"no pun intended" can you help explain it!?

Usually "no pun intended" means something along the lines of "I wasn't trying to make a joke, but I realize that what I just said might have sounded like a joke."

In your talk show example, though, it sounds like the guy was using "no pun intended" as a sarcastic way to call attention to the fact that he WAS making a pun.

In this case the pun is, indeed, intended but the speaker chooses to be held harmless from poking-fun or teasing Vick for his troubles with the law surrounding his recent dog fighting issue.

This phrase is tossed around like crazy.

In this case, the pun was obviously intended. The person who wrote it needed to use it to emphasize the joke because he knows that it's a hack line.

More would be:

-Michael Vick is in the Doghouse this season.

-The authorities sniff around Vicks place for dog fighting.

-The Falcons keep Vick on the leash this season.

Etc, etc, etc

Sometimes the pun is intended when people say "no pun intended" but that is, indeed, sarcasm. However, the pun may not be intended when people say something but pick up on it just after/as they say it and add "no pun intended onto what they said.

I hope this helped =)

I guess that's the idea. The pun is intentional and he's just trying to make it evident by saying that it wasn't.