This was posted Monday, November 14, 2016 by Rodney Ho on the AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Continuing to surpass expectations, recently retired Detroit Lions wide receiver and Georgia Tech player Calvin Johnson Jr. landed into the finals on "Dancing With the Stars." He is one of four battling for the win next week.
In a mild surprise tonight, he managed to get more votes than "Little Woman L.A." star Terra Jole, who has been super popular and received perfect scores tonight.
Johnson, his athleticism in full bloom, has steadily improved over ten weeks. He nabbed one of seven perfect scores tonight with his delightfully fun salsa in trio form with his regular partner Lindsay Arnold and guest Witney Carson.
His tango during the individual routine received the lowest score of the night: 26 out of 30, with the only 8 of the night from Carrie Ann Inaba. (All other dances received 9s or better.) He was penalized for a blatant error.
Interestingly, the other three vying to win are not the best- known names on this season's cast. Indy driver James Hinchcliffe and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez are favorites to win with country singer Jana Kramer and Johnson the dark horses. (On MJ's Big Blog, readers think Laurie is likeliest to win and Johnson is not a serious contender for the mirror ball trophy. There's a consensus he will finish fourth next week.)
Next Monday is the freestyles followed by the season 23 finale on Tuesday, November 22.
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