Bay Area Sports Blogging

Although it hasn't been officially announced, there has been reports stating that former NFL champion Warren Sapp will be in Dancing With the Stars.  The first thing that came to mind is Whoa, really?  Sapp, a former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linemen, is not exactly what you would call, graceful.  He's a big lug, plain and simple.

On the football field, he has shown some decent footwork and agility to rush the quarterback.  But on the grass, technique was not important as long as you got pressure on the opposing quarterback.  In ballroom dancing, the journey is the only thing, which can stiffle Sapp's learning curve.

The cast for the next installment of Dancing with the Stars has been revealed, and once again it includes a multitude of members of the sporting world. Highlighting the list of sports celebrities is none other than NFL player Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins. Taylor will follow in the dance steps of other NFL legends Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, with one notable exception. Jerry and Emmitt were retired when they danced; Jason Taylor is still an active football player.

The complete list of celebrity dancers on the show will include Adam Corolla, Cristian De La Fuente, Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Guttenberg, Mario, Marlee Matlin, Penn Jillette, Priscilla Presley, Monica Seles, Jason Taylor, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Kristi Yamaguchi.

Its over! Helio Castroneves has won the Dancing with the Stars competition. Castroneves, one of the top Indy car drivers and winner of the 2001 and 2002 Indianapolis 500, beat out Melanie B and Marie Osmond in the final round to take the gold.

Helio partnered with Julianne Hough, a professional dancer who also won the previous Dancing with the Stars. Other notable sports figures involved in this season's Dancing with the Stars included Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Floyd Mayweather Jr, boxing champion.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will be participating in this season's Dancing with the Stars, which premieres this Monday night. Cuban is paired with professional dancer Kym Johnson. Regular viewers of the show will remember Kym Johnson as the hot dance partner of Mr Two Left Feet, Jerry Springer. Kym was also runner-up last season, partnered with Joey Fatone of N'Sync fame.

I'm not trying to jinx the Mavericks owner, but the complete Dancing of the Stars competition will run approximately 12 weeks. The NBA regular season begins in 5 weeks. If Cuban has not been eliminated by the start of the regular season, he will be extremely busy, fitting in dance practices three to four days a week. As a side note, Mavericks fans will be glad to hear that Bodog Sports currently has Cuban's odds of winning at 10/1, ninth place out of twelve participants. Even 65 year old Wayne Newton has better odds than Mark Cuban.

Cuban is joined by fellow sports figures "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Indy car racer Helio Castroneves. Mayweather will be dancing with Karina Smirnoff while Castroneves will be dancing with reigning champion, Julianne Hough. Mayweather and Castroneves, along with Mel B, are the early favorites to win.