Rehab

A Common Pleas judge ruled yesterday that construction can continue on a Southwest Philadelphia halfway house while the city compiles evidence to prove why the work should stop. The ruling by Judge Charles Mirarchi Jr. was the latest in a series of court battles involving the state, the developer, the city and residents who oppose the opening of the halfway house on 54th Street near Woodland Avenue for prisoners with nine months or less to serve on their sentences. After residents claimed the minimum-security facility would only add to the neighborhood's crime and drug problems, the state backed away from its plan to house prisoners there and the city Department of Licenses and Inspections rescinded its permit to build there.

Unable to shake the drug demons that derailed his once-dazzling career, Dwight Gooden made a startling decision yesterday: He would rather go to jail than face temptation on the streets. The former New York Mets and Yankees pitching great admitted in a courthouse in Tampa, Fla., that he hasn't beaten cocaine after a two-decade struggle. He then picked prison instead of returning to rehabilitation and staying on probation, which would have meant the threat of a five-year jail sentence loomed for any slip-up.

SO WHEN DOES this whole Lindsay Lohan soap opera merely become one long, sad joke? Sounds like yesterday. Lindsay, the once-adorable moppet turned train wreck (car wreck might be more apt), was barely home from rehab long enough to open her mail when she was arrested again for allegedly driving drunk. Police hauled her in about 1:30 a.m. Pacific time (mid-afternoon Lindsay time). To make matters worse, police also found cocaine in her pocket - we told you she also needed an ankle bracelet for her nose.

HEY, Mel Gibson, what are you doing this summer? Going to rehab. Yup, in a move that's probably as much about image rehab as it is about kicking the sauce, Gibson's rep, Alan Nierob, told the Star, "He is in a program of recovery at this time. " The Star also spoke to Mel's neighbor, Chris Prentiss, who coincidentally is co-founder of the Malibu celebrity treatment center, Passages. (Celebrity treatment must be big business if Prentiss can afford to live in Gibson's neighborhood.

Not much more than a month ago, Clarence Kay was placed on something that the NFL calls its "reserve/non-football illness list. " That name means what it says, but it quickly became clear that for the Denver Broncos' starting tight end, it was a polite euphemism for only one thing: drugs. Kay entered rehabilitation. He is back now, and is scheduled to start in Super Bowl XXI against the New York Giants. But in the rehab center, he met Hollywood Henderson, the former Dallas star.

IT WAS BOUND to happen sooner or later, so better sooner. Lindsay Lohan has checked herself into rehab. So says TMZ.com and a statement from Lohan's rep, Leslie Sloane Zelnik. "I have made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health," Lindsay's statement read. "I appreciate your well wishes and ask that you please respect my privacy at this time. " Us Weekly reported that Lindsay entered L.A.'s posh Wonderland Center at 2:30 p.m. yesterday, arriving in an SUV and clutching a Jamba Juice.

Two weeks after his strange courtside behavior at a New York Knicks game, designer Calvin Klein has checked himself into rehab for an undisclosed substance problem. With 2 minutes, 16 seconds left in the game, Klein grabbed Latrell Sprewell's arm and started muttering while the Knicks star was trying to inbound the ball. "For many years, I've been able to successfully address my substance-abuse issues, which for anyone is a lifelong process, through strict adherence to counseling and regular attendance at meetings," the 60-year-old designer said in a statement.

READING - It's not his decision to make, but the Phillies' John Lannan believes he's ready to return to the big leagues. The 28-year-old lefthander, who was placed on the disabled list in mid-April with a strained quadriceps tendon in his left knee, made his second rehab start Wednesday night. Lannan allowed two runs over seven innings for the double-A Reading Fightin Phils in a 6-0 loss to the visiting Bowie Baysox at FirstEnergy Stadium. "Every day you just look for something that got better from the day before," said Lannan, who threw four innings for single-A Clearwater on Friday.

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Four hundred feet from home plate, where a large man wearing a powder-blue No. 52 jersey stood, was the No. 29 plastered on the center field wall with "HOWARD" arching over it. The man at the plate wasn't paying attention to that. The man at the plate was just trying to get solid at-bats against live pitching in the first game of his rehab assignment. The man at the plate was Ryan Howard - or at least the 6-foot-4 shell of the player Phillies fans came to know so well, and the shell of the man the Phillies hope will provide the necessary spark for a struggling team.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown blasted a home run over the batter's eye in centerfield and also had a bloop single in the first game of his rehab assignment with Class A Clearwater yesterday. Brown, recovering from surgery on his right hand, went 2-for-4 in the Threshers' 8-6 win over Lakeland at Bright House Field. "It feels pretty good, I'm almost at 100 percent," Brown told MLB.com. "It just feels good to get back out there getting into games. " Brown is expected to spend several days in Clearwater before a decision is made about moving him up.