Michael Vick back on top and grateful to be there

Talk about going from doghouse to penthouse. For Pro Bowl week, the NFL booked Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick into the 4,200-square-foot Presidential Suite at the JW Marriott Ihilani resort.

Depending on your point of view, this is either an affirmation or a travesty.

Many will never forgive Vick for operating a dogfighting ring. For some, the price he paid — including 18 months in federal prison and bankruptcy — won’t ever be steep enough. To his credit, Vick, once aloof and gangsta, has been a model citizen in the two years since his release. He has matured on the field as well, with his disciplined play and leadership now admired as much as his sheer athleticism once was.

This will be Vick’s fourth Pro Bowl, but as he noted, "I feel like this one I had to work hard to get here."

This stuff is no secret

It’s safe to say that Ryan Higa is a hit. Roughly 9 million hits, actually.

That’s the online action the Hilo native has been seeing in his latest produced-for-YouTube comedy series, "Agents of Secret Stuff." (Check it out: http://youtu.be/kMy-6RtoOVU).

Higa first gained video notoriety here with his friend Sean Fujiyoshi, their videos first catching on while they were in high school. Now Higa’s on his own, moonlighting as a Net phenom while going to college in Las Vegas. That’s the story from National Public Radio, anyway, which you can hear here: http://tinyurl.com/higasecrets. Radio can only make this video star shine more brightly.