By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Friday, June 27, 2008

If David Beckham comes to town and no one has a party, was he even really here?

Last August, the arrival of the Los Angeles Galaxy superstar sent Washington into a tizzy, inspiring three rival nightclub parties, all super-packed with fans desperate to catch a glimpse of the soccer Adonis. (He showed his face only at Play Lounge in Dupont Circle.)

Less than a year later, Becks and his Galaxy teammates are again on their way to play D.C. United at RFK on Sunday . . . but thus far, no big club fetes have been announced and the buzz is decidedly muted.

"So far, it's been crickets on the street," said Mark Gunderson, owner of IndeBleu, which hosted players from both teams after last year's game. Why? Possibly because Beckham's no longer a novelty on these shores. Last time around, "the hype was that it was the first year he was playing in D.C.; everyone wanted a piece of it," said nightlife PR maestro Victoria Michael, who promoted the Play party. "This year it's for the true soccer fans." Others noted that casual fans may be distracted by this weekend's Nats-Orioles matchups.

Ironic, considering Mr. Posh Spice is actually playing better this year. So far, about 32,000 tickets to the game have been sold -- well above the average 20,000, but not yet on pace with last year's sellout. Galaxy fever is as hot as ever with the Arlington Soccer Association, which once again posted the highest bid -- $5,500 -- for its young players to escort the teams onto the field. (Parents pay $250 per kid for the privilege.) Does everyone want to walk with Becks? "We've had more requests for other players than for Beckham," said organizer Robert Waffle. "He's up there, but he's not by himself anymore."

With the excitement of his May wedding and honeymoon over, Chris Cooley is trash-talking.

The Redskins tight end loves almost everything about his Loudoun County house, which sits at the end of a quarter-mile dirt road. But there's a problem: no public garbage removal. "I can't justify paying more than a couple bucks for someone to drive by and pour my trash into a truck," Cooley posted on his blog Wednesday. "So I looked for practical ideas of dealing with the garbage."x

Such as? Dumping bags illegally in bins at Redskins Park, which he decided was too much work. He considered the nearby Mormon church, but there were always people watching for, say, garbage-tossing football players. Finally, he broke down and starting driving his pickup to the dump, but it has been "hell."

Now Cooley -- who signed a reported $30 million contract extension last year -- has a new plan: trading autographs for dumping fees. "My negotiating skills are too good, and I feel like my autos are in high demand at the dump."

So how did Jim Lehrer spend eight weeks recuperating from heart valve replacement surgery? Napping? Flipping through bus catalogues? Hardly.

"I did the final proof on my novel" -- his 19th book, "Oh, Johnny" -- "and the third draft on the next one," said the PBS anchor, 74, who returned to "NewsHour" last night after two months off the air. "The doctors said I could work on the word processor." Lehrer told us he also caught up on "The Tudors," "Friday Night Lights" and a bunch of old movies.

* Lawyering up: Madonna has hired one of Britain's top divorce lawyers, fueling speculation that her marriage to Guy Ritchie is over. The Times of London reports that the singer, 49, retained Fiona Shackleton, the lawyer who represented Paul McCartney in his recent split from Heather Mills, and Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana. Madonna, worth an estimated $600 million, has been married to the film director, 39, for seven years. They have no prenup (cha-ching!), according to the newspaper. The singer's spokesman had no comment.