TALK OF THE TOWN.(Local) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Norm Clarke

The owner of a LoDo nightclub said Monday he had a man partying with the Colorado Avalanche bounced from the establishment after the customer threw a drink on a female bartender.

Drew Adelman of Polly Esther's, a popular new disco club near Coors Field, said the incident occurred Saturday night. Adelman said he was certain the ejected patron was a member of the Avalanche because he was with a large group of the players.

He said the man tossed the drink after complaining the service was too slow.

Avalanche veteran Claude Lemieux, reached in Boston with the team late Monday, said, ``Something did happen with someone that I know, but I'm not going to rat. I'm a peacemaker. I tried to settle the issue.''

Before throwing the drink on the bartender, Adelman said the reveler told her, ``I don't have to wait for service in my country.''

After the man was thrown out, he pulled out a $100 bill and ``tried to negotiate his way back in by offering it as a tip to the bartender.''

``That stuff won't be tolerated,'' said Adelman.

Uneasy rider - It was about 20 years ago when Peg Warren Reed, a semiprofessional actress, boarded a shuttle plane in Aspen for a trip back to Denver after doing a TV commercial.

Preoccupied with some paperwork, Reed didn't look up when a passenger sat in the aisle seat next to her. During a very bumpy flight, the passenger repeatedly reached across her to plug in an oxygen mask.

``The plug kept coming out, so I plugged it in the last two to three times,'' Reed said. ``But I was getting exasperated and I whirled around and looked at him.''

She found herself face-to-face with Jack Nicholson, who was more than a little under the weather from the flight - and who knows what else. Reed said she started complimenting him on his movies - Five Easy Pieces and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

But Nicholson was too green around the gills for chitchat.

``Well, honey, you want to know the toughest thing I've done in the last five years?

``Riding on this bleep-damn plane.''

The Scene and Heard - Mayor Wellington Webb was aboard a plane among the Air Force One fleet that made an emergency landing Wednesday in Accra, Ghana, because of a mechanical problem. Webb was a member of the U.S. delegation that was joining President Clinton for his South African leg of his six-country African tour. . . . The folks at 9th Avenue West are positively giddy over their April 17-18 booking of the New Morty Show, an acclaimed San Francisco swing band. How good is this act? In the words of the late Herb Caen, the San Francisco Chronicle's legendary man-about-town, Morty Okin and Connie Champagne ``do the best duets since Louis Prima and Keely Smith in the golden era of Las Vegas lounge acts. Not to be missed, lounge lizards.'' Reservations: 572-8006. . . . Impulse Theater, after 12 years of being known as Comedy Sports, launches its new name with an April Fool's Day romp through four downtown restaurants. You can catch the 15-member troupe doing gigs Wednesday at Wynkoop Brewing Co., Old Chicago, Rock Bottom and Paramount Cafe. . . . Get-well wishes to Denver jazz pianist and singing legend Ellyn Rucker, who is recovering from a heart attack. . . . Thank you, Donna Dewey, for putting some pizzazz in my resume. Not every ink-stained wretch can make the claim ``directed by an Oscar winner.'' Six years ago, Dewey directed a commercial for the Rocky Mountain News that included my slam-dunking ability (OK, so there was a ladder involved) and some other trickery showing a basketball spinning on my finger that put Dan Issel to shame.

The Punch Line - File this under Typos We Love Seeing Other People Make: ``An open house is scheduled for Dec. 12-13. . . . a live flamingo guitarist will play both days.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo (2)

Jack Nicholson.

UMaine capsules - Bangor Daily News (Bangor, ME)

Men's hockey

MAINE vs. NORTHEASTERN

Time, site: Saturday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 8-7-1 (6-4-1 Hockey East); Northeastern 6-7-1 (4-6-1)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 47-40-15, NU 5-2 on Nov. 14

Key players: Maine - RW Gustav Nyquist (11 goals, 13 assists), LWBrian Flynn (4 & 12), C Tanner House (7 & 6), LW Spencer Abbott (4 &9), D Will O'Neill (4 & 9), D Jeff Dimmen (2 & 6), G Scott Darling(8-3-1, 2.59 goals-against average, .909 save percentage); NU - RWGarrett Vermeersch (4 & 6), RW Kyle Kraemer (5 & 4), LW Wade MacLeod(4 & 5), C Alex Tuckerman (3 & 4), D Jake Newton (2 & 5), G BryanMountain (1-1, 1.86, .905), G Chris Rawlings (5-6-1, 2.95, .913)

Outlook: Maine has won four in a row and is unbeaten in five (4-0-1) while Greg Cronin's Huskies are 3-2-1 in their last six. NU is1-5-1 on the road. Maine is 5-2-1 at home. However, Northeastern haswon its last three games at Alfond Arena and four of its last five.Rawlings and Mountain are freshmen so whoever starts will be makinghis Alfond Arena debut. Maine will look to exploit thatinexperience. NU has scored two goals or less in eight of its last11 games. The Huskies are talented and will work hard and finishtheir checks. The Bears will have to match their intensity and grit.Maine has allowed just four goals in its last four games. Croninfeels his team will have to play a strong defensive game and stayout of the penalty box. The teams split a Nov. 13-14 series inBoston and the team that won the special teams battle won the game.

Men's basketball

MAINE vs. KENNESAW STATE

Time, site: Sunday, 1 p.m.; Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 4-4; Kennesaw State 4-4

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 1-0; Maine 60-47 Nov. 15, 2008

Key players: Maine - 6-3 G Gerald McLemore (16.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg,1.5 apg), 6-7 F Sean McNally (12.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg), 6-3 G TerranceMitchell (10.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.3 apg), 6-5 G Junior Bernal (9.4 ppg,5.6 rpg, 3.1 rpg), 6-7 F Troy Barnies (7.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg), 6-7 FMurphy Burnatowski (4.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.6 apg); Kennesaw State - 6-7 F Markeith Cummings (17.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.3 apg), 6-3 G KurtisWoods (13.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.4 apg), 6-6 F Jon-Michael Nickerson(12.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.4 apg), 6-0 G Kelvin McConnell (8.8 ppg, 2.8apg), 6-9 F LaDaris Green (7.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg), 6-9 F Matt Heramb (7.1ppg, 3.6 rpg)

Outlook: The Black Bears are coming off a record-setting victoryin which they scored 133 points against the UMPI Owls, but pointswill be much harder to come by against these Owls, who Maine beat ontheir home court in the 100 Club Championship tourney title gamelast year. The KSU Owls have good size and should give Maine a toughbattle inside. KSU takes care of the ball with just 12.8 turnoversper game, so Maine will have to continue to cut down its turnovers.The Owls are scoring 76.8 points and grabbing 36.5 rebounds pergame.

Women's basketball

MAINE vs. QUINNIPIAC

Time, site: Saturday, noon; TD Bank Sports Center, Hamden, Conn.

Records: Maine 2-5; Quinnipiac 2-5

Series, last meeting: Quinnipiac leads 1-0, QU 70-49 on 11/24/07

Key players: Maine - 6-0 F Samantha Wheeler (10.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg,.490 FG pct.), 5-9 G Amanda Tewksbury (9.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.9 spg), 5-5 G Kristin Baker (9.1 ppg, 3.6 apg), 6-2 F Corinne Wellington (7.8ppg, 3.8 rpg), 5-9 G Katelyn Vanderhoff (4.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.9 apg),5-11 F Katia Bratishko (4.6 ppg, .870 FT pct.); Quinnipiac - 6-3 CCourtney Kaminski (11.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.2 bpg), 6-1 G KathleenNeyens (11.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg), 5-7 G Felicia Barron (10.8 ppg, 4.5 apg,2.5 spg), 5-11 F Jacinda Dunbar (9.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), 6-1 F Jacki Mann(5.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg)

Hastings joins SRU sevens push - The Scotsman

GAVIN Hastings has joined the Scottish Rugby Union as a'commercial manager' as part of a revamp to the game of sevens.

Scotland will compete in the full IRB World Sevens Series at leastfor the next two seasons, with Rob Moffat, the former Glasgow andBorders assistant coach, and sevens chief for the past three years,becoming the first full-time national sevens coach.

He will be assisted by part-time manager and physio PeterGallagher and Stevie Mutch, with former Scotland and Lions full-backHastings operating on a commission basis with a wide remit to attractsponsorship and other commercial support for the sevens squad. TheIRB's investment in travel and accommodation for competing nations,and help from other sources, such as the Commonwealth Games Councilfor Scotland - as sevens features in the Games - ensures that thismajor push by the SRU into the abbreviated form of rugby will notmean a significant change in Murrayfield funding, but Hastings haspledged to come up with extra finance through the sevens exploits.

He admitted: 'It is nice to be involved with the game in anofficial capacity because I've always wanted to be; I've always beenenthusiastic about helping Scottish rugby.

'I couldn't say they came knocking on my door, exactly, but frombeing in Hong Kong and at other events around the world I could seethe potential for support for Scotland. The sevens team didbrilliantly out there this year and it's a positive aspect of ourgame that we have to build on and maximise.'

With the A matches still sidelined, Ian McGeechan believes thesevens arena could provide a valuable testing ground for up-and-coming internationals. He said: 'This gives us a world-classcompetitive level - a concentrated run of eight tournaments that says'you have to deliver' - and I feel that's what we've been missing inthe past.

'Out of this you get more players who grow up quicker, and that'sbeen a weakness for us. They get further down the line before theserious questions, mental, physical and skill-wise, are being asked.We have a lot of talented players, but what we need to do is have astructure where the only limit to the player's ambition is himself,and the structure won't let him down. We haven't had that.'

McGeechan insisted that this new support for sevens followed hisown philosophy, stressing that Scotland qualified for the World Cup,to be held in Hong Kong next March, 'a task that had been beyond usfour years previously'. It remains a fact, however, that Scotland'sfailure to qualify for the last World Cup came when he was nationalcoach and at a time when neither he nor Jim Telfer, the SRU directorof rugby, put sevens development high on the agenda.

There was also a pledge from Moffat, in his wider role as 'sevensprogramme manager', to develop club and youth sevens, and a youngdevelopment team will compete at Selkirk Sevens this weekend to beginpreparations for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Australia inDecember.

Meanwhile, Steve Bates, the new Borders coach, has left leadingplayers Chris Cusiter and Bruce Douglas out of his team to play atLeeds tonight to help national coach Matt Williams.

Williams has put many of the Test squad on new strength andconditioning programmes in an effort to build them up, and also askedthat they be released from pre-season games to ensure they can stickwithin the SRU's new 30-game limit for top players.

Bates said: 'We're keen to support the Scotland effort. [Leavingplayers out] is part of the very positive attitude we are trying totake towards Scotland's international preparations.

'We're also talking to several players and might be able to boostthe size of our squad. We could suffer severely during the autumninternationals but the Union is very supportive of us and has assuredus that there will be funds to get us through.'

IRB World Sevens Series: Dubai (2/3 December), George, SouthAfrica (10/11 December), Wellington (4/5 February), Los Angeles (12/13 February), Hong Kong (World Cup 18-20 March), Singapore (mid-April), Bordeaux and London (dates to be confirmed).

Scotland Sevens squad: J Beattie (GHA and Glasgow), P Boston(unattached), K Brown (Borders/Scottish Institute of Sport), ATurnbull, J Weston (both Borders), D Burns, N Cochrane, A Nash(Watsonians), D Callam (Edinburgh/SIS), O Brown, M Clapperton, RCouper (all Boroughmuir), S Duffy (Glasgow Hawks/Glasgow), I Fairley(Kelso), D Gray (Gala), C Gregor (Watsonians/Glasgow), C Keenan(unattached), C Laidlaw (Jed-Forest), M Lee (Army), A MacDonald(Heriot's/Edinburgh), C MacRae (Borders/SIS), R Reid (Golden Lions),K Sinclair (Glasgow Hawks), A Strokosch (Edinburgh/SIS).

Scotland Development squad (to play at Selkirk Sevens, Sunday, 29August): S Crombie (Kirkcaldy), C Dunlop (Durham University), J Hood(Stewart's-Melville FP), A Hutt (Dunfermline), T Jericevich (AberdeenGSFP), C Johnston (Merchiston Castle School), J King (Berwick andBorders) capt, D McCall (Stewart's-Melville College), R Rennie(Stewart's-Melville FP), G Ryan (Ellon).

Obituaries in the News - AP Online

Umberto Abronzino

ONEONTA, N.Y. (AP) - Umberto Abronzino, whose lifelong dedication to soccer earned him a spot in the National Soccer Hall of Fame, has died. He was 85.

Abronzino died Saturday in San Jose, Calif. A cause of death has not been released, said Jack Huckel, director of the Hall of Fame museum in Oneonta.

Abronzino immigrated to the United States in 1937 from his native Italy, where he was an accomplished player, and continued playing in the Hartford, Conn., area. He moved to the San Francisco area in 1952 and organized the Peninsula Soccer League, serving in a number of roles.

Abronzino was an officer in the California Soccer Association. He also helped organize California North Youth Soccer, served on the U.S. Soccer National Amateur Cup's organizing committee and worked as a referee. He was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1971.

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Dick Dickey

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Dick Dickey, who starred on North Carolina State's Final Four team in 1950 before playing briefly for the Boston Celtics, has died. He was 79.

Dickey died Monday at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis from complications of recent lung surgery, the university said.

In his four years at N.C. State from 1947-50, the Wolfpack went 107-22. Dickey, a 6-foot-2 forward, was part of the team that lost to eventual champion City College in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

The 1947 Wolfpack team introduced to college the tradition of cutting down nets, a celebration that originated in Indiana high schools.

Dickey was drafted in the third round by the NBA's Baltimore Bullets. He played the 1950-51 season with the Anderson Packers and the next season with the Celtics, averaging 2.8 points.

He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

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Kevin Herlihy

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Kevin Herlihy, who pitched New Zealand to two world softball championships, has died. He was 58.

Softball New Zealand said that Herlihy died Wednesday of a heart attack.

Herlihy competed in six world championships, beginning in 1966, and helped New Zealand win in 1976 and again in 1984 when he threw a perfect game.

While playing in the United States, Herlihy won two U.S. men's club championships with the Saginaw Bolters, and was twice chosen as league pitcher of the year. He was New Zealand player of the year three times, and won six New Zealand championships.

Herlihy was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990, and the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame in 1991.

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W.W. 'Bill' Finlator

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Rev. W.W. 'Bill' Finlator, an outspoken Baptist minister who championed civil rights during the 1960s, has died. He was 93.

Finlator, who died Monday of pneumonia after a period of poor health, was pastor at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh for 26 years until he retired in 1982. A white man who spoke up for civil rights from his pulpit, he also openly opposed the Vietnam War. In retirement, he was an activist against war, poverty and capital punishment.

'He thought of himself as imitating Jesus, and trying to bring justice to the poor and peace to the world,' his son, Raleigh lawyer Wallace Finlator Jr. said.

A Louisburg native, the minister had congregations in Pittsboro, Weldon and Elizabeth City before coming to Pullen.

He once asked the federal government to cut funding to the University of North Carolina system on grounds that it hadn't made progress in racial integration. The view angered some faculty at N.C. State University, which is near the church.

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Kenneth Lay

HOUSTON (AP) - Kenneth Lay, the founder of Enron Corp. who was convicted of helping perpetuate one of the most sprawling business frauds in U.S. history, has died in Aspen, Colo. He was 64.

An autopsy showed Lay died Wednesday of heart disease, Mesa County Coroner Dr. Robert Kurtzman said.

Lay was convicted May 25 along with former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling of defrauding investors and employees by repeatedly lying about Enron's financial strength in the months before the company plummeted into bankruptcy protection in December 2001.

Lay was also convicted in a separate non-jury trial of bank fraud and making false statements to banks, charges related to his personal finances.

Prosecutors in Lay's trial declined comment Wednesday, both on his unexpected death and what may become of the government's effort to seek a $43.5 million judgment from Lay that they say he pocketed as part of the conspiracy. Lay's death will not affect their case against Skilling.

Both were scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23. Lay faced decades in prison, as does Skilling.

Lay led Enron's meteoric rise from a staid natural gas pipeline company formed by a 1985 merger to an energy and trading conglomerate that reached No. 7 on the Fortune 500 in 2000 and claimed $101 billion in annual revenues. Lay traveled in the highest business and political circles.

For many years, his corporation was the single biggest contributor to President Bush, who nicknamed him 'Kenny Boy.'

But Enron collapsed after it was revealed the company's finances were based on a web of fraudulent partnerships and schemes, not the profits that it reported to investors and the public.

Both he and Skilling maintained that there had been no wrongdoing at Enron, and that the company had been brought down by negative publicity that undermined investors' confidence.

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Philip Rieff

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philip Rieff, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist who was one of the first scholars to explore Sigmund Freud's impact on Western culture, has died. He was 83.

A cultural theorist once married to Susan Sontag, Rieff died Saturday of heart failure at his Philadelphia home, his family said.

Rieff argued that the traditional function of culture - to teach morality - has been supplanted in modern times by the notion that culture exists merely for personal gratification. The first volume of his master work, 'Sacred Order/Social Order: My Life Among the Deathworks,' was published just this year.

Rieff, who taught at Penn from 1961 until his 1992 retirement, started his career at the University of Chicago.

His standout reputation led the 17-year-old Sontag to audit his Kafka class. They married 10 days later, an eight-year union that produced one child, the journalist David Rieff. Sontag died in December 2004.

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Pierre Rinfret

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Pierre Rinfret, the economist and political neophyte whose 1990 defeat against Mario Cuomo was the worst in modern times for a Republican candidate for governor in New York, has died. He was 82.

Rinfret died June 29 of heart-related problems on Nantucket, where he and his wife of more than 57 years had lived since 1991, his son, businessman Peter Alan Rinfret, said Wednesday. He had been briefly hospitalized at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where he died, his son said.

The Manhattan-based Rinfret agreed to become the GOP candidate for governor after party leaders failed to find any well-known and politically experienced challenger to Cuomo. He collected just 22 percent of the vote in 1990 as Cuomo easily won a third term. A Conservative Party challenger, Herbert London, captured 21 percent of the vote.

His campaign for governor became something resembling comedic theater. He spent almost as much time criticizing state GOP leaders - many of whom had walked away from his candidacy after he balked at self-financing the effort - as he did attacking Cuomo, who largely ignored his Republican challenger.

On 2 - Winnipeg Free Press

Wonky hammy sidelines Mets' Martinez

MIAMI -- Pedro Martinez will be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks with what the New York Mets said was a mild strain of his left hamstring.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the Mets' game against the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night.

Martinez was injured Tuesday night, returned to New York and was examined by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

'It doesn't look good,' manager Willie Randolph said before the diagnosis was announced by Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz. 'He said he heard a pop, and that is not a good thing. It could have just been a combination of a real bad cramp or a strain. 'Any time a pitcher pulls a hamstring, that is usually automatic DL.'

Wickenheiser makes SI's list

of toughest jocks

Canadian women's hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser ranked 20th on Sports Illustrated's list of the 25 toughest athletes, posted on its website Tuesday.

Golf superstar Tiger Woods was ranked first overall.

Wickenheiser, from Shaunavon, Sask., was the second of two women on the list, coming in behind British triathlete Chrissie Wellington, who was No. 10.

'No player in women's hockey drives to the net with such purpose and fury,' the website says of Wickenheiser. 'Wickenheiser has grown from teen phenom to grande dame of Canadian hockey, carrying the weight of her country and game every time on the ice. Sadly, she isn't allowed to body check.'

Musher Lance Mackey was second, mixed martial arts fighter Anderson Silva was third, NFLer Bob Sanders was fourth and hulking Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara was fifth.

Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson was the top NBAer, at No. 7, while San Francisco Giants centre-fielder Aaron Rowand was the top baseball player, at No. 17.

On Wednesday Wickenheiser scored a natural hat trick in Canada's 6-1 win over Sweden in exhibition women's hockey in Harbin, China.

The game was a World Women's Hockey Championship warmup for both countries. Canada, the reigning Olympic and world champions, opens defence of its world title Friday against Russia.

The Swedes, who won bronze last year in Winnipeg and silver in the 2006 Olympics, start the tournament against promoted Japan.

-- The Canadian Press

Fenerbahce nips Chelsea in first leg stunner

LONDON -- Deivid de Souza scored a late goal Wednesday to give Fenerbahce a 2-1 upset over Chelsea, and Liverpool got a crucial away goal in its 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Deivid gave Chelsea the lead with an own-goal in the 13th minute, but he then scored with a dramatic shot from distance in the 81st to give the Turkish team a win in its first appearance in the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition.

Five-time European champion Liverpool came back with a 26th-minute goal from Dirk Kuyt to get its draw at English rival Arsenal after Emmanuel Adebayor put the hosts ahead three minutes earlier. The teams will play again in the second leg on Tuesday, with the winners facing each other later this month in the semifinals.

'We are in a good position, playing at Anfield with our supporters who are a massive difference,' Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. 'But against a good team with the quality you could see today we need to play counter-attack and working very hard in defence.'

Chelsea took the lead at Sukru Saracoglu stadium when Deivid deflected a cross from Florent Malouda into his own net. But Kazim Kazim equalized in the 65th by beating the offside trap and beating Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

'We are strong enough at home,' Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack said. 'Everything is in our hands.'

Chelsea almost scored a goal of its own in the 26th when a header by Frank Lampard went wide. Didier Drogba then had a close-range shot saved by goalkeeper Volkan Demirel in the 29th.

'Normally it's a good result to lose 2-1 away from home, but because we played the better football, we are disappointed,' Chelsea manager Avram Grant said.

Kuyt scored for Liverpool by sliding inside the 6-yard box and deflecting in a cross from captain Steve Gerrard, three minutes after Adebayor had given the hosts the lead at the Emirates Stadium with a header off a cross from Robin van Persie. Emmanuel Eboue nearly scored another for Arsenal, but Martin Skrtel cleared it off the line with Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina beaten.

This was the first of three matches between Arsenal and Liverpool in six days.

-- The Associated Press

Condition improving,

but Koskie still can't play

MINNEAPOLIS -- Corey Koskie came to the Metrodome on Wednesday, and he didn't get sick.

That's not a joke about the dingy stadium the Minnesota Twins are two years from leaving. That's an accomplishment for the 34-year-old native of Anola who wants to be a third baseman in the major leagues again despite persistent post-concussion symptoms that won't let him.

The last time Koskie showed up at the Dome to see his old teammates, his daily nemeses -- dizziness and nausea -- told him it was time to go back home.

That was last summer, so he's clearly making progress. He's able to play catch and goof around with his three very active sons, ages seven, five and three, and drive them to and from school in their suburban community in the Twin Cities area. But visual stimuli still give him trouble. When he walks from a confined space to a large, open area, he often feels wobbly. Actual baseball activities are currently out of the question.

'I want to get to the point where I can go run and exercise and not think about it,' said Koskie, who had lunch with former teammate Torii Hunter and brought the new Angels centre-fielder to the ballpark. Koskie was in a chatty mood, talking to a small group of reporters for more than 15 minutes after catching up with Twins players, coaches and employees.

NYC: THE HOTTEST TOWN FOR DOING THE COOLEST THINGS - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

Hot town summer in the city

The Lovin' Spoonful

Yes, New York can be a tad warm in summer, but, culturallyspeaking, it will always be one of the world's coolest cities. Hereare some of the latest offers:

A decent hotel room in the city starting at $100 or so is stillpossible, although rates may be higher depending on date and roomchoice. The Apple Core Hotels group, for instance, consists of fivereasonably priced properties: La Quinta Inn Manhattan (17 West 32dSt.), Red Roof Inn Manhattan (6 West 32d St.), the smoke-free ComfortInn Midtown (129 West 46th St.), Super 8 Hotel Times Square (59 West46th St.), and the Ramada Inn East Side (161 Lexington Ave.).

Call 800-567-7720 or visit www.applecorehotels.com.

If you have an American Express card, a NYC Summer Breakspromotion gives you complimentary room upgrades at the Muse, theWellington, and the Dylan hotels; special admission to suchattractions as the American Folk Art Museum, Bronx Museum of Arts,the Skyscraper Museum, Wave Hill, and Whitney Museum of American Art;offers on activities from Shearwater Sailing, Central Park BicycleTours & Rentals, Liberty Helicopters, and Walkin' Broadway; theaterdiscounts for 'Chicago,' 'Good Vibrations,' 'Hairspray,' 'TheProducers,' and 'Sweet Charity'; and 15 percent off the lunch ordinner bill at La Prima Donna, Mare Seafood Restaurant, Nino'sPositano, Piccolo, Riingo, and Stage Delicatessen & Restaurant. Alongwith the AMEX card, you need a Summer Breaks Savings Card, which canbe printed out at www.nycvisit.com. The offers are good through Sept.5.

You pay for the privilege, but the Ritz-Carlton Hotels of New Yorkand creators of the NBC Studio Tour have come up with a two-hour VIPtour limited to six people at a time that provides access to areas ofthe studio the public never sees, including studios of the 'Today'show, 'Saturday Night Live,' sports shows, Conan O'Brien's and BrianWilliams's shows, and the control room. The package includes anight's accommodation, a digital photo of you on one of the sets, anNBC gift bag, and complimentary admission to the Rockefeller Centertour. The price starts at $1,499 per couple at the Ritz-Carlton NewYork, Battery Park, and $1,799 at the Ritz-Carlton New York, CentralPark.

Visit www.ritzcarlton.com or call 800-241-3333., For shoppers,Swissotel The Drake and Bloomingdale's present the Great ShoppingSpree Package. Included are an exclusive Bloomingdale's specialsavings package, deluxe accommodations, a buffet breakfast for two,complimentary use of the health club, and a welcome amenity. Thepackage, from $319 per night through Sept. 5, includes an executivesuite. Call 888-73-SWISS (737-9477) or visit www.swissotel.com.

One way to get the youngsters pumped up about a trip is to keepthem informed about the destination. 'We're There! New York City'(KidQuest LLC, $6.99) by Elizabeth Skinner Grumbach is a colorful 32-page book with puzzles, games, and questions aimed at the preteenset. Other books in the series center on Boston, Washington, andRhode Island, with more volumes in the works.

Fill 'er up

Through Aug. 31, visitors to Stowe, Vt., can get a complimentarytank of gas for the drive back. The Free Ride Home package isavailable with a stay of at least three nights at participatingproperties. Package prices start at $300.

(The fine print: The offer must be mentioned when booking andcannot be combined with other offers or discounts.)

Visit www.gostowe.com or call 800-24-STOWE.

Numbers game

If you're celebrating a wedding anniversary, French CountryWaterways will reward you with a discount of 5 to 50 percent on itsluxury barge cruises. Discounts are given in sequences of five: 5percent off for your fifth anniversary, 10 percent for the 10th, allthe way to half off for the 50th. The cruises, which have weeklydepartures through Oct. 26, regularly cost $3,495-$4,995 per person.

Call 800-222-1236 or visit www.fcwl.com.

U2 in Vegas

Adventures in Rock is offering a package that includes premiumseats to the U2 show Nov. 5 at MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas, anight's accommodation, and a preshow party. The price is $990;additional hotel nights are available.

Call 877-788-ROCK or visit www.adventuresinrock.com.

40 percent savings

Buy weekend passes to the 30th Annual New Hampshire Highland Gamesby next Sunday (July 31) and save 40 percent off gate ticket prices.The advance price is $25 for daytime fairground events Sept. 23-25,including Celtic concerts, a ceremonial Gathering of the ScottishClans and Massed Pipe Bands, as well as workshops of whiskey tasting,Scottish history, and Scottish country and Cape Breton dance. Otherevents: Scottish heavy athletics, sheep dog trials, Highland dance,and fiddle, bagpipe, drumming, and harp competitions. Children under12 attend free when accompanied by an adult.

Call 800-358-SCOT (7268) or visit www.nhscot.org.

POWER STRUGGLES IN GIANTLAND - The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

VINNY DiTRANI
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
01-05-1997
POWER STRUGGLES IN GIANTLAND
By VINNY DiTRANI
Date: 01-05-1997, Sunday
Section: SPORTS
Edition: All Editions -- Sunday
Column: NFC NOTEBOOK

Clearing up a few Giants' issues of years past.

The popular perception has been that general manager George Young
wanted to jettison Bill Parcells following the dismal 1983 season and
replace him with Howard Schnellenberger, then the coach at the
University of Miami.

According to several club sources, however, it was Tim Mara, then a
team co-owner, who wanted Parcells gone. And he started making his
demands before the 1983 season had ended, and Young actually had to
fight to keep Parcells in command.

'Tim went into George's office and was pounding on his desk,' said
one source. 'He wanted Bill out. George fought him off.

'George went to Bill and asked him to come up with a detailed plan
on exactly how he was going to turn things around. And he [Young] got
what he called one of the best organized and thought-out plans he'd ever
seen.'

Ironically, Parcells and Tim Mara, who died in May 1995, went on to
become strong allies and close friends. The same couldn't be said for
Parcells and Young, in part because the GM reportedly offered
Schnellenberger a five-year, $2.25 million deal to take over if Parcells
eventually failed.

When Young was looking for someone to replace Ray Handley following
the 1992 season, he refused to call Parcells, a free agent who had left
the team in May 1991, after a second Super Bowl win. Team president
Wellington Mara did call Parcells, but only to wish him a happy holiday
season.

And speaking about that last coaching search . . .

Dan Reeves actually was Young's fourth choice, not his third after
he was turned down by Boston College coach Tom Coughlin and Dallas
defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt, who opted for the Chicago Bears'
opening. According to a source, Young had Dallas offensive coordinator
Norv Turner penciled in as his No. 3 man, but never followed through on
him.

His reasoning, said the source, was that since head coach Jimmy
Johnson and owner Jerry Jones had teamed to steer Wannstedt away from
the Giants, they would do the same with Turner. And Young didn't want to
waste any more time going that route.

Johnson in particular didn't want Wannstedt -- with whom he was
very close -- coaching against him in the same division. Ironically,
Turner wound up in the NFC East at Washington one year later.

* * *

Controversy swirled all week around one of the teams in today's NFC
playoff game. And the Dallas Cowboys had some troubles of their own,
too.

The Carolina Panthers, considered to be the squeaky clean entry in
today's contest, had a few bumps in their preparation week for the game
against the defending Super Bowl champions. First defensive end Shawn
King, one of the young pass-rushing prospects on the defensive line, was
suspended by head coach Dom Capers for the game because he repeatedly
showed up late for team meetings.

Meanwhile, Blake Brockermeyer, one of the Panthers' three
first-round draft picks in 1995, spoke out on his inability to return to
the starting lineup after suffering a broken left thumb in late
November.

Brockermeyer, considered one of the better young offensive tackles
in the league, has been fitted with several different casts and could
play. But Capers has decided to keep former tight end Matthew Campbell
and rookie Norberto Garrido as his starting tackles.

'It's something I'll just have to live with,' Brockermeyer said,
'but I won't forget this.'

And they think they have things bad in Valley Ranch.

'This is a game where you put together a lot of individuals, and
things happen,' said quarterback Kerry Collins. 'Things happen that are
out of my control and a lot of the guys' control, so what do you do? You
can sit here and dwell on it, but I don't think that would do any good.
We've got to focus on the Cowboys and try to just play our best game and
kind of forget about everything else.'

* * *

There might be a little Richard Jewell replay in this latest
Cowboys incident involving Michael Irvin and Erik Williams. Now that the
Dallas police have 'slowed down' their investigation, and haven't
decided if they even are going to interview the two players allegedly
involved, you have to wonder if:

A. They don't want to hurt the Cowboys' chances against the
Panthers by keeping either or both from playing.

B. The videotape evidence they claimed they had, the one that
'shows' Irvin's voice at the scene, perhaps isn't as solid as first
thought.

C. Questions about the background of the woman who made the
complaint might hurt her credibility.

D. All of the above.

This is not to say Irvin or Williams have been wronged. Certainly
their backgrounds make them prime suspects in this sort of incident.

But this case -- and the one involving the Philadelphia Eagles'
practice squad player who allegedly assaulted a woman in California last
weekend -- certainly shows today's professional athlete has to be on his
best behavior at all times.

Somehow, however, it seems unlikely that message will get through.

Keywords: FOOTBALL. PROFESSIONAL

Copyright 1997 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.