One liberal stands behind Libby

Few folks are following the Scooter Libby trial more closely than UMass professor Nick Bromell, who played Stratego with young Scooter when both were boarding students at Eaglebrook. The two have remained tight, but Bromell has a big problem with his buddy's right-wing politics. "When Scooter was indicted, I was in a state of crisis," said the left-leaning English prof who wrote an essay in The American Scholar about his longtime liaison with Libby. "I thought, 'How can I remain friends with someone who disagrees with me so profoundly on such important matters. ' " (Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's onetime chief of staff, is charged with lying to both the FBI and a grand jury about conversations he had about covert CIA agent Valerie Plame.) As much as Bromell would like to see the Bush administration stung by a guilty verdict, he's ambivalent about Libby. "The friendship has pushed me to think about what it means to be a liberal and to recommit to those values," he said. And would he visit Scooter if the Republican operative is ultimately packed off to prison? "If he'd see me," said Bromell. "Scooter's in a very vulnerable position -- when you're besieged like he is, you view anyone who's not unambiguously allied with you as against you."

‘Risotto king’ plates up in Hub

Luciano Parolari has such a unique way with rice that the glamorous guests who stay at the Villa d'Este on Italy's exquisite Lake Como call him the "King of Risotto." We kid you not. Well, next week, you can see for yourself if Parolari's famous friends know what they're talking about. For the first time, the King is bringing his pots and pans to Boston to be the guest chef for three days at the Langham Hotel's Cafe Fleuri. "I'm not a huge fan of pasta, but I am a huge fan of risotto," Parolari, the Villa's executive chef, told us yesterday with the aid of an interpreter. "The secret to the perfect risotto? Quality ingredients." Asked what it's like to prepare a feast for the likes of George Clooney, Elton John, and Beyoncé , Parolari said it's simple. "You'd think famous people would be very difficult and make all kinds of demands, but they don't," he said. "George is the nicest, simplest guy." But don't expect to see the chef on the big screen any time soon. Parolari hasn't managed to parlay his friendships into an acting role. "I wish," he said, chuckling.

A few familiar faces were in the house Wednesday to watch the Celts get lapped by the Lakers. The crowd included Donnie Wahlberg, Pats defensive back Eugene Wilson and linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, former tennis star Jim Courier, comedian Steve Sweeney, and Lakers owner Jerry Buss. . . . Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield was joined by old friend Johnny Damon at the knuckleballer's annual celebrity golf tourney in Melbourne, Fla., the other day. (The event raised more than $250,000 for Wake's Space Coast Early Intervention Center.) Traveling to the Sunshine State to support Wakie were Carol Troxell and Sara Youngelson, owners of Slugger's Dugout at Quincy Market. . . . Actor John Fiore of "Sopranos" fame, had lunch yesterday with Moody Street Pictures lawyer Emily M cNamara at Jake's Dixie Roadhouse in Waltham. . . .

Tufts-New England Medical Center, where Celts captain Paul Pierce had surgery in 2000 to repair a stab wound to his abdomen, yesterday dedicated the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery in Pierce's name. . . .

" Under the Tuscan Sun" author Frances Mayes held a book reading and signing at Suffolk University yesterday. . . .

Not-so-New Kid Joey McIntyre hosted a CD release party for his latest disc , "Talk to Me , " at The Plumm in NYC Wednesday . . . . "Deal or No Deal" host Howie Mandel sure likes those Celtics dancers. As part of Foxwoods Casino's 15th anniversary bash, we're told the bald game-show host is doing an invite-only segment of "Deal or No Deal" Feb. 10, and he's asked the dance team to be his models for the evening.

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