TVSquad

For the last year (if not longer), I've been part of NBC's online TV viewer panel where they have us take surveys. Some are about our viewing habits, others are about their shows (before this current season, NBC wanted to know what we thought about every character of ER and made tweaks to the series accordingly).

Today, NBC wanted to know my reality series viewing habits as well as if I would watch Livestrong With Lance Armstrong, a serialized inspirational series hosted by Lance Armstrong.

(S02E14) If you had to have just one takeaway point from this particular episode, it would be that Randy Hickey, of all people, is a studmuffin!

Thankfully, this episode again featured Earl crossing an item off his list. Although we've seen this season expanded storylines and not a total reliance of the "formula" of the first season, I think the show is much better when the story has something to do with Earl's list. Let's remember that the premise of the show is Earl making amends for his past wrongs and his good fortune allows him to do this.

Did anyone else think of Zinedane Zidane when Pierre walked into the Crab Shack and headbutted Earl right to the floor? There was another brilliant French sporting reference later on when Lance Armstrong's name was mentioned and Pierre went into a tirade--but in French.

The Gay Pride Parade took place in Greenwich Village over the weekend (making Jon feel very out of shape). Jon joked (I hope?) that he thought, "I bet my son would love a parade!" and took his little boy to the festivites. Jokes about juggling balls and balloon animals ensued.

I only caught the end of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards last night, but I did see it in time to catch Chris Rock win the Wannabe Award (like a Lifetime Acheivement Award). The best part was when his daughter ran up the stairs to be on stage with her dad. When he told the audience to 'say no to steroids', she said "no" into the microphone. What a cutie. He also made a joke about Todd Bridges, which got some adult laughs but flew right over those kids' heads. Other than that, I heard a lot of screaming kids. They sounded like they had fun.

Before I list the winners, I just have to say that it's funny how kids can humble you. We like to stick our noses in the air about 'quality' television shows and actors, but kids just like what they like. Here are some of the winners:

It was announced today that Lance Armstrong will host the 2006 ESPY Awards on ESPN.

Armstrong will be the first athlete to host the awards ceremony. Past hosts include Dennis Miller, Tony Danza, and Jimmy Smits. Being the athlete that he is earned him an ESPY in 2000 for Best Comeback Athlete of the Year after recovering from testicular cancer. Armstrong won a record seven straight Tour de France races and retired after last year's race. It's safe to say that he'll be an obvious choice for Male Athlete of the Year this year. The show airs on ESPN on July 16 and will benefit The Lance Armstrong Foundation.