Let's just all agree that there is absolutely nothing cuter than kittens.
If you doubt me, just go to YouTube.com and search for "kittens." You'll get "about 1,380,000 results." My theory is that "about" 1.4 million results makes my point.
On the day I searched YouTube, the first video was "Kittens Do Things for the First Time," followed by "Top 10 Cutest Kittens on YouTube," and "Mom Cat Talking to Her Kittens (20 minutes bonus video)."
That's right. You can watch a video of a nursing mama cat and her squeaking kittens for 20 minutes. That's all it is -- a basket of kittens being kittens.
Another one was a full 52 minutes of "Funny Cat and Cute Kittens Fails." They weren't all cats falling down or slipping off tables. There were plenty of other amusing snippets of cats just sitting around and being cats.
The point being, we find cats and kittens adorable and entertaining and that's the premise behind Hallmark Channel's annual Kitten Bowl that airs during the Super Bowl. And now we have Paw Star Game that debuts at 4 p.m. today on Hallmark Channel to coincide with Major League Baseball's annual All-Star Game (which airs at 5 p.m. Tuesday on Fox).
Hallmark warns us, "Get ready for major league cuteness." Get it? Major league? That's a play on words.
Paw Star Game is another Hallmark Channel original special featuring "TV personality," model, author and animal advocate Beth Stern (Howard's wife) as host. Also on hand will be play-by-play announcers John Sterling, the radio voice of the New York Yankees, and reporter, sports analyst and commentator Mary Carillo, a former professional tennis player who covers sports and the Olympics for NBC.
Celebrities cheering the kittens on from the sidelines include Ed Asner, Maria Menounos, Mario Lopez, Al Roker, Heather McDonald, Tricia Helfer, Deidre Hall, Dawn Olivieri and Camren Bicondova.
In a news release, Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming and publicity for Crown Media Family Networks, said, "Launching Paw Star Game is the next exciting extension of our kitten sports franchise that has already seen tremendous success with the network's annual Kitten Bowl. We have extraordinary talent partaking."
Hallmark has given the kittens baseball-theme names. Here's a quiz for fans. How many real baseball stars do you recognize from the kittens' names?
The 2015 Paw Star Game players: Derek Cheetah, Joe DiMeowgio, Don Cattingly, Mickey Meowntle, Siamese Sosa, Willie Strays, Wade Pawggs, Rod Purrew, Beau Catson, Bombaybe Ruth, "Bootless" Joe Catson, "Hairballin" Hank Purron, Lurk Kitson, Roberto Clawmente, Sandy Kocats, Darryl Pawberry, Button, Corey Clawber, Cuddles Cattingly, Purfessor Isaac Furrowitz, Buddy, Fluffy Frisky, Hunter Pounce, Jose Catseco, Paw Prints Fielder, Socks, Max, Oliver and more.
The teams set to compete are the Gold Crown Catamounts, North Shore Bengals, Mystery Meercats and Keepsake Cougars.
If you want to warm up for today's game, highlights of the "cat-letes," their training and player profiles can be found at hallmarkchannel.com/cat-center hosted by Sterling and Carillo.
MORE HALLMARK STUFF
While we're on the subject of Hallmark Channel, here are a couple more items to mark on your calendar.
• Series returns. Season 3 of Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove has its two hour premiere at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Hallmark Channel original series is based on Macomber's best-selling book series and is set in the "majestic and idyllic small seaside town of Cedar Cove, home to romance, relationships and drama."
At the heart of it all is Olivia Lockhart (Andie MacDowell), the respected Cedar Cove Municipal Court judge, lifetime resident, loving mother and loyal friend to many.
As Olivia's romance with newspaper editor Jack (Dylan Neal) hangs in the balance following last season's shocking discovery (it's too complicated to go into here), Olivia, along with her family and friends, "will find her small town is bursting with more drama and heart than ever before."
• Aurora Teagarden. Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery debuts at 8 p.m. July 26 starring Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) as the murder-solving small-town librarian.
A mystery hits close to home for Aurora when a member of her Real Murders Club is found dead. Aurora knows that one of the club's members could either be the next target or the murderer.
Against the wishes of her protective mother, Aida (Marilu Henner), Aurora investigates this murder and the killing rampage that follows with the help of visiting mystery writer (and love interest) Robin Daniels (Robin Dunne).
Style on 07/12/2015