Maria Menounos paid up, stripped down, and gave up betting in one round?

Extra TV host Maria Menunos is a New England Patriots fan. She made a bet with her show co-hosts that if the New York Giants beat the Tom Brady and the Pats that she would host the first show after game day wearing nothing but her bikini swimsuit. Well, guess what? The hot health and fitness model made good on her bet, wearing a red, white, and blue two piece bathing suit while she stood outdoors in the middle of winter where the show hosts work from Times Square. Freezing to death, the poor journalist swore she would never make a bet like that again. Here’s the funny news about her stripped down adventure that left her wearing less than the Naked Cowboy while chatting with Mario Lopez…

maria menounos football bet with mario lopezOh yeah, baby! Extra TV host Maria Menounos paid up, stripped down, and gave up betting after losing a football bet with her entertainment news co-hosts A.J. Calloway and Mario Lopez. She actually hosted the television program while wearing only a tiny red, white, and blue bikini. The problem with that? Nothing (said the guys) but it was a chilly gambling debt to pay off, as the show is hosted live — as in outdoors — from Times Square in New York City. We bet she was praying for global warming because they made her pay off in the dead of winter while she stood shivering next to her co-hosts during camera takes and while video clips of the show special features were rolling.

A.J. Calloway, Maria Menounos and Mario Lopez all looked nervous and tried making jokes while 33-year-old Menounos paid up on their now notorious Super Bowl XLVI bet. [Yes, every dude who knew about her little gambling wager was rooting for the Giants to beat the Patriots because of it — even if the cheered during every game of the season for Tom Brady — the quarterback who is married to the super green celebrity supermodel Gisele Bundchen — to win it.]

At least it was sunny on Monday in New York City and there was no lingering snow. Someone finally brought her something to help keep the poor reporter warm — a pair of red gloves. She laughed and thanked A.J. Calloway, that generous gent, for bringing her, “Mittens” — making it obvious that she was so cold she was not thinking straight (with the NYC winter cold making her make speech errors). The thoughtful high fashion gift items clearly had fingers.

As for dear Maria Menounos, this was not the only time the darling journalist saw her name in headline news over a string bikini swimsuit scandal.

Quite some time ago she was photographed by paparazzi photogs while she was wearing another itsy-bitsy bikini while she was playing in the waves after taking a swim at the beach. Little did she know that a rogue wave had swept the bottoms of her bikini over to reveal her the epicenter of her feminine mystique.

Men who saw the pic have been praying for a tidal wave to strike her swim attire down again since the candid photo of her glorious attributes went viral on the internet.

And while the tiny bikini she war to host the Extra TV show was revealing, anyone watching the show could not figure out why Mario Lopez did not reach over and untie the little white strings on her string bikini bottoms. With those dimples and that big, goofy grin of his he could have gotten away with doing it. All he would have had to say was that he was so sorry, acted like he was in junior high again, and he would have been Saved By The Bell all over again.

Noting that losing the Super Bowl bet was bad enough but the pay back wager was miserable, Menounos swore she’d never place a bet like that again. Wearing not much else than a great big smile, lots of hairspray, and a spray tan, she did her best to endure the humiliation with poise and grace, not letting the viewing audience know if she was really embarrassed or upset.

So, to that end… we hope she changes her mind. As a health and fitness advocate, that girl is seriously fit. Bright, funny, and gorgeous are not usually qualities you find present in a woman — but that little girl has one tight package. When she challenged Mario Lopez to take his shirt off and host the show topless with her, we were hopeful he’d accept because it might start a new Extra TV trend.

Wouldn’t it be great if Menounos — who funny enough is one of the star celebs who endorses a charity called Clothes Off Our Back — always hosted the hit entertainment news show while wearing that patriotic bathing suit that matched the New York Giants uniform colors? Heck, she’s a New England Patriots fan. She could even change it up a bit, wearing white on top with red and blue on the bottom. I bet none of the men watching the program on accident while their wives and girlfriends were tuned in to see Mario Lopez make star celebs grin would complain one bit.

Thank you, Maria Menounos, for being so brave and making your bikini swimsuit football betting story international news. Three cheers for being a good sport!