Hard Way

When he says the word transfer , John Macnamara does so in casual fashion, as if he's discussing the act of stepping down from a bus with designs on catching a trolley. Macnamara's transfers are much more complicated, and one created quite the stir among teammates and spectators in a Catholic Blue baseball game played Thursday afternoon under bright skies in Fairless Hills. Macnamara, a 5-7, 145-pound senior at Conwell-Egan High, was playing second base. Lansdale Catholic opted for a hit-and-run and, as Matt Kress sprinted away from first, Mark Savini sent a not-too-high popup Macnamara's way. Johnny Mac made the catch.

The 76ers played as if the final gun was aimed at them. They led the Indiana Pacers by eight points with 4:35 remaining. By seven with 3:27 remaining. By six with 0:29 remaining. By one with 18 seconds remaining. Only the final gun could tell them what they could not grasp until it was somehow, someway, officially verified. It's in the books, guys, a bona fide 105-100 victory over the Pacers. On the road. Their first one on the road in their last 21 games.

Geovany Soto didn't get the automatic home run he deserved, but it didn't make a difference last night as the visiting Chicago Cubs beat Houston, 7-2. Soto was credited with an inside-the-park homer in the fourth inning despite replays showing that it should have been an automatic home run. The ball bounced just to the right of the yellow line on the wall in left-center. Astros centerfielder Michael Bourn scooped it up and threw it home, but Soto scored easily before the throw got there.

Bobby Jackson grew up poor and fatherless, dodging life's bullets in Salisbury, N.C. The first and last thing Jackson saw every day as a youngster were a twin sister and a mother yearning for brighter things but seeing nothing but darkness. "It was hard growing up," said Jackson, 24, Minnesota's senior guard. "We were real poor. I never knew my father, and all I could really do was watch how hard my mother worked, praying a better day would come. But I stayed strong because of her. "Money wasn't the thing she was concerned with.

It would be easy to simply pass on the butterfly. His left shoulder, injured when he was wrestling in junior high, wouldn't feel as if it's ready to burst under the torque of the butterfly motion. His freestyle, his best stroke, would be that much better if he didn't spend time toiling with a technique he has yet to master. But easy has never been Fred Tanzio's way. Easy, as much as the clowning side of his dual persona would like it to be, has never been an option. Not for the fastest swimmer at Cherry Hill West and one of the top freestylers in the state.

Those amazing, death-defying Eagles will be taking their inimitable show on into the new year. With a harrowing 17-13 win over the Washington Redskins at Veterans Stadium yesterday, the Eagles ran their season record to 10-5 and clinched a spot in the National Football League playoffs. They most likely will travel to New Orleans to face the Saints in a Jan. 2 playoff game. However, the right combination of final-week wins and losses - an Eagles win over the New York Giants at the Vet, plus a New Orleans loss to the New York Jets - would net the Eagles a home game against the Saints on either Jan. 2 or Jan. 3. Yesterday's victory came in typical, heart-stopping Eagles fashion, with the Eagles missing several chances to put away the game and then giving up a 17-play, 85-yard drive by the Redskins that fell just short of a winning touchdown.

Philadelphian Kevin Williams takes Moravian Street near Broad the hard way this weekend with a chain walk. Williams, who practices occasionally to relieve stress, took advantage of a clear day to clear his mind. Today will be hot and mostly sunny.

They did it the hard way, but the Wings have reached the Major Indoor Lacrosse League playoffs. They did it by defeating the host Baltimore Thunder Saturday, 17-9, to finish the regular season with a 3-5 record, third-best in the four-team league. The Wings will open the playoffs on the road Sunday against the second- place New Jersey Saints. Washington defeated New Jersey yesterday, 21-14, to clinch first place. Paul French led the Wings Saturday with five goals and an assist.

Bob Dole quits the Senate and pledges to get to the presidency "the hard way. " President Clinton cultivates a big lead, making his own flawed four years look a lot better than the Republicans' last 16 months. The contrast could not be more striking. On Wednesday, Bob Dole gave a valedictory to his Senate career that amounted to an admission of his core political problems. He acknowledged that his association with Congress is a dead loss in this campaign. "Our campaign will leave Washington and look to America," Dole said, adding "with all due respect to Congress, America has been my life.

IN RESPONSE to Joe Sixpack's article "Let's get sensible about suds," this reader believes that rules are there for a reason. Why on earth would you attempt to take a law that prohibits those under the age of 21 from indulging in alcohol legally to a new idea of a "provisional drinking license" - and let people embark on a mission whose sole goal is to make sure you are throwing up by the end of the evening. By instituting a "provisional drinking license," you are taking all of the 19- and 20-year-olds and giving them a reason to experiment, to get out of control and to learn the hard way that being 21 is not all it is cracked up to be. Phillip A. Kees, Willow Grove

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Needing to impress someone is the worst thing for your confidence. The minute you feel this way, reverse it. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Learning the hard way - the way everyone else is - will take a very long time. But you can flatten out that learning curve with tips and tricks from the right teacher. GEMINI (May 21-June 21) The self-improvement quest you're considering is a bit like chasing a mirage. No matter how many steps you take, you'll never feel like you've arrived.

When he says the word transfer , John Macnamara does so in casual fashion, as if he's discussing the act of stepping down from a bus with designs on catching a trolley. Macnamara's transfers are much more complicated, and one created quite the stir among teammates and spectators in a Catholic Blue baseball game played Thursday afternoon under bright skies in Fairless Hills. Macnamara, a 5-7, 145-pound senior at Conwell-Egan High, was playing second base. Lansdale Catholic opted for a hit-and-run and, as Matt Kress sprinted away from first, Mark Savini sent a not-too-high popup Macnamara's way. Johnny Mac made the catch.

Chances are you had a better week than Jim Kenney. The veteran Democratic councilman found himself on a cover of the Philadelphia Daily News above the headline "Sucking on the Public Tweet," a "Socially Inept" report on how he spent nearly $29,000 of taxpayer money on a contract for a "social-media strategy," including the management of his Facebook and Twitter accounts. "I, at 53 years old, do not have the facility," he told the Daily News about Twitter. Thank heaven it was Holy Week, which meant Council wasn't in session because folks had to head back to their districts and dye eggs and stuff.

WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney hit an off note when he told a "humorous" story about his father shutting down a factory. Robert De Niro managed to get both Newt Gingrich and the Obama campaign riled up when he joked at an Obama fund-raiser that America wasn't ready for a white first lady. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, still nursing wounds from his failed presidential campaign, did himself a world of good with his self-deprecating jokes at a recent Washington dinner. Done right, humor can be a huge asset for a politician.

DEAR ABBY : My 18-year-old-daughter, "Olympia," graduated from high school last spring, was accepted to two universities and started her first job. When she lost it recently, she was devastated. Instead of trying to find another one, she decided to turn to prostitution. She said she doesn't want to work her butt off for peanuts. I am extremely frustrated with her decision. I have warned her about the dangers she'll face in that "occupation. " I know she's of age now and needs to make her own choices, but I'm afraid for her and don't want to lose her if we have a huge argument over this.

ATLANTA - With his golf ball one-third submerged in shallow water in the lake bordering the 17th hole at East Lake Golf Club, Bill Haas' hopes of winning two titles Sunday and millions of dollars seemed dashed. "I had to hit a decent shot. Definitely some luck was involved," Haas said of his third shot on the second sudden-death playoff hole of the Tour Championship, the finale of the FedExCup Playoffs. With his playoff foe, Hunter Mahan, facing a 25-footer for birdie, Haas blasted through the water and knocked his ball to two feet, saved par, and forced a third playoff hole when Mahan 2-putted for par. "It was an all or nothing shot," Haas said.

BETHESDA, Md. - Phil Mickelson coming in under the radar at a U.S. Open? Particularly one that Tiger Woods isn't playing in? Say it ain't so. Lefty has finished second in this championship five times, something no one else has done. But he's never lifted the trophy. He tied for fourth last June at Pebble Beach, 2 months after winning his third Masters (and fourth major), his seventh top-four in 20 Opens. He'll celebrate his 41st birthday tomorrow, when he tees off of No. 10 with Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson - who are a combined 48 years old - at 1:30 in the afternoon.

Inside Brad Lidge's locker was a book written by the Dalai Lama titled How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life . A blue pen served as a bookmark. Lidge is reading it for an online religion course. The Phillies' closer is a man of faith. And even during outings such as his 30-pitch save of a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, which prompted manager Charlie Manuel to suggest merely watching could cause a heart attack, Lidge remains positive. "You don't know exactly how it's going to end," the righthander said, "but you know it's going to end right.

The Flyers gathered for the last time on what would have been the day of Game 7, their bodies suddenly alive with bruises and cuts, their familiar faces suddenly strange without their prodigious playoff beards. The reality of it all had set in as their whiskers washed down the drain. For more than eight weeks, they had played or practiced nearly every day, the pressure and injuries and exhaustion growing with each round. "Waking up this morning was tough," Scott Hartnell said.