Where to be & what to watch…

When Sesame Street premiered, a gallon of gas cost 35 cents and people were gushing about Hendrix's performance at Woodstock a few months before. Yes, Big Bird, Grover and the pre-Fraggle gaggle kick off season 39, and Sesame introduces a revamped Website. Jack Black and Feist guest-star in the premiere; with the latter's ubiquitous “1-2-3-4” hit, she's a logical choice for the thigh-high set. For the bigger folk, CableLabs holds a media briefing conference call at 2 p.m. Mountain Time, with insights from Charter Communications CTO Marwan Fawaz, Comcast CTO Tony Werner and CableLabs President/CEO Dr. Richard Green.

The Southern California chapter of NAMIC holds its Multicultural Marketing: Going Beyond Transition conference at the Univision building in Los Angeles. Elsewhere on the Left Coast, Acme Communications, owner of six stations, shares second-quarter earnings at 4:30 ET. The call is open to the public. Also available to the masses as of this very moment are seasons one, two and three of Fox drama Prison Break, just in time to prepare for the season premiere Sept. 1, while HBO puts out season five of The Wire. And this is the DVD we know you've been holding your breath for: Paramount releases season one of Caroline in the City, starring Lea Thompson as a plucky cartoonist making her way in '90s New York.

Nothing screams summer quite like company softball in the heart of Manhattan. The Punchlines of Comedy Central take on the fearsome Fighting Gators on the Great Lawn at 6:45; wait until you see Eric Cartman man the hot corner. Boosting the athleticism a few notches, the U.S. storms the Beijing beach for some Olympics volleyball at 8 p.m. on NBC. Speaking of frolicking on the waterfront, Federico Fellini's black-and-white freakfest 8½, starring Marcello Mastroianni as a filmmaker with a bad case of director's block, airs at the Socrates Sculpture Park overlooking the East River in Queens.

Chicago is abuzz in TV activity. The day starts off with the Greater Chicago chapter of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers' golf outing at the St. Andrews course in Scotl—er, West Chicago. Elsewhere in the City of Broad Shoulders, The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation and the McCormick Foundation have brought Camp STN, short for Student Television Network, to Columbia College in downtown Chi-Town. It's a crash course for teachers who want to introduce video into their classrooms. Finally, Chicago-born comic Kathy Griffin stars in the season finale of My Life on the D-List on Bravo at 10.

The Olympics are in full swing on NBC. Beach volleyball has its elimination round, shot-put world champ Reese Hoffa seeks to defend his title, and sprinter extraordinaire Tyson Gay steps to the 100-meter line. Also covering 100 meters in frighteningly fast fashion is Michael Phelps, in pursuit of yet another swimming gold for his mantel. But Phelps will have to go through compatriot Ian Crocker to bag it. Olympic insiders say the air quality inside the natatorium is excellent. Pool party!