Philadelphia may not be buying Beckham, but $47 million in state funding might be the golden goal in the contest to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to the City of Brotherly Love. Last Thursday, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell formally committed money from state grants and loans to aid a Chester project which would include a $115 million stadium, a 200,000-square-foot convention center, retail space and apartments along the Delaware River.

A captain in his senior season, Penn's Brian Grandieri has hit his share of big shots in his career. But even he'll tell you that the most meaningful points he ever scored weren't for Quakers coaches Fran Dunphy or Glen Miller. They were for Evan Brady. A neighbor, schoolmate and childhood friend of Grandieri, Brady was a standout lacrosse player for Rose Tree Media Optimist Youth Club, and seemed set to continue playing at Malvern Prep, a Catholic school outside of Philadelphia.

The last time Columbia's All-Ivy forward John Baumann suited up against the Quakers, he let up six runs on five hits in 6.1 innings. That's not your typical basketball stat line. Baumann was on the mound for the Lions, not the hardwood. By excelling at both sports, he joined an elite group of athletes when he was named All-Ivy first-team in basketball and second-team in baseball for the 2007-08 season.

'Tired of bio labs and calculus homework? Take Shakespeare!" says a commercial on the Penn Video Network. "Hamlet: Incest! Murder! Mayhem!" Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! And who wouldn't want to switch integral tables for a little incest? As recently released data from the College of Arts and Sciences points out, the average grade for a humanities class is 3.

Everyone loves the underdog. Everyone, that is, except donors. At least that's what the statistics say, as small charities and non-profit organizations dedicated to social services in Philadelphia and across the nation have reported increased struggles with fundraising in recent years.

Though Wharton MBA admissions officer Judith Hodara's involvement in two private admissions-counseling businesses is temporarily embarrassing for Wharton and Penn, experts say it's unlikely to be a long-term blemish on the ethical reputations of either. Because Wharton has a "well-established program with such great demand," the school's admissions numbers and overall reputation probably will not be affected by the potential conflict-of-interest issue, said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admissions Counseling.

Aspiring writers in the Penn community should take a hint from Wharton when trying to get into the publishing industry. Marie Lamba, a Penn alumna, spoke yesterday at the Penn Bookstore about her experiences writing her debut novel What I Meant., published by Random House, and the business traits needed to succeed.

The Penn women's tennis team can now leave the Levy Pavilion courts without having lost there. The Quakers won't return home until April 11, when it will be warm enough to play outdoors. And in their indoor finale, they slipped by an all-international Old Dominion 4-3 to remain undefeated in their spring season.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet bought his first stocks at the age of 11. These days, Penn students are taking a leaf out of Buffet's book and trying their hand at investing as an undergraduate. "Like anything in life, it helps to start out early," said Wharton junior Peter Wang, who already has five years of experience in investing.

Senior night for the men's squash team will definitely be one they will never forget. But not for good reasons. The Quakers fell 9-0 to No. 2 Princeton last night, and only one match lasted longer than three games. They are now just 39-6 against the Tigers over the past five seasons.

In Focus

Nintendo's Wii game console put the "we" back into video-gaming this past year. Wii - which was released in late 2006 - has both changed the video-gaming scene and resulted in a major impact on Nintendo's revenue. Nintendo's profits for the first nine months of the fiscal year, which will end on March 31, nearly doubled in comparison to the previous year, due in large part to Wii game machine sales.

When it comes to conflicts of interest in the world of higher-ed admissions, there are always gray areas. That's why universities need to explain to their admissions officers which activities are okay and which activities aren't. Unfortunately, the communication process seems to have failed in the case of Judith Hodara, a Wharton MBA admissions officer who simultaneously worked in two private admissions-counseling businesses.

King's College in London charged international students studying English a tuition of $9,400 to study there in the fall. According to Penn estimates, students paid an additional $8,285 for room, board, travel and other costs. But a Penn student at King's paid $25,831 to be there, not $17,685.

Thus far, this year's primaries have seen a significant jump in youth voting and involvement - and Super Tuesday's election results only reinforced this trend. "The bottom line is, the turnout was very much up," University of Maryland research scholar Peter Levine said.

With a new general manager dedicated to improving customer service, $150 million in state funding and concrete plans to modernize fare-collection systems, SEPTA could be in the middle of a renaissance. Unfortunately, Penn doesn't seem to be on board. So far, the only discounted SEPTA pass that the University offers to students costs over $280 per semester.

Despite living in China as a child, it wasn't until Zhi Geng returned as a study abroad student that she discovered her own jewel in the capital city: a small restaurant near the west gate of Beijing University that serves the most amazing chicken wings. For the Wharton and College senior, spending a semester in Beijing allowed her to reconnect with her cultural roots, which she had few memories of as a child.