There was no Rangers hockey Thursday night, so it's on to the entertainment portion of our blog….

AMERICAN IDOL: Well, the results show proved how easy this IDOL stuff is: a quick look at my earlier entry shows I correctly predicted the bottom three — and that was my first episode ever! I'm a natural! I was being kind when I compared Michael Johns' performance to bad karaoke. However, today I wake up to see cries that Michael's ouster made jaws drop. What? Did we all watch the same performance? He was awful. It was pretty funny the way Ryan teased him (and viewers) for a second with the prospect that he might not be sent packing, only to crush him. Going forward, my program listings are apparently defective because after three nights in a row I don't see IDOL on Friday's schedule. How can that be?

SURVIVOR: MICRONESIA — FANS VS. FAVORITES is my favorite unscripted competition (when THE AMAZING RACE isn't on). Last night saw the much-anticipated merge, the beginning of individual immunity contests, and the first juror. Call me shallow, but I'm rooting for Parvati to win it all — and not just because her surname is Shallow. She's well-positioned with alliances among the remaining players and she's showing an aptitude for subtle strategy. Plus, okay, she’s purty. Last night's installment featured an all-time classic moment: Eliza playing a phony immunity idol. Of course it didn't protect her from being voted off the island (Jeff callously tossed the stick into the tribal council fire), but the gambit did expose what some suspected (and viewers already knew): Ozzy had found the real idol and substituted a fake (his smirking was priceless). Eliza acted like she had thrown herself on a grenade to protect her new tribemates, but that was one expensive blown opportunity. Still, she's the first juror.

DON'T FORGET THE LYRICS? Uh, forget it!

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION began with the body of a 4-year-old girl discovered in a cardboard box. Then Catherine helped autopsy her tiny, pajama-clad corpse. *click* Oh, look — the Yankees are playing!!!!

WITHOUT A TRACE touched on the evils of blogging among the youth of America. It's about time some responsible show pointed out that these weirdo bloggers are just out of con... wait. That's…that's just not right. Don’t scapegoat responsible young adults with the drive and savvy (and attention span) to put their carefully-considered thoughts into words to share with the world. Yep, bloggers are the salt of the earth, I always say. Anyway, it turned out the real problem was a teenage girl who received a heart transplant from a 17-year-old boy killed by a drunk driver; she decided to meet the donor's family. I guess that's why organ donations are supposed to be anonymous.

Coming up, another installment of Night Shift — after a pause for station identification...and the weekend.