Andy Weaver Information Page

FROM KEITH GROLLER

guess it has been 3-and-a-half years, since the Groller's Corner blog began appearing on mcall.com and in that time, readers should have learned a few basic things about the author.

No. 1 -- I always have to worry about what's going to get me at the shore -- either the rain or the pigeons.

No. 2 -- I stink at my NFL picks (although Rico's latest post says I had a better than expected Week 2 even if he didn't like me going to the Phillies-Nats game on Sunday).

No. 3 -- Jennie Finch is my favorite softball player, and probably my favorite athlete.

No. 4 -- I root for the Cardinals in baseball, UCLA in basketball, the Rams and USC in football and have often wondered in recent years which of those two football teams is the real pro team.

No. 5 -- I love to eat. Yocco's, Brass Rail, Armetta's, Stahley's, Jaindl's turkey barbeque at the IronPigs being among my many favorites.

And No. 6 -- I loved the Sopranos when it was on, but probably my favorite TV show now is "Dancing With The Stars" primarily because of one person -- Edyta (pictured left).


The full name is Edyta Sliwinska, but to me she just needs to be identified with one name like all of the greats -- Wilt, Magic, Michael, Elvis, Cher, etc.

No one could do more with less than Eydta.

So you can imagine my disappointment early Tuesday morning when I got back from the Phillies game -- BTW, in case you haven't noticed the Phillies are looking really good right now and will be playing deep into October again -- and eagerly clicked on my DVR to see the debut of Dancing With The Stars and found that Edyta is not among the 12 dance duos this season.

Oh, I still have reasons to watch.

You've got my favorite quarterback, Kurt Warner, on the show.

You've got my second favorite TV mom from the 1970s, Florence Henderson, on the show (Shirley Jones, aka Mrs. Partridge, would be No. 1).

You've got Kyle Massey, one of my 8-year-old daughter's favorites from the Disney Channel, on the show, and even though he has a similar body type to me, this heavyweight can dance.

And you've still got the best co-host in all of televison in Brooke Burke to get my attention, even as I'm watching the replay at 2 and 3 in the morning and fighting to keep eyes open.

But no Edyta is a big bummer.

The producers probably would have just paired her up with a clutz like Michael Bolton anyway and she'd be gone after two or three weeks, but still, it's disappointing for her not to be on the show at all.

As for who's going to win, I think Brandy and Kyle Massey are going to last a long time.

So is Jennifer Grey, who hopefully got all of the Dirty Dancing and Patrick Swayze flashbacks out of the way in this first show.

Audrina Patridge, who I never heard of before Monday night, would probably win the competition if it were just males doing the voting. She at least seems determined to keep Edyta's taste in dance outfits on the show.

I don't know if basketballer Rick Fox will last into November because of his height making him seem awkward, but he's paired with the best female dance pro (after Edyta of course) in Cheryl Burke and that should keep him around.

The first to go tonight (Tuesday)?

Either Margaret Cho, Bolton, or Bristol Palin, who looked like she'd rather be back in Alaska in the heart of winter than doing this show.

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/