I have to admit, I was a little surprised during American Idol last night when Chris Richardson offered his condolences to the students at Virginia Tech and Simon Cowell rolled his eyes. Clearly, Simon thought Richardson was trying to deflect his criticism and I\’m certain Cowell wasn\’t making light of the whole situation.

However, Richardson is from Virginia, and I\’m certain he has plenty of friends at Tech. It is a big state school. Plus, the whole discussion regarding his nasally singing had concluded and they were about to move on. The fact that Simon would be flippant about a contestant offering condolences to his friends after a tragedy is a little disappointing. It wasn\’t nearly as bad as Phil Stacey (A.K.A. \”Nosferatu\”) saying his three month old kid named a toy cow \”Simon Cow.\”

In the end, of course, it doesn\’t mean a damn thing. And I think Cowell realized his mistake by offering his own condolences later in the show.

Winner: Richardson