Bunch

Daily News senior writer WILL BUNCH has been reporting on the rise of the "tea party" movement, the conservative backlash against President Obama and the influence of Glenn Beck and the media for much of the last year, both for the newspaper and on his blog, ATTYTOOD. This week marks the release of his book on the subject: THE BACKLASH: RIGHT-WING RADICALS, HIGH-DEF HUCKSTERS AND PARANOID POLITICS IN THE AGE OF OBAMA, from Harper Books. You can learn more about Bunch's book online at or watch a video trailer for the book at .

WHEN THE NHL decides to have a season, I have an idea how to get some viewers back. We don't need more scoring, we need the old-time fights. Bench-clearing, in-your-face, butt-kicking fights. Trust me, hockey stinks without the fights. Who wants to see a bunch of foreign pansies skating fast? Not me! Jerry Founds Philadelphia

Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama By Will Bunch Harper, 354 pp. $25.99 Reviewed by Robert Schmuhl Today's political pendulum swings with such frequency and ferocity that it's no wonder a centrist position seems elusive. Even before Barack Obama had a chance to get settled in the White House, a vocal and vigorous movement was working not only to oppose him but also to orchestrate his downfall. Welcome to the fear-fueled, full-boil anger that Will Bunch portrays in The Backlash . A senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News and husband of Inquirer staff writer Kathy Boccella, Bunch takes to the road to report what animates anti-Obama Americans.

PAT FIETTO WAS SITTING in his South Jersey home talking about his boys. Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, Bill Barber, Bob Kelly, and the rest of the Flyers who won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974-75. Back then, Fietto was the owner of Rexy's, a blue-collar watering hole in Haddon Township that was the Flyers' second home. "They started coming in when the team came to Philly in 1967," the 82-year-old Fietto said. "I used to cash their checks out of my pocket - $150, $200 - if they made $20,000 a year it was a lot. Fietto, who sold the bar last July after a 66-year run, tells a great story about the first Stanley Cup championship.

"I jumped because I didn't want to burn," Aliyah Walker, 12, said after a two-alarm fire destroyed a house in West Philadelphia yesterday. Her two younger brothers were able to run out, but Aliyah ended up on the fire escape, pinned down by wind-whipped flames. She escaped injury by dropping into the arms of a group of men, but "I keep thinking about it. A whole bunch of flames. And how it would have been if I didn't get out. "

City should not reject land sale It's sad to see the city back off on a potentially profitable sale of urban land near the Roxborough Reservoir. You'd think that a city full of politicians who have no problem with handing out money and favors wouldn't be turned off by a bunch of local residents who think their city is too densely populated. As a suburban resident, I am so tired of reading about how we allow development to happen. Then I look and see a bunch of city residents fighting development.

DID YOU HEAR the one about Kobe Bryant scoring 68 on a bunch of Chinese guys? Recently, Bryant, as he has done on many occasions, visited China, where he is that nation's most adored basketball player. He was hanging around the gym at what is billed as the Sprite China Second Annual Charity Basketball Game in Shanghai and, with his team facing a 29-point halftime deficit, decided to suit up and play against a bunch of players who probably could be beaten by the faculty at Lower Merion High School.

Darryl Strawberry returned to the New York Mets' lineup last night after missing two games against the St. Louis Cardinals with a stomach virus, but he remained sick of suggestions that he should have played despite the illness. "Where would this team be without me?" Strawberry asked before hitting two doubles and scoring two runs in the Mets' 5-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. "So I miss a couple of games. These guys are a bunch of asses. When I'm gone from here, they will wonder why I left.

As a veteran of many Andy Reid day-after news conferences, Daily News sports writer Paul Domowitch has learned to read between the lines when the Eagles' coach speaks. Each week, we will attempt to interpret some of Big Red's comments: ON THE TWO COSTLY MUFFED PUNTS: What he said: "Obviously, we thought we could get it done with those guys we had there and it didn't work out this game. But that's my responsibility to have it right and I didn't get this one right. " What he meant: "Hey, my initial plan was to put Max Jean-Gilles back there on punts.

One year, then you'll see him again. Just days after signing a one-year deal worth nearly $700,000, Marc Jackson, who left Temple a year early for the NBA draft, is heading to Turkey. It is there the 6-foot-10 forward-center intends to build a bank account, improve his skills, and prepare himself to return next season and prove a myriad of local naysayers wrong. "This is a one-season deal for me," Jackson said yesterday after working out at Drexel University. "I'm going to Turkey for one year to make some money and improve my skills.