Around the horn on Opening Day...

It wasn't so long ago that Boston was a city of lovable losers. My, how times have changed. Fenway was filled with champs yesterday as the BoSox received their latest World Series bling. Watching Big Papi and the rest of the boys get their second ring in four years were some of Boston's most famous world-beaters, including Bobby Orr, Bill Russell, and Tedy Bruschi.

"How great is this?" said fashionista Joseph Abboud, who hasn't missed an Opening Day in more than 15 years. "I live in the heart of enemy territory - New York - but I have to be here. The beginning of baseball season just gets your juices going."

With so many movies filming here now, we figured the stands might be filled with celebs yesterday. No such luck. (We're told actors Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, and perhaps Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner will be at the ballpark for this weekend's Sox-Yankees series.) Still, there were plenty of familiar faces in the crowd, including Bank of America bigshot Anne Finucane, Buffalo Tom singer Bill Janovitz, City Councilor John Tobin, former gubernatorial candidate Christy Mihos, and Fenway Recordings exec Mark Kates.

We also ran into Celts CEO Wyc Grousbeck, who looked a tad overdressed for Opening Day in a blue suit and green shamrock tie. Nightclub nabob Ed Kane was sitting in John Henry's seats with KISS 108's Matt Siegel. (The pair are partners, along with Sox chairman Tom Werner, in a posh lounge/restaurant at the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods.)

The pregame festivities started early at a Sox-sponsored party in the Jordan's Third Base Deck. We chatted up Jordan's owner Eliot Tatelman, Sox COO Mike Dee, team vice chairman Phillip Morse, and marketing man Sam Kennedy. Also there were Beth Israel Deaconess chief Paul Levy, former Democratic National Committee chair Steve Grossman, former Senate president Bob Travaglini, Cheers owner Tom Kershaw, Greater Boston Convention Visitors Bureau CEO Pat Moscaritolo, former John Hancock CEO David D'Alessandro, promoter Don Law, Gourmet Catering owner Bob Wiggins, Harvard Law prof Alan Dershowitz, nightclub king Patrick Lyons, and legal eagles Larry DiCara, Harry Manion, and Frank Marinelli. Developer Don Chiofaro told us that the season opener is "the one day in Boston when everyone puts down their spears." Ain't that the truth.

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler was a surprise guest yesterday, singing "God Bless America" in the seventh inning, and dedicating it to "Boston, baseball, and our boys in Iraq." Believe it or not, Neil Diamond also showed up, though Max Headroom-style. Diamond appeared on the big screen to finally spill the beans on his Fenway gig this summer, which will take place Aug. 23.

We're pleased to report that WEEI host Glenn Ordway and his wife, Sarah, were all smiles yesterday. (In early March, Sarah and the couple's new baby girl, Mia, were hospitalized after complications during the delivery.) Fresh off his win on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America," Ken Oringer was hanging with fellow chef Ming Tsai at La Verdad on Lansdowne Street. Elsewhere, we spied United Structures of America's Dan Varney, former Sox slugger Sam Horn, and politco Ed Jesser. Reebok's new president and CEO Uli Becker was ensconsed in the company's suite, hosting Orr.

As he has for the last several years, Summer Shack chef Jasper White joined Dave "The Sausage Guy" Littlefield at his cart outside Fenway. We also spotted Colonnade Hotel VP Dave Colella, Bank of America biggie Bob Gallery, band manager Michael Creamer, Union Oyster House honcho Joe Milano, developer Bob Beal, Home for Little Wanderers exec Joan Wallace-Benjamin, and Giant Glass guy Dennis Drinkwater, who invited WBZ-TV's departing sports anchor Bob Lobel to join him in his sweet seats behind home plate. In past years, Lobel declined Drinkwater's offer because he had to work. Not this year.

The TV crew trailing Bill Buckner yesterday? That was the former first baseman's daughter Christen, a reporter with the Fox affiliate in Boise, Idaho.

When his playing days are over, David Ortiz may have a career as an actor. Big Papi was in New York Monday to shoot a spot for Vitaminwater. His castmates in the commercial include NFL stars Brian Urlacher and Adrian Peterson, NBA All-Star Dwight Howard, and rapper 50 Cent. In the ad, which airs in June, the athletes are outfitted in space suits.

A priest accused of stalking Conan O'Brien pleaded guilty yesterday to disorderly conduct. The Rev. David Ajemian, 46, admitted in Manhattan Criminal Court that he sent letters and DVDs to the NBC talk-show host's home and office, and "I also sent mail to the home of Mr. O'Brien's parents." He said he never meant to cause anxiety or to upset anyone. "I recognize that what I did was disorderly, and I'm glad the people of New York have accepted that," Ajemian said as he left court. "I plan to return to the Archdiocese of Boston, and I hope to return to ministry duties." Judge Rita Mella ordered Ajemian (inset) to pay a $95 court charge and signed a two-year order of protection directing him to stay away from O'Brien. The Roman Catholic priest was arrested while trying to enter the NBC building in Manhattan for a taping of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" despite being warned to stay away by the network's security personnel. On Friday, a judge found him fit to stand trial despite claims of psychiatric issues. Ajemian, who allegedly began writing to O'Brien in September 2006, has been placed on leave by the Boston Archdiocese. He was removed in June from his last posting at St. Patrick Parish in Stoneham after two years. Ajemian attended Harvard University at the same time as O'Brien, but it is unclear whether the two crossed paths there.

Friends of Errol Morris swear he's a funny guy. We're about to find out if that's true. The Cambridge-based filmmaker is finally making a feature that's intended to be a comedy. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Morris is writing the screenplay, titled "The End of Everything," and it deals with a wingless bird, "Gone With the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell, a volcano, and first lady Laura Bush. Morris won an Oscar for 2003's "The Fog of War," and his latest, "Standard Operating Procedure," about the Abu Ghraib scandal, opens April 25. "I can't see myself making one political film after another," he said. "I'm glad I made these two movies, but I'd like to do something different."

Before heading off to another day of filming for "Bride Wars," actress Kate Hudson had breakfast at the Paramount on Charles Street with son Ryder. They were spotted a short time later with Ryder pedaling his bike through Boston Common.

"I think I have the world record for detoxes." - Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, who has been arrested several times for drug possession

Material from wire services was used in this report. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.