TVSquad

Leave it to Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert to tackle the tough issues, to tame the tiger, to take on all comers, to invite the biggest, loudest, richest mouth in radi... Oh? You mean, it's not that Rush?

That's right. The Colbert Report has booked Rush to appear Wednesday night (11:30 PM/EST). That's Rush the band, not Rush Limbaugh, the radio yapper. Limbaugh would no doubt have been the butt of countless jibes -- assuming he would even submit to the possibility of being kidded -- but he's not coming on the show.

Rush, the Canadian band, will not have to worry about Colbert's rapier wit. They're coming on the show to sing.

This is a real feather in the cap for The Colbert Report. Rush has not appeared on American TV in over 30 years, and they're going to perform "Tom Sawyer," their most-famous song.

Stephen C. has been embracing the music this summer. In addition to Rush, Nas is going to perform on July 23, Toby Keith on July 28, and Crosby, Stills and Nash (no Young -- although he has appeared in the past on the show) on July 30.

Is this a trend away from comedy for The Colbert Report or just injecting some variety into the format? I think it's the latter, and as long as I like the musical act, I'm okay with it.

Thomas Schlamme is creating an American version of a popular Canadian series called The Tournament. The comedy series is done mockumentary style (think: The Office) about a group of misfit youth hockey players and their quest to win the championship tournament. Actually, it sounds similar to the premise of Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman. Schlamme is Americanizing the show by making it about a youth baseball team instead of hockey. Three of the people behind the original Tournament will write and executive produce the Fox version. The Tournament had two seasons on CBC and so far Fox has given script commitment.

Schlamme is the executive producer of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and he also EP'd The West Wing and SportsNight. He's also married to actress Christine Lahti.