Making some noise at Fenway

Here's the windup and the . . . World Series! As Joe Castiglione is fond of saying: Can you believe it? The Bosox bid for their second trophy in four years began last night in front of a packed house at Fenway. (Then again, when was the last time the place wasn't full?) As you might expect, the witnesses to history included more than a few familiar faces, including "Hardball" host Chris Matthews, who was sitting down front with Ed Jesser, as well as Governor Deval Patrick and former presidential aide David Gergen. Sox stalwarts Dick and Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephen King, and Joseph Abboud were all in the house, as was Boston Concessions bigshot Joe O'Donnell, Union Oyster House honcho Joe Milano, and Jack and Suzy Welch, who, by our reckoning, haven't missed an inning of the postseason. Reebok's Paul Foster threw a shindig in the company's sweet suite and invited closer Jonathan Papelbon's proud parents, Sheila and John, as well as Celtics Rajon Rondo and Eddie House, and Pats players Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, Laurence Maroney, Ben Watson, Donte Stallworth, and Chad Jackson. (We're told Pats poobah Bob Kraft wasn't at the park because he's in London on business.) Making the scene in the Dunkin' Donuts suite were actor/comedian Mike O'Malley, Bruins Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, uber agent Scott Boras, TV talking head Jeanne Zelasko, former Sox manager Kevin Kennedy, and daffy Diamondback Eric Byrnes. Mayor Tom Menino attended Game 1, of course, but former governor Mitt Romney and wife Anne did not, having given their tix to sons Tagg and Ben. We also spied rocker Bill Janovitz, Fenway Recordings owner Mark Kates, former Bank of America cheese Chad Gifford, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, Citizens Bank boss Larry Fish, 1960 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino and '84 winner Doug Flutie, Manny Ramirez's wife, Juliana, and their two sons, and Bruins Phil Kessel, Glen Murray, and P.J. Axelsson. Play ball!

When former state treasurer Shannon O'Brien handed Elizabeth Edwards a Red Sox cap yesterday at the Girl Scouts' annual Leading Women Awards, Edwards proved to be a deft politician in her own right. Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, told the crowd she's a baseball fan - but didn't say which team she's cheering for in the Series.

You think Boston celebs lack star power, check out Denver. When the World Series moves out west on Saturday, the ho-hum guest list will include Denver Broncos QB John Elway, and actors Kelsey Grammer and Fred Willard, whose new sitcom "Back to You" just happens to be on the same network that's broadcasting the Series. We're told the Rockies extended invites to "Foxy Brown" actress Pam Grier and singer Joe Cocker, both of whom have connections to Colorado, but they're out of town. The team also hoped to get the Fray to play, but the band is touring in Ireland and the UK.

Major League Baseball is apparently satisfied that the Bosox are done dropping F-bombs during their post-game press conferences. After Josh Beckett used an obscenity following a game against Cleveland, a league official said the Sox and the Rocks would be reminded to refrain from working blue during the World Series. (The postgame press conferences are picked up live by various networks, including ESPN and NESN.) But in the end, MLB decided not to send a memo or institute a delay. "Mr. Beckett was charming and profanity-free" before Game 1, said MLB's Phyllis Merhige. "It's just something we wish wouldn't come up."

You could actually hear Lenny Clarke's cheering on TV during games six and seven of the pennant race, but you won't hear him for the first two games of the Series. "My wife [Jennifer] had some surgery. She's getting better now, so we'll just say we'll be in the stands when they come back to Boston," the Vineyard resident (inset) told us. "If it takes the Sox that long to win the whole thing." The actor-comedian recently did some filming for Belmont native David E. Kelley's new series, "Life on Mars." "If David Kelley calls you, you go," he said. Clarke's also working on a cooking show, produced by his buddy Denis Leary. "I'm going to be the male Rachael Ray," he deadpanned.

If it were only about the owners, not the players, the Sox would sweep the Rockies for sure. So says Smith College economics professor Andrew Zimbalist. Rated one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators by the Institute for International Sport, Zimbalist says the Bosox brain trust is by far the best ownership group in Major League Baseball. "Their business acumen is phenomenal, and look at what they've been able to do on the field," he says. "Lucchino et al. have scarcely made a false move." So what about Rockies owners Richard and Charlie Montfort? "They haven't been successful on the playing field, haven't invested in the team, and they play in a publicly subsidized stadium. . . . All those things wear on the fans," said Zimbalist. "They're undistinguished as owners." Then again, Zimbalist has done work for the Bosox brass and will be watching tonight's game from the owner's box. Um, doesn't that influence his opinions? "No," he insists. "I have very good reasons to think they're the best around."

Nicholas Martin (inset), the outgoing artistic director of the Huntington Theatre Company, has already landed a job as the new artistic director at Williamstown Theatre Festival, replacing Tony-winning actor/director Roger Rees. "Nicky has a long association with the festival and we're looking forward to having him on board," WTF board chairman Matthew Harris said yesterday. Martin has directed several successful productions at Williamstown, including this past summer's "The Corn Is Green" with Kate Burton. He finishes his seventh season at the Huntington in June, but will continue to be associated with the Huntington for two more years as artist emeritus. Rees led the WTF for three years.

Notwithstanding their very public display of affection in Miami over the weekend, all may not be well with Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen. Word is the star QB and his supermodel sweetheart are squabbling, and the source of the friction, at least in part, is Brady's relationship with his ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan, the mother of his son, John Edward Thomas Moynahan. We're told Brady had a lengthy phone conversation with Bridget while in Miami, and Bundchen was upset to the point of tears. OK! confirms that the pretty pair are at odds over Brady's desire to spend more time with his pigskin progeny. The magazine reports that Bundchen recently pulled Brady out of a Starbucks here so that their argument would not create a spectacle. "Tom said that his priority was Gisele, but she was shaking her head," an eyewitness told OK! "She took his hand, and they walked out without even getting their coffee."

After the Boston Common rally on Tuesday night, presidential candidate Barack Obama headed to Hamersley's Bistro in the South End for a dinner celebration. We're told Obama also made a stop next door at the Beehive, where some of his staff and local supporters were hanging out.

Globe correspondent Terry Byrne contributed to this column. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.