Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

$2.34 Current average cost of gasoline per gallon — up from $2.26 during Thanksgiving — in the Philadelphia area, as reported in the AAA Mid-Atlantic press release titled, "Will Gas Prices Be the Holiday Grinch?" No, AAA, that job falls to Running Numbers. Yes, it's time to point out those individuals who will be getting a little less gelt and a little more coal this year.

2 Number of different watches — with a combined price tag of approximately $25,000 — that Donovan McNabb sports for Jay Roberts Jewelers holiday catalog, the introduction of which praises "The elite athletes who give us tremendous regional pride in our teams." Sorry, Donovan, but do you really think it's prudent to splurge on luxury timepieces when you're out of work? Please, think of the kids.

0 Number of Philadelphia print-media people recognized in "20 Under 40," a feature profiling young individuals who "inspire hope for the future of the newspaper industry," in the December issue of PRESSTIME, the magazine of the Newspaper Association of America. Hope is hard when PRESSTIME reports that, despite a decline in print circulation for the city's dailies, Philly.com has "continued to grow, with the Inquirer's total unique audience (combined with the audience for the Web site of the Philadelphia Daily News) this fall reaching 1,503,743, a 14.3 percent increase over the spring, according to Nielsen//NetRatings." Bah humbug, Egon. Print is not dead!

0 Number of Philly-based businesses included in CNNMoney.com's list of "100 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies." First no recognition for our journalism talent, and now this? Snub city!

6 Rank of Chris Webber in Sports Illustrated's "10 Most Disappointing Players in the East," which explains that "Webber actually tries on defense, but his side-to-side movement is so bad that he still ranks as the worst defensive big man in the game. And it's just not his man that scores; Webber's missteps often result in a dangerous domino effect that usually leads to an open look for the other team." Ouch. Check back in two weeks for some New Year's resolutions that will turn everything around in '07.