J.R. Martinez to be Grand Marshall of Rose Bowl Parade

Daytime television actor and war hero J.R. Martinez, the last winner of “Dancing With the Stars,” will be the grand marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade.

Coverage starts at 11 a.m. ET Monday on ABC.

Martinez, a wounded warrior who became an actor on “All My Children,” said he was speechless about the Rose Parade honor.

“To be able to participate in this iconic American tradition is something I could only imagine,” he said in a statement, echoing the parade’s Just Imagine theme. “I believe everything happens for a reason, and

I’m grateful the events of my life have provided me with the opportunity to share my message of hope and possibility on New Year’s Day.”

Al Roker and Shaun Robinson host NBC’s coverage.

Josh Elliott of “Good Morning America” and Hannah Storm of ESPN will host ABC’s telecast of the parade. The 98th Rose Bowl Game follows at 2:10 p.m. on ESPN. The University of Oregon is playing the University of Wisconsin.

Dancing With the Stars Instant Dance Results: Nancy Exits With Grace

It was a perfect night for J.R. Martinez in the ballroom last night as he earned two 30's.  He and his partner Karina worked hard during the week and J.R. seem to expect the 30's.

On the other end of the spectrum, Nancy Grace struggled last night and is at the bottom of the standings, far behind the other dancers.

Most fans and experts would say that it's Nancy Grace's time to go home tonight.  Let's watch and see.

A nice routine to start off the show.  Complete will all the female professional dancers on the show.  

Some results are up next.  Rob, Hope and J.R. are the first stars called up to find out their fate.  The first couple through to the semi-finals is J.R. and Karina.  Also through to the semis is Hope and Maks.  Rob and Cheryl are in jeopardy.

Next we get the infamous Dance Center piece with Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne and Len. They recap the contestants and how they are doing.  

Andrea Bocelli is up next with a great help from Chris Botti on the trumpet. 

More Dance Center is followed by the new Michael Jackson Cirque show preview.  Lots of acrobatics and dancing to music from "The King of Pop."

Next we get a special performance from Flo-rida.  He sings "Club Can't Handle Me." 

Now we see who joins Rob and Cheryl in the bottom two.  It's going to be Ricki or Nancy.  Heading to the semi-finals will be Ricki and Derek.  Nancy is in the bottom two. 

It's down to these two, one is going to the semi-finals.  It will be... Rob and Cheryl.  Nancy is out.

The Muppets perform next week.

Dancing With the Stars: Songs of the 1980's and Some Big Hair

Tonight we pay homage to the great songs of the 1980's.  

It's the 5th week of competition so we should see one or two of the couples who should make the finals start to separate themselves from the pack.  I don't think that will be the team of Chaz and Lacey, but they have made it this far.

Let's go back to the 80's.

The Bangles started off the show with one of their hits, "Eternal Flame."  After they broke in to "Walk Like an Egyptian" you knew it was 80's Night.  A lot of big hair, spandex and parachute pants to come.

Hope and Maks are first up tonight.  They did a good foxtrot last week.  this weeks it's on to the tango.  Another good dance.  Lot's of action and entertainment value.  Len thought Hope was too flat, but Bruno thought she resembled an 80's Super Bitch.  She was strong and powerful, but needs a little refining.  Hope gets a 24.

Carson and Anna are up next with a Wham! song.  Carson donned leg warmers for rehearsals, and a track suit for the performance, that turned into a cheerleader outfit, compete with pom poms.  It may be the strangest dance I've ever seen on DWTS.  I don't know what to say about this.  Bruno called it a "Crowning achievement in madness."  Carson gets a 19 and a lot of smiles.

Nancy and Tristan next on stage.  It's wouldn't be the 80's without Spandau Ballet.  Nancy has a lot of work to do this week and Tristan wants her to listen better.  Remember, Nancy is a lawyer, so good luck with that.  Not a difficult dance, it was ok to me.  The judges thought it was ok as well.  Nancy gets a 22 out of 30.

After another Bangles song we get J.R. and Karina.  J.R. has been the best dancer on the show so far, but the judges still want to see more.  They get a samba and J.R. is looking forward to it.  A lot going on here as J.R. unleashed his Latin roots.  With the best ovation of the night, J.R. gets a 28 and vaults to the top! 

Rob and Cheryl are next on.  Rob is working harder to be a contender, not a pretender.  He has to do a rumba and Cheryl wants him to take the lead.  Rob did well, he continues to improve each week.  Rob played the leading man very well.  He gets a 25.

Chaz and Lacey are again looking to improve.  He's been getting a lot of fan votes, but he wants to prove his worth on the dance floor.  Lacey even brought her dad out this week to help Chaz.  It's the best I've seen Chaz move.  Len liked the effort, even thought the technique was a bit lacking.  Chaz gets a 21.

David Arquette and Kym are on next.  They get to do a tango to "Tainted Love."  A good tango with lots of moves and a good level of difficulty.  It did have a good 80's feel.  The judges liked it and David gets a 25 for his highest score.

Ricki and Derek will be last to go tonight.  Ricki earned some 10's last week, can she duplicate that this week?  Ricki knows the 80's and wants to turn it up a notch.  Another nice effort from Ricki and Derek.  it earns them a 24.

Results show tomorrow with Kelly Clarkson and The Band Perry.  Tune in!

J.R. Martinez a Sleeper Pick on Dancing With the Stars

Season 13 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars will kickoff on Monday night and the usual collection of actors, athletes, reality show stars and relatives of famous people will try and win the coveted mirror ball trophy.

One contestant the public as a whole may not be all that familair with is actor J.R. Martinez.  Word is his dancing skills are pretty good and he's a likeable guy, so he's a darkhorse pick for sure.

J.R. Martinez told People Magazine: “I’ve learned so much, Karina (Smirnoff) is an amazing talent. She has shown me that it’s all posture, and framing and being elegant. It’s all about fingers and toes. Being a guy, I tend to move all over the place.”  Karina says Martinez is a hard worker on the dance floor.

Other info about Martinez... he's 28, an Iraq war vet who sustained burns to more than 40% of his body, including his face, after hitting a land mine while deployed with the Army in Iraq in 2003. He has undergone 33 cosmetic and skin graft surgeries.

He know appears regularly on ABC's All My Children.