Ralph Macchio dances with pain

Ralph Macchio joined the storied ranks of "Dancing With the Stars' " wounded last week -- a painful place to be, but not a fatal one, as last season's winner, Jennifer Grey, who had a ruptured disc just before the finale, would attest. Macchio ruptured a cyst in the back of a knee Thursday, and it flared again Saturday, limiting him and partner Karina Smirnoff to nine (out of 40) hours' practice.

FIRST DANCE: Viennese waltz

THE JUDGES SAY: "For someone with limited time to practice, you did a great job" (Len Goodman); "Mesmerizing, dangerous creature of the night . . . a credit to you, Ralph" (Bruno Tonioli); "The spirit of ["Karate Kid's"] Danny Russo lived on. The hardest thing to do is dance when you're in pain." (Carrie Ann Inaba.)

SCORE: 25 out of 30

INSTANT DANCE: cha-cha-cha

JUDGES SAY: "I admire your perseverance but . . . something has to give." (Goodman); "Under the circumstances, incredible" (Tonioli); "Amazing you were able to pull it off." (Inaba).

SCORE: 21 out of 30

MY SAY: Besides his injury, the real challenge now for Ralph is his chief competition -- Chelsea Kane and particularly Hines Ward, who were so good. The judges penalized his routines because they had little choice. Will voters?

TOTAL SCORE: 46 out of 60