Movements

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes always thought Big East creator Dave Gavitt was one of those rare individuals who could see the writing on the wall before anyone else could even see the wall. "He is certainly one of the great people that I have had the opportunity to meet in my life," said Barnes, who coached at Providence from 1988 to 1994 and regarded Gavitt, who died in September, as such a strong mentor he never made a major decision in his career without checking with Gavitt.

I walked down to Thomas Paine Plaza the other day to see how the Occupiers were making out in their new, designated home. It was hard to tell, based on the half-dozen or so folks hanging out. I couldn't tell whether they were sitting in or simply sitting down. That's the thing about Occupy: Its presence is mostly visual. When its members aren't visibly agitating, you never know what effect they're having. And, yes, some students do have a problem with a movement made up, in large part, of their peers.

By Bob Stewart Perhaps it's time for the Occupy movement - Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Wall Street, and the rest - to get moving. At this point, its participants are spending a lot of time and resources on staying in place. They certainly got our attention, which is what they wanted in the first place. But eventually the movement will have to reassess, mature, and mobilize. Otherwise, it will fade into the background. The winter months present a perfect time for the demonstrators to retreat from their current stations.

The first day of Occupy Philadelphia I met Sarah Craven, a former Army medic vowing to care for protesters the way she did for fellow soldiers. She was passionate and levelheaded, but ticked off about the lousy state of affairs she came home to after risking her life for years in Iraq. Monday, the 40th day of the outdoor encampment opposing corporate greed and government complicity, I watched a woman eat mashed potatoes as she held a catheter bag. Later, I got propositioned by a 67-year-old man lounging on a baby blanket with his zipper undone.

Even though he has been used primarily as a penalty-killer and third- or fourth-line center, Sean Couturier has climbed among the rookie leaders in several offensive categories - and has probably made several teams second-guess themselves for bypassing him in last June's draft. Couturier slipped to No. 8 - the first-round pick the Flyers acquired as part of the deal that sent Jeff Carter to Columbus - but in the season's first month he has looked like a future star. In 13 games, Couturier has five goals, which, entering Sunday, was second among NHL rookies.

THE CONTROVERSIAL reforms that Michelle Rhee pushed during her tumultuous tenure as public-schools leader in Washington, D.C., were hardly the last marks she'd make on U.S. public education. Since resigning last year, Rhee has pushed hard for school vouchers and merit pay for teachers, and has founded StudentsFirst, which pours money into lawmakers' coffers. Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise then, that, after receiving a $905,000 buyout, Philadelphia's former schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman became a voucher proponent herself.

Within the next 48 hours, the NBA is expected to cancel an additional two weeks of the 2011-12 regular-season schedule. As of Tuesday night, the league and the union had no plans to continue negotiating - meaning further cancellations are only a matter of time. It's been nearly a week since the league's most recent bargaining session with the National Basketball Players Association. The NBA, which has locked out its players since July 1, is expected to make formal what most considered inevitable: canceling about 102 games from Nov. 14 to Nov. 28. Two weeks ago, the NBA canceled the first two weeks of the season, about 100 games from Nov. 1 to Nov. 14. Cancelling the first four weeks of the season will cost the league approximately $400 million in revenue.

The Occupy or "99 Percent" movement has as many main points as cities. Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Philly. Or Boston, or Chicago. It set down roots Sept. 17 in New York and budded off in dozens of American towns, plus a few abroad. And it's still going. Stroll the tent city around City Hall, read the signs, hear the talk. Whatever it's about, Occupy has legs. But legs about what? No one thing. Many things. And that's what's fascinating. Though some folks want Occupy to focus, to choose one thing and be about that . . . it doesn't, and isn't, and won't.

IT'S BEEN nearly two weeks since the OccupyTogether movement hit Philadelphia. Yet, there have been reports that the movement will not succeed because there is no common goal among the protesters. Some cynical commentators believe that, at best, protesters across the country are loosely organized by the website Occupy Together.org. But do we really need a common goal to fight against what is wrong? Should certain demands be elevated at the risk of silencing others? The motivation for the OccupyTogether movement begins with a general distaste for what has become of American life.

The news kept on churning while I vacationed in the Bay Area last week. Not that I'm complaining. It's why I love this industry called current events. It's just that now I'm playing catch-up. That is, if I don't slit my wrists first. I came home only to discover that Philadelphia's sports teams had gone from champs to chumps in about the time it takes to say "sloppy and dumb. " Now it looks like there won't be any NBA, either. Well, uh, there's always hockey. On the obituary front, it hurt to hear that civil rights lion the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, 89, and technology guru Steve Jobs, 56, died on Oct. 5. Both were freedom fighters who bettered our world with their fearless activism - one with marching boots, the other with a mouse.