Guides

We've all been there. Lectured about "how it works here," and how wonderful the chef is and what great reviews he's gotten - all before there's so much as a glass of water on the table. We've endured the shameless up-sell of side dishes and desserts when everyone has already ordered quite enough food, thank you very much. Or watched, stunned, as the server brings the meal then lingers awkwardly, murmuring, "Wow, that looks really good, doesn't it? I'm so hungry. " The point is, service is at the heart of the restaurant experience.

Which team is No. 1 in The Inquirer's preseason South Jersey rankings? What players are on the preseason first- and second-team all-South Jersey squads? Find out Friday in The Inquirer's South Jersey football guide, an eight-page section crammed with feature stories, previews, analysis of the division and group races, and stories on the players to watch. And go to www.philly.com/rally for video interviews with coaches Clint Tabb of Pennsauken, Frank Fucetola of Williamstown, P.J. Mehigan of Cherokee, Tim McAneney of Lenape, and Sal Marchese of Delsea, and conference breakdowns by The Inquirer's Phil Anastasia and Marc Narducci.

There were times during the first half when it looked as if La Salle quarterback Chris Kane's teammates were daring him to show what he was made of. Through two quarters, La Salle was pegged with a touchdown called back for holding, a failure to convert on a fourth and 1, and a blocked extra point. Kane himself even lost a fumble in the first half. They were the types of mishaps generally distracting to a first-year starting quarterback, especially on opening night against one of his team's biggest rivals.

In Sports Bob Ford: Lurie puts Reid on the spot. C1. Edwards guides Birds to preseason victory. C1.

GETTYSBURG - On July 3, 1938, aged veterans of the North and South converged one last time on the ground where tens of thousands of their comrades had fallen 75 years earlier. On stretchers, in wheelchairs, and balancing on canes, their beards long and white, their Blue and Gray uniforms faded, 2,500 men returned to the battlefield to commune, to reconcile, and to celebrate a nation at peace. For the anniversary, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated a Peace Light at Oak Hill, a marble monument topped by an eternal flame.

HERE'S CLOUT'S A-to-Z guide to the Republican National Convention, starting Monday in Tampa. *  A is for abortion - The Republican National Committee has included as a plank a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban abortions, with no exceptions for cases of incest or to save the life of the mother. That is a more strident approach than the presumptive nominee for president, Mitt Romney , takes. (See R is for Rape for the rest.) *  B is for Biden - What better way to kick off the RNC than to have the vice president show up in Tampa to campaign for his job?

  Joe Watkins, head of a political action committee that supports school choice initiatives, former managing director in an asset management firm, and a Philadelphia minister, has been appointed by state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis to guide the financial recovery of the struggling Chester Upland School District. "Joe is a qualified individual who has the ability to assist the Chester Upland School District with long-term financial stability, as well as ensuring the district's students continue to have access to quality academic programs," Tomalis said in a statement Friday.

How many professional advisers does the city need to sell Philadelphia Gas Works? A lot. Mayor Nutter has selected two investment-banking firms, five law firms, two lobbying groups, and two public-relations companies to guide the city through the potential sale of PGW, the nation's largest municipal gas utility. The array of professionals includes some familiar names to city government work: Lazard Freres & Co. L.L.C.; the Ballard Spahr law firm; Ceisler Media, and Cardenas Grant Communications.

WHAT YOU'LL FIND on the racks of T-shirt shops in the some of the most popular Shore towns.   Avert your eyes! Wildwood: No Shore town in New Jersey, or maybe the East Coast, can compete with Wildwood for the sheer number of steamy, racy, raunchy and just-plain-dumb shirts. Seaside Heights: Compounds the problem with New York Giants and Yankees gear, and shirts with rhinestones and skulls that men on steroids wear.   Risque, but not really Ocean City: Watered-down version of Wildwood, with all the safe, pop-slogan shirts that make sense only to tweens and that bear none of the things that could jeopardize the false sense of security, such as alcohol or marijuana and sex. Atlantic City: Shirts usually feature off-kilter iron-ons of dice, playing cards or seagulls.