The Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, PA) articles from December 2004

The Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, PA) archives from December 2004

Peyton Manning selection for MVP not unanimous.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Ed Barkowitz PHILADELPHIA _ While Peyton Manning was the expected readers' choice for fantasy MVP, his selection wasn't unanimous. Kevin Birkhead, of Philadelphia, was among those who voted for Terrell Owens, instead of...

Dumb just keep getting dumber.
December 31, 2004... Byline: Paul Domowitch PHILADELPHIA _ This is what we know about the Miami Dolphins' new head coach, Nick Saban: We know he was an excellent college head coach. Guided Louisiana State to a national co-championship and turned around...

Philadelphia mayor approves $30 million library expansion plan.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Mark McDonald Dec. 30--As he signed a bill that will provide up to $30 million to renovate and expand the Free Library's central library, Mayor Street had a message yesterday for the "naysayers." You know them, he told a...

Hearings set on 15.5 percent rise in Philadelphia water rates.
December 30, 2004... Byline: Mark McDonald Dec. 30--The Street administration is seeking an emergency water rate boost of 15.5 percent starting Feb. 1 to forestall a technical default on its outstanding water bond debt, according to the attorney representing...

US Airways officials, workers play blame game.
December 29, 2004... Byline: Erin Einhorn Dec. 29--When it came time to explain to US Airways passengers why more than 400 flights were cancelled in four days, spoiling Christmas for thousands, US Airways chairman Bruce Lakefield laid the blame on his...

Taxes, transit system top Philadelphia mayor's agenda for 2005.
December 29, 2004... Byline: Mark McDonald Dec. 29--Looking to the new year, Mayor Street said yesterday he'd support new business tax cuts if City Council is willing to support the painful spending cuts that will be required. In a year-end review and...

Eagles accomplish their mission Monday night style.
December 28, 2004... Byline: John Smallwood ST. LOUIS _ I guess you knew this was going to be a different kind of Philadelphia Eagles game when six of the first seven offensive plays were runs by Dorsey Levens. And if you really want to talk about the...

What to expect _ and not to expect _ in boxing for 2005.
December 28, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ I am off to ring in the New Year in New Orleans before beginning a family cruise to the southern Caribbean on Jan. 2. Which means this is the last boxing column you will see in this space for a...

Boxers or briefs? Baby-hungry wife wants him to switch.
December 28, 2004... Byline: Steve and Mia Q: My wife and I are thinking about having a baby. She recently read an article saying that it's better for men to wear boxers than briefs because the "equipment" has more room to breathe. I've been wearing briefs...

Holiday problems bode ill for Philadelphia's hub airline US Airways.
December 28, 2004... Byline: Erin Einhorn Dec. 28--For now, at least, wayward bags are off to their owners and air travel refugees are safely at home or on vacations that should have come sooner. And even Wall Street was too distracted by the happy news...

Massive US Airways 'sick-out' wreaks havoc for holiday travelers.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Simone Weichselbaum Dec. 27--Low pay, double shifts, high insurance premiums and fear of more layoffs are what US Airway's Philadelphia employees endure on a daily basis. So, it is no surprise to a veteran US Airways ramp...

The Chef's Table: Look to the South for great sausage gravy.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Jim Coleman and Candace Hagan Q: I was listening to your show and heard that you had worked in the South. That comment along with the piece on "Homemade Delicious Foods" and the "Church Ladies Cookbook" got me to thinking....

Reggie White was always destined for something greater.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Rich Hofmann PHILADELPHIA _ The greatest Eagles player, the greatest ever, had many hopes and one overriding desire: to be known as something other than a football player, as something more. It was what drove Reggie White,...

Reid can prove his greatness in the next month.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Sam Donnellon PHILADELPHIA _ The debate has taken on a darker tone. It is no longer about who is most valuable in the Eagles' easy-bake ride to another division title, or who is most responsible for again claiming homefield...

A novel change from Linda Bloodworth Thomason.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Ellen Gray Working in show business may make it easier to get a book published, but it's no guarantee it'll be a good book. For every Steve Martin _ an actor who really can write _ there's a Steven Bochco or a Stephen...

Eagles re-visit place that started NFC championship woes.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Les Bowen ST. LOUIS _ This is the place where it all started, where Donovan McNabb stood in an Edward Jones Dome tunnel and watched the St. Louis Rams celebrate winning the NFC Championship, almost three years gone now. It...

Eagles to honor White with numbers game.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Rich Hofmann ST. LOUIS _ The last time the Philadelphia Eagles retired a jersey, Reggie White did the honors. It was 12 years ago. Jerome Brown's fatal car accident had occurred three months earlier. The Eagles had designed a...

Time for the Fantasy League awards.
December 24, 2004... Byline: Ed Barkowitz PHILADELPHIA _ Asking readers to pick the MVP of fantasy football is almost a rhetorical question. Who else could it be other than Peyton Manning? The guy's thrown for 47 touchdowns, 4,168 yards and just nine...

Chiefs' Johnson expected to give the Priest a rest in the future.
December 24, 2004... Byline: Paul Domowitch PHILADELPHIA _ Even though Priest Holmes is expected to make a complete recovery from the knee injury that ended his season 4 weeks ago, his days as a workhorse, 20-carry-a-game running back probably are over. ...

New role as real-life grandmother doesn't slow Blythe Danner.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Ellen Gray For an older woman in a youth-focused industry, Blythe Danner is having a "surprisingly banner year." The lead role in Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Back When We Were Grownups," a meaty weekly part as a mother from...

Tight Tarver-Johnson bout is a natural for Florida rematch.
December 22, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ Glencoffe Johnson's 12-round, split-decision victory over Antonio Tarver is the equivalent of Ralph Nader coming out of nowhere to win November's presidential election, and carrying like-minded...

An age-old problem: His kids don't approve of their romance.
December 21, 2004... Byline: Steve and Mia Q: I'm a 54-year-old divorced male. I have five grown children, and I am currently involved with a 23-year-old woman. I am financially secure and have provided my girlfriend with an apartment, furniture and college...

The Chef's Table: Thermometer eliminates guesswork.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Jim Coleman and Candace Hagan Q: I have a recipe for a stuffed pork tenderloin (butterflied) that calls for browning the roast on all sides and then roasting it at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I'm having trouble believing that it...

Hip-hop for the holidays.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Takiff Looking to buy a last-minute gift of music that the recipient isn't likely to own? One of these recent hip-hop releases might be just the ticket. Ludacris crunks it up with "The Red Light District" (Def Jam),...

Jingle in a jiffy.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Sharon O'Neal You live in a small space and, after budgeting for gifts, there isn't much dough for decor? Don't ignore that craving for tinsel. Get creative! _ Go outside. Pinecones and evergreen boughs can be the basis for...

For Chaney, it's all memories and face.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Rich Hofmann PHILADELPHIA _ It ended, No. 1,000 did, in controversy. Final shot to tie it, final seconds. Was it goaltending? Wasn't it? The officials said it wasn't. This time, the whistle went John Chaney's way. He had...

Coaches on the NFL hot seat.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Paul Domowitch PHILADELPHIA _ Dave Wannstedt didn't feel like sticking around for the blindfold and cigarette in Miami and quit to get a head start on his Christmas shopping and next job. Butch Davis wasn't smart enough to...

Philly native turns Air Force team into winners.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Dick Jerardi PHILADELPHIA _ If you look back now, you can see that Air Force was the perfect laboratory for a basketball experiment. Then, who knew? When Chris Mooney left a head job at Arcadia in 2000 to become Joe Scott's...

Here's picking Eagles big over Cowboys.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Les Bowen PHILADELPHIA _ Washington Redskins receiver Laveranues Coles was running across the middle, looking for the ball. Coles got it, along with something he wasn't looking for _ a booming, knock-backward hit from Eagles...

Cloyce could fill up a Box score.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Ed Barkowitz PHILADELPHIA _ If you hung in long enough with the Monday night game, you might have heard Al Michaels make a cursory mention of former Detroit Lions receiver Cloyce Box. It was after midnight when Michaels...

Flyers chairman: Owners won't melt.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Ed Moran PHILADELPHIA _ Flyers Chairman Ed Snider has no idea what is going to happen. He won't even hazard a guess. "I'm not that smart that I would know what will happen," Snider told the Philadelphia Daily News...

With Bowa gone, will Phillies behave better under Charlie Manuel.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Bill Conlin PHILADELPHIA _ They say the feud began over a cab ride to the ballpark. Johnny Evers, the Cubs' famous second baseman, came out of the hotel just as shortstop Joe Tinker was getting into a cab. Evers swore Tinker was...

Rethinking CBS' newscast: Make it later.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Ellen Gray Here's an idea for CBS as it looks for a successor _ or successors _ to Dan Rather and for a way to haul its evening newscast out of third place: Don't fix it. Move it. Some of us have been referring to the...

Jones gives Cowboys help during rush hour.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ Pinpointing positives for the 2004 edition of the Dallas Cowboys is like, in the words of musical bard Meatloaf, "looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks." But if there is a shiny bauble to be...

Terrell Owens always auditioning _ for something.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Sam Donnellon PHILADELPHIA _ The Letterman appearance was supposed to happen in November. A nice shiny car drove Terrell Owens to New York. The nice shiny car eventually drove him back. He never appeared on the show. "They...

Eagles in front and not looking back.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Les Bowen PHILADELPHIA _ Despite everything you will hear this week about the Eagles not worrying over what might or might not be clinched, the coaching staff down at the NovaCare Center will be rooting hard for the Atlanta...

Put this must-have software on your gift list.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Takiff THE GIZMO: Have a video game player on your shopping list? Let's dig into Santa's bag and pull out some of the best software titles of the season. THE "MUST" LIST: If your PlayStation2 user hasn't plunked...

Tarver, Johnson set for L.A. showdown.
December 15, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ Antonio Tarver knows that although certain feats can be duplicated, when someone does something for the first time, it sets the standard for those who come later. So don't try telling him that...

Why the latest firing on `The Apprentice'?
December 14, 2004... Byline: Ellen Gray There's something you're not going to read in any of those books touting "lessons" learned from NBC's "The Apprentice": All the management theory in the world isn't going to save you if your boss is a capricious...

He's titillated by a platonic affair.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Steve and Mia Q: I'm a happily married man who's developed a platonic friendship with a young woman. I'm not sure how this happened, but over time she began confiding in me all of her romances, including her sexual...

UMass has a real chance in weak Atlantic 10.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Dick Jerardi PHILADELPHIA _ If he keeps having weeks like last week, Steve Lappas won't have time to consider the big picture. It is no secret that Lappas is coaching this season for his job at Massachusetts. He gave up the final...

The Chef's Table: Goat cheese and asparagus lasagna recreated.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Jim Coleman and Candace Hagan Q: About 10 years ago a colleague of mine made a fabulous lasagna with goat cheese and asparagus. It was my very first time eating goat cheese and the only asparagus I had ever eaten was the out...

Eagles limp to the playoffs.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Rich Hofmann LANDOVER, Md. _ Going into Sunday night, with their first-round playoff bye already locked up, with nearly everything already locked up, an honest Eagles fan knew that almost nothing good could happen between the...

It's that time of year _ for boxed sets.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Takiff There's nothing like the holiday gift season to bring out the artistry and generosity in movie studios and record companies. With thoughts of big sales numbers dancing in their heads, entertainment purveyors...

Lennox Lewis, HBO analyst for Klitschko bout, ready for big screen.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez LAS VEGAS _ Old boxers, unlike old soldiers, don't just fade away. They keep coming back . . . and back . . . and back. You think it's difficult killing off Jason in the "Friday the 13th" horror flicks, or...

ESPN movie about Earnhardt should please most NASCAR fans.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Bill Fleischman PHILADELPHIA _ Movies about sports usually make me nervous. The action often isn't realistic, and the actors don't seem natural as athletes. An exception to the mediocrity rule is the recent "Friday Night...

Andy Reid feels the scrutiny, too.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Sam Donnellon PHILADELPHIA _ He was a risk, promoted at the age of 33 to replace the legendary Weeb Ewbank as head coach of the prestigious Baltimore Colts. Don Shula lost only two games in only his second season as coach, took...

Fantasy leaguers should check out record-setting Chandler at QB.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ed Barkowitz PHILADELPHIA _ Peyton Manning this, Peyton Manning that. It's enough to give you Peyton Manning Syndrome. Too bad the acronym already stands for something else. Manning is shattering the record book with...

NFL's Upshaw says he's glad baseball players finally see the light.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Paul Domowitch PHILADELPHIA _ It has taken a major scandal involving the game's greatest home-run hitter and the threat of government intervention to get major league baseball's players union to finally acknowledge that, yeah,...

Eagles' Akers is almost a sure thing.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Rich Hofmann PHILADELPHIA _ The sun rises in the east. The lights go on when you flip the wall switch. The Schuylkill is miserable on Friday afternoons. The fired people on "The Apprentice" will never curse out Donald Trump or...

Baseball is defining itself by a bad era.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Sam Donnellon Overheard on the floor of the Baseball Hall of Fame, circa 2034 . . . __ "Who's the Phillie on the plaque, Dad?" "Why that's Mike Schmidt, son." "Who was he?" "Some people think he was the...

For Redskins, life is not according to Gibbs' plan.
December 9, 2004... Byline: John Smallwood PHILADELPHIA _ If you ever take a look at before and after pictures of a president, you'll notice that while his term might be four years, the degree of aging in his face seems more like a decade. Call it a...

Upcoming bargaining session could be make or break time for NHL.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Edward Moran PHILADELPHIA _ Up until now, all that has been said and done, or not done, between the NHL and the players union hasn't amounted to much more than posturing. Despite the loss of games and the public-relations hit...

Klitschko an idealist, monitors Ukraine election situation.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ Those of you who couldn't find the time to vote in the recent presidential election should consider the commitment to democracy by WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, a Ukrainian who was...

Peyton's place is among the super elite.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Paul Domowitch PHILADELPHIA _ Not since Michael Jordan has an athlete caused as many jaws to drop or as many heads to shake as the Colts' Peyton Manning has done. He is playing quarterback this season in a way that it's never...

He's 45, looks 36. Is age really `just a number'?
December 7, 2004... Byline: Steve and Mia Q: I am a 45-year-old bachelor who looks 36. When I meet younger women they appear to be interested in me. The last situation happened with a 24-year-old woman. Over a period of five or six weeks she developed a...

The Chef's Table: Homemade candy's ideal for Christmas gifts.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Jim Coleman and Candace Hagan Q:I heard your radio show about homemade gifts as presents, and thought that was a great idea. I think I would like to give my friends some homemade candy. Do you have a foolproof recipe and any tips?...

Coming this month: Ludacris, Ashanti, Eric Clapton and more.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Takiff After a couple of very heavy release months, the music industry basically goes on vacation in December. Bucking the trend, though, urban stars Ludacris and Ashanti, bluesman Eric Clapton, the wonderful Peruvian...

These gizmos are sure to please everyone on your list.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Takiff Looking for a gadget to please a loved one or pal? Check out these options: SMILE FOR THE BIRDIE: Amazon.com, Best Buy and Tweeter have all proclaimed digital still cameras the "most desired gift" for holiday...

How to pick your new HDTV.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Takiff THE GIZMOS: HDTV shopping tips and High Def DVD update. Ready to upgrade to a high-definition TV _ direct-view, rear projection or flat-panel? Join the crowd. 47 percent of all consumers in the market for a TV...

Dear Mr. President: It's time to walk the walk and clean up sports.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Bill Conlin An open letter to President George W. Bush: Dear Mr. President, In the State of the Union address last January, you detailed a laundry list of problems facing the nation and the world, including terrorism,...

Big Five never gets old.
December 4, 2004... Byline: Phil Sheridan PHILADELPHIA _ This never gets old, even if it is old. The ball that left Curtis Sumpter's hand as time ran out Saturday was maybe the millionth to decide a game in the Palestra. Everything that happens in this...

Half of state's provisional ballots trashed.
December 4, 2004... Byline: Tina Moore PHILADELPHIA _ More than half of the provisional ballots cast in last month's election in Pennsylvania were tossed out by county officials, an Inquirer survey has found, prompting some election observers to call for...

Woman, daughter survive kidnapping ordeal.
December 4, 2004... Byline: Scott Flander PHILADELPHIA _ Letisha Hills was sure the kidnappers were going to kill both her and her 3-year-old daughter. "They said they were going to dump us in the river," Hills recalled Friday night. "They said they...

Straw poll for Hall of Fame: no way.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Bill Conlin PHILADELPHIA _ There are two ways to look at the mostly sad and unfulfilled career of Darryl Strawberry. Looking at his career numbers through a wine glass half full, you ask yourself this: How did a player who...

Busch trying to improve his image.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Bill Fleischman NEW YORK _ For the second consecutive year, NASCAR has a Cup series champion who is not immensely popular with fans. Matt Kenseth, last year's champion, is a nice-guy vanilla personality who has no known...

Eckel rising on the Navy rushing charts.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Bill Fleischman PHILADELPHIA _ The ol' fullback from Philly's Episcopal Academy is in some pretty good football company at the Naval Academy. Kyle Eckel is tied with Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino for fourth in career...

McNabb vs. Favre a course study in itself.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Les Bowen PHILADELPHIA _ Green Bay is the place where Andy Reid won a Super Bowl ring as an assistant coach, and where Brett Favre provided Reid with his quarterbacking template. For years, if you asked the Eagles' coach a...

In Fantasy game, you can root against Eagles.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ed Barkowitz PHILADELPHIA _ Believe it or not, some die-hard Eagles fans can't exactly enjoy their beloved team's romp through the regular season. While most fans can't get enough of Donovan McNabb's career season or Terrell...

Landeta, 43, still wants to get his kicks, and other notes.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Paul Domowitch PHILADELPHIA _ When Sean Landeta booted his first professional punt almost 22 years ago for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League, my oldest daughter, who is a semester away from graduating...

Brett Favre plays down his tough-guy, daring image.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ Sports fans have the benefit of satellite dishes, hundreds of cable channels and endless "SportsCenter" highlights. But when it comes to assessing the greatness of certain individuals, don't...

`The Wire' on demand: priceless.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ellen Gray I think I've finally cracked the code on HBO's "The Wire." It's the first great "on demand" series. HBO runs David Simon's epic, almost Dickensian exploration of the west Baltimore drug trade and its political...

A day to remember in 1979 Army-Navy game lore.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Ed Barkowitz PHILADELPHIA _ Twenty-five years ago, on a Friday before the biggest game of the year, Navy coach George Welsh brought his running backs out for a pregame walk around old JFK Stadium in South Philly. Welsh half...

Bland Reid leads blue-collar Philly, builds winning legacy.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Dana Pennett O'Neil PHILADELPHIA _ The former Tammy Garrett still remembers her first date with her husband of 23 years. She met the man she would marry in gym class, squaring up against him in tennis and badminton. He...

Super featherweights put on quite a show.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Bernard Fernandez PHILADELPHIA _ Of the "Thrilla in Manila," the celebrated third act in the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier trilogy, author Thomas Hauser observed, "They were fighting for something much more important than the...

TV reporter that posed nude for story to go on Letterman.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Dan Gross PHILADELPHIA _ David Letterman is nothing if not persistent. And it's worked. After days of making fun of/inviting Sharon Reed onto his "Late Show," the former NBC-10 anchor will appear there Thursday night. ...