That Was Fast . . .

Opening given, gladly taken:

Celebrating her 60th birthday last night with a fund-raiser that netted $1.5 million, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton took a rare shot at an old New York rival and current Republican presidential candidate, Rudolph W. Giuliani, for saying he would root for the Red Sox in the World Series.

Mr. Giuliani, a Yankees fan, has mocked Mrs. Clinton over the years for professing allegiance to the Yankees, even though she grew up a Chicago Cubs fan and recently said she would split her loyalty between those teams if they met in the World Series.

But Mrs. Clinton smiled widely last night as she got in her dig at Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor. After the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs this month, Mr. Giuliani said he would rally behind the archrival Red Sox — an endorsement seen in some quarters as pandering to New Hampshire primary voters in Red Sox Nation.

Addressing a packed Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mrs. Clinton noted that both she and the evening’s M.C., Billy Crystal, were devoted to the Yankees.

“I have been a fan, and I remain a fan of the New York Yankees — no changes, no looking to curry favor with anyone else,” she said to much laughter and applause from the audience of mostly New York Democrats.