TVSquad

Usually television shows, especially comedies, should try to end a strong note and Jay Leno's Friday show did just that. Well, the last part did.

The interviews were much improved, including the dreaded "Ten@Ten" segment, the comedy worked for the most part and the show finally seems to be fitting around Jay the way a plastic shrink wrapper engulfs its product. Except there are quite a few air bubbles that need pounding.

Have you seen the annoying new ad campaign for the ESPN SportsCenter relaunch? If you watch even a half-hour of ESPN programming -- or like me, Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption -- you can't miss these commercials.

There's a young, 20-something guy named Steve running around with a bulky, scoreboard-like digital clock with a strap that hangs around his neck like he's a peanut vendor at a baseball game.

The ads show him going through his day -- working out at the gym, jogging -- while he's waiting for the launch of the new, 9-hour SportsCenter on August 11. The commercials are completely live, which I grant you is novel, but they are not funny, clever or up to the ESPN standard. I hate them. They're jarring, poorly done and, like I said, annoying. I guess some genius in marketing decided that any way to make the viewer remember that a new format is coming is good enough.

Here's a sample of Steve's work (don't say I didn't warn you!):