Look in the Mirrorball, Hines, you're a champ again
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Fans cheer at Stage AE on the North Shore tonight as Hines Ward and partner Kym Johnson are announced the winners of Dancing with the Stars. -
Fans watch the "Dancing With The Stars" finale at Stage AE on the North Shore.
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To paraphrase late Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince, he had 'em all the way.
Baseball isn't Hines Ward's sport, but then, until recently, neither was ballroom dancing. That all changed Tuesday night, when he finally got to hoist the sparkly "Dancing With the Stars" Mirrorball Trophy amid a rain of confetti.
"I think you are the MVP of 'Dancing With the Stars' season 12," judge Carrie Ann Inaba said.
Mr. Ward, 35, and professional dance partner Kym Johnson did indeed stay at or near the top of the pack all season long in the ABC reality competition. Consistent through more than 10 weeks of cha-cha-cha, quickstep, samba, jive and a whole dance card of formerly mystifying steps, the Steelers wide receiver consistently impressed the judges, the home audience and perhaps most important, Steelers Nation.
Casting votes though land lines, cell phones and computers, they helped Mr. Ward become the first football player since Dallas running back Emmitt Smith to win.
Runner-up was actress Kirstie Alley, who proved that being 60 and overweight was not going to slow her down. She and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy finished with 54 of 60 judges points on the Monday performance show; the other two teams scored 59 for their two-dance efforts.
Finishing third was Disney star Chelsea Kane and partner Mark Ballas, who were tied with Mr. Ward and Ms. Johnson in judges points late in the season.
There was concern in the Pittsburgh area Monday when some viewers reported they could not get through on the telephone to vote for Mr. Ward. There was no immediate response from ABC.
PG VIDEO: THEIR FINAL DANCEPG VIDEO: CELEBRATION AT STAGE AEPG VIDEO: WHAT PITTSBURGHERS SAYWin or lose, Ms. Johnson said in her OK! Magazine online blog yesterday, "I couldn't have wished for a better partner. Hines has just been amazing, he really is such a lovely person."
Although it took less than two minutes to announce the winners, the two-hour results show predictably was stuffed with everything but an appearance by Donald Trump: the Black-Eyed Peas performed, as did country star Sara Evans, the Go-Go's and previously eliminated celebrities such as Ralph Macchio, Petra Nemcova and Romeo.
Josh Groban even put in a surprise appearance and professional wrestler Chris Jericho did his impression of judge Bruno Tonioli, although former Playboy housemate Kendra Wilkinson in a bright yellow bra shooting sparks might have been a bigger attention-getter.
First Published May 25, 2011 12:00 am
