The complete Season 2 premiere of Friday Night Lights is up on Yahoo TV until Sunday. If you're interested, CLICK HERE. Then come back and discuss!

In anticipation of Season Two of Friday Night Lights, we're taking a look at each of its primary cast members, many of whom you probably don't know all that much about. Well, that's about to change.

Friday, we profiled the sexy Minka Kelly. Today, we'll take a look at a guy who got a lot of screen time with Kelly in the first season of Friday Night Lights - the brooding but handsome Taylor Kitsch.

Taylor Kitsch was born April 9, 1981 in Kelowna, British Columbia. A former hockey player, Kitsch has two older brothers and two younger sisters.

He moved to New York over five years ago after receiving a rare opportunity to pursue modeling with IMG and study acting there as well. After two years, he signed with production company, Untitled Entertainment.

Taylor Kitsch, seen here in 2006, first started acting in 2002.

As a model, Taylor Kitsch posed for publications such as CosmoGirl, YM, Teen Vogue, Super and N'uomo Vogue, while appearing in advertisements for Abercrombie & Fitch, Deisel, Clairol, Liz Clairborne and Osmos.

While living in New York, Taylor Kitsch also became certified as a nutritionist and personal trainer in addition to his acting.

Kitsch appeared in three successful movies - The Covenant, Snakes on a Plane and John Tucker Must Die - in 2006. He was also in the Pilot episode of Kyle XY and guested on the Canadian series Godivas.

Young. Beautiful. On the cusp of stardom. These descriptions fit Minka Kelly just about as well as her cheerleading outfit. But they also apply to another actress who bears a resemblance to the Friday Night Lights star.

Leighton Meester, star of the much talked-about Gossip Girl on The CW, is another young actress starting to generate buzz. She's also adorable, with a knowing half-smile and long, flowing brown hair. Much like Minka Kelly...

Two of our favorite TV look-alikes: Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly.

Leighton made her Gossip Girl debut last night, while Minka Kelly and the rest of her Friday Night Lights cast members return live Friday, October 5. These are two cuties you'll be hearing a lot from in the coming years.

NBC has announced the launch of its new service, "NBC Direct," which will allow users to download and view NBC's popular primetime and late-night programs on their desktops for up to a week after they are initially broadcast.

Among the programs available for download will be Friday Night Lights. This new feature provides another platform on which fans will be able to enjoy NBC content, said Vivi Zigler, Executive V.P. of NBC Digital Entertainment.

"With the creation of this service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consumer their favorite entertainment," said Zigler. "Not only does this feature give them more control, but it also gives them a higher quality video experience."

The first version of this new feature, which will begin beta testing in October, will allow users to download full episodes of Friday Night Lights or other shows for viewing on PCs. Each episode will be licensed to users via "NBC Direct" for one week following broadcast and will then expire.

The file will provide users with an improved viewing experience compared to traditional streaming video. A list of programs available at launch includes Heroes, The Office, Life, Bionic Woman, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

It's the ultimate motivational push from the ultimate leader. With Dillon getting drubbed in the championship game, it's up to Coach Taylor to give them a reason to fight back. With his impassioned halftime speech in the season finale, "State," he does all that and more. Check it out ...

With the return of Friday Night Lights less than three weeks away, various fan sites and news sources alike have been quick to post spoilers and speculation about what fans can expect to see in the sophomore season.

One interesting rumor involves the troubled Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly) and her possible reconciliation with one of the other principal characters on the show - as well as her renewed interest in her Christian faith.

However, a lot remains up in the air. There's the spoiler we reported earlier (she could be doing a lot more than reconciling, we hear), and fans hoping for Lyla to get back together with Jason (Scott Porter) may end up disappointed.

There are, however, reports that Lyla Garrity and Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) will repair their fractured friendship with the help of the church.

Continue Reading...

If last year's memorable TV phrase was Heroes' "Save the cheerleader, save the world," this year's to be "Save the show," writes Bill Simmons of ESPN.

NBC is damned close to burying Friday Night Lights, the popular columnist writes, which would be a shame on a number of levels, but none more serious than this one: It's the greatest sports-related show ever made.

Every nuance is nailed, every hug seems genuine, every fight makes sense, every sarcastic barb and flustered reaction ring true.

If there are better TV actors than Kyle Chandler (Coach) and Connie Britton (Mrs. Coach), well, he sure as heck hasn't TiVoed them.

Returning for its second season on October 5, it's a fair bet that Friday Night Lights will be canceled for good by Christmas.

And when it is, it's going to be because of people like you.

Bill Simmons, a sports and TV fanatic whose defense and passionate plea to save Friday Night Lights appears in the new edition of ESPN the Magazine, feels confident about making the following three generalizations:

No. 1: You're reading this magazine because you like sports.

Okay, maybe you're killing time in a doctor's office, or stumbled across this in an airplane seat pouch, sandwiched between a barf bag and a catalog. But I'm going with the odds: If you're reading ESPN The Mag right now, there's a 96 percent chance you like sports, a 3 percent chance you're killing time - and a 1 percent chance you're stoned and think you're reading Rolling Stone.

No. 2: If you like TV, you wouldn't knowingly turn your back on a great show.

I know, that sounds like a quote from Joe Theismann. But most rational TV fans will cave once a show generates enough buzz, either because their curiosity is piqued or because it's on cable with an "N" or an "SSC" in the ratings. Hey, I've been there myself: I held out on The Sopranos and The Wire.

No. 3: If Nos. 1 and 2 are true, there's an overwhelming chance you'd love Friday Night Lights and a decent chance you aren't watching it.

And if that's the case, don't you owe it to yourself to rent Season 1, Disc 1, and try the first four episodes? Look, if Friday Night Lights doesn't make it, we're just going to get more Grey's Anatomy spin-offs (Private Practice), a CSI for every city and 20 Deal or No Deal clones.

You shouldn't feel guilty about jumping on this bandwagon. I watched the pilot when it originally aired, but I didn't love it: too much puke-cam (the camera stopped moving so much in later episodes) and an sports inconsistencies (Dillon wins via a Hail Mary that could happen only on a 140-yard field).

Continue reading Bill Simmons' column ...

As Friday Night Lights spoilers go, this one from Michael Auisello of TV Guide is (gulp) juicy. We don't want to ruin this one for anyone unless you're the type who really likes to read spoilers, so follow the jump for the details...

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In anticipation of Season Two of Friday Night Lights, we're taking a close look at each of its primary stars, many of whom you likely don't know all that much about. You should, too. They're very cool!

Friday, we profiled Scott Porter, who has won widespread acclaim for his portrayal of the embattled Jason Street. Today, we'll tell you more about the cute, talented actress who plays his love interest, Minka Kelly.

Minka Kelly was born on June 24, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As the daughter of Rick Dufay, a member of the band Aerosmith, and Maureen Kelly, a Las Vegas showgirl, there was no doubting Minka Kelly's pedigree in the entertainment business from the start.

From a very young age, her talent was soon discovered. Minka made her TV debut on Nickelodeon's hit TV show Drake and Josh. As she grew older, Kelly learned to further appreciate acting, and planned to pursue it as a career.

Minka attended school in Albuquerque, N.M, where she focused on her career from an early age by enrolling in acting classes. Her goal was to land good roles, but more importantly, to play them correctly. She credits this drive for success and attention to detail as what opened doors for her.

While Minka Kelly trained to become a surgical technician in case her dreams of acting stardom didn't pan out, she decided to move to Los Angeles with her father in order to give it this dream her best shot. There, she was able to land a role in her debut movie Devil's Highway in 2005.

This performance got the attention of talent scouts and got her roles in American Dreams, What I Like About You, The Pumpkin Karver and State's Evidence.

She is best known, of course, for her breakthrough role as head cheerleader and vixen Lyla Garrity on the NBC series Friday Night Lights. She recently finished shooting The Kingdom alongside Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper.

On a personal note, Minka used to date Fantastic Four star Chris Evans, but they are no longer seeing each other. She was also dating Donald Faison of Scrubs for awhile. Recent reports have linked Kelly to Harry Morton, the young heir to the Morton's Steak House chain and also CEO of the Pink Taco chain.

Her acting talents may be formidable, but it's impossible to talk about Minka Kelly without at least mentioning her amazing good looks - which landed her at #42 on the Maxim magazine's Hot 100 of 2007 list.

In the first game of the season, Jason Street went down, making Matt Saracen QB-1 of the Dillon Panthers. But is he ready to accept that challenge? He's got no choice, and in this scene from "Eyes Wide Open," Coach Eric Taylor does everything he can to inspire confidence and motivate the reluctant leader.