Now that news outlets are, for the most part, done with reported on Hurricane Irene itself, they have now taken to covering whether the coverage of the storm was “overhyped.” As The Today Show sees it, that all depends on where you happened to be during the hurricane, and the degree to which you believe in the old adage “better safe than soggy.” Or something like that.

Along the eastern coast of the United States, experiences of the hurricane differ greatly, from a few fallen leaves and extra rain to a loss of power and dangerous flooding to over 20 hurricane-related deaths. That said, some reporters were selling the storm as “the hurricane of our lifetime,” which, after a quick comparison to storms like Katrina, Hugo or Andrew, just didn’t seem to be even close to realistic. But does “unrealistic” equate to “irresponsible”?

As hurricane Irene makes its way along the coast and up to the center of the world New York City, we can’t help but wonder… What are reporters assigned to cover the hurricane thinking right about now? We suspect it’s something like “@#%@^@%@!!!!” and “#$@% you, Don. Sitting there in that studio with your tan and your little mug and your big dumb face.” Covering bad weather is awful. And it’s made worse by the fact that people will watch video footage of you falling down over and over and over because your pain is hilarious.

These people are, truly, the unsung heroes throughout terrible storms, risking their comfort, hairstyles and sometimes even their lives (!) in order to make sure we’re informed and remain safe. That’s exactly why these reporters are our Patriots of the Week.

strong>Al Roker, weatherman, scholar and dancer, decided he’d attempt to recreate an iconic scene from Dirty Dancing with the help of actor Ryan Gosling. Roker tried, in vain, to get Ann Curry to dance, but she gave the impression that she’d rather have her teeth drilled than be carried through the air. We’re with you, Ann. Also, cute dress. Also, we’re going to be sure to follow your lead and somehow incorporate the phrase “gorgeous hunk of man candy” into conversation today.

What do you get the man who has everything? Tough question, right? Ok, try this one; What do you get the man who has everything and also totally talks to God all the time and can be all, “Hey God, Matt Lauer is a terrible gift-giver. I think you know what to do.” Pretty pressuring, huh? However, that’s what Lauer had to figure out when he met Pope Benedict XVI while exploring the Vatican with Al Roker for the Today Show. So what’d he give him? A crystal cat.

Huh, good to know the Pope has the same tastes as my aunt who never married.

About five years ago if you asked any regular Today Show watcher who would take over as co-host if Matt Lauer ever left, the answer would have been an easy one: David Gregory. The natural and smooth (and tall!) Gregory had been the fill in for Lauer just about every time Lauer took any time off. He even boogied live at the 30 Rock plaza to show off his “lighter side.” But these days an 8-11AM Today Show watcher who doesn’t follow politics closely (Gregory appears to be on pretty regularly in the first half hour talking politics) might very well say David who?

During this morning’s broadcast of Today, the show’s hosts had to contend with more than just the usual early wake-ups and funny animal stories: a man jumped over a barricade at Rockefeller Plaza, where the show tapes, yelling incoherently. Good morning!

Snowmaggedon? Again? With six serious snowstorms so far this season, morning news shows were left with little left in the clever branding cabinet. Snowpocalypse, check. SnOMG, check. JetBlue Airlines suggested a new one: “Snowprahwinfrey.” Meh.

TODAY put Al Roker, Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer out in the cold amid a foot or more of snow in Rockefeller Center–and a massive snowpile assembled by plows–to talk about the Snowegoagain. And Roker surely made everyone’s morning by telling us there are two more snowstorms on the way. Delightful. Snowverit.

NBC’s Al Roker had a bit of a rough Monday morning, not unlike his Today Show brethren. Roker dug his minivan out of the snow after not one, but two cars sent by the network managed to get into accidents on their way to pick him up for work.

Oh, what a year it’s been. Al Roker sorta somewhat suggested that Meredith Vieira‘s assets might be artificially enhanced–a suggestion she shot down in graphic detail–and Matt Lauer lost it over the unintended humor of a segment that discussed the important of “package size.”

So take a few moments, won’t you, and look back fondly at the many ways our TODAY team has been suggestive, offensive and otherwise highly amusing for a group of people who get up waaaaaay too early in the morning.

Oops! During a “live” performance at New York’s Rockefeller Center to celebrate the annual lighting of the Christmas Tree, the R&B group Boyz II Men were revealed to be performing to a back ground music track that included vocals. Yes, it appears the pantheon of alleged lip-synchers has grown from Milli Vanilli, Ashley Simpson to now, Boyz II Men (doing a little hip hop swing.) Watch the embarrassing video below

If this doesn’t make you smile then you really need to lighten up: the entire Today Show staff — anchors, correspondents, producers, directors, makeup artists, lighting, sound and camerapeople and a dude who can apparently ride a unicycle all teamed up to do a one-take viral video for the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feelin’” — and it’s delightful. The whole thing snakes in, out, and around 30 Rock in what clearly is way more fun than the last thing *you* did at work. You need to watch this right now.

NBC’s TODAY got its viral video groove on Thursday morning, with the help of known-more-for-videos-than-music OK Go. The gang that turned treadmills into bazillions of web clicks put Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, Ann Curry and Al Roker into some kind of crazy claustrophobic (and massively ping-pong filled) department store dressing rooms–and spun them naturally.

On Today this morning, the gang wrapped up their “Today’s First Jobs” series by sending Al Roker to try his hand at the Queens grocery store (down the street from the one) he worked in as a young man. The segment began ordinarily enough (an on the nose use of the Welcome Back, Kotter, Roker trying to serve cheese, etc.) but, halfway through, the producers seemed to realize they had exhausted the full extent of “Famous weatherman in a grocery store” gags and suddenly the entire thing turned into a hilariously insane musical number.

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton appeared on NBC’s Today this morning to discuss the dueling rallies in Washington D.C. this weekend. Glenn Beck‘s “Restoring Honor” rally and Sharpton’s “Reclaim the Dream” rally, both held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech. Sharpton discussed the apparent racial segregation of the two rallies, and summed up his interview with Matt Lauer by saying “The difference between an Al Roker and an Al Sharpton, he gives the climate, I try to help change the climate.”

It’s safe to say that this morning’s weather report on the Today show was unlike any other before it. Filling in for Al Roker, The Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams found herself stuck in an elevator en route to the NBC Studio where she was set to join hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry. But a quick-thinking production staff reached Abrams on her cell phone and she was able to both explain her elevator plight AND deliver the weather. What moxie!

Well this happened. During an otherwise pedestrian tease to an upcoming segment this morning on the Today show, host Meredith Vieira asked Al Roker if he “could spot fakes.” The ever-comedic weatherman paused for a beat and appeared to briefly glace at Vieira’s chest, which elicited a delightful reply from Ms. Vieira, who eventually defended her breasts by saying “they’re real and they’re spectacular!” Sure it may have been a staged bit, but it was funny and entertaining nonetheless. Check it out after the jump.

Earlier today, the team over at the Today Show invited Trish Regan over from CNBC to show off Sony’s new desktop tablet, the Sony Dash. The device sits atop whatever table or desk you want and can be programmed, through numerous free apps, to show you news, email, stock market reports, movies, and what have you. It also can show you the weather, which led to the group fearing for poor Al Roker‘s job.

NBC’s decision to put Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira 3800 feet above Vancouver on Grouse Mountain for the Today Show was a brilliant way to kick off the network’s Winter Olympics coverage, but its strategy of tape-delaying much of its event coverage is sadly out-of-date.

If you are a watcher of the nightly network newscasts you probably noticed that the all the networks had got their teams on the ground in Haiti in order to be able to broadcast live from there last night. It was no easy feat. The trip, which Anderson Cooper was the first to make, had media orgs flying by the seat of their pants, sometimes almost literally.

As if Today show weather anchor Al Roker doesn’t have enough jobs already, he’s adding a new title to his resume – murder mystery author.

And his first release, The Morning Show Murders, takes place at a morning show and involves the murder of the show’s executive producer. How does that make you feel, Today show EP Jim Bell?

As part of a week-long prank battle the hosts of the popular morning show traded tricks in order to playfully embarrass the unsuspecting. So you’d think the cast would be a tad wary when TV Guide Magazine booked a photo shoot for the Today stars, claiming to have crowned them “The Greatest Television Cast of All Time.” Preposterous, no? Video inside.

Yesterday we noted how you’ll be seeing even more of Al Roker beginning on Monday. Well today we saw (or rather, heard) more than usual.

Al Roker is about to get even more TV time – beginning Monday, he co-hosts “Wake Up With Al” on The Weather Channel. The program, airing weekdays for an hour at 6amET, is co-hosted by The Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams.

So besides his three hours on Today, his MSNBC-produced shows, his work on The Food Network and more, you now get more Al in the morning.

The Internet has been crackling with weird, random celebrity death rumors since last Thursday, when Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. Thursday night rumors of Jeff Goldblum’s demise were greatly exaggerated via Twitter (trending topic!); the actual death on Sunday of TV pitchman Billy Mays seems to have added to the actual celebrity-death trend (begun [...]

Al Roker has a lively and very engaged Twitter feed, filled with replies and conversational back-and-forths (and weather reports, as Spencer Pratt no doubt would point out). I caught this exchange last night, between Al and some young punk. I love the inter-generational schooling going on here. Apparently My Little Margie was a big deal. [...]