Irvin makes comeback on Dancing with the Stars, impresses judges

Call him “the comeback kid.” Michael Irvin took his unlucky 13 points from last week's mediocre performance on Dancing with the Stars and convinced the judges and voters that he was worth another week.

In hot pink attire, Irvin and his partner Anna Demidova confidently danced the quickstep on Monday night, receiving a score of 20. Irvin had been an audience favorite from the beginning, but this week he also won the judges' praise. Guest judge Baz Luhrmann, sitting in for Len Goodman, called Irvin a “natural performer” with “great charm.” Judge Carrie Ann Inaba admired Irvin and Demidova's ability to work together as a team. (But watch out for that weird tongue thing, Luhrmann said. He was right.)

It's the footballer in Irvin that will keep him going. His competitive spirit is contagious and has won the hearts of voters at home. Irvin told his partner they would practice in the brand-new facility until 5 a.m. if that's what it took, later promising, “I am going to attack the quickstep.” Attack he might not have done, but he has certainly improved and performed it well.

He knew it too -- a big thumbs up immediately following the performance proved he had shaken off the first week jitters and scored himself his first touchdown.

Irvin was pronounced safe on Tuesday night, as was an injured Tom DeLay. DeLay seemed for sure a candidate for the bottom three, but instead, actress Debi Mazar, snowboarder Louie Vito, and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland were in jeopardy of leaving the show.

But they couldn't tell you right then who would be leaving. They instead filled the space with two performances from Joss Stone -- in one, she was wearing a swanky black dress barefoot and was accompanied by overpowering back-up singers with strange dance moves. Then came Disney Channel star Selena Gomez, then a marching band/break dancer/step show from the USC Trojan Marching Band. And then Joss Stone again.

The three performers who are really killing the competition are singer with no last name Mya, Aaron Carter, and (we hate to say it, but) Donny Osmond. These three got the highest votes from the audience and judges, and were some of the first to be pronounced safe. Irvin is still middle-of-the-pack in terms of dancing ability, but his audience charm will likely keep this big-name Cowboy on the roster.

“We can go as far as prayer, hard work, and those voters can take us,” Irvin said. Sweet.

In the end, Ireland was pronounced the week's weakest link. She elegantly accepted the news as only she could. “I wouldn't change a moment of it,” she said.



(pegasusnews.com)