I really wish Jason would go.
Me, too. I really liked him at first but I think the judges are overrating him. Len was commenting in the fluff piece about the motion of Kristi's leg when she swooped around in the (oh, I just had the name of the move on the tip of my tongue, and lost it) move where you kind of do a jumping 1/2 turn -- but Jason did a similar move at the start of the Paso Doble and looked incredibly awkward. His leg just hung in the air instead of making a nice arc. The finishing moves of the Paso looked awkward, too, to me. But the football players I think have a huge fanbase that also insures he stays in it.
QUOTE: Marissa's competant. She'd be a good sylabus dancer and her footwork is neat.
Marissa did a nice job. I liked the way Len defended her rhumba.
QUOTE: Kristi's great when Mark isnt' freakin' outdancing her! The sync problems were he was overdoing it and she couldn't keep up, and it's his responsibility to dial it down a little.
Absolutely! He was really stepping high with every move, so that even if they were both on the beat, since he was taking much higher steps, and also making higher kicks and bigger arm movements, it appeared out of synch. I watched my tape a couple of times, and I think generally their feet hit the floor simultaneously, but he was stepping so much higher and with so much bounce that they couldn't possibly _look_ synchronized. I'm surprised he didn't realize that (I'm sure they have mirrors in their rehearsal studio!

) and it is definitely his responsibility to dial it down, as the professional and as needing to showcase the female partner.
ETA: In general, though, I still think Kristi's the best celebrity dancer by far. I found myself really enjoying Marissa, and then Cristian, and thinking how well everyone was doing, then Kristi would dance and her choreo is just so much more difficult and precisely executed (at least it looks that way to me) that I'm reminded why she should win hands down -- if it weren't a popularity contest instead of a dance contest.