Well there's a fun trick: Run...

Well there's a fun trick: Run the Office teaser over My Name Is Earl's closing credits. NBC, you sly devil you. Plus you snuck in a little early Olympic fever, too bring on Torino! I only hope Flonkerton (that's Icelandic for "box-of-paper snowshoe racing") shows up on the list of approved games come February.

So Michael's away and the Dunder-Mifflin employees take it upon themselves to play. Jim has never been more adorable than as proud host of the Games of the Office Olympiad and Pam's sweet little paperclip-and-yogurt-lid medals were heartbreakingly hilarious. ("The bronze are really blue, and they're also the backside of the gold, so no flipping. Honor system.") Speaking of which: Ryan the temp, you have no soul. How could you just throw your hard-earned gold away? Have you no sense of patriotism? Do you think Michael Phelps would have tossed his medals in the trash can on his way out of the Olympic Aquatic Center? I think not. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Can I get a massive round of applause for this week's director, Paul Feig? He brought the same delicate balance of absurd hilarity and sneak-up-on-you sentimentality to the "Office Olympics" that made Freaks and Geeks one of the great cancellation tragedies in television history. I'm not gonna lie to you; I welled up a bit during the closing ceremonies maybe it was the national anthem, maybe it was the origami doves, or maybe it was the fact that Steve Carell's preposterous boss still gets to be human after a half-hour of nonsense. If I haven't mentioned it lately, I heart this show.