Brady and Bridget: No more Xs and Os

So much for the fairytale romance between the handsome football hero and his alluring actress girlfriend. US Weekly reported yesterday that Tom Brady and Bridget Moynahan have broken up, ending a relationship that once seemed a good bet to end in wedded bliss. Moynahan's rep, Christina Papadopoulos , confirmed for us that the couple "amicably ended their three-year relationship several weeks ago. We ask for your respect and consideration of their privacy. No further comments will be made." And an unnamed pal of the Pats QB had this to say: "They were both very focused on their careers. She was putting a lot into 'Six Degrees,' he into the Patriots. It was just really hard to make it work." Moynahan, who's 36, has made no secret of her desire to start a family. Asked recently where she sees herself in five years, the actress, who grew up in Longmeadow, replied, "Definitely marriage and kids." Brady, 29, was asked the same question on WEEI earlier this week and said, "Playing football." Still, the couple looked to be getting cozier. Moynahan, who recently moved from LA to New York to work on her ABC series, "Six Degrees," occasionally showed up on the sidelines at Pats games, and Brady was by her side throughout the off-season. (The two nuzzled at a New Jersey Nets playoff game, and in their respective Armanis made a truly dashing duo last May at the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.) Fueling speculation that Brady and Bridget were getting serious, the two-time Super Bowl MVP bought a seven-room condo in Manhattan in September, paying $14.5 million for the plush pad. But then, last weekend, the pair were both in South Florida -- he for a game against the Miami Dolphins and she to attend the Art Basel Miami Beach art auction -- and were never seen together.

Norman Mailer pays tribute to the late William Styron

As you might expect, Norman Mailer doesn't bob and weave the way he once did. At Wednesday's touching tribute to the late William Styron, Mailer, who'll turn 84 next month, wobbled to the mike with the aid of two canes. But when he opened his mouth, the literary lion was his charming, misogynist self. Mailer said he'd had "a helluva time" hearing the remarks of "the ladies" -- novelists Jennifer Haigh and Geraldine Brooks, and critic Gail Caldwell spoke earlier -- warning that "the ladies won't take over the country until they get voices like Hillary Clinton." A major admirer of Styron's, Mailer confessed that he used to worry that "Lie Down in Darkness" was a better book than his own novel, "The Naked and the Dead." Mailer and Styron had a fight in the '60s that fractured their friendship. Mailer declined to discuss the details, admitting, "It was two-thirds my fault, one-third his fault. But I lost his company for 24 years." The two did reconcile, but Mailer said the relationship was, regrettably, never the same. Organized by Haigh and novelist Michael Lowenthal, the memorial at the Boston Public Library was attended by, among others, Mailer's wife , Norris Church Mailer ; Styron's daughter Susanna ; her husband, actor Darrell Larson ; historian Richard Goodwin ; novelist Dan Pope ; and Helene Atwan of PEN.

Opie & Anthony’s latest stunt draws ire

Opie & Anthony are drawing fire from local homeless advocates who're upset about the talk show hosts' latest tasteless stunt. The AIDS Housing Corporation is protesting the pair's plan to provide alcohol to a group of homeless folks tomorrow and then take them shopping at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey. WBCN will preempt its regular Saturday programming to broadcast Opie & Anthony's so-called "Homeless Shopping Spree." "This is perverse entertainment," fumed Matt Noyes of the AIDS Housing Corporation. In response, 'BCN marketing man Larry " Cha - Chi ' ' LoPrete had this to say: "It's been known for some time that the ' Opie & Anthony Show ' isn't for everyone."

Belmont author Tom Perrotta, whose "Little Children" screenplay also is up for a Golden Globe, was at Borders the other night talking books with author Jenna Blum.

Shola Cole and some of her "Stomp" castmates held a workshop with Express Yourself! students the other day. A year long arts program for young people, Express Yourself! is already rehearsing its '07 show, which will be at the Wang Theatre May 23.

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