April may be the cruelest month, but I find August the most confusing. Is summer over yet? Students in some of the hotter states are already returning to their classrooms, while kids in the North are a good three weeks away from sharpening their pencils. And with baseball pennant races down to their final seven weeks, pro football arrives in the shape of exhibition games in which the overheated take on the less experienced.

How many rookie players have appeared on national television on pre-season exhibition NFL games only to be cut and never play again? Only the shadow knows – or perhaps John Madden. Look for rookies and some familiar faces as the Rams host the Colts in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis (7 p.m., Fox). Joe Buck provides play-by-play with analysis from Troy Aikman.

¢ Nothing says summer like an outdoor concert. “Great Performances” (9:30 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presents “Vittorio: Dreams of Rome,” showcasing a taped live performance of 28-year-old tenor Vittorio Grigolo singing selections from his bestselling debut album, “In the Hands of Love.” Grigolo sings and plays the guitar and performs in English and Italian from a repertoire ranging from opera to the songs of Stevie Wonder. The concert was taped at the ruins of the villa of Roman Emperor Hadrian.

¢ “God Sleeps in Rwanda” (6 p.m., Cinemax) is the third film in a series of Oscar-nominated documentaries. “God” follows several women trying to rebuild that war-torn nation. The tribal warfare and genocide of 1994 left regions of Rwanda with few men alive. A shocking percentage of the surviving women were raped by armed militias, and many of these victims contracted AIDs and have since died. One of the “lucky” survivors witnessed as her husband and family were butchered. Her only child is a young daughter, born nine months after the murder, a product of a gang rape by the militias. She cannot bear to tell the girl the truth about her origins. She has given her a name meaning “gift from God.”

¢ National Geographic Channel invites viewers to spend three hours in tornado alley with “Surviving: The Super Twisters” (7 p.m., National Geographic), followed by “Tornado Intercept” (8 p.m.) and “Twister Chasers” (9 p.m.).

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ On two episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), an elderly patient won’t leave the hospital (7 p.m.), a nurses strike divides the staff (8 p.m.).

¢ A class picture calls for a stylish outfit on “Everybody Hates Chris” (7 p.m., UPN).

¢ A suicide cult holes up in an abandoned military installation on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ A stolen laptop leads to a bus-stop crisis on “My Name is Earl” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ Dwight calls on powerful inspiration when called upon to give a speech on “The Office” (7:30 p.m., NBC).

¢ Regis Philbin hosts “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ The daughter of hardworking immigrants disappears from the family deli on “Without a Trace” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Nina and Cameron make plans on “Windfall” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ The countdown continues on “The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time” (9 p.m., GSN).