Michael Strahan: Highlights from his guest hosting on ‘Live’

Michael Strahan, the former New York Giants defensive end who’s reportedly set to join Kelly Ripa as the permanent replacement for Regis Philbin on “Live!� on Sept. 4, beat out many other fill-in hosts for the gig, including Seth Meyers and Josh Groban.

Strahan may hold the record for most sacks in a single season and sport a Super Bowl ring on his finger, but surely his athletic ability didn’t land him in the co-host’s seat. He already has regular gigs on “Fox NFL Sunday� and Spike TV’s “Pros vs. Joes.� So what exactly clinched the deal for the producers of “Live!�?

Hints can be seen in these highlights from Strahan’s previous guest-host appearances.

During an interview with actor Channing Tatum for the actor’s male stripper movie “Magic Mike,� Strahan surprised the audience with these moves.

Not something you would have seen Regis do. (Nor would you have wanted to).

Despite his size (he’s 6-foot-5), Strahan isn’t afraid to be, well, afraid, as demonstrated by this clip from early July in which he happily played chicken in front of a large boa constrictor, allowing the diminutive Ripa to be the tougher host.

Strahan also hasn’t been shy about lobbying for the job. He talked to HLN’s “Showbiz Tonight� back in May about his ambitions to fill Regis’ seat permanently and gushed about everything from his camaraderie with Ripa to his ability to juggle both his sports gig and the “Live!� job.

And much like the man who sat in the seat before him, Strahan has been only too eager to use his abundant energy to make other shows good. Regis has appeared several times on “Late Show With David Letterman� and Strahan was happy to rise to Ellen DeGeneres’ dance challenge.

While it appears that Strahan has the gig in the bag, “Live!� won’t officially announce the new host until next month.

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