Kathie Lee

The big black Lincoln glides to a stop in front of the Montgomery Wards store in Towson. A well-baked man clad in autumn tones, with star power to spare, emerges. The women take notice. Is it: A. Leonardo di Caprio? B. Jude Law? C. David Hasselhoff? Close, but not quite. The answer is Regis Philbin, sexagenarian sex symbol and host of game-show phenomenon "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire." The ladies love Regis. "I think he has gotten more sexy," said Connie George, 70. "He seems so much more sure of himself."

Teddy Bears' Picnic' Gary Rosen will perform music from his latest children's recording, "Teddy Bears' Picnic," Sunday at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts. Musical styles range from tango and swing to classical and rock. Rosen, a children's music pioneer, has performed on the "Today" show, on "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee" and twice at the White House. A children's dance troupe also will perform, and children are encouraged to bring their own teddy bears. Gary Rosen performs at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills.

If we had to do the holiday shopping for some of TV's most popular characters, what would we get?* Detective Andy Sipowicz of "NYPD Blue": Long-sleeved, pinpoint Oxford dress shirts from Lands End.* Detective John Kelly, "NYPD Blue": Boxer shorts -- because we're tired of seeing your backside. Well, some of us are tired of it.* Maggie O'Connell, "Northern Exposure": Although she never would admit it, Maggie would go goo-goo over Robert James Waller's "Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend."* Dr. Joel Fleischman, "Northern Exposure": Maggie, while high on Waller.

Ugly holiday sweaters are bad enough. But ugly holiday sweater cookies ? Isn't that taking things a bit too far? Apparently not for Bel Air High and MICA alums Brennen and Zoe Lukas, whose perhaps-too-colorful Christmas confections were spotlighted on NBC's "Today" show this morning. During a segment on gifts under $30, "style expert" Lilliana Vazquez gave the cookies a quick shout-out. "How cute are these cookies?" Vazquez gushed, noting they were available in both Christmas and Hanukkah themes.

LOS ANGELES -- For the first time, a U.S. Labor Department program to highlight apparel companies taking extra steps to shun sweatshops has instead singled out a suspected slacker: Los Angeles-based Guess Inc.The Labor Department said Wednesday that it put Guess, the leading garment manufacturer in Southern California, on probationary status with the agency's "Trendsetter List" of "good guy" garment makers and retailers.The wage and hour division said four Southern California contracting shops that sew garments for Guess were judged to be violating minimum wage and overtime requirements.

With Mother's Day looming, that basic bonding of the blood -- the family -- is all over the schedule tonight. But not all the relationships are as functional as the ideal.* "Regis & Kathie Lee's Mom's Dream Come True Special" (7 p.m.-8 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Did you know Kathie Lee Gifford is a mother? Truly! Turns out the Bowie native has two kids of her own, Cody and Cassidy. OK, enough sarcasm. You pretty much know what to expect from the title: the talk show hosts grant some wishes to special mothers.

ON AND OFF THE AIR:* The importance of literacy is the message of a nice kids-oriented repeat on WMAR-Channel 2 tonight. "Milo's Secret," which won a regional Emmy Award in 1990, can be seen at 8 o'clock.Produced at Channel 2, the show is the story of a puppet named Milo who tries to hide the fact he cannot read but learns that it is never too late to learn. Stu Kerr and Cal Ripken Jr. are in the show.Baltimore native Kevin Clash, a "Sesame Street" puppeteer (he does the character of Elmo)

The most significant development from the Friday-to-Monday ratings is not what happened, but what didn't happen.Specifically, ABC's "Monday Night Football" did not dominate the landscape, but actually placed third in its time slot, with its lowest ratings of the season.Monday's Pittsburgh-Houston game on Channel 13 attracted a 12.1 rating and 20 share of the audience, according to Andre "Dr. Dre" DeVerneil, research director at Channel 13 and this week's official "On the Air" ratings supplier.

In Friday's Anne Arundel editions, the actress who appeared in Annapolis in October for the opening of the Pathways Chemical Dependency Program at Anne Arundel Medical Center was identified incorrectly. Cathy Lee Crosby appeared at the opening. In addition, the hospital will not move its 12-bed psychiatric unit to Pathways, but rather is considering working some psychiatric services into the program.The Sun regrets the errors.Addictions unit scrambles to fill bedsANNAPOLIS -- Ten months ago, Anne Arundel Medical Center viewed the opening of Pathways, its adolescent addictions treatment unit, as such an event that it dragged local-girl-made-good Kathie Lee Gifford back to Annapolis to take part in the celebration.

Soon to be ex-sitcom star Roseanne is looked on as the most overpaid celebrity on television, according to a new survey.Some 43 percent of those responding to a poll in Total TV magazine opined that Roseanne -- said to make some $500,000 an episode -- took home too much dough for the work she did. The stars of NBC's "Friends," the subject of intense salary speculation last summer (when they requested $100,000 an episode, and ended up with about $75,000 per),...