MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK IS
DEFINITELY MANNING UP

As I told you on Friday, it’s Da Bears vs. the Colts in two weeks in Miami in Super Bowl XLI, and now all we have to do is wade through 14 days of hype about Peyton vs. Rex, a historic face-off featuring a pair of African-American coaches in Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith and a traditional Midwest match-up between Chicago and Indianapolis. But it was all worth it to see the smirk wiped off Pats coach Bill Belichick's face as he tried to hang himself with his hoodie. Tomorrow morning, the Oscar nominations come out, with Dreamgirls facing a surprise challenger in the little movie that could, as Little Miss Sunshine nabs the Producers Guild Award over the weekend in an upset that thrusts it into the Best Picture race alongside Babel and The Queen.

There were no new album releases of note this week, so expect the Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax Dreamgirls soundtrack to once again be #1 with a sales total that is becoming increasingly embarrassing, as the industry anxiously awaits the Grammy spike and new albums from Norah Jones and Fall Out Boy.

The EMI situation continues to roll out, with Eric Nicoli in charge for the time being, as he proceeds to reorganize his troops around Messrs. Slater, Flom and Lundvall. Action to come.

In the film world, Stomp the Yard earned the top spot at the box office for the second consecutive week, barely edging out A Night at the Museum, $13.3 million to $13 million. A handful of potential Oscar nominees were boosted by their success at the Golden Globes. Best Comedy/Musical Dreamgirls nabbed $8.7 million to finish third, ahead of the only film to open wide this weekend, the horror movie, The Hitcher, which came in fourth with $8.2 million. The Last King of Scotland, with expected Oscar Best Actor nominee Forest Whitaker, earned an estimated $1.8 million after going from four theaters to 495. Babel increased its ticket sales 500% after its Golden Globe win for Best Dramatic movie, to $2.3 million, while The Queen, with expected Best Actress nominee Helen Mirren, jumped into the Top 10. Pan’s Labyrinth moved into seventh place with $4.7 million. Overall, box office receipts for the top 12 films were down 20% from the same weekend last year.

The Grammy 2007 album hits the streets this week, with 23 tracks, including Gnarls Barkley, Mary J. Blige, Corinne Bailey Rae, John Mayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Dixie Chicks, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, KT Tunstall, James Blunt, Daniel Powter, Death Cab for Cutie, Black Eyed Peas, The Fray, Keane and more. This year's compilation will come out via Sony BMG's Commercial Music Group, with a portion of the proceeds from the sale to benefit MusiCares Foundation and the Grammy Foundation.

The major labels are offering free downloads, with some restrictions, to college students, through something called The Ruckus Network. See the N.Y. Times story here.

The N.Y. Times’ erudite critic Jon Pareles spends some time with a newly confident Norah Jones here.

Alan Light questions John Mellencamp about his ubiquitous Chevy commercial and why he decided to do it here.

The N.Y. Times ponders American Idol judge Paula Abdul’s strange behavior here.

The N.Y. Times’ Kelefa Sanneh on The Shins’ coming out party here.

The N.Y. Times’ Caryn James on Angelina Jolie’s sudden fall from grace here.

Isaiah Washington’s future on Grey’s Anatomy is up in the air after his use of an anti-gay slur at the Golden Globes. The N.Y. Times wonders what’s next here.

N.Y. Times’ Jeff Leeds examines the legal crackdown on mixtapes here.

You thought you had problems. High definition is causing problems in the world of adult movies. Find out why here.

The L.A. Times’ Richard Cromelin pays a visit to legendary pop-country songwriter Lee Hazlewood here.

Tonight’s music on TV includes Alicia Keys on Letterman (CBS), Bow Wow on Jay Leno (NBC) and Lady Sovereign on Craig Ferguson (CBS).

ON THIS DAY:

In 1965: The Rolling Stones began their 16-date Australian tour in Sydney.

In 1967: The Rolling Stones appeared on the British TV program Sunday Night at the London Palladium, performing "Let's Spend the Night Together," "Ruby Tuesday," "It's All Over Now" and "Connection." However, they refused to join the rest of the line-up for the closing credits, during which the band were supposed to wave to the audience from a revolving stage.

In 1978: Terry Kath of Chicago died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with a pistol that he didn't realize was loaded. He was 32.

In 1986: The first annual induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was held in New York City. Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Little Richard were among the initial inductees.

In 1988: Nirvana recorded a 10-song demo tape with producer Jack Endino.

In 1989: James Brown was sentenced in Georgia to six years in jail for causing a police chase through two states.

In 1989: A son was born to Kiss' Gene Simmons and his model girlfriend Shannon Tweed.

In 1995: Courtney Love appeared in an Australian court on charges of abusing a flight attendant. She admitted to responding with an obscenity when a Qantas flight attendant told her to take her feet down from the airplane cabin wall. Love's sentence was one month of good behavior.

In 2001: Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham appeared in a London court, where she testified that a garbage collector stole four of her Louis Vuitton bags from Heathrow Airport.

In 2001: Enigma, a film about World War II code-breaking produced by Mick Jagger, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2002: EMI announced that it would pay Mariah Carey $28 million to end their association with the singer. Mariah’s initial multi-album deal with EMI had an estimated worth of $100 million.

In 2003: R. Kelly was arrested on child porn charges in Miami after authorities said they found 12 photos of a nude girl at the singer's Florida home.

In 2004: Ryan Adams was rushed to the hospital with a broken wrist after falling off stage during a gig in Liverpool, England.

In 2004: Jennifer Lopez and actor Ben Affleck called off their engagement.

In 2005: Keane, Snow Patrol, Goldie Lookin' Chain and Manic Street Preachers played the U.K.'s biggest charity concert since Live Aid. The show at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium raised over a million pounds for tsunami relief.

In 2006: Janette Carter, the last surviving child of A.P. and Sara Carter of the legendary country music trio The Carter Family, died at the age of 82 in Kingsport, TN.

In 2006: Lisa Marie Presley married guitarist and songwriting partner Michael Lockwood.