Hello everybody, as we're about to head into the weekend of weekends, especialy on Sunday where DVR drives are expected to crash everywhere.

We begin with one of the Super Bowls of auto racing, the Daytona 500 and Danica Patrick's NASCAR debut (I'm more into the Indianapolis 500). That'll be followed by the Super Bowl of basketball, the NBA All-Star Game in Orlando; unfortunately, that phenom known as Jeremy Lin won't take part.

And then of course, we have the Super Bowl of entertainment: The 84th Annual Academy Awards! A number of pre-Oscar parties have already begun and will last well into Saturday night, but let's begin with the stories prior the big show:

A few months ago, Eddie Murphy was tapped to host with Brett Ratner joining alongside Don Mischer as producer; but after Ratner's inflammatory remarks about gays, the two bolted out and Brian Grazer was in...so was Billy Crystal after an eight-year hiatus. And earlier this week, Kodak's bankruptcy led to a name change to the namesake venue; it's now the Hollywood & Highland Center and after ten years, it could be the last Oscars there. 

For some time now, the Academy has been eyeing the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles as their new home; it has twice the space (and seating capacity) than the Kodak Theatre and is already host to the "American Idol" finale, ESPY Awards (both used to be at the Kodak), Primetime Emmys, American Music Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards. With those events, it's already been called the Radio City Music Hall of the West. 

If the Oscars join them next year, it's proof that you really don't have to base the awards in Hollywood. Until 2002, they've had them at either the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (now part of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, also downtown) or Shrine Auditorium though during much of the '60s, Santa Monica's Civic Auditorium played host.

Now, to this year's soiree: "Hugo" may be coming in with 11 nominations, but the forecast may call for "The Artist" taking some of the top honors after a few other awards including the BAFTAs. The other seven films up for Best Picture (The Descendants, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, and War Horse)? Well, they'll just have the distinct honor of being nominated.

All four of last year's acting winners will be back to pass the torch; also on the presenters' list: Tina Fey, Emma Stone, Tom Cruise, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Milla Jovovich, Bradley Cooper, former host Chris Rock, past winners Michael Douglas, Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks, and Penelope Cruz, and...Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy!

The Best Actor/Actress races are at its tightest ever. George Clooney may have the advantage following the Golden Globes, but Jean Dujardin is hoping for an upset. And it's no longer a battle between Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams, because Viola Davis may add a little color to the mix. 

But the one question we'll be asking as far as fashions are concerned is...What will Stacy Keibler wear? She has always put on a show over the years from WWE to "Dancing With The Stars", and now she'll be part of the biggest show of them all. It sure is a far cry from Wrestlemania and the one time Jeff Hardy copped more than a feel!

The other question is of course: Who will have the ultimate conversation starter first thing Monday morning? Last year, I was right on only Christian Bale, Colin Firth, and Natalie Portman; here are my picks this year. But since Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer are guaranteed Supporting Actor/Actress, let's jump right to the categories that really matter:

Best Actor: It is a tight contest, but since he's already tipped as the favorite and that he also has worldwide recognition compared to the lesser-known Dujardin, I'll probably say George Clooney has this lock, stock, and barrel.
Best Actress: We thought it was going to be a showdown between Streep and Williams with the 17-time nominated Meryl as the early favorite, but...it's been ten years now since Halle Berry's win. So in honor of that...Viola Davis.

Best Director: Five years will have passed since Martin Scorsese finally copped his first prize, but even though he claimed a Golden Globe for Hugo, my gut tells me it will go to Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist".

Best Picture: It's been the odds-on favorite coming in to the awards having claimed Golden Globe and BAFTA honors, so..."The Artist" for the win!

We'll see what happens Sunday night on ABC when Hollywood's biggest prize will be handed out under the watchful eye of Billy Crystal; on Monday, I'll recap them all from top to bottom. So long and stay strong.