The dream of a breast-heavy Phillies pitching rotation officially died yesterday when the team axed Rule 5 journeyman Travis Blackley, leaving only 11 healthy arms (yes, counting Adam Eaton) for the start of opening day. The dismissal of Blackley also means his wife, model/chest exposer Arynne Tiller Blackley, will no longer be affiliated with the team, leaving only Anna Benson (center) and Heidi Strobel to stoke the smoky embers of dirtball fantasies about a Phillies Wives charity function involving high-pressure water pistols, white T-shirts and a mud pit. (This is bad news for money-strapped charity organizations as well. Tough loss, ALS.)

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TASTE DAILY: Fat is fab in Philly

GOOD LIFE DAILY: Get sun-ready skin fast

TRAVEL: A weekend at this spa — with a little meditation, too — is just what the doctor ordered

Alycia Lane gets union support: Well, some people would like to see Alycia Lane get her job back in Philly. The local chapter of AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is filing a grievance against CBS 3 alleging that Lane was unlawfully fired. [The Mighty Dan Gross]

Chinatown bus gets some competition: On May 30th, the Megabus will begin offering trips to NYC from Philadelphia for between $1 and $14. Megabus says it will offer eight round-trips a day, with Philadelphia stops on John F. Kennedy Boulevard near 30th Street Station and at Fifth and Market Streets, near the Independence Visitor Center. [Inquirer]

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Today’s Daily Examiner end quote comes courtesy of The700Level, whose one Villanova fan/commenter summed up what it was like to be out watching the tournament Friday in the midst of another Big Five school that suffered a less fortunate tournament fate:

I would like to mention that St. Joe’s fans are bigger douches than Nova fans.

Jay Wright: College basketball is a religion in Philly [The700Level]

Hillary Clinton phoned in to John DeBella’s WMGK morning show today to keep pace with Barack Obama’s Philadelphia morning show appearances (all tied up now, 2-2) and avoid saying anything incendiary.

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Diane Sawyer’s Philadelphia ho problem: Last Friday, ABC featured a special report from Diane Sawyer titled ” Prostitution in America: Working Girls Speak,” which featured interviews with some scraggly looking low-end hookers reportedly from the tough streets of Philadelphia. In fact, it was Camden. The Mighty Dan Gross gets ABC to admit it was wrong and stop disparaging our hookers. [The Mighty Dan Gross]

Pennsylvania Democrats surging: The Obama effect continues — 4 million registered as Democrats so far. [Philebrity]

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Hillary Clinton’s heroic hand-shaking efforts on a tarmac in Bosnia back in 1996 may have been completely discredited, but even if she had saved 14 Bosnian babies being tossed from a helicopter, it would do little to help her chances of victory at this point. So, as much as it feels like Pennsylvania is this crucial, make-or-break state, could it really affect the election that much?

Not really. Will Bunch — the Clinton Killer, if you will — agrees that Pennsylvania’s influence can only go so far.

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TASTE DAILY: Got the right milk?

GOOD LIFE DAILY: Renew your skin for spring

HOME: Feng Shui your way to a happier home — one South Jersey expert shows you how

California scheming: Jocelyn Kirsch is biding her time before her preliminary trial on May 12th by working at a Starbucks outside of Napa. She’s been living away from the glowering eyes of Philadelphia with her parents in Marin County, Calif., since December. Regina Medina, of course, found her. [DN]

Sixers knock off Celtics: The impressive run continues, as the Sixers came back from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Boston Celtics, holder of the NBA’s best record, 95-90. The Sixers are now 36-35, above .500 for the first time this season. [Inquirer]

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Today’s Daily Examiner end quote comes courtesy of the blog Hugging Harold Reynolds, which picked up on this great summary of Sen. Arlen Specter’s questionable decision to call in and shill his new book on a Boston sports radio program. Obviously, Patriots fans aren’t going to be particularly receptive to anything Specter says:

“To promote his new book chronicling his battle with cancer,” Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) “inexplicably made a call-in appearance on WZLK-FM, a classic rock station in Boston” last week. That city is “ground zero of the fan base for the New England Patriots, a team Specter has dragged through the mud in his never-ending Sypgate investigation.” Callers to the show “weren’t particularly interested in hearing Specter chat up his new survival tome.” One “irate” caller “accused Specter of wasting government time and money” on Spygate. Specter: “Let me tell you something important, I had cancer …” Caller: “I don’t care!”

Massholes to Spygate Prober Specter: Screw You & Your Cancer [Hugging Harold Reynolds]