Low Profile

Your brief editorial Oct. 27 made me stop and think again about why I vote for a candidate. I have lived in the 13th District for 10 years, and I have never once seen the man who has been representing my interests in Congress. This is not entirely Larry Coughlin's fault, but it's something I think about when I occasionally run into Joe Hoeffel in the supermarket or on the train. It's something I think about when I read in the paper an account of what Joe Hoeffel has said or done.

Standing in the living room of a gutted Victorian in San Francisco's Haight district, movie star Danny Glover is deep into a discussion with his wife, actress and jazz singer Asake Bomani, about the merits and methods of stripping wallpaper. At the moment, the decor of their beautiful old house is authentic do-it- yourself, right down to the buckets of paint, ladders and splattered tarps that cover the floor. Although Glover has owned this place for 10 years - long before yuppies got hip to the Haight and real estate prices shot up faster than you can say gentrification - only recently did a bank finally break down and give him enough money to start renovations.

"The Mass will go on," New York Cardinal John O'Connor thundered late last year after AIDS and pro-choice activists protested at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Some protesters hurled condoms and another threw a Communion wafer to the floor, prompting a vow from the high-profile Roman Catholic prelate that the demonstrators would stop the worship service only "over my dead body. " The scene was in stark contrast to the relatively placid Philadelphia Archdiocese. As pressures by U.S. church leaders on Catholic public officials to conform to church teachings on abortion have grown, Philadelphia Archbishop Anthony Bevilacqua has concurred, but in the typically understated manner of Cardinal John Krol before him. Bevilacqua chose a college speech in May 1989 to say that political leaders who claim to be against abortion personally but support its legality as a matter of public policy are living a contradiction.

Temple coach Bruce Arians hopes he has learned well his lesson about highly touted quarterbacks. Arians was an assistant at Mississippi State in the late '70s when that school recruited a top quarterback, John Bond. A free spirit with a lot of talent, Bond quickly attracted a lot of media attention. And when he led the Bulldogs to nine wins that first season - including surprising triumphs over Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Miami - he attracted even more. The next season, the record fell to 7-4 and in the next two years there was a total of just 10 wins.

Terry Carkner is the tough guy on the Flyers' defense. Gord Murphy is the power-play point man. Jiri Latal is the speediest defenseman. Rookie Murray Baron may be the best skater. Dave Fenyves is the dependable journeyman. Where does that leave Kjell Sam-uelsson? Right where the five-year veteran from Tingsryd, Sweden, likes it - in the background. "I'm just here to do a job and play hockey," Samuelsson said recently. Samuelsson may have trouble protecting his low profile if he continues to play as well as he has this season.

As part of their 50th anniversary season in 1985, the Washington Redskins asked their fans to select the greatest player in franchise history. The winner, by a comfortable margin, was wide receiver Art Monk. Not Sonny Jurgensen, not Sammy Baugh, not Joe Theismann, not John Riggins. Art Monk was the people's choice. What makes that so interesting is the fact that, unlike the ubiquitous Jurgensen and Theismann, Monk has virtually no profile away from Redskin Park. He declines public appearances.

Consumers don't usually buy any of Vesper Corp.'s products, and they would only occasionally find themselves using one. For instance, Vesper's Arrowhead Products subsidiary makes high-pressure titanium ducting that's used in aircraft wings to bleed hot gases from engines for use in other systems. The California-based unit also makes ducting for liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen on the space shuttle. Its Cleveland Gear unit, in Cleveland, makes worm gears, spiral-shaped gears that are used to deliver large amounts of power for equipment such as elevators, cranes and escalators.

Joseph Ligambi, the reputed mob boss of Philadelphia, is an early riser, often out of the house by 6 a.m. But unlike his predecessors - who, not coincidentally, are in jail - Ligambi spends most of his nights at home. "He's a quiet family man," said an associate without a trace of irony in his voice. "He's more interested in making money than in making headlines," adds Capt. Charles Bloom of the Philadelphia Police Department's Criminal Intelligence Unit. Low-key, circumspect, and happy to stay in the shadows.

Where is Tony Cipullo? "I go to the Township Building every single day," said Councilman Bill Tuthill. "I just see him at the meetings. " Poke around the municipal complex with Tuthill for a few hours, and you'll most likely find days, maybe weeks, have passed since anyone has caught a glimpse of Cipullo. In other townships that might be a bit odd, but few people in Bristol will deny that the least-visible person around just happens to be their mayor. Cipullo, who also works as an insurance agent for Phoenix Home Life Insurance Co. in Mount Laurel, N.J., became the part-time mayor in 1994.

RIO DE JANEIRO - Rosa Cardoso has practiced the Afro-Brazilian religion of Umbanda almost all of her 89 years, yet she hasn't stopped hiding her faith from the rest of the world. The door to the temple she runs in a middle-class neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro sits behind a plain, dilapidated door and has no sign out front announcing its presence. Inside, worshipers pay homage to images of African-descended gods, the Orixas, but the figures are stored discreetly behind a wooden lattice beneath an altar adorned with a nearly life-size image of Jesus flanked by St. Barbara and the Virgin Mary.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim ran a closed practice Monday as sex abuse victims' advocates questioned whether he should still coach following the firing of longtime assistant Bernie Fine, who has been accused of molestation by three men. As criticism swirled about Boeheim's initial support of Fine and his verbal attacks on the accusers, the coach kept a low profile, seeking refuge in his office on the second floor of...

For political intrigue, nothing on next week's ballot compares to the race for city commissioner. The three-member panel runs Philadelphia's elections. Under the City Charter, Republicans are guaranteed one of the three seats, filled for the last 16 years by Joseph J. Duda, a GOP stalwart from the Far Northeast. For the first time, Duda is facing an aggressive challenge for the $118,000-a-year job, from Al Schmidt, leader of an insurgent Republican faction, supported by state party leaders, that has been fighting the local GOP establishment for two years.

Quiet, please. That's a strange thing for a football team to say, since the best of them tend to make a lot of noise with big plays and hard hits and the persistent hum of excitement. But Camden Catholic is trying to walk softly, even as the Irish leave battered opponents in their wake. "We like that we're the sleeper team," Camden Catholic senior running back Mike Blandon said. "I hope teams are still sleeping on us. " Too late. The Irish can try to soft-pedal their early success and avoid the loud buzz of anticipation and excitement that surrounded - and in some ways, undermined - recent Camden Catholic teams.

For eight long years, Nnamdi Asomugha was stranded in Oakland. Sure, he wanted to be rescued. Who wouldn't? The Raiders did not have a single winning season during Asomugha's tenure. A once-proud franchise had become the laughingstock of the NFL. Only the all-pro cornerback saved the team from complete ridicule. It must have felt like being locked up at nearby Alcatraz, innocent and surrounded by criminals. But certain comforts came with being cut off. Expectations were low. Every move wasn't dissected.

ORLANDO, Fla. - This is what freedom looks like for Casey Anthony: $537.68 from her jail account, no job, estranged parents, a criminal record, lawsuits pending against her and the scorn of multitudes who think she got away with murder. She quickly gave reporters the slip after walking out of jail yesterday, but whatever life she manages to build for herself will be lived under a media microscope and the shadow of countless threats. Experts who have helped other notorious defendants through rough times say that she will have opportunities as well, but it won't be easy for the 25-year-old, who was found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, but was convicted of lying to investigators.

Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi is a former bartender and suspected hit man who allegedly took control of the Philadelphia mob a decade ago. No one in law enforcement - and few in the underworld - expected him to last this long. He was, they pointed out, part of the Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo crime family, having been formally initiated - "made" - after the slaying of Frank "Frankie Flowers" D'Alfonso back in July 1985. But he was never considered part of Scarfo's inner circle and never part of the mob hierarchy.

JERUSALEM - Sarah Palin stayed out of sight Monday during her first trip to Israel, dodging paparazzi staking out hotels and holy sites in hopes of getting a glimpse of the former Alaska governor who might run for president. A visit to Israel, a key U.S. ally, has become almost a rite of passage for potential Republican candidates at a time of strained relations between the United States and Israeli governments. Israel is a key American ally in a volatile region and a top concern for Jewish voters and pro-Israel Christian groups in the United States.

HARRISBURG - He's not Ed Rendell. That's the standard reply from members of Tom Corbett's inner circle upon being asked when the state's newly minted chief executive will step out to discuss what he has been doing in his first weeks in office - and just how deep a financial crisis Pennsylvania is facing. Since his Jan. 18 swearing-in, Corbett has spent much of his time behind closed doors, with virtually no public schedule and few public pronouncements. Aides say he is poring over budget numbers.