Celebrities shine on NHL red carpet
Count Colin Hanks among the Hollywood crowd still exulting over the Los Angeles Kings' Cinderella run.
He was at the NHL Awards at Wynn Las Vegas on Wednesday to present the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship.
The son of actor Tom Hanks said it has been a very good week indeed.
A Kings fan since 1987, the year before Wayne Gretzky arrived, Hanks got to hang out with the Stanley Cup twice.
"One was a private residence, and the other was at a restaurant," he said.
He has got his dad's sense of humor. During his red carpet appearance, he playfully gave me grief for whiffing on the year the Kings moved to Los Angeles. He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave me a shaking while publicly calling me out for my lack of hockey knowledge.
"You don't know about the expansion six? The new six?" he said in mock outrage.
In my defense, some longtime Kings fans were under the impression L.A. didn't have hockey until Gretzky got there.
Another presenter on the red carpet was "Dancing With the Stars" professional dancer Cheryl Burke.
She has been a regular in Las Vegas in recent weeks, checking out her friends on "Dancing With the Stars: Live from Las Vegas."
She has another Las Vegas connection. She took her first dancing lesson at age 11 in San Francisco from Tony Delgado, who has operated a dance studio in Las Vegas with his wife, Dana, since 2001. Burke said she was such a brat early on before embracing it.
Her mother sends Delgado a Christmas card every year, thanking him for stoking her daughter's competitive fire.
A red carpet observation from the video guy behind me: NHL Rookie of the Year Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche is a dead ringer for fellow Swede Dolph Lundgren, who played Drago in "Rocky IV."
Flamingo headliner George Wallace got some air time during the telecast. He was shown sharing a couch backstage with the Stanley Cup.
"You never know who's going to show up on my show," he told me by telephone. "And now Stanley. I'm probably the first black man he's ever hung out with."
SIGHTINGS
ESPN hottie Erin Andrews, tweeting a thank-you to Scarpetta restaurant (Cosmopolitan) on Tuesday for allowing her to dine in their kitchen. Andrews, who is rumored to be leaving ESPN for Fox on July 1, dined with comedian and Joaquin Phoenix look-alike Adam Pally, who stars in ABC's "Happy Endings." A presenter at the NHL Awards, Andrews' barely-there sequined dress surely triggered global warming.
At Celine Dion's show (Caesars Palace) on Wednesday: "Glee" stars Cory Monteith and Lea Michele and a group that included Southern chef Paula Deen. ...
Deen, wearing a baseball cap pulled way down and big glasses while dining at Old Homestead (Caesars Palace) on Tuesday night. The Queen of Butter and her party shared warm banana pudding, the Big Fat Chocolate Cake and the iron "baked" chocolate chip cookie.
THE PUNCH LINE
"(Paul) McCartney once said he'll probably die on stage. Take it from someone who does it every night, Paul. It ain't what it's cracked up to be." - Craig Ferguson
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
