It's not cheating...on taxes

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Pats coach Bill Belichick pays his $500,000 fine out of his own pocket. Can he deduct it on his taxes? Yes, according to tax experts, he probably can. The TaxProf blog - taxprof.typepad.com - consulted a dozen tax law professors from around the country, and the consensus was that the fine is deductible under Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code, "trade or business expenses." While some profs questioned whether a fine for "cheating" was an ordinary expense, Mike McIntyre of Wayne State University said that was wrongheaded. "The fine was for violating a rule, not for cheating. The Patriots were not accused of cheating by the commissioner and were not fined for cheating," McIntyre wrote.

Dane Cook won't be cracking wise about the Pats cheating escapades in his standup gigs. "I will not be hitting upon any of the New England Patriots situation at this point," the Arlington native told Mike Yam and Bruce Murray on their Sirius satellite radio show. Taking a break from filming "Bachelor No. 2" to promote "Good Luck Chuck," Cook stopped by the Sirius New York headquarters to make the rounds. "It's definitely a dark spot right now for the Patriots - despite our crushing the Chargers," Cook said. Tonight, the comedian will be on the Left Coast where he'll chat with Jay Leno about "Good Luck Chuck," Cook's movie with Jessica Alba. While Cook might not feel like laughing at the Pats, O.J. Simpson is another story. "I might try to come up with some O.J. stuff," he said. "That might be the hot topic right now."

Wait. The flick Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson filmed in Boston last fall is X-rated? So says the former WWE star. The Rock was promoting "The Game Plan" in New York the other day when a British fan asked when he's coming to the UK. (The exchange was captured by TMZ.com.) "In a couple of months," replied Johnson. Asked what he'll be promoting, the muscle-bound movie star made a bad joke: "I did a porn." Yikes. In fact, "The Game Plan" is a family-friendly film about a football star who discovers he has a young daughter. It opens this month.

Marisa Bellis may work on movie sets, but she's more impressed by animal actors (even creepy, crawly ones) than their human counterparts. See, before producers can claim that "no animals were harmed" in the making of a film, Bellis (inset) has to verify that's the case. "It's all about making sure that any animal in any movie is well cared for," she said. Bellis, in town for Diane English's "The Women" and Steve Martin's "Pink Panther 2," takes a break today as the Animal Rescue League and Boston Animal Control officers unveil a new mobile adoption rescue vehicle at City Hall Plaza.

Ben Affleck's better half was a vision in red at the LA premiere of her new movie "The Kingdom." But Jennifer Garner admitted it'll be awhile before her daughter Violet will see the R-rated film. "I would put that off as long as I could," she said. "There's a reason we have a ratings system."

As always, Red Sox rookies were good sports about the team's ritual hazing of greenhorns. For Sunday's trip to Toronto, whiz kid Clay Buchholz donned a red dress, pantyhose, and a black eye patch, while Hideki Okajima was a pirate, and Jacoby Ellsbury wore a Little Red Riding Hood get-up. But the best by far was Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had to dress up as a Teletubby - Dipsy, to be exact.

Like a lot of Pats fans, Jeffrey Donovan isn't upset that Bill Belichick illegally videotaped the Jets, he's upset the coach got caught. "Every team in sports tries to get a competitive edge," says the Amesbury-bred actor, who stars on the USA series "Burn Notice." "Maybe he blurred the line. Big deal." Donovan was among several boldfaced names participating yesterday in the Joslin Diabetes Center's celebrity putting challenge in Portsmouth, R.I. The fund-raiser was hosted by former New York Giant Jason Sehorn, husband of the enchanting Angie Harmon. "The Patriots have their issues at the moment," says Sehorn, who's now an analyst for Fox Sports Net. "But look at Tom Brady and who he's got around him. . . . They're scary good." Also doing the duffer thing yesterday was Willie Garson, who's about to start shooting the movie version of "Sex and the City."

To celebrate the screening of "Stiffs" at the Boston Film Festival, stars Danny Aiello, Jon Polito, and Louis Vanaria hosted a reception at Umbria last night. The black comedy by brothers Frank and Joe Ciota was the first film to benefit from the state's tax-incentive program. Aiello told us he enjoyed shooting here and tried to make the most of his time. He even accepted an invitation to sing with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops. "Here's this young guy with a big orchestra, and I'm used to having eight guys on violin," he said. . . . The film fest's closing night promises to be a decent party. Word is Julia Ormond, Michael Madsen, and Freddie Prinze Jr. will all be in town.

Bruce Springsteen took his son Evan to catch Ken Casey and the rest of the Dropkick Murphys at their concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York over the weekend. The Boston-based band was in Cleveland yesterdaywhen its sixth studio album, "The Meanest of Times," was released.

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