American Idol

TigerBlog accidentally saw a few moments of the first episode of season 10 of "American Idol," which was on last night.

It is TB's contention that nothing is contributing more to the decline of American society than what is known as "reality television," which actually runs a pretty wide gamut between shows that require at least a bit of talent and shows that require nothing in terms of talent or shame.

TigerBlog will admit that "American Idol" is probably the "Gone With the Wind" of reality shows and that in the end, the show has launched the careers of a few highly regarded pop stars.

Still, the common thread of all of reality TV is the belief that fame - any kind of fame - is by itself a goal to be attained, at any cost. For the most part, this means a willingness to sacrifice anything to achieve that fame, and by anything, TB means what has traditionally been known as dignity, morality and self-respect.

The result is that those who have attributed the largest degree of fame have almost exclusively done so by engaging in patterns of behavior that society used to consider somewhat reprehensible. These are people with no actual talent and nothing that makes them special, other than perhaps their physical appearance and their willingness to do anything on television.

What you're left with is a few Kardashians and "Jersey Shore" types, which would be fine if they weren't trailed by an army of followers - mostly younger women - who want to be just like them. And to be just like them requires going down a somewhat destructive path, only to do so without any of the fame.

Some of it is just freaky, to the point where TB cannot believe people willingly put themselves into these positions. The few minutes that he once saw of "Bridalplasty," for instance, have done more to enhance TigerBlog's own personal self-esteem than anything else he can remember.

Some reality TV is all about money, and even the highbrow ones - like "Amazing Race" - are not without the component of seeing how much the contestants are willing to degrade themselves in pursuit of that money.

"American Idol" at least has a talent component at its core. As even TB knows, the point is that people all over the country sing for a panel of judges, and the those who make it past the first round are brought to Hollywood for a second cut.

Those who make it that far then compete and one by one are voted off until there is a champion, who receives a car and the opportunity to record an album. Apparently, all previous winners have made at least $1 million in their first year. They've also achieved great fame to go with that fortune.

TB's problems with AI aren't with the winners. No, they're with 1) the judges, who (Steven Tyler aside) probably wouldn't have won the contest themselves, 2) the ones with legitimate talent who get passed by through the contest and lose all of their confidence and 3) the ones who have no business singing publicly but are willing to degrade themselves just to be on TV.

Back when TB was a kid, there were basically sitcoms, variety shows, cop shows and medical shows on primetime TV, spread across three networks. Now, with all of these different networks, reality TV has provided low-cost, mass-produced programming, which largely erupted during the writers' strike of a few years ago.

Because of that, networks have spent less and less time trying to come up with funny, intelligent shows, when churning these shows out is so easy.

Fame and fortune. That's what it's all about.

Jeff Halpern earned both in a different manner, one for which TB has a much higher degree of respect than those who come through the reality TV ranks.

Halpern came to Princeton from Potomac, Md., not a traditional launching pad for great hockey talent. All he did at Princeton was play in 132 games, the most for any player in school history, and put up 142 points (60 goals, 82 points), third-best in school history.

He also led Princeton on one of its great postseason runs ever, helping the seventh-seeded Tigers run through the 1998 ECAC tournament and earn the program's first NCAA tournament berth.

Since he left Princeton, Halpern has been a solid NHL player and a member of several U.S. national teams, including five world championships.

He has played for the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and currently the Montreal Canadiens, with NHL totals of 138 goals and 197 assists for 335 points in 767 games played.

The ECAC, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, is announcing its 50 greatest players of all-time, not in any ranking order. Instead, five are announced each Wednesday.

Halpern joined the list, which now has 30 names on it, as one of the five announced yesterday. He is the first Princeton player on the list, though TB suspects he won't be the only when the next 20 are announced.

TB knows more about hockey than he lets on, and though he hopes to live another 50 years or so, he knows that he'll never see anything in sports to equal the 1980 Miracle on Ice.

Looking at the first 30 names on the list, TB sees the name Jack O'Callahan, who was a member of that 1980 U.S. Olympic team, as well as Ralph Cox, who was the last player cut. There's also former Cornell goalie Ken Dryden, who perhaps would have been ranked No. 1 on this list had it been done that way and who was the color commentator with Al Michaels on the 1980 Olympic broadcasts.

The list also includes a ton of familiar names from the NHL, several of whom have their name on the Stanley Cup. There's also a good balance of players from various decades.

And there are still four more Wednesdays of five players each to go. The voting is done by a selection committee of former coaches with some media members.

For Halpern, it's a great honor, obviously, a recognition that he is one of the great players in ECAC history for sure. It's also a bit of a team recognition, for the great run that Princeton had in 1998.

When Halpern came to Princeton in 1994, he probably never envisioned what direction his career would go in.

Princeton, prior to Halpern's arrival, had not had a winning record in 26 years. Yes, 26 years. With Halpern here, Princeton won 18 games three times (his freshman, junior and senior years) and had three winning records, as well as the ECAC title and NCAA bid in 1998.

From there, it was off to a long career in the NHL.

All in all, it's been a great run for Jeff Halpern.

An American? Yes. An idol? Not in the reality TV sense, but in every way, Halpern's success has been much more deserved.