Last night, Senate president Malcolm Smith accepted an invitation to box Republican minority leader Dean Skelos for an event called Long Island Fight for Charity. For the children, of course! And, maybe as a side benefit, so he could legally beat up the guy who helped throw the Senate into chaos earlier this summer. Smith's spokesman later claimed that his boss was only joking around, but it doesn't matter anyway, since Dean Skelos has, disgracefully, declined the challenge outright. We will assume this means he does not like children. [Daily Politics/NYDN]