May 25, 2000

BROOKS BROS. EXPANSION CURBED

Brooks Brothers is putting the brakes on its expansion, and accelerating its move toward women's and casual wear, after a 36 percent drop in yearly profits. CEO Joe Gromek had...

GUCCI SEEN BAGGING ARMANI

Reports of an Italian fashion marriage are percolating again. Two Italian newspapers say Gucci Chief Executive Domenico De Sole is ready to add Armani to his stable of luxury brands....

TECHS BOUNCE BACK: MICROSOFT NEWS BOOSTS NASDAQ 106

Technology stocks rallied yesterday, ending a five-day losing streak for the Nasdaq composite index. Microsoft was one of the big leaders of yesterday's advance, as the judge in the long-running...

MILSTEIN FAMILY FIGHTS OVER PARKING SPACE

The world's most valuable parking lot, soon to go on the block to potential developers, could end up in the hands of the same Milstein family faction that provoked a...

DAVIDSON: ZARB LIED ABOUT NASD ELECTION

In the embarrassing saga of the postponed vote for board members of the National Association of Securities Dealers, it all comes down to what NASD insiders knew - and when...

FOX PICKS PRODUCER OF 'BUFFY' TO RUN ITS TV UNIT

Fox Television tapped Gail Berman yesterday as its new president of entertainment. Berman, formerly president of the highly successful primetime studio Regency Television, will assume responsiblity for all Fox program...

NAPSTER HURTS CAMPUS SALES

A few million CD sales are missing, and Napster might well be the culprit. Analysis released yesterday by VNU Entertainment Marketing shows that CD sales at record stores within five...

LEE STEPPING ASIDE: CHASE MOVES TO REMAKE INVESTMENT BANK

Renowned Wall Street dealmaker Jimmy Lee is out as Chase's top investment banker as the company continues its epic battle to make itself a top-flight investment bank. The bank's acquisition...

VIDEO WARS: REALNETWORKS VS. M'SOFT

The Battle of Seattle has moved into fast-forward mode. Yesterday RealNetworks announced the release of new software for streaming video using just a third of the bandwidth of previous versions....

ROBERTSON'S REVENGE ; TIGER FUND SOARS WITH US AIRWAYS

Legendary stock-picker Julian Robertson is soaring back to the top - thanks to once-sputtering US Airways. Robertson gambled big on the airline, and now that US Airways is being gobbled...

SLICE 'N' DICE NICE ; M'SOFT-BREAKUP NEWS LIFTS TECH STOCKS

The judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial strongly hinted yesterday he's planning to order a breakup of the software giant without further discussion of the impact - a move that...

RENTING STYLE BY THE MILE

FOR those times when an ordinary sedan is either too ordinary or too small, the rental car companies can accommodate you with a surprisingly large range of choices, from sports...

BRITNEY SPEARS A RECORD: UNPRECEDENTED FIRST-WEEK SALES FOR TEEN QUEEN'S SECOND CD

BABY one more time! Britney Spears's sophomore effort, "Oops! ... I Did It Again," has set a first-week sales record for a female artist. "When the first album scanned 120,000...

JIVE LABEL STICKS TO ITS WINNING WAYS

JIVE Records, the label behind Britney Spears, *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, has the platinum touch. With Britney's "Oops . . . I Did It Again," *NSYNC's "No Strings Attached"...

'CROUPIER' A WINNER

'I'VE had to fight for this film," British director Mike Hodges says of "Croupier," the 1997 thriller that has become the sleeper hit of this year. The story of a...

THE STARR REPORT

Get 'em for a 'Song' Psst . . . wanna go to one of New York's hottest spring events? Tickets for the annual American Popular Song Celebration at Carnegie Hall,...

NO SAAB STORY FROM THIS AUCTION HOUND

I thought I was a big eBay spender.Then I discussed the problem with a friend I'll call Randall, a dot-commer who's an even bigger eBay spender - he's buying a...

RINGO & CO-STARRS SHINE AT THE BEACON

RINGO STARR THE most famous drummer on Earth got by with a little help from his friends at the Beacon Theater Tuesday night. Ringo Starr delivered a lively greatest-hits concert...

SEXY NEW TAKE ON THE BARD

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAMBAM Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn, through Saturday. (718) 636-4100. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream," the third of the Royal Shakespeare Company's offerings at BAM, is a...

THEY'VE GOT THE TOPLESS DANCER, THE MORMON, THE GAY GUY AND THE WANNABE MOVIE STAR... HOW WILD WILL 'REAL' KIDS GET?

LAST year MTV's "The Real World" was chock-full of sex, spontaneous nudity and a wild cast member with a drinking problem - all in the first 15-minutes of the season...

HERE'S WHERE DRIVE-IN IS THRIVIN' ; STATE'S OUTDOOR MOVIE THEATERS ARE A ROAD TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

THE forest battle scene that opens "Gladiator" is thrilling - but it's positively heart-stopping when you're watching it outdoors, surrounded by real trees. It's the 21st century's first great drive-in...

SMASHED PUMPKINS

THE Smashing Pumpkins are going to the jack-o'-lantern junkyard - busting up after 12 years, the group announced yesterday. But music insiders say the bombshell news that the alternative rock...

PIERRE FUGITIVE CHECKS IN TO FRENCH JAIL

A British fugitive wanted for fleecing the posh Pierre Hotel out of a boozy, $43,000 three-month stay was captured yesterday in France after eight years on the lam in Europe,...

MOM'S THE WORD IN KID CARE: DADS

Father knows best? Not if you ask Mom. A new survey found that 54 percent of men declared their spouse was delighted to leave them with the kids - but...

DANA'S BRUSH WITH DEATH WAS NO JOKE DOC'S ERROR NEARLY KILLED COMEDIAN

TV funnyman Dana Carvey says he pleaded, "Please, God, let me live!" after doctors botched his double-bypass operation and left him at death's door. Carvey, 45, bared his agony as...

RUDY PLEDGES PRO$TATE AID IN '01 BUDGET

Mayor Giuliani promised yesterday that next year's city budget will include funds for prostate-cancer initiatives. The mayor - who is still deciding on treatment for his own cancer - said...

POL EYES ERASING SCHOOL BOARDS

A key state lawmaker said yesterday he's ready to look at whether to abolish the city's 32 local school boards. "The fate of community school boards needs to be discussed,"...

GOV. BOO$TING TEACHER RECRUITMENT

The city Board of Education will get $15 million to help recruit and retain teachers under a new law to be signed by Gov. Pataki. Teachers who agree to work...

STATE POLS WANTS TO PARE APPLE TOURS TO THE CORE

A phalanx of state agencies joined the crackdown on New York Apple Tours on the eve of today's hearing to boot the firm's double-decker buses from city streets. New York...

YOUNG FOLKS FIND THAT A JOB IS NO INSURE THING

Boom times are a bust for 12 million young Americans who are working but have no medical insurance. A new report says more than a quarter of the nation's 44...

TOY-GUN SLAY COP COMMITS SUICIDE

A Brooklyn narcotics cop who shot and killed a would-be mugger wielding a realistic-looking toy pistol earlier this year turned his gun on himself and committed suicide, police said yesterday....

DADS KNOW MOM'S THE WORD IN KIDDIE CARE

Father knows best? Not if you ask Mom. A new survey found that 54 percent of men declared their spouse was delighted to leave them with the kids - but...

JUDGE READY TO ACT ON MICROSOFT BREAKUP

The judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial strongly hinted yesterday he's planning to order a breakup of the software giant without further discussion of the impact. In a courtroom disaster...

GET SET FOR HOLIDAY GA$ PAIN, EXPERT SAYS

Gasoline prices on Memorial Day weekend will be at record levels - and there may be even more pump shock to come. "As drivers hit the road this summer, they're...

NEW YORK ARABS: GOOD RIDDANCE TO THE SOLDIERS

New York Arabs yesterday cheered the news of Israel's dramatic pullout of its forces from south Lebanon. "It's wonderful," said Brooklyn restaurant owner Eiad Dwidari, who has lived in the...

REV. AL, MLK SON PLAN D.C. RALLY

WASHINGTON - Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Al Sharpton are planning a march on Washington this summer. Sharpton said yesterday the central themes of the event would be...

CAMILLA'S NIECE BARES COKE AND BOOZE WOES

The niece of Prince Charles' longtime companion has confessed to using cocaine and admits being an alcoholic, it was reported yesterday. Emma Parker Bowles, 25-year-old niece of Camilla Parker Bowles,...

LOVE-CHILD MOM TRIED TO EXTORT $1M, PIRRO SAYS

The husband of the Westchester district attorney was the target of a million-dollar extortion bid by the ex-con mom of his extramarital love child, his lawyers claim. Albert Pirro's lawyer...

WAR OF WORDS ON THE BORDER

JERUSALEM - Israeli citizens and Hezbollah guerrillas and supporters got their first close-up look at one another yesterday - across iron fences of the restored Israeli-Lebanese border. Hours earlier, Israeli...

FAMED CITY GUIDE RECALLS BUSES AS HELL ON WHEELS

TIMOTHY "Speed" Levitch, Gotham's most famous tour guide, says New York Apple Tours is rotten to the core - and much of the tour-bus business is a miserable racket that...

EXPERTS SAY AIR FARES TO SOAR AFTER BIG MERGER

The United Airlines-US Airways jumbo merger will make traveling more convenient and quicker for passengers, but it could force fares up as competition lessens, industry analysts and advocates say. "Air...

GET SET FOR HOLIDAY GA$ PAIN: EXPERT

Gasoline prices on Memorial Day weekend will be at record levels - and there may be even more pump shock to come. "As drivers hit the road this summer, they're...

DEVOTED WIFE GIVING LAZIO A BOOST ; SELFLESS SUBURBAN MOM IS PITCHING IN

THE last five days have been a breathtaking blur for Pat Lazio, wife of Long Island congressman and GOP Senate hopeful Rick Lazio. Until last week, her days were spent...

HURLEY EYES NEW GRANT ON LIFE

JUST hours after announcing she has finally split with longtime boyfriend Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Hurley began planning a new life in New York. She arrives here next month to shoot...

OPEN-DOOR CHINA TRADE BILL WINS HOUSE OK

WASHINGTON - The House yesterday said "yes" to more trade with China, giving President Clinton a big win over the objection of lawmakers who said the vote rewarded communist dictators....

'MILKMAN' RICK EAVESDROPS IN ON A DAIRY FARM

Call it Rick Lazio's Listening Tour. Stealing a page from Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign playbook, Senate candidate Lazio yesterday visited a dairy farm near Syracuse, where he met with a...

FRENCH RIVAL SAYS NET NYMPH'S HOT LOOKS ARE HURTING TENNIS

"A new book trashes teen tennis sensation Anna Kournikova as bad for the game - calling her a "Lolita" and a "blond cash machine" who flaunts her sexy looks and...

RAMSEYS TRY, TRY AGAIN AND PASS LIE TEST

JonBenet Ramsey's parents passed a lie-detector test given by a private expert - after the first one they took came up "inconclusive," their lawyer announced yesterday. Under questioning from polygraph...

RUDY MAY SKIP GOP BASH SO NEW STAR CAN SHINE

Mayor Giuliani yesterday suggested he may not attend next week's state Republican Convention so he can avoid stealing the limelight from GOP substitute Senate candidate Rick Lazio. Speaking to reporters...

PREGNANT NURSE JABS AT ACCUSED NEEDLE DOC

The eyes of a pregnant nurse filled with loathing in a Bronx courtroom yesterday as she angrily stared down her married doctor-lover - accused in a savage syringe attack on...

TOY-PISTOL SLAY COP IN SUICIDE

A Brooklyn narcotics cop who shot and killed a would-be mugger wielding a realistic-looking toy pistol earlier this year turned his gun on himself and committed suicide, police said yesterday....

KNICKS-TIX SCALPERS SCORE BIG ONLINE

Cyber-scalpers are using the Internet to skirt wimpy state laws and make slam-dunk profits on tickets for Saturday's Knicks playoff game against the Pacers. Using the popular online auction site...

ELIAN'S NEW NABE OFFERS 'NORMALCY'

WASHINGTON - Elian Gonzalez is eyeing new digs in the posh heart of Washington - among fancy houses, trendy restaurants, a wide-screen movie theater and in a neighborhood thick with...

HOLD THE PHONE! TRIPP CHARGES DROPPED

Linda Tripp- the ex-pal who taped Monica Lewinsky's conversations about her fling with President Clinton- was off the hook yesterday after prosecutors dropped the wiretapping case against her. Tripp was...

PUFFY SETTLES STAMPEDE SUIT ; PAYOFF IS LAST CHAPTER OF '91 TRAGEDY

Sean "Puffy" Combs agreed to pay a secret settlement yesterday to a Bronx secretary caught in a stampede at a City College charity basketball game the rap mogul sponsored in...

WIG-GLY STAR IS PORN TO RUN

On-the-lam porn actress Marilyn Star wigged out as a shutterbug snapped her leaving her Vancouver penthouse Tuesday. Moments after being caught in what appeared to be a cropped brunette wig...

DEMS AIM FOR RECORD $CRATCH IN FAT-CAT BASH

WASHINGTON - A fat-cat bash last night with tickets that went for up to $500,000 was expected to shatter all political fund-raising records and deliver a cool $26 million to...

COKE BUST PUTS HEAT ON FIREMAN

A Brooklyn firefighter was busted outside his ladder company yesterday for allegedly possessing cocaine - some of which he bought in uniform in front of the firehouse, cops said. Firefighter...

BIDDER WALKS OFF WITH RUBY SLIPPERS FOR 666G

The Yellow Brick Road was paved with gold last night after a California collector shelled out $666,000 for a pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz." The...

TEEN SHOT WITH GUN PALS FOUND

A 13-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the chest and critically wounded yesterday after he and two pals began playing with a 9mm pistol they found at a Brooklyn construction...

TV FORECASTER SNOWED UNDER IN COKE BUST

Hunky TV weatherman Mark Danon was busted last night after buying two bags of cocaine at the corner of 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, police said. Danon, star meteorologist of...

5 SLAIN IN QNS. WENDY'S ROBBERY - 5 SLAIN IN QUEENS WENDY'S ROBBERY

Cold-blooded robbers shot seven employees in the basement of a Wendy's restaurant in Flushing last night - then locked the doors behind them, leaving five to die, cops said. Four...

MILLER DOESN'T MISS STARKS

INDIANAPOLIS - Imagine how much more Reggie Miller would hate the Knicks if they would've been allowed to bring ex-shooting guard John Starks along as a playoff ringer. Starks was...

YANK BATS COME ALIVE

Yankees 12 White Sox 4 CHICAGO - It's going to take more than one night to convince even themselves they are out of a serious hitting funk. But every bounceback...

ZEILE'S EARNING HIS KEEP: $18M MET STARTING TO DELIVER AT FIRST AND WITH BIG STICK

SAN DIEGO - Mets' GM Steve Phillips is getting value for the dollar. Todd Zeile, who signed a three-year, $18 million free-agent deal in the offseason, is playing the sort...

A FLYER IN THE OINTMENT: DEVILS FEARED LINDROS BUT HOPED HE WOULD CONK OUT

The Devils made it unanimous. Fighting for simple survival, they didn't want Eric Lindros coming back either. Striving to keep alive their dreams of an historic comeback and hopes for...

RAMSAY LAYS IT ON LINE: REUNITES RECCHI, GAGNE & LECLAIR

When Flyers center Daymond Langkow returned from his concussion for Game 5, he was immediately reunited with his regular linemates, Mark Recchi and John LeClair. Usually, it would appear a...

LINDROS: MR. DOUBTFLYER -TEAMMATES NOT THRILLED EX-CAPTAIN'S BACK

STEPPING onto the ice for his first playoff game in two years last night, Eric Lindros was wearing a new, state-of-the art mouth guard. It was no sign of support...

THROWING WOES BACK FOR CHUCK

CHICAGO - Joe Torre says he won't worry about Chuck Knoblauch's recurrent throwing ills until his second baseman does. Well, after listening to Knoblauch last night, Torre has to be...

WOODS A PAPER TIGER IN LURING NEW GOLFERS

IS TIGER Woods good for the golf business? It seems ridiculous to even ask the question, right? After all, the golf phenom needs only to be in tournament contention come...

THE BIG L'S BIG PROBLEM: UNDERSIZED JOHNSON MUST SOLVE MATCHUP WITH DAVIS

INDIANAPOLIS - They had just opened up their largest lead of the night, a 19-point cushion, the joint was jumping and the Pacers were scoring with the greatest of ease....

ON 2ND THOUGHT, REGGIE REALLY HATES THE KNICKS

PACER NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Miller can't help himself. Wave orange and blue in front of him, say "Knicks" or show him a picture of Spike Lee and he'll just...

RUNNING STAG TRIUMPHS

Running Stag made a successful return to the U.S. with a 11/2-length victory over Early Warning in yesterday's feature race at Belmont. The Phil Mitchell trainee won under a hand...

SPREE-REGGIE WAR BREWING

INDIANAPOLIS - He is not going to be dragged into any warfare with Reggie Miller, the undisputed king of the inciteful comment. But just because Latrell Sprewell won't engage in...

CHREBET JETS' KEY RECEIVER

With Keyshawn Johnson in Tampa counting his millions, Wayne Chrebet is the Jets' No. 1 receiver and counting his blessings. "I've been asking for this since I've been in the...

SLATS HIGH ON LOWE ; HAS NO PROBLEM TAKING OILER COACH WITH HIM

There is still important contract work to be done that apparently no one else in Edmonton is capable of handling, so Glen Sather will remain in control of the Oilers...

PATAKI TIPS GREEN CAP TO PARCELLS AT MINICAMP

JET NOTESThe Jets had a special visitor at yesterday's minicamp. Roaming the sidelines at Weeb Ewbank Hall with owner Woody Johnson and Bill Parcells was Gov. George Pataki, donning a...

SPLIT DECISION ON EWING: PATRICK LOOKS GREAT ON 'O', SHAKY ON 'D'

INDIANAPOLIS - With the Knicks trailing by seven, the fourth quarter of Game 1 Tuesday began with the Knicks' most effective offensive player of the night, Patrick Ewing, on the...

'BULLET' TRAINER: BELMONT DUEL WITH 'PEGASUS' NO LOCK

As Red Bullet readies to stretch his legs this morning at Belmont Park for the first time since winning last Saturday's Preakness, trainer Joe Orseno is at odds with the...

BIRD'S BUNCH EXPECTS KNICKS' BEST PUNCH

INDIANAPOLIS - The Pacers pretty much know what they're going to get from the Knicks tonight. "New York wants to have an 80-point game where it's more of an intense,...

INDIANA PLANS TO KEEP SHARING WEALTH

INDIANAPOLIS - There were numbers that stunned the Knicks everywhere you looked. Numbers such as 22 points from Austin Croshere or 16 rebounds from Dale Davis or 18 second-chance Pacer...

PACERS HAVE FIRE IN BELLY ; INDY'S PLAYING ON ANOTHER LEVEL

INDIANAPOLIS - It was much like the first round of a boxing match where one fighter sprints across the ring and unleashes a barrage of punches that stuns his opponent...

MEMO TO JEFF: START CAMBY AND BENCH LJ

INDIANAPOLIS - When there is nowhere to run for the Knicks, there is nowhere to hide. That was obvious in their 102-88 drubbing at the hands of the Pacers in...

JEFF: WE GOTTA REBOUND

KNICK NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - The Knicks can't just outrebound the Pacers, according to Jeff Van Gundy. They must slaughter them. That's how good a shooting team the Pacers are. "We...

WILSON PITCHING WAY BACK INTO AMAZIN'S MAJOR PLANS

MET NOTES SAN DIEGO - In about a month from now, the Mets will begin to discuss the possibility of bringing the 1994 draft's No. 1 pick, Paul Wilson, back...

JIMMY ROBERTS SIGNS WITH NBC

Longtime ABC/ESPN anchor and reporter Jimmy Roberts has been hired by NBC Sports to serve in several capacities, but especially as a golf commentator. Roberts, 43, began with ABC Sports...

ACHY MADDEN STEPS IN: SLOWS ERIC DESPITE BUM KNEE

John Madden thought he was not going to play in Game 6 last night. He said as much yesterday after participating in the Devils' morning skate. But then it was...

SUPER MARTY SHUTS THE 'DEUR: GOALIE GOLDEN AGAIN

FIRST there were three and then were two and now there is one, one victory remaining for the Devils to achieve the greatest playoff comeback in their history, one victory...

HERO? SPEAK OF THE DEVIL! LEMIEUX' ICEBREAKER HELPS FORCE GAME 7

GAME 6 Devils 2 Flyers 1 The Devils' destination of destiny is Game 7, and destiny is what this comeback looks like, especially when the hero is the appointed and...

CRANKY BOSS HAS ITCHY TRIGGER FINGER

CHICAGO - The only team the Yankees haven't called are the Long Island Ducks. Just because the slumping World Series champs aren't close to adding a much-needed bat or a...

LINDROS: MR. DOUBTFLYER

ADRENALIN is a powerful drug, mightier than spite, stronger than the ibuprofen Eric Lindros was gulping as his vision turned a shade to match the jaundiced eye through which the...

YANKS BATS COME ALIVE

Yankees 12 White Sox 4 CHICAGO - One night of bat barrels colliding with baseballs to produce clutch hits does not end a slump. Maybe five days from now the...

JETER GETS BACK INTO THE SWING

CHICAGO - George Steinbrenner's Inner Circle took time out from burning the phone lines looking for a hitter and pitcher long enough yesterday to watch Derek Jeter go through his...

BOONE BLASTS OFF ON METS: BRET'S TWO HOMERS HELP PODS PREVAIL

Padres 5 Mets 4 SAN DIEGO - After last night's 5-4 loss to the last-place Padres, Bobby Valentine said nothing surprises him in baseball. But one fact has to disappoint...