David Letterman

David Letterman will be the host of the Academy Awards telecast this year, the first purely television star to fill that role since Johnny Carson handled the job in the 1960s and 70s.The motion picture academy and ABC, which is to broadcast the awards show on March 27, made the announcement of Mr. Letterman's selection yesterday. Ted Harbert, the president of ABC Entertainment, said he hoped this would be the "long-term solution" to the question of who would be host."If Dave likes the experience, this could be a great answer for the show, just the way Carson did the show for many years," Mr. Harbert said.

Dodge flexes its muscle Steve Johnson Chicago Tribune The best ad was for the Dodge Charger. The clever, self-mocking script listed the many accommodations domesticated men make: "I will put the seat down," "I will watch your vampire TV shows with you," and so on. And because of this, it concluded, "I will drive the car I want to drive," positing the reborn Charger muscle car as "Man's Last Stand." Why it worked: It was cleverly written, and the visuals - a series of men staring blankly at the camera - were arresting.

David Letterman was pretty thoroughly savaged by the press for his performance as host of the Academy Awards broadcast. But he's ready to do it again, he said in his first interview since the Oscars. "Overall, I enjoyed the experience, as strange as that may sound. The only thing that is sort of residually troubling to me is the notion that I embarrassed myself. But having developed fairly thick skin over my 48 years, that's not too much of a problem."What was a problem, he said, was trying to re-create the seat-of-the-pants feeling of his "Late Show" on CBS."

Talk-show host David Letterman said Thursday that he was the victim of a $2 million extortion attempt related to his sexual relationships with staff members on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." During a taping for Thursday night's broadcast, Letterman told viewers that three weeks ago, he was approached by a person who claimed to have information about the host's affairs with female staff members. This person, Letterman said, threatened to expose the relationships unless payment of $2 million was received.

CBS has offered late-night talk-show host David Letterman a two-year, $28 million contract if he'll jump from NBC -- a deal that would make him one of the highest-paid stars in television.Under the deal, the irreverent Mr. Letterman would butt heads with Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" in the 11:30 p.m. slot he has openly coveted.NBC has until Jan. 15 to match or better the offer.The New York Times reported today that Mr. Letterman had accepted the offer. A representative of Mr. Letterman's agency, Creative Artists Agency, refused to comment.

ABC's efforts to land late-night host David Letterman have cast a shadow over the fate of Nightline, Ted Koppel's highly regarded news program at the struggling network. Staffers at ABC said that the news division, including ABC News President David Westin, first learned of the Letterman negotiations on Thursday night. Like Nightline, Letterman's current CBS show airs weeknights at 11:35. But senior ABC network executives have recently made it clear to Letterman they would be willing to shift or cancel the news program to accommodate him. Several people at ABC News confirmed the network's eagerness yesterday to pursue Letterman, even at Nightline's expense.

If your dog plays soccer, please, don't go to Hagerstown on Saturday to try to have Fido featured on David Letterman's Stupid Pet Tricks."Dogs that play soccer, that's like my worst nightmare," says Bill Langworth, stupid pet and human trick coordinator (now there's a job title!) for "The Late Show with David Letterman.""I mean, it might be amusing for you at home, but on the show, everything's got to have a beginning, a middle and an end. How long can you watch a dog kick a ball around the stage?"

"It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something." David Letterman From the Top 10 List of Things Never Said by a NASCAR Driver "We got our tails whipped." Tim Duckworth Auburn guard, after his team beat LSU [ From wire and Web reports]

Ball State@Miami-Ohio 7 p.m. [ESPN2] What do we know about Ball State? The Cardinals - did you know that? - are ranked 14th. The school is located in Muncie, Ind. Sure, we know David Letterman is an alumnus, but how about these other illustrious former students: Joyce DeWitt of Three's Company; Garfield creator Jim Davis; Oprah's squeeze, Stedman Graham; and former Oriole Merv Rettenmund. Consider yourself enlightened.

News of the dayThere were no labor negotiations. No talks are scheduled.Games lostThere were 669 games lost.Money lostOwners lost estimated revenue of $580 million. Players lost estimated salary of $230 million. New York Mets third baseman Bobby Bonilla, who has the highest salary this season at $5.7 million, lost $1,619,672. Each player at the major-league minimum of $109,000 lost $30,973.Quote"We won't be hearing the crack of the bat again until next April. Or in the Mets' case, maybe June or July."

In my blog on Thursday, I called Fox's wretched Octomom special the official low point of summer viewing. Before making that call, I went back through the summer schedules and my posts to make sure I wasn't slighting some equally dreadful TV production. I wasn't. In the process, though, I realized it's been a weird summer of TV. So I started writing down my highs and lows. Here are my seven highs and three lows - for a summertime Top 10 list. Notice the decided lack of dramas and sitcoms on my list of bests.

You have to admit late-night TV has become a lot more interesting in the past two weeks, since Jay Leno, who consistently dominated the competition, left for prime time. Two weeks ago all eyes were on Conan O'Brien, who struggled in his much-hyped opening nights to find the right voice - especially when it came to the monologue, his great and glaring weakness. Last week, David Letterman was all the buzz with crude jokes about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughters - and Palin's angry response that stopped just short of labeling him a sexual "pervert" - her word, not mine.

Sunday Morning is turning 30, and the CBS mainstay is celebrating this weekend. If you have never seen the program - and sometimes it is the best thing on TV all weekend - think of it as an upbeat newsmagazine with a feel for humor and culture. Sunday, they will be looking at the way the world - including technology, popular culture and religion - has changed since the show made its debut three decades ago with Charles Kuralt as host. These days, it's the forever-in-bow ties Charles Osgood at the helm.

Ihave to admit that, at first, I wasn't a big fan of documentarian Alexandra Pelosi. I gave a positive review to her first film, the 2000 Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary Journeys with George, in which she followed then-presidential candidate George W. Bush on his campaign. It was an engaging and occasionally illuminating film, but I thought there was far too much of Pelosi in the final product, and I found her on-screen persona too cutesy. But after seeing The Trials of Ted Haggard, Pelosi's latest film, which premieres tonight on HBO, I believe in her talents.

TNT is using its hit The Closer to serve as lead-in tonight to the premiere of Trust Me, a new series starring Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh. Trust me, there is almost nothing in this drama that works. The series is set in an ad agency with McCormack and Cavanaugh playing two best friends since childhood who now work together thinking up ads for products like cell phones. In the opening scenes, the two are shown mid-day stretched out at a pool, recovering from hangovers. They lie shamelessly about how hard they are working when the boss calls.

David Letterman's 'Great Moments' segment to end as Bush leaves office The end of the Bush administration also marks the end of "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches," an enduring feature on David Letterman's Late Show that pokes fun at the president's vocal stumbles. Late Show writer Tom Ruprecht may remember Tuesday as the day he was sprung - from hours spent in his office watching Bush speeches to find those magic moments. The first "Great Moment" came on March 30, 2006; it was followed by 377 more.

Who's hot Pitcher Glendon Rusch has four RBIs in eight at-bats this season, fourth most on the Brewers. Who's not The Yankees have 14 errors in as many games, worst in the American League. Line of the day Sammy Sosa, Cubs RF AB R H RBI BB 2 2 2 2 3 He said it "I don't care what Jay Leno has to say. I don't even watch him, because David Letterman is better." Wendell Magee, outfielder for the winless Tigers, butts of Tonight Show jokes On deck Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks attempts to improve to 4-0 today when he faces the Cardinals.

I am feeling better about Barbara Walters since her interview last week with President-elect Barack Obama and future first lady Michelle Obama. She asked solid, informed questions during the session and waited until the very end to inject a moment of fun in the conversation by holding up a picture of her dog and doing some lobbying for the breed as the next White House canine. In fact, I am feeling so good about her, that I will definitely watch Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008 tonight - and not just because Baltimore's Olympic champion Michael Phelps is one of the people she will be interviewing.

It would be hard to find a better lineup of celebrity performers or a bigger TV event tonight than the second annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute that honors ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments in their communities and beyond. The program, which is hosted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, will be broadcast to a global audience starting tonight at 9. Alicia Keys and John Legend headline the performers. During the show, CNN will honor 10 heroes and reveal the CNN Hero of the Year, who will receive an additional $100,000.