icepack

by A.D. Amorosi

You can laugh at most covers of The Daily News. Take a moment. But one in particular made me smile: the one asking the 76ers to drop Allen Iverson. Longtime Icepack fans know I’ve loathed "No Answer" before he made a rap record or chased his wife through town like a lame-ass. When placed in a position of team leadership, he’s blown it, only to be suckled by management when he should’ve been bitch-slapped. My Answer: Don’t drop him. Send him to Pat Croce’s positivity-plus reality show, Moving In. If having Croce live at your house and boom motivational speeches at you all day doesn’t fix it, you broke.Ö Though Disney bigwigs Robert Iger and Michael Eisner thought Comcast’s bid was tinier than Tinkerbell, I have another approach for the cable giant’s Brian Roberts. Disney shareholders hold their annual meeting at the Convention Center on March 3. Brian, dress up and quack-sing like Donald Duck. Sentiment’ll get them.Ö When the well-endowed (as in Pew) Jeanne Ruddy Dance comes to the Mandell Theater in June, not only will they host the return of Philly-dance retiree Paul Struck, they’ll tote along Fosse acolyte/Chicago choreographer Ann Reinking.Ö Check

www.spiralq.org -- Spiral Q Puppet Theater needs an exec director. They’re willing to pay between $35,000 and $50,000. Dag, radical leftist anarchist puppets pay off! E-mail a resume and cover letter by March 12 to spiralqsearch@dca.net.… Philly filmmaker Lee Daniels was spotted dining with Jerry Blavat and Patti LaBelle at Pompeii. No word on whether the trio plan to remake Daniels' Monster's Ball. Speaking of Oscar, Chumley and Carlota's "Oscar Night Gala!" is Feb. 29 at The Prince, benefiting the Sharon Pinkenson Project. Black tie or pajamas? Just go.… "I've been at Shampoo for too long and need a new environment," says Shannon Niland, who will, as of its Feb. 27 opening, be promotions director for FiSo on South Street.… Who bought Anthony's Old City Pub? Terry MacNeish and Peter Schriber of Ministry of Information? More soon.… Not only will DJ Mikronesia start a laptop night on the last Sunday of the month at Cafe Izmir, beginning Feb. 29, Andrew Ryan (Illoin, V.I.P. ) hits Bar Noir Mon., March 1 for "Laptop Bitchslap." Along with compu-music and video, Ryan will drop science on his new Blackmountain Collective for Philly bands to place their unreleased material.… The Grand Illusion: that's Philly's Magnet mag boss Eric Miller's Desert Island album, according to 34th Street, a weekly insert in the Daily Pennsylvanian. Expect a rush on Styx T-shirts throughout the Del-Val.… Frank Zappa singer Napoleon Murphy Brock joins Paul Green School of Rock for a two-day Indre showcase Feb. 26 and 27 (this right after Norah Jones played there for a private Blue Note bash).… Not only is jazz-bo Ben Edwards' BE3 busy playing for Arista spies, he's starting two new (unnamed) ensembles and a bop-exotica DJ night, "On the Make," at Five Spot. Debuting Feb. 26, the last-Thursday event will play host to all live Ben enterprises.… The new Grape Street Complex (at Chemistry) was this close to finding itself opposed by the Manayunk Neighborhood Council and state Rep. Kathy Manderino. But cooler heads prevailed, when, according to management, an influx of concerned musicians e-mailed Manderino and quelled all.… Speaking of boobs, Delilah's "Entertainer of the Year 2004" award and its $5,000 prize went to Casey, "a petite brunette with a serious Addams Family fixation," says Delilah's spokesman David Witz, who sneak-previewed the Den's Ruby Lounge VIP Room that night (it's set for a March opening). "The deciding moment -- the candles she brought on stage and the resulting hot-wax skin treatment she gave herself."… "Imagine Cheap Trick with hooks or The Beatles with staying power," says Chapter 7 Records' Fred BeckIey of his label's The Donuts, John Train's pop act, and its new Mike Brenner-produced CD, Sgt. Jack's Pepper Mill. "I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say these guys could be the next Bricklin." That's good? Yes, according to Beckley. Naked self-interest aside, he says, "it's probably the greatest recording ever made, not including the other ones I've put out." See for yourself when The Donuts dunk with Trolleyvox and Boyd of London, Feb. 27 at North Star.