Sarah Palin set to appear on 'Today'

The morning battles will turn into morning battles Monday, when "Today" brings aboard a "legend" and on Tuesday adds Sarah Palin as co-host for one-day-only.

All this is, of course, in response to "Good Morning America's" sneak attack with Katie Couric all week. Sarah Palin vs. Katie Couric...get it? (Oh of course...clever "Today"...)

Meanwhile, "Today" announced Sunday that Ryan Seacrest will also be on the show Tuesday to make a super duper announcement (for more on this...read the post above this one!)  

In other words: If anyone thought "Today" was going to sit back while "Good Morning America" stole its rating crown for the first time in years, then "anyone" was sorely mistaken.

Sarah Palin will co-host Tuesday. She'll reveal a different side of her than you've seen before

 And, umm, what side would that be? The left side?

 Yuk. Yuk. Couldn't resist.

But seriously folks, this is serious. "Today" is in a dogfight with "GMA," and it's now getting extremely interesting. The show is expected to re-sign Matt Lauer shortly -- he's utterly indispensable -- and the show will then cruise into the Summer Olympics and fight off this challenge, for now. But what happens come fall and beyond? "GMA" appears to have some mojo, and mojo sometimes translates into momentum, and in morning TV, momentum is especially difficult to reverse.

But next week should be the most interesting in years: Katie all week on "GMA," which is probably infuriating to people at "Today," and Oprah Monday  on "CBS this Morning." Could Oprah also be turning up on "Today?" Also possible but that would be quite a dis of "CBS" which has been promoting this big appearance and interview.

Photo: Republican politician Sarah Palin during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. (Feb.
11, 2012)