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Brooke Burke Takes Home 'Dancing' Glory

By DERRIK J. LANG

posted: 226 DAYS AGO

comments: 231

filed under: TV News

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LOS ANGELES (Nov. 26) - Brooke Burke waltzed away with the mirror ball trophy on the "Dancing with the Stars" finale.

The 37-year-old TV personality and mother of four dominated the seventh season of the popular ABC dancing competition and bested former NFL player Warren Sapp and former 'NSync member Lance Bass during the Tuesday night finale, in which she reprised an emotional Viennese waltz routine that earned her a perfect score from the show's panel of judges.

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"Unbelievable," was all Burke could muster after winning amid a flurry a confetti.

From the outset, the slinky former host of E!'s "Wild On" and CBS' "Rock Star" commanded the ballroom this season, coming in first place eight out of 10 times and receiving a 10 - the judges' top score - 16 times. Burke was crowned the latest "Dancing with the Stars" champion after the judges' scores - 88 out of 90 - were combined with viewers' votes.

"I actually can't believe it," said Derek Hough, Burke's professional partner, who's never won the competition. "I really can't. I honestly can't. The journey's been so long. It's been tough. It's been wonderful. It's been everything I could ever hope for. Wow. I can't believe we actually did it, girl."

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Burke maintained an eight point lead over Sapp, the charismatic 35-year-old fan favorite whose technique was consistently criticized by the judges. Sapp still managed to hustle his way into second place with professional partner Kym Johnson, despite receiving one point less from the judges than the third place finisher, 29-year-old singer Bass.

"From the moment you start, you make me smile," head judge Len Goodman told Sapp.

Bass and his professional partner, Lacey Schwimmer, were upbeat about their loss. The pair danced away after their dismissal. And he's not hanging up his dancing shoes just yet. The former boybander will join professional dancers and other former contestants for the 38-city "Dancing with the Stars" tour, which is set to kick off Dec. 17 in San Diego.

"You never took the safe road once," judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Bass during the finale.

Previously dismissed celebrities - actor Cody Linley; sprinter Maurice Greene; actresses Susan Lucci and Cloris Leachman; chef Rocco DiSpirito; reality TV star Kim Kardashian; actor Ted McGinley; and comedian Jeffrey Ross - also returned for a last dance. Injured volleyball player Misty May-Treanor and singer Toni Braxton remained off their feet.

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Dancing' Winners

Season 7: Brooke Burke
Partner: Derek Hough
Best Moves: Brooke dominated the competition from the start, topping the scores eight out of 10 weeks.

ABC

Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi
Partner: Mark Ballas
Best Moves: Kristi had the perfect ending when she became the first contestant to score 90 out of 90 points in a 'Dancing' finale.

ABC

Season 5: Hélio Castroneves
Partner: Julianne Hough
Best Moves: In week eight, the judges were quick to give Hélio and Julianne's quickstep perfect tens. The next week, they followed up with straight 10s for their rousing renditions of the Foxtrot and Cha-Cha-Cha.

ABC

Season 4: Apolo Anton Ohno
Partner: Julianne Hough
Best Moves: Apolo and Julianne's chemistry sizzled mid-season when they finished in 1st place for two consecutive weeks, first for the Samba and then for the Rumba.

ABC

Season 3: Emmitt Smith
Partner: Cheryl Burke
Best Moves: Emmitt and Cheryl's moves improved all season, then danced it out of the park during the finale, earning 2 sets of perfect 10s for their Samba and Mambo.

ABC

Season 2: Drew Lachey
Partner: Cheryl Burke
Best Moves: The 98 degrees singer proved he could heat up the dance floor with Cheryl Burke; the dancing duo finished in 1st place for five out of the season's eight weeks.

ABC

Season 1: Kelly Monaco
Partner: Alec Mazo
Best Moves: Kelly proved she was a major threat for the 'Dancing' title when her Freestyle garnered three 10s from the judges.

ABC

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-11-25 12:10:37

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Girly girl1o

02:20 AMDec 02 2008

I was very dissappointed I dont think Brooke deserved to win.. sure she was a really good dancer but I think Lance deserved to win! out of all the dancers he def improved the most!! or at least he should have came in second I mean come on!!

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Greenlgw

01:33 AMNov 28 2008

Dancing With the Stars is an entertainment show listed as a dance contest. The entertainment drives the show, not necessarily the talent. Many people felt that Warren did not deserve to win second place, but Warren has a huge fan base...and worked his tail off for those fans. The fewer fans, the fewer votes..for all of the contestants. The producers of the show want people to watch the show. If they selected just talented people who coud dance, who do you think would watch the show??? Remember, this is television, and somebody has to get PAID. If no one is watching, then people don't get PAID. Comprende?? The costumes(female) also add to the entire dimension of the show. I felt Brooke was a good dancer and deserved to win, but I felt she showed more boobs than anyone...and the male judges loved it! Would she have been as popular had she been wearing costumes that did not show her boobs so much?It will be interesting to see who agrees to be on next season's show!

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Greenlgw

01:32 AMNov 28 2008

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Spirit of United

02:50 AMNov 27 2008

Jangnewt 09:28 PMNov 27 2008 Spirit of United, all you have are 2 BLUE BALLS - so what do you know?Hey asswipe....I'm female so #1 I woudn't have blue balls and #2 I know Brooke is a mindless bimbo who has to use her fake boobs to make money because she is a few bricks short of a load...get it?

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Bnalimu

02:04 AMNov 27 2008

They need to change the scoring system. Give the judge's score more weight, not 50-50 as it is now. Change it to 60-40 or 70-30, with the judge's score having the higher weight. Then you can call this a ballroom dancing competion. Otherwise it's just a popularity contest, no dancing talent required. Cloris is a good example. Sapp is also an example of no dancing talent required. The fact that he made it to the finals and came in second is why the scoring system needs to change to give the judges score more weight. At least this time talent (Brooke Burke) did win, this is not always the case.

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Jangnewt

09:28 PMNov 27 2008

Spirit of United, all you have are 2 BLUE BALLS - so what do you know?

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Jangnewt

09:20 PMNov 27 2008

Sorry, Warren & Kym. It should have been your title - and this, coming from a Denver Bronco Fan!

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Spirit of United

07:56 PMNov 27 2008

Brook is another mindless bimbo who makes money from her fake boobs. Great...she can dance, she's not that smart though. Ever hear her talk at length? Wonder why she models her fake boobs.....it's all she can do. I just hope she raises her daughters with better self esteem than she has.

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Jmkyzer

12:45 PMNov 26 2008

Does anyone ever stop to think that Obama is half white? Afterall, he has a white mother and was raised by white grandparents.

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Jmkyzer