Tuesday, May 13, 2003 | 10:58 a.m.
Mike Morgan has come full circle.
The Vegas native and longtime major league ballplayer was back in his old neighborhood over the weekend to play baseball with his own kids -- in a park newly named for him.
"It's an overwhelming honor," said Morgan in an emotional speech at the dedication ceremony Saturday. "I grew up just down the street from here."
He was standing on the pitcher's mound at the Mike Morgan Family Park at Bonanza and Sawhill roads. Nearby was his wife, Cassie, their two young children, his mother, Nellie, and brother, Larry.
After he graduated from Valley High School in 1978, Morgan was the first pick of the Oakland A's in that year's June 8 amateur draft.
Three days later he took his first major league decision in a 3-0 loss to Scott McGregor and the Baltimore Orioles.
He remained a major leaguer for some 25 years, winning 141 games.
In the 2001 World Series, pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he did not give up a run in three appearances against the New York Yankees, helping to earn himself and the D'Backs a championship ring.
The Saturday ceremony also featured music by a local band, Vista IV, and various kiddie activities.
After his speech Morgan tossed the ceremonial first pitch to Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese, who had recommended the park be named for Morgan.
Reese caught the ball.
Bar belle
Who said that Celine was not going to be a part of the community?
She spent Sunday night at the Hurricane Bar and Grill on South Bermuda Road on the small stage off the bar, filming a music video. No fancy Hollywood soundstage for her.
Rene Angelil -- Dion's husband and manager -- was spotted rushing into the Four Seasons early Saturday afternoon.
On Monday, Angelil and Dion spent the day with their son, Rene-Charles, 2, as the family had a belated Mother's Day picnic at an undisclosed location.
Trading Places
All the hoopla about Katie Couric and Jay Leno trading jobs this week was nearly eclipsed by Matt Lauer and Al Roker temporarily switching careers with Siegfried & Roy.
The "Today" show pair are rabid fans of the famous illusionists, even dressing in costume as the white tiger tamers for the NBC morning show's Halloween broadcast last year.
Lauer and Roker wanted to come to Vegas this week and perform with the famous white tigers while having the veteran Mirage duo take over on television.
Believe it or not, the idea was nixed -- for now, at least -- by Siegfried & Roy, who had a scheduled dark week for an international trip to scout some tiger cubs they might add to their Vegas menagerie.
They couldn't break their plans, but said they remain open to the idea if Lauer would call them sooner next time.
Dog gone
Former sitcom star and song-and-dance man Tony Danza, who performs at the Suncoast next weekend, talked Rod Stewart into shelling out nine grand for a Labrador retriever puppy at an auction Friday.
Danza was sitting with stars Stewart, Melanie Griffith, Kelsey Grammer, Darryl Hannah, Jon Lovitz and Ed McMahon at the 10th annual Race to Erase MS event in Hollywood, USA Today contributor Sue Facter told Vegas- Beat.
Multiple sclerosis survivor Montel Williams and Tom Arnold served as auctioneers of the pedigreed pup, as well as assorted other fancy items.
Danza said he plans to bring the dog with him to Vegas for his engagement.
VegasBits
Shopper: Clint Holmes was browsing at the Fashion Show mall on Saturday afternoon. So were KTNV Channel 13 anchor Cathy Ray and Cox executive Steve Schorr -- after they helped judge a Cinnamon Girl mother-daughter Mother's Day fashion show ...
To the fore: Justin Timberlake will not be at Michael Douglas' coming charity golf weekend at Caesars Palace. He has concerts scheduled in London. But Martin Sheen, Greg Kinnear and Alice Cooper have been added to the guest list ...
Neil meal: Rocker Vince Neil and his new bandmates had dinner Saturday night at Gustav Mauler's BullShrimp. Neil leaves soon for a three-month tour with Skid Row and Poison. They all play The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel July 5. Neil and friends spent the meal trying to come up with a name for themselves ...
Hub act: Classic rock band Boston sails into the Mandalay Bay Events Center Aug. 2. Tickets go on sale Saturday ...
Square Deal: "Thunder From Down Under" hunk Matthew Fardell was selected to compete on "Blondes Week" on Hollywood Squares. Pamela Anderson was center square on the segment, which aired Monday ...
Reception: The cast of The Rio show, "Tony 'N Tina's Wedding," has taken to having post-show beverages at the new Rio restaurant Tilted Kilt. The Kilt's official opening party is Friday ...
Club work: The new club Ice is having a job fair today and Wednesday. It is looking for everything -- waitresses, a VIP host, promoters, bartenders -- except customers. It starts looking for those when doors open at the end of the month. Interviews are on a walk-in basis Tuesday and Wednesday at Alexis Park on East Harmon Avenue ...
Goal: It's now official: Pro hockey returns to Las Vegas on Oct. 21. That's when the new Wranglers of the East Coast Hockey League make their Orleans Arena debut. Call (702) 471-7825 for ticket info ...
Thanks: VegasBeat happily shares credit with other Sun reporters when their work appears in this column. So belated props go out to Sun business reporter Richard N. Velotta, who scored an exclusive interview with Steve Wynn after his multimillion-dollar art purchases last week and then fed us some of Wynn's words.
From Sun wires
He's a little bit journalist, she's a little bit comedian and vamp.
Jay Leno and Katie Couric switched jobs in an NBC ratings stunt Monday, with Leno handling news duties on "Today" and Couric going for flirtatious laughs on "Tonight."
Clad in a low-cut black dress, Couric explained that she had decided to wear something "a little more fun, a little sexier" than her usual "Today" attire.
"For all you people from L.A., who have never seen them before, these are actually real," Couric told the studio audience. Later, tools were brought onstage to slice into Leno's desk and provide a view of Couric's legs.
If Couric sounded awkward delivering punchlines, Leno showed no hesitancy in tackling a taped interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell and a live one with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Leno asked several serious questions about Powell's latest attempt to broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, and whether Saddam Hussein should be tried in the United States if found alive.
Then Leno took a lighter approach.
"How about you and Rumsfeld? Are you going to play golf anytime soon?" he queried Powell on the secretary's strained relationship with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
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