'X-Factor' Judges Home Visit Episode Bumped Due To Baseball

Simon Cowell's "X Factor" has survived more modest ratings than the brash British judge promised for his reality singing show. And given his tenacity and the amount of money piled up to promote the American version of his hit British competition show — not to mention the $5 million prize — it seems like it would take an act of God to knock the "Factor" train off the track.

Well, that's exactly what happened on Wednesday night when the show's final 32 were slated to visit the judges' homes and commune with such special mentors as Rihanna.

The American League Championship Series game between the Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers was originally slated to begin at 4:19 p.m., but the pounding rain didn't let up until after 5:30. By the time the grounds crew began prepping the field, the game had been delayed by two hours and 13 minutes. That already put the 8 p.m. start time for "Factor" into jeopardy. But add in the fact that the game went into extra innings after ending in a 3-3 tie after nine and you had a serious scheduling headache for Fox.

By the fifth inning, it was announced that "Factor" would not air on Wednesday night, but would return to its regular slot on Thursday (October 13). The current plan calls for last night's episode to air on Thursday and Thursday's show to air on Sunday. That's all fine and good (assuming this afternoon's game is not delayed by rain as well), but if a game seven is forced between the two teams, "Factor" may have to shuffle again, meaning Fox might have to air three episodes of the show in the same week to keep things on track.

As if all of this shuffling wasn't confusing enough (and way frustrating for "Factor" fanatics), the third round of the judges' home visits will air on Tuesday, which is another switch from the Wednesday-Thursday schedule.

To refresh your memory, after the grueling "X Factor" boot camp shows, L.A. Reid is mentoring the boys (Brennin Hunt, Brian Bradley, Chris Rene, etc.), Simon Cowell has the girls (Rachel Crow, Tiah Tolliver, Drew Ryniewicz, etc.), Nicole Scherzinger will deal with the over-30s (Dexter Haygood, Josh Krajcik, LeRoy Bell, etc.) and Paula Abdul is corralling the groups (2squar'd, the Brewer Boys, the Stereo Hogzz). After visiting the judge's homes (or a neutral location of their choice), the 16 semifinalists will vie for a spot in the upcoming live shows.