Making the Scene
Neil Patrick Harris swears he's a Patriots fan. "Oh yeah, can't you tell?" he told us with a trace of irony. "I'm a huge Pats fan, or so say Robert Kraft and [CBS President] Les Moonves." The actor was among several CBS personalities at Saturday's opening of the network's futuristic bar/restaurant at Patriot Place. Called CBS Scene, the three-story venue features upscale cuisine, groovy LED lighting, and 130 high-def, flat-screen TVs. "Isn't it a great place?" said Kraft Group chairman Jonathan Kraft. Harris, star of the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother," was impressed. He was standing near Tom Brady, but the two didn't speak before the QB bolted. "I was too starstruck," cracked the actor formerly known as Doogie Howser. "It's like looking at the sun - it can be dangerous." The same is true, he said, of No. 12's girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, with whom Harris sometimes works out on a trapeze in California. "You haven't lived until you've seen Gisele wearing sweatpants and no makeup," said Harris, who brought along his actor boyfriend David Burtka. "She is so beautiful." Also making the scene were "CSI: Miami" actress Emily Procter, Julie Chen of "The Early Show" and "Big Brother," and "Survivor" host Jeff Probst, who likened the Pats to the Lakers and Yankees. "People love to love them," he said, "Or love to hate them." Pats players Richard Seymour, Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Vince Wilfork, and coach Bill Belichick wandered through, as did CBS on-air talent Greg Gumbel, James Brown, Bill Cowher, Dan Dierdorf, Shannon Sharpe, and Boomer Esiason. . . . Harris and Probst were in the Kraft box yesterday; Tom Brady Sr. and wife Galynn were guests of Bob Gallery in the
Baby, it's the New Kids
At 3:10 a.m. Saturday, Bonnie Yezukevich fired up her breast pump. Her 5-month-old son was spending the day with dad, and he'd need a fresh supply. A half-hour later, Bonnie hopped into the car, and headed with a friend to Faneuil Hall. Why? Her all-time favorite band, New Kids on the Block, were signing their new CD that afternoon, and she was determined to get in line good and early. (They arrived at 4:43 a.m. to find about 125 people ahead of them.) "I've loved New Kids since I was 12," said Yezukevich, a 31-year-old social worker in the Boston schools. "Joey [ McIntyre] is just adorable." Several hot and humid hours later, Bonnie and her buddy Laura Stirk were among 800 or so infatuated fans who got a few minutes of face time with Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Jonathan and Jordan Knight, and Joey. (Two times before the blessed event, Bonnie repaired to the bathroom in the basement of Quincy Market with her breast pump.) "Donnie stood up and hugged me," she said. "He whispered, 'How are ya? Thanks for coming,' and I nearly melted. I apologized for being sweaty and told him it was a long day, and he said, 'But it's worth it, right?' " And it was. Driving home afterward, Yezukevich popped in the band's new CD. "It's so strange to be listening to a new New Kids record after so long," she told us. "But it's really great. . . . Something chemical happens between me and them."
Gettin' Diddy with it
Forget dancing on the ceiling, Diddy did Lionel Richie one better, leaping onto the bar during his weekend appearance at Ed Kane's club Shrine at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. Sean Combs, who arrived at the club with singer Cassie in tow, kicked it old school. When the DJ spun "Candy Girl," Diddy dedicated the tune to "all the ladies that had a New Edition poster in their bedroom in the '80s." And the rapper gave a shout-out to the Democratic candidate for president, several times shouting "Barack Obama for president" into the mike. (Diddy last week chastised John McCain for choosing Sarah Palin as his VP: "Alaska? Alaska? Alaska? Come on, man. I don't know if there's any black people in Alaska.") The hip-hopper said he'll be back at Shrine next month.
Tennis legends crown a King
Former tennis pro Peter Palandjian of Belmont cohosted the International Tennis Hall of Fame's annual Legends Ball, held over the weekend at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York. Palandjian, the CEO of Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. and a member of the hall of fame's board of directors, schmoozed with a heavy-hitting crowd that included tennis titans Martina Navratilova, Michael Chang, Guillermo Vilas, Jim Courier, Tony Trabert, Pam Shriver, Monica Seles, Boris Becker, and broadcast legend Barbara Walters, on hand to present a special award to the great Billie Jean King.
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