(ALL TIMES ET)

3PM, SUN | ANIMAL PLANET
Puppy Bowl VII – The commercials may not be as memorable, but the starting lineup is infinitely more adorable than in today’s other big game. Animal Planet’s annual puppy football game is back with even more squeal-inducing cuteness, as the precious puppies on the field are joined by chicken cheerleaders, kittens at halftime, hamsters in the stadium flyover blimp and the all-new Puppy Cam, which provides a true dog’s-eye-view of the action on the field. The fun atmosphere of the festivities (which will be repeated until 3AM) aside, the event also serves as a reminder of the great pets that are available for adoption, as all the puppies participating, as well as the kittens and chicken cheerleaders, are from animal shelters.

11AM, SAT | OXYGEN
Gleekend Marathon – From 11AM to 11PM, Oxygen unspools Glee episodes, including “The Power of Madonna” (noon), “Britney/Brittany” (3PM) and “The Rocky Horror” (6PM).

10PM, SAT | PLANET GREEN
Boomtown – In back-to-back new episodes, the townsfolk are still finding new ways to profit from the oil supply, but they also begin to find out how the influx of oil drillers is going to be a drain on their other resources.

10PM, SAT | CMT
CMT Crossroads – The Pretenders and Faith Hill are the latest rock/country pairing to get together for a performance, with this one talking place live in Dallas, as part of the Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam.

10PM, SAT | CNBC
Til Debt Do Us Part – As cool as it would be to have host Gail Vaz-Oxlade visit some American couples and perform her financial makeover magic, I’d miss hearing the Canadians talk about their “hydro” bills.

11:30PM, SAT | NBC
Saturday Night Live – Cast alum Dana Carvey returns to host at his old Studio 8H stomping grounds, with Linkin Park as musical guest and, just guessing, the Church Chat lady on tap.

6PM, SUN | FOX
Super Bowl XLV – Game kick-off is at 6:30, but tune in for the pre-game hubbub, as Christina Aguilera sings the national anthem, Glee star Lea Michele belts out America the Beautiful, and Keith Urban, Maroon 5 and the Blue Man Group also get in on the pre-game action. The Black Eyed Peas, meanwhile, perform at halftime (with “surprise” guests Slash and Usher … surprise), and there’s also that little matter of a football game between the Steelers and Packers …

9PM, SUN | NBC
Dateline NBC – Tom Brokaw interviews Aron Ralston, whose 2003 hiking adventure was depicted by James Franco in the Oscar-nominated flick 127 Hours. Ralston not only talks about his harrowing self-amputation, but updates Brokaw on his life now, as a husband and father.

9PM, SAT | FOOD NETWORK
Food Network Challenge – How Valentine-y: Four chocolatiers create cocoa backdrops that will serve as the locale for a grand proposal at the end of the hour.

AFTER THE SUPER BOWL, SUN | FOX
Glee – The Glee gang puts a New Directions spin on Michael Jackson‘s Thriller.

Super Bowl alternatives:
– The Style Network airs the “Jersey Bowl,” an all-day marathon of Jerseylicious episodes (Sun., 6AM-10PM, Style);
– The entire first season of My Life as Liz unfolds in an MTV marathon (Sun., 6AM-11AM);
– Ghost Hunters marathon (Sun., 9AM-9PM, Syfy);
– Law & Order: SVU marathon (Sun., 10AM-midnight, USA);
– Basketball Wives marathon (Sun., noon-7PM, VH1);
– A Degrassi marathon! (Sun., noon-11PM, TeenNick);
– The Jersey Shore marathon (Sun., noon-6PM, MTV);
– 1000 Ways to Die marathon (Sun., 1PM-midnight, Spike);
– A marathon of Brick City (Sun., 4PM-midnight, Sundance);
– My Fair Wedding with David Tutera marathon (Sun., 4-11PM, WE);
– Worst Cooks in America marathon, ending with a new episode (Sun., 5-11PM, Food Network);
– Four episodes of ESPN’s fantastic 30 for 30 documentary series (Sun, 5:30-10PM, ESPN);
– Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon (Sun., 6PM-midnight, Chiller Network);
– MTV airs a Teen Mom 2 marathon (Sun, 6-10PM);
– And TV Land is running a clever marathon of holiday-themed Roseanne episodes (Sun., 7-10:30PM).

• No Comments
• Filed in Glee, Sports, TV Picks
• Tags: Boomtown, CMT Crossroads, Dana Carvey, Glee Michael Jackson Thriller, Gleekend, Puppy Bowl VII, Saturday Night Live, Steelers vs. Packers, Super Bowl XLV, Til Debt Do Us Part