Jay Leno

QUESTION OF THE DAY NEXT QUESTION What would the Ravens' record be if Brett Favre were their quarterback this season? Selected responses to today's question will be printed Monday on The Kickoff page. Please e-mail your answer (about 25 words) to sports@baltsun.com by 3 p.m. tomorrow. Include your name, address and a daytime telephone number for verification purposes. THEY SAID IT "If you've ever dropped an infant, that's how you feel when you fumble." LaMont Jordan Raiders running back and former Terp "If those walls could talk, they would probably bad-mouth Donovan McNabb."

In a year of record viewing for political coverage, the biggest night of all could be tonight's vice presidential debate in St. Louis between Republican candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Democratic opponent, Sen. Joe Biden. Friday's debate between Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and his opponent, Sen. John McCain, drew 52 million viewers, I would expect this one to be seen by more than 60 million. PBS anchorwoman Gwen Ifill will moderate the debate being held at Washington University.

The Starz cable channel debuts a drama series tonight inspired by Crash, the feature film that won an Oscar as best picture in 2006. None of the original cast made the transition to the small screen, and while the TV series is still set in Los Angeles, it is being filmed in Albuquerque, N.M. Not surprisingly, Crash, the TV series, does not measure up very well against the film in terms of atmosphere and acting. But the biggest problem with the pilot is that even though it includes characters with different ethnic, racial and social-class backgrounds coming into contact (often violently)

There are some impressive finds off the beaten path of network prime-time TV. If you can't give up House or Dancing with the Stars, consider the DVR. MY FATHER, THE PHYSICIST: Nova, the splendid PBS series that makes science fascinating and accessible, has one of its season's best tonight with "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives." It features the journey by Mark Oliver Everett, singer and guitarist for the rock band the Eels, to understand his father, Hugh Everett III, a famed physicist, who died of a heart attack when Mark was 19 years old. The documentary is complicated, touching and illuminating.

You can go with the usual Thursday night network mainstays, like NBC's The Office or ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Nothing wrong there. But if you are looking for something different, here are a couple of music-based productions. THE ROOTS OF THE MAN IN BLACK: This look at country singer Johnny Cash and the thematic currents of his music and life is first-rate film biography from two outstanding documentary filmmakers, Robert Gordon (Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied) and Morgan Neville (Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues)

I have long loved the way in which Sesame Street plugs kids into pop culture, and there's a fine example of that today when NBC anchorman Brian Williams visits the street. A special "Sesame Street Update" finds Williams investigating why "no one is sharing." What he finds is an epidemic of Mine-itis, a Grouch disease that makes everyone think everything is theirs - and they don't want to share with anyone. The cure? Getting a grouch to share with you. Share this one with a kid. (9:30 a.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67)

We are now officially only days away from the election of a lifetime, and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama comes to prime time tonight with a half-hour paid political announcement that is expected to reach such a large audience that Fox was willing to rearrange its World Series schedule to open up some airtime for the candidate. (8 p.m., WBAL-Channel 11, WJZ-Channel 13, WBFF-Channel 45 and cable channel BET) GIVE ME MORE POLITICS The Biography Channel, meanwhile, weighs in tonight with profiles of the two presidential candidates: John McCain: American Maverick and Barack Obama.

Tribute shows can be engaging and illuminating when the person being honored matters and the people doing the honoring are a little deeper than the usual celebrity suspects. That's the case on the AMC cable channel with The American Cinematheque Honors Samuel L. Jackson. The annual award goes to an artist who has made a significant contribution to the motion picture industry. Director George Lucas will present the award. His presence alone accounts for more than twice the normal brainpower at most Hollywood gatherings.

Idon't often write about second showings of made-for-TV movies, but Lifetime is airing Prayers for Bobby, which premiered Saturday, again tonight, and it is worth going out of your way to see. From a sure-to-win-an-Emmy performance by Sigourney Weaver, to a screenplay that explores gay identity as sensitively as it has been done on cable TV, this docudrama deserves a network-size audience. The Bobby is Bobby Griffith, who attended high school in California in the 1970s. The film is set in 1979 as he comes to terms with being gay. Ryan Kelley is not a great actor, but he shares most scenes with Weaver, and she elevates everyone's game.

For some folks, the real Super Bowl wasn't played last Sunday; it's next week. Those folks would be those of us who own or love or share living quarters with four-footed athletes who don't necessarily throw passes or score touchdowns. These athletes just strut their bone structure and gorgeous faces down the green carpet at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Though some people might laugh at Westminster devotees, the winners here are remembered for generations and become the stuff of legend.