Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and his partner Kym Johnson tied with Chelsea Kane in the finals of Dancing With The Stars Monday night, scoring 59 out of 60 points. Kirstie Alley lagged behind those two, with 54 points.
↵Ward and Johnson's second routine, a freestyle, scores points with me for being really creative, but was nonetheless really weird, with Ward strutting out in a black-and-gold marching-band costume and Johnson dressed as a cheerleader. The routine featured a bunch of difficult lifts, along with the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" played on marching-band instruments. It was all pretty silly without seeming to be rooted anywhere, culturally, which I thought made it awkward to watch. But what do I know - the judges awarded Ward and Johnson with perfect scores. And the degree of difficulty was pretty high, so I thought Ward and Johnson deserved some credit for that. Here's the video.
↵↵The season finale of the show will take place Tuesday night at 9:00 PM, with each pair dancing once more before the Mirror Ball trophy is presented.
↵For more on the Steelers, check out Behind The Steel Curtain.