Mario Lopez will host this year's Miss America pageant in Las Vegas, event organizers said yesterday.

"I'm honored. I think it's going to be great," Lopez said from Los Angeles, before the announcement by Country Music Television Inc.'s officials in Nashville, Tenn. The pageant will air Jan. 29 from the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Having proved he can dance on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," the 33-year-old actor ("Saved by the Bell") said he didn't plan to sing the pageant's "There She Is, Miss America" theme made famous by longtime Miss America host Bert Parks.

Lopez replaces James Denton, a star from ABC's "Desperate Housewives," who hosted last year's 85th annual pageant in Las Vegas.

A recorded version of Parks singing the anthem played as Miss Oklahoma Jennifer Berry was crowned at last year's pageant, held for the first time outside Atlantic City, N.J.

Lopez recalled hosting other pageants, including a Miss Teen USA pageant in 2003 in Palm Springs, Calif. He attributed recent scandals involving beauty queens in other pageants to mistakes by a select few contestants.

Let the games continue

"Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" will be airing through at least 2011-12. The game show renewals were announced Tuesday by Roger King, chief executive officer of CBS Television Distribution.

Whether "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak and assistant Vanna White and "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek have job security into the next decade was unclear: CBS Television Distribution said it does not comment on talent contracts.

"Wheel of Fortune," in its 24th season, draws more than 46 million viewers weekly and consistently has ranked as the top-rated syndicated show, CBS said. "Jeopardy!" is in its 23rd season, is seen by more than 37 million viewers a week and is among syndication's top three shows.

Channel surfing

"Star Trek's" Lt. Sulu, George Takei, who appears on "Heroes" later this month, also will make a guest appearance for the Disney Channel's Washington D.C.-set series "Cory in the House," reports Zap2it.com. On NBC's hit drama "Heroes," Takei will play the father of Hiro, the hero who can bend space and time. ... The Biography Channel delves into celebrity deaths in a six-episode series titled "The Final 24." Beginning at 10 p.m. tonight, the series explores the last 24 hours of John Belushi's life and includes an interview with Dan Aykroyd about his friend's death. Episodes this month include River Phoenix (Jan. 11) and Sid Vicious (Jan. 18).