A big night for Neely, Fox, and Leary
When Cam Neely was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last fall, fellow Canadian Michael J. Fox was in the audience with his mom. ''Cam's like her third son," Fox told us the other day. ''I had to be there. It's kind of like being Italian and your friend makes pope." That's hyperbole, of course, but No. 8's induction was a happy occasion for Neely's famous friends Fox and Denis Leary. Buddies since Neely's days as a Bruin, the three don't get to see each other as often as they used to, but they'll be in Boston Saturday for ''Betting on a Cause & a Cure," an annual fund-raiser for their respective foundations, the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care, the Leary Firefighters Foundation, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. ''We're disparate in what we do, but we have a great friendship and a common affinity for Boston," said Fox. ''We feel so lucky to have the careers we've had. It's like what your parents tell you: To whom much is given, much is expected." (Tickets to the black-tie event, with Monte Carlo-style gaming, elegant food, and late-night show by Gavin DeGraw, cost $2,500 and are available at 617-346-5900.) ''With what's happened around the world, there's only so many charity dollars to go around," said Neely. ''It's gratifying that people like this event so much."
Busy comic bashes Bush
This is a busy time for Leary, who's in pre-production on season three of his hit FX show ''Rescue Me," and also has a new movie, ''Ice Age 2: The Meltdown," due out March 31. ''My plate's full at the moment," said Leary, reached by phone in Connecticut. Over the summer, the left-leaning comedian did a short stand-up tour, which touched on politics and included clips of President Bush. ''My job is to point out the disaster that's happening," Leary said. ''There were so many idiotic bits of Bush on video, I couldn't decide what to pick. . . . The bit wrote itself."
‘Wicked’ awesome autograph session
Clutching posters and CDs, fans of ''Wicked" waited patiently Saturday to get their stuff signed by Gregory Maguire, whose novel spawned the smash hit musical, and Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the memorable tunes. The two were in town for the Globe's inaugural Arts & Entertainment weekend, which drew a diverse crowd to the Calderwood Pavilion.
Later, famed choreographer Mark Morris, contending with a nasty cold, talked about staging dance to live music. His once-unruly black hair now cropped and eclipsed by gray, Morris gave a shout-out to Boston Ballet, for whom he's developing a piece to premiere this spring. Saturday ended with the comic shtick of Alan Zweibel, founding writer on ''SNL," and Chris Elliott, Bob's boy who may be best known as the star of ''Cabin Boy." Try as he might, Elliott admitted he's not comfortable playing anyone but his snarky self on screen.
'Bachelor' doctor flunks chemistry
Want to see what a lovely loser looks like? Check out the second episode of ''The Bachelor: Paris," which re-airs tonight at 9. That's when Dr. Travis Stork -- a.k.a. The Bachelor -- tells Windham, N.H., native Elizabeth Croteau to get lost. ''He's a nice guy, but not my type," insists Croteau, who attended Assumption College and lives in Miami now. ''I kind of got the feeling there was no chemistry flowing so I knew I would be leaving."
Big '80s bands at Big Brothers bash
Organizers of Saturday's fund-raiser for Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay sure didn't skimp on entertainment. Eighties icon Deborah Harry and Blondie took the stage at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, as did Rick Nielsen and Cheap Trick. Boldfaced names in attendance included Cam and Paulina Neely, Peter Wolf, Tudor Investments' Jim Pallotta, Celts CEO Wyc Grousbeck, Lycos founder Bob Davis, Alta Communications' partner Tim Dibble, and assorted chefs.
Cook fills Garden via pre-sale
How hot is Arlington native Dane Cook? Well, you can forget about getting a ticket to the comedian's April 15 show at the TD Banknorth Garden. All 17,000 tickets were sold via a pre-sale that only Cook's fans were told about, making it the most successful artist pre-sale in the venue's history.
Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
