Reporters have asked Sean Lee about plays, opposing teams and defensive schemes. Until Monday night, he'd never been asked if Joe Paterno ever bites the Penn State football players. Or if Paterno ever tells the Nittany Lions to exchange e-mail addresses with opposing players, instead of trying to win the game.

But then again, Monday night was the junior linebacker's first encounter with TV anchor Ron Burgundy.

"Some of the questions, how are you supposed to answer them? They're so ridiculous," Lee said yesterday in a telephone interview.

Lee and junior wideout Derrick Williams joined comedian Will Ferrell on stage Monday night for his Funny or Die Comedy Tour. Playing the role of Burgundy, the lead character from the movie "Anchorman," Ferrell held a question-and-answer session with Lee and Williams.

He asked the two players a few outrageous questions before a sold-out Bryce Jordan Center crowd. They had little to say on stage and instead just giggled.

"We weren't vocal," Lee said. "We were just laughing the whole time."

Lee said sports information director Brian Siegrist called him about a week ago to ask if he'd be willing to go on stage with Ferrell. Lee jumped at the opportunity but didn't know until a few days before the show that Ferrell would be performing as Burgundy.

Lee, Williams and quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno had front-row seats for the show, until the two players had to go back stage to put on microphones and prepare for the skit.

"He was very, very nice," Lee said of Ferrell, an avid Southern California football fan. "We got to talk to him a little bit right before we went on. We got to take a picture with him. He was a great guy, real genuine."

Despite playing before nearly 110,000 fans on autumn Saturdays, Lee felt nervous backstage.

"I was like, 'I feel like I'm going out for a game.' I was nervous but I knew I was going out to have fun," Lee said. "It was a dream come true. I knew it was going be him doing his thing, being ridiculous. The best thing you can do is just laugh."