Now that your office football pool is in disarray (how in the world did the Raiders beat Kansas City????) it’s time to turn to the high-stakes world of television and place your bets on what will survive the first season and return for a second round. Here’s the odds according to Neal Justin’s World Class Casino in Bloomington:

“Worst Week”: Any half-way decent sitcom has a chance to make the cut and this one qualifies. 3-1

“”My Own Worst Enemy”: A movie star can bring in a lot of eyeballs. Unfortunately, Christian Slater no longer qualifies. 9-2

“Fringe”: Never bet against JJ Abrams and a superhot agent. 2-1.

“90210″: Lots of early interest, but the first couple episodes are laughably bad. 5-1

“Privileged”: Best of the CW bunch, which isn’t saying much. 3-1.

“Knight Rider”: Who would have thought we’d miss David Hasselhoff? 5-1

“Gray Unmarried”: See “Worst Week” analysis. 3-1

“Do Not Disturb”: Worst new show of the year. 10-1

“Kath & Kim”: Haven’t seen it yet, but a Thursday-night slot still means something. 3-1.

“Life on Mars”: Difficult plot, difficult behind-the-scenes action. 5-1.

We’ll add to the list as we see more new shows. In the meantime, share your initial reactions to the new season here.

The McCain/Palin campaign were thrown some fair, but tough fastballs this past week by ABC - but not all of them came from the starting team.

While much of the country’s eyes were on Charlie Gibson’s three-part interview with Gov. Palin, a series in which the candidate scored and stumbled on a fairly even basis, John McCain seemed to bristle Friday at questions lobbed by the gang at “The View,” most notably from comedienne Joy Behar, who asked McCain to explain how he’s still a maverick. The seasoned Barbara Walters, who usually looks upon guests with great reverence, got into the spirit of the conversation by giving a look of near dumbfoundment when McCain tried, rather weakly, to explain how Palin would reform Washington.

It’s clear that while Sen. McCain may be a long time favorite on talk shows, he’s entering a new stage, one that will be accompanied by tougher questions and less opportunities to dodge. If he thought the Republicans anti-media stance at the convention would keep the dogs at bay, he has, at least this week, made a serious miscalculation.

Some thought Gibson was in a no-win situation this week - look too tough and you come across as a meanie, look too soft, and you come across as a wimp - but Gibson is too experienced, too talented to do anything but do a straight-up political interview and if Palin seemed to falter at times (most notably when she appeared not to know what the Bush Doctrine is) it’s her fault, not his.

I’m not surprised that Gibson represented the mainstream media well. I am surprised that “The View,” a show I’ve often criticized for being too lightweight and uninformed, also scored some points.

If the media in its broadcast terms keeps churning out tough, fair questions to all the candidates, it’s a victory for the most important players in this whole process - the voters.

I’m sure Glenn Close and the cast of “Mad Men” are all atwitter in Hollywood as they await the Emmy Awards, but we’ve got some eager nominees right here at home. The 2009 Regional Emmy Awards nominees were announced Friday and while we won’t list all the categories here, we thought we’d spotlight some key races and ask you to weigh in on who should win:

Evening Newscast

Fox 9 News at 5; KARE 11 News at 10; Fox 9 News at 10; 25th Straight Hour on KSTP.

Investigative Reporting

“Busted Buses” (KSTP); “A Need to Close the Gap” (KMSP); “Spy Camera” (KMSP); Smilye Face Killers (KSTP)

On Camera Anchor - News

Frank Vascellaro, WCCO; Julie Nelson, KARE, Jeanette Trompter, WCCO

On Camera Anchor - Weather

Tom Szymanski, KXMB, Chad Sandwell, KMEG, Keith Gibson, KEVN, Kevin Lawrence, NBC North Dakota

On Camera Anchor - SPorts

Anthony LaPanta, FOx Sports Net; Rod SImons, KSTP; Dawn Mitchell, KMSP

On Camera Talent - Reporter (GA)

Timothy Blotz, KMSP; Boyd Huppert, KARE; Jason DeRusha, WCCO; Joe Fryer, KARE.

Photographer - News

Heaven Sent, KMSP; Andy Shilts, KMSP; Jeff Christian, KARE; Dan Bolsem, KCCI

I thought the RNC was finally in my taillights, but this afternoon, one of the Strib editors handed me the last remnants of the Big Bash: The media gift bag. As the TV critic, I get a lot of junk - I mean, tidbits - much of which ends up going to charity auctions. I’m not sure any of these items will be in much demand. Here’s a rundown of what came in the black Coca-Cola bag (a reminder that we were not in a center named after Pepsi):

A copy of NWA’s World Traveler, which I’ve never read in a seat with more than six inches of leg room.

An RNC water bottle

A box of Kraft macaroni & cheese

An umbrella

An AT&T gift card

Seeds for Sweet Alyssum, not, unfortunately, tickets to see Soul Asylum

Two granola bars

A thick book of MOA coupons

Mints in a UPS van container

A packet of calorie-free sweetener

As you can see, the Republicans love the media after all!

“The Kennedy Center Honors,” which airs around Christmas time, is always my favorite holiday treat, and this year should be no exception. The recepients were just announced today and they are: Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Barbra Streisand, Twyla Tharp and Roger Daltrey/Pete Townsend of The Who.

The only stunning thing about this list is that Streisand hasn’t been honored before…

This past week, Americans were subjected to what should be called out as a major scandal, yet has the media has treated it with kid gloves in fear that any extensive probing would look sexist and mean. It involves a woman with gumption, kids and plenty of personality.

I’m talking about Britney Spears.

The pop star had never won a MTV Music Award before, yet there she was last night, bookending the event, winning three - count ‘em three - little moon men for a video to “Piece of Me,” which was barely in rotation on any of the music channels and wouldn’t even rank in the top 13 of her best videos. Perhaps voters and MTV were eager to have a “comeback” story, but it wasn’t much of one. Spears looked great, but she chomped gum through her repetitive acceptance speeches (”This one is for my fans, y’all?” Um, wasn’t the LAST one for your fans?) and barely got through the introduction.

Speaking of conspiracies, Russell Brand must have some footage of an MTV executive in a compromising position. How else do you explain how he got a hosting gig that he obviously did little preparation for? Over all, there were barely any performances that stood out - with the possible expection of how everyone pretended that Britney Spears had a great, outstanding, award-worthy year. Now THAT’S acting!