Football fans will get to preview a new Bruce Springsteen track Sunday, NBC announced this afternoon. Halftime coverage for Sunday’s late game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins, which will air at 5:15 p.m. on Channel 5, will feature NFL highlights set to a studio version of a Springsteen cut called “Working on a Dream.”

And the Boss’s NFL cross-promotion doesn’t end there: In September, the NFL announced he’s the guy tapped to entertain at halftime during Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa on Feb. 1, which reduces the chance of wardrobe malfunctions

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I, too, have laughed at those “American Idol” episodes where they make fun of the most deluded pop wannabes at the beginning of the season. But they seem especially gross after today’s news. You’ll find the late Paula Goodspeed’s audition clip here, and below is AP’s story about the former contestant’s body being found near “Idol” judge Paula Abdul’s house:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fan of Paula Abdul whose failed audition for ?’American Idol

Note to self: Recruit four other guys, find matching outfits for boy band video. Oh, oh, wee, oh, oh. Oh, oh, wee, oh.

In case you missed the Merle Haggard news over the weekend, the country legend is battling lung cancer and has had surgery to remove cancerous tissue from his lungs. I learned about this after noting that the Emerald Queen Casino had pulled the plug on Haggard’s Dec. 13 show.

“He called a couple of weeks ago and said he had to go to the hospital,” EQ booking agent Bill Bollie told me. But Bollie says Haggard wants to make the date up, health permitting.

Lung cancer is nasty stuff, and it’s what got

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I was just goofing off and thumbing through a promo copy of book called “Is It Just Me or Is Everything @#%@?” that Grand Central Publishing mailed our way. It’s basically a snarky dictionary of stuff that hilariously cynical and mean-spirited authors Steve Lowe, Alan McArthur and Brendan Hay find insanely annoying. I know, why didn’t any of us think of that? And lo and behold, what do I spy under “alt-country” but a hilarious Ryan Adams story I remember first reading about in a review a few years back.

Alt-country: Isn’t hip-hop the

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Among the newly announced additions to Broadway Center’s 2008-2009 season on Friday is a March 29 Pantages stop for country crooner K.D. Lang. Tickets are set at $68 to $119, and will go on sale to Broadway Center members beginning Wednesday (Nov. 12) and the general public on Dec. 1.

Check here for more details.

I recently got a wild hair, dropped 50 bucks on a ukulele over at Ted Brown Music and then dropped in on the Washington Association of South Sound Ukulele Players, a.k.a. WASSUP, a group of uke enthusiasts that meets the first and last Tuesdays every month at A Rhapsody in Bloom on Sixth Ave. Maybe you read about it in today’s SoundLife section. You should also check out photog Janet Jensen’s slide show, which you can find over here.

If you follow “Scrubs,” chances are you’re familiar with Ted’s Band, those a capella-singing weirdos that show up at random to sing about Underdog and baby back ribs. (Mmmm. Babyback ribs. And if you’re not familiar, what are you waiting for? Click the YouTube clip for a quick primer.)

Well, they’re actually a bona fide band consisting of actor Sam Lloyd (Ted from the show), Philip McNiven, George Miserlis and Paul Perry. The quartet will appear at University of Puget Sound’s Schneebeck Concert Hall on Sunday (Nov. 9) under their real world

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That Tacoma Dome has been on Brad Paisley’s 2009 tour itinerary for weeks. The country star, who just released a new album, “Play,” will drop in on T-town on Feb. 28, in case you don’t have the man’s web site book marked. And this morning, Live Nation sent word about his opening acts, which will be rising star Dierks Bentley and newcomer Crystal Shawanda. Tickets will be $48.75 and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Nov. 15, according to Ticketmaster.

Brad Paisley, shown performing in

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KMTT-FM (The Mountain, 103.7) has released details for its 14th annual Winter Warmth concert. This year it’s set for Dec. 13 at the Paramount Theatre, and it’ll star the Pretenders, Ingrid Michaelson, Matt Nathanson and special guests to be announced.

Tickets are $45 to $65, and proceeds will benefit First Place School, a nonprofit organization in Seattle that provides education and social services for children and their families while in transition. Buy tickets here.