spelling bee

So it's time to name your champion of the '2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee' (Fri., 8PM ET on ABC). And your winner is ...

[Spoiler alert.]

Biography: Tiger Woods - Thursday April 1, 8 pm, Biography Channel

When illustrious personages reach a certain age or notoriety, it is common practice in the media to have an obituary ready and written in case of sudden death. I imagine Michael Jackson falls into this category, and I know when I was at a magazine, a certain low-voiced newsman was our main worry. I would suspect the Biography Channel's eponymous show works the same way so I'm surprised it took this long to get a Tiger Woods episode on the air. Interviews with himself, his late father, Wayne Gretzky, Lance Armstrong and Michael Jordan pepper the episode, and is timed perfectly for Woods' return at the Masters this April.

• At 8, ABC has The Scripps National Spelling Bee, then a new 20/20.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• PBS has a new Washington Week at 8, followed by new episodes of NOW and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 8:30, Sci-Fi has a new Sarah Jane Adventures, then new episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica.
• ESPN has the Celtics/Pistons NBA Playoff Game at 8:30.
• At 9, NBC has a new Dateline.
• There's a new Man vs. Wild on Discovery at 9.
• Also at 9: VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever.
• At 9:30, Animal Planet has a new Meerkat Manor.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Paula's Party.
• E! has a new episode of The Soup at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Despite all the hoopla over the National Spelling Bee, thanks to recent movies, Americans aren't willing to watch pre-teens try to spell impossible-to-pronounce words. The final two hours of the Scripps National Spelling Bee aired live on ABC on Friday Thursday night, but the ratings are considered a dud. About 8 million people tuned in, which is about how many watch The Office each week so it's not that bad. In fact, a marathon of The Office on NBC is what came in fourth place on Friday night. A rerun of CSI and FOX's So You Think You Can Dance came in first.

The winner of this year's national spelling bee was an upset. New Jersey 8th grader Katherine Close correctly spelled "ursprache" to win the whole shooting match.

I didn't spend much time around sports as a kid, and never developed much of an interest in any kind of competitive event, so ESPN is one network that I rarely watch, unless they happen to be showing one of those occasional drill team or cheerleading competitions. I always find those quite compelling. Oh yeah, and ESPN's live coverage of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is always fun to watch, also. Today from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST you can catch ESPN's coverage of the final rounds of the event. Then, flip on over to ABC from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST to watch the championship rounds. This is the first time this event has been shown in primetime on network television. Chris McKendry of SportsCenter will host the ESPN coverage along with former finalist Paul A. Loeffler. ABC newspersons Robin Roberts and Chris Connelly will also be joined by Loeffler for ABC's coverage of the final phase of the event.

The National Spelling Bee is going to become primetime entertainment next month when it airs on ABC. For the last 12 years, the final rounds of the contest have aired on ESPN. But, with recent national interest in the spelling bee, thanks to several movies and a Broadway play, it's going primetime. Gee, those poor kids are already nervous enough. Imagine trying to spell 'appoggiatura' (last year's winning word) knowing you're live on ABC!

The final round of the National Spelling Bee airs live on ABC on June 1 from 8-10 pm. I may actually make a night of it by watching Spellbound on DVD and then watching the final round. Nerd night for me!