The beginning of the end for Michael Vick? Plus...why so many teenage men are hot for Michelle Pfeiffer

Hello, everybody. Today, Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick pleaded guilty in a Richmond, Virgina courtroom over charges of dog fighting. As you already know, Vick has been suspended indefinitely from the Falcons as the new NFL football season is just weeks away.

For almost all the late night guys, it is perfect timing as they're back to work after two weeks of reruns, and you know they're going to come out swinging with Vick jokes left and right. But opinion wise, I have no respect for Vick whatsoever over the dog fighting investigation. Facing possible jail time, he'll be joining alongside Mike Tyson, Ben Johnson, Pete Rose and O.J. Simpson in the ranks of the most disgraceful athletes in North America. As for a second chance? I doubt it.

Last Sunday was the Teen Choice Awards, in which the big story remains "High School Musical 2." Hot off the heels of an all-time cable ratings record (17.24 million viewers, which is like the broadcast television equivalent of around 50 million viewers), it picked up surfboards for Choice TV Movie, Choice Male Hottie (Zac Efron, who I think is "Sexiest Man of 2007" material when that poll gets underway in November), and Choice Female Breakout Artist (Vanessa Hudgens).

Another winner from last night was "Hairspray" for Choice Summer Movie (Comedy/Musical), and speaking of which...last blog, I talked a whole lot about the return of one of its main stars, Michelle Pfeiffer, after a four-year break from movies and that it has generated a new bunch of younger fans who are tired of anything pertaining to Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, or Britney Spears and wanted to see some old school talent. On the actress' IMDB board, I asked the question to teenage fans if they find Pfeiffer sexy now that she's back. The response was astounding; here's what they're saying:

"I'm turning 20 in a few months so I guess that's qualify me as a teenager. And yes, she sure is sexy. And at the age of 49 (how strange it sounds) she is still the most beautiful woman on the rock."

"I'm 19 and I think she's one of the hottest actresses of all time. I don't care that she's almost 50. I bet I'll still think she's hot 20 years from now."

"I'm not a teenager. I'm 28 years old but I find her very beautiful & damn sexy. It's not surprising to see all the younger men here have the hots for her."

"I'm 15... And was pissed when I learned she was married. Michelle Pfeiffer is -- and will be forever -- the most gorgeous woman on the face of the planet. In fact, I would say she's even more beautiful now than fifteen or twenty years ago."

"I'm 17, and I really think she's sexy."

"I'm 19 and I have a spank to her now and then" (Whoa, a bit too much information!)

"I've thought this for about 10 or 11 yrs. (I'm now 20). She is smokin!"

"I'm 19 going on 20 and I think she's one of the most beautiful women on the planet...she is HOT!"

"I'm a teenager - and even though she is older than my mother, I find her incredibly sexy. I always had a thing for older women though."

"I'm 19 and I've thought for years that she's smexxi (smokin' & sexy). I was surprised at how thin she was in Hairspray though."

"I'm 15, and yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I saw Stardust and I was rooting for her to carve out that stars heart and eat it and be beautiful again! Which might not have been what the story was supposed to make you feel, but Michelle was so unspeakably beautiful when she turned young (which happened to be her real life beauty), that i had to root for her. And in hairspray, she looked amazing as well."

"I am absolutely in love with Michelle Pfeiffer and I am only 18!!! I love everything about her. Especially that Dark Ash Blonde Hair and those gorgeous blue eyes of hers. She also has a nice body!!!!"

"Yeah I'm 17 and I think she's even sexier these days than she was in the 90s."

"I'm not surprised that all you younger men find her attractive. She's so beautiful & yes, very sexy. Just watch Hairspray to see her beauty & how sexy & seductive she is."

"Lets put it this way...I'm 15 and completely find Michelle Pfeiffer sexy. Ever since I saw her in that catsuit [in Batman Returns]...DAMN!"

"I'm a teenage boy and I've loved her since i was 7. Batman Returns baby!"

"I'm 17 and I must say that Pfeiffer has aged unbelievably well. She is approaching fifty but she looks thirty, which is quiet a feat. And not only that, I also find her very attractive, especially keeping in mind her age. She is much more beautiful than today's "stars" like Paris Hilton etc. It makes me depressed to be living in such an artificial era where everything is fake and false. There is no class in today's young Hollywood unfortunately."

"I just finished 5th grade and was 11 going on 12 when Batman Returns came out and I agree. [Julianne] Moore, Pfeiffer, and others like them put the skanks around my age to shame and I'm not just talking about looks."

"Well, I'm a teenager. Fourteen to be exact. And i find Michelle Pfeiffer sexy. Oh btw. I'm a girl. AND I'm not a lesbian. I don't feel weird that I'm saying this. I'm a teen girl who finds a woman sexy. period. Michelle Pfeiffer is like a goddess. She gives the guys (AND girls) of any age the hots for her fully clothed or with just a stare. She can make a gay guy straight and a straight woman gay for all I know. And yes, I do agree with all the other posts here saying that she tops all the young stars of today. Stars like Lindsay and Paris have sex appeal that scream out "trashy" but with Michelle's .. I feel as if hers says "CLASSSSSY" and it is to be honest. Like Jonathan said, 'Pfeiffer's old school.'"

The feedback was so immense that I even tried to ask the same question on YouTube...but so far, nobody went on their webcams to state their case on Pfeiffer's sexiness. Maybe because this video from Friday's Miss Teen USA pageant is the talk of YouTube right now. I mean, talk about taking a page out of the old "Common Knowledge" skit from Saturday Night Live!

And as far as Sexiest Woman of 2007 is concerned...I broke the news on the newsgroups that Pfeiffer will be added to Round 3 along with the two 20 vote-getters from Round 2. And I have a good feeling that Pfeiffer is going to go all the way and hopefully win this year. By the way...you only have a few days left to vote in Round 2 because it ends on Labor Day, and then we'll find out which 20 will join La Pfeiffer as the second half of the annual poll gets underway in October. And make no mistake about it, folks: The battle for the top ten slots in the final round is going to be as brutal as ever!!!

Finally...because I babbled so much about Michelle Pfeiffer, I didn't get to offer my goodbye to Curtis Thomas, who has been a longtime friend of mine for give or take 20 years as well as a familiar face to the community. Thomas recently left Fairbanks after a few years at Aleyska Pipeline to take up a job at BP in Colorado, and when I heard about the news I thought to myself, "Oh no, he died?!" That would've been a more painful loss.

But yes, Curtis and I do go way back to when we first met at Barnette Elementary (now Barnette Magnet) School in 1987; I was in the third grade and Thomas was covering some wheelchair race at the school gym for KTVF Channel 11. He was at the station until the mid-'90s when, after doing video production work, he went to rival stations KFXF and KXD to anchor their news before joining Aleyska in 1999.

Last year, I outpaced him by half an hour in the Midnight Sun Run; and the last time we met was at the annual Golden Days parade in July in which he returned to his old stomping grounds at KTVF to work the camera.

Curtis Thomas may have left his home sweet home at the Golden Heart City for a new venture in Colorado, but don't be surprised if he returns here. If he does, it would be old times again. And Curtis, if you reading this blog (that is, if you didn't mind avoiding the Michelle Pfeiffer stuff), we hope you're having the best of luck so far in your new home.

And with that...so long and stay strong.

Merv Griffin remembered, and the return of a Pfavorite

Hello, everybody. After the losses of talk show host Tom Snyder and longtime Los Angeles newsman Hal Fishman in the last couple of weeks, it was entertainer and entrepreneur Merv Griffin who was the next to go on Sunday at 82 from prostate cancer.

Merv may have been known as a singer as well as a successful talk show host (in which he interviewed everybody from Martin Luther King to Robert Kennedy to rising comedians Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld), but it was his two game show creations -- "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" -- that made him a household name. His other television work included host of "Play Your Hunch" as well as producer of "Dance Fever" (aka "Dancing With The Amateurs") and "Click", which introduced America to a young Ryan Seacrest.

After Griffin sold the rights to "Wheel" and "Jeopardy" to what is now Sony Pictures Television in the mid-'80s for $250 million, Merv's next step was into real estate, including purchasing the Beverly Hilton Hotel (home of the Golden Globe Awards), the Resorts Hotel and Casino, and St. Clerans Manor in Ireland. His last project, "Merv's Griffin's Crosswords", debuts this fall in syndication.

Tributes from friends and colleagues immediately trickled in upon news of Griffin's death. President Bush remarked that he was "a man of innovation and energy who greeted challenges with laughter and determination", while former first lady Nancy Reagan said, "Merv meant the world to me. I will miss him - and his brilliant smile, his wonderful voice, and the twinkle in his eyes - every day for the rest of my life." "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek commented that "he became a giant in many facets of our industry -- music, television talk shows, game shows, casinos, hotels and most recently, horse racing,", and "Wheel's" Pat Sajak says that he "dealing with deep sadness and the realization that I will never hear that wonderful laugh of his again." And from California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: "Merv was a highly successful businessman and committed philanthropist, and he dedicated his life to giving back to his community and helping others. He loved to see people become successful, and his ambition, drive and incredible passion for life should serve as an inspiration to people everywhere."

Merv Griffin will be missed by all who've followed him over the decades, and his legacy will continue for generations to come.

Now, onto a lighter note: Griffin hired Vanna White to be "Wheel of Fortune's" new letter-turner in 1982; five years later, her popularity began to peak as America was in a wave of "Vannamania", with personal appearances and even the cover of "Newsweek."

But during that time, there was another kind of mania hitting the big screen; and just like Vanna, it too made the cover of "Newsweek"...and several other magazines including "People's" inaugural "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue in 1990, not to mention getting loads of honors left and right along the way: Pfeiffermania! And now, after a four-year hiatus...SHE'S BACK!!!!!!!

That's right! Four years after her last film, Michelle Pfeiffer is indeed back and in full force with three films and last week, immortalization on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And at the age of 49, she still looks magnificent than she was 10 years ago or even in her peak years almost 20 years ago.

But perhaps the real reason why Michelle returned is because for the last few months, Hollywood was on, shall we say, Red Alert. And why is that? Well, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan have been on the trail of terror around Hollywood, with the high points being Britney going bald and ballistic, Hilton jailed for drunk driving, and Lohan busted for DUI and possession of cocaine. After Lindsay's latest film -- which should be renamed "I Know Who Killed My Career" -- tanked big time in the box office to go along with her other flops, we who were so fed up with the constant shenanigans knew we had to call on somebody to help clean up the mess left behind by those three. That someone was Michelle Pfeiffer.

Let's face it: Pfeiffer has attracted a new legion of fans -- some even as young as 14 years old who I think have had enough of anything "High School Musical" -- thanks to "Hairspray" and "Stardust"; the latter was the #4 film over its opening weekend and "I Could Never Be Your Woman" is coming up this fall. And also, they too have been sick and tired of the Lindsay/Britney/Paris trifecta and decided to see real, original talent in Michelle.

Me? I'm not new in all this. Seeing "Batman Returns" at the theater in 1992 while living in South Dakota (I didn't move back to Fairbanks until later in August), I was mesmerized and overtaken by her beauty while playing what I thought was no doubt the sexiest Catwoman in the history of the Batman franchise (sorry, Halle Berry or any from the '60s TV series)...and I was only 13 years old!!! At least the sight of Pfeiffer's body in that skin-tight suit have caused frequent stirrings in my pants at the time.

But yes, she made the annual "50 Most Beautiful People" roster four straight years from 1990-93, and again in 1996 and '99. It's no wonder why when it comes to raw sex appeal, Pfeiffer compared to Lindsay, Paris, and Britney is old school. By the way, I remember one of my friends having an encounter with Michelle while in Los Angeles on vacation in 1993. I dunno what transpired or if she had an entourage with her, but this was before she married big-name television producer David E. Kelley...which I thought devastated many of her male fans.

Perhaps the one thing we want to know about Michelle is: What does she do (or what has she been doing over the last four years) for kicks, other than raising her two kids and helping pay the bills with Kelley? I don't know if she owns an iPod/iPhone or a BlackBerry, but I could imagine Michelle cranking her car volume to "Umbrella", "Beautiful Girls", "Girlfriend", or even "Party Like A Rock Star" while cruising down...I don't know where the hell she lives.

Anyway...it has been quite a while, but Michelle Pfeiffer is back and better than ever; and like it or not, there's nothing you can do about it! So long and stay strong!