Confession: I didn't even watch "The Bachelor" last night (too many DVR conflicts now that "The Voice" is back!) but I did monitor the situation in Panama so that I could report to other slackers that Blakeley Shea, the Charlotte/Rutherfordton contestant, was eliminated in last night's show.

Blakeley (left) ended up as one-half of the dreaded two-on-one date last night, which means two women leave for the date and only one woman returns. Reports indicate the date included Latin dancing and a weird "scrapbook of feelings" (made by a weepy Blakeley). Let's face it. Even a "VIP Waitress" from holy Charlotte cannot pull off a stalkery move like that, and Blakeley was dismissed. Blakeley was livid and stormed out in tears without speaking to bachelor Ben Flajnik.

In other local developments, Emily O'Brien, the Duke grad and UNC-Ch PhD student . . .

Neither of the North Carolina women were really the focus of attention on last night's episode of "The Bachelor."

That is, until the cocktail party at the very end when Duke grad/UNC PhD student Emily O'Brien (right) made up her mind that she'd had enough of phony ice queen/fashion model Courtney (I don't care enough about Courtney to look up her full name) and made the terrible decision to tell Ben Flajnik that Courtney's intentions were not true.

Problems here: 1. Emily had gotten no alone time with Ben in the period of time during which this episode was filmed (a few days can be an eternity if your man is picnicking by a mountain stream with another woman!) and she used the teeny bit of time she had with him to complain about another woman. Never a good move! Never! 2. The other problem, and it's a much larger one, is that Ben really likes Courtney.

That means Ben is a fool, of course, but it was still a pretty disastrous move by Emily. A move made even worse when she told Courtney's one friend in the house what she'd done. That woman, Casey from Kansas I believe (?), defended Courtney and then ran straight to Courtney and told her what Emily had said.

I skipped "The Bachelor" last night to watch Betty White's Birthday tribute on NBC, and wouldn't you know it, it was the night that Emily O'Brien -- Duke grad and UNC PhD student -- got a one-on-one date with bachelor Ben Flajnik.

But luckily (?), there's a video (below) of the date on youtube, so here's what happened:

Emily and Ben's date involved climbing San Francisco's Bay Bridge. Emily was extremely nervous and had a tough time dealing with the whole "fear of falling to my death on a reality show" issue. But Ben gave her a magical kiss that removed her fears and they completed the climb.

At their dinner later, Emily asks Ben about his rejected proposal to Ashley Hebert in last season's "Bachelorette" and he explains what was behind that (he loved her in the moment, etc.). Then Emily tells Ben her most embarrassing dating moment, which the rest of us already know if we saw her profile page on ABC's website: she once signed up on an online dating site and they "matched" her with her own brother.

Here's a final word on this season of "Dancing with the Stars" from our correspondent, Lenni G, who is overjoyed with J.R.'s big win:

A thoroughly jampacked episode last night with Lady Antebellum for entertainment, performances from the nine stars who had been eliminated in previous weeks, and more dancing from the three finalists.
 
During the first hour of the show, Ricki and Derek, Rob and Cheryl, and J.R. and Karina each chose a dance they had done before and did it again.  Ricki chose her fantastic "Psycho" tango because it was just so fantastic we had to see it one more time.  Rob chose his dreamy "Fly Me to the Moon" foxtrot which he had dedicated to his father.  J.R. decided to show Len that the jive Len had called a lindy hop was really a jive.  Coming in first were Ricki and Derek with 30 points.  Second place went to J.R. and Karina with 28 points, leaving third place to Rob and Cheryl with 26.
 
At the end of the first hour, Ricki and Derek became the first finalists to be eliminated.  As I said yesterday, Ricki just didn't finish this competition very well, though the rest of her season was truly excellent.

We'll try to avoid accidentally spoiling the show for you, so if you aren't quite ready to know who the winner was, don't read or click below!

Our hardworking "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent, Lenni G, sends us her recap all the way from Arizona. That's dedication.

Two dances per couple tonight, one of which was a freestyle routine.  After watching the whole show, I have to think that just one dance would have been plenty.  I don't know if it was nerves or injuries but, with the possible exception of Rob's freestyle, the performances were pretty dern average for a finale night.
 
First up, Ricki and Derek with a cha cha and coaching from Carrie Ann.  The good news - Len thought the timing was right, Bruno said she'd never looked "hotter," and Carrie Ann loved the way she "lived the dance."  The bad news - all three judges commented that there were a number of moments when the dance went wrong.  Have to say the judges were right - the whole thing seemed a bit out of sync from the beginning.  Judges' scores - 9's from all three for a total of 27.
 

"Dancing with the Stars" correspondent with her take on last night's elimination:

Our "Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G has the details of last night's expected elimination:

We had all sorts of entertainment last night - As Tom Bergeron put it, "All of our women" started the show with some fabulous choreography.  Daggone, these ladies are really good!
 
Andrea Bocelli sang "More" accompanied by trumpet player, Chris Botti, and the dance troupe.  Not sure "More" was a great song choice for Andrea.  Flo-Rida dropped by for two songs, "Club Can't Handle Me" and "Good Feeling."  Don't think these songs would have worked for Andrea either.

"Dancing with the Stars" correspondent Lenni G with last night's recap: