Brancatto told the jury the job wasn't actually a robbery attempt. He said he was an addict who had befriended a Vietnam vet who'd let him come over and get whatever prescription pills he needed. When he wasn't home, he just broke the window to get inside, which led the cop neighbor to investigate the proceedings. Very bad things ensued:

Brancato admitted to breaking a window at the home, but said it was strictly because he was going through intense heroin withdrawal that night and he said he was trying to wake up his friend to get the drugs.

When Brancato and [friend Steven] Armento entered the home, the next door neighbor —[Police officer Daniel] Enchautegui — came outside to investigate.

That's when prosecutors said Armento shot the officer through the heart with his .357 Magnum.

As Brancato 's already served three years, he could conceivably be released immediately. Armento was convicted of life without parole back in November.

• Sopranos' actor acquitted in cop killing [CNN]

David Chase, the creator of "The Sopranos," returns this week to New Jersey to testify in a federal case brought against him by a former judge who claims he helped create the HBO series and has never been compensated for his work.

Chase is expected to testify about the genesis of the Mafia series and its characters and, in the process, rebut [Robert] Baer's claims that he played a central role in the show's creation (Chase acknowledges spending a few days in 1995 with Baer, a former municipal court judge, discussing mob matters and touring wiseguy hangouts).

The lawsuit, filed in 2002, "limps into a Trenton courthouse," reports The Smoking Gun, with the presiding judge having already dismissed most of Baer's key claims. Still, there's apparently enough there to prevent the case from being dismissed outright, requiring the visionary showrunner to defend his creation—a story he's wanted to tell ever since early childhood, when family acquaintance Ruggiero "Richie the Boot" Boiardo would bounce him on his knee and ask if there was anyone in his kindergarten class who needed a roughing-up—in person.

• "Sopranos" Beginning Controversy Continues [TSG]

"There WAS a war going on that week, and attempted terror attacks in London," says Chase. "But these people were talking about onion rings." [...]

Chase says the New Jersey mob boss "had been people's alter ego. They had gleefully watched him rob, kill, pillage, lie and cheat. They had cheered him on. And then, all of a sudden, they wanted to see him punished for all that. They wanted 'justice'...

"The pathetic thing _ to me _ was how much they wanted HIS blood, after cheering him on for eight years."

In the days, and even weeks, after the finale aired June 10, "Sopranos" wonks combed that episode for buried clues, concocting wild theories. (Was this some sort of "Last Supper" reimagined with Tony, wife Carmela, son A.J. and daughter Meadow?)

Chase insists that what you saw (and didn't see) is what you get.

"There are no esoteric clues in there. No `Da Vinci Code,'" he declares. [...]

And as for that notorious blackout in the middle of the Journey power ballad, "Don't Stop Believin'"?

"Originally, I didn't want any credits at all," says Chase. "I just wanted the black screen to go the length of the credits _ all the way to the HBO `whoosh' sound. But the Directors Guild wouldn't give us a waiver."

And while this unexpected finish left lots of viewers thinking their cable service was on the fritz, Chase insists it wasn't meant as a prank.

"Why would we want to do that?" he asks. "Why would we entertain people for eight years only to give them the finger?"

Even though Chase may have intended his answers to defuse any lingering accusations of mindfuckery and slow the procession of fans who interrupt his every public meal with impromptu renditions of "Don't Stop Believin'," all the creator has done was provide Finale Deconstructionists with a new text to study. Armed with quickly dog-eared copies of The Sopranos: The Complete Book, they'll soon gather in TV rooms decorated with Gay Vito Death Cues and discarded Satriale's Pork Store bricks, expending considerable intellectual energy on trying to determine whether their desire to see their beloved antihero's brains splattered all over a Holsten's booth by the Man in the Members Only Jacket was, in fact, "pathetic," or merely a rational and healthy need to see the many dramatically satisfying misdeeds in which the audience was too long complicit finally punished.

• `Sopranos' Creator Defends Famous Finale [AP]
• Previously: David Chase Emerges From Hiding To Reassure 'Sopranos' Fans He Wasn't Just Fucking With Them [Defamer]

Gannascoli has apologized for the uproar, noting he has other "to Die For"-branded products, and called his endorsement of the pool cue "a coincidence."

Even though Gannascoli obviously regrets the coincidental application of his "To Die For" brand to the sporting good his Sopranos persona actually died for, it looks like he's not ready to abandon the pool cue business entirely: While the original, offending stick is gone, his website promises that "'A NEW cue to is coming soon from Joe Gannascoli," which we imagine will bear his just-created, far less controversial "To Foster A Culture Of Tolerance Of Understanding Of People Of All Sexual Preferences" trademark.

• Billiard Company Pulls 'Gay Vito' Cue [TVWeek]
• Previously: Own A Pool Cue Just Like The One Used To Rape And Kill Gay Vito! [Defamer]

"GLAAD is calling on Rockwell Billiards and Gannascoli to remove the name, 'A Cue to Die For,' from this product immediately and apologize for using such a vulgar symbol of violence and anti-gay bigotry to make a profit," read the GLADD statement.

The "to Die For" slogan has been used for other, less sensational Gannascoli-endorsed products. His mobster novel is called "A Meal to Die For" and he will soon have a cigar lined branded with "A Cigar to Die For," according to his Web site.

Indeed, Gannascoli probably should have limited his "To Die For" line of merchandise to items with which his character was never brutally sodomized by his intolerant crew—no one would have protested a cheap cigar or a bad novel. We expect that the actor will succumb to GLAAD's pressure and soon withdraw his name from the instrument of his hate-crime demise, with the unfortunate incident serving as an example to other castmates looking to cash in by crassly exploiting their big Sopranos moments; given the reactionary climate of restraint in endorsements, Vito Jr.'s Shower Stool Softener will likely never reach the shelves of your local Rite Aid or CVS, and the Big Pussy chain of gentlemen's clubs featuring plus-size performers will probably never open its doors.

UPDATE: Predictably, the cues have been discontinued.

[Photo: HBO]

• 'Sopranos' + Hate Crime + Pool Cue = Marketing Opportunity [TV Week]
• Joe Gannascoli "Vito" Signature Cue [Rockwell Billiards]

The drama series nominees that will return home empty-handed as the TV Academy thanks David Chase for classing up the medium can be seen in the image above, though we must disclose that we may have obscured the title of Boston Legal with a tribute to the most misunderstood show of our generation. On the comedy side, the Academy has recognized Entourage, The Office, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, and Two and a Half Men, though we suspect that last sitcom's inclusion had something to do with a full-page For Your Consideration ad star Charlie Sheen took out in the trades promising that a nomination would be rewarded with a party for Emmy voters "that will make the proprietor of Tijuana's most transgressive donkey show drop dead in disgust."

The rest of the nominations in the major categories follow; Friday Night Lights fans may want to take a moment to compose themselves before continuing on.

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock • NBC
Entourage • HBO
The Office • NBC
Two And A Half Men • CBS
Ugly Betty • ABC

Outstanding Drama Series
Boston Legal • ABC
Grey's Anatomy • ABC
Heroes • NBC
House • Fox
The Sopranos • HBO

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
30 Rock • NBC • Alec Baldwin
Extras • HBO • Ricky Gervais
Monk • USA • Tony Shalhoub
The Office • NBC • Steve Carell,
Two And A Half Men • CBS • Charlie Sheen

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
30 Rock • NBC • Tina Fey
Desperate Housewives • ABC • Felicity Huffman
The New Adventures Of Old Christine • CBS • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Ugly Betty • ABC • America Ferrera
Weeds • Showtime • Mary-Louise Parker

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
24 • Fox • Kiefer Sutherland
Boston Legal • ABC • James Spader
House • Fox • Hugh Laurie
Rescue Me • FX • Denis Leary
The Sopranos • HBO • James Gandolfini

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Brothers & Sisters • ABC • Sally Field
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • NBC • Mariska Hargitay
Medium • NBC • Patricia Arquette
The Closer • TNT Kyra Sedgwick
The Riches • FX Minnie Driver
The Sopranos • HBO • Edie Falco

The complete list of nominees is here, for those who wish to discover that "Dick in the Box" is among the honorees for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics. (We're not kidding.)

• 'Sopranos' picks up 15 Emmy nominations [CNN.com]

• Complete List of Nominations [Emmys.com]

Though you may not recognize the actor who memorably portrayed "Gay" Vito Spatafore's troubled son on The Sopranos this season without his Goth makeup, the clever tagline placed alongside his headshot should instantly remind you of his pivotal role on the series. Even if their pitch comes a little too late to get young Brandon into the Emmy race, at the very least the ad should have his agent's phone ringing off the hook every time a producer is looking for the perfect kid to defecate in a shower.

[Ad via Digital Variety]

• Brandon Hannon [brandonhannan.net]