March 1, 1999

DOSE OF SKEPTICISM ON SAFRA SALE

NOBODY ever accussed Wall Street of being sensitive. I know one stock trader who staked out a New York hospital to see if the chairman of one company was dying...

BIG BOARD BOOSTER - NYSE BOSS TAKES ON NEW ROLE: SALESMAN

Richard Grasso wants to shape the future of stock trading. He's also determined to maintain the NYSE's reputation as the world's best-known stock market, faced with growing competition from the...

BOSS' PITCH TO NETS KEEPS SOMETHING IN RESERVE

GEORGE Steinbrenner is buying himself some time. By merging his Yankees with the New Jersey Nets, The Boss is generating a lot of cash, and that should tide him over...

ON THE NEWSSTAND

IT may not feel like it, but spring is on the way, and magazine publishers are ready - especially the ultra-competitive men's titles. Jann Wenner's Men's Journal features an entire...

JAMTV TUNING UP WEBSITE

JamTV Corp. is changing its tune. The Chicago-based company will change its name and the name of its web site to Tunes.com, a site it acquired last year, as it...

TV TICKER

'Time' change Cynthia Alksne has left MSNBC's "Equal Time." Alksne, who co-hosted the show with Oliver North, will be replaced - starting tonight (8-8:30 p.m.) - with a rotating roster...

HOT PINTER

'THERE is no room for unhealthy minds at this establishment," screams the red-faced, apoplectic and clearly deranged head of a rest home in Harold Pinter's "The Hothouse," a 1958 play...

NO FINALE FOR 'SEINFELD'

HAVE the folks who syndicate "Seinfeld" reruns forgotten about last May's grand finale? You might think so. The syndicator, Columbia TriStar Television Distribution, says no plans have been drawn up...

BRYANT GUMBEL'S 'FIELD OF DREAMS' - IDLE ANCHOR TELLS CBS HE'LL JOIN THE MORNING SHOW IF...

TALKS between Bryant Gumbel and CBS about him anchoring its morning show have come down to finding a new home for the show, sources say. Gumbel has told CBS officials...

HANDCUFFED BY BAN

LOCAL TV newscasts will have a different look now that the NYPD has banned the traditional "perp walk," where a suspected criminal is paraded before cameras. No more pictures of...

CITY BALLET PAYS TRIBUTETO ROBBINS

OVER the past weekend at the New York State Theater, New York City Ballet, ended the first leg of its 50th anniversary celebration - the second part will start in...

THE POWER OF ACCESSORIES - HOW A BAG & SHOES MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO YOUR LOOK

IN recent interview, Siberian supermodel Irina Pantaeva recalls that in the nascent days of her career, a fellow catwalker told her that her look was too hippie-ish. Her model friend...

HOLYWOOD - AS 2000 NEARS, LET US PRAY TO SAINTS OF TINSELTOWN

ABSTRACT: AMID all this palaver over the coming Y2K, has it ever occurred to you what kind of frenzy makind worked itself into the first time this happened 1,000 year...

HE MAKES HIS SCHOOL WORK

Boys and Girls High School principal Frank Mickens is a serious fellowwho plays the system like a piano- to the singular benefit of his kids. IT was asserted last week...

CAROLINA'S NASTY MOVIE AD SHOOTS FOR SOUTHERN EXPOSURE AT APPLE'S EXPENSE / 'REEL' NEW YORKERS AREN'T SCARED BY N. CAROLINA'S REBEL YELP

ANOTHER backward backwoods backwater is trying to take a bite out of New York. The latest villains are the ad wizards from the state of North Carolina. Where's that? Just...

DICAPRIO HAS CLOTHES CALL WITH STRIPPING INTRUDER

Security was doubled around Leonardo DiCaprio yesterday after a gorgeous blonde sneaked into his bedroom and began to strip. The "Titanic" heartthrob got the shock of his life when he...

RUN, RUDY, RUN, URGES GOP'S SOCIALITE HOT SHOT

A TOP state Republican urged Mayor Giuliani yesterday to run for the U.S. Senate - and predicted there won't be a GOP primary if he does. "I would very much...

STERILE PAIR $CRAMBLE F0R EGGS OF IVY DREAM GIRL

The anonymous pair, because they are tall and intelligent themselves, want the female student to be at least 5-foot-10 and with a minimum 1,400 on the SAT. They also want...

COP KILLER SHOULD PAY, NOT GET PAID; RICH THUG HAS EARNED THE 'RIGHT' TO DIE IN JAIL

I WAS talking to an ordinary cop who is starting to doubt the contention of Christopher Columbus that the world is round. "This is ludicrous," said Patrolman Jim Graham of...

FAKE COP PULLS OFF MOVIE HEIST

A robber posing as a cop escaped with $2,000 from a Brooklyn movie theater yesterday. Police said the thug knocked on the door of the Cobble Hill Cinemas at 265...

GUNMAN'S CLUMSY COUSIN RUNS OVER HIM IN GETAWAY CAR: COPS

"This is a clear-cut case of the family that couldn't shoot straight."POLICE OFFICERA Queens nightclub reveler who shot a bouncer and tried to flee was caught early yesterday, thanks to...

DOC RIPS $HRINK LINK TO DRUG FIRMS

A leading critic of the extensive financial ties between drug makers and state psychiatrists in charge of research on the mentally ill yesterday blasted the situation in New York as...

PATAKI'S $$ PLAN FOR SPECIAL ED ANGERS PARENTS

"This money is vital to our reform efforts . . . You don't want to dump kids without services."BOARD OF ED LOBBYISTSTEPHEN ALLINGER The Board of Education and parents yesterday...

DEM SEN: CLINTON MUST ANSWER RAPE ALLEGATION

WASHINGTON - A Democratic senator said yesterday that President Clinton ought to respond to the rape allegations leveled by nursing-home owner Juanita Broaddrick. Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Democrat who usually...

MIX OF BOOZE, DATE-RAPE DRUG LANDS REVELERS IN THE HOSPITAL

"The party was out of control," said one of the roommates. "People were dropping to the floor . . . and having seizures." When paramedics arrived, they found Jennifer Pariseau...

COVER STORY: CITY'S COPS ARE FUMING OVER THE NEW YORKER

Cops are outraged over a new magazine cover they say paints the whole department as a bunch of trigger-happy thugs. The cops blasted a cartoon on the cover of this...

NO SLAYS YET IN APPLE'S FORMER DEATH PRECINCT - EXCLUSIVE

"We went from the killing fields to a field of dreams."New York's once-deadliest neighborhood hasn't had a murder this year - a startling turnaround that has top cops bragging and...

SIX FROM BIG EAST? DREAM ON

The Big East Conference certainly hasn't done itself any favors with regards to getting a sixth team into the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut, Miami, St. John's, Syracuse and Villanova are in,...

PAYOFF HAS A PRICE AS RELATIVES FEAR DISASTER

GLORIA ROSTEN remembers the day her bank-teller son froze - stiff. "They had to literally pry his fingers loose from the teller cage," said the 64-year-old Long Island mom. Rosten's...

TOP POLS' WARNING: STOCK UP FOR Y2K

"When we get to New Year's Eve, everybody is going to be holding his breath."SEN. ROBERT BENNETT WASHINGTON - Americans should begin stockpiling food and water to combat the potentially...

ISRAEL STRIKES AT MUSLIM GUERRILLAS; LEBANON AIR RAIDS IN RETALIATION FOR KILLING OF GENERAL

Israel launched punishing air raids against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon yesterday after a remote-controlled bomb on a Lebanese roadside killed an Israeli brigadier general and three others. Prime Minister Benjamin...

COLOMBIA EARTHQUAKE KIDS REUNITED WITH DAD IN QUEENS

"When I found out my wife passed away and my daughter was in intensive care, I wanted to die as well. I know I have to be strong for my...

CELL PHONES MAY DAMAGE MEMORY

Cell-phone users might be at risk for memory loss. A British study says the phones' radiation might disrupt memory and learning. "There is accumulating evidence of the biological effects microwaves...

QUAKE KIDS REUNITED WITH DAD

Two girls badly hurt in the Jan. 25 Colombia earthquake wept with joy yesterday as they were reunited with their father in Queens. "I thank God for bringing my family...

JAPANESE BOBTAIL TAKES KITTEN CABOODLE

ABSTRACT: After the cat acupuncturist and feline therapist and assorted other speakers had their say, one little kitty had a purrfectly wonderful day. Nobu, a 10-month-old Japanese bobtail, was named...

DEVILS TOUGH IT OUT - FINALLY STICK UP FOR THEIR SCORERS

Devils 4 Coyotes 1 They were two independent occurrences, but they relate clearly. At about the moment when the Devils' offense became set for the season, just when they lost...

THE BOSS' BIG BUDGET SPARES NO EXPENSES

TAMPA - Each day of spring training, Yankees head trainer Gene Monahan opens Joe Torre's 9:30 a.m. meeting of coaches and instructors with a detailed injury report, then leaves a...

FABULOUS FILLY CRASHES PARTY - BAFFERT'S 'SILVERBULLET' LEAPS ONTO DERBY LIST

There was little 3-year-old stakes action over the weekend other than Prime Timber making his first start since the Dec. 12 Hollywood Futurity and finishing second in yesterday's San Rafael...

AMAZIN'S GRANT ROBERTS CHANCE TO SHOW HIS STUFF

"[Grant] Roberts looked great. It's the first time I've seen him up close and personal. I think he really has a wonderful arm." BOBBY VALENTINE PORT ST. LUCIE - Grant...

LATRELL'S VERY CLOSE TO RETURN

KNICK NOTES AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Latrell Sprewell, making quick progress from the stress fracture in his right heel, is expected to receive medical clearance today to return to action...

LJ: WE MISS OAK - HEART'S MISSING IN LOSS TO PISTONS

Pistons 89 Knicks 68 AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The final horn sounded. And off walked the Knicks. Heads down, chins buried into their uniforms. They should have been 12 angry...

CHILI MAY BACK UP TINO

TAMPA - A mild discomfort in his left Achilles' heel has vanished at the same time a first baseman's glove has been attached to his left hand. Despite not having...

YANKS' SET TO RENEW POSADA, MENDOZA

YANK NOTES TAMPA - There is a strong chance that Jorge Posada and Ramiro Mendoza will have their contracts renewed as early as tomorrow if their reps and GM Brian...

YANKEE PHENOM: GREAT 1ST LOOK - PROSPECT EARNS RAVE REVIEWS

TAMPA - What do you get when you cross Keith Hernandez' swing and glove with Lenny Dykstra's all-out style of play? The Yankees are anticipating the product is Nick Johnson....

STEARNS RETURNS AS SCOUT

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - In an effort to get that extra edge, the Mets are going to utilize an advance scout for the first time in the Bobby...

SPORTS WORLD OUT OF TOUCH

FUNNY what passes for good news these days. Saturday's newspapers brought word of the Jets' new ticket prices. Last season's $35 seats will cost $40, the $40 seats will be...

TECH GIRLS ADVANCE

Last year, Mike Eisenberg was in the midst of coaching Francis Lewis High School to the PSAL girls' championship game at the Garden. But while the Patriots are back in...

RICKEY NO BOGEY MAN - HENDERSON IN CLUB BY HIMSELF

PORT ST. LUCIE - You didn't notice what color shirt Bernard Gilkey wore home from a day of work in the sun because you didn't care. Rickey Henderson's shirt was...

UCONN'S STILL GOT GAME

UConn 70 Syracuse 58 SYRACUSE - It seemed rather unholy that a team who won its first 19 by the average of 19, who would lose only twice in a...

CAL SAYS NETS NEED ATTITUDE

NET NOTES The Nets have been humbled. So coach John Calipari wants them to be arrogant. "We've lost a bit of arrogance. We've been humbled. I've been humbled as a...

CAL'S JOB ON LINE?

The John Calipari Watch has started. Yes, there are enough whispers and enough rumors and, not the least of all, enough defeats around the Nets to start seriously questioning just...

STORM'S JARVIS IN DARING MOOD

VILLANOVA, Pa. - After St. John's was stunned 66-60 by Villanova Saturday, Red Storm coach Mike Jarvis pulled a basketball version of Gary Hart. Remember the one-time presidential candidate who...

UPSTART CENT. CONN. ONE WIN FROM DANCE

NEC SEMIFINALS CCSU 82 UMBC 72 Central Connecticut State finished 4-22 last year and were picked to finish eighth in the Northeast Conference before this season. But due to a...

HATS OFF TO RANGERS - NEDVED'S 3 GOALS ROCK FLYERS, GARDEN

Rangers 6 Flyers 5 If the NHL could put yesterday afternoon at the Garden in a bottle, nobody would ever voice a complaint about the league's entertainment value. And if...

CHIP FALLS MAGGERT'S WAY

CARLSBAD - Alas, a perfect ending for the imperfect tournament. With every star this side of Mars and Venus having been extinguished from the event, there were two ways of...

MOUNT ST. MARY'S STUNS ST. FRANCIS; MT. ST. MARY'S SHOCKS TERRIERS IN NEC SEMIS

NEC SEMIFINALS Mt. St. Mary 68 St. Francis 66 St. Francis of Brooklyn made a habit this year of waiting for Ray Minlend to explode and take control of a...