Spell F-A-I-L-U-R-E, Kid

We'll confess: We love the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. We watch every minute we can, and apparently we're not alone, considering ABC is broadcasting the finals live tomorrow night in primetime. (To the network's eternal credit, Robin Roberts will be hosting, not Stuart Scott. Whew.)

We've always kind of considered the spelling bee a reasonable alternative to the NCAA Tournament; a bunch of kids devoting their lives to a cause that will end up with them obliterating each other. It's drama, it's pathos, it's everything we love about sports, with more tattoos.

Anyway, if you can't wait for the finals tomorrow, the fine folks at Throwing Things are live-blogging the preliminaries, and they're joined, charmingly, by "Grey's Anatomy" founder Shonda Rhimes. (You can also follow it live right here.) Plus, it's fun to boo little kids when they screw up. Great times for all.

Spelling Bee Live Blog [Throwing Things] Spelling Bee Finals Reach Prime Time [Boston.com]