The bikini breach
What's playing out as some sort of scandalous media sex brawl got some clarity today when the accused, Philadelphia TV reporter Alycia Lane, (left), explained her side in sending bikini-clad photos to NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen that were intercepted by his wife, USC football radio pre- and post-game reporter Suzy Shuster.
Lane said in today's Philadelphia Inquirer, in an interview labeled "exclusive," that she was "mortified" that the story came out in the New York Post on Monday and the photos were "harmless" banter between "two old friends."
In fact, if there's someone at fault, maybe it's Eisen?
Lane said she and Eisen had corresponded frequently since they met nearly 10 years ago when she worked at a local station in New York and Eisen worked in Bristol, Conn., for ESPN. "There was never any more than friendship," said Lane, who said she last saw him at the media cafeteria during Super Bowl week in Jacksonville, Fla., in February 2005.
It became apparent to Lane after she received Shuster's e-mail that Eisen had never mentioned their acquaintance to his wife.
In an Inquirer instant poll that asked readers: "Do you think it was out of line for Alycia Lane to send photos to a married man?" 917 (64 percent) out of 1,422 said yes, so far.
This all started as an item on Page Six in Monday's New York Post and, frankly, should have died long before it got there. If there were any three people you don't need to know about their personal lives, here's the candidates.