Donnie watches the Knicks at Madison Square Garden

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Donnie Wahlberg watches the New York Knicks play the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 12, 2010. The knicks defeated the Wizards 114-103. UPI/John Angelillo

Anthony Anderson & Donnie Walhberg at the New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics Game

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Actors Anthony Anderson and Donnie Wahlberg kicked it Tuesday night (Apr 6) at Madison Square Garden in New York City as the Knicks took on the Boston Celtics, Donnie’s home team. But unfortunately for Donnie, who is a native of Boston, his Celtics took an L with a final score of 104 (Knicks) to 101 (Celtics).

Donnie pic from Celts game

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Donnie Wahlberg was also at the game as well! Ya know, from New Kids on the Block! He is the guy in the middle with the black hat on being interviewed! So it was pretty cool seeing both these celebs at the game.

Bain’s Pagliuca Tackles Financial Reform - And His Background

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By Russell Garland

Associated Press

Who wants whose autograph? Stephen Pagliuca (L) and actor/former New Kids On The Block member Donnie Wahlberg

With the private equity industry under scrutiny, U.S. Senate candidate and Bain Capital Managing Director Steve Pagliuca has decided to tackle financial regulation head-on.

He’s come up with a plan that calls for a regulatory czar to control risks across the financial system as well as registration for advisers to hedge funds and other private capital pools. And when he and the other three Democratic candidates for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat faced a crowd recently at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce forum, Pagliuca included strengthening central controls over the financial system right up there with jobs and health care reform as his top priorities.

“We’ve got to fix the financial system. That’s broken,” he told the Chamber breakfast. “We need strong, national regulation and national regulation by a central control to stop systemic risk from ever happening again.”

Some doubt the effectiveness of this tactic. “Coming from a background in private equity gives him expertise in the subject of financial regulation, but voters may not believe he has their best interests at heart,” Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said in an email. “Right now, private equity ranks down with car salesmen in the voter’s eyes.”

Pagliuca, whose co-ownership of the Boston Celtics is probably a bigger draw with voters, asserts that his private equity background is an asset, not a handicap. “People want someone that gets into details and understands relationships, makes fact-based decisions and will not make political decisions,” he said in an interview. Pagliuca also cited his middle-class upbringing and his pledge not to accept campaign contributions from special interests. “I have those progressive values along with a fact-based approach and they see me as someone who can really bring jobs back here,” he said.

Still, Pagliuca prefers to talk about “venture capital” in describing his job. “I started as a venture capitalist,” he said. “I’ve probably done more venture capital deals and expansion financings than I have done private equity deals. But both are the same. Private equity companies have also built jobs.”

The candidate’s bigger problem is setting himself apart from the rest of the pack, which includes Congressman Michael Capuano and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the putative frontrunner and only statewide elected office-holder in the race. Pagliuca has criticized Coakley for suggesting that states need to play a significant role in financial regulation. But differences on the issues among the candidates are few.

Pagliuca said he is the only candidate “who has been on the ground building businesses, understands health care, understands the financial system and has come up from jobs like moving furniture and being the son of a teacher and an Italian immigrant family that understands the working-class people and what we need to do to get jobs back in Massachusetts.”

In pledging not to accept money from political action committees, Pagliuca joins the fourth candidate in the Democratic primary contest, City Year founder Alan Khazei. Khazei praised Pagliuca’s decision, but said, “Steve’s also self-financing his campaign. I’m financing my campaign with citizens.”

Pagliuca said he’s raising money but declined to say how much he expects to spend. “We’ll spend a reasonable amount to get the message out.”

He doesn’t have long. The Democratic primary is Dec. 8.

Opening Night at the Garden

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By Tim Weisberg | Published: October 28, 2009

Just wrapped up writing the “At the Garden” column that will appear in tomorrow’s edition of The Standard-Times, and wanted to pass along a few observations from TD Garden in the Celtics’ season-opening win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

–There were stretches of this game where it was clear the Celtics were a little tired after last night’s win in Cleveland, but they certainly powered through it and led by a blowout margin throughout the second half. The minutes were pretty well dispersed through the nine-man rotation, and even second-year guard J.R. Giddens got some burn–including a few minutes in the first half.

–Shelden Williams was an unheralded pickup, probably due to the fact that he hasn’t live up to his first-round draft status. But for the second night, he gave the Celtics a solid performance off the bench, filling in for Glen Davis (if you aren’t aware of the Big Baby drama, get out from under your rock). With four minutes left in the game, Williams had put up an impressive eight rebounds and three assists, and he still doesn’t look comfortable out there yet.

–Opening Night always brings out the stars, but it was a New Kids kind of night. Donnie Wahlberg was seated in his usual courtside seat, and good friend and bandmate Danny Wood sat next to him and was honored as the night’s “Hero Among Us” by the Celtics for the foundation he created in honor of his mother, who passed away from cancer a few years ago.

–I don’t know why, but I’m just not as engaged by the new “Lucky” as I was with his predecessor. I still think it’s weird that the Celtics have a mascot that actually has a human face instead of a big, furry animal one, but this new guy certainly seems to have the athletic ability to put on a show each time he’s on the floor.

–My favorite NBA halftime act was on hand tonight, the puppeteer known as Christopher. Normally known for his Jackson Five performances featuring four dummies tethered together with himself in the middle dressed as Michael, this time around he and his puppets were instead performing as the Village People. Christopher was dressed as the Native American, and my buddy Pat, who was in attendance at the game, texted me to say he’d feel alot better about the game if Christopher was wearing pants.

Donnie Interview at Celtics home opener 10-29-09