ABC's "Dancing with the Stars: Athletes" premiered last week, but the halfway mark was on Tuesday, May 7. That's because the season is short with only four episodes. The season started with 10 couples. Two couples were eliminated last week, and two more were eliminated this week. That leaves six couples to compete next week when three couples will be eliminated.
Two eliminations
It did not surprise viewers that Arike Ogunbowale and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were eliminated after two dances. They did not get high scores from the judges and not enough votes from the public to keep them after the second night of competition.
Arike Ogunbowale who was partnered with Gleb Savchenko danced a lot better this week in heels than she did last week in sneakers. Perhaps the Notre Dame basketball player would have stayed longer during a regular season. Even if she had been a better dancer, the cards were stacked against her from winning.
Because of the NCAA, she was prohibited from promoting herself in any way to get votes.
She had to sign a waiver to be on the show. She had to take the red-eye flight back to school last week for an early Tuesday morning presentation. She had to do the same thing last night to take final exams this week. Now that she has left the competition, there should be less stress on her.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and pro partner Lindsay Arnold were also eliminated. It was fun watching Kareem, but he just didn't have the moves to keep him in the competition. Lindsay is very talented and came up with stunts to compensate for their height difference, but that would have been boring if they hadn't been eliminated.
Arike and Kareem have a lot in common. They both represented the sport of basketball.
Arike was the youngest competitor this season at 21. Kareem was the oldest at 71.
Guest judges
Rashad Jennings returned to the ballroom as a guest judge. The former football running back was Season 24 winner with Emma Slater last May. Not only did Jennings judge the remaining contestants, but he also performed in a group dance. He did an excellent job as a judge, but he was too kind with his scores on some occasions. He gave the first and only 10 of the season to Mirai Nagasu and Alan Bersten.
Season 24 runner-up David Ross will return as a guest judge next week. Only six couples remain to compete. After next week's episode, only three couples will be left for the finale on May 21.
As of now, the fan favorite is Adam Rippon to take home the Mirror Ball trophy. His Quickstep and fellow figure skater Mirai Nagasu's Foxtrot tied for a score of 37 out of 40 during the second week of competition.