Bunch

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.

RE BYKO'S column on the Bicycle Coalition: They are a bunch of tree-hugging jerks. I'm all for saving the Earth, but I have a problem when my city makes the whole right lane for bikes. The city is backed up with traffic as it is, and they want to take up valuable space for bikes? And they still ride on the sidewalk, so what does this accomplish? Nothing! Do you think they'd try this artsy-fartsy hipster baloney in Manhattan? NO way! I've got an idea, let's take up some lanes in North Philly, or, better yet, let's look at the property taxes they pay. I looked up a property I was interested in, and the taxes were $63 a year (!

The "girls" who came to see Girls Night were every age, shape, size, race, and color. There were even a few guys. A group of 11 high school teachers was sitting next to me. Everybody seemed to have the same good time. The show's unpretentious fun and the talented, unembarrassable women on stage had all of the audience on their feet, clapping, singing, and dancing in the aisles. Initially, Girls Night at the Kimmel Center looks like a truly awful bachelorette party: light-up tiaras, pink feather boas, and lots and lots of drinks.

How do 18-year-olds know what they want to do with the rest of their lives? Lives that will last far longer than ever? With retirements that will come way late in the game? It seems odd now, at 21, but only a few years ago, What Will I Do With My Life? wasn't such an intimidating question. I knew. I'd had an odd obsession with houses since childhood. As a kid playing house, I'd be more concerned with my "surroundings" (No, this is the front door) than feeding the baby. When I'd hang out with boys who had cars - long before I could drive - I'd always suggest we cruise around and "look at houses.

The Phillies' bullpen is a tight-knit group. They often huddle in the locker room, sharing private jokes and crossword puzzles. They star in their own television reality show, and sometimes (really), they give one another haircuts. But most important to the team, they take seriously their job of supporting any member who is struggling. This desire to pick up teammates is intensified when a player is lost to injury, as Brad Lidge and Scott Eyre were last week. The move shuffled a bullpen that had just reclaimed J.C. Romero from a 50-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, and forced each player to assume greater responsibility.

Sen. Arlen Specter said after his switch to the Democratic Party last week that he would not be a "party-line voter" or "an automatic 60th vote" to head off a Republican filibuster. He put an exclamation point on those pronouncements by voting against President Obama's $3.5 trillion budget. I know Arlen Specter. Arlen is a friend of mine. And I believe him when he says he will be as much of a pain to Democratic leaders as he was to Republican leaders. Specter cherishes the label independent.

GREG LEWIS MET HIS new quarterback yesterday. Lewis, traded to the Patriots earlier this month after playing six seasons with the Eagles, said he chatted with Tom Brady and came away impressed. "I met him today at a workout in the locker room and he came up to me and welcomed me to the team," Lewis said on a conference call. "He seemed like a great guy. I've seen him on film do great things and I'm just looking forward to [getting to work]. " As for the health of his new quarterback who missed almost all of last season with a knee injury that required surgery?

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES are coming to a coffee break, lunch box or kitchen near you. They raise money for a good cause, and they taste so good that some people have been known to make a whole box of them disappear in one day. In moderation, Girl Scout cookies can fit into your food plan, and you can still fit into your clothes. If you ate a serving of the best-selling Thin Mints (four cookies) every day for a week, there would still be a few cookies left in the box. But if you find yourself reaching for a fifth . . . or 10th, here are some tips that can help: _ Don't eat them straight out of the box. It's too easy to lose track of how many you're eating, especially if you're watching TV or working on a computer while munching.

I FOR ONE have had it. I'm sick and tired of a bunch of idiots foaming at the mouth regarding President-elect Obama having no experience. Unless I've lost my mind, neither did Ronald Reagan. He was a Hollywood actor. Need I say more? Ann Townson Philadelphia

The Maui Invitational annually has featured the best teams in college basketball looking for a way to balance the relaxing ambience of the 50th state with the intense competition at the Lahaina Civic Center. When St. Joseph's plays its first game in the tournament today against seventh-ranked Texas, the Hawks will see how well they have managed to keep the beaches and palm trees in proportion to free-throw shooting and defense. That was of some concern to coach Phil Martelli before the Hawks left for San Francisco, where they spent two days before heading for Maui.