Dogs > Humans

In my area this is the day that I look forward to each year when that first real cold front blows through and wipes away the stale, nasty, hot air of summer and ushers in autumn.
Ah…it’s about time. Now I can come out of hibernation and party!

It also means that the MLB playoffs can’t be too far behind and indeed there are less than 20 regular-season games left for baseball teams.
With the addition of a second wild-card entry to the playoffs this year’s finish could come down to the final day again as it did last year when we witnessed the most exciting final day in baseball history.

The Orioles and Nationals are STILL in first place with the Nats firmly locked in and the O’s currently tied with the Yankees.
The Phillies, the most hated team in the world, have even crawled back into wild card contention at this point and are only out 3 games although 5 teams are still ahead of them. That is why this looks to go to the last day.
The Angels with all of the money that they spent over the off season are in third place and trail the Oakland A’s of all teams.
Heck, even the Pirates are in contention for a playoff spot.
So to recap…the Orioles, Nationals, A’s and Pirates could actually all make the playoffs this year and neither of those teams have been in the playoffs since forever (I’m not looking it up.)

Statistically the season is still boring. The Tigers Miguel Cabrera is teasing a Triple Crown run but he is now 6 homeruns behind Josh Hamilton and that’s probably too much distance to cover.
The worst thing that might happen is that the Giants Melky Cabrera might win the NL batting title despite being suspended for 50 games for violating the MLB drug policy. That will be yet another drug stain for the sport.

The final three acts in America’s Got Talent were William Close, Tom Cotter and Olate Dogs with the Dogs winning the season. Six acts reached the final round but it was easy to predict those final three out of the six. I personally voted for Tom Cotter, the comedian, since I really wanted to see a guy in that genre win the thing. There is no doubt that the Dogs and William Close will land major deals even without a win on AGT.



The Winners



With the end of AGT brings the beginning of The Voice and X Factor. This is the third season for The Voice and I’m a fan especially in the early rounds. There are some great singers already being assigned to the four “coaches” who all remain the same as the first two seasons; Adam Levine, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. I have a feeling that this show has done great things for their careers hence the third season appearance.
I didn’t watch X-Factor last year but just watched the first two episodes On Demand last night. New judges this year are Britney Spears and Demi Lovato to go along with Simon Cowell and the other dude who I don’t like even for a second…LA something or other.



Demi Lovato



This show is way over-produced but I found myself liking it ironically because sometimes during the show that over production worked and made for some pretty emotional and dramatic moments.
I found myself taking a liking to Spears because she has been rather tough and nasty to those who she didn’t like. Her facial expressions when someone bombs are precious also.
There was a particularly horrifying moment for her, and for all of America, when a guy with whom she did a duet 10 years ago named Don Philip auditioned for the show.

He did the duet on Spears first album doing a song called “I Will Still Love You.”
Cowell asked him why he was out of the business for 10 years and on what aired Philip said something about not “feeling worthy” or some nonsense.
He then went on to bomb in nuclear fashion and Spears couldn’t even look him in the eye as she was cringing. Philip nearly pleaded with her in desperation after Cowell told him he couldn’t sing and I was yelling at the TV to tell him not to put her in that spot. Well, I actually said, “Don’t do it, you douche!” But he did it anyway and then left in a flood of tears.



Britney Spears



We came to find out though that X-Factor cut out something that happened on stage when he came out. Apparently LA Reid kept badgering him about some secret that Philip had and that secret was that he is gay and now believes that he was “bullied” into confessing it. Hell, we all knew when he walked out onto the stage that he was gay. But now he is all pissed at X Factor for bullying him even though they cut it out of the broadcast.
What was even more ironic was that during the first show the closing act that was shown was a girl who was bullied all of her life and that was the entire heart-tug story line of her audition. Apparently Lovato was bullied all of her life too and campaigns against bullies. Sidenote: On the surface I’m not buying that Lovato was bullied all of her life but I’ll need to see pictures for evidence.
So X Factor pushed through someone who was bullied and makes her America’s darling for a night and then the next night does the bullying itself causing a gay dude to think about committing suicide when he got home from his audition.
That is the kind of stuff worth watching to me. Not that I want to see anyone blow off their heads as a result, but it is compelling TV.

This is a big week for CBS as Big Brother will come to a close on Wednesday night and Survivor will start that evening also. I’ll be locked in for sure. Survivor has two celebrities on it this year; Jeff Kent a former MLB player and Lisa Whelchel from The Facts of Life TV show from years past. I was in love with her back then and Kent is a baseball player and both are on my favorite show so this is a no-brainer on the viewing list.



Lisa Whelchel



If you don’t have Showtime I suggest that you get it soon since Dexter and Homeland will return on September 30^th. If you have never seen either, do go back and watch previous seasons. Dexter is entering its 7^th season and Homeland its 2^nd. I know there are sites out there online where one can catch up for free.

That’s it for me. It’s show night tonight in Lutherville, MD so I have to pack up the car and scoot. September has been very slow for shows for me. Times are still very tough for those of us in the D-list entertainment field. Things need to change and change quick!

Done