Star Tribune has issued the following report from Chris Riemenschneider:

It's been a rough summer so far for BRET MICHAELS.

First, there was the head-blow heard round the world, when the POISON frontman was toppled by a descending stage prop during the live Tony Awards telecast last month. After a quick recuperation of his cranium, nose and ego, Michaels then hit the road full-throttle, bouncing between Poison's co-headlining tour with DEF LEPPARD and solo gigs.

It was no surprise, then, that one of rock's most privacy-eschewing stars - who also stars in VH1's No. 1 reality-TV show, Rock Of Love - changed a phone interview into an e-mail exchange through his manager last week, allegedly because his voice was shot. Whether or not the answers were entirely his, at least we know they didn't come from of any his Rock of Love co-stars (the words were all spelled right).

"Personally, I wish it would have never happened," he responded, when asked if the Tonys incident was a smash in the right direction for his career. "Then I could have went to the after-parties and hung with James Gandolfini and Anne Hathaway."

He conceded, though, "I have a strange feeling, since I may be the only man that has been knocked out at the Tonys, it may never be forgotten. ... Seriously, I mean, who gets knocked out at the Tonys?"

Read the full report at Star Tribune.