Despite have a year’s head start, Nintendo’s Wii has just surpassed Microsoft’s Xbox 360 as the #1 game console in America.

Sony shouldn’t worry though, the PS2 is still selling great!

It’s understandable that in the midst of the Petraeus hearings, news from the “Family Secrets” trial in Chicago would get overshadowed. But for mob buffs, today’s verdicts are key: A federal jury has found all five defendants guilty on racketeering and conspiracy charges. These members of “The Outfit” include capo James “Little Jimmy” Marcello and hitman Frank Calabrese.

It was testimony by Calabrese’s own brother that proved vital to the prosecution. And as a result, we now know the true story behind the deaths of Anthony and Michael Spilotro (the former made famous by Joe Pesci in Casino): It turns out the brothers were not killed in the Indiana cornfield back in 1986. They were instead lured into the basement of an associate’s home in Bensenville, Illinois, after being told Anthony was getting promoted to captain while his brother would be “made.”

Last July, Nicholas Calabrese took the stand and explained how the Spilotro brothers entered the basement. The last thing Calabrese remembers hearing out of Anthony was, “Can I say a prayer?” Then the two brothers were beaten and strangled to death by a gang of men. (I guess the answer was no.) According to forensic pathologist Dr. John Pless, the Spilotros died of blunt trauma, more likely from fists than bats. They were later buried in the Indiana cornfield.

We also learn the Spilotros had another brother (a civilian) who happened to be a dentist. Patrick Spilotro actually asked one of his brothers’ killers why they had to go. As Joe “Joey the Clown” Lombardo explained: “Doc, you get an order, you follow the order. If you don’t follow the order, you go too.” (Dr. Spilotro also testified in the recent trial.)

Casino (both book and movie) was correct, however, when it came to motive. The Outfit had had enough of Anthony Spilotro’s shenanigans, including unauthorized hits, attempting to blow up Frank Rosenthal (DeNiro’s Ace Rothstein) and having an affair with his wife. (The Chicago Sun-Times has excellent coverage of the months-long trial.)

In any event, the movie had the right spirit of Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro, particularly when Pesci’s character reveals to a banker the true nature of his job:

I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance, tomorrow morning, I’ll get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and … if you don’t have my money for me, I’ll crack your fuckin’ head wide open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I’m comin’ out of jail, hopefully, you’ll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I’ll split your fuckin’ head open again. ‘Cause I’m fuckin’ stupid. I don’t give a fuck about jail. That’s my business. That’s what I do.

Drudge has been carrying this story all day about Univision claiming to lead all major networks for the week among adults aged 18-34. Here’s the key stuff:

In the first entire week (8/27/07-9/2/07) since all networks were reported from one single ratings sample, Univision ranked as the #1 network with an +11% advantage over its nearest competitor, FOX, and beating ABC by +43%, CBS by +42%, NBC by +57%, and fully +125% ahead of CW for all Adults 18-34, not just Hispanics. Univision was also the #1 ranked network all night every night Monday through Friday last week among the same coveted young adult demographic.

In addition, Univision aired 9 out of the top 20 programs of the entire week, regardless of language, among all Adults 18-34.

When I read that this morning I scratched my head. It sure didn’t sound right, unless there are waaaay more than 12 million undocumented immigrants in the country right now. Where did those numbers come from? Can they possibly be right?

I started paging through some back issues of Daily Variety and came upon the Nielsen chart for the week of Aug. 20 through Aug. 26. It told a wildly different story than the numbers Univision is claiming for the week which immediately followed:

* During prime-time, Univision finished a distant fifth place. Here are the total average viewer numbers for prime time that week (in millions):

CBS: 6.92
NBC: 5.96
Fox: 4.68
ABC: 4.48
Uni: 2.99
CW: 1.95

* Univision didn’t win a single night during the week, and was often getting doubled and tripled up on the nightly averages. For example, on Tue., NBC won the night with a 12.31 average (thanks to the #1 show, America’s Got Talent–note to self: start book on end of civilization). Univision finished the night with a 3.43.

Sunday night was terrible for Univision. They finished with a 1.63 while CBS, powered by 60 Minutes, rode to a 7.88. NBC was right behind with a 7.57.

* Variety also has a chart with the top 16 shows in the 18-49 demo. None of them is a Univision program.

So what gives? Obviously, none of this is comparing apples-to-apples: these numbers are for prime time and total viewers (except for the top 16 list). And things change. But it seems a little odd that a network goes from being a fifth-place outlet to first place in a week.

Something doesn’t seem right.

Products have been appropriating songs in commercials for a long time. And yet it is still appalling when you hear some of them: EMF’s “Unbelievable” became Kraft’s Cheese Crumbles’ “Crumbelievable.” The Turtles’ “Happy Together” became Applebee’s “Steak and shrimp, and shrimp and steak…”

But this has to be THE WORST SUCH COMMERCIAL EVER. (Make sure you turn on the audio.)

I didn’t watch the VMA’s for any number of reasons, but the Britney Spears train wreck is fabulous. (Thanks YouTube!)

Las Vegas native Jenny even went so far as to apologize to the rest of us on behalf of her city. She’s a really generous person for a Cowboys fan. (And yes, Jenny, the Eagles probably won’t total up 45 points for the season until week five.)

WWTDD has the word that Britney’s people are blaming her performance on her being upset that Sarah Silverman made fun of her kids:

Yeah this sounds about right. Britney cares about her kids. That’s why she’s in Vegas on a Sunday night dressed like a whore.

Galley Reader P.G. points out that while taking a break from manipulating Peter Berg via mind control, Michael Mann shot an ad for Nike that ran yesterday during football.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw7XwdWpe9M]

So here’s the Robert Downey Jr. Ironman trailer. It’s fine, I guess. The flying sequence is about 100 times more believable than the animations in Superman Returns, in any case.

But boy, howdy, that first Iron Giant suit of armor is silly looking.

AICN has word that Wolfgang Petersen may direct The Grays, a movie based on a book of the same name by Whitley Strieber.

This isn’t Strieber’s first foray into movies. His filmography shows that a few prominent directors and actors have taken an interest in his work. The 1989 movie Communion had Christopher Walker playing Strieber in his real-life autobiographical tale about being abducted by aliens. The Grays is also about aliens, only this book is fiction.

Strieber was associated with another prominent movie you may have heard of: The Day After Tomorrow. Strieber co-wrote the non-fiction book which inspired the movie. Or maybe it was fiction. Or maybe it was, as Al Gore called it, “honest fiction.” Really, who can say?

In any event, I hope the former vice president will be good enough to help promote The Grays when it comes out. After global warming, genetic infiltration by a stranded, dying alien race may be humanity’s most pressing concern.