There's a fierce battle at the Daytime Emmys over who'll win the trophy as best lead actor on Aug. 30. It's between two heavyweight stars, according to our forum posters, who have carefully evaluated the episodes submitted by nominees to Emmys judges.

Our forums moderator Matthew "Boidiva2" Cormier backs Anthony Geary ("General Hospital"), poster Mark "MARKPGH" Jasick picks Christian LeBlanc ("The Young and the Restless"). Below, both pundits argue their cases. Let's start with Cormier.

BEST ACTOR: BOIDIVA2'S PREDIX
1. Christian LeBlanc, "The Young and the Restless"
2. Tony Geary, "General Hospital"
3. Daniel Cosgrove, "Guiding Light"
4. Peter Reckell, "Days of Our Lives"
5. Thorsten Kay, "All My Children"
 
BOIDIVA2'S COMMENTARY: In this category you have a battle between two veterans who both submitted fantasy episodes where they must reflect on their life. "General Hospital's" Anthony Geary submitted an episode where Luke dreams that his life is on trial and he must defend himself to live. In the episode Geary plays multiple characters, which might give him a slight edge, but the overall tone of the episode is played off as comedic and silly instead of given the dramatic weight it should get.

LeBlanc's character, Michael, experiences an "It's a Wonderful Life" moment when he finds out what life would have been like if he hadn't been born. The episode's tone features a bit more drama than "GH's" episode and feels more like a dramatic series.

Daniel Cosgrove submits an episode where, on his wedding day, he finds out he is not the father to the child he believed was his, he argues with the mother and ends up marrying her anyway. It's a good, solid episode with a good arch, but not enough to make him stand out against heavyweights Le Blanc and Geary.

Peter Reckell's tape is solid as well, and features Bo in a hospital bed discussing Shawn's death and features visits from various characters. There are moments of drama in this episode, but overall it seems very underwhelming compared to the bigger tapes submitted by Geary and Le Blanc.

Lastly, Thorsten Kay submitted a tape in which Kendall confronts Zack about his feelings of learning she cheated on him; after telling Kendall it's all he can think about and how much he loves her, they kiss and then burn down the house of Aidan, whom Kendall cheated with, the tape was utterly boring and Kay's performance flat and one-note. It's easily got to be Geary or Le Blanc. Cosgrove could pull through if voters want to vote for a less stunt-driven tape.

BEST ACTOR: MARKPGH'S PREDIX
1. Anthony Geary, "General Hospital"
2. Christian LeBlanc, "Young and the Restless"
3. Daniel Cosgrove, "Guiding Light"
4. Peter Reckell, "Days of Our Lives"
5. Thorsten Kaye, "All My Children"

MARKPGH'S COMMENTARY: What a sweet life Geary has. He is off several months out of the year, comes back to work, and gets a storyline written specifically for his talents. No doubt Geary is a gifted actor, but this tape, showcasing the actor tackling multiple roles in this courtroom parody, is absolute overkill. The Emmys love dual roles, and they obviously love Geary. He will slightly edge out another scenery-chewing thespian — the gifted . . .

When Grammy nominations are announced on Wednesday, expect lots of head-scratchers, particularly in the top four categories: best album, record, song and new artist of the year. Those are all determined by a secret committee of "music experts" who powwow in a hotel over one weekend and listen to the discs that landed in the top 20 when the votes were cast by the general membership of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Getting in the heads of those mysterious gurus is frustrating, so it's tough to try to predict nominees. But not impossible. Pundits have a good guess about what music probably made the top 20 runoffs — then they just need to keep in mind what the secret gurus usually do. That is, they like to be democratic and all-inclusive, scattering the five nominees among music genres, so it's not likely, say, that several rap works will be nominated together. Below, our forum moderators David "Guru" Schnelwar and Darrin "DoubleD" Dortch explain that voting trend in more detail as they offer up their predix of what they think will be nominated for best album of the year on Dec. 3. To see more Grammy predix from our forum posters, click here.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: GURU'S PREDIX
(Front-runners)
"Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," Coldplay
"Long Road Out of Eden," Eagles
"As I Am," Alicia Keys
"Raising Sand," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

(Possible)
"Rockferry," Duffy
"Lay It Down," Al Green
"Tha Carter III," Lil Wayne

(Long Shots)
"American Gangster," Jay-Z
"Detours," Sheryl Crow
"Hard Candy," Madonna
"In Rainbows," Radiohead
"Modern Guilt," Beck
"Rock N Roll Jesus," Kid Rock
"Sleeping Through the Static," Jack Johnson

GURU'S THOUGHTS: In 2007, the five nominees were each from a different genre field: Herbie Hancock (jazz), Vince Gill (country), Foo Fighters (rock), Amy Winehouse (pop) and Kanye West (rap).

I'm guessing the same thing could happen this year: Coldplay (rock), the Eagles (pop), Alicia Keys (R&B) and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (folk). The fifth nomination is up for grabs. I think it will between Duffy (pop) and Lil Wayne (rap).

The Eagles, Alicia Keys and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss all won last year before their albums were eligible. That is usually a good indicator.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: DOUBLE D'S PREDIX
(Front-runners)
"As I Am," Alicia Keys
"Long Road Out of Eden," The Eagles
"Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends," Coldplay
"Raising Sand," Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
"Tha Carter III," Lil Wayne

(Possibilities)
"Death Magnetic," Metallica
"Detours," Sheryl Crow
"Love on the Inside," Sugarland
"One Kind Favor," B.B. King
"Rockferry," Duffy

(Long Shots)
"Accelerate," R.E.M.
"Carnival Ride," Carrie Underwood
"In Rainbows," Radiohead
"Lay It Down," Al Green
"Modern Guilt," Beck
"Spirit," Leona Lewis
"Still Unforgettable," Natalie Cole
"Two Men With the Blues," Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis

DOUBLE D'S THOUGHTS: Keys is a Grammy favorite, a past nominee here, and Billboard just named her disc the best-selling album of 2008; she's in. The Eagles' comeback record is also sure to get in here and they will win. Coldplay returned strong and will earn their first nod in this category. Krauss is a 21-time Grammy winner and her duet disc with Robert Plant will be like catnip to NARAS voters.