He's Baaack: Robert Irvine Returns to Food Network

All is forgiven, apparently, as Robert Irvine has been rehired by the Food Network after being dismissed from "Dinner Impossible" earlier this year for falsifying his resume. The show has gone on with Michael Symon as the host, and although it's been very enjoyable, it's a much different show under the current incarnation. Irvine's new shows won't air until next year, but it's pretty easy to find his old ones, which the network airs regularly with Symon's version.

Speaking of which, the show's newest episode -- dubbed "No Pork, No Pressure" -- is one of the best I've ever seen. Check it out and start salivating.

Sugar Cracks Up 'Survivor'

Sugar has me humming this tune as I think about her actions on last night's episode of "Survivor Gabon." In fact, I reckon it's the single-most memorable moment of the show's 17 seasons. And her nickname is perfect because she's so sweet -- yet cunning at the same time.

Before the masterful plan of Jessica Kiper (Sugar's real name) unfolded, the group partook in the regular auction. For some reason, Kenny (a.k.a. the silent assassin) didn't bid that much money but watched as pretty much everybody else did. He also didn't waste any time with his one bid -- a chance to send Bob to exile island and take all his money (which he then didn't use).

Anyway, other than food and a bath by Susie, Corinne got the biggest prize -- a chance to advance to the final round of the elimination challenge. In that challenge, the contestants had to trek three bags of (you guessed it) puzzle pieces across a moving balance beam to join Corinne in the finals. Kenny and Matty did that and then had to play a convoluted game of Dominoes to win, which Kenny did.

Then Sugar's genius came through. Bob had previously told her that he made a fake immunity idol, but didn't know if he should play it. Using that knowledge, Sugar told him to give it to Randy (who everybody had grown tired of and just wanted out). Bob agreed and the plan was set in motion. Sugar told Kenny, Matty and Crystal that there would fun tonight.

At tribal council, Randy ran off his mouth and then felt all high and mighty as he played his immunity idol. As nearly everybody but Corinne and Bob started laughing, Jeff announced that it was a fake idol and then tallied the votes as Randy was sent home.

Sugar's plan had worked perfectly -- and Randy FINALLY is off the show.

The teaser for next week shows Bob claiming to Corinne that he knows where another idol is hidden (the one, he says, supposedly thrown into the water a few weeks back). I don't believe him, but we shall see.

In the meantime, all hail Sugar!

Baltimore Blues: Jill Off 'Top Chef'

Jill Snyder, one of three local entrees on "Top Chef New York" was sent home this week after failing to make her own hot dog and putting out an ostrich egg quiche that was flat.

While there's no doubt that Jill is extremely talented, her choice of using an exotic egg was questionable -- but she was correct to say that Ariane should have been sent home after two dismal weeks (soon to be three, if the coming attractions are correct).

Onto the good news: Stefan didn't win anything this week -- and in fact was in the bottom three of the quickfire challenge. Fabio, his Euro-buddy, did win the elimination challenge after a beef carpaccio (I still don't understand the appeal of raw meat) with some uber-cool olives.

The most appealing dish to me was Jamie's corn soup, which I think should have won. Carla (a D.C. native) also got honored with her apple tart and random cheese slice.

This week's guest judge, Donatella Arpaia, did a good job as she's been on the show before and frequently appears on "Iron Chef America." She and Gail are very synergistic in their review style. And kudos to Chef Tom for lending his Craft restaurant as the setting. Next week is the (seemingly annual) Thanksgiving show, with lots of stuffing.

P.S. If you've never read Laura Lippman, who has penned a book with the same title as this blog entry, it's a nice Charm City journey.

The End for Mussina

Mike Mussina is retiring, according to widespread reports. If this is the case, and it seems like it's the right time for No. 35, then it's been quite a career -- even though he played for the Evil Empire for the last eight seasons.

Somewhat ironically, Mussina's first and only 20-win season came during 2008. He'll turn 40 next month and, if this is the end, finishes with a 270-153 record, 3.68 ERA and 57 complete games (all but 12 of which came as an Oriole).

Very fittingly, Mussina once said he went to the Yankees to win a World Series (and because of that Angelos money thing) -- something that never happened. In fact, he lost both appearances in the Fall Classic: 2001 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks and 2003 to the Florida Marlins.

Mussina led the O's in wins six times, and led the league with 19 in 1995. He's second on the O's all-time list with 1,535 strikeouts, sixth with 2,009 2/3 innings pitched, third in wins with 147 and second in winning percentage with .645. He also holds three of the top four spots in single-season strikeouts (218, 210 and 204) and, along with Dave McNally (202 in 1968) and Erik Bedard's franchise record 221 in 2007, are the only Birds to top 200 in a season.

Moose also boasts three of the O's 32 one-hit games, including the memorable May 30, 1997 game when Sandy Alomar singled to left on 2-0 pitch with one out in the ninth to end a perfect-game bid.

Although it's far from a lock, if Mussina is elected to baseball's Hall of Fame, he should go in as an Oriole -- where he spent most of his formidable years and remains one of the best ever to don the black and orange.

SU on ESPN Tonight

Check out SU-Richmond tonight on ESPN at 6 p.m. It should be a fun look at a team seeking its first NCAA tournament bid in three years.

The Orange faces a huge test vs. Florida next Monday (7:30 p.m., ESPN2) as well as a return match against Virginia (Friday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m.) before visiting Memphis (Dec. 20, 6 p.m., ESPN) in its penultimate pre-conference match. Most of SU's games are on TV this season, so it'll be easy to keep track of the Orange.

UPDATE: SU won, 76-71.

Change, Colored Orange

The inevitable is now reality: Greg Robinson has been fired as SU's football coach after winning a total of nine games in three seasons and only three in the Big East. Granted, he'll be allowed to coach SU as it plays at Notre Dame on Saturday (2:30 p.m., NBC) and Cincinnati on November 29.

The Orange (2-8, 1-5 BE) lost to U-Conn., 39-14, on Saturday night in its final home game of the season. Robinson, who has a year remaining on his contract and earns $1.1 million per season, is expected to coach the Orange for those last two games.

"The timing of this announcement allows us to end rumor and speculation and provides us ample time to hire a head coach who has shown the capability to produce a winning football program that the Syracuse nation can be proud of. That process will begin immediately and will remain confidential until a selection is made," AD Dr. Daryl Gross said during a press conference.

That search is going to center around U-Conn. Coach Randy Edsall, but he's clearly not the only candidate. Word to Gross: find somebody with a winning record as a D-I head coach.

Note: In good news from SU's non-revenue sports, the third-ranked field hockey team (22-1) advanced to the final four for the first time in school history after beating Princeton, 3-2 in OT, yesterday at Coyne Field. Their next opponent will be No. 2 Wake Forest Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Louisville. (In the other match-up, No. 1 Maryland will face the winner of the postponed Michigan State-Iowa game.)

Charlie Out of 'Survivor:Gabon'

Normally, I would recap "Survivor" here, but thanks to Carla at the Baltimore Sun, my recap appears on their excellent Reality Check blog. Read it now!

Two Out on 'Top Chef' Premiere

They didn't waste any time on the "Top Chef" season premiere as two "cheftestants" (I promise not to overuse that term this season) were axed in the first 75 minutes. In fact, one was gone after the quickfire challenge.

It turns out that the two departees, Patrick and Lauren, were the only two (that we know of) who had met each other before heading to New Yawk. Lauren was gone after the quickfire -- a three-part apple challenge where they had to peel the apple using a paring knife (top-nine were safe); cut the apples into really small, even pieces (called a brunoise), which got us down the final four; and then take 20 minutes to make an apple dish. Patrick's salad was better than Lauren's so she was asked to pack her (not yet used) knives and go.

For the elimination challenge, the remaining 16 were split into eight pairs that faced off against each other using a neighborhood as their inspiration. It was humorous how many people had never cooked certain cuisines or at least admitted that fact. Personally, I thought Eugene deserved to win -- as he unknowingly made an Indian classic.

The uber-confident Stefan won both challenges, an indicator (according to Chef Tom during judges' table) that he's got a great shot to win it all -- which means we have to listen to him wax poetic all season. Lovely.

Either way, it should be a great and entertaining season. It's hard to tell how much the "coming up this season" montage covers, but Stefan, Ariane and Danny certainly are prevalent.

Check out these blogs for more:

* The always eloquent Chef Tom

* Baltimore Sun's Reality Check, with a two-chef special

* L.A. Times Show Tracker

New Unis Are Sharp

The O's did it right with their new uniforms, unveiled today during a rally in Baltimore. The road jerseys look awesome with the word Baltimore and the home jersey (and new patch) are great too.

Check out this gallery or collage with all the changes.

Now if they could only convert this positive energy onto the field.

An Updated State

The State of Local Sports standings have been updated. And the order remains the same, although none of the four teams that played this summer (D.C. United, O's, Nats, Mystics) made the playoffs or enjoyed a winning record. The list:

1. D.C. United
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Washington Capitals
4. Washington Redskins
5. Washington Wizards
6. Baltimore Orioles
7. Washington Nationals
8. Washington Mystics

Here's hoping the winter brings better news.