"Sopranos," "Amazing Race," "Friday Night Lights," after the jump …

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Sorry, Team Guido, but you were doomed …

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You've had plenty of time to see it, so the cone of silence is lifted, after the jump …

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The explanation, with spoilers, after the jump …

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At last.

I feared the Blondies would continue their selfish ways into the championship on "The Amazing Race" and never realize how badly they treated the others.

They may never achieve enlightenment, but they won't win the million bucks either.

It's down to the Model Boys, Alabama and the Bickersons. I'll be pleased if the models win, satisfied with Alabama (even if one of them was so unpleasant tonight). The Bickersons should just end it now; too much verbal abuse and tempestuousness.

Not a bad ending to the weekend either, especially considering it started with me picking roofing slates out of the yard thanks to Friday's heavy winds. But good family times, survival in the madness of holiday-shopping drivers and some decorations up in the house. Plus some entertaining football on the air.

And in the week ahead, schedule permitting … movie screenings!

Here's the link to the latest podcast:

http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/tv/idol_results_041906.mp3

And here are last night's notes:

First, a brief shocker on "American Idol," where the bottom three included Chris, Paris and Ace. I wonder if Chris's rocker fans thought his mellow side Tuesday was a bit of a sell-out. But it's more likely that the top 6 were all very close, and Ace way behind them all. At least, I gave him the lowest grade on Tuesday.

Remarkable, though, that Kellie can admit to butchering a song and still survive. My guess is that she racked up the sympathy votes. Beyond that, I have no theories.

On "Amazing Race," the long-awaited non-elimination round happened, and conveniently so, since the last place team was the likable BJ & Tyler (a.k.a. the Hippies). In fact, it was a rough run for them and for Eric & Jeremy, who seemed to be dominating the game. Shows what a little bad luck and a couple of wrong turns can do.

Big points, though, for Fran & Barry, who finished first and — as well as I can remember — are the toughest older team the show has produced. Still, after Barry had to dig in all that sand, couldn't Fran have done the driving?

The show is really mowing people down this season, with yet another week that did not include a non-elimination leg.

The latest victims: Lake and Michelle. When I wrote last week that I liked all the remaining contestants on the show, several people in the "Amazing Race" cult in my office were quick to argue that they did not like L&M, mainly because of their bickering. And heaven knows we got enough of that on last night's telecast, with Lake ballistic pretty much from the beginning of the race. Even so, they were allowed a tender moment — when Michelle softly calmed Lake down.

But we are getting to the point where couples start to melt down — Fran's panic on the bungee jump, increased references to "we're done" by players who make mistakes, the scenes in the promo for next week's episode — and where the show has to be careful not to let one or two teams just take over the show.

With Eric & Jeremy and BJ & Tyler seeming unstoppable in recent weeks, I detected a little field-leveling last night when there were several points along the way where travel schedules and closed doors let all the teams catch up with each other.

BJ & Tyler actually failed to finish out of the top two. (Eric & Jeremy, first again. Can't stop those guys.) Plus the use of penalty minutes — for teams that did not properly follow the travel assignment — added even more suspense.

Good episode, and we are down to a group of teams that are — without argument — all entertaining and appealing.

Before tonight's telecast, I was thinking that we were about due for a non-elimination round. Too bad that it wasn't, since Dave and Lori — the sweet nerds — finished last, and now are gone. At the top of the heap: Eric and Jeremy again, followed by B.J. and Tyler, showing once again that those two teams have a better overall handle on the game than the other contenders.

I'm impressed by Fran and Barry, who are not merely hanging on but proving strongly competitive. But I like all the contestants right now, so I can live with people getting kicked off because the others are still appealing.

And I was SO glad to have the show at 8 o'clock tonight, a time slot where it's easier to find and remember. "Race" knew, too, that it might have a returning audience, since the opening recap covered the season to date, not just the previous week's events.

Still, the DVRs were whirring at 8, with "Amazing Race," "One Tree Hill," "Bones" and (because I needed to check on a local contestant) "Deal or No Deal." Right now I'm watching "American Idol" (and thank you to everyone checking out the "Idol" podcasts, with another coming later tonight). And recording "Lost." I'd also be DVR'ing "Veronica Mars," only it's pre-empted locally again for a Cleveland Cavs telecast. Please respect my cone of silence regarding "VM" plot developments.

On Tuesday night, I not only forgot to watch "The Amazing Race," I forgot to record it. I read the synopsis online but it wasn't the same as seeing people scurry. And CBS doesn't get ratings points for people reading synopses.

I suspect I was not alone among fans missing the show. The 10 p.m. Tuesday slot feels too late, especially for a series that — overheated young male banter aside — had a family-audience following. So I am happy to see that CBS is moving the show to 8 p.m. Wednesdays effective next week.

Of course, CBS is not just saving "Race" in making the move. The most recent occupants of that Wednesday hour, "Out of Practice" and "Courting Alex," reportedly cratered in the ratings, so the network had reason to try something else. ("Practice" and "Courting" are now in limbo, with CBS saying they'll return to the schedule later, though not when or where.) Since I didn't care much about those comedies, I'm perfectly content to see them elbowed aside. I'd much rather catch up on the hippie guys, and the nerds, and the other likable folks on "Race."

Then again, any show runs the risk of conflicting with another viewer favorite. An "Alias" fan at my office this morning noticed that "Race" will be against "Alias" when the ABC thriller returns on April 19.

2.I'll be in a cone of silence re "Veronica Mars" for the next few days, since it's being pre-empted on the local UPN affiliate for a Cleveland Cavs game. Have already made note of the delayed-telecast time — 9 p.m. Saturday — and now just have to remember to set the DVR.

I suppose I should be grateful that I don't have to worry about one more show tonight, especially when "Lost" is new (finally) and I have to keep tabs on "American Idol." (Barring technical difficulties, there should be a post-"Idol" podcast with me and Amy Gustafson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press online later tonight.)

But, as I said in an earlier post, it's been such a long time since we had new "Veronicas" and last week's newbie wasn't that good. So I'm ready for something better. All right, I'm ready for anything. I just hope tonight's "Lost" measures up.

I did have fun this morning when I finally got to last night's "Amazing Race." Almost did a complete post on it called "Nice Guys Finish First — and Last" because the cast at the moment is for the most part kind of likable — or at least not making me hate anyone. Yes, I could have done without the Overheated Guys' latest blunt longing for women. But it was still overall the "Race" the way I like it — competitive, entertaining (loved the bottle-bashing stunt) and not mean-spirited.

As for tonight's viewing, I have seen "Heist" (the new NBC series, not the superior David Mamet movie) and you don't have to. It's a caper series, one of several out there at the moment, and I was bored with the caper before the first episode was over. It has hoped for comparisons to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (the Brangelina movie, not the 1996 series starring Scott Bakula and Maria Bello), since "Smith" director Doug Liman is also involved with "Heist."

But when you stopped staring at the stars, '"Smith" was an empty movie. "Heist" also feels like a show getting by on superficial charm — all looks and style with nothing much to support it, other than the sublime presence of Seymour Cassel. In other words, it's Ace Young.