Heating Pad

There was a heating pad tucked under Scott Rolen's left arm when he entered Safeco Field on Sunday. If it was anyone else, it probably would have gone unnoticed. But given that Rolen missed most of the final two months of the 1999 season with a bad back, one had to wonder if that heating pad was a sign things weren't right. Rolen dismissed that idea with a hearty chuckle. "It's strictly for maintenance," he said of the heating pad. "I use it when my back gets tight, especially in the morning.

Mikey Coyle, when his mother had fallen hard on the ice and was crawling on her belly through the front door yesterday, summoned all of his nearly 4 1/2 years of knowledge and saved the day. But first there was the kiss. Carol A. Coyle, 27, a recently laid-off purchasing agent from Medford, was still in the big old house on Mill Street where she and Mikey share a four- room apartment when she decided to take the trash to the curb at 9 a.m. She stepped into the hallway shared by three other apartments, turned left, and went out the front door onto the concrete landing.

His hair graying and dark glasses hanging from the neck of his blue argyle sweater, Larry Linville looked little like the martinet Maj. Frank Burns he used to play on television's M A S H. But the troops he was visiting at Fort Dix yesterday were real, and the mission he was on would have gladdened the heart of Hawkeye Pierce, Trapper John or any of the 4077th's other good guys. Scheduled to present awards last night at a Mercer County banquet to benefit the St. Jude Research Center, Linville spent yesterday afternoon greeting patients at another military hospital, Walson Army Hospital at Fort Dix in Burlington County.

It's Valentine's Day and you've busted up. You're feeling down, waaay down. One psychologist's advice? Don't go jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Local psychologist Arlene Foreman cautions couples who have broken up against rebounding into the first available relationship. "You're so driven by relieving your pain that instead of looking for relationships that make you feel good about yourself, you're going to latch onto anybody that's sweet-talking and kissing and hugging," warns Foreman, who has a group-therapy practice in Haverford Township.

The yellow anaconda was a bit cranky. It was bad enough to have an ugly tumor near his rear end, and now a bunch of people were holding him down, and someone else shot a needle full of sedative into his back. The heating pad felt nice - hey, he's cold-blooded - but then someone was picking him up again so - CHOMP! That'll show 'em. The snake was Sir Mix-A-Lot, named after the rap artist, and though he may not have enjoyed his visit to the vet yesterday at the University of Pennsylvania, it should make him feel better in the long run, so he can go on display again someday at Wilmington's Brandywine Zoo. Only no one is really sure it will work, because he's a snake, and this was apparently the first time anyone had zapped one with high-energy radiation therapy.

The yellow anaconda was a bit cranky. It was bad enough to have an ugly tumor near his rear end, and now a bunch of people were holding him down, and someone else shot a needle full of sedative into his back. The heating pad felt nice - hey, he's cold-blooded - but then someone was picking him up again so - CHOMP! That'll show 'em. The snake was Sir Mix-A-Lot, named after the rap artist, and though he may not have enjoyed his visit to the vet Thursday at the University of Pennsylvania, it should make him feel better in the long run, so he can go on display again someday at Wilmington's Brandywine Zoo. Only no one is really sure it will work, because he's a snake, and this was apparently the first time anyone had zapped one with high-energy radiation therapy.

This time, the kid did it - the Los Angeles Lakers' kid. Kobe Bryant, shrugging off an ineffective game, made a 15-foot jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining last night to give the host Lakers a 97-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The basket was the first field goal for the Lakers since Sha-quille O'Neal's three-point play with 4:31 left that gave the Lakers a 91-86 lead. The Suns went ahead, 96-94, on Penny Hardaway's follow off a fastbreak miss by Cliff Robinson with 46.8 seconds left, and Bryant made one of two free throws 3 seconds later to cut the Phoenix lead to one point.

On the day before he was supposed to pitch, Phillies righthander Jose DeJesus was doing routine stretching exercises on the Veterans Stadium turf when he felt a tug in his lower back. The sensation went away almost immediately and DeJesus promptly forgot about it. But on the morning he was supposed to pitch, which happened to be yesterday, DeJesus could barely get out of bed. And so, less than an hour before game time, it was announced that DeJesus had been scratched from his scheduled start and that Tommy Greene would pitch in his place.

During a two-month exile from the majors, Ben Rivera apparently discovered the benefits of long walks, brisk runs and green salads. The 6-6 righthander returned to Veterans Stadium yesterday, minus 12 pounds. He lost the weight after the Phillies demoted him to the minors to repair an out-of-shape arm. Rivera is scheduled to pitch tonight's game against the San Diego Padres at the Vet, making his first major-league start since May 5. The game will be something of a reunion for the Phils.

As if the situation weren't surreal enough, the music - love ballads from an unseen radio - couldn't be less appropriate. I know your plans don't include me . . . Who needs tomorrow? We've got tonight, babe - why don't you stay? Maybe it's too appropriate. I am sitting in this "women's health clinic" - they do Pap smears and OB- GYN, but we're not here for that - because of Nay-Nay. For a long time, I can't speak. But Nay-Nay - her childhood nickname - has long been capable of rendering me speechless.

The yellow anaconda was a bit cranky. It was bad enough to have an ugly tumor near his rear end, and now a bunch of people were holding him down, and someone else shot a needle full of sedative into his back. The heating pad felt nice - hey, he's cold-blooded - but then someone was picking him up again so - CHOMP! That'll show 'em. The snake was Sir Mix-A-Lot, named after the rap artist, and though he may not have enjoyed his visit to the vet yesterday at the University of Pennsylvania, it should make him feel better in the long run, so he can go on display again someday at Wilmington's Brandywine Zoo. Only no one is really sure it will work, because he's a snake, and this was apparently the first time anyone had zapped one with high-energy radiation therapy.

The yellow anaconda was a bit cranky. It was bad enough to have an ugly tumor near his rear end, and now a bunch of people were holding him down, and someone else shot a needle full of sedative into his back. The heating pad felt nice - hey, he's cold-blooded - but then someone was picking him up again so - CHOMP! That'll show 'em. The snake was Sir Mix-A-Lot, named after the rap artist, and though he may not have enjoyed his visit to the vet Thursday at the University of Pennsylvania, it should make him feel better in the long run, so he can go on display again someday at Wilmington's Brandywine Zoo. Only no one is really sure it will work, because he's a snake, and this was apparently the first time anyone had zapped one with high-energy radiation therapy.

This time, the kid did it - the Los Angeles Lakers' kid. Kobe Bryant, shrugging off an ineffective game, made a 15-foot jumper with 2.6 seconds remaining last night to give the host Lakers a 97-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. The basket was the first field goal for the Lakers since Sha-quille O'Neal's three-point play with 4:31 left that gave the Lakers a 91-86 lead. The Suns went ahead, 96-94, on Penny Hardaway's follow off a fastbreak miss by Cliff Robinson with 46.8 seconds left, and Bryant made one of two free throws 3 seconds later to cut the Phoenix lead to one point.

There was a heating pad tucked under Scott Rolen's left arm when he entered Safeco Field on Sunday. If it was anyone else, it probably would have gone unnoticed. But given that Rolen missed most of the final two months of the 1999 season with a bad back, one had to wonder if that heating pad was a sign things weren't right. Rolen dismissed that idea with a hearty chuckle. "It's strictly for maintenance," he said of the heating pad. "I use it when my back gets tight, especially in the morning.

It's Valentine's Day and you've busted up. You're feeling down, waaay down. One psychologist's advice? Don't go jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Local psychologist Arlene Foreman cautions couples who have broken up against rebounding into the first available relationship. "You're so driven by relieving your pain that instead of looking for relationships that make you feel good about yourself, you're going to latch onto anybody that's sweet-talking and kissing and hugging," warns Foreman, who has a group-therapy practice in Haverford Township.

During a two-month exile from the majors, Ben Rivera apparently discovered the benefits of long walks, brisk runs and green salads. The 6-6 righthander returned to Veterans Stadium yesterday, minus 12 pounds. He lost the weight after the Phillies demoted him to the minors to repair an out-of-shape arm. Rivera is scheduled to pitch tonight's game against the San Diego Padres at the Vet, making his first major-league start since May 5. The game will be something of a reunion for the Phils.

As if the situation weren't surreal enough, the music - love ballads from an unseen radio - couldn't be less appropriate. I know your plans don't include me . . . Who needs tomorrow? We've got tonight, babe - why don't you stay? Maybe it's too appropriate. I am sitting in this "women's health clinic" - they do Pap smears and OB- GYN, but we're not here for that - because of Nay-Nay. For a long time, I can't speak. But Nay-Nay - her childhood nickname - has long been capable of rendering me speechless.

Mikey Coyle, when his mother had fallen hard on the ice and was crawling on her belly through the front door yesterday, summoned all of his nearly 4 1/2 years of knowledge and saved the day. But first there was the kiss. Carol A. Coyle, 27, a recently laid-off purchasing agent from Medford, was still in the big old house on Mill Street where she and Mikey share a four- room apartment when she decided to take the trash to the curb at 9 a.m. She stepped into the hallway shared by three other apartments, turned left, and went out the front door onto the concrete landing.

On the day before he was supposed to pitch, Phillies righthander Jose DeJesus was doing routine stretching exercises on the Veterans Stadium turf when he felt a tug in his lower back. The sensation went away almost immediately and DeJesus promptly forgot about it. But on the morning he was supposed to pitch, which happened to be yesterday, DeJesus could barely get out of bed. And so, less than an hour before game time, it was announced that DeJesus had been scratched from his scheduled start and that Tommy Greene would pitch in his place.

This column is dedicated to the memory of Jack Jones, the television anchorman and reporter who died Tuesday - a newsman whom I knew and respected for many years. Several times over the last few months, I watched Jack gallantly deliver the news in his customary authoritative, yet not arrogant, style. He was in obvious pain and discomfort. I often thought of calling and telling him to "hang in there. " When I learned that Jack had died at age 41 of pancreatic cancer, I was disappointed in myself for not reaching out to him. At the same time, I felt relieved that his painful fight was over and that he had died with his dignity and professionalism intact.