Hey, what can I say? I'm just trying to clean out my google alerts! LOL 
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'Dancing with the Stars' finale casts French model, Olympic gymnast, reality-TV starlet by Lorilee Craker | The Grand Rapids Press
Monday May 18, 2009, 8:28 AM
Model Cheryl Burke and her dance partner, French actor Gilles Marini.
Ooh, la la! This has been the "Dancing With the Stars" season with French flair, thanks to le hunk Gilles Marini, the Cannes-born actor and model who came out of nowhere (unless you saw him au natural in the "Sex and the City" movie, which I did not) and has hot-stepped his way into the hearts of millions of voters.
I'll admit, when I read his credentials (chiefly as the eye bon bon in the "Sex" movie), I rolled my eyes and mentally placed him 10th or 11th out of a field of 13 hoofers on ABC's dance competition.
Then, I saw him dance. And his ranking shot to the top.
Gilles, whom judge Carrie Ann Inaba called "the most graceful male dancer we've had on this show," displayed showmanship, rhythm, strength and a work ethic he said was honed as a child in Cannes, working alongside his pastry chef father in a bakery.
Tony Dovolani and his dance partner Melissa Rycroft, of "The Bachelor" fame.Gilles has the technical stuff down cold, and he has that extra component of charm and a humble, likable personality. It obviously would mean the world to him to win the Mirror Ball trophy, which has no monetary prize attached to it but surely will add rocket fuel to his career prospects.
Gilles and his partner, Cheryl Burke (a two-time raiser of the shimmering trophy), have tough adversaries in Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and reality-TV starlet Melissa Rycroft of "The Bachelor."
But, while Melissa and her partner, the congenial Tony Dovolani, seem to be sliding a bit in their scores, Shawn is poised to be Gilles' biggest threat.
Olympic athletes have traditionally done extremely well when they transfer their top-of-the-podium drive to the ballroom.
Speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, both also gold medalists, have a dazzling orb at home, decorating their mantels alongside their medals.
My family fell in love with Shawn this season, after rooting her on last summer during the Beijing games. Her spunky, sweet nature and fantastic strength and agility have made her, similar to Yamaguchi, a natural at whatever she turns her foot to.
Judge Bruno Tonioli is smitten with her, having uttered barely a negative word in the course of 10 weeks of judging. Most of the time, he catapults from his chair and raves like a man possessed.
"Shawn, my cheeky little devil," he began to gush like a grandma during Week 7, "you were like a young Debbie Reynolds or Mitzi Gaynor -- that's the way to do it, my darling!"
Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and her dance partner Mark Ballas.Obviously, he's lost his objectivity, so it's a good thing crusty Len Goodman is there next to him on the judging panel, balancing Bruno's raves with some nitty gritty common sense. Also in Shawn's corner: her partner, Mark Ballas, who won the mirror ball two seasons ago with Yamaguchi.
Rycroft made headlines earlier this spring when she was proposed to by "Bachelor" Jason Mesnick, who subsequently broke it off and asked Grand Rapids' Molly Malaney for another chance.
Having weathered public rejection in March, Rycroft was pulled into a very different arena of competition as a last-minute replacement for an injured Nancy O'Dell. She, too, showed immediate adeptness at dancing, with her early ballet training and experience as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader giving her samba-ready skills.
All three are top-drawer competitors, and each of them could conceivably go all the way to "DWTS" glory. But Gilles should win, no doubt about it. Because no matter how cute and plucky -- and talented, of course -- Shawn and Melissa are, they just can't compete with zat fantastic accent and Mediterranean panache. Hey, what can you do? C'est la vie!
www.mlive.com/tv/index.ssf/2009/05/dancing_with_the_stars_finale.html
