Macchio rebounds to dance in semifinals

First the knee abandoned him, then the judges. But somebody out there apparently likes Ralph Macchio, who avoided almost certain elimination Tuesday night after falling into fifth place -- deep fifth place -- Monday night on "Dancing With the Stars." Instead, he'll be back next week for the semifinals.

A surprise? Well, depends on the definition of "surprise." Macchio appeared to be mathematically eliminated on Monday, when he and partner Karina Smirnoff got a total score of 46, or 6 points below Romeo. Six points is huge, and it took a fairly concerted effort by viewers to support Macchio. In the end, it was Romeo -- a competent dancer who got better -- who got abandoned by them.

An early ending for Long Islander Macchio was essentially written last week when he suffered a ruptured cyst behind one of his knees. The pain was so intense that it limited him to nine hours of practice out of the usual 40.

Macchio said Tuesday night that the knee was "feeling much better. I got to rest it. . . . Monday came a little early, but I powered through."

Hines Ward, Kirstie Alley and Chelsea Kane will also be in the semifinals.