Sports merger

There was sea of formally attired well-wishers when Chris Collins and his long time gal Georgia Wright got married at Trinity Church in Copley Square Friday night. The NECN sports anchor made a few headlines of his own when dropped to his knees on the roof of the InterContinental Hotel to pop the question last fall. The bride was escorted by her brother, Oakland Raiders running back Omar Easy. Among those on hand for the reception at Jim Apteker's The State Room were a gaggle of media types along with former Patriots lineman Max Lane and former Bruins captain Jason Allison.

Caroline on his mind

That James Taylor knows how to give a gift. At Tanglewood on Saturday to perform with "Prairie Home Companion" host Garrison Keillor, Taylor hosted a birthday celebration for his wife, Caroline "Kim" Taylor, that included christening her own boat. Keillor did the naming honors on the lawn at Tanglewood's Koussevitzky Music Shed several hours before the concert. The Caroline is now headed to Vermont's Lake Champlain.

Their right to a night to party

Are these guys ever serious? In honor of Adam Yauch's 43d birthday, the Beastie Boys are hosting a swish affair at the Opera House Aug. 5. The Brooklyn-based band is promising "velvet seats, velvet ropes, champagne, and strawberries," and asking fans to "dress to impress." The all-instrumental show is the first of two concerts the rappers are playing here. MCA, Mike D, and Ad-Rock will be back at it the next night at the Bank of America Pavilion. Too bad the Beasties can't hang for a few more days: Ad-Rock's old man, Israel Horovitz, has a play called "The Widow's Blind Date" opening at the Gloucester Stage Company Aug. 16.

At last, it looks like the principals planning the Aug. 19 tribute to late Boston lead singer Brad Delp have come together, and tickets for the star-studded concert could go on sale as soon as tomorrow. Questions about who'll benefit from the show were resolved over the weekend. A portion of the proceeds will be earmarked for the Brad Delp Foundation and the rest will go to the DTS Foundation controlled by Delp's friend and former bandmate Tom Scholz. (The Delp Foundation supports music education while DTS is dedicated to animal rights and the environment.) The show at the Bank of America Pavilion is expected to include a reunion of original Boston members Scholz, Sib Hashian, Barry Goudreau, and Fran Sheehan, as well as appearances by Fran Cosmo, Godsmack, Cheap Trick's Robin Zander, Extreme's Gary Cherone, Starship's Mickey Thomas, Sammy Hagar, Stryper's Michael Sweet, and Ernie Boch Jr.'s band.

Former Boston Bruins captain Joe Thornton has sold the penthouse condo at One Charles that he bought just six weeks before being traded to the San Jose Sharks in late 2005. Thornton sold the 3-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath for $2.75 million -- the same price he paid for when it bought it from the project's developers. Thornton was a popular members of the Bruins for 8 1/2 seasons before being shipped off to San Jose where the four-time All-Star has led the NHL in scoring for the last two seasons. And the sale is well-timed given yesterday's announcement that the Sharks had signed Thornton to a three-year contract extension, according to SI.com.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner celebrated their second anniversary Saturday with some more surfing on their extended Hawaiian vacation, according to People magazine. The paparazzi pics show the couple sporting T-shirts that matched each other's surfboards (yellow board for him; blue for her) and looking a bit wobbly on the low waves. The Afflecks have been in Hawaii for a couple of weeks, having spent the first few days with old friend Matt Damon and his family.

Notwithstanding the trade for "He Got Game" star Ray Allen, we're starting to think the storied Celtics franchise may be cursed. At the green team's draft party the other night, one of the raffle items was a pair of shoes from Adidas's new Red Auerbach Collection. (The sweet sneaks feature the C's logo and various Auerbach iconographies, including Red's retired No. 2 jersey and celebratory cigar.) The winning raffle number? 666.

As is often the case with reality TV types, Byrain Winbush has a back story. The Roxbury resident, who is impressing the judges on NBC's "America's Got Talent," was the subject of a Spotlight Team report on abuses in Boston's debt-collection business. In 2003, the story goes, Winbush was driving an unregistered, uninsured car when he was pulled over by Randolph police. The singer, whose nickname is "Blackcat," was a constable but ID'd himself as a Boston cop and was carrying handcuffs, Mace, and a 9mm handgun. Good for him, the matter was ultimately resolved. Winbush will try again to wow the show's celebrity judges Sharon Osbourne, Piers Morgan, and David Hasselhoff July 10.

Two investors put in the winning bid of $650,100 in a charity auction to break bread with billionaire Warren Buffett. Mohnish Pabrai, who will put up most of the money, said that he's going to be well-prepared by the time he meets the famed investor at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York City. "I'll probably download the menu and see what we want, so we don't waste our time looking at the menu," said Pabrai, one of 72 pre-qualified bidders. Pabrai, who manages about $600 million for Pabrai Investment Funds in Irvine, Calif., teamed up with a friend to bid $30,000 more than the top bid from last year's auction. The auction ended Friday night and benefits the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco. (AP)

"Ratatouille," Pixar's animated film about a rat who dreams of becoming a chef, was the top weekend film at North American theaters, with $47.2 million in ticket sales. Directed by Brad Bird, who also helmed Pixar's 2004 film "The Incredibles," the movie out-sold "Live Free or Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis, which debuted in second with sales of $33.2 million, box-office tracker Media By Numbers LLC said yesterday in a statement. Third place's "Evan Almighty " focuses on an ordinary person's encounter with God. The film, starring Steve Carell, dropped from first place with sales of $15.1 million. The movie was made for an estimated $175 million, according to Box Office Mojo LLC, which follows film costs. In "1408," John Cusack plays a jaded horror novelist who checks into a hotel room notorious for paranormal activity. The film is based on a short story by Stephen King and dropped to fourth place from second with sales of $10.6 million. "Sicko," a Michael Moore documentary that critiques the U S health-care system, made $4.5 million for a ninth-place finish. And "Evening," a mother-daughter drama starring Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Claire Danes, and Toni Collette, opened in 10th place with $3.5 million in ticket sales. (Bloomberg)

The voice of Darth Vader will be the voice of the Declaration of Independence. James Earl Jones will be in Philadelphia tomorrow to help open an exhibit featuring the Magna Carta at the National Constitution Center. The Broadway and movie actor will recite the Declaration of Independence at the "Magna Carta: Foundation of Freedom" exhibit one day before the Fourth of July. In addition to the Magna Carta, the 1215 document that helped inspire the Declaration of Independence, the exhibit also features a signed Emancipation Proclamation and a printing of the U S Constitution.

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