Era

A dream had carried the boys so far from home, some 5,000 miles across the ocean to a cramped and dingy apartment in Philadelphia: a hope that ice hockey could change their lives. Ivan Pravilov could fulfill that dream, they were told. He could take them from the daily grind of post-communist Ukraine to the gleaming ice of the NHL. He'd done it before. He'd done if for Andrei Zyuzin, who went on to play for six NHL teams. He'd done it for Konstantin Kalmikov, a third-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1996.

Just downstream from an industrial recycling operation and a stone's throw from a sewage treatment plant, a fisherman casts his line toward the passing barge traffic and watches it drop into the Delaware River. A couple eating lunch watch curiously. "No way would I ever eat anything from there," the woman says. The fishers who frequent the pier in Camden's Waterfront South neighborhood have heard it all before. That they're crazy, that they're going to grow an extra head or get sick from eating what they catch.

THE SUDDEN death of Carol Ann Campbell has cost this city one of its best practitioners of full-contact politics. Campbell, who succumbed this week to a lengthy illness, was one of the best friends and worst enemies you could make. She was tireless in her efforts on behalf of her allies and relentless when she went after those who would thwart her initiatives. But she was consistently on the side of the powerless. Whether in her leadership roles with the Democratic City Committee, the black ward leaders or the Democratic National Committee, Carol Campbell's goal was to exert influence on behalf of people whose interests are rarely brokered in the back rooms.

La Salle University's basketball team has been invited to appear in the Big Apple NIT next season, and in the Sugar Bowl Classic the season after that. The Explorers' appeal to preseason and holiday tournament selection committees in the next two seasons more or less corresponds with the major reason for their success over the past two seasons: the presence in the lineup of sophomore Lionel Simmons. Simmons, who leads La Salle (24-9) against Kansas State (22-8) in a first- round NCAA Midwest Regional game tonight in South Bend, Ind., already has a status few players ever can hope to attain.

Not in the history of Philadelphia has this 29-year-old black female seen such a massive turn-out for a politician, where multitudes of grief stricken- people gathered in hot, humid weather to see Philadelphia's Great One, the Big Bambino, the Cisco Kid or whatever it is you called him (nice or nasty) laid out for all to see one final time. Whether you liked Frank Rizzo or not, you have to admit that in one way or the other, he has had a great impact (positive or negative) on Philadelphia and its people in some kind of way. There was an ambivalent relationship between Rizzo and the people.

THE TIME IS long overdue to correct some misconceptions about the Eagles. They are no longer a football team that can compete at the highest NFL levels. The last game of the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals told the tale. With one quarter left and leading, they couldn't prevent a team that they walloped by more than 20 points earlier in the year from scoring. The vaunted defense was nowhere, and it would be safe to say they were beat up physically. The Eagles, with an aging quarterback, a questionable punter and a defense that has to be rebuilt, will go nowhere for the next five to seven years.

There are plenty of reasons for the Phillies' stumbling start. None more significant, or more disturbing, than lousy pitching. Except for Danny Jackson and, for the most part, Doug Jones, these Phillies pitchers would be caned if they played in Singapore. A staff that finished with a 3.95 ERA in 1993 now carries a 4.58 ERA. Aside from Jackson, the starters are 2-6. Jackson has the only complete game. The bullpen has been worse. The most troubling story, though, because of the spot he occupies, is probably Curt Schilling's.

There are certain landmark weeks in baseball history that no one ever will forget. Here at Week in Review headquarters, we think last week was one of them. Any time some Jose Oquendo-type impostor goes to the pitcher's mound, it's always a big week from our standpoint. But last week, we didn't have just one mystery pitcher out there toeing the rubber. We had four of them. On Monday, it was second baseman-turned-righthanded reliever Tom Foley hurling for the Expos in a 19-6 loss to the Reds.

Chris Meyer has cultivated a fundamentally solid team, without any real superstar player. No ego battles. No arguing over positions in the batting order, or who is pitching where in the rotation. Meyer has not been afraid to travel around and expose his team to possibly better teams. All of that has led the Upper Darby American Legion team to a 9-1 (15-6 overall) record in the Main Line American Legion League - and first place. "I think I've had more talent on past teams, but this group is young and aggressive, and they pay attention, which is something I haven't had a lot of success with in the past," said Meyer, who is in his seventh year as coach.

The Catholic Academies softball playoffs open this afternoon for Nazareth. The PIAA District 1 playoffs are just around the corner. Pandas coach Bob Keating can't think of anyone he would rather have on the mound at this time of year than junior pitcher Kelli Haskins. "We've had the chance to play a lot of teams outside our league because we've been trying to play a tougher schedule," Keating said. "We've played teams from Bucks County and Montgomery County. We've seen good pitchers.

The news of Donna Summer's passing Thursday at age 63 shook me to my dancing shoes. Of all the so-called disco divas, I thought Summer would be the one to live forever. Ah, disco. The pulsating beat exploded onto the music scene in the mid-'70s like the inferno the Trammps sang about. A mirrored, rotating cherry bomb that just as quickly flamed out. Those one-hit wonders it produced, so relevant then, forgotten now. (Alicia Bridges? Dorothy Moore? Somebody? Anybody?) But not Summer.

At Citizens Bank Park. Monday at 7:05 p.m. Houston RHP Lucas Harrell (2-2, 4.58 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Blanton (3.24) Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. Houston (TBA) vs. LHP Cliff Lee (0-1, 2.17)

Might Union fans on Wednesday night be introduced to what would certainly be the cure to the club's scoring woes? Legendary Spanish striker Raúl González Blanco — known to soccer fans worldwide simply as Raúl — will play his final game for his current club, Schalke 04, when the German Bundesliga giants visit the Union at PPL Park (7:30 p.m.). Since he announced last month that he would be leaving Schalke, there has been quite a bit of discussion over where the former Real Madrid and Spain great is headed next.

TRIPOLI, Libya - Human Rights Watch on Saturday urged the new government in Libya to revoke a law that criminalizes glorifying former dictator Moammar Gadhafi and spreading "propaganda" that insults or endangers the state. The measure issued last week was one in a series of laws the National Transitional Council, Libya's interim rulers, issued recently to deal with the Gadhafi's legacy. The laws have come under criticism from international and local rights groups for violating freedom of speech or being too vague to enact.

The news hit hard. Bunny Gibson was a kid when Dick Clark came into her life - or, rather, when she entered his world in Studio B at 46th and Market Streets in West Philadelphia. "When I walked through those doors, that was the only place I wanted to be," said Gibson, 66, an actress who now lives in Los Angeles. She was 13, but lied about her age. American Bandstand only allowed dancers from 14 to 18. "I put a lot of my mom's makeup on and stuffed my bra," said Gibson.

Christy Von Pusch remembers May 31, 2011 as "unbearably hot. " The Radnor softball ace pitched well that day, well enough to strike out 11 and limit Pottsgrove to two hits. But not well enough to prevent postgame tears. All it took was one pitch. In the third inning of the Red Raiders' District 1 Class AAA semifinal, her scorching fastball got away from the catcher. The passed ball allowed the only run of the game to score. During the 2011 season, Von Pusch recorded 14 of her team's 15 wins, posted an ERA of 0.80, struck out 248 batters, and threw seven no-hitters.

Southeastern Pa. Softball Guide Players to Watch Maggie Shaffer, Hatboro-Horsham, pitcher. The senior struck out 138 in compiling a 26-2 record for the state-champion Hatters last season, even without possessing an overpowering fastball. She does it with deception and exceptional control. Morgan Decker, Central Bucks South, third base. Decker is a vacuum at the hot corner, having not committed an error all of last season. After hitting .375 for the Titans last year, the senior started this season hot, slugging two home runs against Truman on March 29. Morgan Noad, Conestoga, catcher.

  After a mad scramble in 2011 to find ways to pay bills without increasing taxes, some New Jersey municipalities are drafting this year's budget with relative ease. A few are even rehiring police and other staff they had to let go over residents' noisy objections. Some found lifelines in one-time revenue sources, others made significant cuts, and still others got surprise assistance. "In my opinion, the worst is over," said Mike Mansdoerfer, who's been on the Lumberton Township Committee for nine years, including two stints as mayor.

Dennis Bennett, who won 12 games for the 1964 Phillies, died Saturday. He was 72. Bennett's daughter, Vanessa, said he died at his home in Klamath Falls, Ore., after an ongoing illness. The Herald and News reports that Bennett had been in poor health and was hospitalized in Portland the last two months before returning home Thursday. Bennett spent three seasons with the Phillies, from 1962 through '64. He went 12-14 with a 3.68 ERA in 41 appearances in 1964. The 24-year-old lefthander was part of the starting rotation along with Jim Bunning, Chris Short and Ray Culp as the Phillies built a lead in the division.