Extra Time

When the game of this NCAA Tournament was supposed to be done and the two schools that had combined for 3,434 wins, 566 in the 1990s, nine national titles and 23 Final Fours had played an unforgettable 40 minutes, there was one thing missing. An ending. That would come after another five minutes. Kentucky and Kansas, first and third all-time in wins but meeting for the first time in the NCAA Tournament, had matched each other basket for basket, floorburn for floorburn, comeback for comeback.

A Swarthmore College senior with learning disabilities is suing the organization that administers the law-school admission test because he wants three times the amount of time typically allotted to complete the examination. Jared Solomon, 22, of Philadelphia, argues that he is entitled to the accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The federal law requires that private entities, such as the Law School Admissions Council in Newtown, Bucks County, that offer admission exams make the modifications necessary to make the testing fair and accessible, the suit said.

When the polls opened in Philadelphia at 7 a.m. yesterday, 49 polling places throughout the city didn't have voting machines. Although the machines eventually were delivered - in some cases more than five hours late - the delays kept many people from voting, and for a time threatened to throw the entire election into confusion. The city's Democratic Party went to court in an effort to keep the 49 polling places open past 8 p.m. to make up for lost time. The Republican Party fought to close the polls as scheduled, and the court battle lasted through the day and into the evening.

The U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division is investigating ambulance services in Montgomery and Bucks Counties, where it is common for paid emergency medical technicians and paramedics to work as volunteers during their free time. The ambulance workers consider it community service. The government considers it illegal. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, paid employees may not do unpaid volunteer work for the same business or agency that employs them, said Thomas Johnson, a Labor Department spokesman.

ALL THIS rest might kill the Sixers. Tied at 2 in their Eastern Conference semifinal, the Celtics own homecourt advantage. Both Celtics home games come off 2 days of rest. They had Saturday and Sunday off, at home, with balmy temperatures and light breeze. That's nectar for the elderly. Three of their top seven players rank in the top 14 in games played among active players: Kevin Garnett (No. 2), Ray Allen (7) and Paul Pierce (14). All three rank in the top 15 of playoff games played by active players.

NEXT TIME regulation ends in a Stanley Cup playoff game, don't change the channel or leave your seat to get a cold refreshment. You might miss the game-winner. In the playoffs, sudden-death overtime - especially in a series-clinching scenario - is the ultimate television reality show. It's just been a fleeting moment. Through 53 games, prior to Monday night's action, 18 games (34 percent) had gone to overtime. On average, overtime in those 53 games has lasted just 8:24. Overtime in eight of those 18 games (44 percent)

Every morning Karen Lloyd Borski hits the trails. Her walk takes her to the grounds of historic Glen Foerd mansion, an idyll on the Delaware River in the Far Northeast. And on a good day with a bit of extra time, she can even make it over to parts of Pennypack Park with its twists of scrub elm, ribbons of water, and gatherings of honking geese. She'll have some more extra time after the end of June. For more than two years, Borski, 46, has been serving as the acting head of the Fairmount Park Commission, a limboesque role that kept her in the job well over twice as long as her predecessor, Phil Goldsmith, who left to become city managing director.

What: Women's World Cup semifinals Who: USA vs. France, at Moenchengladbach, today at noon; Japan vs. Sweden, at Frankfurt, 2:45 TV: Both games on ESPN. How they got here: USA won penalty shootout over Brazil after 2-2 tie . . . France won shootout over England after 1-1 tie . . . Japan defeated Germany, 1-0, in extra time . . . Sweden eliminated Australia, 3-1. What's next: Losers play third-place game Saturday at Sinsheim . . . Winners meet for championship Sundayat Frankfurt.

Although the biggest crop of cookbooks is usually released in the fall/holiday season to capitalize on the gift-giving market, there's a flood of new titles this spring and summer, many designed for leisurely, fun, warm-weather eating. "Cookbooks definitely go by season," said Tim Fischer, manager of Los Angeles' Cook's Library, a store stocking 6,000 to 7,000 cookbooks, memoirs, wine and food history titles, both domestic and imported. Of the 171,061 books published in the United States in 2003, 2,856 were cookbooks, according to New Jersey-based Books-In-Print.

SEPTA and the union representing workers who operate buses and subways in Philadelphia agreed yesterday to extend the deadline for reaching a new contract from March 15 until April 15. Jeff Brooks, head of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 said he accepted the one-month extension offered by SEPTA to give riders some relief. "Our objective is a partnership with the riding public, not just to pull the trigger just because I can," Brooks said yesterday. "We have been talking about the extension for several days," SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said.

ALL THIS rest might kill the Sixers. Tied at 2 in their Eastern Conference semifinal, the Celtics own homecourt advantage. Both Celtics home games come off 2 days of rest. They had Saturday and Sunday off, at home, with balmy temperatures and light breeze. That's nectar for the elderly. Three of their top seven players rank in the top 14 in games played among active players: Kevin Garnett (No. 2), Ray Allen (7) and Paul Pierce (14). All three rank in the top 15 of playoff games played by active players.

NEXT TIME regulation ends in a Stanley Cup playoff game, don't change the channel or leave your seat to get a cold refreshment. You might miss the game-winner. In the playoffs, sudden-death overtime - especially in a series-clinching scenario - is the ultimate television reality show. It's just been a fleeting moment. Through 53 games, prior to Monday night's action, 18 games (34 percent) had gone to overtime. On average, overtime in those 53 games has lasted just 8:24. Overtime in eight of those 18 games (44 percent)

HARRISBURG - The judge overseeing former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's child-sexual-abuse case on Thursday delayed the start of the trial by three weeks to early June, and prosecutors filed a lengthy court document that said the case should not be dismissed. Judge John Cleland said the extra time was needed "to accommodate various logistical contingencies that have arisen," and the Attorney General's Office supported the postponement. The prosecution's 21-page answer to a catch-all pretrial motion Sandusky's lawyer submitted a week ago said the commonwealth had "broad latitude" to establish the dates of allegations in child-sexual-abuse cases.

A week after winning the two-man gold at the world championships, Steven Holcomb was the class of the field in four-man bobsled Sunday in Lake Placid, N.Y. Holcomb and his crew finished a half-second ahead of Maximilian Arndt of Germany. The American's triumph last week in two-man was a first for the United States at worlds since two-man began in 1931. Only two other pilots have ever completed a sweep. Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup Super G in Bansko, Bulgaria, to become the career leader in the discipline.

SHEY PEDDY SCORED a game-high 32 points to lift Temple past Atlantic 10 rival Duquesne, 67-64, in women's basketball action at the Liacouras Center last night. Peddy, who was 7-for-14 from the field, added 11 rebounds, and BJ Williams added 14 for the Owls (9-8, 3-1 Atlantic 10). Jocelyn Floyd scored 18 in the loss for Duquesne (13-5).   In other games * At Hagan Arena, Saint Joseph's got 22 points from Samira van Grinsven and 11 apiece from Michelle Baker and Ashley Prim, as the Hawks beat Fordham in overtime, 57-46.

NEW OWNER Joshua Harris and CEO Adam Aron have been working tirelessly since taking over the 76ers to bind the team to the basketball faithful of this city. At the team's first training camp session Friday, Aron talked with reporters about the mascot voting, which included a moose, a dog and a Ben Franklin. He also relayed how sleep has been minimal (an hour or so here, 36 straight hours of work); how fans' emails are being pored over; and how the game-day experience will be much improved.

FRANKFURT, Germany - With two World Cup titles and three Olympic gold medals, the United States has history on its side in Sunday's final against Japan. With their lightning quick passing and slick combination play, the Japanese may well have a grip on the future of the game. The physical, sweeping game of the Americans stands in sharp contrast with the close, possession-oriented game of Japan, turning Sunday's match into an intriguing clash of styles. The United States beat Japan in two pre-World Cup exhibitions, but that will count for little in the final.

What: Women's World Cup semifinals Who: USA vs. France, at Moenchengladbach, today at noon; Japan vs. Sweden, at Frankfurt, 2:45 TV: Both games on ESPN. How they got here: USA won penalty shootout over Brazil after 2-2 tie . . . France won shootout over England after 1-1 tie . . . Japan defeated Germany, 1-0, in extra time . . . Sweden eliminated Australia, 3-1. What's next: Losers play third-place game Saturday at Sinsheim . . . Winners meet for championship Sundayat Frankfurt.

THE AMERICANS are moving on to the semifinals after one of the most riveting games in the history of the Women's World Cup, beating Brazil 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw in extra time. Abby Wambach scored an equalizer in the 122nd minute, and goalkeeper Hope Solo denied the Brazilians in the shootout. "I'm at a loss and I literally cannot believe what just happened," Wambach said. For Brazil, it is yet another disappointment at a major tournament. And this one is sure to sting more than any of the others because Marta seemed to have it won for the Brazilians yesterday in Dresden, scoring her second goal of the game in the second minute of extra time for the 2-1 lead that would have sent the Americans to their earliest World Cup exit ever.

WOLFSBURG Germany - Japan knocked two-time defending champion Germany out of the Women's World Cup on Saturday, advancing to the semifinals with a 1-0 win when substitute Karina Maruyama outran the defense and scored on an angled shot in extra time. Japan absorbed relentless pressure during the match, gaining its first World Cup semifinal and handing Germany its first loss in the tournament in a dozen years. Standout midfielder Homare Sawa spotted Maruyama's deep run in the 108th minute and served her perfectly.