He just exhibits bucknell bison baseball would have basketball displays preferred later. Utley went 0 for 5 Friday night in Philadelphia's 5-3 victory over the New York Mets, ending a 35-game hitting streak that equaled the 10th longest in major league history. Utley's hitless night overshadowed home runs by David Dellucci and Ryan Howard that carried the Phillies to their ninth win in 11 games. Utley struck out twice and was robbed on his best chance for a hit when second baseman Jose Valentin ranged to his right in the seventh inning, backhanded Utley's grounder and threw him out. For a moment, the All-Star second baseman thought he had his hit. "I wasn't sure," Utley said. "He's a pretty slick fielder. "Dellucci led off the seventh with his ninth homer, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead Howard hit his league-leading 37th homer in the ninth. . As development has sprawled far beyond the mountain ranges that rim the Los Angeles Basin, the roads that cut through the hills have become some of the most vulnerable in the nation to mishap or disaster. The loss of even a single traffic corridor can cause costly delays -- as the deadly fire that temporarily closed Interstate 5 last weekend proved once again. Commuters and truckers were faced with finding alternatives to a stretch of freeway that handles nearly a quarter of a million vehicles a day in an area where mountains leave few options. It is a problem that urban planners agree will only get worse. "If you have to blame it on anybody, blame it on the Spaniards, on the Conquistadors. They had a bad habit of building a city in a bowl," said Alan E. Pisarski, author of "Commuting in America. ""In our arrogance, we forget topography and geography. Every so often, we're reminded. "Local transportation experts say drastic changes will be needed to accommodate a population that is forecast to increase 60% over the coming decades -- growing from 19. 5 million in 2000 to 31. 6 million by 2050. As once remote areas on the other side of mountain ranges turn into major population centers, one of the few options to move more people from valley to valley is to tunnel through the mountains, a costly proposition that has drawn protests from some environmentalists. Along the I-5 corridor, for instance, 21,000 new homes are planned at Newhall Ranch, with another 23,000 to be built at Tejon Ranch. Both developments would rely on I-5 to move a projected population of 120,000 residents. The weekend's truck crash, where the I-5 interchange meets the Antelope Valley Freeway, killed three and injured 10. Although Caltrans engineers were able to reopen the roadway more quickly than they initially expected, the closure over the weekend served as a reminder that the mountain interchange is particularly vulnerable.

In addition to the most recent shutdown, the route was hobbled by earthquakes in 1971 and 1994. Even when Interstate 5 and the Antelope Valley Freeway are wide open, they form one of Southern California's numerous natural "choke points," said Robert Cervero, professor and chairman of UC Berkeley's department of city and regional planning. Conditions, he said, are further complicated by a transportation network that was built mainly in the 1950s through the 1970s to handle significantly less traffic. "You have very complex travel patterns," Cervero said bucknell bison football . "The lethal combination there is terrain, topography and sprawl. "Pisarski said L. A. 's reliance on freeways is not all that different from other Western cities' basketball camp . What sets Los Angeles apart is topography that provides few alternatives to its main highways basketball recruiting . When something goes wrong on a major freeway, "it really screws things up," Pisarski said basketball schedule . "The systems are increasingly fragile. "One possible solution: tunneling through mountains. Once thought unfeasible, tunnels are now getting a more serious look. Millions of dollars have been committed to study a tunnel that would cut 12 miles under the Santa Ana Mountains and connect Inland Empire cities to Orange County. The proposed route is designed to ease chronic congestion on the 91 Freeway, which cuts through Santa Ana Canyon and is a key route from Riverside County into the L. A Basin. Officials estimate the tunnel could cost up to $8. 5 billion. There also has been discussion about a 23-mile tunnel through the San Gabriel Mountains that would connect the Antelope Valley to Glendale, a proposal that Palmdale officials have explored. But an early estimate of the cost of that tunnel was $3 billion to $5 billion. Doug Failing, Caltrans district director for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, said the question was not whether such a tunnel could be engineered but whether it would make sense given the limited funds and competing demands for traffic relief. "It could be done, [but] the cost would be tremendous," said Failing, adding that the agency was not pursuing the Antelope Valley-to-Glendale tunnel. Such tunnels would create alternatives to the traditional mountain passes that, for the most part, already have been expanded to allow as many traffic lanes as geography allows. Although those expansions have added capacity, planners note that they have left key corridors exposed to complete closure with no way for commuters to easily go around. "The redundancy you like to have in the ideal system is not there," said Pisarski, who has studied commuting for the Transportation Research Board, which advises the federal government. "If something happens to one facility, it can cause considerable pain," he said. Pisarski said that by adding onto existing roads instead of building new routes, "you put all your eggs in one basket. "Hasan Ikhrata, planning director for the Southern California Assn.

of Governments, said that if something catastrophic happened to Interstate 5 or Interstate 15, the other major route for truck traffic heading north out of Southern California, "we're in big trouble. "There are alternatives to I-5, such as the 101 Freeway and U. S bucknell bison basketball . 395, he said. But using the 101 adds significant travel time, and 395 is a narrow highway with a high accident rate, he said. And neither is invulnerable, as demonstrated by the deadly landslide in early 2005 in the coastal Ventura County community of La Conchita that shut the 101 and stranded commuters. An ocean ferry service had to be hastily organized to shuttle people around a 30-mile stretch of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. "Our region is like a swimming pool with water coming in from a few places basketball tickets . I can't think of any other place like ours, where we are so dependent on freeways and have such limited alternatives," Ikhrata said. In Minneapolis, by contrast, when the I-35 bridge collapsed this summer, killing 13 and injuring more than 100, there were other bridges across the Mississippi River within eyesight. Ikhrata said none of the solutions for Southern California is short-term. Many could take decades, he said basketball u . And it may be too late to keep up with the predicted swell in population. "If you want people to have a quality of life, you need to build the infrastructure," he said bucknell . "An interchange here and a lane here isn't going to do it. "For some motorists, the accident was a reminder of I-5's importance. On Monday, UCLA law student Bianca Sparks filled her gas tank at a station in Gorman en route to family in Fresno. "I don't know any other way besides the 5," she said. If it had not already been reopened, Sparks worried that she would have had a hard time getting to her family. "It'd be a huge inconvenience," she said. For truckers, even the temporary loss of the corridor was troubling. "It's the only interstate that connects Northern and Southern California," said John Stipetich, who came to work early Monday concerned that he would face a long day of snarled traffic. "If any part of it shuts down, there's just no good way around it," he said. "There are secondary routes, but they're not made to handle heavier loads. "hector. becerramegan. garveyContributing to this report were Times staff writers Ari B Bloomekatz, Scott Gold, Jeffrey L Rabin and Dan Weikel. .

Flower Alley, who won the Jim Dandy and Travers last year in his only two starts at Saratoga, returns to the scene of those easy victories today when he meets Invasor and seven others in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap. Scheduled for 1 1/8 miles, the Whitney is one of two Grade I races on the program Bucknell Bison . One race earlier, a full field of 3-year-old fillies will run seven furlongs in the $250,000 Test. Trained by Todd Pletcher for owners Eugene and Laura Melnyk, Flower Alley, a 4-year-old Distorted Humor colt, has made only one start in 2006 bucknell address . He won the Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N. J. , skipping to a 3 1/4 -length victory as the 1-2 favorite over a sloppy track on June 24. John Velazquez, who has been aboard for Flower Alley's last three victories, has the mount again in the Whitney . Invasor, an Argentine-bred son of Candy Stripes, is two for two since arriving in the U. S bucknell athletic . The 4-year-old won the Pimlico Special on May 19, then returned to take the Suburban at Belmont Park on July 1. Wild Fit, who is most effective as a late-running sprinter, will make her first start since finishing third in the Santa Anita Oaks on March 12 in the Test. Race of the day: Untouched Talent, who won the $44,000 Juan Gonzalez Memorial on July 1 at Pleasanton in her debut, will break from the rail as she tries to become a graded stakes winner in the $150,000 Sorrento today at Del Mar. Victor Espinoza will ride the 2-year-old Storm Cat filly for a partnership and trainer Jeff Bonde in the Grade III at 6 1/2 furlongs. One for the road: Therecomesatiger returns to an Arlington Park turf course over which he has had success and can spring a mild surprise in the $150,000 Sea O Erin Breeders' Cup Mile Handicap. Mark Guidry will ride the 4-year-old Tiger Ridge gelding, who has won two of three on the Arlington grass, for owner-breeder Charles Patton and trainer Tom Proctor. Exotically speaking: A pick three using Outofthepast in the eighth, Little Boss Chick, Is It A Trick and Kalookan Lessie in the ninth and Inesperado, Dark Sorcerer, Imitation and Blue Steller in the 10th. Winners: (previous day/meet total): 2/48 Money: (previous day/meet total): $7. 80/$257. 20 Total money bet: $254. bucknell baseball . From the back of a Jeep atop a Santa Catalina Island peak, Salee Allawe could see for miles in every direction Monday. "Look over there!" her father, Hussein Allawe Feras, said in Arabic. She followed his stare to vessels sliding across the blue ocean below. Her response was a dreamy smile "Balmaat," she said. Boats. It was a simple pleasure, but that was the point. The 10-year-old girl lost her legs in what her family said was a U. S air strike on the outskirts of Baghdad last November.

Salee, who was discovered by her mother dragging herself over a pile of bricks, helped identify the remains of her 13-year-old brother and her best friend, who were killed in the same incident. Salee recently was fitted with mechanical knees and prosthetic limbs at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville, S. C bucknell bison chips . Her sponsors wanted to give her a happy memory before she returns to her war-torn country next Monday. So they brought her and her father to Catalina Island bucknell basketball Bucknell Bison - bucknellbison . The little girl with short brown hair, big brown eyes and an infectious laugh was greeted in Avalon by a group of well-wishers who held up a colorful banner reading "Welcome to Catalina Salee!" and handed her armfuls of gifts. "People keep giving me things -- necklaces, like this one," Salee said through an interpreter, fingering an abalone necklace that had been placed around her neck bucknell basketball message board . "I don't even know their names. "The trip seemed to accomplish its goal. During an hourlong, teeth-chattering ride into the interior of the island, Salee screamed gleefully as the Jeep negotiated hairpin turns into steep valleys bucknell board Bucknell Bison - bucknellbison . The adults, meanwhile, grabbed the roll bars. And when she was introduced to Tachi, a Catalina Island fox cradled by a biologist, she blurted out one of the few English phrases she knows: "Oh, my gosh. "The little female fox is a survivor of sorts as well. The 4-year-old Tachi, the product of a captive breeding program, has bonded too much with humans to be released into the wild, so conservancy workers have named her Ne Shun Tachi, or Tachi for short. In the Tongva language, it means "Little girl of hope. "As Salee was carried back to the Jeep in the arms of a caretaker, she waved and again ventured some more English: "Goodbye, Tachi.

Thank you so very much!"The trip -- an eco-tour arranged by a group of island organizations led by Leslie Baer of the Catalina Island Conservancy -- began at sunrise Monday when Salee and her father boarded a sleek Catalina Express boat in Long Beach. Salee, who did not wear her artificial legs on the trip, clambered up on a ledge and, with her faced pressed to the glass, watched transfixed by the sights as the ship pushed out to sea: port lights reflecting off the water, flying seabirds following the contours of the waves, a massive cruise ship with the letters of its name lighted up with strings of bright lights. "What does that mean?" she asked in Arabic. Translator Laith Mahmood provided the answer: Paradise. Salee was still glued to the window of the vessel when it nosed into Avalon's cozy harbor, a place that her father muttered "is just like heaven," with its oceanfront Victorian cottages crowned with cupolas and turrets, and a beach edged with a curved, cafe-lined promenade. Her companions included Mahmood and two people who raised most of the funds to bring Salee to the United States in July for corrective surgery: social worker Ann Cothran of Greenville, N. C. , and Cole Miller, founder of Los Angeles-based No More Victims, a grass-roots organization dedicated to assisting Iraqi children injured in the war. "There are thousands of Salees in Iraq," Miller said "I don't consider this charity . It's responsibility. "The Jeep tour was followed by a trip on a glass-bottom boat bucknell camp . Salee whistled and tapped hard on a plate-glass portal when a cloud of brightly colored fish swam past. Bucknell Bison tickets After snapping dozens of photographs, she turned to the translator and whispered: "I want to be a photographer when I grow up bucknell college . But don't tell anyone because all the kids I know want to be doctors. "Her whirlwind tour ended with a kayaking adventure at picturesque Descanso Beach with island residents Montana Troeger, 11, and Sammi Arnold, 12 . They paddled hard for about a mile with Salee occasionally breaking stride to wave at nearby sea lions and passing sailing vessels with bright pennants flapping in the breeze. After returning to shore, Salee pulled a pair of white socks up over her thighs and gave a thumbs up to Miller "Nice!" she said. They gave each other a high-five. Next week, Salee will begin her journey back to Baghdad, where she will reunite with her mother, who is pregnant, a diabetic brother and a sister who lost part of a foot in the attack. "We hope to bring her sister to the United States for treatment," Miller said Bucknell Bison . "In the meantime, Salee will be returning to the United States every 12 to 18 months for follow-up examinations and more sophisticated mechanical knees, which will enable her to walk unaided by crutches. "Moments before Salee boarded a boat for the return to Long Beach, a shop owner draped a lei of shells around her neck, and Baer handed her something to remind of her trip: a furry puppet shaped like a bison, and a book of color photographs of Catalina Island. "Oh, my gosh," Salee said "Thank you so very much!"--louis. sahagun.