Denver mayor cuts his ties to the Phils

The term continental divide was not lost on Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper Jr. as his Colorado Rockies prepared to play the Phillies in the National League playoffs.

Hickenlooper, 55, grew up in Narberth and Wynnewood and graduated from the Haverford School in 1970. His mother, Anne Macdonald, died in 2003, shortly before he was elected.

"Yes, as hard as this is, I'm going to have to root for the Rockies and break a little of that precious crystal of my past," said Hickenlooper, a geologist by training. To this day, he can name all the players on the 1964 Phillies.

When Denver first got the Rockies in 1993, he said, "I went through a transformational experience. For four or five years, I rooted for both."

Hickenlooper - who predicted that the Rockies would win as the series goes down to the final out in the fifth game - said he and Mayor Street were trying to work out a friendly wager.

   - Michael Klein