Miss Teen USA drops swimsuit competition

MISS TEEN USA is dropping the swimsuit competition.

The Miss Universe Organization announced Wednesday that gawking at teenage girls in swimsuits didn't fit with the pageant's mission to promote education and "active, purposeful lives."

So instead of wearing swimsuits, the young contestants will now wear athletic wear.

But hopefully not those new Nike tennis dresses.

The elimination of swimsuits is welcome news for 2015 Miss Teen USA Katherine Haik of Louisiana. The 16-year-old fought to have the swimsuit competition eliminated because it sexualized teenage girls.

Now if they could just eliminate the cringe-worthy final question.

According to philly.com's

Rob Tornoe

, there is no such thing as a boring conversation with

Lenny Dykstra

, who told

Howard Stern

on Tuesday that he was now moonlighting as a gigolo.

"I thought God put me on Earth to entertain people on the baseball field ... but He actually put me on earth to [pleasure women]," Dykstra said on Stern's SiriusXM Radio show. "I'm like Picasso."

Dykstra told Stern how several elderly clients pay him for "companionship" and romantic dinner dates. Dykstra noted that for most of the older women, it's more about intimacy than sex. "Their bones are brittle," he said.

Dykstra also visited the "Dan Patrick Show," where he talked about how wild his Phillies teams were.

Dykstra said he partied hard with his Phillies teammates, whether it was booze, drugs or other things. It was their reputation as a wild crew that made them so intimidating to other squads.

"It was rocketships, roids ... and the other teams knew it, too," Dykstra said. "[The league] didn't want any part of us."

As for steroids, Dykstra said that all the best Phillies of his era were taking them.

"The only ones who weren't using them were stupid," he said.

"I'm a small guy," Dykstra told Patrick. "My body just couldn't hold up."

Not something you often hear from a gigolo.

North Philly native

Marc Lamont Hill

, who has written a regular column for the Philadelphia Daily News and sued the Philadelphia police for civil rights violations, is adding a new job to his lengthy resume.

The Columbia University professor, Fox News correspondent, BET News host and CNN commentator will become the anchor of a new late night news/gossip talk show entitled "VH1 LIVE!" debuting Sunday, July 17 at 10 p.m.

According to VH1, the show will report on entertainment with a VH1 spin.

VH1 called Hill "one of the nation's leading voices on culture, sports and politics," and said he "infuses his opinions with equal parts unfiltered wit and raw street savvy."

Hill is the author of Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond.

VH1 said that when Hill is not working, he "can be found mocking people on Twitter" (Tattle's old job) "and praying that one of his Philly sports teams wins a championship."

* The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has announced who wil be getting stars on the Walk of Fame in 2017 and the list includes: Philly music duo

Hall & Oates

, Penn alum

John Legend

,

Ice Cube

,

Selena Quintanilla

,

Gustavo Dudamel

,

Eva Longoria

,

*NSync

,

New Edition

,

Ryan Reynolds

,

Brett Ratner

,

Tyra Banks

,

Amy Adams

,

Keri Russell

,

Sarah Silverman

,

Elvis Duran

,

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

,

Jason Bateman

and

Mark Ruffalo

.

* It was a big day for Ice Cube, as he was also invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Ridiculed for its lack of diversity, the folks who bring you the Oscars added Cube, Chadwick Boseman, Morris Chestnut, Vivica A. Fox, Dennis Haysbert, Michelle Rodriguez, Gabrielle Union and Damon Wayans Jr. from its acting ranks, reported USA Today.

From the director's branch, Ryan Coogler (Creed) and Cary Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation) made the cut.

And from the music branch, new members include Mary J. Blige and Will.i.am.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

gensleh@phillynews.com

215-854-5678 @DNTattle