The Olympics vs. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show vs. American Idol

Yesterday, as most of you dog lovers and dog fanciers know, was the first day of the 134th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which is typically must-see TV in my household (even though we are cat lovers and owners).

However, this year, because of the XXI Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver, BC, Canada, we were faced with a difficult decision: Which hot dogs to watch? (For some reason, maybe because at one point on our block there were a half-dozen Bichon Frises or Bichon Wannabees, or because the cold and the snow has finally made me snap, and they look like little snowmen, this picture of all the Bichon Frises lined up to be judged just cracked me up.)

As we do not have a TV with picture in picture, the spouse and I spent the evening flipping between the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, where the Hound, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding groups were being judged, and the Vancouver Winter Olympics, where NBC was airing the Men's Downhill and Men's Snowboard Cross, even though the results had been announced HOURS earlier on MSNBC (and everywhere else), and Pairs Figure Skating. To summarize, our viewing habits could be described as: DogShowOlympicsDogShowOlympicsDogShowOlympicsFoodNetworkDogShowOlympicsFoodNetwork.

(We got a little bored watching the pairs figure skating so watched Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network, flipping over to the Dog Show or the Olympics during the commercials.)

Btw, if you missed any of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, you can watch videos from the show here. This video of the Pekingese being judged is one of my favorites:



It's like watching the March of the Tribbles.

Now tonight, with my thumb still recovering from last night's ordeal, we will be flipping between the Winter Olympics, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and American Idol Season 9, where -- breaking news! -- they will be revealing some of the 24 semi-finalists tonight! (Btw, in case you were wondering, I will officially start my American Idol coverage next week, when the contestants actually start singing -- or when we, the home-viewing audience, actually get to hear them sing for more than 30 seconds.)

May the best hot dog(s) win!

UPDATED 2/18/10: Once again, American Idol beat out both the Olympics and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Tuesday night, at least in terms of the ratings. Indeed, the Olympics were a distant second (or silver) to AI's gold, with the Dog Show coming in a very distant third (or bronze), though apparently the Dog Show's numbers went up, albeit to only 2.5 million viewers, down from 3.1 million last year, for the crowning of Sadie the Scottie as Best in Show). Can't say I'm surprised. Anyway, to learn more, read this summary of the ratings numbers.

ANNOUNCEMENT: My live American Idol Season 9 coverage starts on Tuesday, February23!