Cocktails with Jon Hamm, for a price, on Friday.

The hunk from AMC's "Mad Men" is the star of a fundraiser for Sen. Al Franken being thrown at the Minneapolis home of political movers and shakers Sam and Sylvia Kaplan. Franken is trying to look as chill as Hamm in the copy of the e-mail I've seen, which includes what appears to be a MadMenized black-and-white logo of Franken standing next to Hamm.

The photo reception starts at 4:30 p.m., the general reception at 5:30 p.m. Now all the Democratic faithful have to decide is whether to pay to attend as a "Senior Partner," $5,200; "Creative Director," $2,600; "Account Executive," $1,000; "Copywriter," $500 or "Client," $250.

I should pony up the minimum and go ask Hamm when he's going to strip down David Beckham-style and do an underwear commercial.

Sharper image sullied

I agree with TMZ's story that Darren Sharper could have sacked most any woman he wanted.

Between the overall good looks and that above-average command of the English language, Sharper was a stunner even before disclosing what is catnip to many women — his status in the NFL.

The former Vikings safety, women's advocate and father of a teenage girl has a court appearance scheduled Thursday on charges of drugging and raping women in California, while being investigated for similar acts in three other states. That has to give pause to many women, including actor Gabrielle Union, who was hanging around with Sharper at the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Because of the attention I was giving Sharper, Union playfully sent a message to me via my pal D.C.-based AlwaysAList.com journalist Jawn Murray: "You tell C.J. to stay away from my man. You tell C.J. to keep her hands off him; he's all mine." Sharper later told me he and Union were just friends. She's now engaged to NBAer Dwyane Wade.

According to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, Sharper met the women at nightclubs in October and January. Both were allegedly taken back to Sharper's hotel and served alcohol shots, before heading to another destination. Both the October and January victims were allegedly picked up by Sharper with one other woman, news reports said. He was clearly trying to get caught if he was, in fact, engaging with women two by two, as detailed in a disturbing CNN.com story. Of course, rape is about power and sometimes mental illness.

'Almanac' co-hosts split

"Almanac" host Cathy Wurzer announced on Facebook that she and her TV co-host husband, Eric Eskola, are getting a divorce. Don't worry, they're still doing their weekly TPT2 political issues show.

"Friends: We want to share some news with you. Eric and I have made the decision to end our marriage.

We remain the best of friends and will continue to work together every Friday on 'Almanac.' Thank you in advance for your kindness and support. Cathy and Eric"

Since I'm not on Facebook much and not a friend of Wurzer's, this came to me via a different channel.

I was, however, nearby at the beginning of this marriage. In December 1991, Eskola told me how he proposed to Wurzer. He was preparing an elaborate proposal that first required her to leave their home so he could put finishing touches on his pitch. When she didn't leave, "I got kind of antsy and said, 'Aw, heck with it.' I couldn't wait any longer. I ran upstairs, just got the ring, and the bottle of wine the jeweler had given me to celebrate."

Wurzer's announcement wins points for not including a trite sentence requesting privacy.

I'm told that nobody paying close attention to this marriage is surprised.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.