More fun for the winners

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Had the outcome been different, the Patriots' post-Super Bowl bash would have been an affair to remember. Ticketholders were treated to a championship spread at the team's tony hotel, the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, and a dynamite, hourlong set by perennial Grammy winner Alicia Keys.

But, as you might expect after such an imperfect ending to an otherwise magical season, the vibe in the ballroom was less than ebullient. Robert Kraft told the bummed-out crowd that the team is "hurting badly" but that he's intent on getting back to the big game next year. (Filmmaker Peter Farrelly, who'd taken his young son to the game, later gave Kraft a big hug.)

The Pats owner thanked the fans for their support, and then walked with his wife, Myra, and son, Pats president Jonathan, into a VIP area where Lionel Richie, a Kraft family friend, performed. Just as he did in Jacksonville after the third Super Bowl victory for the Pats, Richie played a greatest-hits set that included "Sail On," "Stuck on You," "Dancing on the Ceiling," and the Commodores classic "Brick House," during which Richie segued into "Head" by Prince. Trying to put a smile on people's faces, the singer talked about his long career in show business. "What I really should be celebrating is surviving Nicole Richie," he said.

Keys, meanwhile, was all business. Introduced from the stage by Pats linebacker Adalius Thomas, the diva went on just after 1 a.m., opening with a thumping vesion of "Go Ahead" from her new No. 1 CD, "As I Am."

Predictably perhaps, Tom Brady and girlfriend Gisele Bundchen didn't make the scene, but several of his teammates did, including Matt Light, Richard Seymour, Donté Stallworth, Wes Welker, and a very downcast Junior Seau. (The linebacker likely cheered up when one of his biggest fans, Playboy "Girl Next Door" Kendra Wilkinson, showed up later.)

While the Pats were licking their wounds, the Super Bowl winners were at the Scottsdale nightclub Axis/Radius partying like rock stars. The Giants' marquee monster Michael Strahan was there with girlfriend Nicole Murphy - Eddie Murphy's ex - as was Plaxico Burress. (The receiver also hit 944 magazine's postgame bash.) Celebs stopping by to congatulate the champs included actor Kevin Dillon, a.k.a. Johnny Drama on "Entourage," and the sultry singer Ciara. Maybe because the team didn't expect to win, Big Blue's bash felt a little impromptu. But, for Giants fans, it felt good.

It's probably a good thing Bundchen attended the Super Bowl in Arizona rather than watching it at home in New York. Word is a crowd of unruly Giants fans - are there any other kind? - were outside the supermodel's pad in the West Village after the game Sunday, and they became so boisterous that neighbors called police to clear the scene. Bundchen's due back in New York today, but she won't be there long. We're told Brady and his lady are bound for Costa Rica and perhaps Rome in the coming weeks.

The paparazzi caught Bridget Moynahan on her way to a Super Bowl brunch in Santa Monica, Calif. As she walked into the Shutters on the Beach Hotel on Sunday, the Longmeadow-raised actress was asked whether she had a prediction on the outcome of the game. Moynahan - who has a son, John, with her ex, Tom Brady - politely smiled and went into the posh hotel.

Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and the rest of the Pats may have lost Super Bowl XLII, but to people in Zambia, Romania, and Nicaragua the Patriots will soon be known as the world champions. Huh? Well, all those T-shirts and caps printed in advance with the Pats proclaimed the Super Bowl winner aren't tossed out. The NFL and the Christian relief group World Vision send the unused, losing half of the Super Bowl victory apparel to countries where people are in need of clothing.

Fashionistas and bloggers are agog over all the stars who have been filling the front rows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. But that's what happens when stylish actors and actresses have extra time on their hands thanks to a writers' strike. Yesterday Eliza Dushku and her brother, Nate, were at the Peter Som show at the Promenade at Bryant Park. (The Watertown-raised siblings appear together in "The Alphabet Killers," due out later this year.) "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo, an Everett native, was at the Y-3 show Sunday at Pier 40, chatting up supermodel Helena Christensen. And "Bones" star Emily Deschanel and Vanity Fair cover girl Ginnifer Goodwin - both BU alums - were backstage Sunday at the Harve Leger show to offer their congrats to designer Max Azria on his fall collection. . . . Red Sox ace Jonathan Papelbon hung out with friends at the Manhattan nightspot Touch on Saturday night. He partied to the wee hours, we're told, but was gone by the time "Project Runway" contestant Elisa Jimenez unveiled her fall collection at Touch on Sunday morning.

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