Damon has winning style -- and winning ratings

DRESS UP, DRESS DOWN What would Johnny do? If he's smart, put a hold on his credit card. Not long after Cate Edwards walked out, Johnny Damon's fiance, Michelle Mangan, walked into Betty Riaz's stylish Newbury Street boutique the other day and dropped $5,000 on designer duds. (There goes the center fielder's World Series share.) With Johnny doing the talk-show thing, Mangan said she needs some new outfits to wear in the green room. . . . By the way, Damon spills the beans on the Sox' success in the new issue of People. ''I do naked pull-ups," he says. ''It's that kind of free style that's propelled us to the next level."

LETTER-ING IN BOSTON SPORTS Late night chat-show host David Letterman and Boston sports figures just seem to click. Monday night's appearance of Johnny Damon brought the highest ratings for the Boston area this season. The previous ''Late Show with David Letterman" to see that much of a spike in ratings locally was on Feb. 4, when Patriots coach Bill Belichick graced the guest chair.

KERRY ON Senator John Kerry's friends and family packed his private waiting room at the Westin Copley Place well into the early hours yesterday. Among those gathered were sister Peggy Kerry and friends Bruce Droste, David Thorne, Tom Vallely, Bruce Percelay, Christie Brinkley, Sharon Stone, and folkie Peter Yarrow.

GREEN WITH ENVY We'll forgive him for writing stories all season about why the Red Sox would not win the World Series, but when Murray Chass called our man Manny Ramirez cheap and selfish in the pages of The New York Times, that was beyond the pale. In a column Tuesday that smacked of oh-so-sour grapes, Chass chastised the World Series MVP for ignoring a plea for help from his high school baseball coach. (The coach, Steve Mandl, wants $20,000 for new uniforms.) Predictably, Chass points out that Manny earned in excess of $21 million this year, and writes ''he could easily provide financial aid, but never has." Oh, really? Manny, Pedro Martinez, and David Ortiz raised more than $200,000 for flood victims in the Dominican Republic this summer, and Ramirez recently gave the Florida-based CHARLEE Homes for Children $20,000 worth of Reebok sneakers. (That's shoes for 500 kids.) ''We're very thankful for what Manny gave us," CEO Mary Cagle said yesterday. ''He also has us on his website, and he visited our program."

HOMETOWN HEROES The kudos continue for the Sox. Trophy-carrying team owner John Henry, CEO Larry Lucchino, and players Derek Lowe, Gabe Kapler, Doug Mirabelli, Kevin Youkilis, and Mark Bellhorn were honorary captains at last night's Celtics opener.

ROARING THROUGH THE FALL More than 430 children from 14 area parochial elementary schools attended yesterday's matinee performance of ''The Lion King" through a grant from the Yawkey Foundation. ''Our children are so excited, they talked of nothing else for weeks," said Sister Dorothy Burns, principal of the Cathedral Grammar School in Boston. The show's young star, Wallace Smith, who plays Simba, took time off between shows to sing the national anthem at last night's Celtics vs. Philadelphia game at the FleetCenter. . . . In a related note, it was announced yesterday that the show's run at the Opera House has been extended until Feb. 20.

DATE MOVIE Maybe his relationship with ''Alias" actress Jennifer Garner is serious after all. ''Inside Edition" reported this week that our boy Ben Affleck and Garner stopped by a Blockbuster in Brentwood, Calif., on Halloween and picked up ''Van Helsing." Wow. How romantic.

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