At least it wasn't Marie

Another season of Dancing with the Stars comes to an end and what a dramatic season it was! Illnesses, deaths in families, super great dancing, major upsets in the competition... To use a "Bruno-ism"...it certainly was the roller coaster ride of the Dancing with the Stars conglomorate!

So...at least (thank God!) Marie didn't win. Although she somehow managed to make it to the finals (was it a real fan base or is there something to the conspiracy theories of hiring callers??), she simply was not a great dancer. What technique she had was messy, her timing was off, she was slow, etc. etc. She did know how to act; I will give her that but the show isn't called "Acting with the Stars". I AM sorry for the personal hardships in her life, however, she didn't deserve to win and I'm glad that if it wasn't Sabrina, that it ended up as a competition between Mel and Helio.

I think that between Mel and Helio, Mel was the better dancer. But I am OK with Helio winning. He worked extremely hard, he was charming, had charisma, was a great performer, and a very strong competitor. I am still so surprised that a race car driver with no dance experience could do as well as he did. Some people are just special and mulit-talented; Helio certainly qualifies in that category. Helio taught me that a smile can go a long way and his pure joy of dancing and living in the moment are things we should all seek to experience throughout our lives. I loved his enthusiasm and sense of humor.

Mel, you are still a winner and I know it would be better if you won the competition. Winning isn't everything but it is very sweet! However, the journey is also important and you demonstrated what it takes to be a winner every week. You should be proud of what you did.

A few random thoughts:

Helio, I'm sorry about your engagement being called off, but really what were you thinking (being an engaged man and all) in kissing Julianne the way you did not once but twice on national television? Dancing is definitely an activity where you spend a lot of time in close proximity with someone and sometimes things happen. That is understandable. But I'm sure it was very hurtful for your fiance to see that.

And...I am tired of seeing the Osmonds all over the place...they have become the Anna Nicole Smith of Entertainment Tonight, they've been on Oprah, on Larry King, etc. Enough already!! And my final critique of Marie...she talks way too much. I don't think she once ever listened all the way through to the judge's comments and she interrupted Samantha and Tom all the time.

I still am upset that Sabrina was not in the finals. I think that shaded my whole experience with the last few weeks of the show. But it is after all, a TV dance competition, not something that will impact world events or provide a cure for cancer, etc. I am grateful to all of the celebrities for putting themselves on the line and giving us their all so that we could share this experience with them. Thank you to everyone!!

So what will we all do on Monday and Tuesday nights until the next Dancing with the Stars?