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"Twinkletoes" Emmitt Smith part of Dancing's first All-Star collection


Emmitt Smith with Cheryl Burke in 3rd edition of Dancing. ABC photo

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
The NFL's all-time leading rusher, former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, will hoof and puff anew in this fall's first All-Star edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

Dubbed "Twinkletoes" by judge Carrie Ann Inaba, Smith won the fall 2006 third edition of the show in tandem with Cheryl Burke. Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Melissa Rycroft, who finished third in Dancing's spring 2009 eighth edition, is returning as well.

Five other past champs -- Drew Lachey, Helio Castroneves, Kelly Monaco, Shawn Johnson, Apolo Anton Ohno -- will join Smith on America's biggest dance floor. But his more eye-catching all-star opponents may be Bristol Palin, Pamela Anderson and Kirstie Alley.

Rounding out this field are Joey Fatone and Gilles Marini. Three other celebrities -- Sabrina Bryan, Carson Kressley, Kyle Massey -- will vie to be the so-called "Viewers' Choice" All-Star in online voting.

Scheduled to premiere on Monday, Sept. 24th, this will be the 15th edition of ABC's most-watched prime-time series. Athletes have won 7 of the previous 14 competitions, with Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver the most recent recipient of the many-splendored Mirror Ball Trophy.

Kristi Yamaguchi and Hines Ward are the other athlete winners in addition to Smith, Castroneves, Johnson and Ohno.

Smith and Burke prevailed over runners-up Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff in 2006. All of the All-Stars, except for Anderson, have finished no worse than third. But she has other winning attributes.

Monaco, Lachey, Smith, Ohno and Castroneves were Dancing's first five champs. The show premiered in the summer of 2005.

Here's ABC's somewhat less than subtle promo clip for its first All-Star edition.