An easter feast even a Jew can love

First I want to wish a Happy Easter to all my Catholic family & friends. If you're like me your day has consisted of morning mass, Easter dinner, an egg hunt followed by "watching" the Masters while dozing on the couch.

On the other hand my family members of the Jewish faith probably spent the day shopping at Lord & Taylor.

If that sounds familiar to anyone raise your hand and say "praise the lord."

Now that the business end of Resurrection Sunday is out of the way we can get down to consuming some serious leftovers tonight. There is a feast of epic proportions on tap on the tube this Easter eve, and I plan on doing some damage to my DVR's in order to keep up with all the offerings.

Let's all join hands, bow our heads and look at the healthy plate that has been so generously placed before us...

Red Sox at Rangers 8:00 PM ESPN & ESPN HD
The first regular edition of SNB of the season, not counting that "we gotta be first" opener last week, just happens to feature everyone's favorite team, the Sox, playing in Texas against Sammy Sosa and the Rangers.

Curt Schilling will take the mound for the first time since he got clubbed by Kansas City on Opening Day last Monday, and knowing him he will be hell-bent to atone for that performance (how'd you like that timely phraseology?)

Schill will be opposed by Vincente Padilla, but it won't matter if the Ranger's starter was Vincente Fox if the Boston bats don't begin producing some runs; in 5 games the team is batting .244 with 1 homerun and averaging just over 3 runs/game.

This game will keep everyone occupied for an hour until the return of you know who at dusk...

...that's right, Tony Soprano is back just in time to carve up your Easter bunny and shove Easter eggs down your everlovin' gullet...

The Sopranos, 9:00PM, HBO & HBO HD
That's right everyone's favorite sinners force their way back into our lives for a limited run before retiring to that great syndication haven in the sky. Tonight's show marks the beginning of the end of the mob saga that not only redefined how we look at La Costra Nostra like nothing has since the Godfather, but the groundbreaking show also helped to reshape television.

Without the Sopranos there is no Rescue Me, The Shield, Nip/Tuck or even Boston Legal. The drama created by David Chase began with little fanfare in 1997 but soon blossomed into a full-blown Pop Culture Phenomenon, breaking all kinds of records for cable viewers gained and cast members slain.

Now that Chase has decided the show has run its course (last year's ridiculous Vito/Johnnycakes plot ensured he was right) we will only get see "family" members like Tony & Carmela, Bobby & Janice, Christopher, Sil, Paulie, A.J. and let's not forget about Meadow for another 9 hours. After that it's off into the sunset, or more likely for these guys, down to the bottom of the Atlantic like Big Pussy.

Whatever happens and no matter how silly or far fetched the threads may be in this abbreviated swan song season, I know I will be watching intently. A show like this only comes around once in a generation, and the worst episodes of the Sopranos make the best eps of other shows seem like dog shit.

Besides, if I could make it through this past season of Prison Break, I can handle anything Chase throws my way.

Entourage 10PM, HBO & HBO HD
On the heels of that somber & severe hour of mob drama is HBO's latest P.C.P., the show that tracks the hilariously hip life of Mark Wahlberg's funky bunch of Hollywood cling-ons: pretty-boy actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) his manager Eric (Kevin Connolly), his wannabe actor brother Johnny (Kevin Dillon) and their ultra-dependant party-loving homeboy Turtle (Jerry Ferrara.)

Back for a third season after the first two took the nation by storm (and the creators by surprise- sound familiar?), the show will pick up where season 2 left off, namely with Vinnie separated from former agent and close firend Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven.) After going behind Vince's back and blowing a couple of roles for Vince (namely Pablo Escobar in Medellin and Joey Ramone in a Ramones biopic), Eric ended last season by going Donald Trump on Ari; "you're fired" is where we left off, and you can be sure it won't take long to pick right back up there, becasue we all know the Vince/Ari/Eric dynamic is what makes the show work.

Expect plenty of good-natured banter & ribbing between Vinne and the members of his posse, brother Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) and Turtle in the first couple of episodes until whatever storyline producer Doug Ellin and the writers decide to take.

Whatever happens this season, be it another Vegas trip, Playboy mansion party or comic book convention, you can be sure to count on three things:

1.) Vinnie & Ari will hug it out and make up- the show is nothing without the egomaniacal Ari.

2.) there will be plenty of big-name cameos (past guest lists included James Cameron, Ed Burns, Mandy Moore and Martin Landeau)

3.) the chicks will be hot, the music will be cutting edge, the booze will be flowing and the grass will be smokin' as we hop back on board that inside-Hollywood tour bus and go along for a fun, frantic ride

If those choices don't float your boat there is also the next two episodes of Discovery Channel Planet Earth, Deal or No deal, Amazing Race and Desperate Housewives.

But for me it will be a night spent with Big Papi, Tony, Vince and the rest of the paisans.

Hey, it is Easter, right?

Enjoy.