Dancing with the Stars 2011 Finale winner Hines Ward – Watch Full Video

He may have come just short of the Super Bowl championship earlier this year, but Hines Ward didn’t leave the dance floor empty-handed Tuesday night

The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver had fans cheering and black-and-gold towels waving as he samba-ed his way to a victory as the season 12 winner of “Dancing with the Stars” ahead of fellow finalists Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane.The dancing was top-notch and the competition was intense, but there could be only one winner as the latest season of “Dancing With the Stars” came to a close Tuesday night (May 24). After the rest of the season’s contestants and a string of musical guests, it was Hines Ward who received the series’ coveted mirror-ball trophy alongside partner Kym Johnson. Hines. Kirstie. Chelsea. Three totally different dancers, three impressive performance portfolios. But there can only be one winner, one person left standing when the confetti rains down and season twelve culminates in a shower of glitter and glee.Dancing with the Stars season 12 finale dance off is on. It’s the grand finale dance for Footballer Hines Ward, Kirstie Alley and Disney Star Chelsea Kane who earned scores to move on to the final round tonight, Tuesday, May 24th. On Monday night, Kirstie Alley fans were disappointed when 60 year old Alley recieved the lowest score, 54 out of 60 and Hines and Chelsea tied at 59.

"Dancing with the Stars" has handed out the Mirror Ball trophy to Hines Ward on Tuesday, May 24. The football player was named the winner in season 12 of the reality show, beating out Chelsea Kane and Kirstie Alley who got the third and second place respectively.

Before the result was announced, previously eliminated contestants of "DWTS" season 12 made appearances on the show. Petra Nemcova danced a waltz whileJosh Groban sang "You Raise Me Up", and Kendra Wilkinson danced to "Livin La Vida Loca" with three pro dancers, stepping onto the judges table at the end.

Chris Jericho teamed up with Sugar Ray Leonard to "rumble" on the dance floor, while Maksim Chmerkovskiy was joined by Chelsie Hightower, Cheryl Burke and Lacey Schwimmer to dance as The Go Go's performed.

Lil' Romeo reunited with his partner Chelsie, while Ralph Macchio andKarina Smirnoff danced their Prohibition era quickstep. As for Wendy Williams, she did not dance but appeared in a taped segment in which she interviewed herself about Chelsea Kane.

Another musical guest that night were Black Eyed Peas who catered the audience with "Don't Stop the Party". Among the attendees were Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin and Todd Palin, as well as the latest "Bachelorette" Ashley Hebert who sat on the front row.

Later, the three finalists performed their favorite dance for the final performance. Chelsea and her partner Mark Ballas opted for a Viennese waltz, Kirstie and Maksim danced the cha-cha, while Hines and Kym Johnson danced the samba. The judges' comments were all positive and the three contestants got perfect scores.

"Starting this competition I never thought I'd be in the finals but, you know, I owe it all to Kym. She's an amazing teacher," Hines said after he was announced as the winner. "And I want to thank the judges for giving us the constructive criticism to get better each week.. Also I want to thank all the fans."

Kirstie also got a chance to express her gratitude, "It's like the most extraordinary adventure I've ever been on in my life. And I want to thank Maks, I love Maks." Her partner Maksim added, "It's been a special season... Thank you for this. This has been an amazing, amazing season."

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