Weekly Idolizing

Update-- Bad week for me! I got only one out of the four who went home. Kinnik goes home. Melissa, Kevin and Bucky survive. Actually getting the ax instead were the above 3...17-year-old Ayla Brown of Boston, 17-year-old Gedeon McKinney of Memphis, and 17-year-old Will Makkar of The Woodlands, Texas. Bad week for 17-year-olds. Most surprizing to me...Ayla. I thought she had the looks and talent to carry her further into the competition. I have noticed a phenomenon that may have claimed her early. It seems contestants from big cities don't get the support that candidates from rural America tend to get. I'm wondering if being from the "big city" is a handicap. Maybe big city people are too blaze' about such things to actually pick up a cell phone and vote for someone from their area. Just an observation.
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-Time for my weekly assessment of the situation on American Idol. For those of you who aren't into Idol...I apologize...you can skip down to Other Stuff.

So far in the competition, I think it's been farely easy to choose who should be eliminated. I've done pretty well (picking all four of last week's eliminatees, is that a word?) and America has, I think, gotten it right too in the voting. This week it starts to get a little tough...especially with the guys. So, let's start with the girls.

Tuesday night's performances by the ladies left two strong candidates for elimination in my view. Kinnik Sky, the 28-year-old from Duluth Georgia, and Melissa McGhee, 21-years-old from Tampa, should be getting the bad news tonight. Sky shows flashes of brilliance, but I have to agree with the judges comments that she just missed the notes in several places in her performance and that makes her vulnerable. McGhee, in my humble opinion, has an attitude problem, and has a "caustic edge" to her performances that makes me uncomfortable. She looks good...but not great...and that's why I think she'll get the other ticket home. All of the other girls performed well enough...and Mandisa really stepped up her game...to survive. Katharine McPhee continues to be my choice to go all the way among the gals. Although Kellie Pickler's personality, and Lisa Tucker's enormous talent may make it interesting.

As to the guys... Most performed well enough this week that they would have advanced at the same stage of the competition in years past. But, I believe the two weakest members of the remaining 8 at this point are Kevin Covais and Bucky Covington. Kevin's "church mouse" appearance and personality have carried him this far. His singing is just OK in my view...nothing that should make him a star on any national stage. Bucky has an interesting niche in the competition being a Southern rocker. His singing is suspect at times...and Chris Daughtry (also a southern boy with a rock edge) is much stronger as a performer. Because Daughtry will take most of that voting block, I think Bucky is going to head back for Rockingham, N.C. after tonight's show.

Strong performances this week by the guys--Daughtry...although not as good as some previous performances...prematurely-gray Taylor Hicks nailed "Takin' it to the Streets"...and Ace Young stepped back up with his strong falsetto on a Michael Jackson tune.
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Other Stuff

-I was sure that Dallas Drake was announced as one of the stars of the game for the Blues Tuesday night because someone knew he likely wouldn't play another game wearing the Blue note. But, as of this writing, the captain is still in place. Just one-and-a-half hours 'til the trading deadline. Many teams are having trouble dealing with the salary cap....something new at the trade deadling for GMs.

-I had a nice long conversation with Jim Holder Tuesday. Jimmy is doing fine, after being one of the many talented broadcasters purged by KTRS in December. Holder has a wealth of talent, an enormous knowledge of the business, and will make someone a great addition to the staff. He's weighing his options, but nothing is apparently imminent for him right now. He says lovely wife Mary is ready for him to get out of her space in the kitchen though. Jim is a great cook too.

-I spoke with Mark Sauer, the Blues President, briefly after Tuesday night's game. He's happy with the recent upturn of the club. He said the team needed to get younger and faster...a reference to the Sillinger and Weight trades. Since then, the Blues have been much more competitive...who knew? Sauer appears to me to be a guy who knows that his days are coming to an end in his current position...and enjoying the relaxation of pressure that it brings. I could be reading it wrong...but that's what my gut tells me. Mark is a brilliant man, and will do well wherever he lands...if he doesn't work for the new ownership. Some think that's unlikely.