Success

Not much has eluded Patrick Sharp this postseason. But there is one thing he can't put his finger on. Chicago's success on the road in these playoffs is bordering on historic. When quizzed for his theory on the success, Sharp is stumped. The Blackhawks were one of the better road teams during the regular season, but what they've done in the postseason is staggering. "I've been asked that question a lot during the playoffs and I don't have an answer for you," said Sharp, a former Flyer who is tied for the team lead with eight goals in the postseason.

The mystery isn't solved, but the Garnet Valley volleyball team did leave a few clues where it might be headed this season. The direction is definitely up. "You never know," Garnet Valley coach Joan Braid said with a laugh. "They are like the Phillies, you never know. I didn't know what to expect. " The Jaguars, who returned only three players with significant varsity experience, beat visiting West Chester Henderson, 15-7, 15-12, in Tuesday's Southern Chester County League opener.

"I got dissuaded from this, but I wanted to call the album Jinx," Michael Penn says. "The idea was for me to be sitting under an open ladder on the cover, with a broken window behind me, and a black cat walking by. I just wanted to get it all out there. " Penn's plan to deflate the bum luck that awaits any sophomore effort by an artist who hit it big the first time out - which he did with March, his tuneful, pop-folk-tilted debut that was one of 1990's surprise success stories - got nixed by his record company.

Success in the 1992 football season is all in their heads. Although the vast majority of the school's best-ever football team graduated in the spring, West Chester East coach Joe Carroll said his Vikings could put together another strong season. Provided they believe it. "We have some good players," Carroll said. "If we get off to a good start, hopefully that will build the confidence we need to get better. " Carroll is an ardent optimist, but his preseason workouts have unveiled what appears to be a strong group of runners and the foundation of a solid offensive line.

First, I want to echo the words of Warren Bennis, who has probably done the best job defining the key characteristics of good leadership: ambition, competence, and integrity. . . . Too much of one characteristic and little of another is often a fatal formula: you have to have all three characteristics and in the right proportions. . . . Second, real leaders have the staying power to take organizations through both the good and the bad times. . . . Third, being smart isn't enough to succeed as a leader.

Hatboro-Horsham junior shot putter Josh Artau has had a taste of success and likes it. Now he's working to make sure that success continues. Artau's latest success came at the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia indoor track meet at Lehigh University Saturday. For the first time in his career, he put the shot more than 50 feet with a toss of 50 feet, 5 inches. That was five feet better than runner-up Marlon Miller of Malvern Prep. While Artau has won most of the indoor shot-put competitions this winter, he has also made some significant strides in his training, which helped him crack that 50-foot barrier.

It's not yet 8:45 a.m., and thousands of people at the Hartford Civic Center are yelling, clapping and pumping their fists. "All of you willing to cut loose and have a little fun today, say yes!" shouts the dark-suited man onstage. "Yes," the crowd chants weakly. "We need a little more energy!" the man insists, urging the crowd to its feet for The Wave. Within moments, thousands of grown men and women in khakis and jeans are rising and falling and waggling their arms as the Beach Boys' "Catch a Wave" swells through the cool, dark arena and spotlights dance across their faces.

All right, so the Eagles have taken out their strike frustrations on Dallas, rallied to beat the Cardinals on the road, and outlasted the team Buddy Ryan calls the NFL's best, the Washington Redskins. After weathering the players' strike united and climbing out of a 1-4 hole dug by the replacement team, the Eagles are back to .500 at 4-4. The Eagles have made it perfectly clear that they can handle adversity. But how about success? Now that a shot at the playoffs is no longer merely wishful thinking but something within their grasp - and the next game is against the defending Super Bowl champion Giants - how will these young Eagles respond?

The St. Louis Cardinals had just completed a workout at Citizens Bank Park, and the players, for the most part, were being asked a one-word question: "Halladay?" With St. Louis facing Phillies ace Roy Halladay on Friday in the fifth and deciding game of their National League division series at Citizens Bank Park, the Cardinals know they have their work cut out. One of the rare players who has enjoyed recent, albeit limited, success against Halladay is Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman.