J.R. Martinez attended the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at The Shrine Auditorium in L.A. Sunday night, and if there were ever a celebrity to which the term “hero” truly applied, it would be this fall’s Dancing With the Stars winner. An Iraq War survivor who became a motivational speaker, advocate for veterans and soap opera star after being severely burned in a land mine explosion, the 28-year-old J.R. is a living, breathing testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Handsome too! Anderson Cooper? He’s a pretty cool dude too. The CNN anchor has made countless trips to veterans hospitals over the years, bringing attention to those who need it. He was also looking sharp last night as well – but more so than J.R.? Vote below:
J.R. Martinez’s victory tour brought him to Anderson this week. There, he talked about his experience in Iraq as well as winning Dancing With the Stars , and being included in People magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive issue. “After 33 surgeries, I better be!” Martinez joked, referring to the burn treatments and skin graft operations he’s endured since being badly hurt in Iraq. Since 2003, his life story has been one of triumph over adversity. J.R. Martinez on Anderson Martinez began counseling other wounded veterans, then working as a motivational speaker all across the country before landing a role on All My Children . Now, he’s one of 2011’s big breakout stars, winning DWTS , being honored by the Defense Department , Grand Marshaling the Rose Parade and so forth. Martinez said he embraces the opportunities he has, with his newfound fame, to be an advocate for veterans, and says he will always serve our country. “You can take away my camouflage, you can take away my M16, which is my weapon, but I look at it now… my new weapons are my words and my new uniform is my scars,” he explained. “I’m going to continue to serve in a bigger way.” “I feel this is going to be needed with the talks of pulling our guys out of Iraq and Afghanistan and bringing them home … it’s important for me to be that voice.” After driving over a landmine, he spent the next “two and a half years in and out of the hospital” undergoing the never-ending procedures to restore his person, adding details about the journey of self-discovery he embarked on in his recovery. “It was a tough road at 19 years old, to look at your body and your face, and say, ‘What am I going to do about this now? How am I going to move forward?’” he said. “Thinking you’re completely alone and no one in the world understands or can relate to you, but luckily, I was able to see a side that I can use my second chance at life as an opportunity to help people with their first chance at life.” It’s not often you look at a celebrity and see a true hero among us, but J.R. may be that person. We wish him the best in all of his continuing endeavors.
Ricki Lake was very good Monday night on Dancing With the Stars . The question is, will very good be enough against the two men she’s competing against? Ricki and Derek Hough earned all 9s for their cha cha and all 9s for their freestyle, for a combined total of 54. “We’re very, very happy,” she said. “I’m thrilled!” Fan favorite J.R. Martinez has 54 as well, though, and upstart Rob Kardashian garnered 57. So it’ll take quite the popular vote victory to propel Ricki to the Mirror Ball. Will it happen? Check out her routines below and vote on who you think will win: Ricki Lake on Dancing With the Stars (Finals – Cha Cha) Ricki Lake on Dancing With the Stars (Finals – Freestyle) Who will win Dancing With the Stars tonight?
J.R. Martinez made his case for the Mirror Ball on the final night of performances on Dancing With the Stars. But will America deliver it for him this evening? After suffering an injury last week, but the 28-year-old Iraq War vet, soap opera star and motivational speaker gave it his all in the cha cha and the freestyle. The judges weren’t in agreement on his first dance with partner Karina Smirnoff. The duo earned a 7 from Len, and 8 from Carrie Ann and a 9 from Bruno. One thing the judges could agree on, however, was Martinez’s freestyle. He earned a perfect 30, leaving him a tie for second with Ricki Lake for the night. Whether J.R. or Ricki can overtake surprise frontrunner Rob Kardashian all depends on voter turnout. Watch J.R.’s final two dances of the season below … J.R. Martinez on Dancing With the Stars (Finals – Cha Cha) J.R. Martinez on Dancing With the Stars (Finals – Freestyle) Who will win Dancing With the Stars tonight?
Talk about peaking at the right time. Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke have been improving for weeks and have built a nice Dancing With the Stars following, but last night – the final night of performances – marked the first time they finished atop the leaderboard . Rob’s waltz earned him a 9 out of 10 from each judge. His second routine, the freestyle, earned him all 10s and sole possession of the lead. Will that be enough to win him the Mirror Ball, or will J.R. Martinez or Ricki Lake overtake him? Watch Rob’s final two performances and vote in our poll below: Rob Kardashian on Dancing With the Stars (Finals – Waltz) Rob Kardashian on Dancing With the Stars (Finals – Freestyle) Who do you think will win Dancing With the Stars?
The 13th season of Dancing With the Stars has come down to one night. Ricki Lake. Rob Kardashian. J.R. Martinez. All worthy parquet performers, as we know, but there can be only one Mirror Ball holder at the end of this. Who will it be? Apparently no one told Rob that J.R. and Ricki were the consensus picks all season long, or that he was a 4-1 underdog headed into the final Monday of the season. Because he’s in sole possession of the lead right now! His lead is only three points over both competitors, so this is going down to the wire. But who thought Rob Kardashian would be here now, let alone in first place? Seriously, if you’ve watched this season at all, you knew he was good, maybe even a dark horse contender. But few saw him ever sitting on top of the world. Rob and Cheryl Burke earned a perfect 30, their first of the fall, with a retro, Charleston-utilizing freestyle. When he said it was his time to peak, he meant it! “This competition is often won or lost in the freestyle round and to get a 10 you have to blow us away. Consider me blown!” raved DWTS judge Carrie Ann Inaba. J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff earned a 30 of their own with an ’80s hip-hop / samba mash-up that made you wanna get down. But their first dance hurt them. A cha-cha that was deemed “not very good” by Len netted only 24 points. Meanwhile, Ricki Lake and Derek Hough received two sets of all nines on Monday. All of that left Rob in first place on the leaderboard for the first time, albeit not by much, on the even of the final vote tallying. What a great season it’s been! Watching proudly along with her whole family was Kim Kardashian , in the house for the first time since announcing the end of her fake marriage to that guy. “Did u guys see that!!!!!!” Kim tweeted afterward. “All 10’s in the freestyle!!!! OMG I swear the whole fam is in tears!!!!! Let’s go baby! Team CherBert!” It’s all up to the fans right now. Can they help the lagging teams make up the gap? Here’s a look at how Monday’s Dancing With the Stars scores shook out: Rob Kardashian & Cheryl Burke: (27, 30) 57 J.R. Martinez & Karina Smirnoff: (24, 30) 54 Ricki Lake & Derek Hough: (27, 27) 54 Who do you think has danced the best? Do you agree with scores, top to bottom? Most importantly, who do you think should hoist the Mirror Ball tonight?! Comment below, and vote for who you think will win!
The last two weeks of Dancing With the Stars haven’t surprised us. Nancy Grace lasted longer than people expected, and Hope Solo couldn’t hang with the top three. Going into the finals, it really is anyone’s game. J.R. Martinez, Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake all deserve to be there, and have decent shots at the Mirror Ball. Who’s technically the biggest favorite, though? According to Bodog, an online gambling site, J.R. Martinez has the best odds to win at 1 to 2. Ricki Lake holds 3 to 1 odds, while Rob has a 4 to 1 chance of winning. That’s right, even after an ankle injury left him in a distant third last week, the Iraq War vet, motivational speaker and actor is considered the top dog right now. Says a lot about his fan support, but Ricki and Rob are no slouches in that department, either. If they all perform well Monday, the results will be very interesting. Fan votes account for 50 percent of the aggregate score, with the judges’ scoring making up the rest. So if no one has a big lead, anyone could take this thing. The finals for DWTS on Monday include four dances from each finalist, so that can also change a lot. What do you think? Who’s your pick to win Season 13?
Rob Kardashian has had one heck of a run, tangoing his way to the Dancing With the Stars finals on ABC this fall. Along for the ride in the audience? His entire family. Almost. Absent until October 31 was Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian’s baby father. That’s ’cause Kristin Cavallari was still on the show until then, Life & Style says . Say what? The celebrity gossip magazine alleges that just before Kourtney became pregnant with her and Scott’s child, he was putting it to Kristin, a DWTS hopeful this fall. “While Kourtney and Scott were on a break, Scott hooked up with Kristin,” a friend reveals. “Kourtney can’t stand her now and didn’t want Scott at show tapings.” A Kardashian pal confirms that “Scott and Kristin definitely hooked up in Las Vegas during a time [February 2009] that he was on a break from Kourtney.” The Kardashian insider adds that both Kourt and Scott were BFFs with Kristin Cavallari , who used to date Kourtney’s stepbrother Brody Jenner, at one point. That was then, though, and this is now. She and Kristin have been enemies ever since. “Kourtney was furious,” the friend says. “She and her sisters have called Kristin ‘the whore bag’ ever since.” The most surprising part of this report? That Scott Disick actually scored with both of these girls. Look at him, wearing sunglasses at night! What a douche.
Breaking Sports Video
