Off the top of my head, I can count the number of minutes I've dedicated to American Idol on one hand, even if that hand belonged to former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Abbott. That's a big hefty zero, friend.

And I've done a magnificent job ignoring the show altogether. Granted, there's no avoiding common knowledge of the show's home channel (FOX) or the names of the judges (Simon Cowell, Mariah Carey, and ... the black guy. I always forget the black guy). As for the contestants? Pssh, they're beyond me. Except for that one time my cousin told me to rent From Justin to Kelly so we could have our own rendition of Mystery Science Theater 3000. So I don't pay attention to a lot of the show's contestants. Except, of course, we all remember last year's winner. Tyler something, right?

"This season of American Idol is unlike any other!" To any fan of the show it's talking about the show's excitement, drama, and whatever reason they like the show. To me, it's the fact that I actually know something about the show because I watched NBC Nightly News. Wednesday night, closing up their program, NBC had a piece on some guy named Sanjaya, his singing ability, and theories on why he's still on the show despite being the Duke football of karaoke.

NBC Nightly News can veer from the hard news so that it's not just a political program. Other stuff's happening. Legendary football coach Eddie Robinson passed away, and anchor Brian Williams indeed mentioned it in a 30-second-or-so clip. But this American Idol segment was a couple minutes long. They assigned an effin' reporter to the story. About a plot point on a show on competing network. To get unwarranted free publicity on the network's flagship news program, those guys at FOX must be good. Hopefully tomorrow Williams and the rest of NBC can keep us abreast on Lost and 24. I've missed the last few seasons, by which I mean every single episode.

There's no hatred toward the show. It's just one of many wildly popular shows I just don't watch. (I live in a limestone cave filled with dancing penguins and a Panera Bread restaurant with a reliable wi-fi connection. I don't need much more beyond that.) But the show's allure is obvious. Every BC Magazine article that so much sniffs the show's name gets instantaneous Internet flutter, which probably explains why this was written.

Perhaps the question one of you readers has is, "Well, if you don't watch the show, then why write an entire article about how some news program talked about the show for a couple minutes? It's not that big a deal"

Well, damn. Those guys at FOX are good.