TVSquad

Considering the incredible overnight ratings that Fox got for Game Six of the World Series, you might think I'm crazy to suggest that the network would be rooting for the New York Yankees last night to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, but I have evidence. All through the game, Fox was promoting Fringe and Bones, urging viewers to tune in tomorrow night -- tonight -- for new episodes. Why would the network be sending that message when there was a possibility of a Game Seven?

When you're hot, you're hot. Fox's Glee is hot. It's sizzling. The music is all over the charts. Their single, "Don't Stop Believin'" went gold. It seems like everything it going right for this Ryan Murphy show.

For the third game of the World Series on the night of Halloween, fate tried to rain on the Glee parade. Literally. It rained.

In Philadelphia where the game was being played, there was a rain delay of over an hour. If you were a Glee fan -- a Gleek -- tuning in just to see the troupe before the game, you had to be disappointed.

I have to admit that, when the Yankees are in the playoffs, most of my regular TV watching gets obliterated. Thankfully, DVRs and online TV sites (and, in the mid-'90s, VCRs) help me catch up. For instance, even though I have to review Cougar Town, I'll likely won't watch it until tomorrow morning, on either ABC.com or Hulu. Why? World Series game one, of course. Nothing, not even the Yankees being behind 22-0, is going to tear me away from FOX at 9:30, when I should be watching Cougar Town on ABC.

Which leads me to something that I've been wondering lately: Didn't networks used to program more reruns against the World Series? Tonight, NBC has a lineup of new episodes, as does ABC (except for Charlie Brown in Hank's slot, for understandable reasons). Tomorrow, all three of FOX's competitors have new episodes.

The World Series is just around the corner and Fox has done something to make the coverage a bit more interesting. No, they have dictated that the umpires be replaced with androids, although after the screw-ups from Game Four of the ALCS, that might not be a bad suggestion. Fox Sports has added White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to the pre and post-game analysis.

Aside from being a World Series winner, Ozzie is a character. He's funny, audacious, occasionally inappropriate, but highly knowledgeable about baseball and entertaining. He won't hold back what he thinks and if you want to hear real inside baseball talk, that's what Ozzie will deliver.

Take that, NBC! When the word leaked yesterday that the performers from Glee had been uninvited to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade because the folks at NBC didn't want to give the Fox show a national platform to strut their stuff, plenty of people thought it was a low blow. Well, something else has come along that's just as big a national stage.

On October 31, the Glee cast will sing the National Anthem at the World Series. That's game three, and it'll be a chance for the singers to put their own unique spin on "The Star Spangled Banner."

How long will baseball fans have to wait to watch the end of game five of the World Series between the Phillies and the Rays? Well, it'll be at least another day. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has canceled tonight's resumption of the suspended game five.

Oh, and you know that Barack Obama ad that is going to be shown from 8-8:30 on NBC and CBS (but not ABC)? It's also going to be on Fox, too. The World Series game will be pushed back to accommodate the Democratic Presidential candidate.

Don't flip out and cry foul! The TV gods anticipated that there might be a conflict when they sold the time slot to the Obama campaign. In fact, they had the opportunity to turn them down. But Fox was inclined to take the ad revenue.

CBS has a killer Monday night lineup. The sitcom block from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by the very popular CSI: Miami consistently delivers in the Nielsens. The only vulnerable, flexible and soft spot is 9:30, after Two and a Half Men, before Horatio Cane and company.

The network apparently isn't sure that Worst Week has earned that coveted spot -- even though it's doing well enough in the ratings -- or else they're wondering what they have in Gary Unmarried.

Next Monday, Gary Unmarried will get a shot at 9:30. The pilot episode of Gary Unmarried -- which was pretty good -- will be rerun in that cushy timeslot with the idea of getting more people to sample it.

Yes, we've got yet another giveaway today. This one borders on the TV/sports line that we usually don't cross, but I think the readers won't mind. This giveaway is for three copies of The Boston Red Sox: 2007 World Series Collector's Edition DVD, which is available on November 13. In fact, order before November 19 here and get 30% off plus $1 shipping.

All you've got to do is submit a comment below before 5PM Eastern, November 16, and mention your favorite professional baseball player of all time. We'll randomly choose three winners to receive the DVDs!

Some other details:

• To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating your favorite professional baseball player of all time.
• The comment must be left before November 16, 2007 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
  
• You may enter only once.
• Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  
• Three winners will receive a copy of The Boston Red Sox: 2007 World Series Collector's Edition DVD (valued at $79.95).
  

Click here for complete Official Rules.

1. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
2. Dancing with the Stars - Tues (ABC)
3. CSI (CBS)
4. Dancing with the Stars - Weds (ABC)
5. Desperate Housewives (ABC)
6. CSI: Miami (CBS)
7. World Series Game 2 (FOX)
8. NLCS Game 7 (FOX)
9. Criminal Minds (CBS)
10. Deal Or No Deal - Mon (NBC)
11. CSI: NY (CBS)
12. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
13. Lost (ABC)
14. NCIS (CBS)
15. Without A Trace (CBS)
16. World Series Game 2 Pre-Game Show (FOX)
17. Cold Case (CBS)
18. ER (NBC)
19. Shark (CBS)
20. Survivor (CBS)

As per the norm of FOX over the last few years, the fourth network (which has been around for almost, gasp, 20 years), will jump out of the starting gate earlier than the other networks with fall season premieres. This is done to give new and returning shows time to build up steam before Major League Baseball takes the stage in early October with playoffs and the World Series.

The new season will begin on Monday, August 21st with the second season premiere of Prison Break and the introduction of the new drama Vanished. On Wednesday, August 30th, Bones will enter its second season, along with new lawyer-drama Justice. Duets, the series that pairs singing stars with celebrities outside the music world, will have its 2-hour premiere a day later. House will step into its third season on Tuesday, September 5th.

The complete listing of premieres can be viewed at Zap2it.com. Save a copy of it, folks, because I'm sure the schedule will change during the first week of premieres, then again after the World Series, then again during the NFL post-season, and then once more when the juggernaut we know as American Idol premieres in January. By the time 2007 rolls around you may just see some of the shows now listed as entries in our 'Short-Lived Shows' category.