Sports Beat

Hey, good lookin', whatcha got cookin'? Handsome young couple Andy Roddick and Mandy Moore should be asking each other that question on Thursday—four days before the start of the U.S. Open—when they make an appearance at the trendy W New York Hotel in Times Square to take part in the "International Taste of Tennis," a function to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels. The pair, who were introduced by Moore's tennis-mad mom in Toronto last summer and have been dating ever since, won't be alone. Among the celebrity chefs kicking things up a notch will be Emeril Lagasse, who will cook with Andre Agassi, and culinary cult figure Morimoto, better known as one of TVs Iron Chefs.

?If timing is everything in Hollywood, then Trail-blazers forward Dale Davis has a bright future. Davis produced Playas Ball, a film about an NBA star accused of rape. Sound familiar? Well, the main character, Cedric Tinsley, played by Allen Payne (The Perfect Storm), is based on Kobe Bryant—who five months after the movie wrapped in February was charged with sexually assaulting a Colorado woman. "It's strange," says Jennifer Harper, who wrote and directed the movie. "I told Allen in rehearsals that this character was Kobe Bryant. He's loved by everybody, he has a solid family and he's a huge superstar?' In the film Tinsley is served with a paternity suit days after signing a multimillion-dollar shoe deal. ( Bryant signed with Nike 10 days before his arrest.) "I've seen a lot in my 13 years in the league and unfortunately experienced a lot," says Davis, who was involved in a paternity suit with Karla Knafel, the onetime mistress of Michael Jordan. Davis, who has a cameo in the film, along with teammates Scottie Pip-pen and Derek Anderson, made Playas Ball for less than $1 million through his company, W.A.R. (World Ain't Right) Entertainment, and he hopes to have a distributor lined up before the start of the NBA season.

? Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas spent $1.6 million on a house in her hometown of Mumbles in south Wales. But the property abuts the Mumbles Cricket Club, which could be something of a sticky wicket. The club's chairman, Mark Portsmouth, has offered a �100 (approximately $160) reward to the first batsman who hits a ball into Zeta-Jones's backyard, a poke of over 100 yards. "A very big [hit] could just do it," says Portsmouth, "but it will have to clear the ground, a tree-lined footpath and a fence." That's not all: To collect the cash, the batsman has to ring the doorbell and ask for the ball back. They needn't worry about causing damage, though. The house's windows are bulletproof.

?The Royals apparently take their simulated games seriously. Before pitching coach John Cumberland let Jose Lima, who has an injured groin, begin his simulated start last Wednesday, he made Lima and manager Tony Pe�a join him in a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. Says Cumberland, "I said, 'You can't throw a pitch until you sing the national anthem.' I started singing and Jose and Tony joined in. Lima sang tenor, and Tony and I sang bass."...

Too bad Red Sox G.M. Theo Epstein wasn't around to provide some musical accompaniment. The 29-year-old plays guitar in a rock band called Trauser, and since taking over the team he has befriended Pearl Jam frontman—and diehard Cubs fan—Eddie Vedder. The two hung out in Seattle last week when the Sox were in town, and, amazingly, it was Epstein who was turning heads in the birthplace of grunge. One fan who wanted a picture with Epstein even had Vedder snap it.