Big Fella

WASHINGTON - Ryan Howard wants to get paid. He deserves it. The Phillies cannot overpay their 28-year-old slugger. Not with the all the fannies he puts in the seats: fannies who pay to park their cars, then drink beer, eat Bull's BBQ and buy "Ryan Howard" jerseys for themselves, "Chase Utley" jerseys for their daughters. If Howard wants to cash like A-Rod, Manny and Jeter, then he'd better start producing like them. He needs to start winning games, sometimes by himself. You know.

FOX 29 anchor/reporter Tom Burlington has been suspended by the station follow-ing what sources describe as a "bizarre" and "shocking" sermon in which he insisted there's nothing wrong with a word most commonly referred to as "the N-word. " Burlington, according to colleagues, used the word more than a dozen times as he argued that doing so was not such a big deal. The word wasn't directed at anyone, so colleagues were hestitant to label his remarks as racist, instead pointing toward Burlington's insensitivity and apparent lack of common sense.

Their intentions were honorable, the idea was good. The lawmakers who built a nearly inpenetrable fortress of civil service protections around the Los Angeles police chief's office were well motivated. But so was Dr. Frankenstein when he sent his faithful assistant out to Transylvanian cemeteries to shop for spare parts for his body building project. And like Doc and Igor, LA lawmakers have created a monster that has run amuck throughout the countryside. Now, even a torchlight parade of frightened townsfolk may not be enough to bring the big fella down.

To win a key Ivy League game in February, Penn coach Jerome Allen turned to a play that has been on the board in his office since September. It worked. With 1.5 seconds left in overtime, Miles Cartwright looped an inbounds pass from the sideline to an open Fran Dougherty, who scored a layup in the lane to give Penn a 61-59 win over Columbia at the Palestra. The victory kept Penn (15-11, 7-2 Ivy League) on a track to play for a first-place tie in league play next Saturday at Harvard.

To win a key Ivy League game in February, Penn coach Jerome Allen turned to a play that's been on the board in his office since September. It worked. With 1.5 seconds left in overtime, Miles Cartwright looped an inbounds pass from the sideline to an open Fran Dougherty, who scored a layup in the lane to give Penn a 61-59 win over Columbia at the Palestra. The victory kept Penn (15-11, 7-2 Ivy League) on a track to play for a first-place tie in league play next Saturday at Harvard.

Shaq is getting ornery. "I don't foul my man," he said Wednesday, responding to Pat Riley's plea to stay out of foul trouble. "I haven't fouled my man in a while. The only time I get in foul trouble is when I . . . help. . . . We have to do a better job as a team. " Shaq is calling out teammates. "It's money time," he said. "Guys like [Udonis Haslem], they should take it personal. When I get the ball in the post and get double-teamed, they should take it personal. Everything they read, they should take personal.

After the Phils lost, Ryan Howard said the Fightin's had a great season. I tend to agree, but you guys are more cynical than I am (a scary thought). What did you think of the Phils' year? Certainly, a very good season. They won 93 games, won a third straight division title, and made it back to the World Series. Because of the pitching problems, mostly Brad Lidge and Brett Myers in my mind, this always felt like a team that would eventually face a day of reckoning. That it didn't arrive until the sixth game of the World Series was a little surprising.

David West knows that his pitching this season has brought to mind a four- letter word. Phillies fans might opt for something harsher, considering the way they've been scorching his ears. But the one West prefers is funk. With Curt Schilling disabled and facing elbow surgery, and in an attempt to foster improvement in West, manager Jim Fregosi is momentarily switching the lefthander's role. Say hello to the rotation, big fella. West will start Tuesday night in St. Louis.

With Duets chalking up worldwide sales of five million - making the all- star karaoke session the most popular album of Frank Sinatra's career - and Duets II seemingly destined for boffo success as well, can Duets III be far behind? No, it can't. Capitol Records isn't making any official announcements, but Luciano Pavarotti has already recorded "My Way" with Ol' Blue Eyes, and Sinatra's similarly reserved, ego-less Italian-American paesano Madonna is also said to be on board. (May we suggest "How Insensitive"?

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't want to slow the Phoenix Suns. That's why he may make them wait a few more days before playing his eagerly awaited first game debut in purple and orange. O'Neal, who is learning a new offense and working his way into shape after a hip injury, is unlikely to play when the Suns visit Golden State tonight. After returning from the Bay Area, the team will decide whether O'Neal will play against Dallas tomorrow night in Phoenix. "I want to be a little more in tune before I step out on the court, because as you watch this team without me, they're like a great flowing machine," O'Neal said after practice yesterday at US Airways Center.

To win a key Ivy League game in February, Penn coach Jerome Allen turned to a play that has been on the board in his office since September. It worked. With 1.5 seconds left in overtime, Miles Cartwright looped an inbounds pass from the sideline to an open Fran Dougherty, who scored a layup in the lane to give Penn a 61-59 win over Columbia at the Palestra. The victory kept Penn (15-11, 7-2 Ivy League) on a track to play for a first-place tie in league play next Saturday at Harvard.

To win a key Ivy League game in February, Penn coach Jerome Allen turned to a play that's been on the board in his office since September. It worked. With 1.5 seconds left in overtime, Miles Cartwright looped an inbounds pass from the sideline to an open Fran Dougherty, who scored a layup in the lane to give Penn a 61-59 win over Columbia at the Palestra. The victory kept Penn (15-11, 7-2 Ivy League) on a track to play for a first-place tie in league play next Saturday at Harvard.

After the Phils lost, Ryan Howard said the Fightin's had a great season. I tend to agree, but you guys are more cynical than I am (a scary thought). What did you think of the Phils' year? Certainly, a very good season. They won 93 games, won a third straight division title, and made it back to the World Series. Because of the pitching problems, mostly Brad Lidge and Brett Myers in my mind, this always felt like a team that would eventually face a day of reckoning. That it didn't arrive until the sixth game of the World Series was a little surprising.

WASHINGTON - Ryan Howard wants to get paid. He deserves it. The Phillies cannot overpay their 28-year-old slugger. Not with the all the fannies he puts in the seats: fannies who pay to park their cars, then drink beer, eat Bull's BBQ and buy "Ryan Howard" jerseys for themselves, "Chase Utley" jerseys for their daughters. If Howard wants to cash like A-Rod, Manny and Jeter, then he'd better start producing like them. He needs to start winning games, sometimes by himself. You know.

Shaquille O'Neal doesn't want to slow the Phoenix Suns. That's why he may make them wait a few more days before playing his eagerly awaited first game debut in purple and orange. O'Neal, who is learning a new offense and working his way into shape after a hip injury, is unlikely to play when the Suns visit Golden State tonight. After returning from the Bay Area, the team will decide whether O'Neal will play against Dallas tomorrow night in Phoenix. "I want to be a little more in tune before I step out on the court, because as you watch this team without me, they're like a great flowing machine," O'Neal said after practice yesterday at US Airways Center.

FOX 29 anchor/reporter Tom Burlington has been suspended by the station follow-ing what sources describe as a "bizarre" and "shocking" sermon in which he insisted there's nothing wrong with a word most commonly referred to as "the N-word. " Burlington, according to colleagues, used the word more than a dozen times as he argued that doing so was not such a big deal. The word wasn't directed at anyone, so colleagues were hestitant to label his remarks as racist, instead pointing toward Burlington's insensitivity and apparent lack of common sense.

Shaq is getting ornery. "I don't foul my man," he said Wednesday, responding to Pat Riley's plea to stay out of foul trouble. "I haven't fouled my man in a while. The only time I get in foul trouble is when I . . . help. . . . We have to do a better job as a team. " Shaq is calling out teammates. "It's money time," he said. "Guys like [Udonis Haslem], they should take it personal. When I get the ball in the post and get double-teamed, they should take it personal. Everything they read, they should take personal.

The last time the 76ers won a best-of-seven series was seven coaches ago. Pat Croce was still building his physical therapy empire. Allen Iverson was a preteen. Dikembe Mutombo had yet to leave the Congo for Georgetown. Larry Brown was four jobs away from becoming their coach. The last time the Sixers won a best-of-seven series was 1984-85, in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Milwaukee. If they're going to win the current second-round series against Toronto, they're going to have put together a whole lot more of the jigsaw puzzle pieces than they did in yesterday's discouraging, 96-93, Game1 loss.

I was used, says David Lee Roth. Apparently the onetime lead singer of Van Halen is not returning to front the band on a reunion tour after all, and poor Roth was the last to find out. The flamboyant rocker issued a statement yesterday describing himself as "an unwitting participant in . . . nothing more than a publicity stunt. " Despite recording two new songs with the band, and appearing with them at last month's MTV Awards, Roth says, he's just learned that band members Eddie and Alex Van Halen plus Michael Anthony have hired another lead singer.

John Lucas is the champion of the philosophy that says the glass is half- full rather than half-empty. With the 76ers' record at 17-43 and with 22 games to go in a lost season, it is one way to survive. Maybe the best way. Why agonize over a 100-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs last night, even if they were the guys Lucas coached for nearly two seasons before coming to Philadelphia? Why get frantic because center David Robinson, one of the top three candidates for Most Valuable Player, just torched you for 33 points?