On 'Stars,' battle of light-footed jocks

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TV This Week
On 'Stars,' battle of light-footed jocks
By Diego Vasquez
May 20, 2008 - 1:00:29 AM

Do athletes, with their exceptional strength, grace and balance, have an unfair advantage on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars?”

It’s certainly beginning to look that way.

Once again, an athlete is favored to take the prize on ABC’s No. 1 show among total viewers, which airs its two-hour sixth-season finale tonight at 9 p.m. Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor will vie for the title along with actor Cristían de la Fuente.

Should Yamaguchi, the season-long favorite who earned a perfect score last night, or Taylor, who’s No. 3 with the judges but has a strong fan base, win, it would mark the fourth straight season that an athlete has taken the title. Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves nabbed the last three wins.

If Yamaguchi is victorious, she’d be just the second female winner in the show’s history, joining season one’s Kelly Monaco. The three couples performed on last night’s edition of the show, and tonight the viewers’ votes will be combined with the judges’ scores to determine the winner. The previously eliminated contestants will also return.

“Stars” will finish the season behind Fox’s “American Idol” as the second-most-watched show on broadcast. Though both the performance and results editions are down from last fall, to 19.7 million and 17.5 million total viewers, respectively, the performance portion is up slightly over last spring.

“Stars” does not have to face part one of the season finale of “Idol” tonight, but it will face some formidable competition in “Idol's” lead-out, “Hell’s Kitchen,” which posted a series high among adults 18-49 last week.

Still, “Stars’” strength is in total viewers, especially the women who watched Yamaguchi capture her Olympic title 16 years ago. She and ABC should finish the night strong, with little competition at 10 p.m.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, MAY 20
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Actors Karen Allen and Tony Danza and author Patricia Cornwell all guest.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	The two Davids perform live at the Nokia Theater in L.A.
8 p.m.	CBS	“NCIS” (D)	Season finale. The whole crew is in danger as they search for a killer.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Draft Lottery” (S)	Who will win the right to choose between Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley?
9 p.m.	ABC`	“Dancing with the Stars” (R)	Season finale. Usher performs and a winner is selected.
10 p.m.	MTV	“Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” (R)	A fracas at the house sends someone to the hospital. Is she really worth fighting over?
10 p.m.	CBS	“Shark” (D)	Series finale. Sebastian’s nemesis makes a break from prison.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Actress Denise Richards guests.
2:25 p.m.	ESPN2	“Soccer” (S)	English teams Chelsea and Manchester United battle for the European championship in Moscow.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Season finale. The final 12 reunite and a winner is selected.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Criminal Minds” (D)	Season finale. The detectives can’t figure out if a string of murders are committed by one person or many.
9 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	A game from the conference finals, teams still to be determined.
10 p.m.	NBC	“Law & Order” (D)	Season finale. The 18th season ends with the murder of a jeweler.
10 p.m.	CBS	“CSI: NY” (D)	Season finale. A manager dies in a bank robbery gone wrong.
THURSDAY, MAY 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Harrison Ford guests to push the new “Indiana Jones” movie.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Ugly Betty” (D)	Season finale. The Mode staff takes on the Elle magazine staff in softball.
8 p.m.	Fox	“So You Think You Can Dance” (R)	Season premiere. The season begins with a round of auditions.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	Season finale. The staff tries to save a boy who’s stuck in hardening cement.
9:30 p.m.	NBC	“Last Comic Standing” (R, C)	Season premiere. The season kicks off with auditions in New York and Tempe, Ariz.
10 p.m.	PBS	“Phoenix Mars Mission: Ashes to Ice” (N)	A look at the effort to study soil on the red planet.
10 p.m.	TLC	“Miami Ink” (R)	Ami’s artistic skills come in handy during a visit to the Miami Children’s hospital.
FRIDAY, MAY 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Alanis Morissette – remember her? – performs.
8 p.m.	CW	“Friday Night Smackdown” (S)	Should perform well with the other broadcast networks airing reruns.
9 p.m.	E!	“True Hollywood Story” (N)	Examining the history of the Pussycat Dolls.
9 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	More conference finals action from the NBA playoffs.
9 p.m.	Spike TV	“UFC Fight Night” (S)	Rivals Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock face off for the third time in their careers.
10:10 p.m.	Disney Channel	“Holes” (M)	The 2003 movie starring a pre-“Indiana Jones” Shia LeBeouf.
SATURDAY, MAY 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational from Colonial Country Club, a.k.a. “Hogan’s Alley.”
3:30 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	Today its Diamondbacks-Braves, Mets-Rockies or Angels-White Sox.
8:30 p.m.	ABC	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The conference finals come to broadcast.
9 p.m.	Fox	“America’s Most Wanted” (N)	Usually performs relatively well, and should again tonight against weak competition.
10 p.m.	E!	“Saturday Night Live” (C)	Not a new episode, of course, but a re-airing of the funny 2002 episode with host Britney Spears.
11 p.m.	Fox	“Mad TV” (C)	Poking fun at Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Roger Clemens.
SUNDAY, MAY 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	ABC	“Indy Racing” (S)	The 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. Will Danica do it this year?
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational, won last year by Rory Sabbatini.
5 p.m.	Fox	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	The Coca-Cola 600, live from Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
8 p.m.	Univision	“Nuestra Belleza Latina” (R)	A behind-the-scenes look at the latest season of the popular beauty competition.
9 p.m.	Showtime	“The Tudors” (D)	Henry turns his attention to Jane Seymour.
10 p.m.	E!	“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (R)	The family looks back at the season and shares previously unaired clips.
10 p.m.	VH1	“Viva Hollywood!” (R)	The remaining four get drilled by celebrity gossip maven Perez Hilton.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.