TVSquad

(S03E01) If you're fortunate enough to be a DirecTV subscriber, tonight you had the opportunity to see the premiere of Friday Night Lights. The Dillon Panther football team was back, as were all the characters who deal with real world life issues that have nothing to do with the grid iron. The best thing about Friday Night Lights, in fact, is that the show is only set in a sports environment. The drama is much more than who wins or loses a game, and that's what stays with you. There are no easy answers for Eric and Tami, Tyra and Landry, Tim and Lyla. Even Buddy has ambiguities.

That said, NBC will be back with these same Friday Night Light episodes -- season three -- at mid-season. Therefore, for people like me with the DirecTV dish, we're getting the shows in advance. TV Squad has decided to review the season premiere -- including spoilers -- so please, if you want to wait and be surprised, be forewarned. On the other hand, if you want to know what's happened since the end of last season, follow me after the jump.

Dancing With the Stars is a show that makes no sense to me. I understand the appeal of it; I'm usually very interested in any program that involves celebrities doing ridiculous things on national television and I know that people love bright shiny costumes, but it still somehow manages to hold no interest for me whatsoever.

With that said, I know that the announcement of each season's DWTS cast is heavily anticipated and rumored for months before the actual announcement. We heard that Dan Marino may be a contestant; a claim that was soon denied. 82-year-old Cloris Leachman was another name floated, as was Magnum, P.I. himself, Tom Selleck. Kim Kardashian and Kathy Griffin were also said to have been approached.

As with most rumors, some of these turned out to be false, but others had some truth to them. Follow me after the jump for the official (and completely insane) cast of Dancing With the Stars' seventh season, along with some twists the producers have cooked up for this go-around.

I knew it! In fact, in the comments to Bob's post about who was rumored to be booked for the new season of Dancing with the Stars, I wrote the following: "I love Dan Marino. He's always been one of my all time favorites, but he was known for his arm and quick release, not his footwork!! If Danny is one of the contestants, only his blue eyes will keep him on past round one. I think In Touch is out of touch about this name!"

Well, today Dan Marino's spokesman officially denied the rumor. While Dan was watching the Miami Dolphins scrimmage, his rep told the press that for every year since the show began, Dancing with the Stars has invited Dan Marino to find the dancer in his soul, and every year he's turned them down. Good for Dan.

NBC's Football Night in America is something like too much of a good thing. The network seems intent on stuffing the Sunday night broadcast with everything but the kitchen sink.

When Tiki Barber retired from the New York Giants, he joined their broadcast. Same thing with Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then Keith Olbermann, a sports guy before becoming the host of MSNBC's Countdown, was inserted into the show. And that was on top of the three mainstays Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth and Peter King.

Now, you can add one more star to the constellation. Dan Patrick is joining Football Night in America. Patrick, formerly the main man at ESPN -- and Keith's longtime partner on Sports Center as well as Dan's radio show -- will be paired up with Olbermann again and will be slotted in as pre-game show's co-host.

There's no question that Patrick will be an asset. His 18 years at ESPN proved that, and I admired his maverick spirit when he bolted the comforts of Bristol, Connecticut and set up a new deal with his radio show.

As Bob Sassone wrote in his report about Inside the NFL ending its HBO run last February, the NFL was reporting that the show would find a home on another network. It has. And I can tell you now that Inside the NFL will be appearing weekly on Showtime. It'll be a collaboration with CBS Sports and NFL Films. That said, I think we can expect to see CBS talent on the show.

In its most recent edition on HBO, Inside the NFL was hosted by Bob Costas, with expert input by former players and current broadcast analysts Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Cris Carter. Costas and Collinsworth are NBC employees, and Carter is part of ESPN. That leaves Danny Boy. And yes, he is a CBS guy, a regular commentator on The NFL Today every Sunday during football season. I'll bet you right now that Dan will be on the show.

Inside the NFL is a unique weekly highlight show -- one of the best ever -- because shows the games up close from the viewpoint of NFL Films. Those cameras get inside of the game more than TV cameras. They're films, not TV and the production values are like a documentary film. As a longtime football fan, I'm really glad that Inside the NFL will go on. This year will be its 32nd on the air.