Chris Sligh is dead to me. My ‘American Idol’ bracket died with him. Sanjaya killed them both. Now, after another lackluster episode, it seems he’s coming after me.

‘American Idol’ bracket-ology had me giddy as you can imagine. My wife’s co-worker runs an AI pool and I couldn’t resist. Lord knows I despise gambling (except when I win) but the thought seemed like easy money. I’m a reality columnist right? Make the check out to Brian Moran right?

Negative.

I spent an hour filling out my pool, which is 59 minutes longer than my NCAA bracket. I researched the odds online looking for an edge. I had to submit my pool through the misses and was thrilled with her reply, “I sent her yours … so you’re in.” Nothing negative, perfect, she almost sounded impressed. That’s as close to a compliment as she’s ever given me. A mere six hours later, I received another reply however, “I just looked at your bracket. Are you crazy!?!?!? Those are the worst picks I’ve ever seen.”

Yup, that’s more like it. Unfettered, I began to justify my picks, especially the likable Chris Sligh. I continued this justification when I quickly fell into last place. I came out of the gate dropping five of my top twelve. That’s more crippling than Duke in my final four. “No big deal” I told myself, just as long as I had Sligh. A couple weeks later, shoeless Joe was gone after he tanked a performance. He gave hints he mailed it in due to frustrating song selection constraints. It gets worse. He made a side bet with Phil Stacey for fifty bones that he would get kicked off. Say it ain’t so, Joe, say it ain’t so.

He robbed me of twenty bucks then. Now, he’s robbing me of my AI experience. The last couple of weeks, especially this evening, seemed hollow. Watching AI is like walking into a casino with no money. It’s just watered down booze and peel-n-eat shrimp. The excitement is missing. This is scary on many levels. The most obvious being, I’m avidly gambling on reality television.

This says one of two things, neither very flattering. Either I have a gambling problem or I have a reality television problem. I’m a degenerate or a dork. I’m leaning towards degenerate for one reason: I’ve lost interest in 'America Idol'.

I ventured over to Bodog pre-game to help me find it. My first wager (for funzies) dealt with my nemesis head on: “What hairstyle will Sanjaya have during his first performance? “ The “Snoop Dog” caught my eye at 9/1 so I jumped on it.

But I didn’t stop there. Oh no. I laid coin on who gets whacked on Sopranos, all kind of things. The worst of which being: “Will Heather Mills prosthetic leg fall off during a dance routine?” I, personally, found this reprehensible. (But at nearly 7-1, it was a bargain I couldn’t ignore.)

With J-Lo as mentor, Melinda kicked off 'American Idol' Tuesday night with “Sway” and Lakisha followed with “Conga”. Both were solid but forgettable. Chris Richardson had some energy left after a night out with LC from ‘The Hills’ to perform Santana’s “Smooth”. J-Lo told him to sing it a key higher and I thought it was a key too high. So far, the band has been amazing but nothing else to get excited about. That changed with Haley’s “Turn the beat around.” The vocals were brutal but her outfit was non-existent. She seemed out of breath and Simon gave her some insight, “Wear the least amount of clothes as possible.”

Phil went with “Maria, Maria”. He gave J-Lo goose pimples in rehearsals. However, his voice cracked towards the end of the real thing. Jordan followed with “The rhythm is going to get you.” It was average at best. Blake impressed with “I need to know”. Best song choice of the night and the judges let him know it.

Finally, I got to look right into the eyes of Virginia Commonwealth and his haircut wasn’t screaming “Chronic”. In denial, I asked the misses, “What would you call that hair cut?”

“I don’t care.” She was half asleep. So was the dog. I rest my case.

The point is 'America Idol' is just not that exciting this time around. As much as I hate to say it, with no Sanjaya, it could be totally lifeless. Considering I was google-ing “failure rate on prosthetics”, that’s telling you something. As for VCU’s performance, it wasn’t horrible. I think most of the song was in Spanish although I can’t be sure. I was laughing too hard at his friend who looked like a feminine soccer hooligan. Simon gives a huge compliment, “It wasn’t horrible.” See, I told you.

That could be the kiss of death though. His supporters might get complacent. Over time, you spot these things. Television has proven to me that I am, in fact, dumber than a fifth grader. However, it affirmed my ability to find value in betting odds on those same fifth graders.

That said, I think his time has run out. He’s been killing me but now I’d be sad to see him go. He’s the only thing to look forward to. But this isn’t Lake Placid so I’d lay 2-1 he goes home tomorrow, just for funzies.