TVSquad

In a move that can be considered either a turn back to neutral coverage of political events or a fearful tactic to curb further criticism on their network, NBC News has decided to dump Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of NSNBC's election coverage. Replacing them on the upcoming debates and election night will be White House correspondent David Gregory.

Some say the decision to drop the two most popular personalities on the network from the coverage stemmed from what critics both within and without the organization feared was the channel's perceived shift to the political left (though, many have said that MSNBC has always leaned left as opposed to FOX News that leans right. Apparently, none of their shoes have the same-sized heels.). Others say their demotion stemmed from numerous complaints that came after Olbermann's rant after a 9/11 tribute video was shown at the Republican National Convention. Then there are those who feel their on-air tiffs during the coverage resembled something out of Gossip Girl.

If you watch MSNBC for the politics fix, no doubt you have seen Rachel Maddow. She's one of the talking heads, a politically savvy woman who has been featured on shows like Hardball with Chris Matthews and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

In fact, she's been Keith's regular fill-in this summer, a sure sign that she's MSNBC's star on the rise. The network has just announced that Rachel Maddow has been chosen to replace MSNBC's Dan Abrams, bumping his show Verdict out of the primetime lineup.

Maddow is getting a great spot on MSNBC, right after Countdown at 9 p.m. Abrams is not getting kicked to the curb. Like when Tucker Carlson lost his show and remained one of the net's pundits.

"Is That Really Necessary?": John McCain wants to have a Christian president. We'll make it happen, McCain, we'll make it happen. FOR YOU.

"Here Comes the Grudge": On the first day of the Supreme Court's return, Clarence Thomas' book was released, chock full of revealing information on how much Thomas really hates everyone and thinks that John Roberts dresses too provocatively. I think Daily Show only brought this up because they wanted an excuse to crack all the "Coke and pubic hair" jokes that they've had stored up since the last time they've had the opportunity to make fun of Thomas. Senior Legal Analyst Jason Jones stopped by to say some things. I honestly lost all memory of everything else he covered when he said "furry pop-top". Eww.

Should MSNBC keep Joe Scarborough in primetime instead of giving him the morning slot?

MSNBC is showing remarkable growth in primetime for the third straight quarter. Scarborough Country was up 36% in the 9pm slot. Hardball with Chris Matthews was up 9% at 7pm, and Countdown with Keith Olbermann was up 54%. The network is up 49% in the 25-54 demographic overall in primetime, and 34% for the day total.

I knew that Chris Matthews hadn't been on Hardball for a couple of weeks, but I didn't know the reason: he was hospitalized due to complications from diabetes.

Matthews will be back on the MSNBC show tonight at 7pm, where he will interview former Vice President candidate and probable future Presidential candidate John Edwards at one of those "College Tour" stops, this one at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Various hosts have been filling in for Matthews while he was in the hospital. Andrea Mitchell went in his spot during a panel discussion at the Castle at the Smithsonian at the end of November, and then Campbell Brown filled in on the college tour. For the past several days, columnist Mike Barnicle has filled in for Matthews on Hardball.

(S03E08) After I saw the previews for this episode last week, I wasn't too excited about it. Baseball stats just seemed like too easy a topic for this show to cover. But I was pleasantly surprised. It was pretty good actually.

The focus was a has-been player who was trying to make a big league comeback. So naturally he was juicing (it killed him) and there was involvement with a BALCO-type corporation. I loved how at one point there was a built-in PSA during a conversation between David and Colby. They were talking and all of a sudden Colby started listing off all the side-effects of steroid use. It was horribly cheesy and stood out like a sore thumb. Numb3rs -- watching out for America's youth.

Looks like there are a lot of changes coming to MSNBC in the next few months, and that might mean some hosts might be out of a job.

The first big change - and a shocking one - was the hiring of Dan Abrams as the new head of the news network. He was the top legal correspondent and host of the daily Abrams Report, and now he's in charge of the whole network. He says changes are coming, and it looks like many of the nighttime talk shows might be scrapped in favor of more taped reports and shows. As for daytime coverage, Abrams wants more "breaking news" coverage.

Two shows that won't be going anywhere? Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews' Hardball.