New Era

Wayne Gretzky, no longer strictly a solo act, has begun his new life with the St. Louis Blues. With hockey finally replacing hoopla, the sport's most prolific scorer joined good friend Brett Hull and Shayne Corson on a line that has the goal-hungry Blues dreaming of the Stanley Cup. With his first goal for his new team, he staked the Blues to a two-goal lead last night, but they couldn't hold it, skating to a 2-2 tie at Vancouver. Breakaways are not Gretzky's strong suit, but the Blues' new captain had a clean trip to the net at 16:24 of the first period.

A defense psychiatrist testified yesterday that John G. Bennett Jr., whose double-your-money New Era charitable fund-raising scheme cost investors $135 million in losses, never intended to defraud anyone. "This is not the type of individual who is likely . . . to want to defraud . . . His intent was to glorify God. You can't glorify God by cheating," Dr. Robert L. Sadoff told U.S. District Judge Edmund V. Ludwig. But a psychologist and psychiatrist retained by the prosecution disagreed and said Bennett had the mental faculties to form the intent to commit the crimes he's been charged with, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, money laundering and tax fraud.

Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate, on Monday called for a new era of pragmatism in government to help restore public trust in American leadership. In remarks prepared for delivery to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Sestak said it was time for reason and clear "benchmarks" in formulating policy, rather than ideology. "We owe the public what any private investor could expect: concrete proposals, clear expectations, an honest accounting of costs, and straightforward assessment of the risks," Sestak said in the remarks.

I like the recent proposal by Rep. Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia, letting sixth- and seventh-grade students in poor schools know that the government guarantees they will receive financial assistance for college tuition. It reminds us there's still a need for legislation that encourages groups with special challenges. I ought to know. I'm living proof that such programs can help. I'm a beneficiary of the G.I. Bill. That legislation, dismissed by some at the time as the "52-20" club, provided further education to hundreds of thousands of former servicemen who would never have considered college without it. I was a Depression-era New York City kid, graduating from high school in 1947.

Don't mind the dust at Green Valley Manor, or the architects or the engineers or the designers. They're symbolic of a new era at the Whitemarsh Township property. A few weeks ago, Galman Group management asked property manager Anne Brenner Friedman what her top wish for improvements to the complex was. She said she would love new windows and new doors in every apartment. "I turned around, and the order had been put in," Friedman said. "This really affects the lives of everyday people, and I'm so glad it's being done.

When it came to harassing pregnant girls, busting gay bookstores or allegedly playing footsie with illegal video poker machine operators, Attorney General Ernie Preate was king. If that's all it takes to be the state's top cop, there would be a statue of Preate in the state Capitol. Unfortunately for him, actual crime - like what could be the biggest charity ripoff in American history - was allegedly occurring here while Ernie was devoting public money and time to political witch hunts and covering his own butt.

The new era in Philadelphia 76ers basketball began Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center with lights, music, dancing girls, special effects, smoke, loud introductions, and video on the big screen. None of this was necessarily an invention, of course. It wasn't as if the previous era under the impatient stewardship of Father Comcast was played in a dimly lit gym in front of a bunch of old guys wearing fedoras and smoking cigars. There have been all of those sideshow elements before - and perhaps even a management that would have known this isn't the year to call the dance group "The Dream Team.

President Reagan said today that his Moscow summit talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had paved the way for a new era in East-West relations and brought a strategic arms reduction treaty within grasp. "Quite possibly, we are beginning to take down the barriers of the post- war era; quite possibly, we are entering a new era in history, a time of lasting change in the Soviet Union," he said. At the same time, Reagan said any assessment of U.S.-Soviet relations should be tempered with prudence and caution.

It started in 1988 and included four straight Ches-Mont boys' cross-country titles and four straight trips to the Class AAA state championship meet. But on Thursday, West Chester Henderson's 38-meet winning streak was snapped in a 27-30 loss to Ches-Mont rival West Chester East. The defeat not only ended Henderson's impressive winning streak, it also signaled the start of a new era in local cross-country competition, as the once-dominant Warriors have moved back into the pack. Several teams, including East and Henderson, will vie for the top spot in Chester County in what promises to be a wide open and exciting season.

The veteran coach retired after 35 seasons and took more than 500 career victories with him. The all-time leading scorer graduated and took nearly 2,500 career points with him. "It's kind of weird," Cherry Hill East senior forward Jake Gurkin said of the changes around one of South Jersey's top programs. Gurkin and senior guard Marc Schlessel are more than just a top inside-outside duo poised to make the most of their final season for the Cougars. They also are a bridge of sorts - a connection from Cherry Hill East's past to the future, a direct link from the highlights of last season to the promise of this season.

Might Union fans on Wednesday night be introduced to what would certainly be the cure to the club's scoring woes? Legendary Spanish striker Raúl González Blanco — known to soccer fans worldwide simply as Raúl — will play his final game for his current club, Schalke 04, when the German Bundesliga giants visit the Union at PPL Park (7:30 p.m.). Since he announced last month that he would be leaving Schalke, there has been quite a bit of discussion over where the former Real Madrid and Spain great is headed next.

PRESEASON BASEBALL Last season's records in parentheses. The Rams have a potent lineup with five Division I recruits - infielders Robbie Alessandrine (Monmouth), Joe Brooks (East Carolina), John Brue (St. Joseph), and Brett Tenuto (Stony Brook), and outfielder Pat Kane (Old Dominion) - along with catcher Elliott McCummings, all of whom hit better than .400 last season. Their speed and fundamentally sound approach should play well in the new-bat era. The key will be developing pitching depth behind junior ace Mike Shawaryn (7-0, 1.56 ERA)

PENN STATE and new coach Bill O'Brien have reeled in another four-star recruit for the Class of 2013, according to reports. Defensive end Garrett Sickels, from Little Silver, N.J., gave a verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions on Saturday. Sickels, 6-4, 225, is ranked as the 50th-best player in the nation. As a senior at Red Bank Regional, he had 11 sacks and 76 total tackles. "I strongly believe in the values Coach Paterno set forth," Sickels told Blue White Illustrated.

Penn State and new coach Bill O'Brien have reeled in another four-star recruit for the Class of 2013, according to reports. Defensive end Garrett Sickels, from Little Silver, N.J., gave a verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions on Saturday. Sickels, 6-4, 225, is ranked as the 50th-best player in the nation. As a senior at Red Bank Regional, he had 11 sacks and 76 total tackles. "I strongly believe in the values Coach Paterno set forth," Sickels told Blue White Illustrated.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Mike Schmidt and Dallas Green were asked to pick an era Monday morning. Their first option was that enchanting time from 1975 through 1983 when the Phillies, behind Schmidt's big bat and Steve Carlton's wicked left arm, evolved from a perennial second-division team into a consistent contender that won five division titles, two National League pennants, and a World Series. The second option was this current group of Phillies, which also has won five division titles, two pennants, and one World Series.

Banks and mortgage servicers expect homeowners to meet their obligations. In an economy built to last, homeowners should expect the same of them. Too often in the run-up to the housing crisis, that wasn't the case. Banks didn't hold up their end of the bargain. Lenders sold loans to people who couldn't afford them to make profits that turned out to be a mirage. Millions of families who did nothing wrong lost their homes or saw their value drop as a result. As extensive federal and state investigations found, the abuses continued after homeowners moved in. After reviewing thousands of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its Inspector General's Office uncovered evidence that the country's five largest loan servicers routinely signed foreclosure documents without knowing whether they were accurate.

The new era in Philadelphia 76ers basketball began Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center with lights, music, dancing girls, special effects, smoke, loud introductions, and video on the big screen. None of this was necessarily an invention, of course. It wasn't as if the previous era under the impatient stewardship of Father Comcast was played in a dimly lit gym in front of a bunch of old guys wearing fedoras and smoking cigars. There have been all of those sideshow elements before - and perhaps even a management that would have known this isn't the year to call the dance group "The Dream Team.

The new era in Philadelphia 76ers basketball began Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center with lights, music, dancing girls, special effects, smoke, loud introductions, and video on the big screen. None of this was necessarily an invention, of course. It wasn't as if the previous era under the impatient stewardship of Father Comcast was played in a dimly lit gym in front of a bunch of old guys wearing fedoras and smoking cigars. There have been all of those sideshow elements before - and perhaps even a management that would have known this isn't the year to call the dance group "The Dream Team.