NFL schedule comes out tonight; hopefully, Kate Gosselin leaves ABC's

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Tossing out some thoughts on a terrific Tuesday:

Leave it to the NFL to turn the release of their regular season schedule into a made-for-TV spectacular. At 7 tonight, The NFL Network will have an elaborate schedule show to go over the 2010 regular season schedule and we'll find out when those Dononvan McNabb vs. Eagles mini- Super Bowls will be played. The Redskins have always been a popular team for the networks and received more than their share of primetime appearances even when they have been bad. Now with McNabb, the 'Skins should get as many night games and national showcases as the Cowboys and Steelers always do.

Saturday's Mets-Cardinals 20-inning showcase for poor managing and pathetic hitting earned Fox a better than average rating for its major league baseball -- a 3.0. Of course, most Fox games that start at 4 p.m. aren't going to stretch into primetime, but this one lasted past 11 p.m. By that point the Cardinals had turned the game into what Tim McCarver called "a beer-league contest," a fitting description considering the Cards play not far from the world headquarters and brewery of Anheuser-Busch.

Funny how things can change in a week. Last week at this time, it looked like the Phillies would have the National League East clinched by Mother's Day. Now, they're just one of four teams tucked within two games of each other in the division and the injuries are mounting. I still don't think Phillies fans have much to worry about once Jimmy Rollins gets back to spark the offense and Joe Blanton settles into the middle of the pitching rotation.

The IronPigs have dropped two straight and at 4-7 won't get over .500 on this current nine-game homestand that ends Thursday, but they're getting good pitching for the most part and are playing competitive, entertaining games. A 3-2 game shouldn't last three hours and 11 minutes like Monday night's game did, but 12 walks will always extend your evening.

I will be at the IronPigs game tonight and won't get to watch Dancing With The Stars, which has become my favorite non-sports show, even though it does feature several sports personalities. During Monday's performance show, two things were reinforced again -- Kate Gosselin is a miserable person and an even worse dancer. I get the feeling that her dancing partner, Ton Dovolani, has had enough of her whining and wouldn't mind if they are eliminated tonight. But I doubt it will happen. ABC knows it has ratings gold with Kate polarizing the audience. People are drawn to her the way many are drawn to car wrecks on the side of the road. Somehow, some way -- whether ABC staffers made the calls themselves -- she will survive another elimination night and return to torment one and all for another week or two.

As for our sports crowd, I think Chad Ochocinco is starting to annoy partner Cheryl Burke the way he annoys Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. He paid tribute to his late friend Chris Henry, by holding up a sign that read: "Chris Henry, we love you. 85 + 15 = 100 Ways to be great.” And he later said he should have gotten 15 points just for Henry alone. But Ochocinco wasn't great with the quickstep and could be going home tonight, unless Gosselin gets what she deserves.

In local softball, I made a second trip to Nazareth within four days on Monday to see a battle of the unbeatens between Pleasant Valley and the Blue Eagles. Good game, great excitement at the end. To answer my friend Joe Hoffman's question -- the illegal pitch call was the right call. And the great pitchers have to be able to compose themselves and overcome those kinds of things. Nazareth sophomore Sarah Faust, still not herself after battling mono, is no where near to being as sharp as she needs to be for her and the Blue Eagles to live up to expectations. While bothering her for a moment, I don't think the illegal pitch was the culprit for three consecutive walks and her leaving the game in the second inning. She had eight walks, three wild pitches and numerous deep counts against Emmaus on Thursday without any illegal pitches being called.

Originally, I was going to go to Northern Lehigh on Monday for the game between Saucon Valley and the Bulldogs. But the battle of unbeatens was too good to pass up and can you imagine what I might have heard had I gone and covered the game? "Oh, you don't cover us when we get a big win over Palisades, but you're here to rub it in our faces when we lose 10-1." Guaranteed I would have gotten about four e-mails with that kind of beginning from some of my "fans" in the Slatington area.

I am going to Pen Argyl at Palisades on Wednesday and despite being accused of being president of the Krista Morrone fan club, this will be the first time I've seen her pitch this spring. Looks like both the Green Knights and Pirates bounced back well from their Saturday losses, but neither was playing strong competition. And perhaps the best story of the year in the Colonial League continues to unfold at Palmerton where the Blue Bombers, who had gone just 2-78 over the previous four years, won their fifth game of the season on Monday -- 2-1 over Notre Dame-Green Pond.

FROM KEITH GROLLER