Stomp

What do you get when you mix everyday objects and rhythm? Stomp. The renowned production will take the stage at Wilmington's DuPont Theatre for a five-show engagement this weekend. "It's a show for all ages," says John Sawicki, rehearsal director of the troupe. "There's no language barrier. It's all about rhythm, so everyone can enjoy it. " Stomp performers use brooms, lids, trash bins, sand, drumsticks, water bottles, basketballs and oil drums (among other items) to create a rhythmic symphony.

Let me tell you about one of my favorite bits in Stomp, the galvanic but deucedly indescribable whatizit (concert? revue? dance? performance piece?) that opened Tuesday for a two-week run at the Merriam Theater. It revolves around a little man trying to read a newspaper. Gradually, he's surrounded by a clutch of like-minded people, doing the things that newspaper readers are wont to do - tapping and rustling the pages, snapping them into place, rolling a section into a wand and bopping something.

The undermanned UCLA Bruins were no match for North Carolina. The No. 4 Tar Heels handed No. 7 UCLA its second-worst loss ever, 109-68, last night in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. Antawn Jamison scored 23 points and Vince Carter added 22 as the Tar Heels (4-0) beat the Bruins (0-1), who played without suspended starters Kris Johnson and Jelani McCoy. Both reportedly failed drug tests. "I think if they get the other two back, they'll be good," North Carolina coach Bill Gutheridge said.

For one quarter, Friday night's nonleague game between Phil-Mont Christian Academy and Jenkintown appeared to be a relatively even matchup, even though the Drakes were missing flu-ridden star forward Scott May. But suddenly, everything came together for the Falcons in the second quarter, and the game was all but over by halftime. So dominant was Phil-Mont Christian that even head coach Chip Struck was somewhat surprised. "Everything we tried in the second quarter seemed to work," Struck said after his team's 63-43 victory.

There is nothing mysterious about the inspiration for the title of Stomp. That doesn't quite say it all, but it's a goood start. There is an abundance of stomping in Stomp. Stomp - which became an off-Broadway hit two years ago and is currently being presented at TropWorld - is, to say the least, intense. Those who attend without at least a hint of what to expect are in for the entertainment surprise of their lives. This is especially so for those who frequent the casino-hotel showrooms of Atlantic City, where the theatrical fare traditionally is dusted-off versions of Broadway classics, along, of course, with the flesh-and-feather extravaganzas.

The Rochester Knighthawks scored their season-high goal total in a 20-12 victory over the Wings in the National Lacrosse League last night at Blue Cross Arena. As Rochester was on its way to a 13-7 halftime lead behind six consecutive second-period goals, Wings coach Dave Huntley sent in Brandon Miller to replace starting goalie Rob Blasdell. Miller made 23 saves. Geoff Snider contributed three goals for the Wings (7-3), as did Athan Ianucci. Jake Bergey had two, and Kyle Sweeney, Pat Heim, A.J. Shannon, and Jason Crosbie each had one. John Grant scored four goals for Rochester (5-6)

Here's a rare thing: a family show that everybody in the family might actually enjoy and not have to be a good sport about. Here's another rare thing: a holiday show without the cute and cloying. No dancing elves, no singing animals, no moral lesson, just (just?) energy, talent, testosterone, and lots and lots of noise: bashing, crashing, clapping, tapping, snapping, drumming, thrumming, clanging and banging. Nobody says a word. It's all percussion. It's terrific. There are eight performers in this show at the Merriam Theater - six guys, two girls.

Episcopal was thinking quarters and Williamson Trade was thinking halves. Well, two halves make a whole and in this case it was a whole lot of victory for Episcopal as the Churchmen rolled over the Trojans, 85-62, Tuesday afternoon. The win raised the Churchmen's record to 12-2. In a sense, the game was very much a surprise to Episcopal Academy's players. They didn't realize that because the game was being played on the Trojans' home court - and because the school actually is a junior college - the game would be played under collegiate, not high school, rules.

Now that Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh 's appeal of a two-game suspension for stomping on the arm of an opposing player during last week's Thanksgiving Day game has been rejected, we've got two words for Detroit Lions fans - boo Suh. By the time the mean, nasty Pro Bowl lineman returns, his Lions could find themselves all but eliminated from NFL playoff contention. They enter Sunday's game at NFC South leader New Orleans in a wild-card playoff scramble with the likes of the Bears, Falcons, and Giants.

There's a little bit of Stomp in all of us. You know: that uncontrollable urge to (a) pull a stick across the slats of a picket fence, (b) bang the top of a garbage can, (c) run around wearing 40-gallon oil drums instead of shoes. Well, maybe not (c). That ambulatory feat should be left to professionals, people like Luke Cresswell, Vickie Tanner, Hillel Meltzer and the other members of Stomp, the extraordinary percussion/dance troupe that opens a two-week run at the Merriam Theater tomorrow.

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Brad Keselowski earned his first win of the season yesterday, holding off Matt Kenseth on a late restart to win at Bristol Motor Speedway. Keselowski led a career-best and race-high 231 laps, but battled back and forth with Kenseth for the final third of the race. Kenseth beat him on an earlier restart, and Keselowski had to chase him down to reclaim the lead. Then a late caution when Tony Stewart hit the wall put Keselowski's win in jeopardy. "I've got no clue what to do here," he radioed his Penske Racing team.

Kevin Love's frustration with physical play and officiating has been apparent early and often this season. Emotion got the best of him on Saturday night against the Rockets, and now he and the Minnesota Timberwolves have to pay the price: Love, his team's leading scorer and rebounder, was suspended for two games by the league for "driving his foot into the upper body and face of the Rockets' Luis Scola as Scola was lying on the floor. " The play happened in the third quarter of Saturday's victory over the Rockets after the two tangled while going for a rebound.

Now that Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh 's appeal of a two-game suspension for stomping on the arm of an opposing player during last week's Thanksgiving Day game has been rejected, we've got two words for Detroit Lions fans - boo Suh. By the time the mean, nasty Pro Bowl lineman returns, his Lions could find themselves all but eliminated from NFL playoff contention. They enter Sunday's game at NFC South leader New Orleans in a wild-card playoff scramble with the likes of the Bears, Falcons, and Giants.

SEATTLE - Raul Ibanez took three days during the all-star break last summer to meet his family in this city, which still has a special place in his heart. He spent 10 years of his baseball career here, one of his four children was born here, and there are sights that trigger all sorts of memories. "I always like seeing Mount Rainier," Ibanez said. Ibanez's familiarity with this city and Safeco Field is why Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had the 39-year-old start in left field Friday night rather than as the designated hitter.

MIAMI - If a competitive NBA playoff series progresses like a staircase, each game played one plane higher than the previous, then on Monday night the 76ers slipped while reaching for the next step. Instead of meeting the Miami Heat on their level - by creating efficient offense and matching the rising energy - the Sixers found themselves leveled with dozens of excruciating minutes still to be played. The Heat dominated in a way most knew they could, but hoped they wouldn't.

WHAT SERVES a legend best? Arguably, it's an offspring like Jason Bonham , who's made it his mission to carry on in the resounding tradition of his long-gone dad John Bonham - to many minds the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer of all time and a talent still celebrated through his enduring work with Led Zeppelin. In Jason Bonham's drumming with other bands - of late, the grand and gritty, blues-rocking Black Country Communion he shares with guitarist Joe Bonamassa, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes and keyboardist Derek Sherinian - Bonham has "intentionally gone for a heavy, Led Zeppelin kind of sound, taking all the padding out of the drums, driving the sound man mad. How could I do otherwise?"

For 72 years, Vincent John Poppa stayed rooted in his Eastwick neighborhood. He and his two brothers grew up at 6508 Dicks Ave. and worshipped at St. Barnabas Catholic Church. For 30 years, he sold penny candy and ice cream to the children who stopped by Vince's, the candy store he operated across the street from his family's home. Now, Poppa is in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital, recuperating from serious injuries he received when he was attacked and robbed on March 13 by six youths - believed by Philadelphia police to be between 9 and 13 years old - as he was returning to his apartment in a senior complex around 9 p.m. "He had a heck of a reputation for treating people well, treating kids well," Deborah Rossiter, 57, a longtime friend, said yesterday.

Almost from the beginning, Avon Grove was overmatched. Playing for the first time in the football playoffs, the Red Devils had made it to the District 1 AAAA semifinals with a talented rushing attack. But that meant a trip to Crawford Stadium to face perennial power North Penn, hardly a novice in big games. North Penn crushed Avon Grove, 42-7, last night to advance to the District 1 AAAA title game against Ridley, which is also the state quarterfinals, at a time and location to be determined.

Allegations that a trooper stomped on the head of a Chester County man as he lay facedown on a tile floor in handcuffs are under investigation, state police said this week. The attack caused "great pain and medical expense" to Zachary W. Bare, 30, of Exton, "forcing his teeth back up into his gums and breaking his nose from the inside out," his attorney, Joseph P. Green Jr., wrote in a private criminal complaint filed Monday. Green said that because Bare did not know who knocked out his teeth, he initiated litigation to obtain township police reports, which led to the identification of Trooper Kelly Cruz.