Lincoln

There has been one constant in Public League tennis for "about 40 years," according to Lincoln coach William Kuchler. Every year, Lincoln would lose to Washington. Sometimes, it would be 5-0, sometimes 3-2, but no matter what, the Railsplitters would find a way to not win. Until April 2. Lincoln 4, Washington 1. "It's the first time in our existence that we beat Washington," said Kuchler, who has been at Lincoln for 16 years. "It's a big win for the team. I didn't expect to win. It's really exciting for me. It's like a present.

In front of every good running back is a good offensive line. If it weren't for guys like Central tackle Mark Hrubar, you'd never hear about guys like Central running backs Sundiata Rush and Jerrod Washington. Rush (126 yards, 2 TDs) and Washington (64 yards rushing, 65 yards receiving, ran for 1 TD, threw for another) led the Lancers to a 27-19 Public League semifinal victory over Lincoln yesterday afternoon at Northeast High. Central (9-0), the only undefeated Public League team, will meet Washington - which beat Roxborough, 14-6, in the other semifinal - for the league championship Dec. 3 at Northeast.

The Public League field hockey championship, scheduled for today at 2:30 p.m. at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences, features a rematch of last year's title game combatants. But Lincoln and defending champion Frankford will enter the game under much different circumstances. After struggling throughout most of the season, relying on a handful of returnees to lead the way, Mitch Kline's Frankford squad has come of age. Lincoln, meanwhile, showed its resilience by rallying to defeat a team that had beaten the Railsplitters twice during the regular season.

More than most regions, the Delaware Valley has many close associations and sites connected to the two great men honored on President's Day weekend. George Washington was in and out of Philadelphia and its suburbs constantly during the Revolutionary War and made his home here during the years he was president and Philadelphia was the nation's capital. Two Abraham Lincoln connections both center on Independence Hall. The newly-elected Lincoln arrived in Philadelphia on Washington's birthday 1861 on his way to his inauguration.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Seventeen players carried the ball for Wofford as the Terriers ran for 449 yards in an 82-0 lambasting of Division II Lincoln Saturday night. Philip Jean-Juste led the Lincoln offense, catching eight passes for 57 yards and also going 12 of 16 under center with 104 yards passing. Wofford's Brian Kass was 4 of 5 passing for 142 yards and three scores before the second-teamers entered the game, while the ground game averaged 8.3 yards per carry with no player for the Terriers (2-0)

Barbara Cook, the first-year field hockey coach at Lincoln, has the Railsplitters cruising along with a 3-0 record in the Public League. But games this week against two other undefeated teams - Frankford and Northeast - will test Lincoln. The Railsplitters, who have allowed just one goal in their three games, can claim sole ownership of first place with a pair of victories. "The team has played excellent defense," said Cook. "My offensive line has played well, also. " Minding the net for Lincoln this year is junior Christian Eberhart, a transfer student from Bensalem.

To see him, you'd swear it was Honest Abe himself. And when students at the Pathway School saw a tall figure in the doorway leading to their gym on Presidents Day, they were amazed. "Whoa! You look just like him!" one said. "I thought he was dead," said another. Some students just stood motionless, their mouths gaping. Others' eyes stayed glued to the man with the black beard and the stovepipe hat as they walked past him. But it was not the Great Emancipator returned from the grave.

It has been more than two decades since Lincoln advanced into post-season play and captured the Public League championship. And that is something that is not lost on head coach Charlie Davis. "It's been a long time," Davis said after Lincoln dropped Kensington, 97-70, Tuesday afternoon to boost its record to 11-8 overall, 6-5 league. "We have Southern (today) and then Engineering and Science (Tuesday), and hopefully, if we play good ball and execute properly, we'll make the playoffs.

Is it better to go to war with a few bazookas or with a platoon of machine gun-toting soldiers? That's the question facing Lincoln coach Rich Patton and his counterpart at Frankford, Bill Snyder, as their teams prepare for the Public League boys' soccer championship at 2:30 today at Philadelphia Textile. Patton has the bazookas, in this case Carlos Sousa, Tommy Jordan and Fred Wollner. Sousa has amassed 51 goals in his career, including 26 this season. Jordan has 10 this season, and Wollner has 7. Synder will counter with an offense in which seven Pioneers scored at least 4 goals this season.

Ed Murphy sat on the training table inside the Father Judge locker room and proudly displayed his Pink Badge of Courage, which he received after crashing to the floor for a loose ball with less than a minute to play in Monday's game against Lincoln. 'I got kicked in the ear," Murphy said with a smile, gingerly touching his reddened left ear. But such an injury is a sacrifice that Murphy is glad to sustain to help Judge win a basketball game. And Murphy certainly played a rough-and-tumble role during Judge's 53-48 victory over Lincoln in Monday's first round of the Father Judge Christmas Classic.

Gov. Corbett urged Villanova Law School graduates Friday to embody the passion of Abraham Lincoln and the integrity of Sir Thomas More as they embark on their careers. At the school's commencement, Corbett praised those men, both lawyers, for standing up for what they believed in though it ultimately cost them their lives. Both "chose honor over convenience," Corbett told 233 graduates and their friends and family at Villanova's Pavilion. Corbett, who was state attorney general and had a private practice for many years before becoming governor, gave a short speech exhorting the graduates to work hard, act ethically, think logically, and always look at the facts.

New Hope's Bucks County Playhouse has a long tradition of sending actors on to stardom, but this time the ascension starts backstage: Playhouse producing director Jed Bernstein on Wednesday was named president of New York City's Lincoln Center. He'll succeed Reynolds Levy in January. Bernstein was already an industry veteran when he reopened the dormant playhouse last year, having led the Broadway League for 11 years. Under his leadership, the playhouse announced a 2013 summer season that includes a new Terrence McNally play, Mothers and Sons , starring Tyne Daly, and a coproduction with the Media Theatre of Mame, starring Andrea McArdle.

The Eagles' newest player is a real powerhouse. The stats are electrifying: On a recent sunny day, this bulky unit churned out 21,033.7 kilowatt hours, nearly enough to power two average homes for a year. Yes, the long-awaited solar panels and wind turbines at Lincoln Financial Field are up and running. More than 11,000 panels have been positioned atop the roof, over some of the parking spots, and armoring the side of the building along I-95. Those are the workhorses.

HERE'S A NOTE for anyone out there with a messed-up '69 Camaro: If you'd like to sell it cheap or hire someone to spearhead its return to glory, Dylan Burke, who considers that ride the best of all time, might be your man. Burke is a 5-10, 150-pound senior lefthander for Abraham Lincoln High and, for now, his best talent is pitching. But he also has a passion for cars, which is why he intends to enroll at a trade school upon graduation and soak up more knowledge about the automotive world's ins and outs.

Seven years after he earned his bachelor's degree from Lincoln University, the former James Monroe King Warden stood backstage at the Audubon Ballroom. It was Feb. 21, 1965, and the self-described "Man Friday" for Malcolm X was counting receipts when he heard the boom of a shotgun. Warden, now Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq, froze. Then he ran toward the chaos. "I saw Malcolm lying there, and I saw the life go out of his body," Abdur-Razzaq said. "He turned white, and that was that.

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education has approved a Lincoln University plan to open a campus in Coatesville. Classes will start in the fall at a new branch of the historically black college, at 351 Kersey St. Courses initially will be offered in the evening and on weekends. Other classes will be added as enrollment increases. For information on undergraduate admissions, contact 484-365-7207; for the graduate school, call 215-590-8233. - Kristin E. Holmes

NOTHING makes 150 years fall away quite like seeing the blood of Abraham Lincoln. Visiting a friend in rural northeastern Pennsylvania a few years back, I was ushered to the local historical society in the town of Milford. A dark patch on the 36-star wool flag displayed there is a stark reminder of the first assassination of a U.S. president, whose head it cradled after he was shot at Ford's Theatre. The stain is also somber testimony to the fact that the struggle for equality that he came to personify remains a mission unfinished.

He moved us with his award-winning performance as President Abraham Lincoln in the Steven Spielberg saga. But did you know that Daniel Day-Lewis was himself moved beyond words, beyond reason, beyond love itself? "There has never been a human being that I never met that I loved as much as him - ever," the thesp says on the extra features on the Lincoln Blu-ray/DVD release. "I doubt there ever will be. " So deeply was Day-Lewis immersed in the spiritual and mental viscera of Lincoln, he found himself at an existential impasse after he finished the pic. "You're not quite sure what to do with yourself when it's finished," he says.

TV courtroom jurist Judge Glenda Hatchett and activist/commentator Jeff Johnson will discuss college student leadership Thursday as part of a lecture series at Lincoln University. "Educating Student Leaders to be Health, Wealthy and Wise," is one of three scheduled so far as part of the 2013 Legacy Lecture Series sponsored by the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame Foundation Inc. The foundation, which advocates on behalf of historically-black colleges and universities, organizes the annual lecture series to encourage student leadership.

Fans have long spoken fondly of their annual pilgrimages to Lehigh University for Eagles training camp. Yet a fair share of them were expressing support today for the team's decision to hold its summer workouts in South Philadelphia, with some practice sessions open to fans at Lincoln Financial Field. "I think it's great, just because the fact that they're going to be in the city now," said Bill on a cell to 94 WIP midday hosts Ike Reese and Michael Barkann. "... I've never been a training camp.