Irvin, Dacascos get the 'Dancing with the Stars' boot

No surprise, Michael Irvin and Mark Dacascos were sent packing from “Dancing with the Stars” tonight. It’s unfortunate because Irvin had been steadily improving as the weeks went on; Dacascos on the other hand seemed to lose his footing in the past few competitions regardless of his partner (Lacey Schwimmer came down with a miserable case of the flu and did not dance Monday night with Dacascos). But both celebs have been consistently toward the middle or bottom of the pack, and as we head into week 8, it’s dog-eat-dog out on that dance floor and this is where it comes down absolutely to fan base. Regardless of the judges’ scores we’re down to a pack of scoring leaders — there really isn’t a weak link left — so it will be up to the fans to pour on the votes.

In a rather stunning turn of events tonight, Aaron Carter found himself in the bottom three after earning his highest score of the season, a 29, on Monday night. While Irvin learned his fate early on in the proceedings, Carter and Dacascos faced off in the dance-off until only one was left standing. It wasn’t even close. No matter how much the judges praised Dacascos for his cha cha, it couldn’t hold a candle to the fiery jive delivered by Carter and his partner Karina Smirnoff.

On the entertainment side of things: Colbie Caillat turned in a lovely performance. Note to Derek Hough and Mark Ballas aka Ballas Hough: If you want to make your lip synching even slightly believable please dump the hand mikes for headsets. Nothing is more ridiculous than watching, uhm, singer-dancers forget to hold their mikes up to their mouths while concentrating on the dance moves—- and by gosh, don’t their vocals just keep on going!

Of course, special guest star Rod Stewart showed the youngun’s how it’s done with a marvy rendtion of the Four Tops classic “It’s the Same Old Song.” Not a synching lip in sight!

On to week 8.. I’m thinking Aaron and Kelly are the weakest of the strongest links right now. But Mya has been known to displease the judges (Okay, Len Goodman) with her penchant for “gimmicks” in her dance routines. That’s a slippery slope to be on this late in the game. And Donny Osmond needs to start relying more on his footwork and less on showmanship if he wants to be the one holding the mirrorball trophy at season’s end. Joanna Krupa has managed to enchant the judging panel, but does she have enough of a fan base to hold up against the rest, including Aaron Carter and Kelly Osbourne who could come on like gangbusters.

Stay tuned.

Stay tuned.

Stay tuned.