Tonight

With the bowl season beginning tonight with Texas Christian and Northern Illinois playing in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, it's hard not to cry for Arizona and Washington State. Both of these football teams reached the pinnacle of success as determined by the NCAA and ESPN by reaching six wins, finishing with a fine record of 6-6. But the Wildcats and Cougars will be home for the holidays. Considering that Iowa (6-6) lost five of its final six games to earn a berth in the Alamo Bowl, perhaps they have an argument.

Button up. The forecast calls for near-record cold tonight, with lows in the mid-20s, and continued cold through Saturday.Yesterday's high of 42 degrees at Baltimore-Washington International Airport was the coldest maximum temperature ever for a Nov. 4. The reading, taken just after midnight, broke the old record of 48 degrees, set in 1966 and 1983.The overnight low today was 26 degrees at BWI, reached at 4:25 a.m. That was 1 degree colder than the old record set in 1952.

What with Doc Severinson scheduled for bronzing next year, speculation runs rampant over who will replace the "Tonight Show" bandleader when the Jay Leno era begins in May.Jazzman Branford Marsalis is hot in the running, USA Today says. But Leno's executive producer, Helen Gorman Kushnick, says she won't make a decision until January.Marsalis, she says, is "an incredibly talented musician. He's one of many people who have either expressed interest to us, or to whom we've expressed interest."

One of the longest goodbyes in TV history finally ends tonight with Johnny Carson's signing off forever as host of "The Tonight Show."Under the heading of "All politics are local," though, Baltimore area viewers might be seeing the taped broadcast of Carson's last show a bit later than the rest of the country.The show is scheduled to air at 11:35 p.m. tonight on Channel 2, but WMAR management said it won't start the Carson tape until the Baltimore Orioles' game against the California Angels ends and 35 minutes of local news with Stan Stovall and Sally Thorner have aired.

Columbia's Clint Peay is expected to make his Major League Soccer debut tonight when his club, D.C. United, plays its home opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy at 7: 30 at RFK Stadium.Peay, a defender from Oakland Mills High who played on four straight NCAA champions at the University of Virginia (1991 to 1994), and his U.S Olympic teammate Zach Thornton, a goalkeeper, were able to come home this week after the Olympians set up camp Monday at United Park in Herndon, Va., moving from Chula Vista, Calif.

Franz Ferdinand [Domino] *** Franz Ferdinand might be the only rock band going that can make a tawdry little pickup line like "Kiss me where your eye won't meet me" into a recurring lyric that shows up in a wan acoustic ballad. The tension between eager warehouse-party groping and front man Alex Kapranos' cold shoulders is Franz Ferdinand's bread and butter, but it's never been more clear than on Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the Scottish quartet's third LP. Tonight is the band's danciest record yet, but it's the kind of dancing you do after running into an ex at a club and need to prove you're having fun. "No You Girls," the band's best song since "Take Me Out," gets huge mileage from its swaggering chorus call of "You girls never know how you make a boy feel," and lead single "Ulysses" uses some nasty Moog stones to underscore walk-of-shame sentiments.

Here's a super trivia test, all answered in a single night's programming: What memorable TV series' lead character made his first appearance on "Make Room for Daddy," in an episode getting a rare repeat tonight? (Hint: The series that featured the character also co-starred a child actor who grew up to be a celebrity, who can be seen in another show tonight.) For the answer, see Nick At Nite item below.* "A Day With . . ." (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- This unusual special has no host and no fixed script, for each participant was given the opportunity to choose a setting in which to appear.

I said it last week, but it bears repeating: the only thing worth watching Saturday nights on broadcast TV is "The Marshal." Otherwise, it's hard to marshal much enthusiasm for TV tonight.* "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., Channel 2) -- The only special event aimed at kids worth watching is this brand-new remake of Disney's 1970 comedy, in which a college whiz got even whizzier when "injected" with a computer brain. That version starred Kurt Russell; this one stars Kirk Cameron, formerly of "Growing Pains," who turns in an affable, rather than laughable, performance.

Matchup: Blast (2-6) vs. Cleveland Force (3-3) Site: Cleveland State Convocation Center Time: 7:05 Radio: WCBM (680 AM) Outlook: The Blast, in the unusual position of having the third-worst record in the Major Indoor Soccer League, will try in Cleveland to begin setting things right. Against the Force, they face a team playing in the second of two consecutive games but one that is excited about the addition of former Major League Soccer all-star Eduardo "El Tanque" Hurtado. "The Tank" has a one-year contract.

Though yesterday's drenching rains had stopped long before the scheduled start of last night's Bowie Baysox-Reading Phillies game at Memorial Stadium, the outfield was too soggy for play.As a result, Baysox officials postponed last night's game and rescheduled it for 6:05 tonight as Game 1 of a doubleheader with the Phillies. Tickets for last night's game will be honored tonight.In addition, outfielder Chito Martinez, who was reassigned to the Double-A team from the Orioles to make room for pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, is expected to play tonight for the Baysox.