Dancing with the Stars

We were kinda impressed that "Dancing with the Stars" booty shaker Cheryl Burke pulled someone so damn good looking -- and then he tried to be funny. And that totally ruined it.

Move over, A-Roid -- Jewel has now taken your place as the face of cheating in pro sports. Alright, it's dancing ... but still.

Jewel took to her blog yesterday to announce she is battling tendonitis in her knee as she prepares for the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars." But Jewel, unlike seemingly every baseball player, openly admits she is taking steroids to help her stay healthy. She writes, "Hopefully these steroids will really do the trick and I can keep bad flare ups at a bay in the future."

It is unknown what ABC's policy is on performance-enhancing drugs in reality dance competition shows. Certainly if Jewel should go on to win, "DWTS" purists will call for an asterisk next to her name....

Karina Smirnoff is a great dancer, but her performance lacks a certain sense of humility and charity.

The "Dancing With The Stars" Star (?) is suing a restaurant for not paying her fee at a March of Dimes benefit last month.

Smirnoff, who lightly brushed her 15 minutes of fame on the show, is suing Panchito's Restaurant in San Antonio for 6k after they neglected to pay her "appearance fee."

Smirnoff's lawyer told KSAT news the Mexican joint claimed it made no money on the event so it just couldn't pay her. The restaurant reportedly claims it never agreed to pay her squat.

Come on guys ... there's gotta be some loose change around there somewhere.

UPDATE: 3:22 PM ET:

Karina's rep contacted TMZ and said there was never any mention this was a March of Dimes event. But we just spoke with James Gonzaba, the General Manager of Panchito's Restaurant, who said his people were contacted by Jimmy Villereal, who claimed he managed Karina ... that Villereal asked if the restaurant would host a March of Dimes event that Karina would appear at.

Gonzaba says Villereal asked for money for Karina's appearance, but the restaurant made it clear -- they couldn't afford to pay anything to her, so there was no deal -- they merely hosted the event and were shocked when she demanded a fee after the fact.

Now that she won't have to deal with being First Lady, Cindy McCain wanted to bust out on "Dancing with the Stars" -– and sought a spot on the show.

But, according to the NY Post, Cindy's husband -- Senator John -- has told the Mrs. to step off. "Just before Thanksgiving," says a source, Cindy "started talks with producers to appear as a dancer on the show. She wanted to do it very badly."

One of these people is good friend's with Lance Bass.

"Dancing with the Stars'" Mark Ballas has groin-ed to a halt.

The season six winner "grimaced in pain" at a Staples Center concert, reports People, and apologized to the crowd for "not being able to give his all," although he was apparently able to tough it out through a "high-energy hip-hop" routine.

Toni Braxton was noticeably absent from the finale of "Dancing with the Stars" -- and it was a brush with cancer that kept her from performing.

TMZ has learned Braxton discovered a lump in her breast before she was set to appear on "DWTS" and was told she had to have it removed immediately. Rather than have the surgery right away, Braxton chose to wait until after she was eliminated from the show. Luckily, it turned out to be benign.

Have you ever watched "Dancing with the Stars" and thought to yourself, "Man, this show needs a guy who will staple his testicles to his thigh"? Well your wish just might come true.

TMZ has learned Steve-O (who has been sober for nine months) has verbally agreed to appear on the show next season -- and has even auditioned.

Nothing is set in stone yet -- "DWTS" usually unofficially books several stars and then makes the cut down right before they make the official announcement.

There was an explosion of anger a few days ago on the "Dancing with the Stars" set.

Our sources say it all went down when the remaining professionals and celebs were rehearsing for the group dance that aired last night. Warren Sapp showed up several hours late for rehearsal. When Sapp finally arrived mid-rehearsal, he began complaining he was having a hard time following the routine.

Several dancers complained back that it was Warren's own fault for getting there late. At that point, Sapp snapped, throwing Derek Hough against the wall. Now get this -- all 97 pounds of Derek wouldn't back down.

We're told there was a stand-off in the dance room until they both cooled off and went back to rehearsing.

Oh, wait. It's just Lance Bass in an extra special nuclear shade of orange for the "Dancing with the Stars" finale.

Spray 'em if you got 'em.