I know we've discussed this in past seasons, and IIRC quite a few Dis-ers agree with Maks. I don't though.
BTW, I found the exact quote:
"Derek Hough has been very supportive of his personal career on the show," Maksim said in an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America Wednesday. "When you say judges have been generous, with all due respect, if I had Nicole Scherzinger followed by Jennifer Grey followed by Ricki Lake, I probably would not be very upset with the judges either."
Seems like quite a slam not only to Derek, but to his own partners as well, at least if you ask me.
And I have to say, I find it funny that Maks complained about Derek being partnered with Jennifer Grey on the season he was partnered with Brandy. Maybe it's just me, but if it were a school yard pick, I would have expected Brandy to be chosen before Jennifer.
Same with this season, would Ricki Lake really have been your top pick going in?
Here's the list:
Elisabetta Canalis
Kristin Cavalleri
Nancy Grace
Ricki Lake
Chynna Phillips
Hope Solo
Again, maybe It's just me, but I didn't expect Ricki to do as well as she has, and I would have pegged Hope for having more potential.
Coaching, choreography, age, ability, motivation, personality, popularity, etc all play into it. I honestly don't think it's always easy to predict who will do well before the season even starts.
Anyway, while I can understand Maks's frustration, and maybe even agree with some of his points (to some extent) everyone on DWTS knows what they're getting into. It's a competition, you're judged, and some of the comments can be harsh, because ultimately it's all about entertainment and ratings.
Along those lines, I think Maks has made some comments that are out of line, but he's getting a lot of press, and isn't the Hollywood motto "any publicity is good publicity"?
In answer to your question - bolded - for me that would be HELL YES, they would have been my number 1 choice!!!!!!
Why - because in your examples - Jennifer, Nicole, and Rikki - all 3 of them have already proven - from example of their work in their choosen professions - that they know how to learn and perform choreography. It may not have been ballroom, but it was dancing.
They know the dance terminolgies. They have most of the basics covered. Most of the others have ZERO clue what the pro's are talking about.
Even if it's been years, since they may have used those skills, once you get yourself back in the studio and working on dancing for a few days, your body remembers and it all comes back to you. You may have to work a bit harder to do the steps and you may be a bit more sore afterwards, but you still have the advantage of prior knowledge and experience.
I'd take whichever star had advantages that I could, over a novice every time.
I was right! Nancy was on Dr. Drew's last night. He didn't even bother hiding the fact that he was doing a shameless plug for Nancy. He told the audience that he wants Nancy to be able to plop the mirror ball trophy on his desk there on the show. After discussing Michael Jackson's Dr. for a bit, they brought on Tristan.
If she wins, will she be one of the headline news, making the news crawl?


this is the second time in a couple pages that someone mentioned that to me. Perhaps I am not saying "in my opinion" enough anymore.
we've always been able to agree or disagree on who we like, don't like, etc., and everyone knows (that even if the other person is wrong in their opinion,
I hope I haven't been coming across as bashing other people over the heads with my opinions.
Most of us go from DWTS to The Bachelor/ette each season.
You gals are what make these types of shows fun! 
thing on tv tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!