Smith lord of dance

New York – Emmitt Smith danced off with the mirror ball.

The three-time Super Bowl champion, who proved to be as nimble on his feet in the ballroom as on the football field, was named the winner of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” Wednesday night. With the victory came the glittering trophy.

The NFL’s all-time leading rusher beat out actor Mario Lopez.

The hunky, dimpled Lopez was generally regarded as the series most dynamic celebrity dancer, but the public’s vote, the deciding factor after the contestants had tied in the judges’ tally at Tuesday’s final dance-off, brought Smith the victory.

“It is awesome! It is awesome!” declared Smith, after hugging his professional dance partner, Cheryl Burke. “We came a long way, we really have.”

Burke won last season, too, on the arm of singer Drew Lachey.

Jackson takes the stage

London – Michael Jackson gave his first public performance Wednesday since his acquittal on child molestation charges a year-and-a-half ago – a fleeting rendition of “We are the World” surrounded by youthful singers.

Jackson, 48, sang at the World Music Awards in London, which was honoring him with an award commemorating the 25th anniversary of his hugely popular album “Thriller.”

But the reclusive pop icon, who has been traveling in Europe since his June 2005 acquittal in California, did not perform the album title song as some expected. Instead he appeared on stage and sang among a group of swaying, clapping kids – until the musical accompaniment inexplicably stopped.

“There have been so many people who have loved me and stood by me. I love all the fans from the bottom of my heart,” Jackson said before flinging his black jacket into the crowd and exiting the stage.

The ‘sexiest man’ again

New York – George Clooney has been named the “sexiest man alive” – for the second time – by People magazine.

The 45-year-old actor is pictured on the cover of People’s annual issue, on newsstands Friday. Clooney, who first took the title in 1997, is now tied with his good friend Brad Pitt.

“This is one that’s going to be hard for Brad since he’s been ‘sexiest man alive’ twice,” Clooney tells the magazine. “I’d say ‘sexiest man alive’ to him and he’d go, ‘two-time.’ So that’s been taken away.”

The magazine also names 12 “men of the year,” including Pitt, Jamie Foxx, Patrick Dempsey, Matt Damon, Justin Timberlake and Daniel Craig.

Book awards announced

New York – Richard Powers’ “The Echo Maker,” a scientific tale of memory and identity in the age of Sept. 11 and the Iraq war, won the National Book Award for fiction Wednesday night, honoring a widely respected author with a small but passionate readership.

Timothy Egan’s Dust Bowl history, “The Worst Hard Time” won for nonfiction; Nathaniel Mackey’s musical and mystical “Splay Anthem” took the poetry prize; and M.T. Anderson’s “The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. I,” a multi-formatted epic in 18th century prose, was cited for young people’s literature.

Winners each receive $10,000.

The National Book Foundation is a nonprofit organization that sponsors numerous readings and educational programs.