Khloe Kardashian Was No Factor On 'X Factor'

I root for Khloe Kardashian to succeed as I do most people.

She is in the public spotlight, which can be difficult even if one decides to put oneself there for the benefit of wealth or fame or whatever.

I like her, however, and even more so her husband, NBA player Lamar Odom, who seems like a decent, sweet and funny man along with his obvious on-court skills. I also hope they can reconcile their troubled marriage, said to be on the rocks earlier this week.

The few times I caught 'X Factor', which she hosted last season with Mario Lopez (who will reportedly return as solo host), Kardashian was an odd combination of posing, preening, stiff, awkward and clumsy.

She was not a fit for the reality singing contest show and it was obvious, but rather than cut her loose during the season her bosses at FOX opted not to re-up Kardashian.

That's no crime, as Kardashian is still a reality show star and successful businessperson and she'll be just fine.

What one wonders about, however, is why these show producers don't have a better feel for the people they hire for these gigs.

It didn't take long for viewers to see Khloe wasn't a fit with the smoother, if still too giddy and dimpley Lopez.

Why aren't people who are IN the business see these things more quickly and clearly?

Katie Couric Fills Oprah Void--Good & Bad

I have to admit I am predisposed to dislike Katie Couric's new daytime talk-show.

She is part of the liberal media elite that hasn't given conservative politics a fair shake over the years. She's part of the reason the nation is going to heck in a handbasket, in other words.

Couric's entry into the field, simply titled 'Katie', deserves kudos though for getting some of the best and most timely guests around.

'Katie', for instance, was the first to interview beleaguered ex-Notre Dame linebacker Mantei Te'o and Sue Paterno, wife of the famous/infamous Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

Couric showed decent balance of toughness and "hard" questions with both guests so I have no complaints there.

I have little taste for the mushy-gushy treatment she gives some of her guests, though, particularly the Hollywood types. Her audience also goes a little too wild for her at the beginning and throughout the show.

She's just another talk show host at this point, albeit a decent one overall.

'Waterworks': Spouting Off About Marco Rubio

We are in SO much trouble in this country it's both ridiculous and incredible at the same time.

Many people who have never even heard of Florida senator Marco Rubio now know about him after one simple 'incident'.

'Watergate' as some have called it, or 'Waterworks', which I just came up with after the infamous Kevin Costner flop.

Kevin Costner

A brief extra reach by Rubio for a sip of water during his Republican response to the president's State of the Union address Tuesday quickly went viral.

The senator himself was smart enough to make light of the situation, tweeting a pic of the "offending" water bottle.

The larger message is, however, is that the larger message gets lost because of one dopey moment.

Under this president we have runaway deficits, more people than ever on food stamps, inner cities that may be razed and a foreign policy that's all over the map.

Maybe Rubio's "foible" provided a brief dose of humor in a really bad time for this nation. But the attention of the "style" of the speech, or lack of in that one awkward moment, over the substance is disappointing and disturbing.

But due to this nation's short attention span I am having 'Waterworks' for FAR different reasons right now.

Rick Reilly Should 'Chillax' Over Lance Armstrong

Puffed up sportswriters ... "bless their hearts", as we say down South.

Take Rick Reilly ... please, as the old joke goes. Seriously, Reilly is a great sportswriter and I will probably never reach his level of success, but can he please chill out about himself?

Reilly, the ex-SI superstar who left for supposed greener pastures at ESPN, where he has become a much smaller fish in a much bigger fish tank, is hurting over the whole Lance Armstrong matter.

Lance Armstrong

From reading a recent column, Reilly seems more upset about being duped by Armstrong himself than the entire matter overall.

"...14 years of defending a man? And in the end, being made to look like a chump?," Reilly wrote, after indicating he received an apology from the former star cyclist who issued a 2 1/2 hour mea culpa on Oprah's TV network.

Should the issue be over YOU being lied to ... the great Rick Reilly, or EVERYONE being fooled?

At the end of the day, however, this will all go away and you will continue to have enjoy a remarkable career Rick.

Lance and his "real" victims, his sponsors and close associates, have real pieces to pick up from this mess though. Et tu Rick? ... not so much.

Sorry if I seem cold-hearted over this, but it just seems like you have gotten tons of good copy over Lance Armstrong over the years, even if you were on the wrong side of things in retrospect.

Move on ... back to your cushy gig at ESPN, or better still, return to SI, where you should never have left to begin with.

Brent Musburger Only Slightly Outta' Bounds

ESPN play-by-play veteran Brent Musburger may have been a little over the top in his compliments to Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron's girlfriend during the BCS title game, but it was really no big deal.

If anything, Musburger was just pointing out the obvious: Miss Alabama/model Katherine Webb IS really beautiful. I know it, you know it, the American people now know it ... to use an old Bob Dole expression.

Like Dole, ol' Brent is getting up there a bit in years, at 73, so perhaps he's not as guarded with his words as he once was.

Brent Musburger

"Wow, I'm telling you quarterbacks: You get all the good-looking women," he said, going on to say youngsters should take up the position so they would be, ahem, as equally as blessed as McCarron.

Webb was wise to be gracious about the attention, as it pushed her twitter total into the stratosphere and could provide a boost to her career.

"It was kind of nice," she told AP. "I didn't look at it as creepy at all. For a woman to be called beautiful, I don't see how that's an issue."

ESPN tread carefully in issuing the following statement:

"We always try to capture interesting storylines and the relationship between an Auburn grad who is Miss Alabama and the current Alabama quarterback certainly met that test. However, we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that."

Less is more, which Musburger should understand at this point in his career.

RG III should have been taken O-U-T of game!

I'm not nearly at the level of greatness at what I do as Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan or the renowned Dr. James Andrews.

Both of them blew it BIG TIME Sunday though when they made the call to leave the obviously ailing quarterback Robert Griffin III in the wild-card playoff game vs. the Seattle Seahawks.

The move, or non-move, to leave RG3 in didn't make sense in EITHER trying to win the game or keep the potential young superstar healthy for the long run. It was just a head-scratcher any way you look at it.

Shanahan may be a genius and Andrews at the top of his field, but all it should have taken to yank RG3 was to see him limping around the field trying to make things happen ... whether the injuries were old, new or whatever as was still being determined Monday night.

It was a courageous effort for RG3 to play, but one he shouldn't have been making. From the standpoint of winning, the 'Skins have a capable and healthy backup quarterback in Kirk Cousins that would have improved their chances.

And while it certainly wasn't their intent to put the emerging star's career in danger, a well placed hit could have done just that on the already wounded player.

After their history of playoff road struggles the game may have belonged to the Seahawks, anyway. It didn't mean the 'Skins needed to make things easier on them, however.

So Glad '24' Is Back!

Jacko is Backo ... and I'm SO glad-o!

DirecTV's Audience Network, located on Ch. 101, is currently running a marathon of the great FOX Network show, which it will then continue airing starting January 7.

It's good to see such a quality show on a channel that has been kind of rudderless to this point, running sports 'stuff' like the 'The Dan Patrick Show' 'Nick and Artie' and other programs that may not cut it on other cable or network channels.

24 though, was and IS a powerhouse program with the likes of Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert and other solid supporting actors.

It boasts great action, thrilling plot lines and tremendous action.

If you haven't seen '24' to this point, you have REALLY missed a great show. It's almost reason enough to subscribe to DirecTV, instead of another provider.