Catch your Idol Top Ten

FOX has released the dates and stops for American Idol's summer tour, and for some bizarre reason it looks like they've decided to bypass our area.

Just kidding.

Below are the dates and locations; all tickets are scheduled to go on sale via Ticketmaster next Saturday, May 19 at 10:00 a.m.

August 23: Rochester, NY BlueCross Arena

August 24: Long Island, NY Nassau Coliseum

August 28: E. Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena

August 30: Albany, NY Times Union Center

September 8: Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall

One interesting sidenote that helps us keep all this in perspective: Our sister paper, the L.A. Times, reports it's still uncertain how much of the tour Phil Stacey will be allowed to take part in.

He's in the Navy, and apparently the government is thinking about sending him to Iraq as part of the USO, to entertain the troops there.

There's a funny line near the end of the article:

But Stacey could be reassigned or be asked to volunteer for a musical tour in Iraq or Afghanistan or on the two naval carrier groups stationed in the Persian Gulf.

"Maybe he will bring the rest of the 'Idol' finalists with him," said the military officer.

Listening to the conversation, another officer quipped: "I would rather have Sanjaya deploy."