Staying close to home

(Michael Dwyer/associated press/file 2006)

Just when we thought the maestro had put his health issues behind him, James Levine has been forced to cancel his appearance at next weekend's Verbier Festival in Switzerland. The music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra cited health as the reason he can't conduct the festival's opening concert Friday and another Sunday. "My doctors have strongly advised me not to travel but to stay calm and collect my energies," Levine said in a statement posted on the festival's web site. This summer, Levine has been at Tanglewood, where he's next slated to conduct concerts Aug. 13-14. A year ago, the curly-haired conductor, 64, missed time after tearing his rotator cuff in a fall at Symphony Hall. But with the aid of a recumbent bike and an exercise routine that included Pilates, the maestro made a triumphant return.

Bewildered by the David Beckham ballyhoo? You haven't heard the half of it. Consider this: The New England Revolution, which hosts the soccer stud Aug. 12, launched an online auction yesterday in which fans can bid for the chance to walk onto the field hand-in-hand with Becks. (Mr. Posh Spice is breathlessly referred to as an "international icon" not once but twice in the Revs' press release.) Beckham, by the way, made his debut with the LA Galaxy over the weekend in a match attended by celebs Mary-Kate Olsen, Brooke Shields, Alicia Silverstone and husband, Chris Jarecki, Drew Carey, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Revs' auction can be accessed on eBay by typing in Revolution Player Escorts. Proceeds from the auction go to the New England Revolution Charitable Foundation.

As DJs go, Sky Nellor is more attractive than most. "Just the fact that it's a predominantly male pursuit, I tend to stand out," says the Australian native who moonlights as a model. "That I happen to be kind of cute? That doesn't hurt, either." Nellor, who rocks Ed Kane's Marina Bay club WaterWorks tomorrow night, said she can't understand why most DJs are men. "It's like why are there only male presidents and male sushi chefs?" she said yesterday. "Deejaying is just about putting songs together and making them make sense. . . . I can do that." So what happens when Sky spins? "Everybody dances their [expletive ] off."

Though he's not exactly comfortable, Christy Mihos is at least resting after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer. The former gubernatorial candidate has lost a lot of weight, but is optimistic that he'll make a complete recovery. "I thank my lucky stars they caught it early enough," Mihos told us yesterday. "As soon as it was found, I said, 'Let's get this thing out of me.' " The owner of 14 Christy's Markets on Cape Cod, Mihos also was recently diagnosed with skin cancer, for which he underwent a separate procedure. "Can you believe I'd never spent a night in the hospital in my whole life?" he said. Asked what might have happened if Governor Mihos had been stricken, he replied with a joke. "There would have been a lot of diagrams in your paper," he said.

Helps to have friends in high places. Word is that Oscar winner Denzel Washington got permission from Governor Deval Patrick to close Memorial Drive for two hours of filming last night. A stretch of the road was closed from 7 to 9 p.m. while Washington, who's in town directing "The Great Debaters," shot a scene in which actor Nate Parker crosses the pedestrian bridge near Harvard's Weld Boathouse.

How much do we love Jessica Biel? Appearing the other day on "Live with Regis & Kelly," the actress had this to say about the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. "I didn't really understand it until I went to a game [at Yankee Stadium]," said Justin Timberlake's latest galpal. "I went to Tufts so . . . my friend told me I had to wear Red Sox gear. It was one of the best New York experiences of my life." In other words, she got punk'd.

'I really regret how everything has turned out . . . I would never intentionally hurt anyone.' Kelly Clarkson, on her relationship with label head Clive Davis after the two had creative differences.