Slow and steady wins the race.  The ever consistent and spot-on Brooke Burke waltzed away with the mirror ball trophy Tuesday night, joining the ranks of Kristi Yamaguchi and Kelly Monaco as "Dancing with the Stars" female champs.

Since week one, Brooke and her partner Derek have been slated to take home top honors, delivering technically detailed and near perfect routines.  Tuesday night the duo turned in one last performance--a Viennese waltz--that took home a solid 30.  Combined with their 30 from Monday's freestyle round, Brooke was strides ahead of her competition going into the final elimination.

Tonight's first-round final kicked off with a rundown of each couples' favorite Latin and ballroom routines.  Re-watching these clips brought to light three things for me: 1) Lance is by far the most technically-improved dancer of the season, and Warren has taken the most stylistic strides.  2) Lacey got so much more likable as the season went on and she felt like she didn't have to be the "edgy" one to stick out.  I've found myself rooting for her and Lance in recent weeks, when they were never on the top of my favorites list.  and 3) Poor Warren doesn't stand a chance!

Things were turned upside down in the ballroom Monday night as the four remaining couples faced off in the semi-finals.  The usually consistent and unflappable Brooke Burke took a beating from the judges, while Lance Bass enjoyed the limelight thanks to near perfect mambo and jitterbug routines.  Warren Sapp floated by with trademark charismatic performances, and Cody Linley welcomed partner Julianne Hough back from surgery with lackluster results.

It wasn't a 'winner, winner chicken dinner' night for Maurice Greene and partner Cheryl Burke.  Falling just one week shy of advancing to the semi-finals, the track star who coined the catchphrase of the season was sent home last night.  While Maurice was lovable and never without a smile, he lacked the showmanship of a Warren or a Brooke and failed to strike up crucial chemistry with Cheryl.  Seriously, what fun is it if I can't speculate whether or not a couple is makin' out off the dance floor?

A mere week shy of the semi-finals, our five remaning couples had to undertake two dances this week, one of which featured a requisite 50-second celebrity solo.  Time to see if our guys (and girl!) could walk without their crutches.

Tough week last time around for Cody Linley and Edyta, but they redeemed themselves with an elegant waltz tonight.  The judges all happily agreed it was a vast improvement, but Carrie Ann spied a lift and that meant a point deduction.  Poor Edyta!  Trying the lend a hand, and she gets it slapped for five little toes off the ground.  A score of 24 led them into their second dance of the night, the mambo, which included Cody's solo.  Their start was a touch shaky and Cody's shining moment a little erratic, but the judges were careful not to crush Cody's energetic spirit with too many criticisms.  Another 24 left Cody and Edyta with a 48 total score for the night.

It's back to Pine Valley for Erica Kane!  After an excruciating performance in the group cha cha Monday night, Susan Lucci solidified her stance as the worst of the remaining celeb dancers.  Girlfriend has one heck of a positive attitude, but those frail little legs of hers just weren't doing the trick.  Her dances were weak and repeatedly failed to excite the judges, so it wasn't a surprise she was axed Wednesday, leaving Maurice, Brooke, Warren, Lance and Cody left to duke it out for a spot in the final three.

Kicking off the night, Warren Sapp and Kym's foxtrot wasn't on par with their other dances of the season.  Back from holiday, Len thought it lacked elements of a classic foxtrot.  Heavy, flat footed and uneasy, this just wasn't the typical Warren performance that we've become accustomed to!  A score of 21 left Warren enjoying his winner, winner, chicken dinner.