Metro Briefs

NO ARRESTS IN GIRL'S SHOOTING

Chicago Police detectives have strong leads but no arrests inThursday night's apparent drive-by shooting of an 11-year-old girl,who remained hospitalized Friday in serious but stable condition. Thegirl was not the intended target in the South Side shooting, saidpolice spokeswoman Monique Bond. Shots were fired about 8:15 p.m.from a passing car in the 11400 block of South Prairie, hitting thegirl in the abdomen. In the wake of the shooting, Ald. Anthony Beale(9th) called Friday for Police Supt. Phil Cline to step down,charging the department has been ineffective in stemming violence onthe South Side and particularly in his ward. However, Bond …

OBITUARIES: ADRIAN MARROQUIN, 1943-2003

Adrian Marroquin passed away on 30 September 2003 from complications of cancer after about a half-year of chemotherapy. Almost to the end, Adrian managed to come in daily to the Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), where he had worked as a CIRA research scientist for 18 years.

Marroquin's work at FSL was concentrated in three main areas: 1) formulating and implementing numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, of one to three dimensions, both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic; 2) developing and verifying diagnostic turbulence prediction algorithms, convection and radiation parameterizations, and boundary layer formulations for NWP models; and, 3) applying dynamical meteorology and …

Ancient Phoenician pottery found in Lebanon

Archaeologists say they have unearthed pottery up to 3,000 years old in southern Lebanon that ancient Phoenicians used to bury the remains of the dead after cremation.

Archaeologist Ali Badawi tells The Associated Press that a team of Lebanese and Spanish experts discovered more than 100 earthen jars at an excavation site in the southern port city of Tyre.

…

`Gladiolas' humor wide awake // Play's poingnant scenes hit home

Amidst the Gladiolas Francine Defanie Mary Marro Sammy Lucchesse Daniel Ruben Bernard Gus Buktenica Connie Barbalottio Josette DiCarlo Maryanne Carolyn Kodes Phyllis Gilmary Doyle Rosa Patti Hannon Jenny Mary Potts A play by Vito A. Gentile Jr., directed by Joyce Fox. With sets byAnn Dillon and sound by Zachary Gass. Presented by Human MediumEnsemble at the New Lincoln Theater, 3443 N. Lincoln, 525-5104.Performances through Aug. 23. When a playbill gives as much credit to a casket as it does itsstars, you know you're in for a good time.

"Amidst the Gladiolas" is a good play on two levels. While itprojects genuine humor, the production also is poignant with …

LA Cardinal Apologizes to Plaintiffs

LOS ANGELES - Cardinal Roger Mahony, leader of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, apologized Sunday to the hundreds of people who will get a share of a $660 million settlement over allegations of clergy sex abuse.

"There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them. The one thing I wish I could give the victims ... I cannot," he said.

"Once again, I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused. It should not have happened, and it will not happen again."

Mahony said that he has met in the past 14 months with dozens of people alleging clergy abuse and that those meetings helped him understand the …

Saudi women sue male guardians who stop marriage

CAIRO (AP) — Year after year, the 42-year-old Saudi surgeon remains single, against her will. Her father keeps turning down marriage proposals, and her hefty salary keeps going directly to his bank account.

The surgeon in the holy city of Medina knows her father, also her male guardian, is violating Islamic law by forcibly keeping her single, a practice known as "adhl." So she has sued him in court, with questionable success.

Adhl cases reflect the many challenges facing single women in Saudi Arabia. But what has changed is that more women are now coming forward with their cases to the media and the law. Dozens of women have challenged their guardians in court over adhl, and …

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout

Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi

Status	Threatened
Listed	Endangered: October 13, 1970
Reclassified	Threatened: July 16, 1975
Family	Salmonidae (Trout)
Description	Green to greenish blue with a bright red cutthroat mark.
Habitat	Cool, well-oxygenated water.
Food	Aquatic insects.
Reproduction	Spawns in April and May.

RURAL IN-VESSEL COMPOSTING PLANT IN UK TO PROCESS 35,000 METRIC TONS/YEAR

Countrystyle Composting recently opened a �3 million (5.84 million USD) in-vessel composting plant in Kent, United Kingdom. Located on an eight-acre site that previously processed woody materials, the new system will process 35,000 metric tons/year, including residential and commercial food scraps. The operation has six bunkers with ventilated floors and …

Earthquake strikes southern Greece but causes no damage or injuries

An earthquake has struck southern Greece, but there have been no reports of any damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the …

My Spidey senses let me down again

I've long been a fan of natural beauty, whether it is amesmerising sunset or a stunning woman.

I was gutted when the naturally gorgeous Demi Moore went under theknife.

I suspect she was conscious of how much younger her husband AshtonKutcher is, and I'm sure she didn't have the procedure withoutcareful consideration.

But I think it has spoilt her.

She now looks like a woman who has had surgery, instead of thebeautiful, natural, foxy lady she once was.

I know I'm not the only red-blooded male who remembers her inGhost!

Sometimes, of course, you have to be up close and personal tofully appreciate somebody's natural radiance.

I was …

Oprah delves into experience of slavery for `Beloved' film

Oprah delves into experience of slavery for `Beloved' film

Kay Bourne

If what you do alters you, then Oprah is a different person because of making the movie "Beloved."

Based on Toni Morrison's emotionally wrenching yet transforming novel, the story follows Sethe, played by Winfrey, who flees slavery but cannot leave its horrors behind her.

The magnetic Winfrey, a TV talk show host who has parlayed her visibility into arenas beyond television, visited Boston last week. She wanted to excite interest in the film she has produced and stars in.

For a change of pace, the questions flowed her way.

Dressed comfortably against the fall cold in …

Altria Group buys UST for about $10.3B

After failing to grab much consumer attention for its own smokeless tobacco products, Altria Group said Monday it would buy the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen for about $10.3 billion.

Altria's acquisition of UST will give it a strong position in smokeless tobacco, a segment of the U.S. market that is growing as cigarettes decline. Altria owns the Marlboro brand and the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA.

American smokers are buying fewer cigarettes as smoking bans and health concerns dampen demand by 3 percent to 4 percent a year. That has forced tobacco companies to look for sales growth from alternatives such as cigars, chewing tobacco and …

Growers say buying W.Va. tree boosts local economy

West Virginia Christmas tree growers want you to buy a tree grownin West Virginia. Buying a tree grown in the Mountain State is aboost for the local economy, said Bob Whipkey, 64, who runs theWhipkey Tree Farm off the Big Chimney exit of Interstate 79. Yourebuying off West Virginia folks and buying West Virginia trees, hesaid. Were trying to promote that fact: first getting a real treeand buying from a West Virginia tree farmer. Customers should makesure the trees they buy are not shipped in from out of state,suggested Donald Farley, manager of Lillys Landscaping nearPrinceton. Were just plain against out-of-state trees, he said. Ourmotto is: if you dont have a West Virginia tree, take it somewhereelse. While there are several small farms in the state, the majorityof Christmas trees sold come from out of state, said Ed Grafton, aBraxton County tree farmer. Most of them that come into this stateare for the big retailers like Walmart and Lowes, Grafton said. Hesaid there currently arent enough small farms in the state tosatisfy the demands that those larger retailers have from theirsuppliers, so most trees sold in the state come from North Carolina,Michigan and Oregon. Theyre looking for 100,000 of trees or morethat are marketable, so youve got to have a big farm to have thatmany trees that are marketable, Grafton said, noting it would take a300- to 400-acre farm to meet that need. He said the tree growersorganization is working with the West Virginia University ExtensionService to promote tree farms throughout the state. We need toexpand the growers in the state thats what wed really like to do,he said. Our goal is to get enough growers around to get a localtree farm within 25 miles of anyone in the state.

Obituaries in the news

Claude William Black Jr.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ The Rev. Claude William Black Jr., an influential civil rights advocate in San Antonio, has died. He was 92.

Black died Friday night after a lengthy illness, said his grandson Taj Matthews.

He was pastor emeritus of Mount Zion First Baptist Church, the largest African-American church in the city.

Black served on the San Antonio City Council in the 1970s and was its first black mayor pro-tem.

He was among religious leaders who fought against segregation and helped integrate San Antonio's parks, swimming pools and department store lunch counter.

Black also became an associate of Martin Luther King, A. Phillip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall and Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the San Antonio Express-News reported online Saturday.

He was appointed a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging by President Clinton. During the Johnson administration, he was a delegate to the White House Conference on Civil Rights.

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Bill Davidson

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) _ Bill Davidson, the Detroit Pistons' Hall of Fame owner and noted philanthropist, has died. He was 86.

Davidson died Friday at his Bloomfield Hills home with family at his side, team spokesman Matt Dobek said. The cause of death wasn't immediately known.

Davidson, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September, also owned the WNBA's Detroit Shock and Palace Sports & Entertainment, comprising The Palace of Auburn Hills and DTE Energy Music Theatre.

Davidson was chairman and president of Guardian Industries Corp., a major manufacturer of glass products for the construction and automotive industries and fiberglass insulation products. He also was an honored philanthropist, giving away more than $80 million in the 1990s alone.

Spurned in his bids to buy the NFL's Detroit Lions and NHL's Detroit Red Wings, Davidson became majority owner of the Pistons in 1974 and acquired the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning in 1999, spending lavishly on both teams.

The Lightning and the Pistons won the NHL and NBA titles eight days apart in June 2004, making Davidson the first owner of concurrent champions in major North American team sports. Under Davidson, the Pistons also won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. The Shock had won the WNBA championship eight months earlier, and did so again in 2006.

Davidson sold the Lightning last year.

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Alan W. Livingston

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Alan W. Livingston, the music executive who created Bozo the Clown and signed the Beatles during his tenure as president of Capitol Records, has died. He was 91.

Livingston died Friday of age-related causes in his Beverly Hills home, said his stepdaughter Jennifer Lerner.

Livingston began his multifaceted career in show business as a writer and producer of children's read-along record albums for Capitol Records. He came up with the Bozo the Clown character for the 1946 album "Bozo at the Circus," which became a hit and spawned a cottage industry of merchandise and the television series featuring the wing-haired clown.

When he moved into executive positions at Capitol Records in the early 1950s, Livingston signed Frank Sinatra, then at a low point in his career, and introduced him to arranger Nelson Riddle. Together, the pair produced "I've Got the World on a String" and "Young At Heart," which led to Sinatra's comeback.

Livingston left the record label in the late 1950s to work in television, where he produced the western series "Bonanza." He returned to Capitol Records as president in the 1960s, when he signed the Beach Boys and Steve Miller and the Band.

When Livingston heard the Beatles song "I Want to Hold Your Hand," he agreed to release the single and brought the Fab Four to the United States in 1964 to promote it. Capitol, which was partly owned by the Beatles' record company EMI in the United Kingdom, earlier had rejected the group's initial hit singles as unsuitable for the American market.

AP-Petside poll: Pet or paramour? Many say pet

NEW YORK (AP) — Your sweetheart or your pet. Who would you choose to dump if one had to go?

Most current pet owners said they would hold on to their spouse or significant other (84 percent), but a sizable 14 percent picked their pet, according to an AP-Petside.com poll.

Put Sally Roland, 53, of Omaha, Neb., down in the dog-first column. "I'm divorced, so that might explain it," she joked.

The unmarried, like Roland, are more apt to choose their pet over their mate — 25 percent among unmarried pet owners versus 8 percent among the married.

Count Fidel Martinez, 30, of Akron, Ohio, as forever loyal to Killer. That's his mix-breed, 100-pound rescue dog.

"I would absolutely give up my girlfriend for him," Martinez said. "I know it sounds insane but I've had numerous relationships with women. My dog has never let me down."

For the record: Martinez and Killer have been together for seven years. Martinez and his girlfriend have been together for four. The two-legged pair have no immediate plans to cohabitate, he said, but she does like the dog a lot.

Women are far more apt than men to say the human-pet choice would be a tough one (40 percent among women compared with 26 percent among men). Both genders were equally likely to go with their spouse or significant other, according to the poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.

There was also no difference between dog and cat owners: 35 percent of each said the choice would be a hard one and more than eight in 10 would choose their spouse.

Urban dwellers (47 percent) are more apt to say they'd have a difficult time choosing than did suburbanites (35 percent) or rural residents (25 percent).

Giving up a pet for any reason can be really tough — unless you are the owners of Princess the canine escape artist.

David Rosenthal and his family in Missouri City, Texas, were ready with what they considered an ideal fenced backyard when they welcomed the 2-year-old American Eskimo from a shelter. Then things went from pretty good to not at all.

"She kept getting away," he said. "She'd dig underneath the fence, sneak out through every little crack. It would usually take about an hour or so to corral her."

Even worse, the 49-year-old Rosenthal discovered the hard way that the bushy sago palm plants in the backyard were poisonous to dogs (and humans, too). Princess sampled them and nearly died. Treatment cost about $2,000.

"Plus she was nipping at kids," said Rosenthal, who has three. "We were told it was friendly to kids." So off Princess went, back to the shelter after a year. "It was sad but we knew there was already somebody there to adopt her."

The family now has two other rescue dogs.

About six in 10 adults (57 percent) have had to give up a pet at some point in their lives, with current pet owners (64 percent) a bit more likely to have done so.

The most common reasons had to do with the pet's health: 69 percent said their pet was too sick to live on, 52 percent too sick to be cared for at home. But there are other reasons as well, including about one in 10 (9 percent) who, like Rosenthal, said their animal was too dangerous to keep.

One-third (34 percent) of current pet owners said it would be "extremely" or "very" difficult if they were forced to choose between a pet and a family member who became allergic. Another 20 percent would find the choice somewhat difficult and 46 percent said it would be "not too difficult" or "not difficult at all."

Christopher J. Hampton, 67, in Bellingham, Wash., has loved Pembroke Welsh corgis since he was a kid. He had a 5-year-old he had raised from a pup when he and his wife realized 40 years ago that their year-old son's asthma was dangerously exacerbated by their pet.

"I couldn't give up my son, so that was it," Hampton said.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted October 13 to 20, 2010 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,501 adults nationwide including 1,000 pet owners. Results among all adults have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points; for results among pet owners it is 4.0 percentage points.

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Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

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Online:

Poll questions and results: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com.

Petside: www.petside.com/giving-up-a-pet

Doing time // Koppel takes sobering look at prison system

Just when we were beginning to confuse Sam Donaldson with MarthaStewart - one of them has been obsessed lately with a stained dressand other dirty laundry - along comes Ted Koppel with a seriesreminding us just how powerful TV news can be.

Broadcast journalism is at its worst when trying to sustain astory despite a dearth of solid new information. It's best whenexposing us to places we otherwise wouldn't go, people we normallywouldn't meet and ideas we usually wouldn't consider.

ABC's (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR) "Nightline in Primetime: Crimeand Punishment," which begins at 9 tonight on WLS-Channel 7 and runsthe next four Thursdays, is just such a program.

Inspired by a renewed push for law and order and drawing fromfour years of "Nightline" reports on the state of our prisons, it isnothing short of sobering. You begin to see that dealing with crimeis not as simple as building more prisons and making their conditionsharsher.

Koppel goes into these dehumanizing places and shows you thehumanity inside. He makes no effort to minimize the prisoners'sometimes horrific crimes, and he also talks to their victims andfamilies, so you never feel like you would want to be as close tothese felons as he is.

With many of those behind bars eventually returned to society,however, the show hints at how the failure to rehabilitate thesecriminals can haunt us.

Next week's edition ups the ante, with Koppel spending a nightin maximum security armed with only his wits and a camera. And whenKoppel asks a convicted murderer who pretends to be Elvis Presleywhether it's necessary to play the fool to survive in prison, you canonly admire his wherewithal.

Successive weeks will take us inside the newest supermaximumfacilities and examine the death penalty we Americans overwhelminglyfavor.

A few years back, we talked to Koppel in his Washington officeand noticed a hanger marked CBS dangling from the back of his door.It turned out the souvenir was sent by a fan and had once belonged toEdward R. Murrow.

It was apropos. If anyone working in TV news today is fit towear Murrow's trenchcoat, it's Koppel.

OUT, OUT, DAMN SPOT: If the creation of "Nightline" is one ofthe the best things to come out of the Iran hostage crisis, thenumbering of days at the end of a newscast for emphasis is not.

Poor ESPN alumnus Keith Olbermann is stuck with that duty,marking the time since the Monica Lewinsky story broke at the end ofhis MSNBC time-slot filler, "White House in Crisis."

The National Journal and USA Today quote Olbermann's Maycommencement speech at his alma mater Cornell that the Lewinsky storygives him "dry heaves."

The endless stories, he said, "make me ashamed, make medepressed, make me cry."

How does he think we feel?

HEY, WE LIKED `TRUMAN': MSNBC and NBC anchor Brian Williams,heir apparent to Tom Brokaw on "The NBC Nightly News," told us hedoesn't think format and the need to fill time is driving the contenton shows such as "White House in Crisis." It's audience-driven, hesaid, meaning we're getting only what we want.

"If `The PBS NewsHour' sold (with viewers), there would be 12 ofthem," Williams said. " `Extra' would be `The NewsHour.' Jim Lehrerwould be making $15 million a year, Letterman money. But it doesn't(sell).

"It's like all those people who swear they finished (the book)Truman by David McCullough. The number of people who tell pollstersthey get their news from the `NewsHour' is in the billions, but theyget smaller audiences every night."

CRISIS POINT: That said, the Lewinsky story dominated themorning news shows last month, according to one report, with 179segments dedicated to it in July. That's more than three times thesegments for the No. 2 story, the Florida fires.

CHANNELING: "Maximum Bob" was ABC's top-rated summer seriesdebut since 1991. Its ratings were especially high in Chicago. Jonathan Taylor Thomas is leaving "Home Improvement" at midseasonbecause he wants to focus on his education. Sideshow Luke Perry iscoming back to "Beverly Hills 90210" because it will have him.Anthony Edwards is staying with "ER" through 2002 because they'repaying him a ton of money.

Tesco food volume falls in main UK market

LONDON (AP) — Tesco PLC, the world's third-largest retailer, says food sales revenue in its main British market fell in the 13 weeks ending November 26 as the company cut prices on thousands of products.

Tesco said Thursday that the volume of food sales rose by 1 percent compared to a year earlier, but the value of sales excluding petrol and sales tax dropped by 0.9 percent.

Total sales including petrol were up 7.2 percent , led by an 8.2 percent gain outside the U.K.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy stores in the United States posted a 12 percent sales gain on a comparable stores basis, which excludes sales from stores opened since last year. Total U.S. sales rose by 29 percent, driven by larger customer numbers and higher average spend, the company said.

In Asia, sales on a comparable stores basis rose by 0.8 percent, well down from 3.9 percent in the previous 13 weeks. The company said floods in Thailand were a big factor behind the slower rate of growth.

Tesco shares were down 1.2 percent at 392.1 pence on the London Stock Exchange.

November construction spending drops 0.6 percent

U.S. construction activity fell for a seventh consecutive month as spending on both residential and commercial projects declined, a worrisome sign that lingering troubles in construction will act as a drag on the overall economic recovery.

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending in the U.S. dropped 0.6 percent in November, a bigger decline than the 0.4 percent drop that economists had been expecting.

The weakness was widespread with spending on housing falling by the largest amount since June and non-residential building dipping for an eighth consecutive month. While the overall economy began growing again this past summer, the worry is that weakness in such areas as construction will dim prospects for a recovery strong enough to reduce double-digit unemployment.

The 0.6 percent drop in construction activity in November followed a 0.5 percent decline in October which was revised downward from an original estimate showing a much smaller dip. The seven straight declines pushed construction spending down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $900.1 billion, the slowest pace in more than six years and 13.2 percent below the level of activity a year ago.

Private residential activity dropped by 1.6 percent in November to an annual rate of $250.7 billion after a big 4.8 percent surge in October, an increase that had been driven by builders trying to finish projects before the original November expiration for a popular home buyers tax credit, a tax break that has since been extended by Congress.

Spending on commercial projects from office buildings to factories and shopping centers edged down a slight 0.03 percent, the eighth straight drop.

Commercial building activity has been hurt by a severe credit crunch as developers are having trouble getting new financing from banks leery to extend further credit as default rates rise sharply for commercial real estate projects. The November drop pushed nonresidential building down to an annual rate of $330.5 billion.

Spending on government projects fell 0.4 percent to a rate of $318.8 billion reflected a 0.5 percent fall in state and local construction projects, an area that has been hurt by deep budget shortfalls caused by the recession. Spending on federal construction projects rose by 1.1 percent in November.

When serving your customers, commit to the gold standard

In August, I had the pleasure and privilege to work with a Denver-based client in the mountains of Colorado. We were at the Peaceful Valley Lodge and Resort in Lyons at an elevation of 5,400 feet. Such a lofty location was the perfect setting because my client, Linx, is ascending. Fast!

That month, it was named for the second consecutive year to the Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest-growing companies.

Iinx is a system integrator for network cabling, audio -visual and security systems. What that means, plain and simple, is it makes sure your stuff works. When you move to a home or office, renovate one or erect a building, school, hotel or hospital, the company ensures that your phones, computers, televisions, conference rooms and security are up and running.

While some of this country's most recognizable and respected companies rely upon "Team Linx" talent, expertise and technical knowhow, what they especially value is the execution of the Linx Gold Star Service commitment.

That commitment starts at the top with Linx's president, Erik Isernhagen, and his dedicated leadership team.

Erik and his team are smart, hardworking, fun and focused. They, their project managers, project foremen and support teams all know little things matter.

For example, for my two-hour journey from Denver to Lyons, my travelmate was Erik. Yes, the president picked me up at the airport.

For the room setup the afternoon/night before our results session, we had a talented crew rearranging tables and chairs: Erik, Jay, Ivan, Tom, Dale and Damon. That's right, the executive leadership team was the setup team.

To give depth, meaning and significance to its service commitment, Linx has created eight points of what it enthusiastically and passionately calls Linx Gold Star Service.

Whether you sell a product ora service, are a manufacturer ora retailer, a veteran corporate player or a young, hungry entrepreneur, these eight points should have immediate applicability or adaptability for you and your business.

Iinx Gold Star Service requires:

INTEGRITY

* Be the client's advocate.

* Do what you say you are going to do. Follow through.

* No shortcuts to quality. Do it right the first time.

LISTENING

* Take the time to listen to what our client wants.

* Be the expert at discovering our client's hidden needs.

* Listen actively. Restate what the client asked for to ensure you got it right.

EXPERTISE

* Professionally trained staff.

* Explain technology in layman's terms.

* Set realistic expectations that are jointly shared.

* Understand client needs and tailor solutions that meet the client's definition of value.

COURTESY

* When on the jobsite, act like a guest.

* Be polite and respectful.

* Leave the site clean at the end of every day.

ATTITUDE

* Be likable.

* Hustle with a "can-do" attitude.

* Enjoy what you are doing.

COMMUNICATION

* Provide clear, consistent, meaningful and prompt communication.

* Identify how the client wants to receive the information (content, frequency, format).

* Express our desire to serve and give our clients the comfort of understanding we won't stop working until they're happy.

PROFESSIONALISM

* Be prepared, considerate and on time for appointments.

* Maintain a clean and professional appearance.

* Strive for perfection; deliver excellence.

OWNERSHIP

* If a client expresses a need to you, or around you, you own it.

* Our client hired us to do a job - deliver it regardless of challenges.

* Partner with our customer to get the job done - we're on the same team.

A note to readers

Central Penn Business Journal accepts only electronic versions of press releases and all other announcements, including submissions for our Awards, Calendar, Newsmakers and On the Move sections. This streamlines our information management and helps us get your news into the paper more quickly. Here is a rundown of e-mail addresses we use:

Promotions, new hires and board appointments: people@journalpub.com

Free and low-cost seminars and events: calendar@journalpub.com

Story tips, ideas, questions and comments about content: editorial@journalpub.com

Real estate and construction: onthemove@journalpub.com

Top List questions and requests: lists@journalpub.com

You also can submit press releases through our website, www.centralpennbusiness.com/submitnews and click on the appropriate link. If you have any questions, call us at 236-4300, and ask for Editor Chris Passante.

[Author Affiliation]

Jeff Blackman is an Illinois-based speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer. E-mail him at jb@jeffblackman.com.

Magnificent Seven

1. LeBron James, Cavaliers

Unlike in Game 1, the King didn't hold his ''A'' game in abeyance. ... With the Bulls at the door, James showed why he is the greatest player on the planet. ... His 15-point surge during the final 7:56 was Jordanesque. ... And it was his jumper, not his physicality, that got the job done.

2. Joakim Noah, Bulls

Without question, one of the most intriguing, complex fellows ever to don a Bulls uniform. ... Cleveland fans might boo him, but they could leave ''The Q'' with nothing but respect. ... There were reasons Florida won back-to-back NCAA titles, none bigger than Noah.

3. Jamario Moon, Cavaliers

''Moon Man,'' bombardier, stealth take-out man. ... Forward augmented James with a 3-for-3 effort from behind the arc in the final quarter. ... Three-pointer with 5:43 left pushed Cavs' lead to 94-88 and loosened Bulls' defense just enough for James to bring it on home.

4. Derrick Rose, Bulls

Unflappable, significantly more poised than in Game 1. ... Ran more patient offense throughout, a critical reason the Bulls matched thrust for thrust into the closing minutes. ... Single turnover in 43 minutes after seven in opener, plus 23 points and eight assists.

5. Mo Williams, Cavaliers

Consistently made an impact once again by making Rose work at both ends and keying snappy ball movement. ... Helped set up three of Cavs' four first-half three-pointers and bagged the fourth himself. ... Rose must school him once series hits United Center.

6. Taj Gibson, Bulls

Has he been playing in the league under an assumed name for the last few seasons? ... He had 11 points and seven rebounds and consistently held his own against formidable Antawn Jamison. ... Missing in the fourth quarter when Vinny Del Negro went small, but notable inside energizer.

7. Flip Murray, Bulls

Murray's 14 points were vital, especially two three-pointers in the first half that kept the Bulls within 52-50 at the break. ... Cooled later, but he has to get minutes to get to his shot. ... ''Small ball'' might be the key in Game 3, and Flipster should be right in the middle of it.

Photo: (See microfilm for photo description).