NBC News made the logical move on Sunday in tapping Tom Brokaw for the tough job of following Tim Russert as moderator of "Meet the Press" for the rest of this year, at least through the end of the presidential race in November.

Brokaw has the reporting experience, the on-air chops and the gravitas to uphold Russert's considerable legacy in turning "Meet the Press" into a consistent news-making and profit-making enterprise for the Peacock, as Variety's Michael Schneider reports.

But as right as it is to hand the chair to Brokaw in the short term, there's an equally smart choice on the NBC News roster to take the job for the long haul. Andrea Mitchell, Peacock's chief foreign affairs correspondent, also has the resume, the Washington relationships, the reporting skills and the extra-thick skin to take on the job. Having Brokaw handle the challenging transition period in the wake of Russert's surprising death June 13 is the best scenario that could arise for the show out of NBC News' tragic loss. Mitchell wouldn't have to follow Babe Ruth up to bat, and having a clearly defined limited tenure would probably help Brokaw avoid the inevitable "is he as good as" comparisons too.

Brokaw, in my view, is the very model of how a network anchor should comport him or herself after relinquishing the throne.

Hey, look who showed up Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall for the last night of Will Ferrell's "Funny or Die" comedy tour: Tom Brokaw.

The NBC anchorman emeritus proved that the good sense of humor he always displayed in all those  "Late Night with David Letterman" appearances has not been lost in retirement. Ferrell by all accounts (here's the New York Times' take on the perf) had a lot of fun in his Ron Burgundy guise with this "anchorman-vs.-anchorman" moment, alternately grilling and chilling with the TV icon that Burgundy quickly dubbed "T-Bo."

All kidding aside, the eight-city  "Funny or Die" tour (designed to promote his latest comedy, "Semi-Pro," which bows this week, and the tour's namesake FunnyOrDie.com website in which Ferrell is a partner) did boffo business as it wound through college towns in chilly Northeastern climes this month. It's a comedy caravan that is likely to be replicated in some form in a city near you in the near future, as Variety noted earlier this week. There's been a clamor on this coast because Ferrell and his co-stars, Zach Galifianakis, Demetri Martin and Nick Swardson, haven't come anywhere near the 310, 323 or even the 818.

You gotta respect Ferrell for his love of the game. Instead of going for the cushy presenter slot (and swag bag) on the Oscar telecast, he spent Hollywood's Biggest Night on the opposite end of the country, digging the company of a few thousand fans, a fellow anchorman and three loopy cohorts who got an early, career-boosting Christmas present from Ferrell this year.