Even if we're more than four months away from the start of American Idol 7, the unofficials Idol season starts today. Judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul are in Dallas (technically Irving) to hear the first batch of 2008 wannabes.

Anybody with photos or reports from the area can e-mail them to me, and I'll compile them. Until then or until I hear more, we can assume that most of the singers are pitchy, some are just awright dawg and a couple are the best things since sliced bread.

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A good idea from some enterprising entrepreneur in Jacksonville, Fla. --

It's a Michael Vick chew toy, your chance to let your dog take out some anger on this vile piece of garbage.

Unfortunately, I suspect some of the heat and anger that surfaced when this story initially broke has subsided. I don't sense the outrage, the anger that we saw initially, and that's a disappointment. However, it looks like the case against the ATL quarterback is getting stronger by the day.

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From the heart of South Texas, the search for missing polka band leader Bobby Jones is about to resume. The Colorado River is expected to get close to 16 feet come Tuesday, and officials said they would feel comfortable with resuming their search when the river gets down to about 12 feet.

Authorities have found his car, and they'll be pulling it out to determine whether he was in it. Honestly, I know everybody assumes Jones is in the Chevy Lumina buried at the bottom of the river, which was only a short distance from a restaurant where he had just eaten.

However, it's not unheard of for people, particularly those undergoing a mid-life crisis, to stage a disappearance. Bury the car, but make it easy enough to find and then get out of town. Move to Mexico. Whatever.

And that's what everybody is hoping for at this point.