‘Monday Night Football’ intro OK by FCC standards

Washington — Sure, the steamy introduction to ABC’s “Monday Night Football” was titillating, showing the bare back of “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicollette Sheridan as she jumped into the arms of football player Terrell Owens.

But U.S. regulators ruled March 14 the racy clip didn’t violate federal indecency standards. In a unanimous decision, the five-member Federal Communications Commission said the segment “simply is not graphic or explicit enough to be indecent under our standard.”

A spokesman for ABC sports, Mark Mandel, said the company wouldn’t comment.

The segment that aired last November showed Sheridan in a locker room wearing only a towel and provocatively asking the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver to skip the game for her. She then dropped the towel and leaped into Owens’ arms.

Only the upper back of the “Desperate Housewives” star was exposed, and no foul language was used — in fact, the scene was no racier than what’s routinely seen on soap operas. But ABC said it received complaints from viewers who thought it was inappropriate.

Jane Pauley’s show canceled

New York — Jane Pauley’s highly anticipated daytime talk show won’t make it to a second season.

NBC Universal Television announced it was canceling “The Jane Pauley Show” shortly after getting ratings for the February sweeps.

The former “Today” and “Dateline NBC” host seemed like a sure thing after 148 of the nation’s top 150 markets agreed to air her show before it even started, an unusual vote of confidence. But ratings started low and improved slowly.

Pauley noted that her audience has grown steadily since November “but it came far too late for too many (stations) to stick with us.”

‘Idol’ contestant quits

New York — “American Idol” front-runner Mario Vazquez, citing “personal issues,” withdrew from the talent competition Sunday, reports The Associated Press. Producers of the Fox show quickly called in the son of a baseball Hall of Famer as backup.

Fox bumped Nikko Smith, the son of baseball great Ozzie Smith, into Vazquez’s spot because Smith got more votes than Travis Tucker when both were voted off Wednesday, the network said.

Now, viewers of the No. 1-rated series will get a chance to reconsider their votes as Smith and the other 11 finalists perform at 7 p.m. CST today.

Vazquez, 27, had been picked by many fans and three fellow finalists as a favorite to win the competition.

He said he dropped out to “take care of some personal issues with my family in New York. And with ‘Idol’ being a live show, it just wouldn’t have worked out schedule-wise.”

Vazquez said his departure had nothing to do with Fox or the show.

“I’m healthy, I’m fine. It’s just a personal family thing,” he said. “My family is my top priority.”