After a vacation in Aruba and a week off from “What To Watch,” I’m back to talk TV once again. While I’m catching up on all the shows I missed, currently housed on my DVR, we have a lot to look forward to this week, including an exhausting sports weekend and Independence Day. Here's a look at a selection of TV shows and sporting events airing during the coming week. 

Friday:

U.S. Olympic Trials – 8 pm on NBC (Swimming, followed by Women’s Gymnastics)

Real Time With Bill Maher – 10 pm on HBO (season finale)

Saturday:

NASCAR: Quaker State 400 – 6:30 pm on TNT

U.S. Olympic Trials – 8 pm on NBC (Swimming followed by Track & Field)

The Firm – 10 pm on NBC

If you've seen the FiOS Speed guy in action, I'll bet you were blown away. Well, you might be just as amazed at how the 4-minute video was made. Amazed, or at least mildly interested. Either way, here's a behind-the-scenes look at a very cool video.

Since we launched Flex View in the fall of 2010, we’ve been working hard to enhance the experience for our FiOS TV customers. Today I’m excited to tell you about a brand new feature of Flex View, which allows Apple users to stream movies and TV shows and watch them immediately.

As most of you already know, Flex View is a feature of FiOS TV that allows our customers to buy or rent TV shows and movies and watch them on their TV, PC and select mobile devices. 

I spent some time this weekend watching the Olympic trials and was once again amazed at the talent and skill on display by the many competitors seeking to represent our country in London. [I also felt incredibly out of shape and unaccomplished.] I would be remiss, however, if I didn't give a shout out to one of our own.

Gemma Whitman, a Verizon employee from the U.K. who has been selected to carry the Olympic Flame for Verizon on July 21!

Why was Gemma nominated by her Verizon coworkers in the U.K and ultimately chosen to carry the torch because of her tireless commitment to charities and community groups in Reading, U.K.? 

Find out by watching this video.  

How we're using (and depending) on the Internet is evolving quickly.

From gaming to streaming video to video conferencing to smart thermostats and TVs, we're doing a lot online. And depending on your home, it may all be happening at the same time.

Can your Internet service handle that load?  This infographic (click on "read more" to get a full view) provides some context behind Verizon's decision to up our customers' speed limits.

Want to see if you're Internet service is up to speed? Visit http://verizon.com/uptospeed 

Over the next two weeks, Verizon will continue to emphasize the importance of online safety as part of our commitment raise awareness of our customers and the public in general during June – National Internet Safety Month.

In addition to webinars, such as the one focusing on Internet safety for seniors to be held June 28, Verizon and the Verizon Parental Control Center is joining the National Cyber Security Alliance to host a Twitter Party beginning at 3 p.m. this Wednesday (June 27).  Expert advice from the NCSA and others will be interspersed with prize giveaways.

Those wishing to participate and become eligible as a possible prize winner during the hour-long event should RSVP by clicking here or by following this link: http://bit.ly/Ll35kL.

FiOS Speed Guy has taken off, helping us promote the insane new speeds of our FiOS Quantum Internet service. Watch this guy zip around the world and fly right into your house! This guy is amazing. So's our new FiOS Quantum service.

In a world of speed, FiOS takes a quantum leap today as we introduce what we believe will be the “new norm” for FiOS broadband customers.

When we say FiOS Quantum, we’re speaking about the new four highest FiOS Internet speed tiers of 50/35, 75/35, 150/65 and 300/65 megabits per second (Mbps).  We’ll still offer our entry-level tier of15/5 Mbps, starting at under $100 in a triple-play bundle and under $65 on a stand-alone basis for people who don’t feel the need for our window-rattling speeds.

Starting now, our existing customers and those who have a need for sensibly priced, high quality and insanely fast broadband can make the switch from slower cable company options whose Internet speeds simply can’t touch ours.

We’re not just introducing the fastest portfolio of Internet services offered by any Internet provider in the nation on a mass scale.  We’re offering simplicity and choice.

Guest post from Mark Adams, director of small business marketing for Verizon. [Photo: Erin Gray, left, and Kacey Grumina, right, during recent ceremonies.]

As Father’s Day approaches and as many students are graduating (or have graduated), I share the remarkable efforts of a Verizon employee in our Florida region, Paul Einboden, and his wife, Leah.  But, it’s not a story about Paul or Leah. 

It’s a story about determination, persistence and honoring someone while helping others. 

It's Friday and that means it's time for "What To Watch." Let Dad settle in with some golf this weekend, and see what else is in store for the next few days. Here's a look at a selection of TV shows and sporting events airing during the coming week. 

Friday:

Let It Shine – 8 pm on Disney (new original movie for the kids)

Fairly Legal – 9 pm on USA (season 2 finale)

Megastunts - “Highwire Over Niagara Falls - Live!” – 9 pm on ABC

When I heard that “Dallas” was coming back to TV, I was excited – skeptical, but excited. As a kid growing up in the 80s, “Dallas” was my first primetime drama. I remember my parents letting me stay up late to watch and see what the Ewing family had in store for us each week.

Needless to say, my DVR is set. And yours should be too. For my fellow fans of the original series, you’ll be excited to see Larry Hagman return in his role as the infamous J.R. Ewing. 

Q:  Why is online safety important to Verizon?

As responsible corporate citizens, we want to share our success with our community to make the world in which we work better than it was yesterday. Promoting online safety plays an integral role in helping customers trust the services that we offer.

We take our responsibility for online safety very seriously. That’s why we help prepare our customers for the positive ways technology can be used, as well as how to deal with the challenges that can result from its misuse.

Smartphones, laptops, tablets, Xboxes and Playstations … with so much technology integrated into our lives, families today have to deal with issues and challenges that our grandparents couldn't imagine. Fortunately, we have programs and safeguards in place for customers to help create the digital experience that is right for them.

It's Friday and that means it's time for "What To Watch." From the French Open and the NBA Finals, to the Mad Men season finale and the Tonys, there’s a lot to watch – and that’s just this weekend! Here's a look at a selection of TV shows and sporting events airing during the coming week. 

Friday:

Pacquiao-Bradley 24/7 – 8 pm on HBO (final episode before Saturday's fight)

Spartacus – 9 pm on STARZ (see where it all began, as Starz begins airing all 29 episodes in chronological order) 

Melissa & Tye – 9:30 pm on CMT

As the 2012 hurricane season begins, it’s good to reflect for a moment about some of the really astonishing weather-related incidents that happened in 2011—the Groundhogs Day blizzard that slammed the Midwest and Northeast, dumping snow as far south as Dallas;  the rare 5.8 earthquake in central Virginia that caused the shutdown of two nuclear reactors; and who could forget Hurricane Irene, which wrought over $15 billion in damage to the Mid-Atlantic, New York and New England areas with its pounding rains and winds?

Verizon will host a Twitter chat with Boxing great Roy Jones Jr. TOMORROW (Friday, June 8) from 3-3:30 p.m. ET @VZSports. Don't miss it!

If there’s one thing I like better than free programming on FiOS, it is new programming on FiOS. And today, I have a lot of new programming to tell you about. 

We recently completed the launch of 10 – yes 10 – new channels on FiOS TV.  All 10 are Spanish-language channels and high def!  This launch makes FiOS TV the nation’s leading provider of Spanish-language programming, with up to 75 Spanish-language channels available (depending on the local channels available in your market). Plus, FiOS TV is now the leading provider of high definition Spanish-language channels nationwide.

It's Friday and that means it's time for "What To Watch." Here's a look at a selection of TV shows and sporting events airing during the coming week. 

Friday: 

NBA playoffs: Game 3, Heat at Celtics – 8:30 pm on ESPN

Whale Wars – 9 pm on Animal Planet (season premiere)

Magic City – 10 pm on Starz (season finale)

The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia – 10 pm on Cooking Channel (new series with the cooking comedian)