A Champion is Presented with the Mirrorball Trophy!

It’s the long-anticipated Finale of Dancing With the Stars!!! And it’s LIVE!!!!

We are treated to an opening dance sequence with all our ousted couples - except when it comes to the dancing on the ballroom floor, it’s all pros, thank goodness. They let the stars do a little walk thing with their pros, ending up with Kate & Tony and rather than move at all, Kate just kinda walks a bit. (She can’t put any effort out or she’d melt into the floor!) Chad is in the audience, why? Is he hurt? Yes - he was hurt practicing football.

Brooke is wearing one of those stripey-wrap dresses again, but this one doesn’t look bad. Nice gold color.

The two dances for tonight: our couples can do their favorite routines and the judges will score them. First place will get 30 points, second place 28 and third place 26. They will add those to the scores from last night along with our votes and the third-place couple will be eliminated. Then, the remaining two couples will dance new routines, be scored by the judges and the final scores tallied for our Mirrorball winning champions!

Nicole & Derek are first. Derek liked the Quickstep, but Len hated it. Nicole liked the Fox Trot. They thought their Paso Doble was great, but they’ve danced that one twice (once as an encore). They decide on their Argentine Tango. We find out that all three couples are doing the Argentine Tango - this will be really interesting! (They probably picked them because they can do lifts). It’s looking good!!! Full of passion and great footwork. Len tells us it had intensity, passion and artistry. Everything was sharp, clean and crisp. Bruno yells “I’m happy to see that the magic continues!” He calls it rich and luscious. Carrie Ann simply says that each step, each move and each lift were a beautiful masterpiece come to life, artistry in motion.

Each couple will be ranked by the judges after all have danced, so we won’t know who has what till it’s all done.

Next to dance are Evan & Anna. After their Freestyle, Anna is seen backstage crying for their three 8s. In deciding their favorite dance, they nix the Samba and their futuristic Cha Cha was a one-time deal. They decide on the Argentine Tango because it was a “breakthrough week.” Evan plans to bring power and control to his Tango. It looks good! He’s got the mood, his steps are powerful and right on. Uh oh, Anna bobbles a little getting her leg off his arm. Hope that doesn’t screw them up! I thought it was great. Evan looks petrified. Bruno tells him “you danced this Tango like a real lady killer.” Strong, powerful, a hint of menace, and he kept the energy under control. Carrie Ann is rubbing her hands together. She said tonight’s dance was true redemption. Len says it’s the most fantastic season so far. He reminds Evan he is the only male celebrity left, and tells him he did a fantastic job not being led around by Anna.

Erin & Maks finish up this round. They’re trying to come up with their favorite dance, and Erin goes right to the Argentine Tango and that’s what they’ll do. She’s blanking out on remembering the dance, and she’s having problems. She’s telling Maks to be quiet, and he’s saying “I’m not even talking yet.” They argue, just like the good old days, and Maks says he’s sick, tired and beat up - and “I’m finished.” Something tells me they’ll be just fine.

The audience is full of past celebrities - Apolo Ohno, Kristy Yamaguchi, Susan Lucci, our cute skateboarder (Louie something, my memory is shot) and the little gymnast Shawn Johnson.

At the beginning of their dance, Erin is trying to look tough except we see her smiling at Maks (in an evil kind of way). She does her leap off the upper stage great once again. She’s sticking her butt out a little, though. It’s almost like she doesn’t want to get too close to Maks’ pelvis. Maybe it’s just me.....especially because Maks looks triumphant at the end of the dance. Carrie Ann begins and says it’s the last dance and the couples are not making it easy. She says Erin was in another zone. Len thinks judging the three Tangos is the hardest job they’ve ever done - and Maks says “imagine dancing it.” Len agrees that they’ve done the hard work. He tells Erin that she’s come the furthest from the beginning. Bruno calls Erin a “sexy, sophisticated man trap.” He says out of all the couples, she’s got the most spectacular growth. She’s improved dance and focus every week. He doesn’t know what the judges will do about picking the winners.

Tom tells us this is the first time all season the judges couldn’t give three perfect dances three perfect scores. They all would have gotten 30s, that’s for sure!!! In the Celebraquarium Brooke interviews all the couples. They all loved re-dancing the Argentine Tango and wouldn’t change a thing. The rankings: 3rd place, Erin & Maks, 2nd place Evan & Anna, and first are Nicole & Derek. (I don’t see how the judges decided that to tell the truth). Tom tells us that we’ll find out who goes home after our votes are factored in, and we may be in for a surprise. Hmmm.....what could happen? (I really wouldn’t find any problem in giving the trophy to any one of our couples. Nicole is incredible. Evan is great. Erin has learned so much and come so far. It’ll be a bummer for any of our stars that don’t make it!)

After the commercial, we see a montage of the beginning of the season. Dances, good comments, bad comments, Nicole’s 10s in week two. Shannon & Mark, Aiden & Edyta and Buzz & Ashly will dance their new dances now. Shannon looks a lot better than she did, but we now know why she was first out. Edyta is wearing her fringe dress again, I know the guys will like that! Oh, Lord, Buzz is dancing to the Star Wars theme, looking very alien. They dance what is supposed to be a Paso Doble, I imagine, and it’s still really bad but the crowd cheers throughout the dance. Tom tells us Buzz’s flight suit is from the “NASA Liberace Collection.” (It’s all sparkly).

Before the commercial, we see Kate & Tony practicing (“Can Kate redeem herself?” NO.) As she does a move and Tony tells her how great she did, she turns and smacks him in the face with her arm. After the commercial are more highlights from the season (except for the clips of Kate, which can't be called highlights.) Tom says Jake & Chelsie will dance, and Vienna (Jake’s choice on The Bachelor) & Dmitry come out and dance a bit too - she’s really doing pretty good! Of course, then the pros leave and Jake and Vienna get to finish the Waltz and we see how good the pros make them look.

Tom tells us that Jake & Chelsie had some fights, but they only came in third on their Top Five List of arguments this season. Numebr Five is Nicole & Derek. Fourth is Aiden & Edyta, getting frustrated together. We see Jake & Chelsie and Jake’s famous “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you” line. Erin & Maks are only #2? We get to see Maks’ temper tantrum again. Oh yeah, Kate & Tony will be first - Kate makes Tony leave - taking off his mike pack and quitting.

Kelly Monaco, the Season One champ, gets interviewed and admits that she and Alec Mazo had fights and tension. She says they offered her a new partner before the shows started to air. Tom congratulates Apolo Ohno on his Olympics, and he says he wishes he could dance like our present couples.

We are going to find out who the third-place couple is now.....everyone looks really tense. This will suck no matter who it is. Awww, it’s Erin & Maks. It seems to be the right decision, but still ... Erin is a little tearful. She says she started this during a crappy time in her life and she wanted to get her smile back, and she’s happy she did the show. Maks is very complimentary, saying it’s been a roller coaster but they’ve both grown and gotten to know each other better. During their retrospective clip, Maks says he’s had to be encouraging, and he’s not the encouraging type. He tells Erin that he made the Finals the second he saw her happy, “that was enough.” Brooke even is holding back tears. They’ll dance their prepared dance, which is a Cha Cha - Erin wipes away tears and has to now be perky and happy for a Cha Cha. The beginning starts slow, but she gets it going and it’s fun. It wasn’t all that, I think probably because they’re leaving, but still fun.

After the commercial, Brooke interviews the Finalist couples. Evan & Anna will dance a Quickstep, and Nicole & Derek will dance to “Proud Mary.” Tom tells us the finals of the College Dance-Off will pit the Utah Valley University Wolverines against the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue is up first dancing a Cha Cha, and they look pretty darn good! Utah Valley is dancing a Samba, and they start off pretty incredibly, with jumps off the upper stage. They just might have this, they look really good. The judges alone are deciding the winners and it will be ... Utah Valley, and Brooke awards them a small version of the ugly Mirrorball Trophy.

We see comments from the folks in the media about our Finalists - Larry King, Mario Lopez, Robin Roberts, and Regis & Kelly all give us their impressions.

Oh boy. Next are Kate & Tony and Tom tells us that they’re the “most talked about.” She gets an interview before their dance and we get to hear from Kate about her upcoming shows. (BFD). Pandering to the viewing audience that quit watching after Kate was eliminated, we see a clip starring Kate and her kids and then her practicing again with Tony. (I’m surprised Tony didn’t commit Hari Kari before he got stuck with her again). They’re going to do another Paso Doble, and she’s still being a pain in the ass. She wants Tony to make the choreography more difficult, but then bitches about it as he does. He calls her out that she’s being conflicting and she’s still being a total bitch. She has to tell Tony that’s she’s controversial, and even if she did a Nicole or Evan performance, she’d still get picked apart. (That’s because you’re a bitch!) They still start their dance with Kate and her Enquirer copies, but Tony isn’t a photographer this time. They segue into “I Will Survive” and I’m about to throw up. Tony takes off Kate’s long skirt and we get to see her legs not dancing. They end it with Kate mouthing “I will survive” and going up on a Hollywood version of a cherry picker.

Nicole & Derek picked the Jive for their final dance, because of the energy. Evan & Anna will do a Quickstep and they’re really practicing hard. Nicole says her competition in Evan is Barishnikov on ice, and he was born and bred to be a fierce competitor. Evan tells us that Nicole has a natural feel for music, and her body moves like no one else’s.

Before the commercial we see that Niecy and Pam will dance next, and Niecy says that when Pam was eliminated she (Niecy) had to carry the “torch of sexy.” Now that they’re both back, “it’s gonna be a double dip.”

Brooke is back in the dressing rooms to interview the Finalists. She asks Nicole & Derek if they can stay at the top of the leaderboard. They both say all they’re going to do is give it their all, and they feel as if they’ve already won. She asks Evan & Anna what it’s going to take to win, and Evan is honored to be in the Finals with Nicole, and they’ll give their final dance their all.

Tom introduces Niecy and Pam as “a celebration of all things jiggly.” Pam is hanging from a big circle thingy from the ceiling and gets lowered down - and dances with Tony and Dmitry before ending up with Damian and doing a great, sexy dance. It’s now Niecy’s turn to jiggle and she’s got Tony & Dmitry too, but Louis comes to steal her away and it looks like a three-way fight for Niecy, and it’s fun!

This season’s stars make comments on the Finalists, saying how hard it is and of course, there are the “Evan will win” comments, the “Nicole can’t lose,” and “I can’t say who will take it.” Very diplomatic, these folks!

We have smoke and a giant Mirrorball from the ceiling, and Nicole and Evan are lowered to the ballroom floor, with great pomp and circumstance. We see clips of all the practice, the fights, the work, and Nicole says she needs to trust in what she does and who she is. Derek thanks Nicole for making this his favorite season ever. Here come Nicole & Derek for their Jive - and it’s pretty damn perky! (My daughter called me in the middle of their dance, and I enjoyed it so much I rewound it from the beginning!) They get a long, standing ovation. Len says “there are 12 days of Christmas, 7 dwarves, 4 Beatles, and there can be only one winner of Dancing With the Stars - and it should be you.” Bruno doesn’t rise out of his seat this time, saying this is the best season of Dancing With the Stars ever. Oh, here he comes, rising up, saying that “you two have produced the greatest dances and this was the crowning glory of an amazing season.” Carrie Ann says she comes to work every day and looks forward to seeing what they can do. Sounds like a perfect score to me (and they deserve it!!!) Brooke asks Nicole about the fact that she just danced her last dance, and panting Nicole says that she’s just “so flipping happy.” Their scores: 10-10-10=30. Of course!!! Their total for both nights is 115, and those scores will be added to our votes to determine the winner.

Evan & Anna will dance their last dance. Anna says she was able to throw more at Evan because of his talent, and Evan realized that while he was able to get the steps, he needed to add another layer. Anna gets teary saying she’ll never have another partner like Evan because “he’s the one.” Evan says “they broke the mold.” Their Quickstep is great - his footwork and posture look super and they’re both smiling and having fun. I really don’t like her dress, though, the skirt looks weird for some reason. Bruno tells Evan he’s always been a good dancer, but his performance level has been enhanced. He can do charming, sexy and dashing. Carrie Ann says that Nicole & Derek have been winning in the scoring, but Evan has won the hearts of herself and everyone in the audience. Any criticism he’s had, he’s worked with it and he’s a true champion. Len says Evan has truly been a joy to watch. He’s been elegant all while traveling the country, and has done a fantastic job. (Why do I think they’re getting a perfect score too, pretty much leaving it up to the viewer votes?) In the Celebraquarium Evan says he wants to do it all over again, and he and Anna will be “forever bound by this show.” Their scores: 10-9-9=28. They have 108 total points for both nights. (And proves me wrong about the judges’ scores. Oh, well, shows ya what I know!)

Now for the presentation of the Mirrorball Trophy! Who will win? Our champions will be revealed - after Tom and Brooke comment and we hear the suspenseful music, of course! Nicole looks like she’s ready to throw up, and Evan is smiling more than I’ve seen him all season.

And the winners are ... Nicole & Derek!!!! Evan says that Nicole & Derek deserved it, and have inspired all the other couples. Nicole & Derek get presented with the trophy, and Mark comes over and raises Derek on his shoulders along with the trophy leaving Nicole on the floor on her own until Aiden comes over to raise Nicole up too. The confetti is flying, and Nicole takes time to look at the camera and say “thank you” to the audience as she blows kisses.

So congrats to Nicole & Derek! She really deserved it, she was the best dancer - and it’s nice to see that the best dancer actually won this season as opposed to a good dancer with the best personality (although Evan wasn’t the best in that department either).

I’ll be back in the fall, when Season 11 begins! Have a great summer, everyone!