Reggie White

NATIONAL Cleaning up after 'meltdown' US Airways started delivering luggage to passengers yesterday after suffering what its chief executive called an "operational meltdown," while Comair put some of its passenger planes back in the air a day after canceling all of its 1,100 flights. [Page 3a] Protest ends at closing parish A protest vigil at a parish slated for closure by the Boston Archdiocese ended yesterday when police sealed off the 114-year-old church after its final Mass and ordered parishioners to leave.

IRVING, Texas -- All you needed to know about yesterday's playoff game between the Cowboys and Eagles, and the direction in which the teams are headed, was summed up in the large nutshell that was Erik Williams blocking Reggie White when the Cowboys had the ball.The Eagles had no better player in uniform than White, one of the best defensive linemen of his generation. Yet his best, which was as fine as ever, was not nearly enough to give the Cowboys trouble. In Williams, a 325-pound rolling boulder who grew up in ++ Philly, the Cowboys had someone just as strong.

BOSTON -- So what do we have here? The economy is humming along, the country's at peace, even the battle of the sexes seems scattered along the Lewinsky Line, and suddenly the religious right is focusing on homosexuality as a threat to the republic.If 1994 was the Year of the Angry White Male, is 1998 being cast as the Year of the Angry Heterosexual?You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to see some political method behind the madness. First James Dobson of Focus on the Family goes to Washington to tell the Republican leadership to get with the program.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- It is easy to tell Bryant Young and Dana Stubblefield apart. Young is a quiet, rock-like 280-pounder whose pass rush has drawn comparisons to the Green Bay Packers' Reggie White. Stubblefield is a gregarious 290-pounder with a roundish frame and tree-trunk legs.As different as they are, it is rare that the San Francisco 49ers' starting defensive tackles are mentioned separately. Which is fine by them. After all, the comments usually involve superlatives, such as Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer's statement last week that Stubblefield and Young "are the two best players at the position as a tandem."

Pro football's Superman has spent some time playing Clark Kent lately.When New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor collected three sacks and forced a fumble in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, despite skipping training camp while holding out, it enhanced the Superman reputation of the nine-time Pro Bowler.Since then, though, Taylor has looked, at times, like a 31-year-old linebacker. He's had a total of just 1 1/2 sacks the past five games and none in the past three.When he lines up against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, he'll be trying to end a drought of two games without a sack against a team he once terrorized.

Last seasonThe Minnesota Vikings were the surprise champions last year at 11-5, but they were blown out at home, 24-7, by the Washington Redskins in their first playoff game. The only other team in this division with a winning record was the Green Bay Packers at 9-7. The other three teams staggered to 5-11 finishes. Now that's a definition of mediocre.New coachesDave Wannstedt went from first to one of the worst when he left Dallas to become the Bears' head coach. Like Mike Ditka, he's a native of the Pittsburgh area and played at Pitt, but the comparisons end there.

PHILADELPHIA -- Today, All-Pro holdout Keith Jackson will ask a judge to sever his ties to the Philadelphia Eagles. Yesterday, another Eagles All-Pro -- defensive end Reggie White -- took the first step along the same path.White signed on as the lead plaintiff in a class-action suit representing hundreds of players seeking free agency. White's case isn't likely to go to trial for more than a year, if it ever does.It is part of the NFL Players Association's strategy to pepper the league with lawsuits until owners agree to a collective-bargaining settlement that players find favorable.

MIAMI -- Dennis Murphy keeps pinching himself.Nearly a year ago, he still was Navy's defensive coordinator. Now he is in his first Super Bowl, coaching the San Diego Chargers' defensive line."

PHILADELPHIA -- It's all a matter of timing.Six years ago, Clyde Simmons was a little-known defensive end out of Western Carolina. The Philadelphia Eagles picked him in the ninth round of the NFL draft and Simmons rewarded them by developing into an All-Pro.This year, in the new, slimmer eight-round draft, a player such as Simmons would not even be picked.It's all a matter of timing.Last year, Steve Emtman, the giant defensive tackle from Washington, was the top pick of the draft. The Indianapolis Colts signed Emtman to a four-year, $9 million deal, making him the top-paid defensive player in history before he ever played a down.

While fans pleaded with him to stay at a "Reggie Rally" in downtown Philadelphia, Reggie White of the Eagles all but said goodbye to the City of Brotherly Love yesterday.In a conference call with Philadelphia writers from his agent's office in Memphis, Tenn., White used words such as "discouraged" and "disappointed" to describe his relationship with the Eagles.That was a sharp contrast to the warm words he used when he was asked if he admired the Washington Redskins, considered the front-runner in the White sweepstakes.