Pete

The wedding takes place in the Garden of Eden, so at first glance things look pretty leafy for the couple, even if they are of a certain age. But, of course, there is a serpent lurking (represented here by a slithering mime in a body suit). The couple's first problem: Pete feels he's getting the better deal and Puddin doesn't disagree. If the names sound cute and the setting familiar, that's because this is a fable told in play form.

The sharp workplace comedy "Price Check" is a you-are-there slip-and-slide that follows a supermarket chain's pricing department exec whose life gets upended by a whirlwind new boss. Pete Cozy (Eric Mabius) would rather 9-to-5 it and spend time with his homemaker wife, Sara (Annie Parisse), and toddler son than climb the corporate ladder. But when live-wire - and uncensored toughie - Susan Felders (Parker Posey, flat-out terrific) swoops in from corporate to recharge the firm's ailing Long Island division, this not-quite "devil in Prada" promotes a reluctant Pete to be her trusty second.

Peter Sinclair rummaged through the closet and found what he was looking for. His roommate, drawn to the commotion, saw Pete raise a gun to his head. Daniel Jennings managed to yank it away. He locked up all of Pete's guns. "You can't stop me," Pete said. Jennings and Pete had served together in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, but this was a year later and Pete was struggling. Daniel encouraged him to lie down and left to get help once Pete seemed calmer. "You're a good man," Pete said.

Bill Plaschke [Dec. 18] is absolutely right in saying that Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame. He has more hits than anyone who ever played the game, more rings than my bathtub and would have been a unanimous first-ballot choice if it weren't for that gambling habit. I just checked with Cooperstown and they tell me that it's called the Baseball Hall of Fame and not the Ethics Hall of Fame, the Integrity Hall of Fame or even the Likability Hall of Fame. However, I understand that Pete's laying five to two against being elected before 2005.

The Union Leader, the staunchly conservative statewide newspaper in the nation's first primary state, endorsed Republican Pierre S. (Pete) du Pont IV for President in a front page editorial Tuesday. Lamenting the quality of the 1988 field, Publisher Nackey Loeb acknowledged that her newspaper "has not been a flag-waving enthusiast for any of the candidates running for President. A lot of conservatives are in the same boat."

Night Kites by M. E. Kerr (Zolotow/Harper Junior: $11.50). M. E. Kerr has a genius for striding up on her readers' blind sides and delivering the unexpected. She was doing it as long ago as 1972 with "Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack," which had nothing to do with drugs. She's done it again in "Night Kites," her most important book. It's about the rapport between two brothers separated by a 10-year age difference, and a secret.

Going from college to the pros in coaching might be compared to stepping out of a warm house into a cold and damp Seattle winter. Pete Carroll, get ready to turn your collar up. Maybe there's a reason Carroll was 33-31 as a head coach of the New England Patriots and New York Jets and 97-19 at USC. Maybe his rah-rah personality and having candy-store pick of the talent properly correlate with the disparity between his pro/college win-loss...

Philadelphia "Buddakan?" boomed Pete through the phone. "I hear that's one of the best restaurants in the city. You'd better be buying!" "For the pleasure of your company, I am buying," I replied to my longtime friend. And that is how we ended up in the heart of Philadelphia's historic district, having an excellent lunch at an Asian fusion bistro rated among the city's top restaurants.

He has an extremely novel set of theories about how to win a pennant. If his Cincinnati Reds remain in first place, he could set the mystique of managing back a century. Rose wanted a huge color TV in his clubhouse so everybody can watch the Kentucky Derby. He wants beer on the airplane and plenty of jokes. When he says, "Good morning," to a player he's benched the day before, he wants the guy to say, "How's it goin', Pete."

Tuesday's Dodger flap, caused by the tardiness of Pedro Guerrero and Mariano Duncan for an exhibition game in Plant City, Fla., may have generated another problem for Fred Claire, the team's executive vice president. Steve Greenberg, agent for disgruntled third base candidate Jeff Hamilton, has arrived in town and is expected to seek a trade for his client. Hamilton's chances of winning the third base job ended when Guerrero agreed to move there from first base.