November 23, 1999

.COMS RUSH SUPER BOWL - MONEY-LOSING WEBSTERS BET ON HAIL MARY GAMBLE

They don't make any real money yet, but about a dozen Internet companies are splurging much of their bankrolls on Super Bowl ads at $2 million a pop. Last year,...

TIFFANY'S BUYS FLAGSHIP FOR $94M

Tiffany & Co. has given itself an early Christmas present, and the engraving comes free with the purchase. Yesterday the upscale jeweler announced it purchased the building housing its flagship...

NASDAQ'S 6-STORY SIGN OF THE TIMES SQUARE

Is Nasdaq ready for prime time? It's sure putting on a pretty new face at 4 Times Square, the tower that's home to Conde Nast, Skadden Arps and ESPN Zone...

IT'S BROTHER VS. BROTHER - SIBLING RIVALRY IN PHONE BID WAR

Vodafone AirTouch's $125 billion hostile bid for German telecommunications giant Mannesmann AG may be causing a lot of bad blood between the firms, but it's not driving a wedge between...

PEARLMAN: I PAID 'N SYNC MILLIONS - FILING REBUTS CLAIM HE SCROOGED THEM

Boy-band creator Louis Pearlman shot back at one of his most successful creations, 'N Sync, yesterday, saying in court documents that the group's legal claims against him are malicious and...

BIZ: WE'D FIGHT NEW OSHA RULES

Business leaders vowed yesterday to fight a federal government plan to shoulder the plight of Americans who suffer repetitive-motion injuries working on computers and on assembly lines. The Labor Department...

CENTER'S READY TO ROCK - REMODELING REVIVES INTEREST

IT'S not yet Thanksgiving but the crowds are flooding the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center. They come to admire the yet-to-be lit tree -- "particularly symmetrical this year," smiles Tishman...

LOOKING SMART WHILE SHOPPING IN SOHO

Quiz time! Would you wear a Vera Wang evening gown to take your dog for a walk in Central Park? Or ancient Levi's and a vintage Motley Crue concert tee...

BECK GOES HOLLYWOOD

MIDNITE VULTURES Beck; DGC Records Inside the twisted head of Beck Hansen, there's a steel-cage death match that pits intellect against instinct. He's a slight, introverted man, yet on his...

BALANCHINE MUSE, POLITICS SHARE CENTER STAGE

AT the end of last week, the legendary former ballerina Suzanne Farrell brought a select group of dancers to a 10-day engagement at the New Victory Theater. They are performing...

TRAVELER'S UPDATE

Millennium madness With the new year coming up fast, those who haven't made plans may want to visit the Web site of the Travel Industry Association. The Discover America section...

SEA IT NOW, VOYAGER

YOU have to see it to believe it.Royal Caribbean's new Voyager of the Seas, now in the midst of its maiden voyage, will make weekly sailings from Miami, calling at...

HEY, PBS, WHAT'S GOING ON? - WE DON'T GET THE CLIFFHANGER END ON 'NEW YORK' MINISERIES

TALK about your cliffhanger endings! After absorbing about 330 years of New York history last week in 10 hours of viewing over five consecutive nights, PBS's mammoth documentary series "New...

KLUGMAN TRIAL GOES TO THE DOGS

LOS ANGELES -- Television legend Jack Klugman, star of the "Odd Couple" and "Quincy," loved his pet dog more than his gal pal of 18 years, he testified yesterday in...

B'WAY BIGS BET AGAINST STRIKE

BROADWAY producers are downplaying the threat of a stagehands' strike this holiday season, saying it's nothing more than saber-rattling. Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees voted...

'EXTRA' MYSTERIOUS - AIR OF INTRIGUE HOUNDS REPORTER BASKERVILLE

THERE'S an air of mystery surrounding troubled "Extra" reporter/anchor Jodi Baskerville. Baskerville has been off the air for the last three weeks, reportedly after getting into legal trouble and being...

THE STARR REPORT

'Who' by numbers Bet on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" returning before February sweeps. "No final decision has been made and we're still debating many options," said ABC spokesman...

'FORGET' IT: YET ANOTHER GAME SHOW

THE game-show craze has spawned yet another British import for U.S. television. "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush" is coming to Comedy Central next June. Instead of a million bucks, contestants will...

'BUFFY' LOSES HER BITE

IF you couldn't sleep nights waiting for Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be reunited with her love, Angel, then tonight's "Buffy"/"Angel" crossover is for you. For everybody else, there's "JAG"...

BAD 'BLOOD'

"IN the Blood," a new play by Suzan-Lori Parks, tries to shoe-horn the chronicle of an African-American homeless mother of five into the plot of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter."...

BYRNE IN HELL - THE RED-HOT ACTOR PLAYS A DEVILISH SATAN IN 'END OF DAYS.' HE'S ALSO DEALING WITH HIS OWN DEMONS.

GABRIEL Byrne, who plays Satan himself in the new movie "End of Days," knows a thing or two about evil. As a schoolboy growing up in Dublin, he suffered physical...

AN EYE-DEAL SURGERY

THE surgery was an hour away, but I knew what I wanted: "May I have a Valium?" I asked. "Now?" True, I'd survived 30 hours of what's euphemistically called "natural...

IS LASER EYE SURGERY SAFE? - AS LASIK VISION-CORRECTION SURGERY EXPLODES, DOCTORS WARN PATIENTS ABOUT INEXPERIENCED SURGEONS AND SHODDY PROCEDURES

NEARLY 1.2 million Americans have undergone a revolutionary form of laser eye surgery to be able to ditch their glasses and contacts. But as LASIK advertisements plaster New York subways...

POLL: PATAKI POUNDS DEMS, BUT . . . THERE'S STILL REASON FOR CONCERN IN GOV RACE; EXCLUSIVE POLL

ALBANY -- Gov. Pataki remains popular with New York voters and would easily beat his two potential Democratic opponents if the election were held today, a new poll shows. But...

TIMEPIECE IS CRIMEPIECE FOR DMV CHEATERS: COPS

Authorities in Queens have busted two men they say were renting watches featuring secret, coded test answers to state driver's license exams, including those for big rigs and school buses....

G.W. CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS

IT'S no accident that George W. Bush has galloped ahead of the presidential pack. He has proven gifted at speaking with a forked tongue. In another year, Son of Bush's...

VOLPE MUST NEVER GO FREE: FEDS

Sex-torture cop Justin Volpe's words of remorse are "too little, too late" and he deserves to die in prison for attacking Abner Louima, prosecutors said yesterday in court papers. In...

DANGER LURKS IN THESE TOYS: SAFETY GROUP

Toys that can shock, choke, strangle, take out an eye -- even spray caustic liquid up to 30 feet -- are among the playthings that made a watchdog group's 10-worst...

SALON'S FRENCH TWIST -FEDS: HAIRDRESSER LIED TO GET VISAS

The feds clipped a Manhattan hairstylist to the stars yesterday -- charging his firm with immigration fraud for bringing workers into the country under the guise they were senior executives....

VALLONE: KILL TAX ON CLOTHES BY NEXT MONTH

City Council Speaker Peter Vallone wants to give city residents a $50 million gift just in time for Christmas -- but it's not clear if Albany will play Scrooge or...

B'KLYN DEM: I'M BACKING RUDY

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton today returns to the campaign trail after a two-week absence -- and faces rebellion within Democratic ranks as a state lawmaker is set to jump...

FAITH IS HOLDING HER FAMILY TOGETHER

A WEEK ago today, Arlen and Sharon Barrett and their children Nicole and Scott woke up with every reason to think it would be just a normal day. Then a...

PREZ HEADS TO KOSOVO, URGING END OF REVENGE

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton visits Kosovo today, saying he wants to see "everyone getting over this ethnic hatred" that has Kosovars seeking vengeance against Serbs who once brutalized them. Five...

GOTTA HAVE ART? JOIN THE MET SET

She is the grande dame of all New York City attractions. The Metropolitan Museum of Art not only preceded the Statue of Liberty by nearly 20 years--but with 5.5 million...

HARK! 'MCBEAL'S' GAL PAL IS JOINING 'CHARLIE'S ANGELS'

The Asian-American beauty who shocked TV viewers by passionately making out with Calista Flockhart on "Ally McBeal" is about to put on a great big halo -- as one of...

EGYPT BIG INSISTS CRASH WASN'T 'HUMAN ERROR'

A top Egyptian official insisted yesterday that "human error" did not play a role in the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. "There were attempts to imply that the accident happened...

A MIDDLE AGED MOTHER'S VIEW

WHEN 54-year-old actress Adrienne Barbeau had twins two years ago, she suddenly became the poster girl for mature moms. After all, the Hollywood supermom, once the glamorous co-star of the...

BOWLING SLAY TIED TO OLD FEUD: COPS

A chance encounter at a bowling alley led to the slaying of an 18-year-old teacher's aide in Queens, cops said yesterday. Dominique Livingston, 20, was charged yesterday with killing Adrian...

THE TRUTH ABOUT HAVING BABIES AFTER 40

A 56-year-old Westchester woman made headlines the other day after giving birth to a healthy, 7-pound boy. She's in good company -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife, Cherie, 45,...

COPS COMB RIVERSIDE PARK AFTER NEW ATTACK

Cops swarmed over Riverside Park yesterday after two women saw a man hurl a cobblestone through a car window and then run away. The incident, which investigators said was probably...

PRO-LIFERS FINE WITH BUSH ABORTION HEDGE

WASHINGTON -- Right-to-lifers yesterday said they're confident GOP 2000 front-runner George W. Bush is on their side, while pro-choicers fretted that he's lulling moderates into a false sense of security....

BURNED GIRL WINS $7.7M FROM CITY

A Staten Island jury has handed a $7.7 million award to a girl who was horribly burned by a steam pipe in her city-owned apartment when she was 4 years...

MIDTOWN'S HOLIDAY-SEASON TRAFFIC WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY

It's beginning to look a lot like gridlock. But the real fun starts tomorrow, when record-breaking traffic, holiday tourists and frenzied shoppers combine with millennium madness to paralyze Midtown Manhattan...

EX-FED EYES IBF TAKEOVER

Former Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Zachary Carter might take a swing at cleaning up corruption in the International Boxing Federation. Federal prosecutors in Newark filed a racketeering suit against the IBF...

COMA BOXER WAS WARNED - EX-TRAINER TOLD HIM TO QUIT

A former trainer of comatose boxer Stephan Johnson says he begged the journeyman pug to quit the fight game after an injury in 1993 -- while his current trainer blames...

BIZ: WE'D FIGHT FEDS' NEW WORK RULES

Business leaders vowed yesterday to fight a federal government plan to shoulder the plight of Americans who suffer repetitive-motion injuries working on computers and on assembly lines. The Labor Department...

DODI'S DAD DARES PHILIP TO SUE

Mohamed al-Fayed fired a shot at Queen Elizabeth's husband yesterday - daring Prince Philip to sue him if Philip is angry over his charge the royal patriarch ordered the deaths...

DULL BUT EFFECTIVE

QUARTERBACKS: B Ray Lucas (16-of-20, 142 yards) played another near-flawless game in terms of not turning the ball over, managing the game and putting his team in position to win....

BLUNDERS NEVER CEASE

QUARTERBACKS: D Kent Graham (3 of 10, 36 yards, 2 INTs) deserved to be benched even before he left with a concussion. Kerry Collins (13 of 21, 221 yards, 1...

LITTLE MYERS GOES LONG WAY FOR WAGNER

Ramael Myers has piled up 1,697 yards rushing this year. He has already smashed his school's single-season record. Amazingly, the numbers for the Susan Wagner H.S. running back could be...

GREEN RUES SIGNING ON WITH JETS

It's been a shockingly disheartening season for Jets tight end Eric Green, who was sure he was marrying into his happiest -- and final -- NFL relationship as a player...

COLLINS NEW BIG BLUE BUS DRIVER -FASSEL TABS KERRY FOR REST OF SEASON

What was inevitable back on Feb. 19, the day Kerry Collins was signed, became official yesterday, and not a moment too soon. If the Giants are to salvage something in...

TUNA'S THRILLED BY JET RESURGENCE

Bill Parcells, who's not easily impressed, was particularly pleased by his team's victory over the Bills Sunday. "I know what we had going against us," Parcells said yesterday. "This Buffalo...

LAMAR LOVIN' LIFE IN L.A.

CARSON, Calif. -- Lamar Odom's on-court exploits have been spectacular, making him the early favorite for Rookie of the Year. The native New Yorker's offcourt performance -- the fear of...

FOR NETS, CHIPS ARE REALLY DOWN

SACRAMENTO -- Don't even think for an instant about using the old reliable line, "at least they have their health" around the Nets. Because they don't. Yesterday, the team --...

KENT WON'T BLAST HIS BENCHING

GIANT NOTES Yesterday morning, Kent Graham came to work at Giants Stadium and took a blow far more painful than any one he suffered in Sunday's 23-13 loss at Washington....

SPREE-FOR-MARBURY: THE PERFECT N.Y. BLOCKBUSTER

LOS ANGELES -- For the Knicks and Nets it is time for the boldest of moves. The answer to their problems is staring them in the face -- but they...

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY - EWING'S EXPECTED BACK IN 2-3 WEEKS

INGLEWOOD -- We have an official timetable on Patrick Ewing, although it's probably conservative. Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy confirmed yesterday that he expects Ewing back in the lineup within...

CAMBY & VAN GUNDY NOT ON SAME PAGE

KNICK NOTES INGLEWOOD -- Seems Marcus Camby and Jeff Van Gundy have a little difference of opinion -- one that could lead to another major Knick controversy. Camby said after...

STEPHON: I'M NOT CHANGING

SACRAMENTO -- An extraordinarily wise person, or at very least someone's mom, once cautioned about being careful what you wish for because you might get it. Stephon Marbury is learning...

BROWN BAGGED HIMSELF - PERFECTLY ORCHESTRATED CAL'S REVENGE

NOTHING like an astringent rivalry to get the plasma pulsing in the veins of the ballers and shot callers. Nothing like two teams with a history of contention to intensify...

DAIGLE OUT TO PROVE POINT WITH RANGERS

It seemed like a perfect match. Alexandre Daigle, in need of some major image repair, went to Hartford, a city which needs similar rebuilding. Once one of the game's top...

HALL OPENS DOOR 99 TOO SOON

TORONTO -- Wayne Gretzky loved every second, to an end he refused to allow to become publicly bitter. All The Sensitive One had to hear were hints from above that...

SIZING UP THE BOWLS

ABSTRACT: With the exception of the Rose Bowl, where Big Ten champ Wisconsin will meet Pac 10 champ Stanford (not exactly Ohio State-USC, is it?), don't purchase a non-refundable airline...