Today's country tidbits...

What were your favorite stars up to this past weekend? Friday night, Kenny Chesney was on hand for the opening of Sammy Hagar's new Vegas joint, Cabo Wabo. Carrie Underwood had tough duty. She had to do a show in the Bahamas, poor dear...at the Atlantis, no less! James Otto did a great job on the National Anthem before the ACC Championship game in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Trace Adkins takes a turn at tv stardom again. He's part of the cast of the Nashville-set "Tough Trade." It's about a fictitious but legendary Nashville music dynasty whose personal struggles put them at risk of bankruptcy. Trace will play a family friend and bodyguard on the show, which will air on the new EPIX network. The show is filming now, in and around Nashville.

Rascal Flatts will appear in an upcoming episode of CSI. They'll tape the show in January and it should air in late January or February. Gary, Jay and Joe Don will all be in the show, playing themselves, and one of them finds himself in harms' way.

Carrie Underwood's Christmas special is on Fox tonight. The two-hour show features Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton and even Carrie's Mom, who, as Carrie says, "is showing everybody where I get it from."

Brooks & Dunn's Last Rodeo Tour launches in California on April 23rd and winds up in Chicago on August 8th. A complete list of tour stops is here.


Jason Aldean's "Wide Open," which came out nine months ago, has been certified platinum. Jason's going to be hitting the road with Brooks & Dunn on their Last Rodeo tour next year.

And since someone said "nine months," one of those supermarket check-out magazines has Nichole Kidman on the cover, claiming she's got a baby-bump. Time will tell if she and Keith Urban are about to be parents again, won't it?

How good is The Blind Side? 110 million bucks in 10 days - if you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?