Achilles

Kabuki comes from the Japanese words ka (music), bu (dance) and ki (acting). Kabuki theater is characterized by elaborate pageantry and highly stylized movement. It uses bold scenery, intricate face painting and beautifully detailed costumes to tell dramatic, heroic stories. The foregoing was cribbed verbatim from an information sheet furnished by the People's Light and Theater Co. of Chester County, which last night presented the U.S. debut of "Achilles," adapted from Homer's epic poem "The Iliad" and staged in the Kabuki style.

DORAL, Fla. - Tiger Woods' road to the Masters took a surprising detour Sunday when he withdrew after 11 holes in the Cadillac Championship because of soreness in his left Achilles tendon. It's the same Achilles that the 36-year-old injured last year at Augusta National, which eventually caused Woods to miss two majors in 2011. The severity of the injury won't be known until Woods has it evaluated. He was 10 shots out of the lead, 3-over par in the final round at Doral, when he hit a 321-yard tee shot on the par-5 12th hole, shook hands with Webb Simpson and left on a cart.

If his comeback is to continue, oft-injured 76ers center Jeff Ruland will just have to find out where television's "Six Million Dollar Man" gets those bionic body parts. A grimacing Ruland played only three minutes in the Sixers' 119-86 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves last night in the Spectrum. He failed to score or to get a rebound before leaving the game with 1:16 remaining in the first quarter with what the team announced was a partial tear of his right Achilles' tendon.

Andy Reid offered a non-update on Jason Peters' condition, saying Monday morning that the Eagles tackle was out "indefinitely. " It was unclear later in the day whether the Eagles coach knew that Peters had re-ruptured his Achilles tendon, although it is likely he did since the five-time Pro Bowler once again needed surgery. But it is safe to say after this latest setback that Peters is definitely out for the 2012 season. The Eagles confirmed the injury Monday evening after Comcast SportsNet first reported that Peters re-ruptured his Achilles when the Roll-A-Bout machine he was using malfunctioned.

Ryan Howard felt a tiny pinch Sept. 18 when a team physician's needle penetrated the numbed surface of a left heel that had been throbbing red-hot for weeks. Within seconds, the syringe's milky mixture of cortisone and painkiller rushed warmly into the tiny, inflamed bursa sac at the base of the slugger's Achilles tendon. Howard and the Phillies were rolling the dice. They hoped the cortisone would ease the pain and, after a brief rest, return him to form for the fast-approaching postseason.

Los Angeles Clippers center Stanley Roberts underwent successful surgery yesterday to repair his ruptured left Achilles' tendon and he is expected to be out for the season. He played just 14 games last year because of an injury to the other Achilles' tendon. "Everything went great," said Dr. Gene Osher, who performed the surgery at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital. "Stanley is doing fine and is expected to recover fully. " The 7-foot, 300-pound Roberts will remain hospitalized for two to three days and will be in a cast for six weeks before beginning a rehabilitation program.

The 76ers will play the final five games of the season with 11 players after losing reserve center Eddie Lee Wilkins to a torn Achilles' tendon on Thursday night. Wilkins, 30, had spent most of the season as fourth man on the depth chart at center, but he had played regular minutes recently because of minor injuries suffered by Manute Bol and Charles Shackleford. Wilkins was fighting for a rebound and trying to stay inbounds when his left Achilles' tendon gave way in the third quarter against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - On Saturday afternoon, interstate rivals Penn and Penn State - both raw, unproven, and searching for an identity - collided at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn's roster has no seniors. The Quakers have already endured a five-game losing streak in a season that began less than a month ago. Penn State, meanwhile, is in improvisation mode, learning to play without all-everything senior guard Tim Frazier, out for the year with a ruptured Achilles. The Nittany Lions (4-3)

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Ryan Howard limped down the hallway from the Phillies clubhouse to the cafeteria at Bright House Field, where he would discuss his tedious comeback from a torn Achilles tendon, and stopped to find a man facing a similar plight. It was Bill Giles, the Phillies chairman, who tore his right Achilles recently while playing golf. All winter, Howard said, people came to him in places such as the grocery store with their own Achilles tales. They showed him their scars.

Achille Joseph Vicoli, 88, of Newtown Square, a businessman and decorated World War II veteran, died Saturday, March 30, of cardiac arrest at Delaware County Memorial Hospital. Mr. Vicoli was a first-generation American born to Nicholas and Antonette Lonzi Vicoli from Montenero di Bisaccio in Italy. He grew up in South Philadelphia and was a member of St. Monica's Parish. By age 18, Mr. Vicoli managed the construction of airplane wings for the riveting department of Keller Autogyro, an aviation company in Philadelphia.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - On Saturday afternoon, interstate rivals Penn and Penn State - both raw, unproven, and searching for an identity - collided at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn's roster has no seniors. The Quakers have already endured a five-game losing streak in a season that began less than a month ago. Penn State, meanwhile, is in improvisation mode, learning to play without all-everything senior guard Tim Frazier, out for the year with a ruptured Achilles. The Nittany Lions (4-3)

Rep. Bob Brady, the leader of Philadelphia's Democratic Party, had a front-row seat for the party's national convention in Charlotte - in front of the TV at his home in Overbrook, where he was sidelined with a partially torn Achilles tendon. Brady, 67, was injured several weeks ago, lifting weights at home while "trying to recapture his youth," according to spokesman Ken Smukler. He hoped it would heal on its own, but when it didn't, Brady dropped his convention plans and scheduled an MRI. His doctor fitted him with a cast Friday to immobilize his foot for the next four weeks, in hope of avoiding surgery.

The Flyers' summer of discontent has gotten worse. The team said that defenseman Andrej Meszaros had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn right Achilles tendon and would be sidelined indefinitely. The surgery was performed by Steven Raikin at Jefferson University Hospital. Last month, the Flyers signed restricted free agent Shea Weber to an offer sheet and envisioned having the league's best defense. Now their defense is in disarray. General manager Paul Holmgren, whose team lost Weber when Nashville matched the Flyers' $110 million offer, said he would have a better idea of Meszaros' status in six weeks.

RYAN HOWARD roamed the dugout with the elated ease of a rescued castaway Wednesday night, even told the media assembled for an update on his condition that, "I missed you all. " The feeling is mutual, of course, even if the emotion is based more on sentiment than salvation. Because Chase Utley and the current four hitter, Carlos Ruiz, hit consecutive first-inning home runs and Jimmy Rollins continued to get on base and the Phillies scored seven runs. But the Phillies' bullpen, used en masse to cover a rainout-caused hole in the rotation, continued to be a torturous ride of inaccuracy and inconsistency and that, as it has for much of this month, doomed any chance of forgetting this team's real Achilles' problem is not at the end of Howard's leg, or anywhere inside of Utley's knees.

Ryan Howard felt a tiny pinch Sept. 18 when a team physician's needle penetrated the numbed surface of a left heel that had been throbbing red-hot for weeks. Within seconds, the syringe's milky mixture of cortisone and painkiller rushed warmly into the tiny, inflamed bursa sac at the base of the slugger's Achilles tendon. Howard and the Phillies were rolling the dice. They hoped the cortisone would ease the pain and, after a brief rest, return him to form for the fast-approaching postseason.

Andy Reid offered a non-update on Jason Peters' condition, saying Monday morning that the Eagles tackle was out "indefinitely. " It was unclear later in the day whether the Eagles coach knew that Peters had re-ruptured his Achilles tendon, although it is likely he did since the five-time Pro Bowler once again needed surgery. But it is safe to say after this latest setback that Peters is definitely out for the 2012 season. The Eagles confirmed the injury Monday evening after Comcast SportsNet first reported that Peters re-ruptured his Achilles when the Roll-A-Bout machine he was using malfunctioned.

Andre Iguodala's sore right Achilles tendon prevents him from walking without a limp when he isn't on the basketball court. But in Sunday's win over the Chicago Bulls, Iguodala strangely was often the 76er who seemed to have the most spring in his step. He led the team with 12 rebounds and chipped in 14 points. "The first half it was really bothering me. But then I think the adrenaline really carried me throughout the game," Iguodala said. "It's hard to get on your toes, that's the hardest thing.

Jason Peters underwent surgery to repair his ruptured right Achilles tendon, the Eagles said Tuesday. The surgery was performed by Steve Ralkin of the Rothman Institute at Jefferson Hospital in the Navy Yard. Peters injured himself on March 27 while working out in Texas. The Eagles have not set a timetable for the all-pro left tackle's return, but recovery from an Achilles injury takes on average about nine months. The team has already begun to search for a replacement, bringing in free agent Demetrius Bell for a visit last weekend.