Maddux to Retire Monday

Four-time Cy Young award winner Greg Maddux will be announcing his retirement, after 23 years in the majors, on Monday during the baseball winter meetings.
Maddux played out his final season with the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he made three relief appearances during the playoffs. He ranks eighth on the career wins list with 355.
Maddux finished one win ahead of Roger Clemens for career victories and will likely be considered a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible after five years.
Before throwing his final pitch, Maddux won the Cy Young Award from 92-95 and 18 Gold Gloves with the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, Dodgers and Padres.

Lincecum wins Cy Young Award

Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum has won the 2008 Cy Young award, making the 24 year old only the second Giant's pitcher to claim the honor. It is hard to pick a peak performance during amongst his 34 appearance in 2008 because he sustained such a high level of excellence. Lincecum received 23 of 32 1st place votes contributing to his overwhelming 137 points. Other notables were Arizona's Brandon Webb (73 points), Mets' Johan Santana (55 points), Philidelphia's Brad Lidge (10 points), Milwaukee's CC Sabathia (9 points) and Cubs' Ryan Dempster (4 points)

America's Favorite Dancer Crowned!

Last Wednesday the final four competed for the crown of America's favorite dancer! In the running were Courtney, Twitch, Joshua and Katee. After a night of every body pairing with everyone else for a routine the votes were in and we had a very special 3 hour finale on Thursday.
For the finale each judge got to pick their favorite routine to be performed again. And it was very exciting to see Will and Katee perform their Pas de deux. We also got an encore of Bollywood, one of my favorites of the season.
Nigel and Mary also gave us a special treat, we got to see them dance (not with each other of course). The finale also brought a dance off- popping between Phillips and Robert, Robert was crowned the winner.
And the end of the night saw Katee to the top femail spot and third overall, and Joshua as the champion!!!!

So You Think You Can Dance Top 10

Last Wednesday the top 10 Dancers took the stage minus Jessica plus Comfort. Turns out Jessica has some broken ribs and can't dance for 4 weeks. She will be missed.
But back to the performances... All the couples were split up and new couples formed. Each couple performed 2 routines and each dancer performed a solo.
Teaming up were Gev and Chelsea. They performed a contemporary routine choreographed by Sonya where they played the role of soul mates and how they feel when they are apart. They also did a Jive. I thought it was super fast and super fun to watch. The judges gave B-Boy Gev a hard time for this one and judge Lil'C thought Chelsea could make a manachin look good.
Will and Katee also were paired up, 2 of the best dancers so this has to work out. they performed a Broadway routine in a boat and another first for the contest, a Pas de Deux (Ballet). Both routines were done well and the Pas de Deux was thought to be the best routine ever on the show by the judges. katee was like little rubber girl.
Twitch and Comfort were paired up, what are the odds of two hip hoppers being paired to do Hip Hop. They also did a smooth waltz which was not good at all... Good thing they had the Hip Hop.
Another new couple was Joshua and Courtney. Courtney says the following about Joshua "he's a man"... after their Rumba routine. Joshua can move, that's for sure. They also did a hip hop routine, Courtney was the Bride of Frankenstein. Joshua killed it!!! It was probably the most fun routine to watch of the night!

Last, but not least, Kherington and Mark were paired up. They performed a country two-step. I think that even had they performed it well, it still would have bombed. Was not a fan at all. They also did a jazz routine to "canned heat" which i enjoyed. they werent given a story for this routine and Mark seemed to struggle with that, he does better with a character.

Results:
In this results show we saw 3 group routines. one for the whole group which was a bollywood routine, a contemporary routine for the girls choreographed by Mia, and a routine for the guys done by Nigel!!!!
We were also given the news that the show was nominated for Emmy's for dances as well as makeup. Very exciting.
Now on to the unhappy business... the dancers voted off were Gev and Kherington. Both will be missed. I especially will miss Gev, he was becoming a favorite. i think we ca now see the dancers who will make the finals forming, this is the first time i wanted to predict. i think we will see Will, Joshua, Chelsea and Katee make the finals.

So You Think You Can Dance- Breaking News!

So I am sitting on my couch watching House and a commercial comes on with a message to all fans of So You Think You Can Dance! Apparently Jessica is out of the competition due to an injury and Comfort is back to compete with the top 10. First, bummer, I really liked Jessica. Second, does Jessica still get to the compete with the top 10? I hope we find out Wednesday! I would be unfair, I think, if she didn't get that chance.

So You Think You Can Dance Top 12

Last Wednesday the top 12 dancers took to the stage. And I feel like more of the dancer's personality's are starting to come out!
The first couple to take the stage were Chelsie and Mark. Their first routine was an Alex Da Silva salsa routine which was very entertaining to watch and very hot! They had a very sexy night in fact. There second dance was a Broadway routine by Tyce Diorio done to "I'm A Woman". This was a sexy, bluesy number where Chelsie was the hot girl Mark was after. Both really committed to their characters!
The second couple was Comfort and Thayne. Their first dance was a Hip Hop routine by Tabitah and Napoleon. There wasn't any real connection between the two of them and they don't really add anything to their routines. Their second routine was a contemporary routine. They are my least favorite couple of the evening.
Jessica and Will were third. Their first dance was a very sensual contemporary routine set in the Garden of Eden and choreographed by Tyce. The judges finally complimented Jessica for her performance! Mary even thought this was one of the most amazing pieces ever done on the show! Their second dance was a Quickstep by Tony and Meredith. The most exciting part was the opening in which Will did a nice tumbling routine. Other than that it was pretty slow. The judges really were hard on Jessica for this one. Especially Mia. I thought she was down right mean. I definitely prefer when she choreographs because then we not only get to see her work, we also don't have to hear her critiques...
Next we had Courtney and Gev. Their first dance was a Cha Cha to "Don't Stop The Music" and was choreographed by two old favorites Pasha and Anya. It was really fast and fun to watch. And, best of all, Gev admitted on national television to shaving his chest. it was pretty entertaining and Gev is really becoming one of my favorites! Their next dance was a Mandy Moore jazz routine where they played the roll of people lost on safari and utilized a map. These two really had a wonderful night with two very entertaining routines!
Twitch and Kherington were the next couple to take to the stage. First, they did a crump by Lil C. It was really hard hitting and Kherington really did good with this one until she lost some steam towards the end. Next they did a Tango by Jean-Marc that was based on Mr and Mrs Smith. Didn't feel like there was much of a fight going on there. They didn't have their best night tonight and Kherington seemed a bit off. These two have been one of my favorite couples since the start and I hope they recover. I would hate to see either one go home.
The last couple of the night were Katee and Joshua. There first dance was a Viennese Waltz where Joshua was a "ghost" that Katee could feel but not see. I really enjoyed it and it had some very difficult lifts including the "snake". Katee was gorgeious in this one! There second dance was a first for the show. It was a bollywood routine (Indian culture). The only thing I didn't like about this number was that in ended. I could have watched it forever!!!

Results show:
The six dancers in danger were:
Comfort and Thayne
Twitch and Kherington
Jessica and Will

At this point I am thinking I will be pissed if Kherington or Twitch go home, but at the same time I was happy they were in the bottom three couples because their solos were amazing to watch! Twitch did a hip hop routine to a violin solo.
In the end, Comfort and Thayne were the two sent home. Now we have our top 10 and I like all of them! It will be so difficult to see any of them go home from here on out.

So You Think You Can Dance Top 14

Last Wednesday the top 14 dancers performed and this week brought about a wonderful change for fans of the show. Each couple performed 2 routines!
Jessica and Will were the first couple of the night. Their first dance was a Jive and this did it very well. Their 2nd dance was and amazing jazz choreographied by Mandy Moore done to Heart's "Alone", and a shirt was the center piece. This dance had passion written all over it, and Will was shirtless, and damn! I really wish the judges would stop be so hard on Jessica, I can't see what she is doing wrong and i think she did an amazing job in this number, it was one of the top ones for the night!
Comfort and Thayne were next, and this was thier first week dancing as a couple. Thier first dance was Broadway and their second dance was a very elegant smooth waltz.
Couple 3 was Kourtni and Matt. their first dance was a very dull Hip Hop number.
Thier second dance was a Mambo that I didn't enjoy very much at all.
Chelsie and Mark were to follow. Their first number was a Jazz routine choreographed by Mandy Moore. It was a fun and lighthearted dance. Thier second dance was a Foxtrot choreographed by Edward Simon.
The 5th couple of the night was the magnificant Twitchington. Their first dance was a Paso Doble that I thought was awesome!. Kherington looked ready to kick some booty! I enjoyed every moment of this dance, it was entertaining! Second, they danced a contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels. This was a win win combination. You have Mia, Twitch, Kherington, and a bed. they told the story of a broken hearted Twitch and it was really good and believable.
Now we had Katee and Joshua, who don't know how to dissapoint. Their first dance was a contemporaty routine by Mia. It told the story of two people living their lives only focused on themselves. It was flawless, and they did some unbelievable moves, like the assisted run floating accross the stage. Love these two. Second came the West Coast Swing by Benji. It was entertaining and the costumes couldnt have been brighter. It is always a delight to have Benji make an appearance.
The last couple was Courtney and Gev. First they did a Hip Hop routine that i thought was okay. Courtney was more hard hitting than Gev I thought. Second they did a Broadway routine where they were tourists in New York. I didnt love this as much as the judges did, but it was a good routine.
It was a very satisfying evening!
Results.
This week Kourtni and Matt go home. I don't think this was a surprise. Neither of these dancers seemed to grow throughout their time on the show.

So You Think You Can Dance Top 16 perform

June 25th the top sixteen couples took to the stage.
Key performances included:
Kherington and Twitch's prison break hip hop routine. It was fully entertaining and Kherington brought it!
Chelsie Hightower and mark also did a really good hip hop routine to bleeding in love. Mark played the role of a work-aholic and Chelsie was the significant other who didn't want him to leave. Truly believable performance!
A third notable performance was the Disco routine performed by Jessie and Will.
And last, but never least are Katee and Joshua who did a fantastic samba. I couldn't take my eyes off them during this routine!
I also found it interesting that Comfort and Chris did an African Jazz routine to Marylin Manson's "Beautiful People". That was about the last song I would have expected to hear on the show. It was an interesting performance, but neither brought enough rawness to it for it to be really good.
Results:
This weeks performances brought the end of the road to Chelsea Trail and Chris. I agree that they were the two logical choices of who needed to leave.

So You Think You Can Dance-Top 18

Last Wednesday the top 18 performed. Stand out performances were Katee and Joshua's Tyce Diorio broadway routine and Kherington and Twitch (aka Twitchington)'s Jean Marc Genereux Vienese Waltz routine. The Broadway routine was incredibly entertaining to watch and the Waltz routine was done for Jean Marc's daughter and it was very touching.
Susie and Marquis were the unlucky couple to be sent home. The performed and Alex Da Siva Salsa routine and it just wasn't very good. I, for one, was happy to see Susie go... I was surprised she ever made it to the top 20.
I can't wait to see the top 16 perform next. A great group of dancers remains, and possibilities are endless.

So You Think You Can Dance top 20

I think this is my favorite show!!! I am so excited it is back. Last Wednesday the top 20 performed. I find it hard to get to know the new cast everyone year after growing so fond of the previous cast... but these guys are good. I thought the two best performances were the contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels meant to be like Tim Burton's wedding and performed by Chelsie H and Mark. That was really really good and I don't know how Chelsie made herself such a tiny little ball. That routine was sooo good and Mia really is an excellent choreographer.
The other routine I really liked was the slow hip hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon and danced by Katee and Joshua. Personally, I really like Joshua, seems like a super good guy and that move he did going down forward and then coming back up, amazing!!!
I also can agree with America's and the judges decision to say good bye to Rayven and Jamie. The bar seems to have been raised this year and their hip hop routine was week. Still better than I could imagine doing, but compared to the rest of the field, it wasnt up to par.
I can't wait to see what the dancers bring this week!!!

March Madness

College Basketball Fan!  It's that time of year again.  I am trying to fill out my bracket and get everything right before tipoff on Thursday so I can win my office pool.  It will be tough, a lot of good competition there!  But it's not whether I win or loose, it's whether the winner brings a good treat for the office!