History

A dream had carried the boys so far from home, some 5,000 miles across the ocean to a cramped and dingy apartment in Philadelphia: a hope that ice hockey could change their lives. Ivan Pravilov could fulfill that dream, they were told. He could take them from the daily grind of post-communist Ukraine to the gleaming ice of the NHL. He'd done it before. He'd done if for Andrei Zyuzin, who went on to play for six NHL teams. He'd done it for Konstantin Kalmikov, a third-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1996.

Plavix, the brand name for the blood-thinning drug taken by millions of people with heart disease to avoid heart attacks and strokes, will soon be on pharmacy shelves in generic form. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave approval to the generic versions this week. Plavix, whose generic name is clopidogrel, was made and marketed through a partnership of Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. It had U.S. sales of about $6.7 billion for the 12 months ending March 31, 2012, according to IMS Health.

CHRIS POLK will tell you now that he had zero expectations heading into last month's NFL draft. "My expectation was just to get drafted," he said after a morning practice at the Eagles' 3-day rookie camp at NovaCare. That, of course, isn't quite true. It's one of those things players say after they've taken the kind of disappointing, look-out-below draft fall Polk took 2 weeks ago. The 5-11, 220-pound running back from the University of Washington, who is just one of seven players in Pac-12 history to rush for 4,000 yards, had hoped to be selected in the third — maybe even the second — round of the draft.

For more than 50 years, Philadelphia has struggled with the question of how we are to survive as a modern metropolis after the manufacturing jobs that fueled the city's growth for 150 years left after World War II. How was the city to prosper as a destination, as somewhere more than a pit stop between New York and Washington? How were we to develop new jobs and a vibrant tourist industry? What, in the end, makes Philadelphia unique? The answer is simple: It's the history. Philadelphia is believed to have the largest collection of 18th-century buildings in North America.

BECAUSE the Barnes Foundation is an art collection, people overlook its important history: Matisse visited and designed a mural for it. If any city could appreciate preserving history, you'd think it was Philadelphia. We could move Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell to Washington, making it easier for tourists to see more American history in one place. Maybe it would draw more tourists and money. But it would be just as stupid as moving the Barnes. Wayne Bremser, San Francisco

The first Big 5 game in First Union Center history was more than 35 minutes old before a pulse was detected in the building. The game between Villanova and Penn had been over for, say, 20 minutes when Penn's Jeff Schiffner fouled Villanova's Gary Buchanan in the backcourt with 4:46 remaining. The Wildcats had long since clinched only the fourth perfect Big 5 record in school history and the first since 1985, when Villanova coach Steve Lappas was a first-year 'Nova assistant on a team that would go on to some prominence that spring.

IT WAS A game that will go down with the great ones. 1969: Villanova vs. La Salle, with two of the best ever, Kenny Durrett and Howard Porter. 1986: No. 20 Temple, comes from 20 points back in the second half to beat La Salle. 2008: La Salle goes 16-29 from the three-point line to beat NCAA-hopeful St. Joseph's. All these games were at the Palestra. On Feb. 18, it was hot, sweaty and it smelled. It seemed that the sea of gold owned everything to the east and a wave of maroon occupied everything to the west.

Here's a quiz for all you history buffs. Which American president called big businessmen "malefactors of great wealth"? a. Jimmy Carter b. Harry Truman c. Franklin Delano Roosevelt d. Theodore Roosevelt The answer, of course, is d. Theodore Roosevelt was no Marxist, but he clearly understood the dangers of unbridled capitalism. That's why he fought to dissolve the railroad trust and other huge monopolies. I wonder whether our current President knows this history.

Graeme Park, a state historical site, is sponsoring a children's summer history program for youngsters in grades 3 through 6. Activities explore the day-to-day routine of colonial life, including cooking in a fireplace and period crafts and games.

Seafaring reenactors exchanged gunfire with pirates yesterday in a day of nautical adventure at Penn's Landing. The two-hour spectacle brought to life the classic book series Horatio Hornblower by novelist C.S. Forester.

Watching the video from the 76ers' Game 5 loss to Boston on Monday night in the Eastern Conference semifinals was going to be unpleasant - like Snooki, instead of Meryl Streep, trying to portray Margaret Thatcher. So Sixers coach Doug Collins, hoping to soften the blow and change the negative vibe, went to the archives and also popped in footage from when the Sixers beat the Celtics in the 1982 conference finals. The rivalry with Boston was at its best when Wilt Chamberlain traded elbows with Bill Russell in the 1960s, first as a Warrior and later as a Sixer.

INDIANAPOLIS - Roger Penske's strategy beat Michael Andretti by inches Saturday - 9.168 inches, to be exact. In the closest pole duel in Indianapolis 500 history, Team Penske sent points leader Will Power onto the track with two minutes left in the Pole Day shootout - a shrewd move that prevented three Andretti drivers from taking one last shot at the pole and preserving it for his own guy, Ryan Briscoe. It was a remarkable finish to a wild afternoon. Briscoe was the surprise winner of his first Indy pole with a four-lap average of 226.484 m.p.h.

THE DEAD Sea Scrolls, in short (which they are not, running longer than a politician's promises), are the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence. Perhaps the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century, they made their North American debut Saturday at the Franklin Institute, where they'll stay through mid-October. To many atheists, they are the Chronicles of Riddick, or a graphic novel. To most believers, the Dead Sea Scrolls — more than 900 parchments and fragments — offer proof (or at least evidence)

At this point in time, it's almost beside the point to refer to WIP-FM (94.1) as a mere "radio station. " Sure, that's what it is, technically speaking. But a quarter-century after it first got involved with sports-related programming (while it was still on the AM dial), the outlet has established itself as something more than just another over-the-air outlet. Instead, it can be argued that WIP has become so embedded in the culture of the Delaware Valley that it has taken on the status of a public utility.

BALTIMORE - Stress, family medical history or possibly even poison led to the death of Vladimir Lenin, contradicting a popular theory that a sexually transmitted disease debilitated the former Soviet Union leader, a UCLA neurologist said Friday. Dr. Harry Vinters and Russian historian Lev Lurie reviewed Lenin's records Friday for an annual University of Maryland School of Medicine conference that examines the death of famous figures. The conference is held yearly at the school, where researchers in the past have reexamined the diagnoses of figures including King Tut, Christopher Columbus, Simon Bolivar, and Abraham Lincoln.

Brooke Kiley scored seven goals and became Germantown Academy's all-time career scoring leader in a 15-11 win at Penn Charter in Inter-Ac League lacrosse Friday. With her final goal, Kiley, a senior midfielder, eclipsed Colleen Magarity's mark of 264 set in 2007. Penn Charter took a 5-3 lead in the first half before the Patriots rallied to go into halftime leading, 7-5. Hannah Bogorowski scored three times and Allie Carrigan turned away 12 shots for the win. Avery Shoemaker scored six goals for Penn Charter.

Brooke Kiley scored seven goals and became Germantown Academy's all-time career scoring leader in a 15-11 win at Penn Charter in Inter-Ac League lacrosse Friday. With her final goal, Kiley, a senior midfielder, eclipsed Colleen Magarity's mark of 264 set in 2007. Penn Charter took a 5-3 lead in the first half before the Patriots rallied to go into halftime leading, 7-5. Hannah Bogorowski scored three times and Allie Carrigan turned away 12 shots for the win. Avery Shoemaker scored six goals for Penn Charter.

BEIRUT - On its towering hilltop perch, the Krak des Chevaliers, one of the world's best preserved Crusader castles, held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin nearly 900 years ago. It was lauded by Lawrence of Arabia for its beauty and has been one of the crown jewels of Syria's tourism. But it has fallen victim to the chaos of Syria's uprising and the crackdown against it by President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Recently, gunmen broke into the castle, threw out the staff, and began excavations to loot the site, says Bassam Jammous, general director of the Antiquities and Museum Department in Damascus.

Heading off to a lakeside vacation, most girls probably would pack a swimsuit and suntan lotion. But Madeline Bowne is not most girls. Last August, with her family bound for New York's Finger Lakes, the middle schooler put her camera bag, filled with audio and video equipment, atop her "don't forget" list. Nearby her family's vacation spot was Seneca Falls, home to Women's Rights National Historical Park — the perfect place to shoot some footage for her documentary on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which won women the right to vote.

RAFAEL NADAL became the first player in the Open Era to win two tournaments seven times after beating David Ferrer 7-6 (1), 7-5 in Sunday's Barcelona Open final. The second-ranked Nadal's 21st straight victory on clay followed up his eighth straight win in Monte Carlo, as Nadal won the 10th all-Spanish ATP final for a 48th career win. The sixth-ranked Ferrer lost his fourth Barcelona Open final to Nadal, who saved 12 of 15 break points for a 34th straight victory at Barcelona.