Riot Act

Eddie Vedder looks out at the canyons of Manhattan from the top-floor balcony of the SoHo Grand Hotel. This has been his perch for 10 days, his refuge while finishing the artwork and beginning promotion for Pearl Jam's seventh studio album in 11 years, Riot Act. The singer and songwriter is on intimate terms with the office towers and high-rise apartments in the distance, not to mention the massive hole nearby, where the twin towers stood....

Football's regimented traditions dictate an enforced togetherness. Even teams playing at home spend the night before games in hotels. So late Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours before they would play the despised Cowboys, the Eagles gathered at the Doubletree Hotel in Center City. Things proceeded in typically relaxed fashion. Players and coaches ate a meal of pasta, chicken and salad, then splintered into smaller groups for position sessions. Finally, at about 8:30, all the Eagles converged on a hotel ballroom for the final act of their work week, a team meeting.

Bad news for female managers: Their subordinates resent being disciplined by them. Men and women alike would rather be scolded by a male boss than a female one. Indeed, a study of gender and discipline at work, by Leanne Atwater, a professor at the School of Management at Arizona State University . . . finds that women dislike being told off by another woman even more than men do.. . . Ms. Atwater and her colleagues interviewed 163 workers....

TO COUNCILMAN Wilson Goode Jr.: I read your comments to School CEO Paul Vallas in the Daily News in which you challenged him about what he's done to stop black kids from killing one another. I find it hard to believe that suposedly intelligent elected officials like yourself can analyze the "out of control" murder rate among black youths and point the blame at Paul Vallas, who just happens to be one of the only white officials in the administration. Playing the race card in Philly is a joke, as the mayor, police commissioner, fire commissioner and most city officials are black.

Remember that airline commercial? Goes something like this: A football coach is in the locker room at halftime reading the riot act to his team because of its bad play. Players look down at their feet contritely. Then a player pipes up with, "Coach, aren't we winning by 21 points?" Coach goes into a speech about how complacency ruins a football team. Vince Miller could have been that coach. After Frankford went down to Strawberry Mansion and beat the Knights, 71-60, Tuesday afternoon, he let the Pioneers know what he thought of their performance.

There's a level of trust between Pearl Jam and its audience that has become virtually unheard of among big acts and their fans. Pearl Jam's members know they can open a sold-out arena gig - such as Monday's 2 3/4-hour marathon at the First Union Spectrum - with the Southern Gothic strum of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary" and not lose the frothing crowd. The audience obliges the band, sensing that the sonic butt-kicking it craves - like the white-knuckle double shot of "Spin the Black Circle" and "Hail Hail" that quickly followed - will be just around the corner.

RE: ELMER Smith's May 2 column ("Why Was Spurell Still A Fugitive?"): While the untimely demise of Qaid Staten at the hands of Stephen Spurell was most unfortunate, the Philadelphia Police Department had nothing to do with Spurell's release. Police officers lock people up and testify when it is time to go to court. The releasing of prisoners, scheduling of court dates and setting of bail is done by judges. John Davenport Philadelphia Meaning of inappropriate Did John Street really call Sam Katz's severance package "inappropriate?"

TWO WOMEN whose testimony in a 2010 double-murder trial helped send two Tacony men to prison for life without parole told a judge yesterday about how the men's families had been threatening them as a result. "I've had my life threatened multiple times . . . I'm tired," said a weeping Amanda Brannan, 24. "Am I scared for my life? Absolutely," said Susan Coulter, 34, who at times during the sentencing hearing was so overcome with emotion that Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner could not understand her. After the women finished testifying, Lerner read the riot act to their harassers, Theresa Merlo, 48, and Tara McDowell, 26. Merlo is the mother of Robert McDowell, and Tara McDowell is his common-law wife and the sister of Gerald Drummond.

There was little joy on the Bensalem sidelines after Thursday's 0-0 tie against tough Quakertown. The team's leading scorer - sophomore Laura Winchester - went down with a back injury late in the second half. "Nobody's happy with losing any player," assistant coach Chris Vaughan said. "You could see by the rest of the game that our girls picked it up a notch when Laura went down and we came out OK. " Winchester has a lumbar strain, which will keep her out of action for two weeks, and the difference in the team's play will be visible, coach Ralph Hofmann said.

BY THE NUMBERS 16 Consecutive times the Heat had beaten the Wizards before the two teams played Friday night. 32 Career high in points by former Sixer Matt Barnes in a 126-113 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday. 115 Amount, in dollars, that Spalding is offering to customers who bought the new composite ball and want the old leather ball that the league is returning to use in January, according to Bloomberg News. QUOTABLE "You get engaged. What do you expect?

TWO WOMEN whose testimony in a 2010 double-murder trial helped send two Tacony men to prison for life without parole told a judge yesterday about how the men's families had been threatening them as a result. "I've had my life threatened multiple times . . . I'm tired," said a weeping Amanda Brannan, 24. "Am I scared for my life? Absolutely," said Susan Coulter, 34, who at times during the sentencing hearing was so overcome with emotion that Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner could not understand her. After the women finished testifying, Lerner read the riot act to their harassers, Theresa Merlo, 48, and Tara McDowell, 26. Merlo is the mother of Robert McDowell, and Tara McDowell is his common-law wife and the sister of Gerald Drummond.

TO COUNCILMAN Wilson Goode Jr.: I read your comments to School CEO Paul Vallas in the Daily News in which you challenged him about what he's done to stop black kids from killing one another. I find it hard to believe that suposedly intelligent elected officials like yourself can analyze the "out of control" murder rate among black youths and point the blame at Paul Vallas, who just happens to be one of the only white officials in the administration. Playing the race card in Philly is a joke, as the mayor, police commissioner, fire commissioner and most city officials are black.

BY THE NUMBERS 16 Consecutive times the Heat had beaten the Wizards before the two teams played Friday night. 32 Career high in points by former Sixer Matt Barnes in a 126-113 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday. 115 Amount, in dollars, that Spalding is offering to customers who bought the new composite ball and want the old leather ball that the league is returning to use in January, according to Bloomberg News. QUOTABLE "You get engaged. What do you expect?

Pearl Jam has always been built to last. Created out of Mother Love Bone, the Seattle band whose singer Andrew Wood died of a 1990 heroin overdose, the rockers had already gotten the self-destructive behavior out of their system by the time San Diego surfer Eddie Vedder came to lead the clenched-fist charge. If Nirvana stared into the void with pop songs that exploded in punk noise, Pearl Jam - named after NBA hoopster Duane "Pearl" Washington - was always a classic rock band in disguise, harking back to The Who and the Doors.

RE: ELMER Smith's May 2 column ("Why Was Spurell Still A Fugitive?"): While the untimely demise of Qaid Staten at the hands of Stephen Spurell was most unfortunate, the Philadelphia Police Department had nothing to do with Spurell's release. Police officers lock people up and testify when it is time to go to court. The releasing of prisoners, scheduling of court dates and setting of bail is done by judges. John Davenport Philadelphia Meaning of inappropriate Did John Street really call Sam Katz's severance package "inappropriate?"

There's a level of trust between Pearl Jam and its audience that has become virtually unheard of among big acts and their fans. Pearl Jam's members know they can open a sold-out arena gig - such as Monday's 2 3/4-hour marathon at the First Union Spectrum - with the Southern Gothic strum of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary" and not lose the frothing crowd. The audience obliges the band, sensing that the sonic butt-kicking it craves - like the white-knuckle double shot of "Spin the Black Circle" and "Hail Hail" that quickly followed - will be just around the corner.

Eddie Vedder looks out at the canyons of Manhattan from the top-floor balcony of the SoHo Grand Hotel. This has been his perch for 10 days, his refuge while finishing the artwork and beginning promotion for Pearl Jam's seventh studio album in 11 years, Riot Act. The singer and songwriter is on intimate terms with the office towers and high-rise apartments in the distance, not to mention the massive hole nearby, where the twin towers stood....

First, the Phillies manager handed down orders to his coaching staff during a closed-door meeting in his Bank One Ballpark office. Later, he handed out verbal invitations to his players. "We just talked about some areas I'd like to see us improve," Larry Bowa said yesterday about the gathering of his coaches, which preceded a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks that allowed the Phillies to avoid a winless road trip. Bowa talked - at times loudly - and the coaches listened.

Bad news for female managers: Their subordinates resent being disciplined by them. Men and women alike would rather be scolded by a male boss than a female one. Indeed, a study of gender and discipline at work, by Leanne Atwater, a professor at the School of Management at Arizona State University . . . finds that women dislike being told off by another woman even more than men do.. . . Ms. Atwater and her colleagues interviewed 163 workers....

Pat Croce is not Harold Katz. The 76ers' president insists that he will not lecture his struggling players the way the previous owner sometimes did. Not even as the record plummeted to 8-22 as the Sixers approached last night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Not even after a desultory performance in a 90-73 loss at Seattle that coach Larry Brown described as looking "like the varsity against the JV. " "I wouldn't address the team," Croce said, joining the traveling party yesterday in the midst of a seven-game, 12-day trip, the longest of the season.