The 35 inch Toshiba TV that I have had for over 15 years finally bit the dust last weekend, so I need to go out and buy a new boob tube. I have done a lot of research on the subject, but thought I would open up the floor here for more advice. Here are the basics you need to know to help me with my decision.

• The TV will be in a room with a little bit of natural light, but not too much
• The TV will be viewed from about 12.5 feet away.
• I mainly watch sports and documentaries, with a few episodic shows. Very few movies.
• The budget goal is to stay under $1800.
• I'm not planning on hanging the TV on the wall.

So give me your suggestions. Should I go DLP, Plasma, or LCD? Give me your thoughts on brands. Tell me what you think is the best deal for the money in regards to quality, size, and features.

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I was on the Jordin Sparks bandwagon early on, as I always thought she had the best mix of what an American Idol winner should offer. She has a big voice, a winning personality, and is young enough to really connect with most pop music buyers. Katherine McPhee filled this role last year, but she can't sing anywhere close to as well as Sparks.

Before I take a shot at him, let me say that if you are not reading Mark Donohue's Western Homes at TV Toaster, you are really missing out. Mark is better than 90% of the TV critics I've read. We don't seem to have the same taste in TV viewing, as Mark is more of a sci-fi guy, while I have a more macho man show (The Shield, Deadwood, 24) focus, but Western Homes has such interesting reviews that he makes me want to check out some of the shows he discusses that I haven't set on my DVR.

Now here is where I think Mark is off. In his latest post on American Idol, he thinks that Blake Lewis is going to have the best career of this cast. I disagree. I do believe Blake has talent, but I suspect that Jordin will be the big hit off of this show. Beatboxing can be interesting to listen to in a live setting, but sounds ridiculous on record. The biggest problem I have with Lewis is the ska feel he likes to bring to his renditions of most songs. A lot of hipsters dig the ska beat, but it reminds me of professional soccer. Despite the hype, I just don't see it catching on in America on any large scale. His first record will sell well, initially, but he is not someone with a long-range career. I do think his new Simon LeBon hair-do is working, though.

Melinda was the best singer, but I don't see where she fits on terrestial radio. Her version of the Tina Turner classic, Nutbush City Limits was the only time the show really rocked all year, but she didn't have the right look to compete with the younger, hipper finalists. I won't be surprised if her debut doesn't eventually outsell Blake Lewis, despite having a harder time getting on TRL.

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Since I brought up Western Homes, let me also mention that if you missed Jon Weisman's great post at Screen Jam about The Office, I highly recommend checking it out.

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Let me note that I'm not trying to leave out the Toaster's fearless leader, Ken Arneson, when discussing Toaster spinoffs, but his Aesthetics site generally makes my brain hurt. I read it consistently, as it makes me feel smarter while taking it in, but sadly the stuff I learn generally leaks out of my brain, as my noggin is overrun with lyrics by Arena Rock bands, instead.

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Continuing the theme of how a select few are determining what the rest of us can listen to check out this story on former Imus producer, Bernard McGuirk. I'm not particularly enamoured with McGuirk, but to have picketers sabotage the guy before he even gets on the air is really twisted.

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Still waiting for some article by Baseball Prospectus about how the White Sox starting staff are blowing away the pre-season projections? As I have mentioned many times in the past, I love BP, but feel like I need to be some type of ombudsman when it comes to the blind spot they seem to have about the White Sox, especially their pitching staff. (Shades of 2005, the starters have lasted at least 6 innings in 26 of the past 27 games.) We will see if my prediction comes true that the top 3 teams in the AL Central will end up after 162 being separated by just 2 games, but I do think it isn't too early to see that the chances of White Sox having their first losing season this decade is not likely.

All Hail SWOBODA over PECOTA?