'Late Show' with the Celtics

The Celts' victory lap started last night as Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen yukked it up with David Letterman. The dynamic duo told Dave that appearing on "The Late Show" is one of the sweeter spoils of winning an NBA title. "I think in the '80s when you won a championship, you said, 'We're going to Disneyland.' [Now] we say, 'We're going to David Letterman.' " But Allen also struck a serious tone, talking about his son's medical situation. "We found out before [Game 5] that he was going to be admitted to the hospital and they did blood work and they found out that he was diabetic, and I didn't know what to think," said Allen. "At first it was a shock and it hurt us, you know, seeing him in the hospital after the game, seeing him connected to tubes. As a parent, it bothered me tremendously, but you know, now, we're on the right track and we're definitely going to take care of him for the rest of his life." It was then that Letterman leaned over and, from behind his desk, retrieved the championship trophy. "Here," he said, "That's for your son."

She's on board with Boston

Actress Emily Mortimer 's been traveling to Boston so frequently to film this year that she's fallen in love with Amtrak. "[The conductors] all know me by heart," says Mortimer, who filmed "Pink Panther 2" last fall and wraps work on Martin Scorsese's "Ashecliffe" next week. "That train from New York beats a million plane rides." The British actress was at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel last night celebrating the new Boston Common magazine. (She's on the cover, of course.) "Thank God for air brushing," Mortimer told us. "I don't look nearly that flawless. In real life, I have split ends, dirty fingernails, and wrinkles." Asked if she followed the Celtics/Lakers series as closely as her "Ashecliffe" costar Leonardo DiCaprio, Mortimer laughed. " 'Fraid not. I'm the least sporty person," she said. "I can tell you, though, that your Mr. Price, or Pierce . . . Is that it, Mr Pierce? Anyway, he's an extremely handsome, good-looking man." Among those attending last night's party were Sox owner John Henry, Shrine owner Ed Kane, director Sam Weisman, Jim and Alina Apteker, and Boston Common publisher Jason Binn.

How fortunate are the Andelman boys, whose five-day "Phantom Gourmet BBQ Festival" kicked off yesterday at City Hall Plaza and drew Patriot Larry Izzo, among others? It shouldn't hurt business to have the Celtics victory parade roll by the fest's front door today. Word is the participating chefs - grill masters from all over the United States, including Butch "Smackin" Lupinetti and Dallas "Beef Baron" Green - are cooking around the clock to prepare for the onslaught.

CBS finally announced the featured act for the Boston Pops' annual Fourth of July extravaganza. It's Rascal Flatts. The country stars will join conductor Keith Lockhart for an evening of fun, fireworks, and, for a second year in a row, Craig Ferguson. "The Late Late Show" host, who presided at last year's live broadcast, will be back again this year. The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, as the free outdoor concert is called, is celebrating its 35th anniversary. In addition to Rascal Flatts, whose latest CD is called "Still Feels Good," the concert will, as usual, feature the Pops's rendition of the "1812 Overture." Previous Pops accompanists include Steven Tyler, David Lee Roth, and LeAnn Rimes.

Beginning with today's parade of Duck Boats, we'll all be basking in the afterglow of the C's 17th championship for months to come. (Can you believe KG's going to be greeted at some point by President Bush on the White House lawn?) But in the wee hours after Boston's utter beat-down of LA, it was all about partying. At nebo, the upscale pizzeria owned by Carla Pallotta and Christine Pallotta, sisters of Celts co-owner Jim Pallotta, celebrants included Celtic Ray Allen and his family, comedian Lenny Clarke, and Patriots Lonie Paxton and QB Matt Cassel. Brady's backup later dropped by The Greatest Bar, where owner Billy Fairweather was toasting the Celts's latest title with Pats Larry Izzo, Russ Hochstein, Wes Welker, Brady buddy Will McDonough, chef Todd English, and ESPN.com's Bill Simmons. (Izzo told us the Pats players were "representing" by wearing white Celtics headbands.) It was a much more subdued affair at Alibi at the Liberty Hotel, where Sox sultan John Henry celebrated the C's win with Sox minority owner David Ginsburg, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and his movie producer son Elon, Patrick and Kristina Lyons, hotelier Dick Friedman, and nightclub owner Ed Kane. No word on where the Lakers licked their wounds, but several players, including Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Luke Walton dined at Fleming's Steakhouse & Wine Bar the night before the game.

The Celtics' season just ended, and already Warner Bros. is ready with a video. Word is the Celtics Championship DVD (left), featuring hoops highlights and player interviews, will hit stores July 15. To celebrate the release, we're told, Warner Bros. is also planning a green-carpet premiere in Boston and a series of autograph sessions. What'll it cost to watch the best of the Big Three? $24.98.

Honoring her arts work

An impressive array of people gathered the other night to pay tribute to Joyce Kulhawik (right), the longtime Channel 4 arts reporter whose contract was recently bought out. Even opposite Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the soiree at the Citi Performing Arts Center attracted a large crowd, which included the Huntington Theatre's Michael Maso, Spiro Veloudos of Lyric Stage, Janice Mancini del Sesto of Boston Lyric Opera, Benjamin Evett of Actors' Shakespeare Company, Jose Mateo of the Jose Mateo Dance Company, Jonathan McPhee of Boston Ballet, and Jeremy and Jan Geidt of the ART. Others at the event, hosted by the Citi Performing Arts Center's Joe Spaulding, included Kulhawik's former TV colleagues Bob Lobel, John Henning, Sara Edwards, and Mish Michaels, as well as the MFA curator George Shackelford, comedians Jimmy Tingle and Steve Sweeney, Steven Maler of Commonwealth Shakespeare, city Councilor John Tobin, jazz impresario Fred Taylor, UpStairs on the Square owner Mary Catherine Deibel, fashionista Marilyn Reisman, former Globies Richard Dyer, Ed Siegel, and Steve Morse, Phoenix scribe Lloyd Schwartz, Boston Underground Film Festival founder David Kleiler, and publicists too numerous to mention. Hizzoner Tom Menino and Governor Deval Patrick were MIA, but both sent salutations via video.

Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.