It’s crunch time for Warren Sapp on Dancing With The Stars
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Tonight is the big Dancing With The Stars semifinals. One of the four couples will leave after tomorrow’s results show, three will dance in the finals.
Still in the running are talk show host/model/mother Brooke Burke and the best professional dancer of the group, Derek Hough; Nickelodeon Network teen actor/hearththrob Cody Linley and Julianne, his little sister (and recently appendix-freed surgery patient and two-time DWTS winner; former boy band star and proudly gay performer Lance Bass and his kind-of-grunge, black eye makeup favoring partner Lacey Schwimmer; and former NFL star and crowd charmer Warren Sapp, with Aussie dance partner Kym Johnson.
Athletes have won the last four editions: the NFL’s Emmitt Smith and partner Cheryl Burke; speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough; race car driver Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough; figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas. Plus two other NFL players -- Jerry Rice in season two and Jason Taylor last season -- finished second.
So the pressure is on Sapp, which he seems to understand. He was on quite a PR campaign late last week, doing interviews at the NFL Network studios on Thursday in Culver City with his partner, Kym. She claims to be 5-7 and about 110 pounds, though she looks shorter on television. Warren is, um, bigger.
Kym said it has been a pleasure dancing with Warren, no matter the reports that Warren has pulled some big-shot stunts on the set. Warren said he is now ‘in it to win it.’ He said he does feel some legacy pressure: ‘Us athletes have a reputation to uphold.’
By the way, the athlete couple on Amazing Race made it to the final five on Sunday night. Former NFL defensive back and Washington State assistant coach Ken Greene and his cheated-upon wife, Tina, who is hoping to get Ken on the straight and narrow (and maybe reconcile) overcame some bad clue reading comprehension and stayed in the race.
Ken and Tina are getting more likeable by the week. Or, maybe it’s just good editing.
-- Diane Pucin