Brian Williams makes it official. He manages to use the arrival of the team from Chile to talk about interviewing Miller and discussing his training in … Chile.

Williams is trying very hard to be the news guy; when Denmark appears, he brings up the Muhammad cartoon furor. But it's better to bring it up than ignore it — and then see disaster strike at the Olympics. It's not an event that's always free of terror, after all. And Costas underscores that by talking about security at the games.

There must be times when Costas is regretting that promise to show EVERY country's delegation. He's grasping for interesting tidbits — imagine, a country called ICEland has never won a Winter Olympics medal! I'd like to hear Williams explain more about party time in Reykjavik. "It's dark most of the time," he says. "Largest per-capita number of discos north of the equator …"

So Iceland picked the music for the opening ceremonies!

Good hats on the Kazakhstan team.

Hey, what else do you want from me? People are walking and waving, and that's about all we've got. If Brian Williams can talk about partying in Iceland, I can talk about hats.

Excellent hats on Mongolia. Even Brian Williams is taking a break from political discourse long enough to mention them.

Let us note that the flag of Norway — tops in Winter Games medals overall, says Costas — is being carried by a curling athlete.

Costas is finally commenting on the music — "80s American pop tunes" to his ears; it's DISCO. And a fair amount of it '70s, including "YMCA," which gives Williams a chance to say "gesticulation."

Williams squeezed Bode Miller into the conversation again! He needs to relax. That reference to Pope John Paul II as a "former, very proud skier" was really strained.

The U.S. team enters. Waiting for it, waiting for it … Michelle Kwan … Michelle Kwan again … waiting … YES! Bode Miller! "Perhaps you've heard of him," Costas jokes. And where would we have heard that, Bob?

Greece kicks things off, with the countries "in Italian alphabetical order," Costas tells us. NBC has a handy graphic listing the countries in order of appearance. Graphics also show us what the country looks like, its population and other handy information.

"You will not miss a single country in this parade of nations," Costas promises as he begins to chatter, knowing that all these shots of people waving are not enough to keep the audience engaged.

Where is Joan Rivers? Someone must ask the athletes "who are you wearing"? I want to see Kathy Griffin interview Bode Miller.

After seeing half a dozen countries' winter wear, I no longer care whom they are wearing. Lots of padding. Any one of them has enough material to make a hundred of Teri Hatcher's outfit at the Grammys.

OK, what is Italian for "Belarus"? Since it's after Bermuda in the alphabetical order. Oh, I see on the sign. "Bielorussia."

The disco music is pretty odd. And Michael Jackson a bad choice on any grounds. Kathy Griffin would have something to say about that.

Shouldn't "Repubblica Ceca" be under "R"?

The A-team has arrived, Bob Costas and Brian Williams. Williams is the new kid, and his presence has fueled speculation that Katie Couric is heading out the door to CBS soon — so NBC is more interested in promoting a talent who will still be on the team at the end of 2006. But if I'm Couric, I'd figure I didn't have to work the Olympics — that NBC is going to want to keep me happy, and that means no huddling into a parka and pretending to enjoy snowball fights. And if I'm gone, then I don't need to do the parka drill, either.

Williams is hanging tough in a Playboy "Back to College Fashions" way — sweater and jacket, very tidy.

Wow, some set in Torino. Like a top view of the starship Enterprise.

Is that a Power Ranger hitting the anvil?

The dancers gather and move about. Tight choreography. Odd costumes. Anyone have an urge to rent "Roller Boogie"?

Amazing how Costas can read lines like the one about the beating heart as a symbol of passion, and not giggle uncontrollably. Which reminds me: Make Valentine's Day plans.

Hey, Netflix has "Roller Boogie"!

We are now in the alpine portion of the program, which includes a tribute to cows, or maybe Gateway computers.

There's an overhead shot that makes me feel a little dirty.

Reminder: Make really good Valentine's Day plans.

Presentation of the Italian flag, introduction of Olympic officials, flag raising. Brian Williams tries to make us forget the operatically silly uniforms by invoking World War II. (Did he inherit the turf from Brokaw?) Williams speaks of "the actions of U.S. GIs on this land, how blood was spilled, how many never went home." And does he remember which side Italy was on in that war?

Costas apparently does, mentioning Mussolini after the break.

The announcers quietly let the action unfold curing the close-order formation of an Olympic skier. It unfolds very slowly.

Costas points out Bode Miller in the crowd. We're getting a lot of Miller tonight. Imagine how big he would be if he took up curling.

I've gone back to HD. The audio seems OK now.

More Bode Miller, including an interview with Jimmy Roberts, who concludes that Miller is "a different kind of cat." Nice to know that the Beat Generation lives. At least Roberts looks comfortable in the studio. Lampley is too stiff and formal.

And now … a promo for a Shaun White piece. Didn't we already see him on "Olympic Zone"?

Graphic says that coverage of the opening ceremonies is just 9 minutes away. Of course, the event is long since over.

Footage of White on his board as part of a larger piece on snowboarding. I confess to being impressed. But I had a hard time staying on a skateboard — one of those skinny wooden ones with roller-skate wheels, no less.

Lampley is hyping the HD telecast of the Olympics. I'm here!

We're into the poetic zone, where the narration refers to "capacious piazzas" and the music swells behind a reference to "a vivaciuous brand of excellence" — and behind everything else. Athletes most viewers have never heard of, and some of fame, are wrapped in splendid images and grand teases of tales of drama and heroism. Oh, sorry. I momentarily fell into the narrative rhythm. But the HD transmission is unbelievably gorgeous.

Jim Lampley speaks. The spell is broken.

Bode Miller, Shaun White (the kid from "Olympic Zone") and Michelle Kwan get the early showcase, with Kwan in a recorded interview with Mary Carillo. The sound is glitching out here and there, for a sylllable or so. If this keeps up, I may have to go to the analog feed to see if it's better. Carillo's got a Tina Fey look; for some reason, her interviewing style is making me think of Frank Deford on HBO.

All right, I've gone analog. Sound is much better. But I miss the snazzy widescreen picture.

Back to Lampley, who frames the argument for Kwan being on the team and her "decade of contributions" to U.S. figure skating. In other words, people know her and will watch how she does.

Actual sport! Skiing, training run, and a chance to show off Bode Miller.

Now we're at the important stuff: A spot promoting "Conviction," an NBC series premiering after the Olympics. Get ready for lots of such spots, as struggling NBC hopes the Olympics crowd will come back for things like "Conviction" in March.

More training runs. NBC wants us to care because spots on the Olympics team are on the line. Also because they have four hours to fill, and you can only do so many shots of the torch on its way,

The USA special is over, so there's a little break here. I am so far fighting the urge to read the online reports about the opening ceremonies, so that I can watch it fresh. I thought about watching more of Saturday's "Saturday Night Live," but my wife is not a fan and what I have seen so far hasn't been that good. (Exceptions: The opening bit, with Steve Martin trying to kill Alec Baldwin, and Maya Rudolph's Oprah — dead-on impression without pushing too far into caricature. Good to have Maya back.) So we're watching a little bit of the Cavs game on FSN until 7:30 when "Olympic Zone" comes on.

Back to the Channel 3, "your Olympic station," for "Olympic Zone." Jim Donovan sits in a set of wintry blues and mountain images. Could be worse. Think of those segments where the hosts have to sit by fireplaces. Donovan is telling me that the hottest sport at the games is snowboarding, leading into a canned report — "Chevrolet Presents the NBC Primetime Olympic Spotlight." Already I'm tired of the sponsor placement. The snowboarder they're profiling is long-haired and scruffy — a thought that reminds me once again that I have become my father.

Sequence of athletes talking about how great it is to be in the Olympics. Donovan agrees. Now we're on to Key Bank's presentation of "the keys to NBC's prime-time coverage." That's a schedule. Now many more days do we have to listen to this?

Donovan introduces more NBC material, this time on the Thailand team, all one of him. I am a sucker for such guys — the gutsy underdogs who will never be more than gutsy underdogs, who are closer to us viewers than the well-heeled, well-trained stars of the marquee sports. But let's face it, we watch for the magic to be made by those stars, with occasional breaks to celebrate the gutsy underdogs.

Back from a commercial break (not counting the product promotion during the show itself). We're getting a tour of the Olympic village from Julie Foudy, They've got foosball.

After another commercial break, we're getting a couple of segments showcasing athletes with Ohio connections. The sound goes bad during one. More commercials. Donovan introduces a national piece about great moments in the opening ceremonies. There's Ali! Still chokes me up.

Hey, a segment where Donovan actually seems to talk to someone! Or at least leads into a clip.

Here's how this thing is going to work: I am at home, with a laptop in front of the big TV, and I will be posting from time to time during the Olympics. The posts will be listed in reverse chronological order, with my earliest post at the bottom of the list — much the way it worked with the Super Bowl.

Although the coverage of the opening ceremonies does not begin for about 80 minutes, I already have my game face on, and my TV talking Olympics. This is the "Olympic Ice" special on USA Network. It is, in one way, an exercise in nostalgia, because Dick Button is on the air.

The first Olympics I wrote about  were the '80 games in Lake Placid, with Button on the scene and — if memory serves — complaining about Soviet bloc judges. Those were the days when the Soviets were the grand villains of the games — making the Miracle on Ice all the more significant and exciting. And for TV purposes, it was good to have villains because it gave the audience a clear story to follow. One commentator spoke later of the need for "black hats" at the Olympics; you can figure out which country wore the white hats in his opinion.

Anyway, the coverage is going along and I've already heard one OK line — a reference to a figure-skating pair as "meat and potatoes but no parsley." Even more surprising to me, I am getting psyched for the games to begin. I want to see some top-shelf competition.

I also want curling, the greatest sport of the Winter Olympics. An acquired taste, perhaps, by my taste nonetheless. To me, "Men With Brooms" is up there with "Rocky" and the original "Bad News Bears."

OK, I overstate a little there. "Men WIth Brooms" is probably closer to "Bad News Bears in Breaking Training" and "Rocky IV." Still, my excitement is building. And I know I am not alone in my hunger for the games — and other things. The line was longer than usual at the pizza place tonight,

From ABC this morning:

"World News Tonight" co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas and her husband, singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, are expecting their second child in late summer they announced today. Vargas and Cohn have a son Zachary, 3, and Cohn has two children from a previous marriage Max, 14, and Emily 11.

Vargas shared the news with her "World News Tonight" colleagues today, saying: "This is joyous news for Marc and our family. At the same time, our immediate concern remains with Bob [Woodruff], [wife] Lee, and the entire Woodruff family as we hope and pray for continuing good news about his recovery."

ABC News President David Westin said: "I told Elizabeth that during such a difficult time for all of us, it's good to get such wonderful, life-affirming news."

Vargas, who also co-anchors the ABC newsmagazine "20/20," will continue to anchor both broadcasts through late summer.

Vargas, 43, and Woodruff, 44, debuted as co-anchors of ABC News' evening newscast in January 2006. Woodruff is currently being treated at Bethesda Medical Center for injuries he sustained during an IED attack in Iraq on Jan. 29.

Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson will continue to fill in for Woodruff until the end of February as he recovers. When the timetable for Woodruff's recovery becomes clearer in the coming weeks, ABC News will announce further interim plans for substitution on the broadcast. (end ABC material)

I know that ABC is trying to make this seem like good news, and I am sure it is for Vargas. But I am also sure that some people at ABC are just feeling snake-bitten at this point. First, Peter Jennings dies. Then Woodruff is injured. And now adjustments will have to be made for Vargas later this year (and possibly sooner, if the pregnancy proves difficult).

There are times when "Survivor" contestants just overthink the whole game, obsessed with strategy and long-term goals and not looking at the short-term harm they are doing. That was the case last week, when a tribe ousted a strong member who could help in the immediate challenges and kept people who were much weaker. It happened again this week, when an early alliance in one of the tribes — now down to two — decided it was more important to maintain its voting bloc than get rid of an obvious loon, Shane.

You remember Shane, don't you? He's the guy who thought it would be a good idea to quite a three-pack-a-day cigarette habit by going on "Survivor." Even though he said he wanted to leave — homesick after just four days on the show — and then changed his mind, and spilled the existence of an alliance to non-alliance players, and was generally presented as a liability, he stayed in the game. Melinda, meanwhile, who was neither a liability nor a threat, was sent home.

What might get interesting, though, is that Melinda's place in the tribe will be taken by Bruce. (After a boy-girl choose-up of two new tribes, Bruce was the one unchosen player; he was given immunity and sent to Exile Island during the challenges, with the understanding that he would replace the player voted out — so keeping both tribes at even strength for another round.) If Bruce joins the other three members of Shane's alliance, they don't need Shane. They probably don't want him, either.

But I am impressed with Cirie's game-playing so far, not only in her avoiding elimination a week ago but in her (Probst-prompted) shedding of tears this week. The show is therefore kicking into gear pretty early, in entertainment terms. And the challenges, though not dazzling, are simple enough to follow and physical enough to be really challenging.

You're invited to the Beacon Journal offices in Akron on March 1, when movie writer George Thomas and I will take questions, some of which we might even be able to answer; listen to your comments and bicker. (We are famous around our office for that last category.)

Likely topics will include the February sweeps, the Olympics, the Oscars (which will take place a few days after this event) and, of course, "Brokeback Mountain." But we're open to just about anything.

We will start talking at 7:30 p.m. Tours of the Beacon Journal will also be available before our chat, from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. Reservations are not required. Come on down.

As long as I'm engaged in blatant self-promotion, I will be blogging here during the Olympics opening ceremonies on Friday. And once they are over, I'll be doing my first podcast.

This morning I lent a tape of the "Love Monkey" pilot to a co-worker who has gotten hooked on the show. I also began trying to research a question from a reader who liked the show and had noticed an interesting detail. Alas, there are not enough of us watching the show. Note the asterisk at the end of this CBS announcement:

CBS's revised primetime schedule for Tuesday, Feb. 14

8:00-9:00 PM              PRICE IS RIGHT MILLION DOLLAR SPECTACULAR

9:00-10:00 PM            DR. PHIL PRIMETIME SPECIAL: LOVE SMART

10:00-11:00 PM          NCIS (R)*

CBS's revised primetime schedule for Tuesday, Feb. 21

8:00-9:00 PM              NCIS   (R)

9:00-10:00 PM            NCIS   (R)

10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (R)*

* Replaces "Love Monkey" which is on hiatus.

Regular readers know that I liked this show and I was getting to like it even more. I hope that, after the madness of February sweeps has ended, that we will at least get to see the five episodes still in the can. But I can't be very optimistic. For now, if you haven't seen it already, check out this Web site — and click on the "artists" section.

Yesterday, after the announcement that Al Michaels had gotten out of his agreement with ESPN, a colleague and I wondered how long it would take NBC to announce a deal with Michaels. We guessed it would happen the same day. NBC instead waited a whole extra day. Here are highlights from the network's announcement:

Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Al Michaels, one of the most renowned sports broadcasters of all time, and the commentator called "TV's best play-by-play announcer" by the Associated Press, will join "NBC's Sunday Night NFL Football" this fall, it was announced today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics.  Michaels joins game analyst John Madden in the booth, reuniting the most honored NFL broadcast team on television, with Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth serving as co-hosts of NBC's "Football Night in America" studio show. …

Michaels and Madden's NBC debut will be the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, Sunday night, August 6.  Madden will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame that same weekend.  Teams and game time are expected to be announced in March.

(end excerpts)

And what did it take for NBC to get Michaels? Here's an ESPN announcement with some details:

ESPN announced today that it has acquired significant programming and promotional rights from NBC and an important historical animation asset for The Walt Disney Company.  These rights were obtained as part of the transaction permitting Al Michaels to contract with NBC.

The following rights were acquired by ESPN:

·         Telecast rights to the live Friday coverage of four Ryder Cups (2008, 10, 12 and 14), together with ancillary programming rights, the right to re-air NBC coverage, and extended highlights rights. The Ryder Cup is a major international golf team championship that matches the United States against Europe.

·         Expanded video highlights for ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS for the Olympics beginning with this month’s Winter Olympics and continuing through the 2012 Summer Olympics.

·         Through 2011, NBC will air a video promotion for ESPN’s Monday Night Football game each week during its Sunday night football telecasts.

·         Through 2011, expanded highlight rights for NBC Sports properties including Notre Dame football, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, as part of a broad highlights exchange.

Oswald The Lucky Rabbit – The Forerunner to Mickey Mouse

In addition, The Walt Disney Company has acquired rights to the historical 1927 cartoon series featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.  Walt Disney produced 26 Oswald cartoons, which were distributed by Universal and well-received by audiences.  Universal owned all the rights to the character, however, prompting Disney to then create Mickey Mouse.

(end ESPN info)

I have to think that all this wheeling and dealing resulted from one thing: John Madden wanted to work with Michaels. NBC will want a young-male demo for its telecasts. Madden aims at that demographic thanks to his video-game connections. Michaels, not so much. But at this point in his career, Madden probably has no desire to break in a new on-air partner. He is comfortable with Michaels, and NBC made Madden happy. 

I reversed some of my viewing tonight. My wife was out for most of the evening, so I recorded "Lost" and waited for her return, since that's one of the shows we like to watch together. Instead, I watched "Veronica Mars" in real time. And, because this was one of those nights with lots of overlapping programs, I had a VCR running for the Grammys while the DVRs handled other shows. Besides, this way I can take the videotape into the office tomorrow and watch it while I do a few other things.

As for "Lost" and "VM," I don't know which made me dizzier. We find the hands of the Fitzpatricks in yet another pie on "Veronica," and we see Sawyer and Charlie forming a bizarre, dangerous alliance on "Lost." I was probably more involved in "Veronica" since it was tossing off clues right and left to the bus mystery, and it is so good at showing how very, very mean people can be to each other — and not only young people, although their cruelty can seem especially gifted. But both it and "Lost" took parallel tracks on at least one issue — the role of the outcast in society.

"Veronica Mars" is hip deep in lost souls and social pariahs; so is "Lost." On "Veronica," the outcasts can be the most sympathetic of characters; "Lost" is certainly making us ache for Sawyer and has tried, with less success, to make us feel some sympathy for Charlie — although I think there's more to be done with a Logan/Sawyer comparison chart.

I am increasingly obsessed with "Lost" as Wild West; I think I counted three difference western references from Sawyer. But there are other things that just make me go whoa, as when Kate's mom showed up in the diner scene.

Regular blog readers will recall my Jan. 18 post, "Ladies and Gentlemen, M.C. Gainey," about the actor's appearance on "Lost" as the apparent leader of the Others (the one Sawyer nicknamed Zeke). Not long after that post appeared, I received a very nice thank-you e-mail from Gainey's wife, Kim, and today Gainey himself was on the phone to say hello and say thanks. It was a friendly call, but I couldn't pass up the chance to interview him some as well.

Gainey assured me that we will see him again on the show but gave away no plot secrets. Asked, for instance, about what we could learn about the Others from his last appearance, he said, "That is dead square in the middle of what I can't talk about." Besides the secrecy surrounding the show, he said that he doesn't like to know too much anyway. "I'm a fan," he said. "I don't ask a lot of questions. … I like to sit down on Wednesday night and watch it unfold."

He did say that things will get clearer. When I mentioned that clarity could come four or five seasons down the road, he said, "I don't think you'll have to wait that long" — but added that the producers had had years of stories to tell before the show ever went on the air.

He also said that working on "Lost" has been a pleasure. "It's one of the most enjoyable shows I've been on," he said. "I've been doing TV for 25 years … and this is as much fun as I've ever had. The cast is so great. It's a first-rate operation."

The Hawaii location is a plus, too, he said. (Of course, he was calling from California, where it was about 90 degrees. Considering that I had been scraping snow off my driveway not long ago, California and Hawaii are almost a coin flip.) He and Kim had gotten to go there a couple of times.

Some of you will probably know Gainey better from his face than his name; you can find both, and a long list of credits, on the Internet Movie Database. But once you see him, you'll go, oh yeah, that guy. In fact, he said, "No one comes up to me and says, 'Oh, you're M.C. Gainey."

And it's not always his face they remember. Asked what people recognize him most from, he said two movies. One is "Con Air," the action picture starring Nicolas Cage, where Gainey was Swamp Thing, one of the A-team of villains in the movies; Swamp Thing was in the second group of convicts, and took over flying the plane.

"It's a movie that had relatively good success at the box office," he said, "but then they ran it constantly on television. …  A friend of mine said there should be a 'Con Air' channel." (Hey, I'd watch. In fact, I just dug out my old VHS copy of it.)

The other role, he said, "is rather embarrassing."

"I was the naked guy in 'Sideways,' " he said. After the movie premiered, he said, women would compliment him on — how shall I put this? — a singular aspect of his appearance. Kim, he said, was not amused.

But Gainey is. He knows there are limits to the parts he can play — that going to Hollywood meant giving up a range of roles he had played in theater for 10 years. Instead, he said, producers looked at him and said, "Give him a gun."

It wasn't that great at first, he said. Then he realized that he hadn't needed a regular job for five years because acting was paying the bills. Better yet, he works on a level where he's steadily employed and "I can still go to a restaurant, and still do my laundry. I've been around some stars I've felt sorry for, because they can't do anything like that … unless they're absolutely prepared to be swamped by people."

If you thought the farewells by John Madden and Al Michaels at the end of the Super Bowl looked a little tepid, well, it doesn't seem to be a very long goodbye.

ESPN, which will have Monday night games in the fall, has let Michaels out of his deal, with a network executive saying "Al was not comfortable with our vision" for the telecasts. Michaels was also probably not comfortable to be off the big football venue — which in the fall will be NBC's Sunday games. Which, by the way, will have Madden. So even before the Super Bowl, there was talk that Michaels would find a way to rejoin Madden, and I guess we can all now wait for that announcement from NBC. And this is where ESPN has gone, according to an announcement today:

Monday Night Football will begin an exciting new era on ESPN this fall with a talented new telecast team in the booth – Mike Tirico, one of the most versatile commentators in sports television, Joe Theismann, the outspoken NFL analyst who led his team to a Super Bowl title as a player, and analyst Tony Kornheiser, the popular co-host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption and nationally-acclaimed Washington Post sports columnist. Sports television’s signature series will also feature the two most dynamic sideline reporters in the business, Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya, all under the guiding hands of ESPN’s Sports Emmy Award-winning NFL producer-director duo, Jay Rothman and Chip Dean.

ESPN has also announced that Mike Breen will become its lead NBA play-by-play commentator, where he will team with analyst Hubie Brown for ABC Sports telecasts beginning Feb. 12 and including the conference and NBA Finals.

Still pondering last night's "Gilmore Girls." Good in some ways, lots of snap in the dialogue and the handling of Paris's ouster from the newspaper was pretty good (although, once again, I look at Alexis Bledel and think how much more another actress could do with this material). Of course, we've all been waiting for Rory to succeed Paris — I would have been more intrigued by Logan becoming editor (since his connections saved the day) or a Logan/Rory tandem — but I'm hoping the show will make something of that added responsibility.

Not sure about the dinner scene, though. It felt like an undervaluing of Emily. Yes, the Emily-Richard warnings to Luke and Lorelai were funny. Still, we should never forget how very smart Emily is about relationships — that she had Luke's love of Lorelai pegged long before he had even admitted it to himself — and she would have sensed something was up. And when Emily figures out something, she doesn't as a rule keep it to herself. So as much as I laughed at the dinner scene, I wanted it to be better.

I don't know how much of the Grammys I will watch in real time. I know I'll miss at least an hour, when "Lost" is on, and possibly the hour of "American Idol" — letting the DVR do the work on the Grammys. Still, I have a couple of sentimental favorites. I'd like to see Kanye West win something, not just for his artistry but because of his comments at the Katrina telethon. I'd give him an award just for what he said. But his saying it has officially made him a guy who could do anything at any time — so who knows what rhetoric might spring from a Grammy win?

The other one on my list is Kelly Clarkson. Her winning a Grammy would provide some validation for "American Idol" as more than a dramatic TV show about music. I know, we watch a lot of the time because of the drama, and there are plenty of great singers who haven't won (just as there has been great musical work that didn't win Grammys, and bad music that did).

Still, it would be nice to think that "Idol" winners have a chance at a real career after the show. Beyond that, though, Clarkson is a terrific singer. Her "The Trouble With Love Is" will be stuck in my head forever — or at least as long as I keep re-watching "Love Actually." (I know, it's from the first album. I'm still stuck on it.) She is also an appealing personality and, by many accounts, a pretty smart cookie. So a Grammy win would be kind of cool.

(Later: I see that both Kelly and Kanye have won. Good news on both counts.)

There's a story I have been wrestling with for several days. Wrestling with it because it's sleazy Because merely by discussing it, I am probably going to please the very people I want to criticize.

It will not surprise local viewers to know the story involves Channel 19.

19's "Action News" delights in the lurid. It's a newspaper tabloid in unvarnished, on-air form. And, as is the case with print tabloids, it likes to take on-air shots at its competitors — and it often does so because it knows that the other stations won't fire back. Lying down with dogs, you know.

It has also on more than one occasion lifted others' material for broadcast; my colleague Bob Dyer was not pleased recently when he discovered a Channel 19 report used one of his stories, including some passages verbatim, without any attribution.

One example of 19's dubious practices occurred last week. First, here are the facts, without editorializing or an on-air re-enactment.

On. Jan 24, a grand jury indicted Daniel Rush on charges of kidnapping and gross sexual imposition. The indictment said that on Sept. 7, 2005, Rush "unlawfully and by force, threat or deception removed Jane Doe, d.o.b. September 24, 1985, from the place where she was found or restrained her of her liberty for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, as defined in Section 2907.01 of the Revised Code, with Jane Doe against her will."

Rush was arraigned on the indictment today. He pleaded not guilty, has an attorney and posted a $5,000 surety bond. A trial date has not yet been set.

Now, why was this of interest to Channel 19? Well, the accusations do sound awful, so 19 might have pursued the story under any circumstances, especially with the February sweeps in sight. But the story had an added attraction to the station, since the incident described in the indictment occurred at Channel 8, where Rush was an assignment editor. Channel 19 had a big, free shot.

But just reporting the story was not enough for Action News. It repeatedly suggested a cover-up, with reporter Paul Orlousky calling it "a story the I-Team turned its cameras away from."

It sniped at Channel 8's generally, saying that "its ratings are slipping, but Channel 8 is still the choice of SOME Clevelanders."

It mocked the station's slogan, calling the accuser in the case "Cleveland's own victim" in an on-air graphic. (You can find both this story and a follow-up the next night on the WOIO's Web site.)

It showed a re-enactment of the accuser's description of what took place, with verbal accompaniment from the accuser. (The accuser was heard but her face was not seen; the station identified her only as Mary.)

And it wasn't done. The next night, Channel 19 was back on the story, with more details about what anchor Denise Dufala called "the scandal that rocked the newsroom."  That night, Orlousky reported that Rush had been fired after an internal investigation. The implication of cause-and-effect was clear: 19 reported, 8 fired.

After the first story aired, I asked Channel 8 general manager Mike Renda about it. He declined to comment, since the story involved internal personnel matters and ongoing legal issues.

But if he had chosen to comment, he might have mentioned Channel 19's timing, such as its holding back the news that Rush had been fired until its second report — when the station had investigated, and Rush had been fired, months ago.

Even in the second report, Channel 19 is noticeably not specific about when the investigation and the firing took place. After all, that would suggest the station acted promptly and responsibly, and that's not the spin Channel 19 wanted.

The indictment was filed Jan. 24. Channel 19 did not report it until more than a week later. Conveniently, the night of its report was also the first night of the February sweeps. During that night's telecast of "Survivor," you could have seen a promotional spot about "charges of kidnapping and sexual assault inside a local TV station."

I could also mention this is not the first time a station — or any news organization — has chosen not to report on bad news inside its walls. But I get uncomfortable with that logic, because I think we should report the bad news as well as the good. And I already feel slimy just writing about this.

I don't like what Rush is accused of doing. I don't like what Channel 19 did with the story. I feel as if I'm helping Channel 19 just by writing about it, since the station is happy to get any attention, even unfavorable comments. At least, then, they're being talked about. And if you hear the talk, you might tune in.

My wife will be the first to tell you that I am slow to throw things away. I would be the second, but with a plea for understanding. I have a hard time giving up objects that meant something to me along the way, or things that are important for research, or things that might prove important down the road, or things I simply like.

But, because I don't throw things away, this morning I found myself digging through a box of buttons — rock-band buttons, TV show buttons, campaign buttons — until I found one that said "Irving. NBC News."

The button reminds me of Reuven Frank, the former NBC News president who died recently. (You can find an obituary here.) My memory may play tricks, but here is why.

Frank, who among other things is credited with teaming Huntley and Brinkley, was running NBC News when a competitor — by way of praising his own stars — dismissed NBC's news team as a bunch of guys named Irving.

Hence the button. While it was most likely the work of an enterprising PR person at NBC, it reflected Frank's broad sensibility — which would find nothing wrong with being an Irving, if you were good at being an Irving — and his sense of humor.

While the obituaries I have read this morning make great note of Frank's contributions to TV news, it should also be remembered that he was funny and pointed. You can find that in his 1991 memoir, "Out of Thin Air," starting with the subtitle, "The Brief Wonderful Life of Network News."

A few samples:

– About "Special Bulletin," an entertainment drama presented in the form of a live newscast, he said, "I was outraged when it was given a Humanitas Award and would have returned mine but I couldn't find it."

– On star anchors: "Once they have reached that level of money, they forget how unusual it is, and ignore what they are getting it for. A fraction pays for their competence and unique talents. … The rest, inescapably, is paid because the network expects to get it back — many times. It is an investment."

– On returning to the presidency of NBC News in the early '80s: "I had not changed. I, who had once been known as a pain in the ass, was now seen to represent the good old days."

– "Despite all the talk, news is a simpleton's business, its rules easily expressed and understood."

I'm holding onto the book. And the Irving button.

Now that we're done with the Super Bowl, and waiting for resolution of that "Grey's Anatomy" that followed the game, it's time to move on to other TV topics. Like "Love Monkey," a show I am growing ever more fond of, even if the audience hasn't committed yet.

The Tuesday night CBS comedy-drama stars Tom Cavanagh as a music-industry executive who — like so many people on TV — is looking for love. He's good at looking, not so good at keeping, and better at his job than at either of those personal pursuits.

Tomorrow night's episode involves Cavanagh's company shooting a music video — a risky enterprise since the company does not command a big budget — but the making of the video intersects with his personal life, and not in a good way.

There are so many good things about the show, from the characters to the way they get angry, to the music itself, a blend of older material familiar to ancients like myself and new, accessible tunes. If you haven't caught the show yet, now's the time; you have seen how quickly shows get the hook these days, and "Love Monkey" deserves a longer chance.

I don't know how it will play out west, but "Grey's Anatomy" undoubtedly kept male Super Bowl viewers around with that group shower at the beginning. And actually managed to make fun of the scene (and any jaw-dropped men remaining) after doing it.

Pretty rotten, though, to have the episode to end with multiple cliffhangers to be continued next week.

I wish "Code Black" had proven something more surprising than the very thing the promos had been hinting at. And the business with Bailey felt like piling on.

You can see why Christina Ricci was cast, though. Not just because she's an interesting actress, and one who can play the naif well. With those big eyes, she's very expressive even if a surgical mask is covering half her face.

And, as much as I disliked the cliffhanger, there are other things to like in any episode of "Grey's." This had the scene where the men gather outside the room where Bailey's being examined, and several good scenes for Bailey, and the way a couple of people put aside any urge for heroism in a crisis and acted, well, human.