Conan gets the nod

O'Brien to replace Leno in 2009
When the host of NBC's "Tonight Show" steps down, the host of NBC's "Late Night" will get to take over. Except we're not talking about Johnny Carson and David Letterman.

NBC announced Monday that current "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien will get what David Letterman always wanted -- a shot at the big chair as host of "The Tonight Show." O'Brien will get to take over when Jay Leno departs in five years.

This is a great accomplishment for O'Brien who came from relative obscurity 11 years ago and overcame horrible (largely deserved) reviews. In the end, he will have hosted "Late Night" five years longer than Letterman, and then get the prize Letterman felt he deserved (Letterman did deserve it, but that's a whole other issue).

So the questions become: will Letterman still be on the air in 2009? If so, how does a Letterman-Conan match-up work out? And who will take over on "Late Night?" Five years is still a long way off -- it could be someone we've never even dreamed of.