LOS ANGELES – In his professional football career, John Riggins rushed for 11,352 yards, scored 116 touchdowns and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in 1992. None of those achievements will mean anything when he begins to suspect his wife is having an affair.

That’s the dilemma Riggins will face in the latest chapter of his new career, acting. Riggins has joined the cast of CBS’ “Guiding Light,” making his first appearance Friday.

Riggins will play ex-Marine Mitch Hendon, a threatening resident of Springfield who becomes worse when he catches hints his wife Ramona (Colleen Dion) is fooling around with her personal assistant.

Odds are out on ‘Idol’ favorite

LOS ANGELES – Despite his scare last week, gamblers looking to plunk down $205 on Ruben Studdard to win on “American Idol” will discover that the odds are in their favor. Those looking for a larger payday might place their money on Joshua Gracin, provided they haven’t heard him sing.

Antigua-based Internet and telephone wagering site BetWWTS.com has put out odds on the “American Idol” top four and all signs point to the Birmingham, Ala., native who Gladys Knight called a Velvet Teddybear. Ruben is the top choice, with impressive 2/3 odds in his favor. The site’s second choice is Clay Aiken, at 7/4.

The contestant with the momentum may be Kimberley Locke, as the chanteuse has been improving every week and her odds remain at 15/2.

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Sheltered Marine Gracin, who many expected to be dismissed last week, is the 20/1 longshot.

“It’s obvious from past performances that Ruben stands out from the rest with his innate ability to adapt to different styles, songs, and eras-making him our favorite to win the recording contract,” says Simon Noble, CEO of BetWWTS.com. “Although the judges have been thoroughly impressed with Ruben’s performances, the voters had him in the bottom two last week. This happened last year when Tamyra was clearly the best performer, but didn’t win over the voting public. So we’ve installed Clay with close odds to win the competition because nobody knows exactly who the viewers are going to select as their Idol.”

With a BeeGees night scheduled for this week, the odds will change wildly based on whoever’s staying alive.

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MSNBC CONTINUES CONSERVATIVE SHIFT WITH NOONAN

LOS ANGELES – Continuing a pronounced shift to the right, MSNBC is bringing in conservative writer Peggy Noonan as a primetime contributor. Noonan was to make her first appearance Monday night on “Scarborough Country.”

“Peggy brings a wealth of political expertise and inside knowledge to our prime-time line-up,” says MSNBC President Erik Sorenson. “Both her understanding of Washington and her journalistic talent make her the perfect complement to our hard-hitting team of primetime hosts. We’re delighted to have Peggy’s unique perspective rounding out the variety of opinions on our air.”

The cable network’s strongest liberal voice, Phil Donahue, was fired in February and since then, MSNBC has hired ultra-right wing radio host Michael Savage as well as conservative former Congressmen Dick Armey and Joe Scarborough.

Noonan brings solid Republican credentials to the table. A former special assistant to Ronald Reagan and a one-time speechwriter for George H.W. Bush, she is the author of five books on American politics, history and culture. Noonan has written regularly for the Wall Street Journal, and has served as a consultant on “The West Wing.”

In recent months, Noonan has been a strong backer of the war with Iraq and a harsh critic of peace protesters. She was also one of Trent Lott’s few supporters during the controversy started by his pro-segregation joke at Strom Thurmond’s birthday.

Noonan will contribute twice a week to MSNBC, providing commentary and doing guest spots on several shows.

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“GILLIGAN’ COMPOSER DIES

LOS ANGELES – If it had merely been the story of several castaways bickering on a deserted island, “Gilligan’s Island” might have been just another failed CBS comedy. Instead, driven by one of the catchiest theme songs in television history, the show went on to become a massive syndicated success, still airing around the world.

That theme song, titled “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island” has been parodied, repurposed and adored since it was written in 1964. On Friday, the composer of that classic jingle, George Wyle, died at age 87.

While the lyrics about sitting right back and hearing a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, were written by the show’s creator and producer Sherwood Schwartz, the jaunty sea shanty melody was just one of Wyle’s more than 400 songs. Most probably took longer to create than the famous ballad that Wyle and Schwartz used to say was written in a single sitting.

On television, Wyle also served as musical director for Jerry Lewis, Andy Williams and Flip Wilson. He conducted the 1976 “Captain and Tennille Special” and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the 1980 special “Magic of David Copperfield III: The Levitating Ferrari.”

Outside of the “Gilligan” theme, Wyle’s most enduring composition is probably the Christmas standard “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” He also wrote songs including “The Alphabet Song,” “Sidewalks of New York” and “Andy’s Bossa Nova.”

“America doesn’t want great music themes,” Wyle once declared. “Just something it can remember.”

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AP-NY-05-05-03 1600EDT

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