Yamaguchi Skates To "Dancing" Win

(CBS)  Kristi Yamaguchi has a shiny new disco ball trophy to display next to her Olympic gold medal.

The 36-year-old figure skater edged NFL pro Jason Taylor, 33, to win ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" Tuesday night.

"I guess K is a good initial to have," she said, referring to Kelly Monaco, the only other woman to win the contest in the show's six seasons.

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Photos: Last Waltz On "Dancing"

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Yamaguchi had a perfect 90 points from the judges for her three performances in the two-part finale. Taylor earned his first perfect 30 for his elegant fox trot Tuesday night. That gave him a total of 81 points, but he didn't get enough viewer votes to beat his heavily-favored opponent.

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Photos: "Dancing With The Stars" Finale

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Cristian de la Fuente, who competed in the first part of the finale, was eliminated fifteen minutes into Tuesday's night's show. The 34-year-old actor was at a disadvantage during Monday's freestyle round, because his injured left arm prevented him from doing the athletic lifts executed by the other couples.

Tuesday's two-hour finale featured two performances by singer-dancer Usher. He sang and danced to his new hit "Love In The Club" and performed a jazzy version of his 2004 smash "Yeah."

All the season's contestants were on hand to reprise their favorite dances, and stars from seasons past were in the audience.
By Judy Rosen

[navyjimfl]

very entertaining season....love the show....I knew Kristi and Mark would win it all from the first week but their only true competition was taken off the show too early.....RB singer Mario....

[sociald63]

2 words ... kristi''s hot

[jmsawyer1]

You know who was going to win from the begining. Kristi was a shoe in to win. It was too pradictable and no suspence or fun. The others didn''t have a chance.

[sociald63]

2 words = she''s hot :)

[mexinvasion]

Wow, she''s a hot little thing.

[cgesior]

I think the entire show this year was unfair. Kristi is a Gold Medal winner in the Olympics for FIGURE SKATING. Don''t you think this takes some dancing talent? I thought this was suppose to be about entertainers, sports starts, etc. who did not have any dance lessons. I find it hard to believe that Kristi never had any dance lessons.

[spargle]

re: program length.

Yeah, way too long, but it is an extremely popular show, so have lots of advertisers to handle. Fairly entertaining between the commercials. Glad Kristi won; who says only klutzes can compete??

[dukedodge]

I wasn''t even paying close attention and I could tell Usher was lip-synching, he was way off, sometimes not even opening his mouth when there were words.

[jetlizhan]

this show was way t-o-o-o-o-o long last night - i looked at the clock at it was 10:50, then dozed off and woke up at 11:05. PMO!!!!! i enjoyed what i watched - but abc, i''m a working girl with a full life - gimme a break here.

[pollroller1]

I thought last night''s show was very entertaining. Kinda hard for this old man to stay up that late though.