What's working for me...

1. "Friday Night Lights" changes. A new assignment for Coach Taylor highlights season four ... and I won't say any more than that because most of you don't have DirecTV, which gets a head start on the season. (NBC will air the series in 2010.)

2. Charles Kuralt on the DVD. The folksy CBS newsman's "On the Road" series was a model for how to tell stories about America. A new collection of his best work is a welcome arrival.

3. Zack Grienke named AL Pitcher of the Year. The Sporting News' accurate predictor of Cy Young winners suggests that for all the coastal biases of sports media in this country, outstanding achievements can cut through the clutter.

... AND WHAT'S NOT

1. Dave's office politics. One of the few women who ever wrote for Letterman just penned a Vanity Fair piece saying there was "sexual tension" at "Late Show" and those females favored by Dave got nice opportunities that others didn't. Her remedy? Hire more women and treat them with respect. Good luck with that.

2. Cable tastes. TVByTheNumbers.com points out that Sunday's "Mad Men" averaged 1.7 million viewers ... and a "That's So Raven" repeat late Friday night averaged nearly 2.7 million viewers.

3. Microsoft backs out of deal with "Family Guy" creator. The software company two weeks ago announced it would be sponsoring a Seth MacFarlane special without apparently watching anything he'd done. Let's hope they vetted Windows 7 a little better.