ABC/KELSEY McNEALMisty May-Treanor has two Olympic gold medals. Alas, her opportunity to add a gaudy, glitzy disco ball to her trophy case has ended.
The beach volleyball champ has indeed been forced to withdraw from Dancing With the Stars after rupturing her Achilles tendon Friday while practicing the jive.
"I was actually really excited, because this was the first dance I was going to do in sneakers, so go figure," May-Treanor, leaning on crutches, said ruefully. "I am out, but I'm not out of cheering on the competitors and keeping in touch with everybody."
The 31-year-old athlete is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow, but said that she'd love to come back and dance the jive someday.
"It turns out I'm more emotional than her," partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy said tonight. "She was laughing in the hospital, and I was asking for Vicodin."
"I'm really sad, but I hope that we'll stay friends," he added.
Whether this means that last week's castoff, Kim Kardashian, gets a second chance because producers need to keep to a schedule remains to be seen. An announcement is expected during tomorrow's results show.
Meanwhile, nine couples strutted their stuff Monday night to prolong their shot at DWTS glory. In our TV-conditioned eyes, here's how they fared:
Susan Lucci: The soap star was dancing the same steps as partner Tony Dovolani...so why did her jive appear so much slower and reserved? Lucci looked perky and fit in her flouncy jive costume, enough to keep the focus away from the bandage around her ankle (this show is so cursed!), but we weren't feeling it. Nice enough to look at, but she may as well have mummy-wrapped her entire torso.
Judges Said: 21. "You have kept a constant standard throughout," Len Goodman said. Standard being a subjective term.
Lance Bass: OK, you have to try really hard to tart up a Viennese waltz, so was Lacey Schwimmer able to rein it in enough for scoreboard's sake? We love the duo, but as you know, their rebel ways have sat none too well with Len. End result? Lance and Lacey played by the rules for the most part and still looked like contenders, but what we really want is to see them be smokin' hot while doing a "proper dahnce."
Judges Said: 22. "It was flat-footed, the hold was poor, the posture was poor," Len said. Followed by, "Great musicality, without doubt the most content, and your best dance I've seen you do." Huh?!
Maurice Greene: There's not a lot of polish when it comes to the Olympic track star, but he truly looks as if he's having a grrreat time—not to mention most of us can only wish that our significant others could dance like that. When it comes to DWTS, the jive can either look painful or like so much fun—and Mo made it look like a blast. He still has to prove he's proficient in suavity when it's waltz time, but he's got the fast dances down.
Judges Said: 24. His best so far. "You're like a wild, untamed beast!" Carrie Ann Inaba observed. "It's great to see you become a contender."
Rocco DiSpirito: With visions of Twitch waltzing in our heads, we know it's possible to look sexy dressed in head-to-toe white. But not when the look includes a frilly lace cravat! The restaurateur performed a proficient waltz, but...eh.
Judges Said: 20. Leave it up to Bruno Tonioli for the apropos food metaphor: "The Viennese waltz is like a light mousse, but it was a bit like a lump of mashed potatoes."
Warren Sapp: Looking like a human valentine, we're surprised the football star didn't take flight during his Viennese waltz! The former defensive tackle could have made Kym Johnson look like the overwhelmed mother of a 300-pound baby; instead, the petite Aussie looked like a princess being romanced by the fiercest prince on the field.
Judges Said: 25. Also his best so far. "You're giving those skinny people a real run for their money!" Len exclaimed.
Cody Linley: The Hannah Montana star's jive was just like Cody himself: spry and lively, enthusiastic and cheery, gangly and a bit awkward. But don't get us wrong—ain't nothing wrong with spry.
Judges Said: 21. "For once I absolutely totally agree with Len," Bruno said, referring to the Brit's observation that the performance started off great and then lost its mojo about halfway through.
Toni Braxton: Could it be, a so-so showing by Toni? A spiceless Alec Mazo? While the pair had style to spare, their batty Beethoven-accompanied waltz was lacking grace. Although there's no proof that they had the second-lowest number of votes last week, now is not the time to slip into the nondescript middle of the pack.
Judges Said: 22. Same as week one. Considering all the promise that Braxton showed right off the bat, her numbers should be higher by now. "If it isn't broke, don't fix it," Len complained. "You don't need gimmicks...Just come out and dance."
Cloris Leachman: Just as we suspected, we could've gone our whole lives without watching this jive. Maybe we're terrible people, but...We just don't want to watch this anymore. Love her, but we prefer our Cloris Leachman served up in a Mary Tyler Moore Show-Facts of Life marathon, topped off with a screening of The Last Picture Show. The people who are really trying to dance are having enough trouble, so let's get on with it.
Judges Said: 16. "To call this wacky would be the understatement of the year," Bruno offered. "It would take all the shrinks in America their lifetime to analyze it. It is beyond comprehension."
Brooke Burke: What did we expect? The mother of four was graceful, elegant and the first contestant who, if you squinted your eyes, was on par with her professional partner. And we don't mind tellin' ya, we aren't opposed to ogling David Charvet as he cheers his fiancée on from the audience.
Judges Said: 28. Finally. Just as we were wondering when someone was going to jump the low-scoring threshold, Len offers up his first 10 of the season.