Trav's Thoughts

The damn sniffles snuck up on me today and I was too damn busy to notice until it was too damn late.

Damnit.

The Colts are methodically handling Jacksonville, so I feel pretty safe that I'll get back in the double digits for picks this week.

So you know what that means...cue theme music!



Now remember...tell me your favorites in comments and I'll tally up the votes for encores.

Woooooooooooooooooooo!! It's Latin night y'all! Time for sexy Samba walks and Rumba hip rolls.

To be honest, Rumba isn't one of my favorite dances for the show. Most of the Rumbas here feature too much posing and not enough actual dancing.

Oh my. Edyta is almost wearing a costume. Watch your step now...there's a drool puddle and it's getting larger. Yikes!


Marie and Jonathan dance Samba. We don't think it was the 10's she's after, but we enjoyed it. We thought she was very strong in her upper body and her character, but not as strong with her lower body. Uhm...Marie just hit the floor. At first we thought it was an act, but the ballroom went silent and they immediately went to commercial. She dropped like a rock. I guess she passed out. Before that little scary interlude, I was going to suggest that the dance didn't seem to have the energy it should have. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.

It turns out Marie is fine. She said she has a tendency to pass out when she gets out of breath. Yikes!


Ms Jane and Tony dance Rumba. Tony said in the rehearsal footage that people would be surprised at how sexy Ms Jane could be. HA! I already know that Ms Jane is sexy!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm good. Classy sexy and romantic. Wonderful extension. Controlled passion. Refined and elegant, but still with the steamy sensuality it needed. Judges say 8,9,9 for a total of 26. If the only thing Carrie Ann found wrong with it was the turns, then why click down 2 points?? Grrrrrrr. Somebody give Mz Inaba a time out.


Mark and Kym dance Samba. He might be heavy in his feet, but he's learning the steps and doing the dance. We appreciate that. We think this is his most entertaining dance of the season. And he is definitely improving every week. He's never going to be confused with someone who can actually dance, but he's not a total train wreck either. We enjoyed it. Judges say 7's across for a total of 21.


Sabrina and Mark dance Rumba. She's forced to slow down this week with Rumba. Lots of solid content in that dance. She shed a little of that cute image she's had for us. That was most certainly the "vertical expression of a horizontal intent". Len and Bruno need to stop with the bickering and get over themselves. We agree with Len about the posing - it's the one thing we don't like about Rumba, as I said earlier. But we also agree with Bruno...it was sexy, and the tricks were solid and well performed. Judges say 9,9,10 for a total of 28.


Jennie and Derek dance Samba. Derek says "shake your fun stuff". Heehee! Fun stuff! She started off really well, but then she missed some steps and lost the flow of the music about half way through. She did not look comfortable shaking that fun stuff. There was quite a bit of content and difficult choreography. Derek isn't holding back with the dances he is making. The performance wasn't quite there tonight though. Len saw something in it he liked. Judges say 8,9,8 for a total of 25.


Helio and Julianne dance Rumba. Sssssssssssizzle. Uhm...do we have to stick around for the rest of the show??? We have no idea what the judges were watching. We saw plenty of chemistry and sensuality. They said it was mechanical. Huh???? No idea what they were saying. Judges say 8,7,8 for a total of 23. Pppppppppfffffffffffftttttttttttttt. Pam and I were turned on by it and I don't mind saying so.


Mel and Maks dance Samba. HAWT! Fantastic. It had energy and power. Super sexy. And they are both sick. Judges say 10,9,10 for a total of 29. Yup yup yup. Nothing we can add. Best dance of the night.


Cameron and Edyta dance Rumba. Outstanding. The performance was excellent and the connection between the two of them was hot. Edyta's outfit? Gggggggggrrrrrrrrowwwwwwwllllllllll. The only problem we had with it was that they pushed the limit of the rule against "lifts" after they were warned about it last week. Judges say 8,9,9 for a total of 26. Leave the questionable "lift" out and that's a perfect 30.

Here's the leader board:

29 Mel
28 Sabrina
26 Ms Jane
26 Cameron
25 Jennie
23 Helio
21 Marie
21 Mark

We went for the strategic vote tonight y'all. We thought Marie and Helio were vulnerable, so I cast my 8 votes for Marie and Pam phoned in for Helio. We also loved Ms Jane and Mel, but we think they'll be fine this week.

Pam says Cameron is even yummier.

Don't forget...vote for your encore and I'll post it along with my choice and Pam's choice.



In case you weren't aware, southern California is on fire from Santa Barbara down to San Diego. Our thoughts are with the fire fighters, medical and support crews, and with the people who have lost property and homes.

I've been through fire season in SoCal. The year before I moved up here, fire came less than a mile from my townhouse. The only things that kept it from getting my stuff was dedicated fire crews and Interstate 5.

Hang in there southern California.