Brady remains driven to take care of all his Best Buddies

By Carol Beggy and Mark Shanahan , Globe Staff  |  May 17, 2008

Tom Brady arrived at last night's kickoff for the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hyannis Port in typically dramatic fashion. The Pats QB pulled up in a black Audi R8, driving the sports car into a tent set up adjacent to the JFK Library. (U2's "Vertigo" was playing on the PA.) "I think I just passed a state trooper," joked Brady, the honorary chairman of the cycling fund-raiser founded by Anthony Shriver for people with intellectual disabilities. Unaccompanied by his supermodel sweetheart Gisele Bundchen, Brady then surprised his five linemen, giving each of them an Audi Q7 SUV. (Only Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, and Logan Mankins were present to accept their sweet rides, which retail for $42,500.) Said Brady: "These will keep you well-protected, just like you make me feel - sometimes." Brady posed for a few photos, including one with Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart, and then departed for the private dinner at the JFK Library. Brady has been involved with Best Buddies since 2003, and announced last night that he'll be the honorary chairman for the next three years. He'll be joined by other celebrities this weekend, including former Olympic track star Carl Lewis, "Ally McBeal" actor Greg Germann, and actress Maureen McCormick of "The Brady Bunch."

Harvard purchased the saucy papers of Norman Mailer's longtime mistress because the school was upset that the legendary writer sold his manuscripts to the University of Texas, a Mailer family friend told us yesterday. The family believes Harvard acted out of spite when it bought the archive of Carole Mallory, a former model and wannabe writer who carried on an affair with "The Naked and the Dead" author from 1983-1992. The family friend told us yesterday that Harvard was deeply hurt when, in 2005, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner sold his papers for $2.5 million to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas. "Harvard wanted Norman to give them his papers, but instead he sold them to Texas," said the friend. "Buying this stuff now is so beneath Harvard." The World's Greatest University has not divulged what it paid for Mallory's papers, a collection that includes a 20-page sex scene from her unpublished memoir "Making Love With Norman," and another racy scene that stretches to 50 pages. Beth Brainard, director of communications for the Harvard College Library, declined to comment yesterday, referring us instead to Leslie Morris, Harvard's curator of modern books and manuscripts. Morris didn't call us back.

Why is John Cena shilling for Gillette? Surely, the WWE wrestler doesn't shave his legs - or does he? "Completely," the West Newbury native told us yesterday. "There's some heavy manscaping going on, from my sideburns to my feet." You can see for yourself today when Cena shows up at the Prudential Center to judge Gillette's "Search for the Next Phenom" contest. Afterward, he'll be heading to Fenway to throw out the first pitch. A big sports fan, Cena called Spygate a crock. "It's too bad [Bill ] Belichick has to put up with this," he said. "But it's the offseason. The NFL needs something to talk about."

Richard Chase retired from WBZ-TV yesterday after nearly 40 years on the job. One of the country's first African-American TV news photographers, Chase (center) was feted yesterday by friends and former colleagues, including Charles Austin and Sarah-Ann Shaw (both above with Chase). The station also aired a touching and well-told tribute to the pioneering videographer.

Looking more like middle-aged men than boys, New Kids on the Block performed yesterday on "Today" (right) and thrilled their rain-soaked supporters, some of whom had waited 48 hours to see the show. The Boston-bred band, which will be on stage at tomorrow's KISS concert at the Tweeter Center, sang a medley of their hits, including "Right Stuff" and "Hangin' Tough." Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan and Jonathan Knight, and Danny Wood were nattily dressed as they strutted their stuff on the slippery makeshift stage at Rockefeller Plaza.

"California Dreamin'," the hit that catapulted The Mamas and The Papas, got a big boost from a Boston station, founding member Michelle Phillips told the crowd at yesterday's Exceptional Women Awards. "It got a lot of play on WMEX," said Phillips at the Westin Copley Place. "Boston is our lucky city." One of seven women honored by Magic 106.7, Phillips even sang along as the group Cnote performed an a cappella version of the hit. Also honored were the Original Healing Threads creator Peg Feodoroff, Partners in Health cofounder Ophelia Dahl, Care .com founder Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Brecken Chinn Swartz, who helped get treatment for a severely burned Chinese girl, and teen Brittany Bergquist, who cofounded cellphonesforsoldiers.com. State Attorney General Martha Coakley said she was a little worried about accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award because "I think I still have a few good years left."

Harvard's Laurence Tribe, the constitutional scholar who is sometimes mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee, sure has a way with words, doesn't he? Delivering the commencement address at New York University this week, Tribe dropped this gem on the grads: "Think about it - if your mother and father had watched yesterday's equivalent of 'The Wire' instead of making love at just the right moment, you would not exist. So thank mom and dad for doing it. Your being here is an implausible, miraculous, serendipitous event."

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