Nick Denton seems to think so, calling them the “cosiest co-anchors” and saying their “on-air antics have convinced MSNBC grunts the two are pursuing an off-camera affair.” Of course, Denton also calls Scarborough a “liberal darling,” so who knows if it’s true?

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Remember when the young Hardball political pundit Ezra Klein made lewd comments about Tim Russert’s sex life just a few short days ago? And then promptly (and embarrassingly) shut down his Twitter Web page that featured those sharp words? Well, tonight TIME’s Ana Marie Cox, a frequent contributor to NBC shows featuring Joe Scarborough, posted this statement on her Twitter page regarding Russert:

Knowing Cox, she won’t be deleting anything, but one does have to wonder: if these people hate NBC so much, why do they attempt to desperately sell themselves on the company’s stations all too often?

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Lots of facial problems at MSNBC this morning. Joe Scarborough, back from a possible skiing holiday vacay, turned up on TV bright orange and burnt this morning, sitting next to an increasingly plump-faced Mika Brzezinski and a jolly David Shuster with weird make-up smudges on his rapidly expanding cheeks and double-chin. New year’s make-overs, MSNBC? Please?

Tim Russert, adding his oversized ego to the fat-faced lineup, said on Morning Joe that he’s faced plenty of “80-year-old cougars” trying to chase him down while on the trail in Iowa. A cougar, you’ll recall, is an older lady who’s hot to trot. Go, Timmy.

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Joe Scarborough recalled on MSNBC today that when he served in Congress, he often sat alone; other Republicans avoided him like the plague. He recalled another Congressman with a similar experience: Ron Paul, who happened to be his guest on Morning Joe this morning. Paul chuckled at the remembrance of the alienation, but his fate has turned around as of late. In fact, Republicans and Democrats now regularly surround him on the House floor, asking for advice on raising money on the Internet, he said. Scarborough later shared that his Florida-based son is part of the Ron Paul revolution.

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Some wacky stuff happened in our media world over the past several days, and we’re still trying to sort it all out. A friend suggested that writing our thoughts down in a list form might help. After pondering the top stories at Digg (”ten pen tricks to do when you’re not jacking off” and “five ways to make your chest bigger” ), we figured everybody likes lists anyways, so why the hell not:

1) Why did MSNBC bail on reporter David Shuster for asking Rep. Marsha Blackburn a simple question?

The net’s soon-to-be former General Manager Dan Abrams made Shuster issue an apology to Blackburn on-air after he asked the congresswoman to name the last soldier to die from her district. When Blackburn didn’t know the answer, Shuster said that Jeremy Bohannon was that person — which soon became a source of controversy, with some conservatives saying that Bohannon was not from Blackburn’s district. Before that important detail could be sorted out, Abrams made an unhappy Shuster apologize because he thought Shuster had gotten it wrong. In the end, it turned out that Bohannon was from Blackburn’s district.

Hopefully Abrams made it up to Shuster in private — not that he has much incentive to do so, since he’s in the process of leaving his management job to become the permanent host of the network’s 9 p.m. hour, which was vacated by Joe Scarborough earlier this year.

Media Madness Ranking:  (3) Patrick Gavins  Read more…

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Britney Spear’s paunch isn’t the only bit of fleshy lard being gossiped about today.

This morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski, apparently fed up with Joe Scarborough’s frequent comments about her appearance, called him “doughy,” bloated,” and “in need of more exercise.”

“Your mother is going to appreciate I brought this up,” Mika said. “She probably feels the same way about your health as I do.”

The former GOP Congressman became obviously defensive, mentioning the dis frequently throughout his 3-hour program — in the midst of taking frequent jabs at Spears, even once calling her a “pork chop.”

There’s only one way to make that kind of talk stop, Joe. Get on the treadmill! Maybe you and Brit can become workout buddies?

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On “Morning Joe” today, Joe Scarborough and Ana Maria Cox were dishing about an apparent feud between CNBC anchors — and, more interestingly, an apparent conspiracy at News Corp to cross-promote the story among its brands, including the New York Post’s Page Six gossip column.

Scarborough called the story “garbage” and accused News Corp of “ginning up” the situation for their own purposes with the Fox Business Channel soon launching. The shocking video is now online.

Some insiders tell Big Head DC that viewers shouldn’t give too much credence to the bashing from the conservative talker, since it’s well know in the industry that he’s tried unsuccessfully to land a gig at FOX News.

Related: We Challenge Ana Marie Cox to Use Her Platform to Reveal Secrets Behind Death of Joe Scarborough’s Aide

Earlier: Top Big Head DC Search Today: Ana Marie Cox + Tits

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This story was first reported on Big Head DC.

UPDATE, 6 p.m.: Tucker Carlson released this statement today, clarifying the molesting incident:

Let me be clear about an incident I referred to on MSNBC last night: In the mid-1980s, while I was a high school student, a man physically grabbed me in a men’s room in Washington, DC. I yelled, pulled away from him and ran out of the room. Twenty-five minutes later, a friend of mine and I returned to the men’s room. The man was still there, presumably waiting to do to someone else what he had done to me. My friend and I seized the man and held him until a security guard arrived.

Several bloggers have characterized this is a sort of gay bashing. That’s absurd, and an insult to anybody who has fought back against an unsolicited sexual attack. I wasn’t angry with the man because he was gay. I was angry because he assaulted me.

Original report, August 28, 9:21 p.m.: To shocked reactions and snickers from Joe Scarborough and Dan Abrams tonight on MSNBC, conservative talker Tucker Carlson recalled that he was approached as a teen by another male to perform sexual relations in a Georgetown Park bathroom.

When asked how he responded to the situation, Carlson said he asked a buddy to help him beat in the accoster’s skull. And they did!

View the shocking video after the jump. Read more…

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The former Wonkette blogger and current TIME “trapped in 2003” online editor Ana Marie Cox will be filling in for a vacationing Mika Brzezinski on Joe Scarborough’s MSNBC morning show this week.

What better venue to discuss the mystery of Lori Klausutis’ 2001 death when she was an aide to the then-Congressman Scarborough in his Florida office? At the age of 28, Klausutis, previously known to be quite healthy by all of her colleagues, was found bloody and dead, slumped next to a desk within Scarborough’s office.

Scarborough released this statement hours after the discovery:

My staff and family are greatly saddened by the loss of Lori Klausutis. I know Lori will be missed by the thousands of citizens who regularly contact my office to seek assistance with a variety of problems. May God grant Lori’s family the grace, comfort and hope that will get them through this difficult time.

And that was it. Staffers moved on, and so did Joe — eventually becoming a star at MSNBC. The Klausutis story never really received much attention in the media, apparently because he Chandra Levy story was reaching an apex at the time.

But a medical examiner said in August 2001 that Lori had sustained a “scratch and a bruise” on her head — it was unknown if the injury was a result of her fall, or whether it occurred before her fall. It was also unknown if she had died when Scarborough was in Florida or Washington. An exact time of death, apparently, could not be determined.

So! This week Ana Marie Cox has an opportunity to shed some much needed clarity on the situation. She could bring in medical examiners; she could call Klausutis’ family; she could even ask Joe why more hasn’t been made of the mysteries surrounding the grisly death scene. She could get to the bottom of this important side note of Congressional history. Do it, Ana!

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So, we watched little Facebook scandal-plagued Luke Russert on Joe Scarborough’s MSNBC show this morning because we wanted to see for ourselves exactly what nepotism looks like.

We ended up learning that it runs even more deeply in the Russert family than we reported yesterday. Not only did Luke’s daddy Tim Russert, the big cheese in NBC’s political unit, get the raunchy Boston College student the gig on Joe’s show today, but Luke has also secured one of the few internships available this summer with Conan O’Brien’s late night show — which, not coincidentally, airs on NBC.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Luke started to complain on air this morning about being “bossed around” by celebrity entourages while doing his intern gig. He also made a couple of unrepeatable sex jokes about newswoman Mika Brzezinski, which led her to smack him with a newspaper on the set.

Wow. The big world certainly is tough, little Luke. Now, wanna go hot tubbing? Or will you be too busy hosting NBC Nightly News, or something like that, later today?

Earlier: Tim Russert Pulls Strings to Get Raunchy Son a Nat’l Morning Show

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