TV

Over on the Cowboys blog, they're talking about the prospect of Jason Witten taking part in a show called Cooking With the All Pros, featuring Cowboys past and present. Check it out.

Bentley Green, the 7-year-old Dallas rapper who first found fame with his rhymes about the Mavericks, has struck again. On Wednesday's episode of Maury Povich's talk show, he will be named the winner of the Maury's Most Talented Kid contest, which comes with a $10,000 prize.
Maury said in a press release, "Don't forget you saw him on MAURY first, he's going to be a huge international star."
So if you saw him last year when he was on Ellen, just try to forget about that if you would.
Maury airs at 2 p.m. on Channel 33.

ROCKWALL - The crowd that gathers on most Tuesday nights at the new Hilton Hotel in Rockwall is on a mission.

Sure, they're surrounded by balloons, large TV screens and much laughter, but this is serious business. The 350 or so people are there to watch local Jason Castro perform on American Idol - and then to get him through to the next round.

Read more.

Video: Castromania at the Hilton in Rockwall

Texas Country Reporter Bob Phillips (who used to be at WFAA-Channel 8, and still works out of a Dallas studio) got a nice write-up in The New York Times today.

What's more, there's big news for him on the horizon:

The Texas Country Reporter plans to go fully national in January with a second show called "On the Road with Bob Phillips." Shooting starts next month. One of his first stories? "The person whose sole job is to fill the cracks in Mount Rushmore."

Have you always enjoyed yelling out the answers while sitting at home watching Jeopardy!? Well, then get thee down to an audition for the new game show Whatta Ya Think?! on Saturday and April 19. On the new show, which will air on Veria on Dish Network, contestants will solve math, visual and language puzzles while viewers play along at home. The auditions take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Abernethy Media Professionals, 4308 Bryan St. in Dallas. For more information, call 214-660-4444.

Daytime soap The Young & the Restless will be in Dallas on Friday, March 28 scouting for one N. Texas actress to appear in an upcoming episode. Daniel Goddard, who stars as Cane on the show, will be in attendance to screen test with contestants. If you are interested, make sure you are a woman age 18-30 and be at the Hyatt Regency (300 Reunion Boulevard) between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. with a completed copy of the registration form, a signed release (both available at www.theyoungandtherestless.com) and a recent photograph. Callbacks will be held Saturday, March 29. The show airs on CBS (Channel 11) weekdays at 11:30 a.m.

Time to head back to school. High School Reunion premieres Wednesday, March 5, on TV Land, featuring graduates of the 1987 class at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson. Are you going to watch? If you did, did you see anyone you recognize or remember?

Are you a big loser? Do you have a friend who’s also a big loser? If so, grab him or her and get thee to The Biggest Loser, Season 6 open casting call. The reality weight-loss show will be scouting for two-person teams Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Uptown Bar and Grill, 2523 McKinney Ave. in Dallas.

Josh Welch, a 25-year-old media buyer from Dallas, will compete on the ninth edition of the reality competition Big Brother. He's originally from Groves, Texas and is a University of Texas at Austin graduate. The show debuts Tuesday at 8 p.m. on CBS (Channel 11) and will also air Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m.

If you are a guy looking to settle down, and you want to compete with a bunch of other guys on TV for the affections of one woman, then head over to one of The Bachelorette’s casting calls this week. The ABC reality show will be looking for contestants on Friday from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. at The Mat (2822 McKinney Ave.), Saturday from 10 p.m. to midnight at Lift Lounge (2404 Cedar Springs Road) and Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Frankie’s Sports Bar and Grill (3227 McKinney Ave.

North Texas has become one of the most well-stocked ponds for reality show producers to fish in. Everything from American Idol to The Bachelor has scouted here. On Friday, however, our area will be known for its brains when Jennah Durant, a 29-year-old Lakewood resident, will appear on Jeopardy!. Ms. Durant works for the Environmental Protection Agency as a public affairs specialist, so here’s hoping ‘Nature’ is one of the categories. The show can be seen at 11 a.m. on CBS (Channel 11).

OK, so normally I wouldn't write about someone's estate sale here -- this ain't the Green Sheet. But this estate sale is notable because of what's for sale -- namely, a lot of stuff you've probably seen on TV. Today and Saturday, you can rumage through that stuff and maybe take some of it home for the right price at the estate sale of production designer Curtis A. Schnell. Mr. Schnell designed for shows like Crossing Jordan and Ed, among others. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at 210 N Clinton Ave. in Dallas. Cash and checks (with ID) accepted. To get a look at some of the items up for sale, click here.

Are you better looking than a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader? Probably not. But you can find out if you are smarter than one on Thursday night's episode of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. The contestant is a Cowboys fan, and he’ll have to pick between the cheerleaders’ help and the team of 5th-grade whiz kids. The two-hour episode airs at 7 p.m. on Fox (Channel 4).

Vickie Washington, who produces the Reading the Writers series at South Dallas Cultural Center, passes along this info on a special reading this Sunday:
Tyrees Allen, star of ABC's Women's Murder Club (8pm Friday nights on Channel 8) will join us for the reading of Home by Samm-Art Williams.
When: Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Where: South Dallas Cultural Center
3400 S. Fitzhugh
Dallas, TX 75210
Phone: 214-939-2787
Admission is Free
So if you are looking for a break from Cowboys mania on Sunday, check it out.

Were you one of the 13,000 who braved the August heat to audition for American Idol at Texas Stadium? If so, tune in to Fox (Channel 4) at 7 p.m. on Jan. 16 as Idol devotes its two-hour show to the Dallas auditions.

If you are looking for the Cynthia Izaguirre, check it out here.

The music-y Nigel (courtesy)

The TV Nigel (nbc5i.com)

Who knew the broadcast cutie had this other life? I gave the band's music a listen on myspace.com/egressmusic, and it's actually pretty great.

• Video: Dallas TV reporter hits the road with band

Let us know if you catch the show.