C.J.: WCCO anchor dons flashy bra for charity

A Facebook photo of native Minnesotan and new WCCO-TV Saturday morning anchor Kim Johnson gave her Channel 4 colleagues an eyebrow-raising eyeful.

The photo shows Johnson wearing attire that is dwarfed by what I'd describe as a gigantic pink chrysanthemum bra. But it's not quite the case of prima facie poor judgment it appears to be for the Salt Lake City KTVX weekend anchor from Maple Grove who is headed home.

"It's for this deal, 'Bras For A Cause,' " WCCO-TV news director Mike Caputa told me Wednesday. "She was assigned the costume. The station [KTVX] asked her to participate. It was one of the things where everybody was dressed like that. I think when someone saw that photo they were a little shocked. It sort of surprised me when I saw it until I found out the context; [then] it makes perfect sense. I didn't think it was inappropriate. I think she could have added context [on social media]. I think the Twitter picture was more of a tease. She put it on there saying I'll explain what this is about at 11."

I didn't see the Twitter picture, but I saw the Facebook photos, and in one shot the bras everybody else was wearing, including some guys, did not catch the eye the way Johnson's did.

"It's no different from what we wear at those 'Dancing with the [Twin Cities Celebrities]' events," said Caputa. He's right.

However, anticipating the e-mails to come my way, I decided to move on to the new flaxen elephant in the room: another blond WCCO hire.

"We don't hire people based upon their hair color," said Caputa. "I think that 'CCO, if you look at all our on-air personalities versus any other station in town in overall diversity, we stack up quite well."

Guess I should start counting.

Some WCCO insiders thought raven-haired Rachel Slavik deserved to succeed Aristea Brady, who's being replaced by Johnson.

Slavik is a hardworking super reporter.

Caputa is aware: "I know. Rachel's very good. She filled in and she did an admirable job. Rachel may be an anchor at some point for us. She's a valuable part of the team and we like her. Oh, she works hard. She's one of the most versatile reporters I've ever worked with; she can do any kind of story and she does it without complaint — which is in this day and age an asset."

Maybe the time has come for Slavik to be the talented, agreeable whiny wheel.

As for "Bras For A Cause," has any Twin Cities charity used this gala gimmick? I believe I know which TV person would enjoy wearing the most outrageous brassiere. (Don't be absurd. I would never be seen in public like this — not even for charity.)

Cool to Manziel, or just playing it cool?

Only Skip Bayless of ESPN's "First Take" has given Vikings fans a glimmer of hope that our new coach is more interested than he sounds about Johnny Manziel.

When coach Mike Zimmer talked to an Austin, Texas, radio station, his review of Manziel's Pro Day was not flattering.

"Is Mike Zimmer, first-time head coach, Minnesota Vikings, being sly or foolish?" asked Bayless. "I'm leaning toward Zimmer being nothing but foolish here. It is, however, possible that Mike Zimmer is predraft smoke-screening, trying to mislead or influence the teams drafting above him, [that] all need a quarterback, into thinking that Johnny Manziel is nothing but a Hollywood side show; more interested in being a celebrity than an NFL quarterback. Mike Zimmer is meat and potatoes. He wants his quarterback to be out of the Peyton Manning, Drew Brees mold. The stable family man, fanatically dedicated to playing the position of quarterback the way it was meant to be played."

Oh come on, now. You can't be in the NFL without enjoying nurturing the maturation of knuckleheads. Most pro athletes are not Mannings. If I coached Manziel and he freelanced something during a game that failed, I'd get his attention by having him do wind sprints to within an inch of his life. That'd channel his enormous upside in the right direction.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com.