us with his family and he just was running at the mouth - could not sit still and could not keep quiet. Every so often he would sing out the first few letters of the alphabet, but he only knew A, B, C, D...then it would be a bunch of stuff and he'd start giggling. Of course, little kid giggles are contagious, and we were already silly. So the kids starts to say A...A...A...A...just over and over. And one time he said it and my sis pops up and says L...L...for the ALL commercial. We must have laughed for 20 minutes...and then we'd settle down, hear this kid say A again, and bust out in some more giggles. Sorry...I'm laughing at it right now, too bad you can't get in my memory and giggle with me.

11. Do any foods bring back bad memories? Peas! GACK!! No stories! GACK!

12. Do any foods remind you of someone? Slurpees remind me of my gram.



13. Is there a food you refuse to eat? Peas! GACK!!

14. What was your favorite food as a child? CAKE!

15. Is there a food that you hated as a child but now like? Asparagus or broccoli.

16. Is there a food that you liked as a child but now hate? Nope.

17. Favorite fruit and vegetable: I don't really have a favorite of either. I'll eat green apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, bananas. For veggies I like carrots as long as they are cooked, asparagus, broccoli.

18. Favorite junk food: Taco Bell or KFC.

19. Favorite between meal snack: Frito's with cream cheese.

20. Do you have any weird food habits? Let's see...I like to pile the mashed potatoes on top of the meat and pour gravy over it.

21. You’re on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? I don't diet in the conventional sense. But if I'm trying to eat healthy, then it's extra fruit.

22. You’re off your diet. Now what would you like? CAKE CAKE CAKE CAKE



23. How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? I don't do spicy...ever.

24. Can I get you a drink? Don't mind if I do...JD on the rocks please.

25. Red wine or white? I don't know a lot about wine, but I know I like a nice Merlot...Robert Mondavi or something from the home wineries.

26. Favorite dessert? Sing it with me now, you know the words...CAKE CAKE CAKE CAKE!

27. The perfect nightcap?

Get used to it baby! Tuesday and Wednesday are Dancing days y'all. I'll do my recap after the Monday performance show, and then I'll let you know who goes home after the Tuesday results.

Hmmmmm...Manic Monday, DWTS Tuesday & Wednesday, Thursday 13, Sports Saturday & Sunday. Looks like Fridays will be surprise days!

So now I need to pick an encore from the Gentlemen. This is actually pretty easy. Both Pam and I agree that the best dance of the night was Helio and Julianne. Since I can't find the short vids yet, if you don't want to see the introductions you can scroll forward to about 2:20 on this clip for the dance.



Good stuff y'all.

Len says this is the best start to any season. The judges choose the Cha Cha Cha from Sabrina and Mark as their encore. OK...after seeing that encore and how good it was, I went back and watched the performance from Monday night. I will slightly revise my comments regarding the dance. I still don't care for the hip hop they added. But they did perform those elements within the Cha Cha Cha style. And I'm thinking that was what the judges awarded with the high score.

And Sabrina & Mark are the first to advance along with Jennie and Derek.

Dolly sings 9 to 5. Now how does a woman that skinny and that top heavy stand up straight?!?!?!? LOL...I'm just kidding! We love Dolly!

Helio & Julianne are safe, as are Albert & Anna.

The thing I enjoy about the results show is what some call filler. A DWTS results show is a variety show, emphasizing the professional ballroom dancers performing to live music from recording artists looking to reach large audiences. The results have evolved into a real marketing opportunity, showcasing musical and dance talent. And I appreciate this.

There is a segment on this season's results show called Stars of Dance, this week featuring Savion Glover. This man is simply a brilliant tap dancer.

Even the Kenny Mayne silliness is fun.

Melanie & Max will be back next week, and so will Cameron and Edyta.

Jane & Tony are safe. Wayne & Cheryl are safe. Marie & Jonathan are safe. Floyd & Karina are safe.

So, Josie & Alec had the lowest total from Monday, while Mark & Kym had the lowest total from Tuesday. One of these pairs is in danger of going out.

For Josie, I'd say it's a combination of not being able to dance well and not having the fan base to overcome it. For Mark, so many women today told me how charming and cute they thought he was, but evidently they didn't vote.

Mark & Kym advance.

It sucks to be first out. We feel bad for Josie because the judges were so harsh with her. She seems like a sweet girl. And Alec campaigns for his professional partner Edyta, who became his wife on Sept 1 this year!

Next week's dances are Mambo and Quickstep. I hope you enjoyed my little tour through my favorite guilty pleasure, my obsession.

When it came down to cases, it wasn't so tough to pick an encore from Monday night. Pam and I enjoyed all of the ladies. But the dance that made us smile the most was Miss Jane performing her Foxtrot.



How charming is she...screaming when she meets Tony?!?!?

My second encore is the rockin' pros. Let this buffer for a bit and then skip forward to about 2:47 to see the incredible pro routine that kicked off the show Monday night.



We have always thought that the men have the more difficult competition. They must not only learn to do something totally new, but they must be strong partners who lead the dance. And they will be judged against men who have been professionally trained to do exactly that.

For that reason, we think it's great that the fellas are not being immediately and directly compared with the pros on this night. That will begin next week. But tonight we get to see the first dance without the spector of the male pros.

Yada yada yada!! Cue that theme music!

Ladies threw down last night with the highest scores on an opening night in any season to date. Fellas need to bring it.


Cameron Mathison (actor) is paired with Edyta Sliwinska (International Grand Ball champion), dancing Foxtrot. He's stiff and awkward to begin. We kept waiting for the smooth elegance, but it didn't show up. Edyta made the choreography very simple and gave him a lot of posing to do. It wasn't really awful and we agree with the judges that he has good lines. There's potential. And Pam says he looks dashing in a tuxedo, so there you go. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21. Maybe so.


Floyd Mayweather (boxer) is paired with Karina Smirnoff (US Latin champion), dancing Cha Cha Cha. Naturally there is drama with a top professional athlete butting heads with his top professional dance instructor. He can definitely move. He's not smooth at this point. He does one move, then he does the next step, and then he does the next move. He was also quite jerky in his movement, like he was fighting the dance. But it's all there. He just needs to connect everything and make it smooth. Judges say 6's across for a total of 18. Hmmmm...maybe.


Helio Castroneves (Indy 500 champion) is paired with Julianne Hough (reigning DWTS champion), dancing Foxtrot. OK y'all. Pam says the man is HAWT. We appear to need the drool towel. And that dance was very smooth. Charming, confident, and elegant. We loved it...smiled all the way through. They told a wonderful little story, with great chemistry between them. We join the judges in praising the choreography. That was well done. Judges say 8,9,8 for a total of 25. Yup, and it could have been 9's across.


Albert Reed (model) is paired with Anna Trebunskaya (Latin champion), dancing Cha Cha Cha. Lots of energy and lots of fun. Extremely sexy and enjoyable to watch. Some of his movement was awkward and we don't think there was much Cha Cha Cha. There was some, but I think it was more entertaining than it was great dancing. I kept glancing toward Pam...of course she's got the HAWT-ness meter tonight. But no drool towel appeared necessary. I am certainly glad to see Anna return to the show. She lights me up y'all. It was a good first dance. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.


Mark Cuban (Owner, Dallas Mavericks) is paired with Kym Johnson (Australian champion), dancing Foxtrot. Cuban gives me the heebies. We did not know he had just had a hip replacement though, so we'll cut him some slack and give him a chance. Interesting and ironic choreography to Roger Miller's King of the Road for the billionaire entrepreneur. And he was actually better than we expected. He was smooth in spots and he can perform. OK. We enjoyed it. Bruno called him the bouncing bionic billionaire. LOL! The fun he had with the dance came across. Pam actually called him charming! Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.


Wayne Newton (entertainer) is paired with Cheryl Burke (2 time DWTS champion and our favorite pro), dancing Cha Cha Cha. That was awkward. We give the man props for doing that. It's clear dancing isn't his talent. But he brought energy to it and he had fun. He's going to be well out of his league against the younger men in the competiton. But he was so charming and he did all of the Cha Cha Cha elements. He didn't do them with any kind of technique, but he got through it. Judges say 6,7,6 for a total of 19.

So the fellas are finished and have earned the title Gentlemen. Here's the leader board for the Gentlemen after the first round of judging:

25 = Helio
21 = Albert
21 = Cameron
21 = Mark
19 = Wayne
18 = Floyd

The combined leader board for the Ladies and Gentlemen is:

26 = Sabrina
25 = Helio
24 = Melanie
24 = Jane
21 = Jennie
21 = Marie
21 = Albert
21 = Cameron
21 = Mark
19 = Wayne
18 = Floyd
16 = Josie

This is a terrific group of celebrities and we enjoyed them all. We suspect that this will be the most enjoyable season yet.

Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars began last night, opposite the end of the Titans vs the Saints on Monday Night Football and the season 2 premier of Heroes.

I love football. And I enjoy Heroes.

But it's Dancing y'all!

The female celebrities open the season Monday night, with the male celebrities on Tuesday night. Results are Wednesday when one celebrity is eliminated.

Three nights of DWTS! Cue that theme music baby!

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!! Drew Lachey has stepped in for Samantha Harris, who just delivered a baby girl.

Dammit y'all...this show makes me smile.

The gals begin with either Foxtrot or Cha Cha Cha.

Jennie Garth (actor) is paired with Derek Hough (World Youth Latin champion), dancing Cha Cha Cha. Jennie looks a little nervous in the rehearsal room. And the very first song is ridiculous for Cha Cha Cha. Billy Joel's Uptown Girl? Please. Odd music choice aside, Jennie did ok. She had pretty good hip action. Pam loves Derek. Bruno called Jennie a yummy Mummy, and Pam says Derek is delicious. I think Derek did well with his choreography for this first dance. He appears to have the skill set to teach Jennie how to improve. We think they did pretty well. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21. We'll agree with that.

Josie Maran (actor, model) is paired with Alec Mazo (Season 1 champion), dancing Foxtrot. She's a little clutzy in the rehearsal footage. Alec called her deceptively unfit. LOL! She's gorgeous, but she's not really graceful or elegant. Alec did the right thing by dancing in hold through the entire dance to try and hide her. She could have some trouble up against the built-in fanbases that some of the other celebrities bring to the show. Judges say 6,5,5 for a total of 16. Well, we can't disagree with that but maybe it could have been two 6's and a 5?

Sabrina Bryan (singer, actor) is paired with Mark Ballas Jr (Junior Latin American dance champion), dancing Cha Cha Cha. She's a performer. That had energy and it was sexy. The crowd loved it. She tore that dance up. She set the bar very high for herself. We didn't like the fact that there was so much hip hop in it. But she did perform the Cha Cha Cha elements very well. Judges say 9,8,9 for a total of 26. That might be a little high because of the hip hop stuff, but it defintely rewarded the fact that she attacked that dance.


Marie Osmond (entertainer) is paired with Jonathan Roberts (Latin champion), dancing Foxtrot. This is a perfect dance for her to begin and she has the perfect partner. Jonathan is an excellent teacher. Dang y'all - I had flashbacks to the Donny & Marie show. Yikes! She was charming then, and she's charming now. That wasn't the greatest Foxtrot...it may not even have been a good Foxtrot. But we enjoyed it because she had so much fun with it. She's a classy lady with a great sense of humor. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21. That's a good score. She made us smile.


Melanie Brown (singer, actor) is paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy (International Latin champion), dancing Cha Cha Cha. Here's your front runner. She brought a restrained and professional energy to this dance. And she's paired with the perfect partner for her. She's hot and sexy and that was a complete Cha Cha Cha. We liked that a lot. The rehearsal footage made us think that she might be cheeky, but it was actually much more classy. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. We're not entirely happy with that because we thought this was a better and more complete Cha Cha Cha than Sabrina's.


Jane Seymour (actor) is paired with Tony Dovolani (World Rhythm champion), dancing Foxtrot. Foxtrot is classy and elegant. Hello???? Miss Jane IS classy and elegant. What's not to love about Miss Jane? Simply beautiful. They glided across the floor. The choreography was wonderfully simple. That dance had both Pam and I thinking about getting out and dancing. Judges say 8's across for a total of 24. We like that score.

We will be referring to them as Ladies now, because that's how they all performed. So the leader board for the Ladies after the first dance is:

26 = Sabrina
24 = Melanie
24 = Jane
21 = Jennie
21 = Marie
16 = Josie

Let's see if the fellas will match the Ladies and dance as Gentlemen.