PARKER: Tony birthday bash a bit tone-deaf, too

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 12, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Photo by Bradley Joseph / Special to the Rocky

John Elway was among the guests at Rick Reilly's 50th birthday bash.

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Who knew the life of Reilly included a live karaoke band at his 50th birthday party?

Rick Reilly, the Denver-based ESPN columnist, threw a rollicking 5-0 party Friday night at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret on the 16th Street Mall. Too bad the otherwise pleasant party included singing from folks who should not quit their day jobs.

Elway's steakhouse co-owner Tim Schmidt massacred U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (at least he had the guts to get on stage). "Oh, that's so bad I'd better start drinking," said one female guest.

But Reilly may have topped Schmidt in the ear-splitting category with his rendition of Me and Bobby McGee. "This is a little something I wrote with Kris Kristofferson," he joked.

"He sounds like he's losing his voice," one woman said. "That would be a good thing," her friend offered.

Bad singing aside, more than 100 of Reilly's fans and family toasted his half-century mark. "It was 20 years ago when I went to his 40th birthday party," said Two Down (nicknamed after his penchant for betting on golf), one of Reilly's closest friends and a character in eight of the sports columnist's books.

The high-note highlight of the party was Rick's daughter, Rae Reilly, a freshman song-writing major at USC, who sang and played keyboards (look out American Idol).

Seen at the soiree: Hall-of-famer John Elway with g-friend and former Raiderette Paige Green (very nice and lovely), 9News sports anchor Drew Soicher (who busted a move on The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight) and social-scener Holly Kylberg with her cute crew dressed up as Robert Palmer back-up singers (complete with blow-up guitars).

"This is his dream," said Reilly girlfriend Cynthia Puchniarz. "He wants to be a rock star."

SPARROW LEAVES NEST: Sparrow, the delightful fine-dining eatery at 410 E. Seventh Ave., closed at the end of January over a dispute with its landlord, according to restaurant co-owner Nancy Scruggs. But the restaurant intends to rise from the ashes at a new location downtown or in Cherry Creek.

Meanwhile, Scruggs is busy running Sparrow Market Cafe, a sandwich-soup-salad-cheese- olives-oatmeal-catering and fresh-flowers mart at Seventh and Grant next to Benny's. Plans to open a market and a Sparrow restaurant in the new Landmark development in the Tech Center are on hold for now, she said.

V-DAY: Project Valentine, the gift-bag-giving baby of Colleen Anderson, who died last year of ovarian cancer, is still going strong but needs help from volunteer bag stuffers and donations. It's a massive undertaking, and project leader Amy Smeester is recruiting helpers and donors to fill hundreds of goodie bags that will be delivered to cancer patients on Valentine's Day.

Donations of gift bag items can be sent to Corona Presbyterian Church, 1205 E. Eighth Ave., Denver 80218. Checks should be made out to Corona Presbyterian Church: Project Valentine. Contact Smeester at amycrashed@hotmail.com or go to the Web site projectvalentine.org.

EAVESDROPPING on a man at Reilly's 50th B-day party: "Rick Reilly is so old his house is covered for fire, theft and Indian attacks."

Penny Parker's column appears Tuesday through Saturday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail parkerp@RockyMountainNews.com.

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