Trav's Thoughts

We award the fabulous mirror ball trophy live from Hollywood!



We've had our traditional Finale Feast...crackers with assorted cheeses, a nice little Robert Mondavi merlot, and Boston creme CAKE. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy a couple hours of frivolous entertainment while we wait to see who will take home this...

Will it be the technically proficient Mya? She and her partner Dmitry Chaplin have earned the highest judges' scores this season, consistently topping the leader board. She leads our three finalists after Monday's performance finale, with 87 points out of 90. Click here to enjoy their Paso Doble from Monday night, and here to enjoy their freestyle.

Will it be the consummate entertainer Donny Osmond? He has used the judges' criticism to improve his technique, and has worked effectively with his partner Kym Johnson to consistently delivery crowd pleasing performances. He is second after Monday's performance finale, with 85 points out of 90. Click here to enjoy their Cha Cha Cha from Monday night, and here to enjoy their freestyle.

Will it be the charming underdog Kelly Osbourne? She epitomizes what this competition can be as she has overcome her insecurities to shine on the dance floor. Her partner Louis van Amstel has helped her evolve from awkward to elegant. She is third after Monday's performance finale, with 76 points out of 90. Click here to enjoy their Argentine Tango from Monday night, and here to enjoy their freestyle.

And a bonus! Click here to enjoy the mega mix dance. It's the full clip with rehearsal footage. The dance begins somewhere around the 3:20 mark.

Hehehehehee...the opening video had a hiccup and they had to re-run it after commercial.

Would you believe it...Whitney Houston is in the ballroom. She's got a new single off a new album. She has destroyed her instrument. I've never really been a fan, but this woman used to have A Voice. Plus, whenever her hair flopped out of her eyes, she looked loaded.

And now...the parade of the eliminated. We begin with Ashley Hamilton and Edyta Sliwinska, plus a recap of the first three weeks of competition. Next up is Kathy Ireland with Tony Dovolani, then Macy Gray with Jonathan Roberts, and finally Debi Mazar with Maks Chmerkovskiy.

If you'll recall, Tom Delay had to withdraw due to a double foot injury and didn't get to dance his Texas Two Step. He and Cheryl Burke return to the finale to perform it. And we recap weeks four and five. Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya reprise their Tango, followed by Mark Decascos with Lacey Schwimmer dancing their Paso Doble. Bonus! A little martial arts dance off from the two fellas.

I'm skipping the Carolla bit...oh wait, I'm watching live. I can't forward through it.

Let's watch Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo reprise their wonderful Rumba, and a review of week six and seven. Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas show off their dance off Mambo.

Each of the finalists will get a chance to dance once more for judges' votes. They get to select a dance from earlier in the season.

Kelly and Louis return to the beginning with Viennese Waltz. I love to see her dance this with so much confidence. Absolutely enchanting. I don't know if there's ever been another celebrity I've enjoyed more. The crowd chanted for her.

Mya and Dmitry dance Jive. This was the dance that showed how determined she was to battle through Len's criticism and keep working to improve. It was great the first time they danced it and it was even better this time. She's one of the better celebrity dancers ever on the show.

Donny and Kym dance Argentine Tango. This was the dance that proved he was going to bring the dancing to go along with the Osmond fan vote. He may have had that huge fan advantage over the other celebrities, but you can't say he was a dancing disaster. He wasn't...and this Tango was outstanding.

And that's all the competitive dancing for Season 9.

The judges rank the pairs from first to last, adding the points to the tally from last night. As before it's 30 points for 1st, 28 for 2nd, and 26 for 3rd. How did the judges rank our finalists? Well I'll tell you!

Kelly was 3rd, Mya was 2nd, and Donny was 1st. YES!

Here's our absolute final leader board:

115 Mya and Dmitry
115 Donny and Kym
102 Kelly and Louis

I can report that Pam pestered me from the moment she knew the east coast broadcast was over, but I refused to let her cheat and find out who won. So at this point, we were still 30 minutes from the announcement of the winner.

So...let's get on with more fluff and filler!

Awwwww...it's a squee moment. Louis Vito returns with Chelsie Hightower. And Donny sings Puppy Love. First the kids Waltz to the classic love song, then they kick it into a Jive to a jazzed up version. That was great.

Would you believe there is a mirror ball ring for the winner of a dance off between Michael Irvin and Anna Demidova, and Jerry Rice and Anna Trebunskaya? There is. Both couples are dancing Paso Doble...Irvin is in Cowboy colors and Rice is in 49er colors. I have to be honest about this. Neither guy danced very well. But I shall always select Jerry over Irvin. The judges decide that Irvin won the dancing, but they give Jerry a ring as well. Silly.

Aaron Carter returns with Karina Smirnoff, dancing their Muppet Show Quickstep. This was my favorite dance of his, along with the Jive. And we get a recap of weeks 8 and 9.

Now we have quite the odd segment. We've got Miss Piggy, presumably as part of the whole Muppet theme from Aaron and Karina. Then it's a competition Mambo featuring Joanna Krupa with Derek Hough, Cloris Leachman with Corky Ballas, Jerry Springer with Edyta Sliwinska, and Steve Wozniak with Karina Smirnoff. As you might expect, Joanna and Derek win.

Pam is getting very impatient now, but she is behaving herself and not searching the result.

Whitney Houston returns to the ballroom, singing I Wanna Dance with Somebody. It is an absolute crime what that woman has done to her voice.

But finally! It's our pros! We just didn't get enough of our pros dancing on this finale, and that's my only complaint.

GAH! It's time! Here we go...final results.

Finishing in third place...it's Kelly and Louis.



Finishing in second place...it's Mya and Dmitry.



And that means...YES!!! Donny and Kym are Season 9 champions! Can I get a WOOOO and a SQUEEE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!



And now it's all over until the spring for Season 10. Thanks again for putting up with my silly obsession.

Oh...just one more thing.

Uhm...I just have one itteh bitteh wish. It's a small thing, but maybe...perhaps it might not be too much to ask...but...could we maybe invite Ms Valerie Bertinelli to participate in Season 10?

I'd be forever grateful.

Later babies!