Dish Of Salt: Emmitt’s ‘Dancing’ Win (November 16, 2006)

by Laura Saltman

I called it yesterday on this one. Though I hear the vote was pretty close, I must say it’s nice to see someone win the show who had no dance experience at all. Moments after the big win, we were with Emmitt for his reaction. This is the only man in the world who can say he’s a Super bowl Champ and a Dancing Champ!

Just because the trophy is ugly doesn’t mean Emmitt won’t be displaying it proudly in his house, “I’m going to find a good spot for it and it’s going to be on a mantle somewhere because this is a conversational piece that will be forever lasting in someone’s mind. So, whenever they come to the house they will be looking for it.”

As for his next move, Emmitt says he’s got big plans, “Well I would like to parlay it into doing some NFL color analysis work and perhaps you never know, a movie deal here and there. Whatever may come up.” He’s got a little experience in the movie world. He did play himself in the 1994 movie, “Little Giants.”

Meanwhile, Mario Lopez’s dance partner, Karina Smirnoff, could not hold back her tears after the show. She broke down a bit to Tony Potts telling him, “You know what, I’ve been dancing since I was 11 years old. So, I do know a little bit about the business and in my book he is the winner by far. So, it’s just I wish everything was the way I had it pictured in my head.”

General consensus is that Karina’s tears were a combination of losing the championship title and quite possibly her not-so-secret relationship with Mario.

Sara Evans honored her commitment to return to the finale despite being embroiled in a bitter divorce that caused her to quit the show. Her friend Willa Ford told us Sara was doing great, though, “She is just amazing right now. She is in such great spirits. It’s like a different Sara.”

Here is some bizarre breaking news from last night. Jerry Springer told Tony he will be teaming up with Sara during a stop on her tour, “She’s singing in Indiana in Merrillville outside of Chicago.. and I’m going to sing with her on that night.”

Right now you are asking yourself can Jerry Springer sing? His answer, “No, but I couldn’t dance either.” Should be interesting!

Immediately following the show, which was seen by 27.2 million viewers, was the series premiere of “Daybreak.” I watched a preview screener and being a huge “24” fan, thought it to be right up my alley. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, though.
Only about half the audience stuck around to check out this replacement show for “Lost.” Still 14 million folks watching is not bad. However, it seems about 4 million people lost interest about thirty minutes in. Diehard “Lost” fans may want to stick with it though.

To keep fans enticed until the second half of “Lost” premieres in February 2007, ABC and ABC.com will feature “Lost Moments” beginning Wednesday, Nov. 15. Comprised of thirty seconds of never-before-seen footage of upcoming episodes, there will be a total of twelve “Lost Moments,” one during each airing of “Day Break.”