'Dancing' fans edge closer to season finale

[November 25, 2008]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Brooke Burke could be the one who wins "Dancing With the Stars." The 37-year-old model-actress and her professional partner, Derek Hough, dominated the popular ABC dancing competition's final round Monday night, receiving a combined score of 58 out of 60 from the judges.

Burke wowed the audience with a lively and twirly freestyle routine set to "You're the One That I Want" from "Grease."

"That, I think, was the best freestyle I've ever seen," head judge Len Goodman told Burke.

The judges bestowed Burke with a perfect score of 30 for the routine. The former host of "Wild On" from the E! network and CBS' "Rock Star" has dominated the dance contest's seventh season. Burke has come in first place seven out of nine times during the competition and received a 10 -- the judges' top score -- 13 times, maintaining an average score of 28 from the judges.

"You are the one that we all want," judge Bruno Tonioli said to Burke.

Her fellow finalists, former 'N Sync member Lance Bass and former NFL player Warren Sapp, both received a combined total of 53. For their freestyle routines, Sapp and his professional partner, Kym Johnson, grooved to Ike and Tina Turner's "Proud Mary," while Bass and his professional partner, Lacey Schwimmer, performed a hip-hop ditty to Run-DMC's "It's Tricky."

"I thought there was one choice that didn't resonate with me," judge Carrie-Ann Inaba told Bass.

The seventh-season champion will be crowned Tuesday night after the three finalists perform their final dance. The judges' scores will then be combined with viewers' votes to determine who will win the competition's gaudy mirror ball trophy. Throughout the two-hour finale, previously eliminated couples will also return to perform on the dance floor.

Previously dismissed celebrities include actor Cody Linley; former sprinter Maurice Greene; actresses Susan Lucci and Cloris Leachman; singer Toni Braxton; chef Rocco DiSpirito; reality TV star Kim Kardashian; actor Ted McGinley; and comedian Jeffrey Ross. Volleyball player Misty May-Treanor dropped out of the competition after rupturing her tendon.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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On the Net:

Dancing With the Stars:
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[Associated Press; By DERRIK J. LANG]

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