Hopefuls

One of America's outstanding male swimmers is an archaeology-anthropology major at Harvard University. Not Pepperdine or Santa Clara or one of those other major Aquaman-producing universities. Harvard. Ivy League. Location: Cambridge, Mass. Not Mission Viejo, Calif., or Boca Raton, Fla. "I didn't want to go to college to be an athlete," said David Berkoff, of Huntingdon Valley. "I wanted to go learn. " That also explains why Berkoff, as a senior at Penn Charter in 1984, turned down full scholarship offers from some of America's most prestigious swimming powers to pay his own way to Harvard.

If you spot a flock of orange-haired women and bizarrely attired young men around town today, don't mark it off to Halloween festivities. Instead, the credit (or blame) belongs to the Philadelphia Music Conference at the Doubletree Hotel, which is expected to lure more than 3,500 music hopefuls and scouts through Saturday. Now the nation's third-biggest music-industry shmooze (after Austin's South by Southwest and New York's CMJ), PMC will feature dozens of how-to-do-it panels (delving into management and publicity, starting your own label and getting a publishing deal)

FORMER COACH Bill Parcells, running back Jerome Bettis and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue are among 26 modern-era semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The list was announced yesterday by the Hall of Fame following a vote by its selection committee. There were 105 preliminary nominees. Among other semifinalists for the Class of 2012 are wide receivers Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Andre Reed, along with former 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. Former Chiefs guard Will Shields is the only first-year eligible player to make the list.

S ABRIYA BILAL, a bus driver for the school district, wants to improve the city's representation in Harrisburg but admits that she is still getting the hang of politics. Commonwealth Senior Judge James Gardner Colins yesterday ordered her removed from the April 24 Democratic primary-election ballot for not having enough valid signatures on her nominating petitions. Bilal, who had hoped to challenge state Rep. Dwight Evans in the 203rd Legislative District, was removed from the ballot last year for the same reason, when she tried to run against City Councilwoman Marian Tasco.

With the 76ers set to begin training camp today at St. Joseph's University, four free agents were officially added to the team's roster to bring it to 17 players. That does not mean any of the newcomers will make the team, however. But they were there yesterday when the Sixers held their annual media day at the Wachovia Center. "We have 13 guaranteed contracts, and we may keep 14 [players on the roster]," said Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski. "If someone shows in camp, we may keep 14. " Among the hopefuls are shooting guard Dionte Christmas and point guard Sean Singletary, native Philadelphians who played in college at Temple and Virginia, respectively.

Politicians know a winning trend when they see one. Think Minnesota Gov.-elect Jesse "The Body" Ventura is the only elected official with his own action figure toy? Think again. Clout, with the help of cartoonist Signe Wilkinson, has developed action figures for our mayoral candidates. Let's face it, wouldn't they look a lot better in tights, trunks, sequined jackets, bleached hair and feather boas? And wouldn't it save a lot of money and be a lot more fun if we could settle this inside the ring?

Too many one-liners and too few issues. That's the way it was Saturday at an hour-long forum featuring the four candidates for mayor, sponsored by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists. The PABJ somehow persuaded all four to share the same stage - a feat, since the candidates' schedulers usually take care that their speaking times don't overlap. Occasionally, they may be seen pausing to shake hands - if TV cameras are nearby - before sprinting out the nearest exit. This is what happens when they're corralled in the same room: A wound-up Frank L. Rizzo took aim at everybody, calling Edward G. Rendell "a mediocre DA," declaring that Rendell and Mayor Goode "have a tough time telling the truth," and contending that John J. Egan Jr. "couldn't attract a crowd if he stood out there naked.

At the start of a Bensalem candidates' forum, mayoral hopeful James McMaster said he and his opponent, Edward F. Burns Jr., had decided to deliver their opening statements sitting down. "It's the one thing we agree on," he said. But during the nearly two-hour program Tuesday, which also featured candidates for council, treasurer and auditor, it was hard to find anything that the two men disagreed on. A trash-to-steam plant in Bensalem? Both are firmly against it. How to increase the township's tax base?

U.S. medal hopefuls continued to falter yesterday in track and field. Having already failed to advance anyone to the finals of the long jump and discus throw, the U.S. men's team in Beijing was shut out in the 1,500 meters and the high jump. The failures in the 1,500 stung particularly hard since one of the runners, Sudanese refugee Lopez Lomong, was the team's flag-bearer at the opening ceremonies, and another, Bernard Lagat, was the 2007 world champion. Along with former NCAA champion Leonel Manzano, all three were naturalized U.S. citizens with compelling personal stories.

In the thick of the presidential primaries early next year, the Treasury Department may deny candidates millions of dollars in matching funds. Sure, the money would be provided eventually - probably once the primaries are over - but it wouldn't be there right when it's needed most. In short, the post-Watergate reform that substituted federal funds for huge donations from fat cats is in danger. And you don't have to be a cynic to wonder if partisan politics played a role in this arbitrary ruling by Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady, one of the President's closest friends and advisers.

One in a continuing series spotlighting real estate markets in this region's communities. The skies over New Hope threatened rain well into the late afternoon, not once but twice recently, but that didn't deter the visitors on whom this Bucks County borough depends. They filled the restaurants and shops, fumbling for change for parking meters in lots and along West Bridge Street. They lined up for picturesque round-trip rides to Lahaska on the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad, and strolled across the bridge to the art galleries of Lambertville or along the towpath of the Delaware River Canal.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - As a teenager, Steve Libert was mesmerized by a teacher's stories of the brash 17th-century French explorer La Salle, who journeyed across the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi in a quest for a trade route to the Far East that he hoped would bring riches and renown. Particularly intriguing was the tale of the Griffin, a vessel that La Salle built and sailed from Niagara Falls to the shores of present-day Wisconsin before sending it back for more supplies.

STONE HARBOR, N.J. - In this well-manicured Cape May County beach town that has rarely been more than a mention in tourism guidebooks, a new multimillion-dollar hotel plunked in the middle of its quaint downtown will be making quite a splash this summer. The place hasn't even opened yet - an official grand opening is scheduled for Thursday - but 31 couples have already booked their weddings at the Reeds at Shelter Haven. And then there are the 37 guest rooms and suites with their creamy, dreamy blue-and-beige ambience, Frette linens, and views along one of the town's seven back-door harbors.

BOSTON - Tyler Seguin knew that something had to be said, and he was pretty sure it wouldn't be fit for public consumption. The Chicago Blackhawks badly outplayed Boston in the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals Saturday night, outshooting the Bruins by 19-4. Afterward, the Boston forward ditched the microphone he had been wearing as part of the telecast. Then he headed back into the dressing room so the team could hash out its problems in peace. "It was really a mix of everybody saying something," Seguin said.

  DAVID GAVIGAN, 26, of Fishtown, is owner of Everybody Hits, a batting cage on West Girard Avenue near 6th Street that opened in mid-May. It's the only automatic batting cage near Center City and it's open every day from noon to 9 p.m. Gavigan, a native of Reading, moved here in 2009 after graduating from Penn State.   Q: What were you doing before? A: After college, I worked for a year with a nonprofit, Cradles to Crayons [which provides clothes and school supplies to homeless and low-income children.]

WORSHIPERS at the historically Hispanic church La Milagrosa will gather tonight to begin praying a novena, nine straight nights of prayer, in hopes of keeping the small Catholic chapel in Spring Garden from being sold and closed for good on June 30. "In our Catholic faith, we are told that if we pray with faith and it is God's will, some things are granted," Maria Miranda, one of the leaders of Salvemos La Milagrosa , or Save La Milagrosa, said...

TEHRAN - Three days before the presidential election, moderates and reformists in Iran are coalescing behind Hassan Rouhani, a cleric and former nuclear negotiator, as their best hope of staving off a field of divided conservatives, who had been seen as having the upper hand in the race. Among those endorsing Rouhani are two former presidents, including Mohammad Khatami, who threw his support behind the candidate Tuesday after the withdrawal of reformist Mohammad Reza Aref, who had served as Khatami's vice president during his first term.

JIMMIE JOHNSON is racing for a sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman are believed to be racing for their jobs. Montoya, in his seventh Cup season, has only two wins, both on road courses. Newman is a 16-time Cup race winner, but with Kevin Harvick expected to join Stewart-Haas Racing next year, Newman could be in his final season at SHR. Montoya, 22nd in points, has finally shown improvement on ovals lately, recording two top-five finishes and one top-10.

TRADITION. Pomp and circumstance. Competition. All of those traits draw attention at the U.S. Open, but it is the accessibility that makes this week's tournament at Merion Golf Club a true national championship. All that's required to qualify for a local bid is $150 and a 2 handicap. For Temple graduate Geoffrey Sisk, who has almost surely spent more money on his golf career than he's earned, trying the grueling local qualifying circuit one more time last month may have been the best $150 he's spent in a long time.

There's no guarantee that Temple's Brandon Matthews will join the 156-player field in the U.S. Open this week, but that's fine by him. A sophomore this coming year, Matthews is on the list of alternates after taking first-alternate honors a week ago in the Purchase, N.Y., sectional qualifier. Matthews wasn't one of the six players chosen Monday to complete the field, but there's still a chance he could be selected if an exempt player or qualifier drops out. "I'm very lucky to be doing what I'm doing and to have had the opportunities I've had already," said Matthews, of DuPont, Pa., this year's Atlantic Ten rookie of the year.