KCNC, "the Broncos station," was providing its nightly 10:35 p.m. roundup on the team's practice at Dove Valley when Vic Lombardi picked up his shears.

His customer: a 10-year-old Broncos fan who had volunteered to get a Tim Tebow-style haircut.

Later, the happy youngster was introduced to Tebow and got his autograph.

Some viewers probably viewed this as a "cute sports feature."

And maybe it was, considering the overload of ridiculous Tebow- mania coverage that has engulfed the local screens this past month.

But why was Lombardi, the station's Emmy award-winning anchor, doing the cutting?

The segment would have looked much more professional if Lombardi, utilizing his somewhat sardonic style, had reported on what was happening.

His participation seemingly was viewed as a way to give the feature more panache for KCNC viewers.

The station wants to solidify its nightly 10 p.m. news audience since it pays a heavy price for its "exclusive" Broncos coverage.

Seemingly anything out of the ordinary can be pushed, particularly when a push can involve a station star.

Lombardi's job is to report and provide commentary on what is happening on the local and national sports scenes. And Lombardi does this very well.

Currently the best sports anchor on local television, Lombardi has been at KCNC for 13 years and has 13 local Emmy statues to remind him of his tenure.

But gimmicks like this hair-cutting segment don't add to his TV sports stature.

This marks the second time Lombardi has been involved in an on-air feature.

In September 2008 during the Democratic National Convention, he was part of a local basketball team that played a pickup game at the Denver Athletic Club against another group that featured then-Sen. Barack Obama.

KCNC provided brief footage of the brief contest, which included a scene when Obama and Lombardi battled one-on-one.

After the game Lombardi talked briefly about the experience.

At the risk of being accused of splitting hairs, this brief KCNC-4 coverage of the game, centering on Lombardi's participation, was of legitimate interest.

Lombardi, a stellar athlete, was not the only player involved.

And KCNC was not sponsoring the Democratic National Convention.

The lines between sports and entertainment became blurred long before Lombardi picked up his shears.

Still, an Emmy-winning anchor should play it straight in the sports world.