Fall TV Season Preview

The dog days of summer having wreaked havoc on the grass here in Houston. Seriously, H-Town has been dryer than Jay London's sense of humor. In addition to being light on rain, this summer has been pretty tame in terms of must-see television. However, there are quite a few televised events that are coming up that qualify (for me) as Must-See TV. Here's a look:

Baseball Playoffs, NFL Season, NCAA Football Season

Thankfully, God has rained sports manna down from heaven for fans across the nation: baseball games that matter, America's favorite sport, and a place for the people of Nebraska to go on Saturdays (namely, Memorial Stadium in Lincoln - the largest city in Nebraska when completely filled). The MLB playoffs are wild and crazy during the division series round, and from there the "Team of Destiny" stories help carry the suspense from game to game. The NFL, through only a week of regular season action, already has regained its stranglehold on Sunday activities. And for the cities and regions with a strong college football presence, fandom is crazier than that of the pro game, the week is spent trash talking with friends and neighbors, and lots of crow promises to be eaten throughout the season.

Jersey Shore
(MTV, in progress)

The 4th season of Jersey Shore is underway, as we observe The Guido Gang's adventures in Florence (or Firenze, for all native Italians scoring at home). So far, I think this season has been the best since the original season, and the language and culture barrier have provided the plot with enough twists and turns to make the show interesting again, which had been lost in seasons 2 and 3.

How I Met Your Mother
(CBS, premieres Sept. 19)

Entering the alleged penultimate season in the series' schedule, the show still seems to be miles away from its ending. It is my (shared, I'm sure) opinion that the final clip of the final episode of the series should be Ted meeting the future mother of his children, but there is nothing that leads me to believe that that can be anytime soon. This is my favorite sitcom on TV right now, and I love the cast top-to-bottom, especially Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel.

Glee
(Fox, premieres Sept. 20)

Say what you will about "the gayest show on television," but after recently getting caught up on the dram-com (just made that word up), I reinforced an opinion that I was wavering on: the out-of-this-world soundtrack more than makes up for the ridiculous-at-times plot structure. Look no further than the Justin Bieber episode (actual title - "Comeback") or the "Funeral" episode to see some amazing songs performed by amazing singers. I'm surprised to hear myself recommend this, but Glee is my sleeper pick for best show of a star-studded fall schedule.

Modern Family
(ABC, premieres Sept. 21)

I'm new to the Modern Family bandwagon. I just discovered it about two months ago, and absolutely ripped through the old episodes, all the while laughing like a school girl at the mayhem induced by the complicated family structure. My favorite characters have to be Phil and Mitchell, but really it's the same as choosing your favorite child: you go with the one whose coat-tails you can ride to fame. Or so I'm told.

The Sing-Off

(NBC, premieres Sept. 19)

The Sing-Off, a reality show-adaptation of the ever-popular Glee, has quickly risen in two seasons to be my favorite vocal-centric reality show (there are surprisingly quite a few shows that fit this rather specific category). They've made a great (in my opinion) personnel change in letting go of the Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger and bringing in former a cappella groupist and pop darling Sara Bareilles to take over the female presence in the panel. The mix of eccentric personalities (so many faux-hawks!), attire (so many vests!), and choreography (so many jazz hands!) with the strong presence of popular, catchy tunes makes for fun, guilty pleasure TV. Plus, it's practically designed to make you fall in love with the contestants. The Sing-Off is my most-anxiously-awaited show, and I guarantee that if you try it, you won't be disappointed.

Upcoming shows on the horizon:
Mad Men (early 2012), NBA (currently locked out, TBA)

SEC Rumors

The blog is back! After a prolonged absence, it's making a comeback - just like ugly clothes that you'd never be caught dead in....until they become trendy and retro.

A while ago, was it 6 months ago? maybe almost a full year? there were rumors circling surrounding college football and, more importantly, the Big 12. These rumors were brought on by the vacancies left in the Big 12 due to Nebraska leaving for the Big Ten (now to 12 teams), and Colorado's moving to the Pac-10, along with Utah (now the Pac-12). Right around that time, there was made known the possibility of Texas and most of the Big 12 South (OU, OSU, and Texas Tech) moving to the Pac-12 to become a super-conference of 16 teams. As an A&M fan and student, I was curious why the Ags hadn't been mentioned in the Super Pac conference rumors. Then, news broke that there were talks going on between TAMU and the SEC - so it all made sense. However, none of the big shakeup actually transpired, and the only tangible evidence that anything actually happened was the creation of the Longhorn Sports Network, Texas' own television station.

Arriving at the present, the LHN is about to begin it's first football season on the air, and the Big 12 (-2) will start its awkward schedule of playing each and every school in the conference every year. However, earlier this week my twitter timeline blew up with rumors once again circling that TAMU might move to the SEC. According to texags.com guru Billy Liucci's tweet, if A&M and the SEC agree on a deal within the month, the Ags can be playing in the SEC in 2012! Pretty cool idea, but is it the best thing for the Maroon and White?

My ideal situation is as follows: A&M moves to the SEC and joins the West division. The SEC adds another team (Clemson? Virginia Tech?) to even out the divisions at 7 apiece. Texas, now with its own TV deal in the LHN, goes independent. The Oklahoma, Kansas, and remaining schools from the now-defunct Big 12 regroup and form something resembling the old Big 8 (with more teams like TCU, Boise State, etc.).

What does this mean for Texas? They honestly have a big enough national audience and fan base to keep themselves afloat without conference ties, and can you imagine a yearly rivalry with Notre Dame? How crazy would that be? Also with the independence, you can keep the rivalry games with both OU and A&M, and not fight over the Big 12 South crown with Oklahoma, as has been the case for the past 10 years. Texas' schedule would have some cream puffs, as would be the case in a big-time conference, but would also have yearly games against OU, A&M, and Notre Dame with a possible Ohio State/USC rivalry renewed. Sounds like a win to me.

What does this mean for Texas A&M? Well, it's kind of out of the frying pan and into the fire, honestly. From the Big 12 South (Texas, OU, Ok State, Tech, and Baylor) to the new SEC West (Arkansas, LSU, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State), you go from a bad draw to a worse draw. However, I think that with the Texas recruiting connection, A&M could definitely hang in there with the perennially elite teams in the country, and I could see the Aggies playing up to their competition. Also, in the basketball realm, TAMU could definitely excel after getting out from underneath KU's presence.

All told, I think A&M could adapt to contend in the SEC, Texas could excel as an independent school, and the rest of the Big 12 as we know it might be better off reshaping and melting into other conferences. Will all of this go according to my personal plan? Most likely not. But will something happen? I think so. Now it's just a matter of time.