December 8, 2008

The noted choreographer, and perhaps the most famous former “Laker Girl,” Abdul mastered cheerleading as a high schooler. This year, she celebrates the 20th anniversary of her debut album “Forever Your Girl” which hit the number one spot on the Billboard top 200 chart.

Collegiate cheerleaders from around the country sent in audition tapes to MTV and Abdul handpicked five squads to compete in the show. Whether or not you believe cheer is a “real” sport, the participants are all talented athletes who train as hard as many other competitors.

Check back in January for more cheer action.

November 20, 2008

The former tomboy from Lake Forrest, Illinios, McKey, won (all together now…) a contract with Elite model management, a spread and cover for Seventeen magazine, and a $100,000 contract with covergirl.

Nineteen-year-old McKey defeated her rival, LA high school student Samantha Potter, after strutting along one unique runway, a giant hot pink hill, and striking memorable poses. Annaleigh was third in the contest.

We picked both of the finalists at the beginning because of their athleticism and beauty. Winner McKey played all kinds of sports as a kid including hockey and soccer. She now trains as a boxer with her cagefighter bf. 

When McKey was 15, a sports injury forced her off the field and she began to channel her competitive energy into modeling.  Looks like it paid off!!

November 7, 2008

The “Bayer Diabetes Care Presents Friends and Family Ice Show” was filmed last month at the U.S. Airways Arena in Phoenix.  It will be broadcast this Saturday, November 8th, from 4:00pm – 6:00pm ET on NBC (check local listings).

The Jonas Brothers — Kevin, Joe and Nick — are the music headliners for Yamaguchi’s annual “Friends and Family” ice show, which features Olympic and world-class skaters and their children.

Bayer Diabetes Care, the lead sponsor of the“Friends & Family” ice show, recently announced a partnership with Nick Jonas, who has type 1 juvenile diabetes, to launch the “Walk In Nicks Shoes” campaign to help young people with diabetes and their families simplify life with diabetes. Information and updates from Nick are available on www.nickssimplewins.com.

The “Friends and Family” show concept has been something dear to Yamaguchi’s heart. She and husband, Bret Hedican, are parents of two daughters. Keara was born in 2003, and Emma arrived in 2005. Their children have big skates to fill as Yamaguchi has won a gold medal and Hedican was part of the Carolina Hurricanes team that won the coveted Stanley Cup title in 2006. Yamaguchi has always been involved with children’s organizations and established her Always DreamFoundation for children in 1996.

Among the skaters expected to join Yamaguchi in the show this year are Olympic gold medalists Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who will be making their first appearance in the show after becoming proud parents of son, Jesse, on Sept. 30,2007. Two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan, who gave birth to her third child, daughter Nicole, in May, also will take to the ice.

Other members of this star-studded cast are two-time Olympic gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva, Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko, and four-time world champion Kurt Browning. Children of the skaters also participate in the show.

On the musical front, Demi Lovato & Jordan Pruitt also perform.

Sounds like a great kick-off to the holiday season. I’ll be setting my DVR.

October 15, 2008

Olympic all-round gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin, who turns 19 later this month and aspires to do some modeling and acting, has mentioned numerous times that her fave TV show is GG.  She found herself sitting next to the show’s producers at a restaurant in Los Angeles and voila, they contacted her management the following day and offered her a guest spot.

According to Reuters, Liukin’s not sure if her role will go beyond the one episode but she is looking forward to playing a character on the hit show that depicts the lives of rich young teens in New York City. Filming is scheduled to take place Oct. 21.

Liukin’s guest spot follows fellow gymnast Shawn Johnson’s cameo appearance in the season finale of “The Secret Life of an American Teenager.” Playing herself, Johnson, 16, got a chance to flirt with “Ricky” in the school hallway.

Oh, and if getting cast in “Gossip Girl” wasn’t enough, Liukin was also honored last night as the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Individual Sportswoman of the Year.

October 6, 2008

“Misty May-Treanor sustained an injury on Friday and received immediate medical attention,” show producers told Access on Saturday in a statement. “Despite previous reports, she did not break her ankle. She is resting comfortably at home. Doctors will reevaluate her condition on Monday and determine the outcome of her participation on the show.”

Star Magazine reported that Misty broke her ankle cutting her out of the Dancing With the Stars competition completely.

The two-time beach volleyball Olympic champion suffered the injury on Friday afternoon when rehearsing with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy at a dance studio in L.A.

She entered Cedars Sinai hospital in the late afternoon and was given a cast.

“I had problems with this ankle in March so I knew it was delicate, but I just can’t believe it broke and I am off the show now!” a devastated Misty told Star.

Since two Olympic gold medalists had previously won “Dancing with the Stars” Misty was an obvious pick to succeed this season.

She may not have been as fleet on the ballroom as she had been on the beach but she did have some consistent scores. Now her involvement in the show is up in the air.

On the official Dancing With The Stars message board, rumors are running rampant.  Some posters suggest Misty is definitely out of the competition, but ABC doesn’t want to confirm it, because they want people tuning in to the show tonight to find out.

Who will take Misty’s place if she is forced out of the competition?  One rumor suggests that Misty’s volleyball partner Kerri Walsh will be stepping in to dance with Maks though that seems unlikely.

Another rumor is that Kim Kardashian will be returning to the competition. If Kardashian does return, will she partner with Mark Ballas or switch partners and dance with Maksim Chmerkovskiy instead?

Guess we’ll just have to tune in to find out.  Whatever happens, we wish Misty a speedy recovery!

(Editors Note: Official word is that Misty ruptured her Achilles tendon rehearsing the jive (double ouch) and will need surgery and about nine months of physical rehabilitation.)

September 26, 2008

MyNetworkTV is presenting a televised special featuring the 2008 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team. The two-hour show will be a high energy, high impact music and gymnastics production.

Among the participants are 2008 Olympic medal winners Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Alicia Sacramone, Shayla Worley, (hunky) Jonathan Horton, Raj Bhavsar as well as special guest gymnasts including Paul and Morgan Hamm and Shannon Miller.

The TV special is based on the Gymnastics Superstars Show, currently on a multi-city tour across the U.S.  Truly a star-studded extravaganza it looks like fun for all. And for a behind-the-scenes look at what happens on tour, check out gymnast Shayla Worley’s blog.

The  television special is scheduled to air Sept. 26th at 8/7 Central Time (that’s 6:00 EDT). Find out what station in your area is broadcasting the show.

The comedian Jeffrey Ross along with his professional partner, Edyta Sliwinska,  was the first star eliminated from the seventh season of ABC’s dancing competition.

September 10, 2008

But then we found out that one of the 18 contestants competing this fall on Survivor: Gabon—Earth’s Last Eden is  Crystal Cox who won gold at the Athens Games in 2004 as part of the 4×400m track relay team.

According to the Survivor cast bio:

The contestants of Survivor: Gabon will be divided up into two tribes at the very outset by a good old fashioned schoolyard pick ’em, which will immediately lead to the contestants’ first challenge.  Survivor hasn’t been ‘must see’ TV for me in a long time but I may set my Tivo just to check things out and see how Crystal fares.

The two hour premiere of Survivor: Gabon airs Sept. 25th.

Fans began lining up at 6 a.m. on Saturday for a chance to snag free tickets to show’s season premiere featuring 150 U.S. Olympic athletes.

By noon, the line of Winfrey fans and U.S. Olympic supporters stretched nearly six city blocks in Chicago’s Millennium Park. The show will air Sept. 8 and include appearances by gold medalists Nastia Liukin, Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh, Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker and members of the gold medal Women’s Basketball Team, cyclist Kristin Armstrong and fencer Mariel Zagunis. Also, silver medalist Jennie Finch & members of the Women’s Olympic Softball Team, the silver medal Women’s Water Polo Team, and more.

Tickets for the Winfrey’s tapings are usually available only by phone and nearly impossible to get, so fans were itching for the 2,000 seats up for grabs for the taping.

Winfrey’s Harpo Productions said the show is a “welcome home celebration” for the athletes and a chance to feature Chicago in the city’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Chicago is a finalist for the 2016 games along with Tokyo; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Madrid, Spain. The International Olympic Committee will choose the 2016 host next year.

Check out behind-the-scenes clips from today’s show.

September 4, 2008

Tyrobot ruled and we got our first look at the competitors. Meet the girls of Cycle 11.

Lauren Brie, 20, Charlottesville, VA
The most interesting thing about her is that her father is the Chief of Police for her podunk hometown. 

Analeigh, 19, Sacramento, CA
A former competitive figure skater who tells a crazy story about being approached by a fake modeling agency recruiter who attempts to sell her as a bride to a Saudi prince!

Clark, 19, Pawleys Island, SC
A perfectionist who thinks she’s the prettiest girl in the competition (she’s not). 

Marjorie, 19, San Francisco, CA 
A goofy, awkward, nervous wannabe model who moved to SF from France when she was nine.  

Isis, 22, Prince George’s County, MD
This cycle’s shock contestant is the first transgender model on the show. And pre-op, no less. Her biological sex doesn’t make her unattractive - it’s the ugly-pretty face Tyra’s always talking about that makes great photos. This girly-boy is gonna kick pretty little booties all over the catwalk.

Sheena, 21 from Harlem, NY 
A ghetto fabulous Asian chick with shades of Kimora.

Brittany R., 19, Henderson, NV
A biracial girl (African American mother, Native American father) who wants to show the Greater Las Vegas area that African Americans can be cover girls.  

Hannah, 18, Fairbanks, AK
A naïve young thing from the land Sarah Palin who won’t let us forget she lives in the sticks.

Joslyn, 23, Lucky, LA
A Southern gal who auditioned for ANTM over 30 times!

Elina, 18, Seattle, WA
A dark, brooding, vegan omnisexual with a developing crush on fellow contestant Clark; wants to use modeling as a platform for her own personal activism agenda.

Nikeysha, 19, The Bronx, NY
An overly enthusiastic contestant who flashed the judges and tossed them her gel bra inserts.

Brittany S., 19, Lake Forest, IL
Renamed McKey to reduce confusion with Brittany R,  this redhead practices mixed martial arts with her cage fighter boyfriend.

Samantha, 18, Woodland Hills, CA
A young, tanned, athletic Socal girl who wants to represent health and fitness in her modeling career.

Though “Top Model” has gone from a low-budget reality show to CW tent-pole programming, it remains basically a drama about a group of women living together in close quarters and the photos they produce. Bring it on!