Schillings give thanks

It might turn out that Curt Schilling has pitched his last season with the Red Sox, but the ace and his wife, Shonda, still wanted to thank the area supporters of their charity Curt's Pitch for ALS. The couple, who have had a large presence on the local philanthropic circuit since their arrival for the 2004 season, hosted a soiree Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Long Wharf for those who pitched in to raise money and awareness for Lou Gehrig's Disease. And No. 38, who filed for free agency last Tuesday (the same day as the Red Sox World Series rally), had only good things to say about the city and Sox fans. "Nothing amazes me about Boston," the Associated Press quoted Curt as saying at a pre-event press conference. "This has been vastly different than anything I've ever experienced before. The relationship with the players is a gift. The last four years have been amazing. They made us part of the family. They wooed us to come here." For her part, Shonda told the AP: "We've prepared the kids that we may be moving again." Although the appreciation party went off as we've come to expect, the Schillings "put on hold until next year" their annual Halloween party because "the postseason went too long," Shonda told the Globe in an e-mail. Curt and Shonda dressed as movie characters Shrek and Fiona to take their kids out trick-or- treating, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion the family would spend the holiday together. "[The] kids were happy the World Series ended when it did," Shonda wrote, "because they said they would not go to Game 6, which Curt was pitching, because Halloween trumps Game 6."

Kevin Youkilis stopped by the Joslin Diabetes Center's annual High Hopes Gala on Saturday night, and the Sox first baseman brought along a $50,000 donation from his new foundation Hits for Kids. (Youkilis is hosting his own event for his foundation this weekend at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.) At the event, the slugger spent time with several young patients, including 8-year-old twins Madison and Marissa Melendez and 7-year-old Cathryn Scanlon, and a jersey that he signed during the live auction went for $5,700. Also spotted there were auto magnate Herb Chambers, and Ironman triathlete Jay Hewitt and his wife, Miss USA 2005, Anna Hanks Hewitt.

"Brothers & Sisters" star Rob Lowe (right) was patrolling the field before yesterday afternoon's Patriots game in Indianapolis. Also spotted hanging out before the game was a large contingent of Pats fans who made the trek west, including Citizens Financial honcho Larry Fish, Sovereign Bank biggie Joe Campanelli, and Ciao Bella's Joe Cimino. . . . And Pats linebacker Tedy Bruschi attended Thursday night's performance of "Sweeney Todd" before it closed its run at the Colonial Theatre.

Ben Affleck will be casting his vote in the primary for Barack Obama because of the Illinois Senator's stance on the war in Iraq. Appearing on Larry King's show on Friday night to talk about "Gone Baby Gone" and whatever else came up, Affleck said most people would be happy with any of the leading three Democrats running for president. But the actor-director said Obama's "consistency on the war vote is the most important to me." As for Affleck's own political aspirations, the Oscar-winner said that Brad Pitt's recent endorsement of Affleck running for office was more of a dodge than a serious announcement. "Brad Pitt was just trying to get out of answering the question himself, I think," Affleck said. He added that he'll stick to making movies for a bit, although he didn't shut the door completely on the subject. "I like directing movies and acting in movies," Affleck told King. "It's easier than running."

Former Celtics forward Wally Szczerbiak, who was traded to the SuperSonics, and his wife, Shannon, sold the six-bedroom Lexington house they called home for one season for $2.5 million - the same price they paid for it. The Szczerbiaks put the house on the market over the summer for $2.7 million.

Netting attention

Riding the euphoria of his team's opening night romp, Celtics guard Ray Allen led a gaggle of green supporters to Nebo, the North End restaurant owned by Christine and Carla Pallotta (sisters of Celtics co-owner and hedge fund wiz Jim Pallotta.) Also spotted at the official opening night gathering on Friday were Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and his wife, Corinne, ESPN's Steve Levy, and injured Patriots running back Sammy Morris. . . . Tonight, it will be a gathering of the Green at the Shamrock Foundation charity dinner with all the players expected at the packed event at the InterContinental Boston hotel along with former Celtics champs Bill Walton, Robert Parish, and Bob Cousy.

Bella English of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.