The Quakers' Big 5 opener against Villanova was your typical City Series matchup: loud, physical and close to the very end. And once again, the Wildcats came out on top with a 99-89 win at a packed Palestra. A huge factor in 'Nova's win was their flawless free-throw shooting -- a torrid 27-of-29, with the only two misses in the irrelevant final minute.

22Americans who died in 2003 from being crushed by human stampedes.Source: Trans. Safety Board

Penn basketballer Stephen Danley shares an insider's perspective of the Quaker basketball team.

As much as we try to deny it, the 122nd Board could only be described as "a disaster!" (After all, it is an even-numbered board). Truly, we have been Blatsteined - or "jammed up the ass by three officials," if you will. As such, a certain former DPOSTM writer seems to have notified our regional supervisor that it's time we hand over the reins to the 1-2-3.

For the second year in a row, the Quakers are hoping to have short memories following a blowout loss to Delaware. Penn (2-2) will once again be trying to bounce back when it concludes its three-game homestand and continues its Big 5 schedule against Villanova (3-4) on Sunday.

The two main graduate student groups on campus recently announced a plan to radically restructure their organizations - and incensed many of their own constituents in the process.

It's only two weeks into the season, but the men's and women's squash teams already face the first of the perennially elite squash teams. Both the No. 6 men's and No. 4 women's teams head to New Haven, Conn. tomorrow to meet the Elis, whose men's and women's teams are ranked fourth and second, respectively.

Mixing dark humor with what organizers called a "delightfully strange" plot, Richard Burgin entertained an audience of about 30 with a reading from his latest work Wednesday evening. Burgin, a composer, professor at Saint Louis University and award-winning fiction writer, came to the Kelly Writers House to give the first-ever reading of the title work in his new collection of short stories, The Conference on Beautiful Moments.

Objectivity To the Editor: I am writing out of concern for the objectivity that you display your news. Your recent article on a British author ("Author says Britain has become a jihadist hotbed," DP, 11/15/06) had a front-page teaser that read, "A cultural assault.

Penn researchers say the future of AIDS treatment - and perhaps the treatment of other diseases - could lie in giving sick patients doses of a genetically modified HIV virus. HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - attacks T-cells, white blood cells that are critical to the immune system.

A Penn employee was the victim of a strong-arm robbery Tuesday evening, and police officials are investigating whether the case is related to either of two recent strings of crime in the area.

Dave Anderson is a College senior from Denver. His e-mail address is anderson@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Patrick Harker, the dean of the Wharton School since 2000, will leave next year to become president of the University of Delaware. He will replace retiring Delaware president David Roselle. In a statement, Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels congratulated Harker on winning the post and praised his contributions to the University.

In the heart of the Abbotsford housing project where he grew up, multimillionaire businessman Tom Knox declared his candidacy in the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral race yesterday. The announcement was held in front of a Tastykake distribution center. Knox appeared with his wife, one of his sons and their Louis Vuitton-leashed dog, Lily.

There will be plenty of opportunities for the Penn wrestling team to shoot up the rankings this weekend, when the No. 15 Quakers (2-2) compete in the two-day Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The tournament has a field of 49 teams from throughout the country, consisting of Division I, II, NAIA and junior-college competition.

Have you always struggled with foreign languages? Penn Linguistics professor Charles Yang suggests it may not be your fault in his new book. A crowd of about 25 - along with three babies - gathered at the Penn Bookstore yesterday afternoon to hear Yang speak about his new book, The Infinite Gift: How Children Learn and Unlearn the Languages of the World.

The midterm elections may be over, but that didn't stop members of two political groups from battling for the hearts and minds of Penn students. The Penn Libertarian Association and the International Socialist Organization faced off in a debate hosted by the Penn Forum and Fox Leadership at Huntsman Hall last night.