AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL (Items on Keith Urban, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Steve Martin, Willie, Dierks, Jack Ingram, Del McCoury)

Keith Urban is country's representative at the NFL Kickoff Concert today in New York City before the Washington Redskins and World Champion New York Giants open the season across the river in New Jersey at Giants Stadium.

Usher and Natasha Bedingfield join Keith for the show, which starts at 3:00 p.m. Big Apple time (Keith's spot is scheduled to begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.). If you're not in NYC for the show, The NFL Network will broadcast some of the festivities and then NBC will air a one-hour Kickoff Concert special Friday night, right after the "Stand Up to Cancer" special.

Keith will perform onstage Friday night at Radio City Music Hall as the 2008 edition of "Fashion Rocks" tapes for an airing Tuesday night (9/9) on CBS. The "Just Stand Up" super-single featuring Carrie Underwood and Sheryl Crow (along with Ashanti, Ciara, Fergie, Keyshia Cole, Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Bedingfield) will be performed by that assembly from the Radio City stage on the "Stand Up to Cancer" show.

Meanwhile, the gang at the NFL are probably happy that Keith's show will be held in New York City proper and not on the Giants field, since a recent Urban concert in Canada left a patch of land a muddy mess.

Speaking of "Stand Up...": Look for Sugarland to sing with Melissa Etheridge during the finale of the "Stand Up to Cancer" benefit. Melissa is a cancer survivor...Blackhawk, who lost member Van Stephenson to melanoma cancer several years ago, will play a show with Little Texas and Restless Heart in Washington state on September 21 to raise money for the Van Stephenson Memorial Cancer Research Fund.

Pickin' a Winner: Yes, he's a wild and crazy guy, but also a banjo picker; Steve Martin is preparing a banjo album for release soon. The Bluegrass Blog has more, including a chat with Steve's frequent co-hort John McEuen.

And, not for nothing, here's an interview Steve gave to The Banjo Newsletter several moons ago.

Independent Daze: From The Santa Barbara Independent, "Five Things You Should Know About Willie Nelson." Number One, by the way, mentions that Willie is a prolific author with three books to his credit...make that four, 'cause "A Tale Out of Luck," Willie's first piece of fiction (co-authored with Mike Blakely) came out this week.

Meanwhile, it seems like an oxy(gen)moron, but Willie's rider for his upcoming (this Sunday) show at a casino demands a "smoke-free enviroment" backstage, the San Diego Weekly Reader weeds out.

Speaking of Weed...: Cross Canadian Ragweed's lead singer named his son after Dierks Bentley, "one of the truest people out there."

Catching Up With...: Riders In The Sky, the decades-old legends who are "a cross between Monte Python and Sons of the Pioneers."

Wherever i Are: Let's go inside Jack Ingram's iPod.

Speaking of Downloads...: Cybergrass pointed me to The McCoury Music Club, a neato deal-hickey from Del McCoury's people. Members recieve one live show download per month for a year's subscription, along with exclusive extra goodies.

Boxmastermania: Cool feature at CMT.com on Billy Bob Thornton's musical jaunt, The Boxmasters, who juxtapose The British Invasion with classic country.

Dance Fever: Take a peek at Julianne Hough and her new "Dancing With the Stars" partner, courtesy of "Entertainment Tonight."