Emmy Nominations: Mobsters, AIDS Incredibly Popular With Academy

Here's how we try to sex up the (sadistically) early morning announcement of this year's Emmy nominations: Mobsters and AIDS rampage through Academy of Television Arts and Sciences! You know what? We're still a little bored, even though Angels in America and The Sopranos scored a staggering 21 and 20 nominations, respectively. HBO, perhaps the only network that cares about the quality of its shows, unsurprisingly crushed all comers with 124 total nominations.
Category to watch: Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, where John Ritter was posthumously nominated for 8 Simple Rules. Should be an easy, sentiment-fueled victory, but we've got our fingers crossed for a Larry David upset. Oh, how he'd flail through the guilt of beating a sainted dead guy in his acceptance speech! Less compelling: a Matt LeBlanc de facto lifetime achievement win for his sensitive portrayal of a head-trauma victim on Friends.
Full list of noms here.
Adorable picture of a girl and a cuddly puppy here, at Emmy.com.
