Interests

The answer to the New York Jets' quarterback woes could be . . . ex-Eagle Kevin Kolb? Or could it be Geno Smith - if he slips past the Eagles, who have the fourth pick in the coming NFL draft? The speculation about Kolb has heated up for several reasons, according to several sources. The Arizona Cardinals owe Kolb a $2 million payment if he's still on their roster Saturday ("which is some pretty sweet St. Patty's Day drinking money," quips thescore.com) so he's expected to be cut. Also, his base salary is $9 million, with a cap number of $13.5 million, and Arizona just signed according to profootballtalk.com.

Authorities released surveillance video Friday showing two "persons of interest" in the fatal shooting of a Camden man last month in the city. Anibal Perez, 23, was shot several times Feb. 26 as he sat in the driver's seat of his Honda Accord at 27th Street and Arthur Avenue in East Camden. He died at Cooper University Hospital. His family has said Perez was returning home from a nearby liquor store after purchasing a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP, his favorite. The video, recorded just before his death, shows Perez walking into Vizcaya Liquor Store at 25th and Sherman Streets, about three blocks from where he was shot, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and city police said.

Swashbuckling warriors and deceitful deities. A six-headed monster and a witch who turns men into pigs. It is gripping stuff, these tales attributed to the poet Homer, yet no one is entirely sure when the works were written. Now comes an answer from a New Jersey physician who found his muse in an unconventional place: the realm of statistics. Eric L. Altschuler joined with biologists to study the words of ancient Greek as if they were genes, evolving and changing over time. By analyzing a set of 173 common words in modern Greek, Homeric Greek, and an older language called Hittite, the scholars concluded that The Iliad and The Odyssey were written down in the mid-eighth century B.C. "It's like a time machine," said Altschuler, an associate professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

After a strong senior boys' basketball class, the area will take a noticeable hit next season, says Rob Brown, coach of one of the region's top AAU programs. Brown, who coaches Team Final, said Philadelphia's class of 2014 is top-heavy and thins out quickly. Two of the players near the top of next year's list are junior guards Ja'Quan Newton of Neumann-Goretti and Shep Garner of Roman Catholic. Both play for Team Final. "We feel that we have the best two players in the class," Brown said.

U.S. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.) said Friday that she would establish a state political committee in the next few weeks, an important procedural precursor to her expected run for governor of Pennsylvania. The six-term representative from Jenkintown has been traveling around the state trying to line up support. Should she pull the trigger, Schwartz said, she would not file to run simultaneously for her House seat. "Legally, I'm allowed to, but it wouldn't be right," she said.

Katherine Horsley Bohlen grew up on a ranch near Fort Worth, Texas, with no intention of staying a minute longer than necessary. Her ticket out was a scholarship to Barnard College, in 1934 one of the rare liberal arts schools for women that assured a rigorous education. Just 16, she mustered her nerve and headed to New York City and a life free of livestock and blazing heat. By the time she died Monday, Feb. 18, at the Medford Leas retirement community, Mrs. Bohlen had packed 95 years with pursuits as disparate as teaching, canoeing, painting and photography, ice dancing, and owl rescue.

THE FLYERS have never been confused as a patient, let's play-our-way-out-of-it franchise. Paul Holmgren's hands were tied Tuesday. Matt Read is on the shelf for another 5 weeks with torn rib muscles. Tye McGinn will miss at least the next 2 weeks with a fractured orbital bone, suffered on Monday. Simon Gagne, obtained Tuesday in a trade with Los Angeles, is not a permanent fix. He is a player who, when healthy, may be better than even the Flyers are expecting. He will provide a temporary stopgap in Peter Laviolette's lineup.

ALLYSON SCHWARTZ used to be known as "Sen. Scarf. " This was during her days in the state Senate, where she served 14 years, and - as you likely figured out - almost always wore a scarf. These days, during her fifth term in Congress, she's wearing something else: a change of heart for a chance to make history. In November, even December, Schwartz seemed certain that she wouldn't challenge Tom Corbett for governor. Now she seems certain that she will. "It is my intention," she tells me, to give up her House seat and take on T.C. Why the change?

AFTER DANICA Patrick won the pole for Sunday's Daytona 500, we could imagine Brian France and Mike Helton pounding their desks and shouting, "Yes! Yes!" In recent years, attendance at NASCAR tracks has slipped and television ratings have declined. Also, the purportedly safer, more efficient Car of Tomorrow produced dull racing. Now, France, NASCAR's chief executive officer, and Helton, the sanctioning body's president, have reasons to be excited about the new season. Having Patrick, the first woman to earn a pole position in a Sprint Cup race, as the fastest Daytona 500 qualifier surely will attract casual fans who are curious to see how she does in the race.