Although Helio Castroneves seemed to be the crowd (and female) favorite going into tonight’s Dancing With The Stars show, the IndyCar Series driver was actually running behind Melanie Brown when it came to overall performance.  Thanks to the four 30’s she achieved throughout the competition, the Spice Girl was averaging 27.4 points per dance.  Helio’s three 30’s put him just a hair behind at 26.9.  (Marie Osmond, with 24.5, was obviously a distant third.)

Crowd favorite or not, I think most viewers would have been satisfied with either a Melanie or Helio victory; both dancers were equally deserving.  Unfortunately, this thing called ‘audience votes’ threatened to throw a wrench into an otherwise great season.  As much as I liked Marie, she remained in this competition far too long.  (Apparently devotees and their dolls have been calling to keep her alive.)

But in the end, it really shouldn’t have been a surprise that Helio would walk away with the disco ball in hand.  As I’ve learned from one of my favorite Little House on the Prairie episodes, two girls pitted against one guy will always split the votes.  These two ladies against a cute, dimpled, charming guy—well, they never stood a chance.