Soft Spot

DEAR ABBY : I dated a guy named "Jake" for two years. He was my first love and he meant everything to me. Well, things happened and he broke my heart. After a year of not really talking, Jake is now texting and calling to persuade me to be his "friend with benefits. " He tries to sweet-talk me by calling me pet names. Of course, I say no over and over each time he asks on the phone. But the minute we come face-to-face or hang out, I just give in. There will always be a soft spot for Jake in my heart, and I don't know what to do. I want to stay friends because he's important to me, but I don't want to be his FWB. It brings back painful memories.

Mother Nature is a mysterious lady. Each May, when the moon is full, she works her magic in Maryland, specifically in the Chesapeake Bay, where the blue crab is king. Somehow she "tells" these creatures to shed their hard winter shell in favor of a softer, lighter one. The result is the soft-shell crab, and it wouldn't be summer without them. Soft crabs, as Baltimoreans call them, measure about 3 1/2 inches to 5 1/2 inches across. Although the Maryland soft-shell is native to the Chesapeake, they are farm-raised in Louisiana year 'round, and often frozen for use in winter.

Twin brothers Duane and Dajuan like all kinds of animals. Their pets don't have to be furry and capable of wagging their tails. When they found an apparently homeless turtle in the woods last year, they claimed it, gave it a place to stay (in an outdoor pool), and fed it worms and water. "Are you hungry?" they'd ask. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Everyone was happy about the arrangement. And the boys have room in their hearts to include any other strays that cross their paths.

Ever since she was 7 years old, Sandra Kelley has called the Borough of Malvern home. She sledded down the hill at Warren Avenue, ran past the cemetery on Roberts Avenue because it "was the scariest place in town," and went to school in what is now Borough Hall. "I guess you could say I have a soft spot for Malvern," said Kelley, 51, an unassuming but quietly assertive woman who is now at her town's helm as borough manager with a salary of $56,500 a year. Borough officials said that although her reserved style contrasts with her dynamic predecessor, Patrick McGuigan, a former Army sergeant who retired in May, they have a similar dedication to the town.

MY 18-YEAR-OLD nephew, John Armstrong, gasped when I told him that the star of the Food Network's "Big Daddy's House" would be coming to my house to cook us dinner. "He's coming to your house?" "That's right. Big Daddy's coming to our house," I repeated, pausing for emphasis. Yeah, I was name-dropping. But it's not every day that McCargo cooks a meal in somebody's home. Maybe back in the day, but not since 2008, when he became the last man standing on "The Next Food Network Star" and wound up snagging the grand prize - his own TV show.

CALL THE roll: Dan Reeves, Jim Mora Jr., Andy Reid, now Chip Kelly. They all thought they could harness the diverse talents of Michael Vick for a greater football good. Now, only Kelly - surprise! - still has a chance. Reid, especially, was seduced by the possibilities that Vick brought, only to be disappointed in the end - just as Reeves and Mora were before him in Atlanta. Kelly, by contrast, seems more of a realist. Reid had a soft spot for a man returning from incarceration, a state from which his sons had also emerged.

I'd like to tell you this series is going seven and that the personal rivalry between Michael Jordan and his good friend, Charles Barkley, will live up to all the hype it is receiving. But the guess here is that the combination of Jordan and Scottie Pippen will be too much for the Suns to handle. The Bulls should win one of the first two games in Phoenix and then go on to finish off the Suns in six games. Look for Chicago to dominate the boards and hold Phoenix under 100 points at least three times.

It's tough being Tom Brady in Philadelphia these days, but Thomas A. Brady is doing his best. Brady, 33, an orthodontist with offices in West Chester and Exton, has slapped the Brady name on the back of an Eagles jersey. And just to be sure no one confuses him with that other Tom Brady - you know, the one from New England who wears No. 12 and who has never (yet) lost a postseason game - Thomas A. has the number 9 on his jersey. Like other Tom Bradys in this football-crazed town, Thomas A. knows that he risks silly jokes at best and outright ridicule at worst just because his parents happened to give him the same name as you-know-who from you-know-where.

With his team smarting from two tough losses and several key injuries, Germantown Academy coach Bill Caum was more than gracious in accepting a soft spot on the schedule. Caum's Patriots, gearing for their Inter-Academic League opener, jumped to a 37-0 halftime lead and whipped overmatched Faith Christian of Glassboro, N.J., 43-8, on Saturday. The victory left GA at 3-2 heading into Saturday's home clash with unbeaten Malvern Prep. It also helped Caum feel much better after disappointing losses to Springfield and Pennington Prep.

Tony Taylor, who received the 2002 Phillies Latin Legends Award before last night's game at Veterans Stadium, has a soft spot in his heart for Philadelphia. And always will. Back in 1960, however, Taylor didn't want to report to Philadelphia after the Phillies acquired him in a four-player trade with the Chicago Cubs. "I was playing day games in Chicago, playing next to Ernie Banks, and we had a lot of great ballplayers on that team," Taylor said during a pregame news conference.

CALL THE roll: Dan Reeves, Jim Mora Jr., Andy Reid, now Chip Kelly. They all thought they could harness the diverse talents of Michael Vick for a greater football good. Now, only Kelly - surprise! - still has a chance. Reid, especially, was seduced by the possibilities that Vick brought, only to be disappointed in the end - just as Reeves and Mora were before him in Atlanta. Kelly, by contrast, seems more of a realist. Reid had a soft spot for a man returning from incarceration, a state from which his sons had also emerged.

Like every single player who has worn a Cherry Hill West football uniform for the last 38 years, Connor Moloney doesn't know what it's like to make the playoffs. He has an idea, though. "It would be like going to Disney World," Moloney said. Cherry Hill West hasn't punched its ticket to the Magic Kingdom. But the Lions are thinking about packing a bag. Cherry Hill West moved to the brink of the program's first playoff berth since the creation of the state tournament in 1974, with a 20-14 victory over visiting Bishop Eustace on Friday night.

DEAR ABBY : I dated a guy named "Jake" for two years. He was my first love and he meant everything to me. Well, things happened and he broke my heart. After a year of not really talking, Jake is now texting and calling to persuade me to be his "friend with benefits. " He tries to sweet-talk me by calling me pet names. Of course, I say no over and over each time he asks on the phone. But the minute we come face-to-face or hang out, I just give in. There will always be a soft spot for Jake in my heart, and I don't know what to do. I want to stay friends because he's important to me, but I don't want to be his FWB. It brings back painful memories.

MY 18-YEAR-OLD nephew, John Armstrong, gasped when I told him that the star of the Food Network's "Big Daddy's House" would be coming to my house to cook us dinner. "He's coming to your house?" "That's right. Big Daddy's coming to our house," I repeated, pausing for emphasis. Yeah, I was name-dropping. But it's not every day that McCargo cooks a meal in somebody's home. Maybe back in the day, but not since 2008, when he became the last man standing on "The Next Food Network Star" and wound up snagging the grand prize - his own TV show.

Widespread soft spots in the Philadelphia area's economy surfaced in the latest Federal Reserve survey of regional business activity. The sluggish pace, reported Wednesday as part of the Fed's nationwide Beige Book, affected area manufacturers, retailers, banks, service companies, and real estate businesses. The Fed found similar "slowing in the pace of growth" in Atlanta, Chicago, and New York from late April through most of May. That marked the first time this year that it said the economy had slowed in several U.S. regions.

WASHINGTON - Charlie Manuel slipped into a heartfelt speech about his respect for the military and how he could not think of a better place to be than the nation's capital on Memorial Day. Truth be told, Manuel and the Phillies should be in the holiday spirit whenever they see the Washington Nationals, whether it be here in the shadow of the Capitol or at home at Citizens Bank Park. Over the last five seasons, the Phillies have compiled a 57-22 record against the Nationals, including a 27-13 mark on the road.

Gru - short for gruesome? - resembles a beaky Anton Ego, with a puffed-out midsection tottering atop flamingo legs. He is an arch archvillain with mommy issues and a Slavic accent, commanding an army of minions, yellow cylinders with goggle eyes. The minions assist him in nefarious, headline-grabbing schemes like stealing the Times Square Jumbotron. (Oh, the horror!) When he learns that a younger archvillain has made off with the Great Pyramid of Giza, Gru aims for the moon: He will steal it. Take that, Junior!

This city not only once lost a baseball team, but also a stadium. In 1954, a year after the Scranton Miners left town, officials had the vacant Scranton Stadium sold, dismantled, and shipped to Richmond, Va. They didn't play professional baseball in this old coal city - almost equidistant from Philadelphia and New York - for 36 years, until the Phillies brought in a minor-league affiliate in 1989. That relationship lasted 18 years, until the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons left after the 2006 season, irritated that local government would not help improve aging Lackawanna County Stadium.

When the Milwaukee Brewers won the National League wild card last weekend, no one was happier than their patriarch, commissioner Bud Selig. Selig brought the Brewers to Milwaukee in 1970 and presided over the ballclub until being named full-time commissioner in 1998. Even though his family no longer owns the Brewers, Selig, in many ways, remains as synonymous with the club as legendary broadcaster Bob Uecker. "Sure, I have a warm spot for the team," Selig said during an interview in his downtown Milwaukee office Friday afternoon.