Sonny King, who died Friday, said Milton Berle may have saved his life in the 1940s, when he was a "crazy kid."
Vince Vaughn, above, and Jennifer Aniston, below, were spotted at Mandalay Bay's Lush Puppy.
The rift between the NFL and Las Vegas has grown several football fields wider.
The NFL's trademark-tightening crackdown is extending far beyond the flap over the use of the Super Bowl name and commercials promoting the city.
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The league's latest distancing from Las Vegas: NBC is moving the hit "Las Vegas" series, starring James Caan and Josh Duhamel, from Mondays to Fridays on March 3 because the NFL wants no part of Las Vegas.
Under the multibillion-dollar TV contracts negotiated by the league last year, NBC landed Sunday night games and ABC lost Monday Night Football to ESPN.
The NFL put a clause in the contract with NBC that forbids the mention of Las Vegas, which would block the network from next-night promotion of one of its top prime-time shows.
"NBC obviously wants to promote it, so that's one of the reasons they moved it," said a source close to the show.
The move to Fridays could boost "Las Vegas" on another NFL front. The show no longer has to compete with ratings-sapping Monday Night Football.
DODGING A BULLET
Lounge legend Sonny King, who died at age 83 on Friday, grew up on the tough side of Brooklyn. He told me this story a few years ago:
In the 1940s, his wife at the time was in a New York City show called "Carnival."
"The stage manager took an interest in her, and when she didn't return the interest he fired her. I was a crazy kid, and I got a gun and went looking for him."
King found the would-be lothario backstage, as Milton Berle was preparing to go on stage.
"I fired a shot, not to hit him, but to scare the hell out of him," said King. "Milton intervened, and he always told me he saved my life."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and singer Sheryl Crow decided they couldn't go the distance. They called off their engagement on Friday. They met at Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children benefit in October 2003, reportedly flirting back and forth with one another through their Blackberries. ...
"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is planning a show to find the next Las Vegas headliner, NBC announced on Friday.
SIGHTINGS
Must be puppy love: Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, spotted inside Lush Puppy (Mandalay Bay) on Saturday. ...
Paris Hilton, checking out the Ultimate Fighting Championships on Saturday at Mandalay Bay, after blonding up at Canyon Ranch Salon (Venetian). ... At Jet (Mirage): Ryan Seacrest, burlesque star Dita Von Teese (who recently married Marilyn Manson), Derek Jeter, Charles Barkley, Tony Siragusa and UFC great Ken Shamrock. ... At the Terrell Owens-hosted party at Pure (Caesars Palace): Barkley, Warren Sapp, Arturo Gatti, and UFC stars Chuck Liddell and Royce Gracie. ... At N9NE (Palms) on Friday: Owens, Dan Marino and family, Roger Clemens, Jenny McCarthy, Jim Edmonds, Jay Fiedler and Matt Lawton. ... Seacrest, at Stack (Mirage), with Edge Resorts execs, who are developing the W Hotel. ... Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, back at Tryst (Wynn). Also there: UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. ... At Rain (Palms) on Friday: MTV deejay Simon Rex, Britney's pop, Jamie Spears, and NFL star Steven Jackson. ... Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, dining at Pietro's and Savanna steakhouse (Tropicana), during his Las Vegas visit to celebrate his 75th birthday. ... Super seats: "O" has some good seats available for the 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. shows today.
THE PUNCH LINE
"The State of the Union address was stopped 72 times ... for applause and another 30 for subpoenas." -- David Letterman
