Franchise

POSTELECTION pollsters with excess time on their hands sampled moviegoers to see which film they'd prefer to attend on Valentine's Day. "A Good Day to Die Hard" was the clear winner, capturing a 68 percent share, although "Safe Haven" with Josh Duhamel was the clear favorite among women. Date night may be problematic. Women might argue that "Die Hard" is not suited to Valentine's Day, men might counter that "Die Hard" started out as a holiday affair - the original was very much a Christmas movie.

THE NEW BROOM did not sweep clean. In this case, the wielder of the broom picked Michael Vick up off the floor, dusted him thoroughly, and set him carefully on the mantel. Chip Kelly held the news conference Monday he'd long promised, introducing his new staff, but the new Eagles coach managed to shove that news into the background, when a few hours before, the team announced it had reworked Vick's long-term contract into a 1-year deal worth as much as $10 million, including incentives.

Fourth in a series that looks at NL East teams. ONE OUT AWAY from playing in their first championship series in franchise history - since moving to Washington, that is - the Nationals were on the receiving end of a punch to the gut from the defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals. Just as Phillies fans cringe when they hear the names Cody Ross, Brian Wilson and Chris Carpenter, Nats fans don't want to remember Daniel Descalso, Pete Kozma or Carlos Beltran. After taking a six-run lead in the final game of the NL Division Series, the Nationals suffered an embarrassing loss on their home field to put an otherwise memorable 2012 season to rest.

SUBWAY IS SUBPAR. That's at least according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by two New Jersey residents who say that the company's footlong sandwiches fail to measure up - literally. The New York Post reported Wednesday that the duo's attorney, Marlton-based Stephen DeNittis, tested 17 of the company's heralded hoagies and found that each one was less than a foot long. An earlier test conducted by Post reporters found that sandwiches purchased at Subway locations throughout New York City measured between 11 and 11 1/2inches.

The Eagles never wavered. From the moment Jeffrey Lurie fired Andy Reid - and possibly even earlier - the team had one man in mind to be the next head coach. On Wednesday, Lurie pushed all his chips in and named Chip Kelly, the innovative Oregon coach who had been ambivalent about jumping to the NFL, as the 21st head coach in Eagles history. "It was really tough," Kelly said of his decision to leave Oregon as he arrived Wednesday night at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. "I left a special, special place.

LOS ANGELES - It might not be as well-known to some moviegoers as "Friday the 13th," "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Saw," but "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ranks high among the most revered titles in the horror genre. The 1974 serial killer story by Tobe Hooper sent five friends into the clutches of the Sawyer family, a clan of rural cannibals. Although the film's central villain, the power tool-wielding Leatherface, lived on in sequels and a 2003 remake, the series has lain dormant since 2006's "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

↓   Andy Reid After opening the season 3-1, the Eagles lost 11 of their last 12. The blame for a disastrous two seasons can be pinned on many people, but Reid is ultimately responsible for a once-proud team becoming the laughingstock of the NFL. ↑   Andy Reid This one is for the overall job. The ending was ugly, but Reid's Eagles had more good days than bad. On the eve of his official firing, he should be...

The Washington Redskins closed the 2011 season with a 34-10 loss at Lincoln Financial Field that left them at 5-11, their fourth straight last-place finish in the NFC East. Their starting quarterback was Rex Grossman. Their future appeared bleak. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan made a bold move in March when the franchise surrendered three first-round picks and a second-round pick to move up four slots in the draft so it could select quarterback Robert Griffin III. It looked like a hefty price, but it gave the Redskins the opportunity to draft the most valuable asset in the NFL: a franchise quarterback.

A look at the faces of the franchises In my Small opinion . . . If Major League Soccer were at the level of the other major sports in Philadelphia, the Union reacquiring forward Sebastien Le Toux on Thursday would be the equivalent of Cliff Lee returning to the Phillies, Allen Iverson returning to the Sixers or Jeremiah Trotter re-signing with the Eagles. That's how popular the fan-friendly Frenchman was with the crew that shuffled down to the edge of the Delaware River and PPL Park.

Sixth in a series of 25 THE SETUP: The Sixers were coming off a 6-year freefall in which their victory total dropped each season. The franchise was on life support and it needed an infusion of vitality. Enter Pat Croce. WHEN IT came to being a pro sports franchise president, Pat Croce was a neophyte. Oh sure, he proved that he was one hell of an entrepreneur, turning his physical therapy business into a $40 million pay day. But his strengths were his boyish charm, his charisma and his persistence.