Paddy whacked?

 

Despite a new EP, Where You Went?, scheduled to drop September 4 on Prison Jazz Records, it looks as though Scranton-based/loved in Philly-band Okay Paddy is breaking up.

No official statement has been issued by the label or the band, whose MySpace page (www.myspace.com/okaypaddy ) listed no scheduled dates. A few people close to the group indicated that the band will resurface soon, but the lineup and name were uncertain as of press time.

 

Life of Brian

 

Brian Bentley, owner of Brian’s Harley-Davidson in Middletown (Bucks County), will be in a very big spotlight Labor Day weekend.

Bentley, and 10 other Eastern Harley-Davidson dealers, will be flown to Las Vegas by the motorcycle company to present Jerry Lewis a check for $1 million during the comedian’s annual Labor Day Telethon. The funds, which are intended for muscular dystrophy research, were raised during the 25-mile Ride for Life bike run in Pennsylvania on May 7.

According to a story in the Bucks County Courier Times, Bentley will be on-stage with Lewis between 2:30 p.m. and 3:20 p.m. on Sept. 2. The show is set to air locally on Channel 17 (myPHL-17).

 

These guys have very tiny balls

 

In honor of the spoof-y Balls of Fury opening in theaters this weekend, it is prudent to mention that Philadelphia will host the U.S. team table-tennis trials for the 2008 Olympic Games’ this coming January. Yes, while sports fans curse away at the Sixers, Flyers- and, perhaps, Eagles, the Drexel campus will host ping-pongers from all over the country vying to represent the U.S. in Beijing.

“We are beginning to succeed in adding to all the great sports traditions we have with additional Olympic and international sports events,” Philadelphia Olympic committee chairman Joe Torsella told KYW (1060-AM) earlier this month.

 

Man with a hammer loose in Trenton

 

Dark days are these for comics/baseball fans as Thor was relived of his duties by the Double-A Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League last week. The organization, which is co-owned by Newtown resident Joe Finley, displayed new logos - a sinister cloud (right) and an angry lightning bolt with a bat - along with uniforms in the color scheme of their major league affiliate, the New York Yankees, last Thursday.

Thor, who held a lightning bolt in the former Thunder logo, was unavailable for comment, as was the two-headed blue “thunderbird” the team first used when the franchise debuted in 1994.

The Thunder, who has drawn 400,000 fans for 12 consecutive seasons to Waterfront Park, will host Eastern League Northern Division Playoff Games 1 and 2 on Wed., Sept. 5 and Thurs., Sept. 6. Go to www.trentonthunder.com  or call 609.394.3300 for tickets.

-Joe Student