Dancing with the Stars

Our "Dancing with the Stars" spies tell us the drama has started, and there is already a casualty.

We're told comedian Jeff Ross got poked in the eye during rehearsal. Edyta was the pok-er, he the pok-ee. One of our spies says Ross was taken to the emergency room. Sources say a doctor has told Ross he cannot dance tonight.

And another injury -- Karina Smirnoff sprained her ankle, also during rehearsal today. She's expected to dance with partner Rocco DiSpirito.

Our fire department sources say two ambulances were dispatched to the location today, one at 11:31 AM and a second at 12:34 PM.

UPDATE: The show is now live on the East coast. Ross appeared with an eye patch. The show aired the actual poke and the ambulance coming to get him. Unclear if he'll dance.

O.K. so she's not what doctors would call "optically impaired," but Edyta is the first person who doesn't think Kim Kardashian has a gargantuan backside. May we present Exhibit A.

Her buds rightly tried to shield Burke and her ratty, sweaty mess of a hair-don't after a night of clubbing -- it didn't work so well.

We're told that the doctors (yes, plural) decided to glue rather than suture the cut on Kim K's foot ... so the wound couldn't have been that deep. BTW, it's surgical glue that holds the wound together.

We're told Kim wanted the glue because stitches take too long to heal and it would interfere with her mambo.

The new season of "Dancing With the Stars" may have already lost its first competitor -- and they haven't even announced the official cast yet.

Kim Kardashian -- who is scheduled to be on the show this season -- badly cut her foot in her hotel room late Sunday night. We're told she sliced her foot open on a glass coffee table and was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital. No word on how many stitches she needed, but a source tells TMZ there was "so much blood, it looked like a murder scene."

Despite the bloody gash she put in her foot this morning, KK told "GMA" that she'll give "Dancing with the Stars" the ol' college try -- but not everybody was feelin' sorry for her.

According to people close to the situation, some dirt bags in Minnesota broke into a van belonging to Mark Ballas and Derek Hough -- they are in town to play a gig with their band Almost Amy at a charity event in Rosedale.

After a quick dinner, Mark and Derek noticed their van had been ransacked -- thieves taking everything from iPods to luggage and even their IDs and passports.

Now, they're already offering a $1,000 reward to anyone with info that leads to getting their stuff back. Hopefully the bad guys didn't touch the rhinestone onesies!

82-year-old Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman was originally courted by "DWTS" honchos, we've learned, because they needed someone for the "disability" slot -- think Heather Mills (one leg) or Marlee Maltin (deaf). They figured her age would fit the bill -- until they got Toni Braxton, who has a heart condition, to sign on, as TMZ first told you. That's when they put Cloris' dancing shoes ... six feet under.

BTW: We also hear "DWTS" peeps are over the moon that Jewel and rodeo dude Ty Murray -- who are both in the mix for next season -- just eloped in the Bahamas, because the whole boyfriend versus girlfriend storyline they wanted to exploit just got amped up to husband-wife. And we know how married couples can get.

And get this: The Lance Bass rumors? Half true. Yes, he''s definitely on, but no, he won't mambo with a man.

Our "Dancing with the Stars" spies tell us Toni Braxton will put on her dancing shoes for the show this season. Toni, who quit her Vegas gig due to heart complications, continues the "DWTS" tradition of dancers with some form of challenge: Heather Mills (leg), Marlee Matlin (deaf) and Tucker Carlson (rhythm).

Here's the insult that comes with the injury -- the "victim" couldn't recognize the "celeb" in a lineup. Nice acting job buddy!

Not only did they call him "gorgeous" outside Crown Bar -- but they also wanted to get one thing straight: Will he be doing the vertical mambo with a man on the next season of "Dancing with the Stars"?

Sources tell TMZ that the casting for the next season of "Dancing With The Stars" is far from complete. Producers still are scrambling on specifics and contestants.

Taking a page from Jerry Springer, the producers are trying to create some major drama, possibly by pairing exes up against each other or people who have had some sort of turbulent relationship.

Talks with Kim Kardashian, Warren Sapp, Lance Bass and "Brady Bunch" mama Florence Henderson have been confirmed. Another younger Brady also may be on board. Paging Chris Knight!