Low-Key Livin' with Laird Hamilton

 
What does Laird Hamilton have in common with Venus Williams and Stephon Marbury?

Wow, that's a stumper -- until you learn about his childhood. Surfing's ultra-laid-back über-dude also grew up poor, which prompted him to partner with Steve & Barry's to offer a line of surf and summer wear at bargain prices.

Joining Marbury's Starbury line and Venus' EleVen is Hamilton's Wonderwall collection.

TCL visited his site, but it took a while to find the clothes ... maybe because we kept getting distracted by Laird's chiseled everything. (See other examples of his states of undress here and here.)

The photo above shows LH at the NYC offices of ESPN The Mag, where he dropped in unannounced to hang out awhile and ponder his Wonderwall line.

Billowy, oversized clothing is usually a sign. Whether of insecurity with the extended state of one's abdomen or of just plain slob-itude, it's never a good sign. But we like the teeny stripe with this yellow, and the too-bigness on Laird just strikes us as part of his low-key approach to life. He probably even has flip-flops on.

It's hard to picture anyone in Manhattan looking so relaxed.

Which makes it seem kinda, you know, ANAL to wish he'd do something with those bangs.
 

Daily Diva: Anna Kournikova 2.0

 
How have we survived without our bi-monthly check-in on tennis' once-former, part-time, semi-Russian goddess?

Well, it's just been hand-to-mouth, hasn't it?

The happy news for sports fashionistas is the relaunch of Kournikova.com -- which means 1) more Anna news and photos for her 340,000 registered Kourn-Dogs; 2) more public appearances for the making of said news and photos; and 3) more come-hither hilarity. (Noted in the site intro: "... I hope you guys come again!")

In her latest blog tease, Anna notes that she's off to Miami for Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel Cruise Collection show.

We wondered whether Miss Thang might be doing a little cruising of her own, seeing as how she keeps turning down marriage proposals from Enrique. She showed up in South Beach looking like every suburban housewife's nightmare of her husband's secretary -- after he, um, gets done at the office.

Before unbuttoning for the camera, Anna already looked stunning. (Check out the full-length photos in the previous link.) The simplicity of the white-on-black perfectly positioned between her long, blond ponytail and her longer, athletic legs -- a Kournikova.com 2.0 traffic jam in the making.

And only someone this fit, long and lean can get away with those faux-gladiator heels. Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan wearing them? Snickers all around at GoFugYourself.

With gams this great, Anna could prob'ly get away with wearing even the hokiest of Chanel chic.

Just sickening, isn't it?
 

Erin Andrews: A Portrait of Inspiration

 
America's Sexiest Sportscaster, Erin Andrews, appeared on CNBC's "Big Idea" last week as a guest expert on a segment about becoming a millionaire.

A clip from the interview is featured as the quote of the day, billed as "the daily inspiration you need to make your American Dream a reality."

In it Andrews talks about her big break in sports, um, journalism. A former Florida Gator dance squad member, Andrews auditioned for the studio host spot on TBS's MLB show. She was the worst of all the candidates, she said, and didn't know a thing about baseball.

So how'd she get the job? "I looked right into the camera and I said, 'Because I'm the best you're gonna find.'"

Okay, first, wait ... is Erin Andrews a millionaire?

Then, does the current Miss A.S.S. think she landed the job because of her misplaced confidence?

TCL wonders who exactly will be inspired by Andrews' story. Maybe other scorching-hot-but-otherwise-unqualified megababes? Hmmm?

Of course, it always helps to wear primary colors -- which men fall for in the same way they love hot dogs, cheap beer and fart jokes.

And a few ruffles don't hurt.

They create a certain girlishness that takes attention away from a hairdo that suggests Andrews just rolled out of the bed.

Or off the casting couch.
 

Big Fan: Robert Downey Jr.

 
Robert Downey Jr. tore a couple hours away from plugging "Iron Man" to watch the Lakers' own man of steel, Kobe Bryant, take on the Utah Jazz in their second-round series opener.

TCL has a soft spot for this older, almost grizzled (and hopefully chemical-free) RDJ. Especially since the actor often finds room for the dandy in his characters. (Not only in "Iron Man," but his Paul Avery in "Zodiac," the hirsute hermit in "Fur" and his quiet role in "Good Night, And Good Luck." Did it all start with Downey's star-turn as Charlie Chaplin, another famous clothes horse?)

Anywhoooo.

The threads Mr. Iron Man wore to the Lakers game Sunday deserve a turn of their own. We'll entirely forgive the indoor sunglasses because of the fabulous jacket -- a fitted gray pinstripe with the unexpected emerald paisley collar.

We're lukewarm about the, ahem, amulet -- too Hollywood for us. But, hey, it is Staples Center.

Still, the white tee and bleach-creased jeans un-fuss-ify the jacket, and voila! The sorta fussy RDJ fits right in among Los Angeles fans.
 

ROY Kevin Durant Goes All BMOC

 
Kevin Durant has finally graduated.

Fans have been tormented for months by the endless loop of NBA commercials, especially the tinkling of the ivories ads that have as many variations on a theme as Mastercard's coma-inducing "priceless" campaign.

But the commercial starring the Sonics rookie guard graduating from one jersey to another got a little old, too.

So, it's reassuring to see Durant grow beyond his uniform.

Our first impression of Durant's suit -- admittedly, through our bleary, pre-caffeine, night-owl eyes -- was something like, "Is that pink ... and red? AND blue? AND WHITE?" A power tie and kerchief atop pink-n-white, wrapped in the calming big check of the coat? You only get that kind of jarring cognitive dissonance from a Rupert Murdoch smile or seeing Ann Coulter plowing into some comfort food.

But after our first afternoon double-sugar doubleshot, Durant's ensemble started to make more sense. In larger photos, the check stripe is revealed as pink-ish enough to tie all those colors together. It's such a sophisticated look, you half-expect to see Tom Wolfe's head at the top.

Wethinks K-Smooth got an assist from the dressers at Seattle's David Lawrence.

We're okay with that -- Durant's a rookie, after all.

TCL would have voted for the Atlanta Hawks' Al Horford as this season's ROY, but we're okay with the hardware going to KD.

The award could easily have gone to Houston's Luis Scola, who's had an outstanding season in the low-post for the Yao-less Rockets.

But, you know, somehow the big Argentine doesn't strike us as a sartorial sophisticate.
 

Cory Hart Sighting: Kenny Mayne

 
Kenny Mayne must be in familiar territory this week with the release of his new book -- off on his own, cracking jokes, with no one paying attention.

Amazon.com paid notice, but maybe not the kind Mayne would like. Its reviewer called "An Incomplete & Inaccurate History of Sports" "overbearing" and "stale," adding that the intermittent "SportsCenter" anchor's book is full of "relentless, tiresome attempts at generating laughter."

Somebody had to say it.

Someone also might advise him to ditch the sunglasses. It's dopey enough when athletes wear them inside or at night or for reasons other than to shade their peepers, but it's insufferable coming from sports media types, who wear them hoping maybe sports fans will stop them and say, "Hey! Aren't you ... uh ... someone?"

Mayne wears shades in five of the video clips from his "author" page at Random House. In three of the clips, it looks like a mid-autumn day on the coast of Maine -- windy, salty and unrelentingly gray. And he's alone on the beach with his daughters. Cool, dude -- you rock.

He's also donned glasses for his book jacket. What kind of marketing strategy is that? Your big mug on the cover, but you're not going to look us in the eye?

Maybe we're being a little hard on him. Maybe he's wearing sunglasses on the cover because he knows just how lame the book is. Maybe he's planning to leave the shades at home when he writes a real book.
 

Kobe Bryant: Mad for Plaid

 
During the regular season, when TCL was working on a story that involved attending a Nets game (hack-cough-choke), we ran into THE Darryl Dawkins climbing out of his Rolls behind Izod Center. Wearing a billowy silk top and trousers, all a distressing shade of fushia, Dawkins may have been trying out a new nickname -- Raspberry Thunder.

It was just the sort of, um, colorful outfit that reminds us that Mr. Thunder came of age in the mid-70s -- smacked upside the head by monochrome leisure suits, "Saturday Night Fever"/"Superfly," and Walt "Clyde" Frazier.

Why did this image crop up from out of the ... well, pink? "Black Mamba" has gone mad for plaid.

We would linger a little longer on the wrongness of this fashion outing, particularly how The Kobester looks less "Shaft" and more Hopelessly Nerdy Sports Announcer. Also, how Bryant just doesn't have the strong features, personality nor bigger-than-life size to carry off such a bold pattern.

But that might be a teensy bit mean, considering he likely "dressed up" for this occasion and not to impress reporters or lil ol' TCL at the Lakers' post-game presser.
 

LeBron: Lukewarm Playoff Showing

 
LeBron James wasn't feelin' it Thursday, scoring a piddly 22 points and grabbing a measly seven rebounds in the Cavaliers' 108-72 meltdown in Washington in Game 3 of the Wizards-Cavs series.

Even if TCL hadn't suffered through the game, we would have known King James was having a halfhearted sort of day by what he wore to the press conference afterward.

We've always liked LBJ's style. Smooth. Regal without being coy. Classic, even with a finger splint.

But this sports coat, with its elephant-ears lapels, over the open-collared two-tone dress shirt? Eh, whatever.

The jacket was much better worn with this ensemble, where the focus shifts away from those way too old-school lapels.

Still, it's nice to witness "The Chosen One" in the same clothes over and over. Kinda reassuring for us plebes, don't you think?