Whine & Cheese

Apolo and Helio Naked (Kinda Sorta)

First off, apologies for the potential/probable NSFW-ness of this post.  But in some cases, nudity (without really showing anything) is artistic and I think this post qualifies... but just in case, if you are wary... don't scroll down much further!

The 3rd Annual ESPN "Body Issue" is out this week and, as always, it always causes a stir.  Soccer goalie, and current DWTS contestant, Hope Solo seems to be getting most of the press this year.  But, needless to say, not sharing any of the ladies' photos here!  And truthfully, I wasn't going to share... but then I noticed a lot of hits to W&C today (let's say the hits are not as they were in the blogging hey-days!), and saw that most of them were looking for some form of "Apolo Anton Ohno Naked"... which I am guessing is leading folks to this post (which wasn't all that much).

Anyhow, here are a couple more pictures of Apolo in the buff ....

And just for good measure, also including another DWTS champion... Helio Castroneves.  I remember at the time of his tenure on the dancing show that folk were clamoring for pix of him showing some skin, so here you go!  Kind of like this one too as it does capture all the "fun" that seems to be Helio.

 

Mark Ballas - Hot (Damn) Baked Alaska

Despite being a long-time fan of Mark Ballas (my first - and only - shirtless Mark Ballas post, goes all the way back to October 2007 with dance partner Sabrina Bryan.. and still, to this day, gets a lot of hits), given my political leanings, I never ever imagined that I would vote Mark and partner Bristol Palin, but alas last night I did.. even though I knew that Mark taking off his shirt was a shameless ploy for votes... but, hey it worked!

Though to be honest and bi-partisan, I didn't think the dance was as bad as judges rated it.  Granted Bristol and family have pretty much chased the spotlight (and/or the spotlight chased them), but with not even a reality show under her belt, she is probably one of the most "real", non-celebrity/non-peformers that has ever been on the DWTS... and 19 years old no less, so again, I though she did pretty well.. then again, I could have just been blinded by Mark's body... which seems a bit more buff these days.

ABC.com made doing screen caps a bit tricky as when you hit pause it goes to a static ad instead of "freezing" the abs action, so had to do these on the fly... but think they came out pretty well! 

Here Google, Google:

Mark Ballas Shirtless, Mark Ballas Dancing Shirtless with Bristol Palin

DWTS11 Predictions

Ok, to keep the tradition going... here's who I think is going to make the finals of Dancing With The Stars 11 based on only the first dance.

Jennifer Grey with Derek Hough, Brandy with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and Rick Fox with Cheryl Burke.

I think this was one of the easiest to come up with (famous last words!!)

Cho and The Situation seem to be in immediate danger.

Florence, The Hoff, Palin, Bolton may hang on for a few weeks thanks to a fan base.

Don't see Audrina or Kurt going the distance... give Kurt the athlete's edge tho

...leaving only Kyle as the potential surprise not-household name that can make an impact.

So we shall see...

Dancing With The Stars 11 Pairings

It's a W&C tradition, so kind of difficult to stop it now.  Here are the pairings for the upcoming season:

Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower

Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel

Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough

David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson

Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer

Brandy Norwood and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas

Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff

Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya

My gut reaction is that a lot of these partnerships seems to go the way of past "types"... seem Cheryl and Anna get the athletes, Karina gets the wild child, Louis gets the funny lady, Corky gets the old lady, Kym gets the old guy... and Mark and Tony seem to get some challenges, though at least this season I think Mark will stick around a bit since I think Bristol will have a considerable voting bloc no matter how she does.  One nice changes is that Derek gets someone even older than me!

Sad to see one name not on the list, Edyta Sliwinska, who had been the only pro who had appeared in each and every one of the first 10 seasons.  It sounds like it may have been some behind-the-scenes disputes (different "visions" with show producers and/or husband Alec Mazo not getting enough/any air time), but the Polish beauty has also been attending college and publicly said she needs to move on knowing that her life isn't the show and that she can't be a dancer the rest of her life.  Pretty smart thinking! 

Erin Go Bra

Ah, the media loves a celebrity feud and the latest one they have created is The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck vs. Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter currently appearing on Dancing With The Stars.

To bring you up to speed, last year Andrews was the victim of a stalker/peeping Tom who videotaped her through a hotel room peephole, with that footage making its way to the Internet.  The man was ultimately arrested and is currently serving a 30-month prison sentence.

This week, Hasselbeck, quite off the cuff, criticized Andrew's skimpy dancing costumes: “In the past three weeks she’s been wearing next to nothing. In light of what happened and as a legal [matter] — and as inexcusable as it was for that horrific guy to go in and try to peep on her in her hotel room. I mean, in some way if I’m him, I’m like, ‘Man! I just could’ve waited 12 weeks and seen this — a little bit less — without the prison time!’”

While I think Hasselbeck's comments were wrong and definitely crossed the line in a classic "blaming the victim"/"she deserved it" way, it still made me think about my own, and perhaps politically incorrect thoughts, regarding Andrews.  Though my thoughts have nothing to do with what she is wearing. If anything, I think Andrews' costumes have been pretty darn modest compared to many of the females (Hello, Edyta?!) on the show... while the above shot suggests a bare midriff it is all flesh-colored fabric (and yes, I could not pass up an opportunity to show Maks shirtless!)

My "issue" is that it is the stalking that directly led her to be cast on the show and no doubt in my mind for all involved (Andrews, ABC, DWTS) that it is/was a "strike while the iron is hot" scenario.  Yes, Andrews did have an audience/some level of fame as an ESPN reporter (which is not exactly the DWTS demographic), but that's not what landed her on Oprah. 

And while Andrews may be viewing DWTS as therapy and to gain fame in a new, different, more positive way as a celebri-dancer I have always found her casting to a bit tawdry and uncomfortable...and certainly proverbial "elephant in the room" as it was something that was never mentioned up to this somewhat manufactured controversy and peripherally when she allegedly had death threats against her this season (not sure why she attracts lunatics!).

Aiden Turner Shirtless

I have had these "research" files of All My Children's Aiden Turner sitting on my desktop since before this season of Dancing With The Stars...

Thus far, I don't think he's shown a heck of a lot of personality or charisma thus far (perhaps just nervousness) and, last night, he even made poor Edyta storm out of the room (tho methinks this practice session drama is more manufactured than ever this season).  That said, DWTS does have a history of folks loving their soap stars/studs. So while I don't think he will last long as his predecessors, I think that voting block/base may save him for this first cut.  If so, I suggest they don't hold back on a scantily-dressed dance for next week!

DWTS 10 Predictions

It has been a W&C tradition for me to predict the DWTS' Final 3 just based on one performance.  I will go ahead and do that, however predictable those seem to be... but I have to admit that I am starting to lose interest in other reality shows, even my long time favorites.

I have long-ditched Survivor and now think I have skipped the last two edition of Big Brother... it just seems like we've seen every type of contestant/scenario... and this isn't just with DWTS, but other shows I have watched from the very start, American Idol (Season 9) and even my beloved Amazing Race (Season 16!).  On a non-reality front, I have also recently thrown in the towel on Desperate Housewives (which was likely already a season, or two, too late). 

I am committed on these for now, but seriously have to reconsider next go-rounds, though Idol and DWTS are such pop-culture icons/magnets, I am not sure I could really do it, haha.

So onto those DWTS predictions!  

Here's my thought process. I see easy/early eliminations for Kate, Aiden, and hopefully/mercifully Buzz... think Erin has a fan-base problem and didn't "wow" enough to overcome that and I think Jake will falter with the Latin dances.  Shannen and Pam get the "at least I know who they are" bump and you can never count out an NFL-er, though Chad is going to have to show more personality.

That leaves just three... and they were the favorites when the cast was announced and I really see no reason why Evan Lysacek w/ Anna Trebunskaya and Nicole Scherzinger w/ Derek Hough will not be there to the end, unless they fall victim to the "so good, don't need my vote."  For the 3rd spot, I'll go out on a limb and say Niecy Nash w/ Louis Van Amstel as long as she continues to be as funny as she was on the debut.

Dancing With The Stars 10 Pairings

Will continue with the W&C tradition of sharing the couples for the new season of Dancing With The Stars.  Have to say, I am not too excited about this line-up.  I am not sure if these reality shows are starting to run their course with me as I am feeling similar indifference to latest edition of The Amazing Race and have thus far been unimpressed with this year's American Idol crew.

Here they are with the "star" first followed by their professional partner:

Buzz Aldrin and Ashly Costa (formerly DelGrosso)

- 80 year old, former astronaut. Ashley's last DWTS appearance was Season 3

Pamela Anderson and Damian Whitewood

- Big bosom'd 'Baywatch' actress. Whitewood is making his DWTS debut.

Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

- ESPN personality, but more famous for being filmed by a Peeping Tom thru a hotel peephole and uploaded to the Internet.

Shannen Doherty and Mark Ballas

- 3rd 90210 alum to appear on DWTS after Ian Ziering and Jennie Garth, who also danced with Mark.

Kate Gosselin and Tony Dovolani

- Mom/Reality whore.

Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya

- Fresh off winning gold at Vancouver in men's figure skating.

Niecy Nash and Louis Van Amstel

- Comedienne, 'Reno 911'.

Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke

- NFL/Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, apparently more famous for changing his last name to his jersey number...in Spanish.

Jake Pavelka and Chelsie Hightower

- Latest ABC "Bachelor".

Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough

- Pussycat Dolls lead singer.

Aiden Turner and Edyta Sliwinska

- 'All My Children' hunk, but no coast-to-coast commuting as AMC recently moved production to LA. Edyta keeps her streak alive as the only pro to compete in all 10 seasons

I have a complicated love/hate relationship with reality television, but what I particularly don't like about this season of DWTS is that it includes two "stars" of the reality genre that I have done my best to avoid however impossible that is... Kate (of course!) and Jake, the Bachelor. 

I think one wise move was cutting down on the number of couples. The last time the show had only 11 couples was Season 4, though I am sure this doesn't mean less 2 hour episodes or even less weeks in total (maybe some non-elimination weeks?).  However, the smaller cast means a lot of pros out of work.  Most sad to see that Kym Johnson is not back (c'mon, she's the defending champ!) and hottie Dmitry Chaplin... also missing are regulars like Karina, Jonathan, Alec, and Lacey

Without seeing a dance, I would guess that Evan and Nicole have the most natural ability and one can never count out the football player, though I have to admit I am pretty unfamiliar with Chad.

Dancing With The Stars 9 Pairings

It's kind of a W&C tradition that I "announce" the upcoming pairings for Dancing With the Stars.  So while I don't have all the fancy graphics (yet), they are listed below... my initial reaction was that there was no one I was totally stoked about being on the show...

Aaron Carter with Karina Smirnoff
Natalie Coughlin with Alec Mazo
Mark Dacascos with Lacey Schwimmer
Tom Delay with Cheryl Burke
Macy Gray with Jonathan Roberts
Ashley Hamilton with Edyta Sliwinska
Melissa Joan Hart with Mark Ballas
Kathy Ireland with Tony Dovolani
Michael Irvin with Anna Demidova (debut, recall she won that 'be a pro next season' contest)
Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough
Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya
Debi Mazar with Maks Chmerkovsky
Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel
Donny Osmond with Kym Johnson
Mya with Dmitry Chaplain
Louie Vito with Chelsie Hightower

I laughed when one local radio personality here in Phoenix referred to it as Dancing With the Vaguely Familiar... and that's probably why there was some lack of excitement... there were a few that I likely could have picked out of a line-up (Joanna, Chuck, and Louie V)... and a bunch that I have heard of but not totally aware (Natalie, Mark D, Ashley, Melissa, Michael, Mya).

The good news/bad news is that I don't see any clear-cut favorites... Mya has dance ability (but as we're always told, ballroom is apparently a whole different thing), ditto for boy-bandy-ish Aaron... Donny certainly has the "performer" gene ... think the darkhorse is Iron-Chef's Dascascos with the martial arts physical ability.

But as I joked with Todd, the past couple of seasons it's been more fun seeing the pros who I think have turned into the "stars" on this show!

Express Lane: Issue 65

Remembering Tiananmen - The Big Picture - Here's some amazing (as usual!) pictures from the protests and tragedy at Tiananmen 20 years ago - plus photos from today as well. Fascinating! (6/6/09)

Adam Lambert Responds To Clay Aiken's Blogs - "If he wants to ride my coattails, good for him" Oh, snap! Don't mess with a gay man Clay... well, errr... a gay man who's been doing it a lot longer and much better than you! (5/29/09)

Dancing Danny Gokey with the Stars? - Yikes! Before you get too upset, it could be worse... apparently Gokey's fellow Top 10-er, Scott MacIntyre is also interested - hopefully their IDOL/FOX contracts forbid it! (5/27/09)

Samantha Harris to Join Cast of Broadway's "Chicago" - Ok, they've officially just let anyone star in this show now! C'mon, the woman is challenged by having to read off a teleprompter and do basic math! (5/20/09)