The Rays being in first place in what should be the toughest division in baseball is incredible enough, but let’s not forget that just a few short months ago, the Rays were the trendy pick for a playoff spot. They have a talented young lineup and a solid trio of young starters (Scott Kazmir, James Shields and Matt Garza). The remarkable thing is that they are winning behind the things that you wouldn’t expect out of young players: solid defense, fundamentals and relief pitching. Their bullpen has been bolstered by veterans such as Troy Percival, Dan Wheeler and Trever Miller. Their defense has helped out their young starters, as they currently lead the American League with the fewest errors, highest fielding percentage and highest defensive efficiency. The Rays success is not shocking, but they way they’ve done it is.
Every year, players struggle out of the gate. There is really no predicting who, or for how long, they will struggle. This year has featured some prolonged struggles by players with enough of a track record that its longevity is surprising. Ryan Howard and Andruw Jones are currently batting .206 and .165 (!) respectively. That’s an MVP and what was once considered a lock to be a future Hall of Famer. On the mound, Justin Verlander has an ERA of 5.16 and is 2-7 after back-to-back top-10 finishes in the CY Young voting in his first two full seasons. Former winner of the same coveted trophy, Barry Zito, was removed from the rotation for a few days, and is sitting at 1-8 with a 5.65 ERA. These guys aren’t just falling short, or struggling. They are completely lost.
Even those who thought the Yankees would be down this year did not see this coming. Last place? Worse record than both Baltimore and Tampa? Sure injuries have played a part, but who knew that prices had gone up so high that a couple hundred million dollars couldn’t buy you a bench anymore? Sadly, for Yankees fans, help isn’t exactly on the horizon, as their struggles this year have mostly been by the very young players most teams in this situation would call on for help.

msn.foxsports.com

In the end, David vs. David wasn’t David vs. Goliath exactly.
But by the time it was over, it must have seemed as if 17-year-old David Archuleta — aka “Archie,” or “Gaspy” to his detractors at Votefortheworst.com — had just slain the twin dragons of nerves and an older, more experienced opponent in David “Raspy” Cook, the 25-year-old rocker with the pipes to match and the laid-back attitude of an old pro.
By the time, the two Idol contenders worked their way through three songs apiece, it was, in the words of that noted sage Simon Cowell, “a knockout.” For Archuleta.
American Idol’s final performance show of the talent competition’s seventh season may also have been one of the worst produced hours of television of the 2007-’08 season — and that’s saying something — but why dwell on the negatives? This was David A. and David C.’s night to shine, and shine they did — to the best of their abilities, in any event.
There’s nothing left now but David A.’s official coronation in Wednesday’s results program. That’s if — and it may be a big “if” — everyone didn’t make up their minds before the performance program began. For whatever reason, David A.  was in the zone, his mind focused like a laser on winning and his strategy set on staying within his limits: an Elton John ballad here, a slow-dancing number there and John Lennon’s Imagine — yes, Imagine again — to close out the show.
David C., on the other hand, chose to stretch his instrument, and his guitar, but came up a bit short. His raspy, old-soul take on U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For — one of my favourite songs, like, ever — was my favourite performance of the evening, but David C.’s no Bono.

communities.canada.com

The American Idol finale kicks off tonight in the battle of David vs. David. In the first season when contestants were allowed to use instruments, as well as one of the best contestant cores since the shows inception, the final two will state their respective cases tonight.
David Archuleta, seemingly a child prodigy, makes the final two in what was almost a no-brainer from the start. When he walked into the audition room in San Diego, he walked right into the hearts of the nation. Stepping up to the occasion countless times throughout the season, Archuleta has been the front-runner for a long time.
David Cook, on the other hand, did not distinguish himself from the crowd early. Yet, as the weeks past, Cook continued to move on as his confidence-level grew. Easily the contestant this season willing to take the most risks by making the songs his own, Cook earned his current standing and is a force to be reckoned with.
If the finale were determined by this evening’s performances, attempting to predict a winner at this point would be an effort in futility. As is well-known, American Idol is not always determined by week-to-week voting. Much more an overall popularity contest than selecting the contestant who actually earned the title, the writing seems to be on the wall already.
While the two left standing are the correct the final pairing, it should be considered the upset of a lifetime if Cook wins over Archuleta. The show’s coverboy from Day One, Archuleta is the epitome of pop music, which is what the show is looking for after all. Cook, although talented and ready for a great musical career, cannot compete with the younger David’s fanbase voting tonight. More than likely, it’s better that way for Cook anyway.
In the end, Cook will play the David to Archuleta’s Goliath.

associatedcontent.com

[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]
SARAH DISCOVERS ANOTHER DEVASTATING SECRETTHAT WILLIAM WALKER HAS KEPT FROM THE FAMILY,ON THE SEASON FINALE OF ABC’S “brOTHERS & SISTERS”
“Prior Commitments” Kevin and Scotty make a commitment to be life partners, Saul finally deals with his identity in a public way, and the family discovers that William (guest starring Tom Skerritt) kept yet another painful secret from his family, on the season finale of “Brothers & Sisters,” SUNDAY, MAY 11 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
“Brothers & Sisters” stars Dave Annable as Justin Walker, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Calista Flockhart as Kitty Walker, Balthazar Getty as Thomas Walker, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah Whedon, Rob Lowe as Senator Robert McCallister, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia Walker, Matthew Rhys as Kevin Walker, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Patricia Wettig as Holly Harper.
Guest starring are Tom Skerritt as William Walker, Luke MacFarlane as Scotty Wandell, Michael Adler as Doug Manning, Michael O’Keefe as Wally Wandell, Jayne Brook as Bertha Wandell and Parvesh Cheena as Jordan.
“Prior Commitments” was written by Greg Berlanti, Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker and directed by Ken Olin.
“Brothers & Sisters” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.
This episode of “Brothers & Sisters” will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online. Also, check out the new weekly video blog, “Brothers & Sisters: Writers Room” on ABC.com, which will give online viewers an exclusive look inside the series from the show’s writers.

thefutoncritic.com

Note: The following is a review for the fifth volume in the Glass Fleet series, based substantially on the previous volumes reviewed previously. Reviewing a handful of episodes at a time is akin to reviewing individual chapters in a book so doing so without spoilers is virtually impossible in any satisfying manner. Still, I will give a general overview of the fifth volume’s merits a bit deeper into the review for those that have been keeping up with it, noting that watching this one without the prior volumes would make no sense at all.
Series: Glass Fleet is an epic story about civil war throughout a universe torn by endless conflict. Today’s review of Glass Fleet V5 (La Legende Du Vent De L’Univers or Garasu No Kantai; depending on your focus) is an attempt to continue the stage for the six volume series with as few major spoilers as possible. I found a lot of flaws with the first volumes but wanted to continue to see if the series got any better with time, this one yielding mixed results too but showing glimpses of improvements too so here’s some background before covering the latest four episodes of the show. The basic premise of the war is that various factions of royalty are trying to shape the destiny of the galaxy in their image. The old order was corrupt and feeble, with the one replacing it soon found to be equally as bad. Vetti Sforza, the self proclaimed Holy Emperor, made it clear that he wanted the absolute destruction of the old order as he sought to replace it with his own vision. To this end, his space fleet decimated the Allied Nobility forces in short order, using any means necessary and giving no quarter as his righteous will was followed. He demanded absolute loyalty and as a result, he replaced the reigning order with his own, building his empire on the bloodshed of the masses.

dvdtalk.com

Hello, people. Korbi here to muse on genius…
The Wire: The critically acclaimed, passionately praised series went out relatively quietly last night, tying up loose ends without gimmicks or gratuitous drama. Instead the fifth and final season wound down with integrity and the quality storytelling that has made it so beloved by its ardent fans.
I came to the show rather late in the game and suspect that many of you are still yet to discover it. If so, get the DVDs. If you’re looking to watch the sort of television that changes your perspective on the world around you and opens your mind, The Wire is definitely worth your time and commitment.
Saturday Night Live: As much as I adore Project Runway winner Christian Siriano, Amy Poehler as Project Runway winner Christian Siriano is even better. Brilliant, woman. My God, you’re simply brilliant.
MONDAY QUICK PICK
October Road: The two-hour season finale raises many questions. Please watch tonight, my friends, ‘cause if you don’t, we may never learn if Nick is Sam’s daddy. 9 p.m., ABC
Also Worth Watching…
The Bachelor: Where Are They Now? …because you’re totally dying to get the updates, don’t lie. 8 p.m., ABC
Kyle XY …because Ally Sheedy’s back. 8 p.m., ABC Family
In Treatment …because it’s crazy Laura’s night. 9:30 p.m., HBO
Medium …because Allison’s mother-in-law is in town. 10 p.m., NBC

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Let me start off by saying that plausibility has never been Nip/Tuck‘s strong suit. If it was, the series wouldn’t be so deliciously bad. But after watching last night’s episode, I seriously had to say: “C’mon!”
I really loved the show’s move to Los Angeles and talked about the reinvigorated program a few months ago. Unfortunately, Tuesday’s closer was way too over the top for me….and now I’m afraid I have to admit I hated it.
Sean McNamara and Christian Troy have taken us through a lot of strange storylines, so when things got ugly with pseudo-agent Colleen Rose this season, I grimaced but went along with it. (As disgusting as the murder of the real agent was, I had to admit that ‘stuffing’ him was at least creative.) Really, things weren’t that much different this year than when The Carver was still around.
But seriously….how could one family have so many problems? And at the same time?
Let’s see, in one episode: Christian found out that he has a daughter (then sleeps with the amputee mother of his child), Matt’s half-sister begs him to sleep with her again, Julia wakes up from her coma and supposedly loses her memory (I say ‘supposedly’ only because I’m certain Portia de Rossi had something to do with it), Sean’s daughter is involved in a car accident (but surprisingly does okay) and Sean is then stabbed by his stalker. (Wasn’t their last office in Miami also the locale of at least one other crime scene?)
Oh - and I forgot to mention that the stuffed agent’s body was found hiding in Sean’s closet. Not only did Sean barely make a noise when he discovered it, the moment was followed up by Sean and Christian sitting calmly by while the police carted the corpse away. Uh, I have a feeling the cops wouldn’t just let them sit by and eat. Also—shouldn’t Sean have been seriously freaked out since Colleen recently bloodied up his home with her slit wrists?? I would think the last thing he’d want to do is just hang around that cursed pad.
Of course, I can’t just let this all go without wanting to know what happens to Sean. So despite the ridiculous turns Nip/Tuck has made recently, I’ll be there with bells on next season…as always.

television.gearlive.com