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Merlin (8pm, NBC) - Merlin is saved from a magical winged creature by young Lancelot (Santiago Cabrera), and then tries to help Lancelot become a knight in King Arthur's court.

Army Wives (10pm, Lifetime) - Chase comes home early but has difficulty readjusting, and Joan decideds to christen her baby before she's deployed.

Iron Chef America (10pm, Food) - A showdown between New York Chef Sue Torres and Iron Chef Bobby Flay. Judges are Isaac Mizrahi, Mark Bittman, and Isabel Gonzalez.

"Holy Smoke" authors John Shelton Reed and his wife Dale Volberg Reed are the first guests on the 12th season premiere of "North Carolina Bookwatch," Sunday at 5pm on UNC-TV.

The Reeds, who live in Chapel Hill, will discuss their book and what they call "barbeculture" with Bookwatch host DG Martin.  

"Holy Smoke" traces the origins of North Carolina barbecue and examines the bitter rivalry between Eastern and Western style pork. The book also looks at traditional barbecue side dishes, provides recipes, and interviews those who cook 'cue for a living. 

"North Carolina Bookwatch" airs on UNC-TV each Sunday at 5pm.

The Post 71 Sabres of Johnston County downed Raleigh Post 1 17-4 on Friday night to move on in the American Legion Baseball Area I West Division playoffs. Post 71 will meet the winner between Apex and Cary in a second round series, beginning Monday night.

In Inside Higher Ed, we have an essay today from professor to student explaining why plagiarism is such a stupid idea.

The letter is written by a Hofstra University professor explaining why academic cheating is self-defeating.

He writes in part:

"The opposite of academic honesty is not actually academic dishonesty; it's dishonesty that is decidely unacademic. To commit is to suggest that you don't understand, or don't value, the kind of education for which you (or your parents) are paying so much. The problem is not so much rule breaking as point missing."

Read the whole article here.

Be sure to have a good one, folks -- and remember to be careful out there.

There's special 4th of July holiday programming still going on, including fun TV show marathons and local and national fireworks celebrations. Other stuff...

Wilco: Ashes of American Flags (6pm, Sundance) - If you're lucky enough to have the Sundance Channel, you can see the 2008 film by Chicago rock band Wilco, featuring interviews and concert footage. Totally jealous.

Dave Chapelle: Killin' Them Softly (9pm, Comedy Central) - Chapelle's classic June 2000 show from the Lincoln Theater in Washington, D.C., includes bits on "Sesame Street," terrorism, gangs, and voting.

Eli Stone (10pm, ABC) - Eli helps a roomservice waiter who was laid off from a failed company that paid its CEO a multimillion-dollar golden parachute deal. 

North Raleigh Post 297 ended Garner Post 232's season with a 4-2 victory on Friday night, giving Post 297 a 3-1 series victory.

She went to Julliard and played viola in Mozart’s motherland, but she was best known for her muffins, staff writer Jesse DeConto writes in this Sunday's Chapel Hill News.

Margaret Alice Middleton died last month, just three weeks shy of her 65th birthday. From 1987 to 1997, “Maggie” and her life partner Jane Hamborsky built a business from selling muffins at the Carrboro Farmer’s Market to running Maggie’s Cafe & Espresso Bar, a European-style eatery famous for Jane’s espresso milkshakes and Maggie’s chicken salad sandwiches.

“She got her juniper berries from Yugoslavia for that,” Jane said this week. “She was real picky about what went into it. The juniper berries were her magical little secret that a lot of people wouldn’t even think of.”

Maggie fought off cancer beginning in 1998, but a recent MRI found a tumor on her spine. Hamborsky said she died of a heart attack in her sleep. A celebration of life service and funeral will be held at 3 p.m. on her birthday, Friday, July 10, at Chapel of the Cross.

Read more about Maggie in Sunday's Chapel Hill News. 

Here's a look at tomorrow's headlines:

(But first, read tomorrow's N&O for stories on the first day of the Eno Festival and a follow-up to staff writer Stanley Chambers' story on the shooting of a Durham police officer Thursday. These stories came too late to get into the Saturday Durham News).

LET THE FILING BEGIN: It's shaping up to be a quiet municipal election season. Of course you never know until the actual filing begins. One name we'll be watching for? Donald Hughes. The son of former Councilwoman Jackie Wagstaff has been a rumored candidate. It will be interesting to see if he makes it official.

WATTS HAPPENING: (Darn, I wish I thought of that headline yesterday.) Read staff writer Jim Wise's story on the 60th anniversary of the Watts Hospital-Hillandale Independence Day Parade. A slice of Americana so pure one booster dares you attend without a tear in your eye. 

BLUES TICKETS: Organizers of the Bull Durham Blues Festival have extended their early ticket discount. When I asked why, they said "You know why." It's the economy, of course. So buy your tickets Saturday or Monday. You'll save 10 to 20 bucks and support a hometown cause. (I looooved headliner Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" when I was in high school.) 

BRONTO REDUX: I don't know if the Museum of Life and Science is shielding well-connected names as some of my more cynical colleagues surmise. I do know the museum started as a children's museum and still has the best interests of young people at heart -- even if some of those young people took a hack saw or a chainsaw or a really big knife to the beloved bronto on Ellerbe Creek.

There's plenty more, including Minister Paul Scott on why black people should not celebrate July Fourth and Flo Johnston on faith. And cartoonist Dennis Draughon gets a chuckle out of Coach K's promise to never, ever leave Duke.

I'm seeing "Jersey Boys" tomorrow! Have a great Fourth.

And thanks for reading,

Mark