Timex

SEBASTIANO "SAM" Braccia and Anthony "Tony" Watson were unlikely friends. Braccia, 64, silver-maned and stocky, speaks slowly and with a heavy accent. He made millions building houses and shopping centers in Montgomery County after emigrating more than 30 years ago from Abruzzi in central Italy. He seems to take his wealth in stride. He drives a pickup truck and wears an inexpensive Timex watch. Watson, 33, silver-necklaced and tall, speaks rapidly and with a lisp, his speech at times seeming to outrace his thoughts.

I like beer. On occasion I will even drink a beer, to celebrate a major event such as the fall of communism or the fact that our refrigerator is still working. So you'd think I'd be receptive to TV beer commercials. Most of these have the same plot: Some guys open some beers, and instantly the commercial is overrun by friendly semi-naked young women resembling Barbie but taller and less intellectual. If you just got here from Mars, you wouldn't know, from watching these commercials, that beer is meant for internal consumption.

The Christiana Care Cup cycling race in Wilmington reaches the finish with Denmark's Tayeb Brakia (right), of Team Acceptcard, ahead of the pack. Second place yesterday went to Jan Svorada of Mapei-Bricobi, and U.S. Postal Service rider George Hincapie was third. The winner of the women's First Union Wilmington Classic was Kendra Wenzel of Saeco-Timex. Marie Holjer of Ralph's Klein was second, and Dede Demet of Saturn third. The dual races were part of the First Union Cycling Festival leading up to Sunday's U.S. Pro Championships in Philadelphia.

Security guard cleared in nail-clipper beating A jury yesterday acquitted a Detroit drugstore security guard accused of beating a woman who used nail clippers to trim a hangnail without paying for them clippers. The Wayne County jury deliberated about 20 minutes before finding Adriane Ishmael, 33, of Detroit innocent of felonious assault, said her attorney, William Mitchell III. Ishmael was accused of assaulting Gail Hardy, 47, on Feb. 21, 2000 at a Rite Aid in Detroit.

Oh no, not another cyber-thriller: the urgent clickety-clack of computer keyboards, frantic geeks thumbing their PDAs, evil Web wizards deploying viral downloads, server farms put out of service by a dastardly ring of digital terrorists. And who's going to save the day? John McClane, that two-fisted, old-school New York City cop from a trio of vintage Die Hards , that's who. The guy probably doesn't even own a PC. In Live Free or Die Hard , the fourth installment in Bruce Willis' blow-'em-up blockbuster franchise - and the first in 12 long years - gigabytes and fisticuffs collide.

OSAMA BIN LACKING? A reliable source (well, OK, a supermarket tabloid company) has suggested that Osama bin Laden developed an inferiority complex years ago when a young woman insulted his manhood. The tabloid reports indicated that bin Laden hadn't . . . inherited as much as he might have liked. That he . . . came up short in certain areas. That he . . . Oh, you get the picture. Such a complex would answer many questions about bin Laden, such as: Why do those guys hate women so much?

Oh no, not another cyber-thriller: the urgent clickety-clack of computer keyboards, frantic geeks thumbing their PDAs, evil Web wizards deploying viral downloads, server farms put out of service by a dastardly ring of digital terrorists. And who's going to save the day? John McClane, that two-fisted, old-school New York City cop from a trio of vintage Die Hards , that's who. The guy probably doesn't even own a PC. In Live Free or Die Hard , the fourth installment in Bruce Willis' blow-'em-up blockbuster franchise - and the first in 12 long years - gigabytes and fisticuffs collide.

Oh no, not another cyber-thriller: the urgent clickety-clack of computer keyboards, frantic geeks thumbing their PDAs, evil Web wizards deploying viral downloads, server farms put out of service by a dastardly ring of digital terrorists. And who's going to save the day? John McClane, that two-fisted, old school New York City cop from a trio of vintage Die Hards , that's who. The guy probably doesn't even own a PC. In Live Free or Die Hard , the fourth installment in Bruce Willis' blow-'em-up blockbuster franchise - and the first in 12 long years - gigabytes and fisticuffs collide.

A week of top-level cycling leading up to next Sunday's First Union U.S. Pro Championship race in Philadelphia will start in Wilmington today with a pair of contests: the women's First Union Wilmington Classic and the men's Christiana Care Cup. The Christiana Care Cup, with a $15,000 purse, will start at 12:30 p.m. at 10th and West Streets at DuPont Square. Among the American teams set to compete are Saturn, Mercury, Navigators, Shaklee and Nutra-Fig. U.S. Postal Service, the top U.S. team, is still racing in Europe and will not take part.

A Chester County old-timer who likes to design and sell watches has parlayed his zest for President-elect Barack Obama into the Obama inaugural watch. Mickey Orloff, 98, said yesterday from his Valley Forge home that he likes what he sees in Obama. And, he figures, why not make a little money from the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration? "I'm all cooked up about Obama," said Orloff. "I think he's our savior; I truly believe he has the talent to do what he promises to do. " The watches are to be shipped from Hong Kong by Monday.

Oh no, not another cyber-thriller: the urgent clickety-clack of computer keyboards, frantic geeks thumbing their PDAs, evil Web wizards deploying viral downloads, server farms put out of service by a dastardly ring of digital terrorists. And who's going to save the day? John McClane, that two-fisted, old-school New York City cop from a trio of vintage Die Hards , that's who. The guy probably doesn't even own a PC. In Live Free or Die Hard , the fourth installment in Bruce Willis' blow-'em-up blockbuster franchise - and the first in 12 long years - gigabytes and fisticuffs collide.

Oh no, not another cyber-thriller: the urgent clickety-clack of computer keyboards, frantic geeks thumbing their PDAs, evil Web wizards deploying viral downloads, server farms put out of service by a dastardly ring of digital terrorists. And who's going to save the day? John McClane, that two-fisted, old-school New York City cop from a trio of vintage Die Hards, that's who. The guy probably doesn't even own a PC. In Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth installment in Bruce Willis' blow-'em-up blockbuster franchise - and the first in 12 long years - gigabytes and fisticuffs collide.

Oh no, not another cyber-thriller: the urgent clickety-clack of computer keyboards, frantic geeks thumbing their PDAs, evil Web wizards deploying viral downloads, server farms put out of service by a dastardly ring of digital terrorists. And who's going to save the day? John McClane, that two-fisted, old school New York City cop from a trio of vintage Die Hards , that's who. The guy probably doesn't even own a PC. In Live Free or Die Hard , the fourth installment in Bruce Willis' blow-'em-up blockbuster franchise - and the first in 12 long years - gigabytes and fisticuffs collide.

Security guard cleared in nail-clipper beating A jury yesterday acquitted a Detroit drugstore security guard accused of beating a woman who used nail clippers to trim a hangnail without paying for them clippers. The Wayne County jury deliberated about 20 minutes before finding Adriane Ishmael, 33, of Detroit innocent of felonious assault, said her attorney, William Mitchell III. Ishmael was accused of assaulting Gail Hardy, 47, on Feb. 21, 2000 at a Rite Aid in Detroit.

DURING the airdrops of food and medicine to those escaping to safer ground in Afghanistan, some observers from aid groups have complained that they are doing more harm than good since the merchandise is stolen and sold in the marketplace, or they couldn't be retrieved due to hostilities. Although it was considered a difficult task at the start, America has at least put forth an effort to help the starving, for which we should be commended. Instead of finding fault, the other people assisting those in need should be extending words of appreciation and concentrating on ways and means of getting the urgent supplies to the people.

OSAMA BIN LACKING? A reliable source (well, OK, a supermarket tabloid company) has suggested that Osama bin Laden developed an inferiority complex years ago when a young woman insulted his manhood. The tabloid reports indicated that bin Laden hadn't . . . inherited as much as he might have liked. That he . . . came up short in certain areas. That he . . . Oh, you get the picture. Such a complex would answer many questions about bin Laden, such as: Why do those guys hate women so much?

SEBASTIANO "SAM" Braccia and Anthony "Tony" Watson were unlikely friends. Braccia, 64, silver-maned and stocky, speaks slowly and with a heavy accent. He made millions building houses and shopping centers in Montgomery County after emigrating more than 30 years ago from Abruzzi in central Italy. He seems to take his wealth in stride. He drives a pickup truck and wears an inexpensive Timex watch. Watson, 33, silver-necklaced and tall, speaks rapidly and with a lisp, his speech at times seeming to outrace his thoughts.

A week of top-level cycling leading up to next Sunday's First Union U.S. Pro Championship race in Philadelphia will start in Wilmington today with a pair of contests: the women's First Union Wilmington Classic and the men's Christiana Care Cup. The Christiana Care Cup, with a $15,000 purse, will start at 12:30 p.m. at 10th and West Streets at DuPont Square. Among the American teams set to compete are Saturn, Mercury, Navigators, Shaklee and Nutra-Fig. U.S. Postal Service, the top U.S. team, is still racing in Europe and will not take part.