What's in a name?

A lot of celebs shrink when confronted by TMZ.com. Not Ray Allen. Pestered by a paparazzo outside an LA club the other night, the Celtics shooting guard made sport of the poor shutterbug. When the cameraman mangled the name of former NFL running back Jerome Bettis - he called him Jerome Bennis - Allen asked the paparazzo to try again. "What's his last name?" Allen said, climbing into the back of an SUV. "You don't even know his name. What's his name? Jerome what?" When the cameraman said "Bennis" again, Allen was not amused. "We're not leaving until you get the man's name right," Allen said, staring at the sap. "If you got that camera, you gotta get people's names right." You can view the hilarious exchange at TMZ.com. While on the West Coast, Allen took part in the ESPY celebrity golf tournament, which preceded last night's ESPY Awards. The C's, of course, were up for team of the year.

Burlington's own Amy Poehler (inset) may be going prime time. According to Variety, the "Saturday Night Live" star is in final negotiations to join the cast of the new sitcom from "The Office" creator Greg Daniels. Initially characterized as an "Office" spinoff, the series won't be one after all. Poehler, who appeared in the film "Baby Mama," would join a cast that so far includes only actor Aziz Ansari.

Remember the "popular" kids in high school and how much you dreamed of beating them at their own game? Now, you can live vicariously through 19-year-old Rian Decker, as the not-so-popular dude strives to become Mr. Chelmsford High School on MTV's "Made" on Sunday. Decker said he dreamed of entering his school's seniors-only man-pageant since he was a freshman, but figured he didn't stand a chance. So when MTV held open tryouts at Chelmsford in December, he was there. To prepare for the Mr. CHS title, he hit the gym every morning at 5 a.m. for six weeks and got coached by Miss Massachusetts USA 2008 Jackie Bruno. Decker competed for the title in late May, but, of course, he's not spilling how it went. He's not the first Chelmsford kid to be "Made." Classmate Deanna Hayden learned how to walk a runway like a supermodel in June. "I wanted to prove a point," Decker said. "I'm not popular, but maybe I could do it."

With the trade deadline looming, the BoSox may have found a bat off the bench. Country crooner Kenny Chesney tells People magazine he harbors a deep desire to trade his guitar for a baseball glove. "Deep down I would love to play second base for the Red Sox," said the 40-year-old singer while in New York for the All-Star Game. A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Chesney didn't have a local team to root for, so became a Sox fan. "I loved watching baseball on Saturdays and they played a lot of Yankees-Red Sox games [on TV]," said Chesney. Thanks but no thanks, Kenny. Dustin Pedroia plays second.

"Damages" diehards will be pleased to learn that Arthur Frobisher, the character played by Ted Danson, is returning when the second season of the series airs in January. Talking during the Television Critics Association press tour this week, the former "Cheers" barkeep also revealed he hopes to return to "Curb Your Enthusiasm," the HBO hit starring his Martha's Vineyard pal Larry David. "Larry, at this very moment, is ensconced in Mary's and my guesthouse [on the Vineyard]," Danson said. "Mary calls him Larry the lodger." (David's estranged wife, Laurie, lives in the couple's island manse.) Could the Vineyard be a "Curb" locale? "You don't tell Larry what to do," Danson said. "He calls you, you show up, he tells you nothing, and you start shooting."

While in New York for the All-Star Game, Longwood Events owner Jim Apteker attended a fund-raiser for actor Matthew Modine's green initiative Bicycle for a Day. (It works this way: You ride a bike instead of driving a car.) Held at the Boston-themed bar Phebe's Tavern & Grill, the event included a live auction and Apteker was an active bidder. The State Room sultan won courtside seats - with Modine - to a Knicks-Celtics game at Madison Square Garden and tickets to a Yankees game in George Steinbrenner's suite, also with the actor.

Teddy Geiger is the very definition of a double threat. The guy was in town yesterday not only to promote his new film, "The Rocker," but also to gig at the Paradise. So with all of that going on, you'd think the good-looking Geiger would have something to say. You'd be wrong. Asked if he and his "Rocker" costar Emma Stone are, in fact, an item, Geiger replied: "Yes." That was it. No hemming, no hawing. The man of few words did reveal that on his way to Starbucks before last night's show, he ran into a friend from his hometown, Rochester, N.Y. Will wonders never cease? . . . Singer Mike Shinoda and the rest of the lads in Linkin Park were hanging out at the Nine Zero Hotel while in town to play at the Comcast Center last night.

It's not often a supermodel sashays onto the dock at Captain Joe & Sons, so it was pretty cool - emphasis on pretty - when Cintia Dicker showed up. Seems the British edition of Glamour magazine was looking for a suitable seaside location to shoot the redheaded waif, and the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce suggested the lobster wholesaler in Gloucester. That was just fine with Captain Joe's co-owner Joe Ciaramitaro, who chronicled the photo shoot on his blog: goodmorningglouc ester.wordpress.com. If she ever tires of fashion, Ciaramitaro said Dicker should consider working on the dock. "She walked right up to this big batch of stinky herring and barehanded it," he said. "You'd think a Victoria's Secret girl would be hesitant or fragile, but she took the bands off the lobsters and was holding them up."

Sarah Rodman of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.