TVSquad

I can't remember the last time I paid attention to hockey. In the 70s and 80s it was really big in my home, but that's when the Boston Bruins were doing really well (same with the Celtics, but that's another story). Hockey is that "other" mainstream sport, one that you really have to be a fanatic to get into (unlike baseball and football, which even casual fans watch). And some of those fanatics turn out to be celebrities, and they're keeping blogs about the NHL playoffs.

Bones star David Boreanaz, Ed's Tom Cavanaugh, Christie Brinkley, William Fichtner from Prison Break, and Eddie Cahill from Friends share their views on the Eastern Conference teams, while The Office's Brian Baumgartner, Dancing with the Star's Willa Ford, and singer Amy Grant provide analysis of the Western Conference teams. I thought that it would be all Canadian celebs, but as far as I can find out only Cavanaugh is from our northern neighbor.

[via Pop Candy]

...Seven Sites Worth Linking

Ah, the web is such a wonderful place, isn't it? There's just so many places to find the littlest pieces of information, it's a wonder that people can get any work done... ever.

But that's what's great about my job; I and my fellow Squadders get to use our finely-honed time-wasting skills to dig up links to TV-related stories that we think you folks would like to read. Of course, we go to the same big sites that everyone else goes to: Yahoo, IMDb, TVGuide, Google News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, YouTube, etc. But there are other sites we like to read that have become reliable sources of information; some of them are blogs and some of them aren't. Here is a list of our favorites; just put this little gift under the Festivus pole and open when needed.

(Oh, and we were thinking of mentioning our buddy Wil Wheaton's blog... but you all are probably reading it already.)

There's a great discussion happening over at Pop Candy today about the fictional characters that have shaped our world. It's based on the book, "The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived". The list includes Big Brother, The Marlboro Man, and Kermit the Frog but commenters are pointing out some glaring omissions including Harry Potter, Homer Simpson, Bugs Bunny, and Charlie Brown.

I'm not even going to pretend to narrow down the five most influential television characters ever... I'll just give you the list of five TV characters that had the biggest effect on me. Interestingly, none of mine are from cartoons. List your Top Five in the comments.

Here's my message to the internet: stop trying to rip off the Narnia rap from SNL!

It was hilarious. You are not.

Case in point: Mark Feuerstein (from Good Morning, Miami) and Adam Stein launched an East Coast/West Coast rap battle with SNL'ers Andy Samburg and Chris Parnell, the geniuses behind the Lazy Sunday, aka Chronic-what?-cles of Narnia rap video.

Boys, you really shouldn't enter into a battle you cannot win. The two 'Steins created a West Coast version of the rap, called Lazy Monday (because no one in L.A. has a job). They take their bad asses to drink Macchiatos and paint pottery at a Color Me Mine store. It's not nearly as funny, or as catchy of a tune as the Narnia rap.

Nothing beats the original.

[Via Pop Candy]

Whitney Matheson over at the Pop Candy blog on USA Today has an interview with Joss Whedon, who ranks No. 13 on her list of Top 100 Entertainers of 2005. Personally, I'd put Whedon at #2 (I'm still a bit peeved about a certain character who was killed off in Serenity) and I'd put Steve Carell at #1. But, I digress. The interview clears up the Entertainment Weekly article that mis-represented Whedon's feelings about Serenity and Firefly. He doesn't directly reference the EW story, possibly because he did the Pop Candy interview before the article printed, but he does say that he'd love to do more with the crew of the Firefly and, he says, huge DVD sales may help him get two more movies made. I know I did my part for him this Christmas. He also talks about what he'll be doing in 2006: writing Wonder Woman, creating a new Buffy comic, and pushing very hard for that Spike film we've all been hearing so much about. It's a good interview that didn't really tell me a whole lot that I didn't already know, but it's nice to hear from him.

My big year for Paula Deen was 2001, when I lived in Savannah, GA and discovered the Lady and Sons buffet on Congress Street complete with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, hoe cakes, cheesy biscuits, and banana pudding. During one trip up to the buffet, I actually spotted Paula Deen at a table and I went right up to her and told her how much I loved her food. She said she loved it too and that she could never seem to order off the menu because the buffet was so darn good. I loved her for talking to me with her sweet Southern drawl and I loved her for teaching me how to make mashed potatoes that my husband once proclaimed were better than his mother's! I think that sweet personality is what is so appealing to all the Americans who tune into her show and specials on Food Network. Sure, the food she cooks is shockingly fattening, but it's the company we seek, isn't it? Although, I did laugh when another blogger launched the Paula Deen Coronary Watch. Still, there's no doubt that 2005 was Paula Deen's year. Not only did Paula's Home Cooking get very popular, she also got a supporting role in a Cameron Crowe movie, Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom!

Paula is rightfully listed on Pop Candy's list of Top 100 Entertainers of 2005, and there's even an interview with her over on the site. She, of course, is very grateful for her success and hints that she plans to launch a line of kitchen tools or dishes or something in 2006.

I just finished reading a short interview with Bo Bice on the Pop Candy section of the USA Today website, and it reminded me why I like that guy so much. He's just so real, isn't he? Unlike any of the other American Idol contestants, he seems more like an artist than a singer. If he drank White Russians, he would totally be "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski. He still remains totally cool, even though he's had a huge year, including a runner-up slot on American Idol, an album, a concert tour, a wedding, a baby, and major surgery. That's like a lifetime wrapped into one little year!

The interview was done just before he was rushed to the hospital recently for complications from intestinal surgery, so it's a little bit out-of-date. In it, Bo tells Whitney Matheson (Pop Candy) that he's feeling fine, but is exhausted and hasn't had time to heal properly from the surgery. He also says that he's had a lot of star struck moments this year when he met people like Snoop Dogg, or band members from Audioslave and Nickelback. Bo still has a good head on his shoulders, saying that his latest album isn't going to make or break his career. He says he wants to create a respectable legacy, both in music and in his family. I just adore that man!