Coming to a TV station near you

Here are a couple of things to watch for over the next two days.

Thursday night Navy meets Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. Catch the action on ESPN at 9 eastern time/6 on the other coast.

I think this is going to be an interesting match-up, and I'm eager to see how the Mids do with Coach Niumatalolo at the helm.

If you're home on Friday night at 9 (eastern), check out the finale of "The Next Great American Band" on Fox. Okay, it has some cheesy elements a la "American Idol," but the three remaining bands are REALLY good. I'm not quite sure how the finale is going to work, since audience voting has been a factor to date, but all three of these groups are winners who should go on to do good things.

First there's Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, a sort of big band meets Blood, Sweat and Tears, fronted by a singer/trumpet player named Denver (I'm not making this up; his kids are named Boston and London). The group includes several trumpets, trombones, a couple of saxes, drums, etc.

Then there's Sixwire, which is actually five guys who trace their roots to the Eagles, Little River Band, etc.

Finally, there are the Clark Brothers, sons of a preacher man who can reach deep into your heart and soul with their music. The usual complement is acoustic guitar, mandolin and dobro, and these guys can really cook.

You could even TIVO this and just watch these bands' performances. You won't be disappointed.

That's it for tonight.

Go Navy!