Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

NFL Hall of Famer cum Fox Sports analyst Howie Long admits that in the thick of the playoffs and all the attendant intensity leading up to the Feb. 3 Super Bowl, "this is the time of year when everything gets to be a blur" — in a good way.

Since his network is airing the Super Event, the whole season "has had a different feel for us," says Long. "Imagine if you're a football team and you don't have the opportunity to do the big game. But this is our year — a big year for Fox in general, with the World Series, the last game at Yankee Stadium, the All Star Game … "

Long continues to fly back and forth between in-studio duties on the West Coast and his home in the East. He wouldn't have it any other way, "although it's not necessarily convenient for me."

He notes that for sports celebrities these days, "with the 24-hour news cycle, it's become 'The Truman Show.' The only place you don't have cameras is in the bathroom." As for himself, however, he has an escape. "I've got 65 acres in Virginia, like my own little deserted isle. It's a great place for the kids to grow up."

He could not be prouder of his and wife Diane's three sons. Eldest son Christopher is "graduating from college, in the NFL draft. He's projected to go first round. … We have another one coming out of high school who's going to play baseball for Florida State. And my youngest one just committed to play La Crosse for Virginia."

According to Long, "the older one cuts a good path for the other ones to follow in terms of the kind of person he is, beyond athleticism — his sense of right and wrong. He's a pretty sharp kid. He has a pretty good mama. He's a good mix of both of us."

Long tells us he has often been asked about his proudest achievement, and his answer is his children. "The Hall of Fame is great, the Super Bowl and all that stuff. But when my kids do well, it means everything to me."

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Shohreh Aghdashloo, who made a name for herself in the intense drama "The House of Sand and Fog," tells us it was a nice change getting the chance to film a more light-hearted project with "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" — with America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel. "The movie was like a breeze in the park for me because usually my roles are heavy or I'm a part of some tragedy.

We filmed it in Greece, and I had so much fun with all of these young girls," notes the Iranian actress, who says they got to ride on mopeds and explore the landscape.

One thing Aghdashloo appreciated most was how down-to-earth the young stars were, especially considering how wild young Hollywood seems to be getting. "Although they look young, they have old souls. Sometimes they're even more cautious and more understanding than the older generation. They're very open to ideas and willing to take risks. It was amazing for me to see how these people were acting and at the same time trying to keep up with their youth. … The problem with the younger generation in cinema is that they have to be exposed to certain things, so they lose their innocence, but some are trying hard to keep it."

She continues, "I remember we were filming in the middle of the night, like at 3:00 a.m., and one of the girls was talking to her mother on the phone and telling her not to worry about her — that there were plenty of people around to make sure she was safe. I was thinking, 'Oh, you are so cute!'"

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Catherine Bell tells us that making the Jan. 19 Hallmark Channel movie "The Good Witch" was a change of pace from her "Army Wives" series in several ways. Not only were the character she played and the tone of the whimsical romantic comedy entirely different (is she really a witch or not?), "it was quite a change to go from South Carolina, where we film the series, to a little town near Toronto. And the production was fast and furious, as is the case when you're not working with a big budget. You can't really do a lot of overtime because it gets expensive. But fortunately, our director, Craig Pryce, was great — really well-prepare — and he had things all worked out. He'd say, 'Here's my idea. You walk in there, do that … ' We'd quickly rehearse and light while in rehearsal. It was fun."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: "iCarly" sidekick Jennette McCurdy reports the popular Nickelodeon show was only able to get 26 episodes finished before the writers' strike. "We were supposed to do 40," says McCurdy. "But now instead of waiting for the writers' strike to end, they're going to call our first episodes the full season."

McCurdy, who plays Carly's wild, sassy best friend on "iCarly," says she's been blown away by the fans the show has amassed already. "It's kind of insane," she says. "I was walking by a school one day, and all the kids came running, pushing their hands through the fence. I stayed there until I gave everyone autographs. I felt like a Beatle."

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.