Sweet Spot

It was one year ago that the CEO of Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack told analysts that his intent was to grow the auto-parts retailer, not sell it. Mike Odell 's comments came shortly after a Los Angeles-based private-equity firm had dropped plans to take Philadelphia-based Pep Boys private in a deal worth $15 per share. But there have been scant signs of growth in the last three years, even as the company has spent an average of $66 million annually on capital expenditures, including the conversion of stores to new formats.

SEN. RICK Santorum said he's not a hater, he's a lover. A lover of traditional marriage. Which is why, as all lovers do, he was looking for the sweet spot. Or, more precisely, the exact words that would have imposed a federal definition of marriage on the states, thereby overriding 50 pesky state constitutions, legislatures and judiciaries. But, as many lovers discover, finding that sweet spot can be tricky. And while Santorum, Bill Frist and the Alliance for Marriage keep digging around, aiming for that little "Eureka!"

IF YOU'VE SEEN the commercials for Judd Apatow's "This is 40," you may have seen Leslie Mann asking permission to touch co-star Megan Fox's famous chest. It's never a bad idea to feature Fox or her figure in a TV commercial, but in fairness to Apatow, it also happens to be one of the movie's most telling scenes. "This is 40," as the title implies, is very much a movie about fear of growing old. Mann, Apatow's real-life wife and collaborator, plays a woman turning 40, and who sees in Fox the flickering, fading ghost of bra sizes past.

Temple is going to the NCAA's Sweet 16 Friday night, drawing Purdue in East Rutherford, N.J. The Sweet 16? Aaron McKie says you need to have played for Owls coach John Chaney to understand how sweet it really is. "This is his time," McKie said proudly. "I've been telling guys that all year. He gets his players ready, plays a tough schedule, year in and year out. Playing the tougher teams during the year hardens your team, gets you prepared. "Anything can happen in the tournament.

UbiquiTel Inc., a Conshohocken wireless telephone company, reported its second profitable quarter ever yesterday, and its chief financial officer said the firm had hit "the sweet spot" and expected to remain profitable. The company netted $2.5 million on revenue of $99.9 million for the first quarter of 2005. In the same period last year, it lost $8.6 million on revenue of $81.3 million. The chief financial officer, Jim Volk, said that a year ago, UbiquiTel, which was founded in 1999 and went public in 2000, had not yet reached customer and sales levels that would allow it to make a profit.

One morning last week, a new product was being touted on the chalkboard on the sidewalk in front of Le Petit Mitron, the anomalous patisserie francaise across from the R-5 SEPTA station in the borough of Narberth. Henceforth, in addition to its celebrated croissants, its quiches and fresh-baked French pastries, it would be carrying the local honey of one Scott T. Bartow - "exclusivly. " The word had been slightly truncated, perhaps to fit as the chalk-writer ran out of room.

Night after night in Center City, versatile performer Scott Greer gravitates to a spot that may seem the least logical place for power acting - far to one side of the Arden Theatre stage, and back toward the rear. When he's there, though, he's in full command of Something Intangible, the world premiere about two Hollywood moviemaking brothers. The magic spot, the folks at the Arden call it. At the same time, eight blocks away, kinetic actor Geoff Sobelle declaims much of his Hamlet on a specific area of a jutting platform at St. Stephen's Theatre, where Lantern Theatre is presenting one of Shakespeare's greatest achievements.

Gloucester Catholic coach Dennis Barth: "One of the big things is going to be where to play your outfielders. It's going to be a lot different than it was in the past. " Cherokee coach Marc Petragnani: "If you hit the sweet spot, it will go. If you don't hit the sweet spot, it won't go. Which is the way it should be. " Bishop Eustace pitcher Keith Wallace: "You won't see all the home runs or the dinkers off the end of the bat that go over the infielder's head.

Before my athletic career was forced upon me, I was not remotely interested in sports. My dad, however, was determined. Having no sons, he was intent on all of his three girls becoming star athletes. Imagine my enthusiasm one second-grade evening when my dad came home with a brand new baseball glove that "had my name written all over it. " It was stiff, hard and complex-looking, with little leather strings tied all over it. We would mold it, he said, and make the leather nice and soft, just like his. That night, Daddy showed me how to break in my new mitt.

It was one year ago that the CEO of Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack told analysts that his intent was to grow the auto-parts retailer, not sell it. Mike Odell 's comments came shortly after a Los Angeles-based private-equity firm had dropped plans to take Philadelphia-based Pep Boys private in a deal worth $15 per share. But there have been scant signs of growth in the last three years, even as the company has spent an average of $66 million annually on capital expenditures, including the conversion of stores to new formats.

IF YOU'VE SEEN the commercials for Judd Apatow's "This is 40," you may have seen Leslie Mann asking permission to touch co-star Megan Fox's famous chest. It's never a bad idea to feature Fox or her figure in a TV commercial, but in fairness to Apatow, it also happens to be one of the movie's most telling scenes. "This is 40," as the title implies, is very much a movie about fear of growing old. Mann, Apatow's real-life wife and collaborator, plays a woman turning 40, and who sees in Fox the flickering, fading ghost of bra sizes past.

Gloucester Catholic coach Dennis Barth: "One of the big things is going to be where to play your outfielders. It's going to be a lot different than it was in the past. " Cherokee coach Marc Petragnani: "If you hit the sweet spot, it will go. If you don't hit the sweet spot, it won't go. Which is the way it should be. " Bishop Eustace pitcher Keith Wallace: "You won't see all the home runs or the dinkers off the end of the bat that go over the infielder's head.

BRUGES, Belgium - Many claim this picturesque canal-threaded city is the chocolate capital of a country obsessed with bonbons. And the thrill of wandering its ancient cobblestoned streets is to discover, bite by sweet bite, the many true artisans along with the larger companies. Famous names such as Godiva, Neuhaus, Galler, Guylian, and Leonidas are prominently situated along main shopping thoroughfares like Steenstraat. But with an astounding array of 52 chocolate shops scattered across the medieval center of the tourist-rich historic district, there are plenty of unique addresses to sample.

THERE IS AN expanding genre of movies about women who can't remember the men who can't forget them. "Away From Her," "The Notebook," "Fifty First Dates," and now "The Vow," starring Channing Tatum as Leo, a man whose crash-victim wife Paige (Rachel McAdams) can't remember their four years of marriage - in fact, can't remember him at all. Her mnemonic clock has been reset to law school, when she was single, dating a rich guy (Scott Speedman), living happily as a pampered sorority girl.

Along with an obviously well-deserved reputation as Sin City, Las Vegas has a sweet side. That would be sweet as in chocolate, caramel, marzipan, and just about anything else crammed with sugar and calories. One of the latest trends in Las Vegas are so-called sweet spots - shops that sell gourmet pastries, candies, and ice cream creations, sometimes in surroundings akin to a nightclub. The most ambitious so far is the Sugar Factory at the Paris Hotel & Casino, with a high-profile storefront along one of the busiest stretches of the Vegas Strip.

John Lennon once famously commented that the Beatles in 1966 were "more popular than Jesus. " In today's era of fleeting fame and what passes for real celebrity, few can claim a similar impact on the public consciousness. Oprah Winfrey is one. Today, the talk-show host turned media juggernaut will air her last daily talk show after 25 years of family dysfunction, celebrity soul-baring, and the occasional free car. The end of Winfrey's chat-fest leaves a gaping hole in the daytime television schedule, and will bring to an end a seemingly unending streak of memorable TV moments.

HAVEN, Wis. - I got to play Whistling Straits the day after the 2004 PGA, on one of those postcard afternoons. I don't remember every detail, but I did double-bogey the final hole for an 80. Which, by my standards, is about as good as it's going to get, keeping in mind that I don't always adhere to the Marquis of Queensbury rule book. Still, it was a keeper. What does stand out are the holes on the water. They are absolutely spectacular. At least until you have to play them.

Paul Pierce demanded the ball for the last shot. The Boston Celtics were rewarded. And the much-anticipated offseason of 2010 is closer than the Miami Heat ever wanted. Pierce's 21-foot jumper at the buzzer - with injured Heat star Dwyane Wade watching helplessly from the bench - gave the visiting Celtics a 100-98 win over Miami in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series last night. Boston leads the best-of-seven 3-0, and will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon in Miami.