Dimensions

E! HAS NEVER been known for subtlety when it came to its original programming, so it seems a perfect home for a new series featuring Pamela Anderson. Pam is certainly charismatic, in a blow-up doll kind of way, but E!'s press release on her reality show is a tad too full of hyperbole implants. The network may be right in claiming that she is "one of the most recognizable women in the world," but a "Hollywood icon and international megastar"? Come on. "Baywatch," "Home Improvement" and "Barb Wire" don't make you an icon.

John Smoltz is no fan of Citizens Bank Park. The Atlanta Braves pitcher criticized the Phillies' home field in an interview with ESPN during his team's 4-3 win there July 3. And at the All-Star Game in Detroit last week, Smoltz said that building a home-run-friendly ballpark in Philadelphia was "the worst decision ever made. " The Phillies are especially sensitive to comments like that. And they are concerned enough that they talked to ballpark designers after last season and said recently that they are open to looking into possible solutions.

The Union have a narrow focus in preparing for Friday's Major League Soccer game in Portland against the expansion Timbers. Portland's field is among the most narrow in MLS and is made of artificial turf. According to a team official, the dimensions at Jeld-Wen Field are 70 yards by 110 yards. The only other MLS pitch that is as narrow is Toronto's, which is 69 yards by 105 yards. So the Union moved their practices this week to YSC Sports in Wayne, which has an artificial-turf field with dimensions similar to Portland's.

When Alexandra Ovetsky arrived in the United States as an 8-year-old from Moscow, she did not speak English. But she already spoke one language foreign to many Russians and Americans alike. Math. "When they were in Russia," said Dennis Erlick, "she would beg her father . . . for new math problems to solve. That was one of her forms of entertainment. " Erlick is a science teacher at Central High School in Philadelphia who, as the school's research coordinator, has guided the 17-year-old senior toward national recognition.

Math is Alexandra Ovetsky's first love, and that passion helped the 17-year-old Central High School student win $50,000 in college-scholarship funds yesterday in a national competition. Her second-place prize came through the Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, which awards exceptional achievement for high school students gifted in math, science and technology. Her achievements are remarkable: Ovetsky arrived in the United States from Russia as an 8-year-old and did not speak English.

WITH ONE STROKE of the pen, President Obama has shackled our children and grandchildren with massive debt. It was a beautifully orchestrated plan by Obama and the Democratic Party. Magnifying this self-inflicted financial crisis into epic dimensions. This spending bill will enable our tax-and-spend Democrats to implement all of their socialist programs well into Obama's second term without actually raising taxes. Everything will appear to be running smoothly - until it's time to pay the piper.

The economy has left some of Center City's upscale men's fashion businesses re-evaluating the market. Dimensions, the 23-year-old shop that has been home to the expensive wares of Ralph Lauren/Polo and Joseph Abboud, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors as it seeks to reorganize. "We are not going out of business; we're just trying to get ourselves back together," said Jeff Kolsky, vice president of operations. Lawrence J. Tabas, the store's attorney, blames the retail slump for the company's woes.

Philadelphia is about to make history by reconstructing the building that has been referred to as America's first White House, where George Washington and John Adams presided from 1790 to 1800, and where Washington kept black people as slaves. But the design of the project next to the Liberty Bell Center has recently come under harsh criticism for purported historical inaccuracies. While this criticism is sincere and well-intended, it is fundamentally flawed. The critics say the project's dimensions are wrong.

Opera for children is prevented from childishness by the very stuff of opera - music. However much some producers may dream of a watered-down entertainment, music supplies backbone, fiber and the dimensions that add to words and action. OperaDelaware has found that in its regular program of commissioning children's opera. Its latest, Libby Larsen's A Wrinkle in Time, takes its place in the list of operas that involve space travel or creatures from another world. The work was premiered during the weekend at the Playhouse with changing casts.

The name is Fork. That's right. As in knife and. . . . And though the name doesn't provide much of a clue, Fork's point is freshness. We're told that macrobiotic food was what the owners of Old City's newest bistro originally planned to offer, but when it dawned that austere food is rarely fun, the concept was modified, and Fork now offers good-for-you American fare that changes with the seasons. On the day of a review dinner, for example, Fork's appetizers included bruschetta with zesty, just-right-for-fall toppings of warm beets, leeks and Gorgonzola replacing traditional - and summery - tomato mixtures.

TO PEOPLE who get headaches or feel nauseous while watching 3-D movies: Quit whining. At least you get a taste of the action. Because some unfortunate souls can't see 3-D at all. Instead of the mind-bending visages of "Avatar's" Pandora, these deprived moviegoers see just another CGI-created world. Instead of the depth of field of Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," it's just another fairy tale. And, instead of the popping action sequence of "The Green Hornet" . . . well, that was bad even with 3-D. Admittedly, it's a First World Problem, but a problem nonetheless, especially in light of an increasingly crowded field of potential summer blockbusters that boast 3-D visuals.

The Union have a narrow focus in preparing for Friday's Major League Soccer game in Portland against the expansion Timbers. Portland's field is among the most narrow in MLS and is made of artificial turf. According to a team official, the dimensions at Jeld-Wen Field are 70 yards by 110 yards. The only other MLS pitch that is as narrow is Toronto's, which is 69 yards by 105 yards. So the Union moved their practices this week to YSC Sports in Wayne, which has an artificial-turf field with dimensions similar to Portland's.

"I have decided to step down from the CBS Evening News . " With those shocking words, Katie Couric on Tuesday set the world ablaze with a heretofore unthinkable move. (It's not as if her departure hasn't been dissected for weeks!) Couric, who has been in the biz for 32 years, tells People.com she'll miss her CBS News family. "I'm really proud of the talented team   . . . and the award-winning work we've been able to do in the past five years," she says. Yet she adds, "   I am excited about the future.

T HE GIZMO: 3-D Blu-ray discs, XpanD Universal 3-D glasses, Fujifilm FinePix REAL 3-D W3 Camera. GETTING OVER THE HUMP: What's keeping people from biting the bullet for a 3-D TV? Fear of nothing to watch on that expensive set ranks high in consumer surveys. Issues with those "active-shutter" 3-D glasses also loom large. But this week, we've got glad tidings - new problem-solving accessories sure to make the holiday season brighter for those early adopters with 3-D TV sets planted under (or near)

SAN FRANCISCO - Yesterday afternoon, beneath a milky-blue Northern California sky, Jayson Werth and Domonic Brown took a walk around one of the most unusual rightfields a player will encounter. In the shadow of the 24-foot brick wall that rises above the warning track, the veteran talked shop with the rookie, pointing out the various idiosyncrasies of an outfield that can make even the most accomplished of fielders feel as if he is chasing a pinball. "I think at one point I said this is probably one of the toughest rightfields to play," Werth recalled later, "just because of the angles, the way the ball flies - the ball travels kind of weird out there.

So the long-anticipated Phillies-Braves series got started Monday night. Are you like me? Do you have trouble working up a healthy antipathy for the Braves? The Mets, no sweat. The Cardinals, easy. The Marlins, not a problem. Even the Dodgers are easy to despise. The Braves, not so much. Oh, I could probably work up some hatred. The Braves complained about the CBP dimensions, and they play in a city that's largely an embarrassment when it comes to sports. Plus, Southerners use Coke when referring to any and all sodas.

The Joe Wright era is over, and now it is Mike Mattei's turn to put his stamp on West Chester's offense. Mattei was impressive in winning Wright's vacated quarterback position. Much more mobile than his predecessor, Mattei brings another dimension to the Golden Rams' offense. But . . . "He's young," West Chester coach Bill Zwaan said of the redshirt sophomore. "He's really good. The only thing that's wrong with him is that he's young. The hope is that Mattei is a quick study.

People's Light & Theatre doesn't shy away from presenting challenging work for children. In 2007, the company produced The Giver, an adaptation of Lois Lowry's Newbery Award-winning sci-fi novel about a futuristic village in which things are not quite as utopian as they appear. This weekend, People's Light opens its production of Gossamer, the first of her novels that Lowry herself has chosen to adapt for the stage. She will be at the theater in Malvern for talk-backs and book signings after Friday's performance and Saturday's matinee.

Jim Reilly has endured so many tragedies in the last four years that his brother says they should rename the Book of Job "the Book of Jim. " In August 2006, Reilly's 21-year-old son, Andrew, a college senior who was studying to become a special-education teacher, was killed in a car accident on his way to Millersville University to begin the school year. Two years later, his wife, April, a nurse, was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer and died in October 2008, leaving him to care for another son who is severely disabled.

Two alternate titles come to mind when watching Avatar, the modest little indie by way of James "King of the World" Cameron: How about Runs With Na'vis, or Flies With Banshees? The filmmaker's epic adventure - which cost upward of $230 million and, actually, happens to be great fun - is the gamer generation's answer to Dances With Wolves. It's a trippy sci-fi tale about an ex-Marine, trained to fight an indigenous people, who comes to understand the tribal culture in ways that make him terribly conflicted about annihilating them.