C.J.: Tony's oh-so-orange blazer lights up 'PTI' set at Dome

December 18, 2007 at 4:59AM

Jaws chomped on Tony Kornheiser about the blazer he chose for Monday's edition of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" from the Dome.

Walking toward the "PTI" set where Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon were sitting, Ron Jaworski couldn't wait to make this observation: "That jacket's the award-winner."

Egging on Jaws, who is Kornheiser's "Monday Night Football" boothmate, Wilbon said: "It's bad, isn't it?" Jaws was more kind: "It stands out."

The blazer was an orange number that fans of Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Clemson would have worshiped.

"It's 'PTI' orange, at this point," Kornheiser told me. "We just asked for the most outrageous colors possible, and I said I'd wear it. It's a tough one."

We've all seen sunsets that color. By the end of the show, some might have wished they could borrow the dark glasses Kornheiser was wearing.

Wilbon, who resists pressure to wear any "PTI" blazers, is not wearing down Kornheiser's resolve to keep the comb-over.

"I only have three strands of hair, come on now," said Kornheiser with that impish smile. "When they fall out, which is probably by February, [I'll stop]. I'm not adding any [hair]."

Adrian's no Fathead Adrian Peterson's Fathead flew out of Dick's Sporting Goods.

The Minnetonka store sold all 50 of the lifesize 42- by 79-inch wall graphic Friday night featuring the Vikings rookie running back sensation from Oklahoma.

"I'm kicking myself in the seat of my pants," said Jason Fair, the manager of corporate and retail sales for Fathead who flew in from Fathead's offices in Livonia, Mich., to oversee the Peterson event.

"I had mention to some of my coworkers [sending] a big box of everything [Peterson] and seeing if we sell them on consignment but we didn't unfortunately. There were people in the back of the line who were really giving it to me. How come you don't have more of those? We would have bought one today," Fair said. "I fully intend to e-mail the supervisor at work and say, 'I told you so.'

"I was incredibly surprised" by how well this event went, Fair said. "I have been to a few other signings in other parts of the country. I don't recall a turnout like that one."

They believe Peterson signed his name 665 times. Everybody got a handshake, too, a memorable grip.

Michael Anderson, footwear manager at Dick's, said, "Everybody would come off that exit just shaking their hand, talking about his grip. They said it was like a vise grip."

And nobody called this humble guy a fathead, either.

Dwight's latest antic "He's got quite a personality," Vikings coach Brad Childress told the media last month when asked what safety Dwight Smith brings to games and the locker room.

Ya think? That was about 19 days before Smith called attention to himself in downtown Minneapolis by blocking traffic with the aroma of pot wafting from his ride.

Smith just didn't want 2007 to end without him having a police matter. As you'll recall, in 2006 he became a stairwell lover in Block E by consummating a relationship with an Emily Peterson as security watched on monitors.

In 2003, Smith pleaded guilty to brandishing a gun during a road rage incident in Florida. Since his personality seems inversely proportionate to the size of his brain, we're lucky he hasn't pulled a gun on anybody here yet.

Amelia: Not my thong WCCO-TV married news anchors Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro were on the job Friday when I got multiple sightings regarding leopard underwear.

The good news: It wasn't Frank in the sexy undies.

I called Santaniello and asked her why in the world she was wearing a leopard thong.

"I wasn't wearing a thong. I doubt that's what they were because I only break those out during sweeps. How do you know what kind of underwear I had on?" she asked, horrified. It was reported to me, and not by anybody employed by WCCO-TV. "Are you kidding me?! How could you [she meant anybody] see that? I always pull my shirt down," she said. "I am constantly checking only because we are sitting in front of a window. And they were not thongs."

She claimed they were black.

"Frank, was my underwear hanging out on Friday?" she said to her husband.

"Big turn-on," he replied flatly.

"Yeah, right," she said, sarcastically.

"They're crazy," he could be heard saying to her of anyone who would have told me this. Then Frankie got on the phone.

"I did not see any leopard underwear showing through on the set," he said. "But let me tell you, if she owns a pair of leopard underwear I really would like to see them."

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.

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