Juventus beats Siena 1-0 to close gap with Inter

Juventus closed the gap on Serie A league leader Inter Milan to four points with a 1-0 victory at home to Siena on Sunday, but put in an unconvincing performance in its first match after a three-week winter break.

Claudio Ranieri's team created few chances and needed a free kick by Alessandro Del Piero to break the deadlock on 33 minutes. However, with Inter slipping up on Saturday night by drawing 1-1 at home to Cagliari, the result was more important than the performance.

Napoli was another team which made a sluggish return after the winter break, but eventually moved into the Champions League qualification places by beating Catania 1-0 at home.

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U.S. needs to take spying seriously

In the past, there has been a tendency among some StateDepartment officials and other informed observers of theinternational scene to regard espionage as a largely irrelevant game,played between the KGB and the CIA in an effort to one-up each other.But this idea that spying is a fit subject for fiction but hardlyworth the attention of serious diplomats has been overtaken by recentevents.

The appalling damage done by the Walker spy family, by theHoward defection from the CIA and by the Pelton revelations to Russiaof the National Security Agency's code secrets has now beencompounded to an unknown extent by the betrayal of their trust byMarine guards in Moscow and …

Rogers Helps Tigers Shut Out Angels 9-0

DETROIT - After struggling in August, the Detroit Tigers began the new month the way they've played most of the season. Kenny Rogers and two relievers combined on a five-hitter to help Detroit beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-0 Friday night.

Brandon Inge homered and drove in three runs, Craig Monroe and Carlos Guillen also homered and Omar Infante drove in two runs for A.L. Central-leading Detroit, which had only won two of its previous eight games and had an overall record of 13-16 in August. It was also the Tigers' major-league leading 15th shutout of the season.

"We had a nice combination tonight of good pitching and good hitting," said Tigers' manager Jim Leyland.

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Biography details on new Porsche CEO Michael Macht

NAME: Michael Macht

AGE: 48; born Aug. 28, 1960, in Stuttgart, Germany.

EDUCATION: Studied mechanical engineeering at Stuttgart University.

CAREER: Worked at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO before joining Porsche AG in 1990 where he became a specialist in engine planning. In 1994 he was named …

Legendary Liddell at career crossroads

Chuck ''The Iceman'' Liddell is keeping his options open.

His legendary fighting career might be nearing its final round. Two devastating losses in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the last year have led to questions about what's next.

''I'm taking off,'' Liddell told the Sun-Times this week. ''I haven't really decided if I'm going to extend that taking time off into retirement yet.''

Even though it's uncertain if we'll see him again in the Octagon, Chicago mixed-martial-arts fans will have the chance to meet Liddell at 8 p.m. Saturday. He will be appearing at Bennigan's (150 S. Michigan Ave.) during the pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 102.

Liddell, 39, …

Conference to look at LGBT and immigration issues

SOUTHFIELD - Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church in Southfield will host a statewide conference on Standing on the Side of Love for Immigration Reform and LGBT Justice on Saturday, Nov. 20, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The church is located at 23925 Northwestern Hwy, in Southfield.

The interfaith conference promises to be moving, eye-opening, and educational. Two panels will discuss the true life stories of immigrants and LGBT people who have been affected by oppression. Immigration Reform for America and Equality Michigan will hold workshops on the issues. Members of faith congregations and spiritual groups will learn about how to maintain a welcoming environment for people of all …

Williams isn't sure if he can play in Game 7

Hawks forward Marvin Williams isn't sure he'll be able to play Sunday in Game 7 of Atlanta's first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics after spraining his left knee.

Williams, who was hurt in the fourth quarter of a win Friday night, took part in a walkthrough at Philips Arena on Saturday before the team departed for Boston. But his knee was iced and heavily taped, and he didn't even attempt to bend it during the light, 30-minute workout.

"It's pretty sore right now," said Williams, who led the Hawks with 18 points in Game 6. "As of right now, the trainers list me as doubtful. I'll do the best I can to get as much treatment as I can …

sweet 16 Loaiza improves to 16-6 as sox sweep angels, pull into tie for first.

Caption …

The Army science board's role in transforming the Army

lntroduction

Historically, the Army has been in a constant state of transformation. The Army has always led the Nation and the world in developing or adapting new innovative weapon systems, breakthrough production techniques, and enlightened social change. But today's information age presents the Army with an unprecedented challenge. The dominant source of relevant innovation will forever remain external to the Army, and the necessary pace of change will present a unique challenge to the Army's evolved internal structures and processes. The Army's response must be one of flexibility and continual transformation to remain relevant to the Nation's calling.

To this end, the …

A glance at the Bretton Woods conference

European leaders are calling for a second version of the Bretton Woods conference on ordering the global economy. Here's a brief look at Bretton Woods, held in July 1944.

WHAT IT WAS: Bretton Woods, a town in New Hampshire, was the site where 44 leaders of the Allied nations that won World War II gathered to establish a postwar global monetary and financial order. It was aimed at preventing a repeat of the economic dislocations of the 1930s.

WHAT IT DID: The agreement from the …

Music group scoop awards

Polden Musical Youth Productions are celebrating after scooping anumber of awards.

The musical performance group, who are based in Edington, havewon several awards for their production of Bugsy Malone, including aDavid Beach award for Best Youth Under 16 performance, for WillHowlett's performance in the title …

New hurdle in Dutch plan to stop marijuana tourism

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The Dutch government's plan to stop tourists from buying marijuana was apparently set back Wednesday after a key decision by the country's top legal advisory body.

The Cabinet wants to curtail the country's liberal marijuana policy to address problems caused by an estimated 3.9 million French, German and Belgian buyers who drive across the Dutch border annually to purchase the drug. It also wants to crack down on organized criminal gangs its says control the marijuana farming industry.

The Council of State ruled on a 2006 ordinance by the southern border city of Maastricht barring foreigners from "coffee shops," where cannabis is openly sold.

The council said Maastricht had overstepped its authority, because selling marijuana is already theoretically illegal in the Netherlands, by national law — even though under the country's tolerance policy police don't prosecute people for possessing small amounts.

"Given this absolute ban laid down in law, in a formal sense there's no room for a municipality to further regulate the sale of marijuana and hash by its own ordinances," the ruling said.

The ruling also said that barring nonresidents from buying weed would not be unconstitutional discrimination — if done at a national level. It's not clear whether that means the country's drug laws would have to be amended or if a national policy change could be possible.

Reactions to the ruling were mixed.

Justice Ministry spokesman Wiebe Alkema said the government is convinced the ruling won't prevent it from its preferred solution: forcing cannabis buyers to obtain a "weed pass" in order to purchase weed. Coffee shops would issue the passes, similar to gym membership cards, only to people who can present a Dutch passport or resident visa, making tourists ineligible.

Critics say such a pass would be violate privacy laws, and would be unworkable in practice.

Alkema said he couldn't say yet whether the government would seek to change the law. "We're looking at the possibilities, and expect to present a plan in the short term," he said.

The city of Amsterdam opposes the pass plan, arguing that tourists who come to Amsterdam and smoke weed usually stay several nights and contribute to the city's economy.

Manon Fokke, leader of the opposition Labor party in Maastricht, said the ruling means that if the government wants to ban foreigners it will have to change the law — a time consuming and difficult task. She said her city should look at other options, such as relegating coffee shops to the city's outskirts.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte repeated that he will press ahead with the weed pass idea in some form.

"I'm convinced that the best approach is to make coffee shops closed clubs that you need a Dutch passport and be over 18 to get into," he told the Foreign Press Association.

SETTING THE BAR, BusinessWest TOP 10 UNDER 40: STEPHEN FITZGIBBONS

STEPHEN FITZGIBBONS

AGE: 35

ADMITTED TO MASS. BAR: 1995

FIRM/EMPLOYER: City of Holyoke

EDUCATION: Juris Doctor, Massachusetts School of Law, Andover; bachelor of arts (Political Science), Assumption College

CONCENTRATIONS: Chief legal council for municipality: duties include managing the legal office; providing advice, counsel, and written opinions; defending the city against all civil claims; collective bargaining contract negotiation; tax title foreclosure; and other responsibilities

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: City of Holyoke Law Department, second assistant city solicitor

In the private sector, lawyers have specialties. When a case comes their way, they can make a choice about whether to take it or not.

Life for those who toil in the public sector, for area cities and towns, is much different. They must be generalists, and they and their staff$ must handle everything that comes across their desks.

Stephen Fitzgibbons, city solicitor for the City of Holyoke, likes that challenge.

"There are so many different things that come up every day ... its challenging, but it's fun," he told BusinessWest. I really enjoy the variety of work we do here."

For Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan, it's not the quantity of work that Fitzgibbons takes on that makes him an outstanding lawyer, but the quality.

"In the municipal sector, you have to do it all ... the city solicitor has to handle land court, housing issues, tax matters, tort law, everything," he said. "Steve has shown he can handle anything that's thrown at him. He works well with all the various offices in the city, and that's very important."

So impressed was Sullivan with Fitzgibbons that he kept him on as solicitor when he was first elected in 1999 - Fitzgibbons was originally appointed by mayor Daniel Szostkiewicz - a rarity in these times when mayors usually put their own people in such positions.

"I lot of people told me to oust him and go with my own pick," Sullivan. "But I didn't think twice about it. Steve is extremely ethical, he's hardworking, and he's a team player; when the phone rings in that office, he'll answer it."

Fitzgibbons has been devoting much of his time lately to whistleblower cases involving the city's police department work that has earned him praise from a number of area attorneys working with him on those suits - and also legal work involving the development of Mount Tom. He told BusinessWest that he also spends considerable time and energy working to collect delinquent taxes and take properties for tax reasons.

"We have two full file drawers of cases in land court," he said. "That's not exactly exciting work, but it's very important for the city and its efforts to turn the comer."

Fitzgibbons, who started with Holyoke's Law Department six years ago, acknowledged that working for a municipality can be difficult. There are many offices and egos to deal with, and obviously a good deal of politics, "There are a lot of nights when I walk out of here shaking my head," he said. "But I've enjoyed every minute of it ... this is a job where you can really see the results of your labor."

Drunk man pelts boys with eggs, spits at 1: cops

A 40-year-old man was charged with battery after throwing eggs at three kids Saturday because he thought they had thrown eggs at his home in Porter County, Ind., the day before.

Michael Hall appeared to be drunk Saturday evening when he hit a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old with eggs from three feet away. He also spit in one boy's face, police said.

The boys told police they were walking on a trail when Hall yelled for them to come closer. When they ignored him, he walked up with his hands behind his back and then threw two eggs at them.

One boy admitted punching Hall, and the boys also threw rocks at him, but only after he attacked them, according to the police report. Police said a neighbor confirmed the boys' account. Post-Tribune

Canadian Spoken Here

WHILE ADAPTING NOVELS FOR THE SCREEN usually requires major excisions from the source material, the process of turning a short story into a feature film is drastically different-often demanding the addition of characters and plotlines. (Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana's successful expansion of E. Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain" is one recent example.) Rare is the short-story adaptation that both hews close to the source and works as a genuinely cinematic creation. So Canadian actress-director Sarah Polley's Away from Her, a film version of Alice Munro's 1999 story "The Bear Came over the Mountain," feels a little like a magic act or, at the very least, a keen optical illusion: Somehow, Polley's austere, haunting 110-minute film sticks very close to Munro's forty-six-page tale, with, one senses, very little filler.

Away from Her tells the story of an elderly married couple in rural Canada, Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent), whose nearly fifty-year marriage gets put to the test when Fiona, stricken with Alzheimer's disease, chooses to enter the nearby Meadowlake retirement home. There, she quickly strikes up an amorous relationship with a fellow patient, Aubrey (Michael Murphy), whom she thinks she knew when they were young. Soon, the memory of her husband slips away. Although the melancholy and patient Grant constantly visits, to her he becomes merely a curious, polite fellow who comes and brings books-or, in Munro's words, "some persistent visitor who took a special interest in her." Through Grant's heartbreaking visits to Meadowlake, we learn slowly of this couple's history-their turbulent early years and their happier later ones. As Fiona's memory fades further, the story of their life together sheds more and more layers, coming into sharper relief.

"I wasn't really thinking of adapting someone else's work into a film," Policy says, noting that she first read the story in 2001, on a flight back from Iceland, where she had just finished shooting Hal Hartley's No Such Thing, which also features Christie. "On the one hand, I thought it would be the worst thing in the world to wreck a story so beautiful. But at the same time, I couldn't stop seeing Julie Christie's face when I thought of the story. The cinematic images kept growing in my head." The particular fortune of having read the story on that trip (Fiona is of Icelandic descent) did not escape her, either.

Polley initially feared adapting one of Munro's stories because of the writer's iconic status, especially in their native Canada, and the seeming perfection of her prose. Noting that she was constantly rewriting her script, despite there being only about eight months' time between the first draft and the beginning of production, the twenty-eight-year-old admits to having had a tough time at first with how best to maintain the tone of Munro's work while also making the film her own: "The trickiest part of writing the script was to find a way to put [Munro's] voice into it," she says. "I knew it had to be there. But I didn't know how much or how little."

Polley experimented with turning Munro's narration into dialogue, planning to use it as a guide and assuming that it would eventually have to be rewritten. However, "at every read-through of the script," she recalls, "I would be planning on taking it out, but the actors kept making it work as real dialogue." The translation of Munro's narration into speech proves seamless and effective. Here is Munro, writing about Grant's dalliance with adultery early in his career, and his decision to give it up:

He had never stopped making love to Fiona in spite of disturbing demands elsewhere. He had not stayed away from her for a single night.... There were no more hectic flirtations. No bare female toes creeping up under a man's pants leg at a dinner party. No more loose wives.

And here is Fiona, in the film, recalling this long-past period of marital turmoil:

You never left me. You still made love to me, despite disturbing demands elsewhere. But all those sandals, Grant. All those bare female toes.... All those pretty girls.

The actual dialogue from Munro's story also proved remarkably resilient. In one particularly powerful scene, Munro's words, as spoken by her characters, are carried over almost completely intact. Grant first visits his wife in the retirement home, after a mandated thirty-day waiting period, and slowly realizes she doesn't recognize him despite dieir pleasant conversation. Fiona greets him by describing the bridge game she and the others are playing:

FIONA: Bridge. Deadly serious. Quite rabid about it. I can remember being like that in college for a while. My friends and I would cut class and smoke and play like cutthroats. One's name was Phoebe. I don't remember the others.

GRANT: Phoebe Hart.

FIONA: You knew her, too?

There is virtually no difference between the dialogue and Munro's.

Such scrupulous fidelity to source material could have resulted in a somewhat academic film, akin to the dramatizations of short stories screened in high school classrooms. Polley's gambit works because, beneath it all, she has in fact made subtle changes that give the film its own unique structure.

While the story follows a mostly linear course, with occasional, brief reminiscences of Grant and Fiona's earlier years, the film opens with a glimpse of Grant driving by himself. We eventually find out that he's on his way to the home of Aubrey's wife, Marian (Olympia Dukakis), with a request: Marian has withdrawn Aubrey from the retirement home after learning of his relationship with Fiona, which has sent Fiona into a downward spiral. Grant has come to request that Marian allow Aubrey to visit the home, to see whether it helps Fiona get better. The incident is featured toward the end of Munro's work, but Polley opts to use the Marian story line as a framing device for the film's narrative.

One senses here, perhaps, the influence of Atom Egoyan, who directed Polley in his seminal films Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter and whom she calls "a father figure." (He is also credited as executive producer on the film.) Furthermore, the slight sense of dislocation this nonlinear approach initially lends the film mirrors Fiona's disassociation at the onset of her illness. There's another change here: Near the close of Munro's story, Grant wonders what it might be like to seduce Marian. In Polley's film, the two actually strike up a brief affair.

But perhaps the change that serves Policy best is her realization of the retirement home's milieu. In Munro's story, aside from Grant's friendship with one of the workers, Meadowlake is a spectral, menacing presence: Grant recalls that before a recent overhaul, the home was a "dim, lowceilinged" affair smelling of bleach and urine. Polley, however, had to travel through a number of retirement homes near the end of her own grandmother's life and found herself writing some of the residents of her grandmother's homes into her script. Meadowlake, in Away from Her, feels painfully real-the kind of place where the staff's pleasant and respectful demeanor toward patients only betrays the fact that they have had to perform these same tasks, these same courtesies, countless times.

While these changes lend the film its own atmosphere and rhythm, the emotional through-line of Polley's film, right down to its final utterance ("Forsaken"), still comes straight from Munro's story. So it is rather surprising to hear that, despite such fidelity, Munro herself was not involved in the production-indeed, Polley notes, the somewhat reclusive writer hasn't seen the film. "I would have loved to have her involved in the process," the director says. "At first, I didn't even know if she would read the script, and at one point, I felt I couldn't go through without having some idea of what she thought." Just before production began, though, Polley did finally get her call: Munro left a message for her, saying she had read the script and liked it. "And then," Polley says, "I never heard from her again."

[Sidebar]

THE MOVIEGOER

BILGE EBIRI

[Sidebar]

It is rather surprising to hear that, despite such fidelity, Alice Munro herself was not involved in the production-indeed, Polley notes, the somewhat reclusive writer hasn't seen the film.

Fans fill up on Sox // Season mark falls with 23 dates left

WHITE SOX 4 YANKEES 1

The White Sox' 4-1 victory Thursday over the Yankees to completea three-game sweep and set a season home-attendance record was aseasy as 1-2-3-4.

Those were the fingers catcher Ron Karkovice put down for AlexFernandez.

Fastball, curve, slider, change. Thank you very much.

"He threw them all for strikes," Karkovice said. "It's the besthe's thrown in the times I've caught him."

Fernandez, who finally dropped his ERA below 5.00 (to 4.93), hada two-hitter through eight innings.

When Steve Sax and Don Mattingly singled to begin the ninth andMel Hall and Matt Nokes came out of the Yankees' dugout swingingleft-handed bats, the right-handed Fernandez was removed for leftyScott Radinsky.

"Every pitcher wants a complete game, but my back's a littlesore and we've got stoppers who were ready," Fernandez (6-8) said.

"I'll take the win every time. So will everyone on thisstaff."

Radinsky got Hall to hit into a double play and yielded an RBIsingle to Nokes before inducing Hensley Meulens to hit into a force.

The crowd of 36,032, staying to the end as the Sox movedwithin two games of the idle Minnesota Twins, gave the club 2,150,951for the season. And there are 23 home dates remaining.

The previous mark was 2,136,988 in 1984.

The Sox, led by sore-toed Mike Huff, stole a season-high fivebases.

Huff swiped consecutive bases in the third inning after beinghit on the left foot by Jeff Johnson (4-5) and scored the first runon a double by Frank Thomas.

"Kitty (Ron Kittle) told me, `Never let 'em know you're hurt,' "Huff said. "Maybe I caught them in a lull."

Huff wasn't just acting. His toes were throbbing after the game."I'll have to have them looked at," he said, limping away.

The Sox completed their scoring in the fourth inning, with LanceJohnson and Joey Cora coming home after stolen bases.

It began with Johnson singling, stealing second and scoring on asingle by Cora.

Cora then stole second, continued to third on Nokes' overthrowand scored on a wild pitch by Johnson.

Tim Raines and Huff walked to set up another Thomas RBI, thistime on a single.

The Sox outscored the Yankees 28-8 in the series. They alsostruck out 20 to bring the Yankees' total to 36 in four games.

It was frustrating for the Yankees all around. In a closed-doormeeting, manager Stump Merrill told the players they did not come toplay.

"We got beaten in every phase of the game," he said. "Theirsquad was too good. We got just what we deserved."

Mattingly predicted earlier in the season the new-look Yankeeshad a chance to win the East Division. But they have lost 10 of 12games and are nine under .500

Asked by a New York reporter for an updated analysis, Mattinglysaid, "Get out of my face!"

Merrill likes the White Sox' chances in the West Division.

"I think Minnesota can win if they keep healthy, but that teamover there (Sox) has a good chance," he said.

The Sox scored 24 runs the first two games. That, Torborg said,was unusual.

"The game today was the way we play," he said. "We scratch andclaw to get things done." Box score, Page 77.

Hillary Clinton 'in to Win' White House

NEW YORK - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton launched a trailblazing campaign for the White House on Saturday, a former first lady turned political powerhouse intent on becoming the first female president. "I'm in, and I'm in to win," she said.

In a videotaped message posted on her Web site, Clinton said she was eager to start a dialogue with voters about challenges she hoped to tackle as president - affordable health care, deficit reduction and bringing the "right" end to the Iraq war.

"I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation with you, with America," she said. "Let's talk. Let's chat. The conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don't you think?"

Clinton's announcement, while widely anticipated, was nonetheless historic in a fast-developing campaign that has already seen the emergence of a formidable black contender, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

In an instant, Clinton became the most credible female candidate ever to seek the presidency and the first presidential spouse to attempt to return to the White House in her own right. Her husband, Bill, served two terms as president from 1993 to 2001.

"I am one of the millions of women who have waited all their lives to see the first woman sworn in as president of the United States - and now we have our best opportunity to see that dream fulfilled," said Ellen Malcolm, president of EMILY's list, which raises money for Democratic women who run for office.

With her immense star power, vast network of supporters and donors and seasoned team of political advisers, the 59-year-old Clinton long has topped every national poll of potential Democratic contenders.

But since joining the field, Obama has secured the backing of a number of prominent fundraisers, including billionaire philanthropist George Soros, stepping up the pressure on Clinton to disclose her plans.

Her controversial tenure as first lady left her a deeply polarizing figure among voters, leading many Democrats to doubt Clinton's viability in a general election.

In a detailed statement posted on her Web site, Clinton sought to acknowledge and bat away such doubts.

"I have never been afraid to stand up for what I believe in or to face down the Republican machine," she wrote. "After nearly $70 million spent against my campaigns in New York and two landslide wins, I can say I know how Washington Republicans think, how they operate and how to beat them."

Recently, Clinton has clashed with many in her own party over the Iraq war.

Clinton supported the 2002 resolution authorizing military intervention in Iraq. She has refused to recant her vote or call for a deadline for the removal of troops. She has announced her opposition to President Bush's troop increase in Iraq and has introduced legislation capping troop levels.

"A woman candidate could find it easier to run in peacetime, rather than wartime, but Senator Clinton's tried to position herself as a serious person on national security," said Andrew Polsky, a presidential historian at Hunter College. "But that means she's staked out difficult position on the war that won't make it easy for her to get the Democratic nomination."

With a $14 million campaign treasury, Clinton starts with an impressive fundraising advantage over the rest of the Democratic field. But Obama and others have started to secure fundraising commitments from New York, California and other deep-pocketed, Clinton-friendly areas.

Her creation of a presidential exploratory committee, announced Saturday, allows her to raise money for the campaign; she already has lined up campaign staff.

In tone and substance, Clinton's videotaped announcement recalled her first Senate race in New York in 2000, where she conducted a "listening tour" of the state's 62 counties before formally entering the contest.

She promised a three-day series of Web chats with voters beginning Monday and prepared a campaign swing late this coming week through the early voting state of Iowa, while a visit to New Hampshire was in the works.

On Sunday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was also set to enter the Democratic field; if elected, he would be the first Hispanic president.

For the short term at least, the outsized candidacies of Clinton and Obama were expected to soak up the lion's share of attention.

Obama, who launched his own presidential committee on Tuesday, praised Clinton as a friend and colleague.

"I welcome her and all the candidates, not as competitors, but as allies in the work of getting our country back on track," he said in a statement.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd did not comment specifically on Clinton's announcement, but said: "I'm not one for exploratory committees. You're in or you're not."

Other Democratic contenders include former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack; Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the party's 2004 vice-presidential nominee. Delaware Sen. Joe Biden has said he will run and planned to formalize his intentions soon. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the party's 2004 standard bearer, is also contemplating another run.

An influential player in her husband's political career in Arkansas, Hillary Clinton leapt to the national scene during the 1992 presidential campaign when husband and wife fought to survive the scandal over Gennifer Flowers' allegations of a lengthy affair with Bill Clinton when he was the state's governor.

The Clintons appeared together on CBS' "60 Minutes" to talk about their marriage - Hillary Clinton's first famous "Stand by Your Man" moment.

As first lady, Clinton headed up a disastrous first-term effort to overhaul the health care insurance system. There was more controversy as the couple battled allegations of impropriety over land deals and fundraising, missing records from her former Arkansas law firm and even her quick and hefty profits from an investment in cattle futures.

There was no letup in the second term. The president found himself denying - then admitting - having a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. As he battled impeachment and possible removal from office, his wife's poll numbers rose.

Her own political career began to take shape in late 1998 when New York Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced he would not seek re-election to the Senate seat he had held since 1976.

The campaign trail was not always friendly. For almost every cheer, there was a shouted "Go home, Hillary!" and the emerging Republican theme that carpetbagger Clinton simply wanted to use New York as a launching pad for a later presidential run.

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Associated Press Writer Marc Humbert contributed to this report from Albany, N.Y.

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On the Net:

Hillary Rodham Clinton site: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/

Australia picks youngster to replace Hayden

Australia selectors opted for 20-year-old Phillip Hughes to replace retired opener Matthew Hayden as they named the most inexperienced squad in a generation for the three-test tour of South Africa.

Australia, coming off its first test series loss on home soil in 16 years and needing to win the return series in South Africa to retain its No. 1 ranking, also had to contend with retirements and injuries to frontline bowlers in naming the squad Thursday.

Hughes, a stylish left-hander who has scored four hundreds for New South Wales, won a three-way race to fill the opening slot in the 14-man squad created when 103-test veteran Hayden quit following the 2-1 series loss to South Africa last month.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who made his debut at age 21 in 1995, said Hughes deserved a chance.

"He's done absolutely everything in his power to give himself the best chance to be picked, his record for New South Wales has been outstanding," Ponting said.

Australian selector Andrew Hilditch had no doubts Hughes would be "up to the job" after just 17 first-class matches.

"It's one of the most exciting things I've had to do as a test selector, picking a 20-year-old player who's scoring that volume of runs under pressure," he said. "We probably haven't done this since Ricky Ponting. It's pretty exciting.

"If it is successful, which we're sure it will be, it's going to be a great thing for Australian cricket."

Hughes, who scored 891 runs at 74 this season, is part of a squad that only contains three survivors of Australia's last tour to South Africa in 2006.

The "ultimate dream at such a young age is to play for your country and now I'm one step closer," he said.

The search for a quality spin bowling option to replace retired Shane Warne continues, with 36-year-old Victorian Bryce McGain earning a call up along with finger-spinner Nathan Hauritz.

Hughes edged Phil Jacques, returning from a back operation, and Chris Rogers for the top order position alongside Simon Katich.

If Hughes and McGain start in the first test at Johannesburg on Feb. 26, they'll represent different ends of the spectrum on their debuts.

Hughes will be the youngest player to win his first cap since fast bowler Craig McDermott made his debut at age 19 in the 1984-85 series against the West Indies. McGain would be the oldest to make his debut since Bob Holland got his first start at age 38 in the same '84-'85 series.

With Brett Lee and Stuart Clark unavailable because of injuries, 27-year-old Mitchell Johnson, who has 78 wickets in 18 tests, is the most experienced of the pacemen.

Joining him in the pace ranks are Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus.

"Whilst the experience and ability of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark will be sorely missed, it does create great opportunities for these young men," Hilditch said.

With Andrew Symonds suspended from the tour and Shane Watson injured, Andrew McDonald was retained as an allrounder after his test debut at Sydney last month and will compete for the No. 6 batting spot with Marcus North, a surprise inclusion.

"This is an extremely challenging, but in the same breath very exciting, period in Australian cricket," Hilditch said. "We have gone through immense change in the last couple of years with many of the true legends of Australian cricket leaving the game.

"We are also enduring an unprecedented run of injuries to many of our contracted players. That being said, with all this has come great opportunity as the side rebuilds."

Hilditch said touring South Africa was one of the most difficult assignments in world cricket.

"South Africa has an extremely strong side and will be extremely tough, particularly in home conditions," he said. "We have the utmost faith in the young group of Australian cricketers coming through. Whilst the next 12 months will undoubtedly be extremely testing and challenging, we are confident that the new breed of Australian cricketers will hold Australian cricket in a strong position moving forward."

Hayden, 37, decided against trying to win selection for the Ashes tour later this year after averaging just 23.93 in his last nine tests. He scored 8,625 runs at 50.73 in his test career.

___

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Marcus North, Peter Siddle.

Wood shows he's triple threat Contributes at bat, on mound, in field in victory for Cubs

Cubs 6

Expos 4

MONTREAL--Superstar pitchers aren't supposed to run first-to-third and get their jerseys dirty making headfirst slides to be safe.Neither are they advised to try stopping hard-hit hoppers back to themound with their glove-hand elbows.

Kerry Wood did both Monday night against Montreal, using everypart of his body that he could get involved in trying to end hisExpos jinx. After going 0-2 at Olympic Stadium in three games, andsaddled with an 0-3 lifetime mark against Montreal with a 8.18 ERA,Wood was prepared to do whatever it took.

Wood allowed the Expos no runs on three hits and three walks insix innings, but closer Antonio Alfonseca stole the show with a two-inning save and a two-run, ninth-inning single in the Cubs' 6-4victory over the Expos. The hit was Alfonseca's first in the majorsafter going 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts.

"It hit the base," said Alfonseca, who didn't realize the balljumped over first baseman Lee Stevens off the dirt.

"Oh, really?" Alfonsecsa replied when told that. "Well, good oneanyway. When I see the ball, I say 'Oh, I got to run.' [Pitching twoinnings] is no problem for me."

Manager Don Baylor would have been second-guessed for replacingthe cruising Carlos Zambrano with Jeff Fassero in the seventh afterFassero gave up two runs in the seventh and another run in theeighth. But Baylor defended his move and it all turned all right.

"It's time things turned our way," Wood said.

Sammy Sosa (six homers, five solo) and Fred McGriff hadconsecutive homers in the fifth, while Moises Alou made a quiet Cubsdebut--hitless in four at-bats. But pitching has superseded hittingall season for the Cubs, and that again was the case.

"They came out swinging the bat, and I didn't get too deep intotoo many counts," Wood (2-0) said. "It was pretty much fastball andcutter tonight. The breaking ball wasn't consistent, and they wereswinging if the fastball was a strike."

Wood tried to knock down consecutive grounders back to the moundin the fifth by spinning his body and seeking to deflect the ballwith his left elbow. The right-hander missed connecting with CarlPavano's bouncer, which was eventually fielded by second basemanDelino DeShields. But Peter Bergeron's hopper hit him above the leftelbow and left seam marks. It sent the ball high into the air for aninfield single. Wood was removed after throwing just 74 pitchesbecause of left arm pain.

"I was really having trouble getting that left arm up to deliverthe pitch," Wood said. "That's why they took me out. They didn't wantanything to throw off my mechanics."

Wood knows the Cubs' offense has been sparing with its productionagain this season. So after he began the third with a single offPavano, he never hesitated rounding second on Corey Patterson's one-out single to right.

As it turned out, Wood didn't score until consecutive walks toSammy Sosa and Fred McGriff forced him home. Alou grounded into adouble-play to end the bases-full threat, illustrating why Wood wasready to run as far as possible.

"Just because I'm a pitcher doesn't mean I can't go first-to-third," Wood said.

Baylor was going against a good friend and former mentor in Exposmanager Frank Robinson. Robinson was a veteran with the BaltimoreOrioles when Baylor broke into the majors with that club. Robinsoneven turned down Baylor's offer two years ago to be his bench coachin Chicago.

Asked if managing against Robinson would be special, Baylorreplied: "Yeah, if I beat him."

But he continued after that: "Yeah, it is [special]. The guy thathelped me through my entire career as a young player and things isFrank. ... I could always talk to him about the game. To manageagainst him, he probably knows I have a few of his tricks up mysleeve."

Midtown Scholar Bookstore owners cover business on Internet, in shop

DAUPHIN COUNTY

Just as you can't judge a book by its cover, you can't judge The Midtown Scholar Bookstore entirely by its cozy interior or enticing external mural.

The Midtown Scholar isn't merely a shop selling used books. In six years, its owners said they've created the largest seller of used academic books between New York and Chicago. The store's presence is far greater on the Internet than at its location on North Third Street in midtown Harrisburg. In cyberspace, Midtown Scholar has more than 1 million books available 24 hours a day.

How co-owners Eric Papenfuse and his wife, Catherine, built a successful business and plan to sustain it is a story that can be told in five "chapters."

Chapter I:

An idea takes shape

After graduating from Yale University, where they met, Papenfuse and his wife moved to Harrisburg in 1999, where Catherine had secured a teaching job at Messiah College. Eric found temporary work teaching Latin at Central Dauphin High School.

Having little need for the 100 to 150 books they'd purchased on the Internet for their college studies, Eric decided to try selling them the same way. He'd become interested in the potential of the Internet at Yale; his undergraduate class was the first to have e-mail.

Several of the books Eric offered sold quickly. He got to thinking there might be money to be made selling books on the Web. He was aware of a declining sellers' market for books, but he suspected that students and professors would always want their own books, rather than rely on library loans or downloaded material.

By January 2001, Eric was selling his stock of books from his home in Harrisburg's Shipoke neighborhood through Amazon .com.

Chapter II: The early years

While Papenfuse became convinced there was a market for academic books, he was concerned about where he'd get enough books to sell.

Eric and Catherine had always loved books. From the time they were dating until their children arrived, they scoured bookstores on weekends. Yet the growth of bookstore chains such as Borders, the advent of online retailers like Amazon and rent increases were forcing many traditional bookstores out of business.

Papenfuse realized he could buy from these failing bookstores, as well as from library sales and auctions of overstocked books being returned to their publishers by bookstore chains.

University presses proved to be important, too. They print relatively small quantities of books, typically fewer than 2,000 copies per title. But some of their books, particularly art books, may increase significantly in value over time. So Papenfuse worked to establish relationships with university presses, thereby guaranteeing a steady source of books that would be of interest to his customers.

While bookstore chains can return to their publishers books that don't sell, Papenfuse must purchase all the books he stocks. "We never get rid of anything. We own them as a long-term investment, " he said.

Chapter III:

Growth of a business

Storage was becoming a problem. The Papenfuses quickly outgrew the space in their three-story home, and in 2001, started renting modular storage units in and around Harrisburg.

In 2002, they purchased and renovated the old Midtown Post Office building at 1519 N. Third St. to house the Midtown Scholar and consolidate storage. The bookstore s inventory reflects interests of the local community, such as art, photography and books on urban affairs and African-American studies. The building was ideal, the Papenfuses felt at the time, in part because it had a loading dock at the rear. But its ground-floor storage space soon started to bulge.

So Eric purchased and renovated a 6,000-square-foot building in Allison Hill to house the growing inventory. But the space-devouring cycle continued, as truckloads of books kept arriving. Harrisburg's strategic location is part of the Midtown Scholar s story. Trucks returning empty from the New York area stop at publishers' warehouses along Interstate 81 and deliver loads of books at favorable rates.

About two years ago, the Papenfuses purchased a 50,000-squarefoot warehouse on North Sixth Street to serve as their warehouse and operations center. The Papenfuses mainly sell to out-of-town customers and claim to be the biggest international customer of the Harrisburg Post Office. Significant overseas destinations are France, Italy and Germany.

The business gets more than 3,000 e-mails a day, mostly orders. "The Internet never stops," Eric said.

The Papenfuses treat their employees well. They went into business intending to operate a familyfriendly firm. Even their new employees are paid above the minimum wage. Full-time employees, currently 10 to 12, receive healthcare benefits.

Catherine serves as chief financial officer and human-resources manager. She and Eric both draw salaries, but most of the money is poured back into the business buying books to expand their inventory.

They have received a lot of help and encouragement from community banks and accountants who devised an accounting system based on bulk shipments, not counts of incoming books.

The Papenfuses believe Harrisburg is a good location for meeting their goal of running a sustainable business that will support their employees and help put their kids through college. They think Harrisburg is a good place to raise children, and they plan to be long-term residents. They seek to give back to the community - they host folkmusic concerts at the Midtown Scholar and decorate the buildings second floor with exhibits from regional artists and photographers.

Chapter IV:

Anticipating the future

The Midtown Scholar is two blocks from the Broad Street Market and Midtown Cinema and Coffeehouse. It's also across from Harrisburg Area Community College s expanding midtown campus. When renovations are completed, the campus will put 2,000 students near the store's front door every day.

Eric is eager to sell to China and Japan. There are financial and cultural barriers to overcome, but he expects that scholars in those countries will be quite interested in his treasure trove of books.

Chapter V: Lessons learned

Perhaps the main lesson from the success of the Midtown Scholar is that the quality and productivity of a business is determined by the care, planning and vision of its owners. The Papenfuses have a talented and dedicated staff because they hire able people and treat them well.

The second lesson is that to understand a business, one has to appreciate it from a systems perspective. The Papenfuses have relationships with their suppliers, service providers and the community that serve their business purposes in ways that are true to their values. Knowing how everyone contributes to the success of a business helps ensure that changing any part of the business won't have unintended effects on its other components.

[Sidebar]

Eric Papenfuse and his wife, Catherine, co-owners of The Midtown Scholar Bookstore, stand in one of the three warehouses at their operations facility on Sixth Street in Harrisburg. They sell books online and in their store at 1519 N. Third St. in midtown Harrisburg.

[Sidebar]

Rebecca Roberts Beels packages international orders in The Midtown Scholar Bookstore's warehouse in Harrisburg. The business sells used academic books via the Internet and claims to be the biggest international shipper of the Harrisburg Post Office.

[Author Affiliation]

BY DOUG BEDELL AND PHIL LANDESBERG

Contributing Writers

[Author Affiliation]

Doug Bedell and Phil Landesberg, Central Pennsylvania-based communication and business consultants, write about ways to invigorate corporate and nonprofit organizations. Send ideas or suggestions for future columns to engagingways@ journalpub.com. Contact the writers directly at dougb@paonline.com or phil_landesberg@comcast.net.

Viktor & Rolf do performance art show

Viktor & Rolf blurred the line between fashion and art Saturday, turning their fall-winter 2010-11 runway show into a performance piece where the Dutch design duo dressed and undressed a '90s supermodel into forms that at times resembled a tent, a Yeti or a Playboy bunny.

As the soundtrack of industrial racket clanked overhead, the model, Kristen McNameny, appeared in her tent-like incarnation at the top of the runway. She waddled over to a rotating platform, set into the middle of the catwalk, and Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren started stripping off layer after layer, like the skin of an onion or Russian stacking dolls.

Wearing their trademark plastic-framed nerd eyeglasses, the designers transferred each removed layer _ first maxi-greatcoats and oversized fox fur coats; then lighter parkas hung with swinging drawstrings _ onto another model, who then walked the catwalk.

After McNameny was pared down to a strapless bustier, the pair repeated the process in reverse: stripping the other models and piling the layers back on. The crowning look was an oversized bustle in stiff tulle that was stripped off an evening look and hung round McNameny's neck, like an oversized collar.

It was a novel exercise, and the crowd of fashion insiders _ many of whom have sat through more than 100 more-conventional shows in New York, London and Milan over the past month _ hooted enthusiastically.

But the spectacle itself distracted attention away from the clothes, which were basically big, bulky and black. Perhaps keeping the clothing in the background was exactly the point.

Entrepreneur tries to revive downtown Elizabethtown

Kim Moreland's story has all the makings of a sitcom -- or worse, a horror flick.

An MBA from the University of Chicago, Moreland, a Harrisburg native, was working as an operations manager at National Airport in Washington, D.C.

In 1997, she got a call from a cousin telling her a 19th century hotel in Elizabethtown was up for sale. She soon found herself walking through the hotel. It was cold, dark and dusty. Vacant storefronts nearby on Market Street didn't bode well.

Other would-be entrepreneurs might have been spooked. But Moreland, looking for a challenge, bought the property and dubbed it the Elizabethtown Inn.

To meet the mortgage on the three-story building at 28-32 S. Market St., she started running six businesses at once inside the inn-- a coffee shop, a bed and breakfast, a restaurant, cafe, bar, and a nightclub in the basement, called Inn Deep.

Since then. she's been wearing many hats. She makes beds. She books bands. She decides menus. She places ads.

And she often sleeps no more than two or three hours a night -- sometimes not at all.

"You have to be there all the time," she said. "At least in the toddler years."

Mike McGovern of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association in Harrisburg, agreed. "I think our industry is very labor intensive and owner-demanding."

Case in point: The average retail employee generates $948,000 in revenues per year, while the average restaurant employee generates $56,000. So, restaurant owners often find themselves doing a little bit of everything to keep payroll in check.

Six months after going into business with her father and partner, Blaine, Moreland is still glad she did.

Sure, some bogeymen have popped out of the closets. "Any time you get to that point that the light is starting to flicker at the end of the tunnel, something always happens ... It's constant problem solving."

But it's easier when your employees feel a sense of ownership, she said. Her employees started working at the inn, cleaning and restoring it, before it even opened.

Also, it's vital to set up your accounting and inventory systems before you begin, she said. If you wait until after you've opened your doors, it's too late.

Moreland declined to state her revenues. "Let's put it this way: We're paying the bills."

And Elizabethtown's empty stores have potential, she said, noting that 22,000 cars drive along Market Street (Route 230) each day. "The whole challenge is getting a percentage of them to stop."

Joe Ulrich, co-owner of Preferred Realty Group Inc. of Elizabethtown, said since many Elizabethtown residents work elsewhere during the day, a theater and more restaurants like Moreland's could help bring those residents downtown at night.

Reno Hotel Fire Kills 6; Woman Arrested

RENO, Nev. - A woman set fire to a mattress and touched off a blaze that killed six people and gutted much of a historic brick building in Reno's downtown casino district, authorities said Wednesday.

The woman was arrested on arson and murder charges in Tuesday night's fire at the Mizpah Hotel, police said. It was the city's deadliest blaze in more than 40 years.

About 30 people were injured, some of them after they leaped out the windows of the three-story building, which was primarily a residential hotel.

Firefighters said they did not know of anyone still missing in the fire, but they had yet to search some areas. The roof collapsed, and authorities said the building would have to be shored up.

Police Chief Michael Poehlman said Valerie Moore, 47, set fire to a mattress in her hotel room. Officials said they were trying to figure out why.

"She didn't seem like a crazy person," said Maxie Birch, 42, who lived down the hall from Moore. "But something happened last night to push her over the edge. She just flipped. I don't know what caused her to flip."

Police said 60 to 80 people were inside the 84-year-old, recently renovated hotel when the fire started. It quickly engulfed the north wing of the hotel, near Harrah's casino. None of the downtown high-rise hotel-casinos were threatened.

Some residents jumped from the windows. Others were rescued by firefighters with ladders and city workers who were in the area with a cherry picker.

Third-floor resident John Hicks said he saw one person jump from a window and land on a metal trash bin.

"I lost my clothes, I lost everything. It spread so fast I could have died," Hicks told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "The flames were getting into my room. I'm lucky to be alive."

One hospital reported that two people were hospitalized in critical condition, and a third was flown to a burn center in California.

Acquaintances said Moore was typically friendly but had been drinking and lost control after an argument with another tenant.

Steven Purcell, 53, the hotel's front desk clerk, said Moore asked him to escort her from a nearby liquor store to the hotel late Tuesday afternoon.

"She was a really good tenant. She just had way, way too much to drink yesterday, causing trouble all day," said Sharon Steele, the hotel's general manager.

It was Reno's deadliest fire since 1962, when six people died at the Golden Hotel, fire department spokesman Steve Frady. He said the Mizpah had smoke alarms but not sprinklers, which was allowed by city code because of the building's age.

The Mizpah was built in 1922 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Fire officials said they did not know whether the building could be saved.

"It was just gorgeous, and now it's all gone," said hotel general manager Sharon Steele. "It's a brick building. I don't know why it burned so fast."

---

Associated Press writer Scott Sonner contributed to this report.

Hurricane seasons ends, one of calmest since 1990s

The hurricane season is ending with barely a whimper.

The 2009 Atlantic season officially ends Tuesday. This year produced just nine named storms, including three hurricanes. Only two tropical storms _ Claudette in August and Ida in November _ made landfall in the U.S. Those tropical storms brought heavy rain and some flooding but caused little destruction.

This was the quietest hurricane season since 2006, when none of the nine storms hit the U.S. coast. The calmest season before that was in 1997, which had just seven storms.

James Franklin of the National Hurricane Center says El Nino (NEEN-yo) conditions in the Pacific Ocean helped produce strong winds that disrupted storms in the Atlantic before they could strengthen into hurricanes.

US starts process of deporting thousands of illegal Vietnamese immigrants

Washington has started deportation proceedings for thousands of Vietnamese living illegally in the United States following the completion of a pact between the two countries, a top U.S. immigration official said Tuesday.

But Julie Myers, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, eased some Vietnamese groups' fears by saying those who have lived in the country for more than 13 years would not be deported.

"We're just going to begin the process of returning individuals back to Vietnam," Myers said in an interview with The Associated Press during a visit to Singapore. "The Vietnamese government has been very cooperative and helpful in this process as we've identified particular cases to move forward on."

The agreement was completed in late January but took 60 days to come into effect, Myers said. It provides steps for the U.S. to deport Vietnamese citizens who lack required documents, and for Vietnam to receive them.

"Every country in the world has a responsibility by treaty to take back their nationals. This agreement simply says that Vietnam will follow what every country in the world has to do with respect to taking back their nationals," said Myers, who is attending an ICE-sponsored conference in the city-state on forced child labor, child sex tourism and human trafficking.

The deal took 10 years to complete as Vietnam had previously been reluctant to accept citizens back, and community leaders in the U.S. said many immigrants have been living with deportation orders for years, even decades.

The repatriation pact applies to Vietnamese who entered the U.S. illegally after the former foes normalized relations in 1995, and Myers said her agency did not intend to extend that limit. Some critics of the pact had expressed concern that it could be rolled back to include others who entered the United States in the 70s and 80s.

"The agreement is clear in what it covers. It covers individuals who entered the United States (illegally) after 1995," she said.

About 6,200 Vietnamese were given final deportation orders before the agreement's completion, and 1,500 more are involved in proceedings to eventually be sent home.

More than 1.5 million overseas Vietnamese _ the largest Vietnamese population outside Vietnam _ live in the United States. Many fled their native country in boats after the Vietnam War ended in 1975 and northern communist forces took control of the former South Vietnam, which the U.S. had backed.

Proposal would require expensing options Would take effect for fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15 if OKd

Most Chicago area companies would see their earnings drop by lessthan 5 percent under a rule proposed Wednesday that would requirepublicly traded firms to deduct the expense of stock options theygrant to executives and other employees.

Among companies that would be hardest hit are those in the high-tech and telecommunications industries, which have long relied on"free" stock options to reward executives and employees.

The proposal is open to public comment until June 30; if approved,it would take effect for the fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15,2004.

Under generally accepted accounting procedures, the cost ofgranting stock options -- the right to buy a company's stock at a setprice at some future dates -- isn't charged as an expense until theoption is exercised. Even then most of the cost is taken as a taxdeduction.

The long-awaited proposal, spurred by the public's outrage overCEO pay scandals, marks a milestone in the 30-year history of theFinancial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Norwalk, Conn.-based board that sets accounting rules.

"It's a landmark move," said Don Delves, a Chicago executivecompensation specialist who advocates tying executives' compensationto their company's performance. "It's a reflection of the muchheightened awareness of the need for good corporate governance, moreaccurate accounting and a healthier system of executive compensationthat is sweeping the country right now."

Investors also are worried about the growth of stock options doledout in successive years to the same group of top executives. Whenthey exercise their options and collect shares, the result is awatering-down of a company's earnings per share.

The FASB proposed that companies account for the fair market valueof a stock option on the date it is granted.

The board's proposed rule would allow companies to use a varietyof formulas to calculate option values, including the so- calledbinomial model and the Black-Scholes model, developed by economistsFischer Black and Nobel Prize-winner Myron Scholes.

The models must use a minimum of six variables, such as interestrates, stock-price volatility and the vesting period, to calculateoption values, according to the proposed rule.

Leaving the valuation method to companies may create non-comparable financial statements, according to Kevin Hassett, directorof Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

The FASB's proposal asks companies that prefer a single formula torecommend one.

The FASB also proposed the possibility that smaller start-upcompanies be allowed to wait until a stock option is exercised beforeits expense is measured.

For example, if an employee of a start-up firm exercised a $10option on a $50 stock, the company would incur a $40 expense.

Delves said he endorsed the idea because an option's intrinsicvalue on the date it is exercised is indeed its true economic cost.

David Ruder, a law professor at the Northwestern University Schoolof Law and a member of the board that oversees FASB's internationalcounterpart, said Wednesday that the FASB's willingness to consider adifferent standard for very small and start-up businesses showed thatFASB is seriously considering the business community's concerns.

FASB is coordinating its accounting regulations with those of theLondon-based International Accounting Standards Board, which also hasrequired companies to expense option costs.

Though FASB will encounter resistance to its proposed rule inCongress -- it caved in to similar pressures a decade ago -- Ruderbelieves there is no turning back this time.

"It's very unlikely either the (Securities and ExchangeCommission) will step in to cause the FASB to back down, or that theFASB will do so itself," said Ruder, who served from 1996 to 2002 onthe board of trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation, whichoversees the FASB.

Contributing: Bloomberg News, AP

AT WHAT EXPENSE?

Here's how the expensing of options would have trimmed last year'sreported earnings per share, shown in dollars, from continuingoperations of Chicago-area companies included in the S&P 500.

Earnings Per

per share Pct. Company share decline +/--

Abbott 1.75 --.13 -- 7

Allstate 3.86 --.04 -- 4

Andrew 0.11 --.06 -- 55

ADM 0.70 --.01 -- 1

Aon 2.08 --.08 -- 4

Bank One 2.75 --.02 -- 1

Baxter Int. 1.52 --.25 -- 16

Boeing 0.89 0 NM

Brunswick 1.47 --.06 --4

Caterpillar 3.13 --.20 -- 6

Deere 2.64 --.11 -- 4

Donnelley 1.54 --.08 -- 5

Equity Office 1.26 --.02 -- 2

Equity Res. 0.43 --.01 -- 2

Exelon 2.41 --.06 -- 2

Fortune Brands 3.86 --.12 -- 3

Grainger 2.46 --.15 -- 6

McDonald's 1.18 --.17 -- 14

Molex 0.44 --.04 -- 9

Motorola 0.38 --.09 -- 24

Navistar -- 0.21 --.16 NM

Nicor 2.48 --.01 0

Northern Trust 1.89 --.21 -- 11

Peoples Energy 2.87 --.02 --1

Sara Lee 1.50 --.04 -- 3

Sears 11.86 --.15 -- 1

Tellabs -- 0.58 --.13 NM

Tribune 2.61 --.23 -- 9

Walgreen 1.14 --.05 -- 4

Wrigley 1.98 --.06 -- 3

NM: not meaningful

SOURCE: Credit Suisse/First Boston

Cards can't wait to call up rookie Ankiel

The St. Louis Cardinals have decided the future is now for RickAnkiel.

Earlier in the season, general manager Walt Jocketty said he wasnot going to rush Ankiel, a second-round pick in 1997 who turned 20last month but has one of the most promising arms in baseball. Thenhe went 6-0 with an 0.91 ERA at Class AA Arkansas, and St. Louispromoted Ankiel to Class AAA Memphis.

After watching Ankiel pitch six innings of one-hit ball Monday,Jocketty had seen enough that he can't wait for September to bringhim up with the rest of the minor-league promotions. Ankiel, whowas 7-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 16 starts for Memphis, will make his firstmajor-league start Tuesday night at Montreal.

"The last few days, we decided to kind of speed the process up alittle," Jocketty said.

Jocketty said the main reason Ankiel is getting an earlier look isthe demotion of Jose Jimenez, who was been a disappointment after hisno-hitter and two-hitter against Randy Johnson.

EX-CUB FONDY DIES: Dee Fondy, who played for the Cubs, PittsburghPirates and Cincinnati Reds and was the last player to bat in EbbetsField in Brooklyn, died of cancer. He was 74.

He hit .286 with 1,000 hits in eight seasons in the majors.

Fondy played in the Dodgers' farm system until being traded to theCubs. He won a spot on their roster and his first major-league hitwas a bases-loaded triple off St. Louis pitcher Ken Raffsenberger onApril 17, 1951, at Wrigley Field.

MARTINEZ CALMS DOWN: After pitching a fit in the clubhouse beforeThursday night's game against Oakland, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinezinsisted he has no animosity toward his manager or GM and said he wasmerely "joking around."

However, Martinez admitted he was upset there were televisioncameras waiting for him when he arrived the ballpark. Martinez wasscratched from his scheduled start on Saturday after he broke a teamrule by failing to arrive the ballpark at least two hours before thegame.

"You guys need to let it go," he told reporters after Thursday's6-2 loss to the Athletics.

Martinez yelled at Boston general manager Dan Duquette in front ofseveral reporters before Thursday's game, but was smiling andcracking jokes after the game.

Afterward, Martinez claimed "we were just talking. I'm just aloud talker."