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Poor Michael Madsen. Everybody is out to get him in ESPN's fictional Las Vegas. Poker players want to beat him. A small town cop wants to ice him. Even real-life poker stars T.J. Cloutier and Daniel Negreanu refuse to play him at the fictional Colorado Casino.

Why is everyone so angry with Mr. Blonde? Because he's somehow wronged all of them, as well as gutted most of them of their fortunes. At least I think that's the case. Madsen channels his inner Mr. Blonde as Don "The Matador" Everest, a ruthless card player in ESPN's Tilt, a weekly dramatic series about the world of high-stakes gambling that debuts Thursday, Jan. 13 at 9 p.m.

This is ESPN's second foray into scripted drama following the football drama Playmakers, which drew decent ratings, critical praise and featured an Emmy-worthy performance from Omar Gooding. Unfortunately, Playmakers wasn't renewed as the network folded its cards to an opponent even more powerful than The Matador -- the NFL. Paul Tagliabue and Co. complained about Playmakers' seamy depiction of football in the pre-Janet Jackson/Nicollette Sheridan era and the show went the way of the Sands hotel.

Now ESPN is back at the table again, gambling that a scripted drama on poker can be as compelling as the real thing. Tilt is slickly made and the opening has the feel of a feature film, featuring the lights of the Vegas strip and some poetic words about fortune's fate from the anti-Matador crowd ("And then it happens. Your wife calls on the cell phone with a problem at home. The waitress spills a beer on your or some mook in the anchor seat hits on 15 and takes the last big card in the deck -- and suddenly the world shifts," rhapsodizes Eddie Cibrian as Eddie Towne, one of the young poker turks looking to take down Madsen).

After that, however, it gets confusing. The plot of Tilt is a little muddled. There's so many people after the Matador, for reasons unknown (at least in the pilot episode), that a professional card counter would have trouble following the action. There's also not enough actual poker, which has proven to be compelling television.

Over the past year, poker has become among the hottest programming on television, from The Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, Fox Sports' Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, and Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown. Why? Well, among other things. it can bring in the holy grail of demographics -- the impossible-to reach men between the ages of 18 to 40.

ESPN owns the rights to the World Series of Poker and its 22-episode run from the 2004 World Series of Poker averaged a 1.7 rating, a 42 percent increase from the 2003 series (which drew a 1.2 rating and 1 million households). The network is betting much of the same audience will find its way to Tilt.

I did find Tilt better on the second viewing (I also found Norman Chad brilliant as Norman Chad), and I'm sure you'll also be able to watch Tilt as often as ESPN re-airs World Series of Poker episodes.

As far as the big gun of the show, Madsen is asked to out-Madsen himself in the first episode. Don't blame this terrific actor, who does what he can with just a couple of scenes and some silly dialogue ("If I run out of toilet paper at home, I wipe my ass with eight grand. Nine, if I've had chili.").

The hope here is that future episodes show more sides to The Matador. What makes Madsen so great in Quentin Tarantino's films is that his characters aren't merely pure evil. He brings a charismatic complexity to the bad seed role. 

The show has some promise. But when it comes to Tilt, I'm going to need a couple of more hands before I'm all-in.

Some quick thoughts

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Poker isn't the only programming that attracts male viewers. According to the NFL, its programming accounted for four of the top 11 programs on network television this season based on total viewers, as well as five of the top six shows among men 18-34 and five of the top six programs among men 18-49.

The Fox national game led the way with an average of 19.81 million viewers, which ranked third overall behind CSI (26.4 million) and the NFL's favorite steamy soap, Desperate Housewives (22.6 million). The NFL on CBS's final regular-season average for 2004 was the highest its been in five years (thanks, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady). Games earned a national rating share of 9.7, up one percent from 2003, and was the highest regular-season average for The NFL on CBS in five years (10.5/24 in 1999).

NFL.com national editor Vic Carucci, a former Buffalo News writer and one of the best guys in the business, consulted with a panel of national NFL writers and broadcasters to come up with his annual NFL All-Interview team. Here's a look at the pro's pros:

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks: Brett Favre, Green Bay; Peyton Manning, Indianapolis.

Running backs: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego; Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh.

Wide receivers: Terrell Owens, Philadelphia; Hines Ward, Pittsburgh.

Centers: Kevin Mawae, New York Jets; Matt Birk, Minnesota.

Guards: Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh; Will Shields, Kansas City.

Tackles: Chris Samuels, Washington; Matt Light, New England.

Tight ends: Alge Crumpler, Atlanta; Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City.

DEFENSE

Ends: Patrick Kerney, Atlanta; Jason Taylor, Miami.

Tackles: Brentson Buckner, Carolina; Marcus Stroud, Jacksonville.

Linebackers: Tedy Bruschi, New England; Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay; Ray Lewis, Baltimore.

Cornerbacks: Troy Vincent, Buffalo (despite his switch to safety late in the season); Fred Smoot, Washington.

Safeties: John Lynch, Denver; Corey Chavous, Minnesota.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker: Adam Vinatieri, New England.

Punter: Todd Sauerbrun, Carolina.

Returner: Terrence McGee, Buffalo.