Ultimate Fighting Championship executives are furious with Chuck Liddell's camp over a TV interview in which an incoherent Liddell appeared to be heavily sedated.

UFC President Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta scheduled a meeting with Liddell's handlers last week after White called them "morons" for allowing Liddell to do the interview.

White, in an interview in Columbus, Ohio, after UFC 68, said he was "really upset" with Liddell's handlers.

He said Liddell, the UFC's biggest name, has been "sick for a long time," caught pneumonia and should have canceled the interview.

White confirmed Saturday that Liddell's May 25 fight with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is still on.

In the obscenity-laced interview with Sherdog.com, White said he would like to find the person responsible for allowing Liddell to go on the air. "I'd like to beat him with a stick," he said.

Liddell's manager, John Hackleman, told MMAWeekly.com that Liddell was struggling because he mistakenly mixed Nyquil with prescription sleep aid pills hours before the interview.

The interview can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xwYOFIWlg8

SAINTS AND SINNERS

The offer seemed innocent enough.

Two injured BYU cheerleaders were watching the Mountain West Conference championship game between UNLV and BYU when a couple of 20-something guys in a VIP booth invited them into the private box.

They accepted the offer and joined the guys, who were wearing red UNLV T-shirts.

"So how did you get this box?" asked one of the cheerleaders, a former Denver Broncos cheerleader.

"It's my father's," said Telly Eliades, who recently took over ownership of Olympic Garden, along with his two sisters, from their father, Pete Eliades.

When the Mormon coeds realized Olympic Garden is a strip club, they stayed but declined Telly Eliades' offer of beer, "and they wouldn't allow any photos," he said.

"It was like we were on the pirate ship at Treasure Island, and we took the Sirens hostage," said Eliades, who was sporting a fox-in-the-henhouse grin.

SIGHTINGS

"Monty Python" icon Eric Idle, jumping on stage during a technical glitch Friday in "Monty Python's Spamalot," which began previews Thursday at Wynn Las Vegas. Idle provided the crowd with a bonus: 10 minutes of standup and banter with director Mike Nichols and the technical director. ... A bald and goateed Tony Curtis, back at Harry's Bagelmania on Saturday, with Gene Kilroy, Muhammad Ali's longtime manager. Curtis, back in good health after a severe bout of pneumonia, was on a walker. ... NASCAR star Tony Stewart, dining Thursday at Eiffel Tower Restaurant (Paris Las Vegas) while an MTV film crew shot unrelated footage nearby. ... Racing legend Carroll Shelby, speedway mogul Bruton Smith and local legend Mel Larson, dining at Piero's Italian Cuisine on Friday. They've been friends for 51 years, going back to when Smith owned a half-mile dirt track in Charlotte, N.C., and Shelby and Larson were drivers. ... Prince, drinking apple martinis with a group that arrived at Pure (Caesars Palace) at 3 a.m. ... Jonny Fairplay of "Survivor," celebrating his 34th birthday at Tangerine (Treasure Island) on Friday. Also in the house: Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot and Michelle Deighton of "America's Next Top Model." ... Deejay Bubba the Love Sponge and Howard Stern producer Gary Dell'Abate at Pink Taco (Hard Rock Hotel) on Friday. At Body English: the band New Found Glory. ... NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, dining at Sushi Roku (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Friday. ... Nick Lachey, staying in the Director's Suite at the Palms' Fantasy Tower on Saturday. ... In the crowd, scouting the UNLV-BYU title game: former UNLV sports information director Tommy Sheppard, now vice president of basketball operations for the NBA's Washington Wizards, and former UNLV basketball coach Charlie Spoonhour.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Wow, congratulations on having Cuba's only answering machine." -- David Letterman's Top Ten Messages Left on Fidel Castro's Answering Machine

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.