TV anchor in trouble for sexist slur against Danica Patrick

Another week, another TV sports anchor in hot water for using or suggesting a racial or sexist slur against an athlete on-air. Fox 5 San Diego's Ross Shimabuku is backpedaling and apologizing for stopping just short of calling NASCAR driver Danica Patrick a "b----" on-air last Monday, according to Awful Announcing via Media Rantz. Apparently, the sports anchor doesn't care for the "sexy and she knows it" way that Patrick -- who stars in racy ads for sponsor GoDaddy.com -- carries herself. So he indulges in a bit of editorializing about the popular female driver who'll make her Sprint Cup debut at Fox's rain-delayed broadcast of the Daytona 500 today (12 noon ET). Shimabuku starts off by calling Patrick a "pretty girl" who makes a lot of "money in sponsorships because of it. But what's not attractive is that she's sexy and she knows it." He then cuts to a video clip of Patrick at NASCAR Media Day complaining the media always describe female athletes such as herself as "sexy." "Is there any other word that you can use to describe me?" she asks, while a Fox headline underneath reads: "Danica Patrick. I'm sexy and I know it!" Back to Shimabuku on the set who retorts: 'Oh, I've got a few words… Starts with a 'B', and it's not 'beautiful." Patrick "always has a chip on her shoulder, trying to prove something," adds Shimabuku. ESPN recently fired editor Anthony Federico and suspended a TV anchor Max Bretos for using a racial reference about New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin. So it didn't take long for Shimabuku to say he was sorry. Fox posted a video of him apologizing on its web site Sunday. Shimabuku says he hopes Patrick has a great race today -- and that she's great for the sport. In his bio on on the station's Web site he admits to having "TV" anxiety: "I get nervous being on-air." What do you think? Weigh in below: