March 7, 2002

CHANNEL SURFING: HOW COURT RULING CHANGES TV PICTURE

JAMES Dolan likes the Knicks. In fact, the chief executive of Cablevision likes the basketball team so much - hard as that may be for fans to believe - that...

BARON DROPS $23M ON HOMELY HAMPTONS HOUSE

MONEY manager Ron Baron, whose vast holdings range from Krispy Kreme donuts to Sotheby's auction house, is investing at least $23 million in an East Hampton oceanfront estate for himself....

BRAZEN UBS STEALS AWAY BANKING TEAM FROM CSFB

In a major move to bolster its financial services practice, UBS AG has poached a team of veteran bankers from its Swiss rival, Credit Suisse First Boston. Yesterday, UBS hired...

FOR DIMON, IT'S MILLER TIME - AGAIN

Former high-flying Heidi Miller returns to her roots, re-upping with former Citigroup honcho, now Bank One chief exec, James Dimon. Miller, 48, at one time hailed as an heir apparent...

DISHING ON ECHOSTAR : DIRECTV MERGER WOULD RIP OFF CONSUMERS: POLS

Skeptical U.S. senators put satellite broadcaster Charlie Ergen on the hot seat yesterday, grilling him about his plan to dominate satellite broadcasting. Ergen, chairman of EchoStar Communications, has been a...

STOCKS RALLY ON RECOVERY HOPES

Stocks rallied for the third time in four days on optimism the economic rebound has taken hold. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 140.88 to 10,574.29, and the S&P 500...

NOSTALGIC BURGER JOINT ROCKETS TO N.Y.

New Yorkers hungry for nostalgia will soon have a place to nosh. Johnny Rockets, the classic '50s-style burger joint, plans to open 15 new locations in New York in the...

BLOOMIE'S TO LAND IN SOHO

Bloomingdale's is going after younger, hipper customers by opening an outpost in trendy SoHo. Executives at the department store, a division of Federated Department Stores, are in negotiations with New...

ZD REPORTS RECORD LOSS; LOANS LOOM

With a March 15 deadline from its lenders looming, the financial picture at Ziff Davis Media continues to worsen. The shaky hi-tech publishing empire, which owns PC Magazine and Yahoo!...

INSIGNIA FINANCIAL, CB RICHARD ELLIS DISCUSSING A DEAL

Merger talks have gotten hot and heavy between international powerhouse CB Richard Ellis and international wannabe Insignia Financial Group, The Post has learned. While rumors of such talks have been...

NYSE, AMEX IN TALKS: MERGER WOULD END EXCHANGES' RIVALRY

If you can't beat them, buy them. That's the latest strategy of Richard Grasso, chairman and chief exec of the New York Stock Exchange, who has quietly entered talks to...

STARR REPORT

Lane change: This time, he's gay Openly gay Nathan Lane played a womanizing heterosexual opera singer on NBC's short-lived "Encore! Encore!" back in 1998. Maybe Lane will have better luck...

CNN BOSS: WE'LL TAKE TED; ...AND HE'D LOOK LIKE THIS OVER THERE

THE boss of CNN says he'll take "Nightline" host Ted Koppel if ABC doesn't want him anymore. But Koppel's big-bucks salary - a reported $8 million a year - coupled...

MO' GLITZ ON B'WAY

ONE MO' TIME 1/2At the Longacre Theatre, 220 W. 48th St., (212) 239-6200. IT'S been a good few mo' than just one mo' time for "One Mo' Time," Vernel Bagneris'...

SKIPPER WALSH KEEPS STARSAILOR ON COURSE

STARSAILOR SWEAT-drenched, and wearing the flat, expressionless mug of a man who's worked harder than ever before, Starsailor captain James Walsh stopped the show and stared at the sold-out crowd...

GETTING CLUBBED ; THE GOOD, BAD & THE UGLY IN NEW YORK'S ROCK VENUES

WANNA rock, but you're not sure which is the best place to see live music?Armed with a decibel meter - and willing to endure smelling like a wet ashtray -...

OSCAR ADS ARE CHEAPER

OSCAR is just slightly less golden this year. A soft advertising market and competition from big TV events like the Winter Olympics forced the network to drop its rates for...

CAREY'D AWAY AT THE AIRPORT ; ABC FLIPS OUT OVER SECURITY JOKES

ABC threatened to shut down taping of a "Drew Carey Show" episode that made fun of airport security guards, the show's star says. In the episode, Drew's perennial loser pals,...

TWO MOVIES, BUT ONLY ONE... GOOD SHEPARD

"The Laramie Project" This Saturday night at 8 on HBO "The Matthew Shepard Story" Saturday, March 16, at 9 on Ch. 4 STOCKARD Channing and Sam Waterston, co-stars of NBC's...

'ELLIE' TAKES A TUMBLE

THE new Julia Louis-Dreyfus (left) sitcom, "Watching Ellie," experienced a viewer dropoff in its second outing - but still showed solid growth in certain key demos. "Ellie" averaged 12 million...

GRAMMY WINNERS MOVE UP CHARTS

GRAMMY magic was in full effect this week, as winners in last week's awards ceremony enjoyed a huge boost in sales, according to retailer-tracker SoundScan. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?,"...

LEVY'S PARENTS PRESS CONDIT

Chandra Levy's parents, buoyed by Gary Condit's staggering defeat, insisted yesterday the embattled congressman tell what he knows about their missing daughter. "His loss should serve to remove any remaining...

9/11 FUND ENDS DIRECT PAYMENTS

The September 11th Fund has decided to stop giving cash aid to victims of the terrorist attacks and keep more than half of the $456 million it has raised for...

TEACHER'S PET DEFENDS AFFAIR

The love-struck teen boy caught in a tryst with his middle-school teacher says it's nobody's business. "If she loves me and I love her, it's OK, and I love her,"...

COP'S 83-YEAR-OLD MOM SETTLES STRIP-SEARCH SUIT

An NYPD sergeant's 83-year-old mother, who claims she was handcuffed, strip-searched and kept in a cell for 12 hours by Brooklyn cops last year over a noise complaint, settled her...

BOARD OF ED DELAYS VOTE ON LEVY FATE

Decision due June 1.At the behest of Mayor Bloomberg, the Board of Education yesterday agreed to delay reaching a decision on Harold Levy's future as schools chancellor for two months....

SPITZER OKS RUDY'S FUND

ALBANY - Attorney General Eliot Spitzer yesterday approved the transfer of the Twin Towers Fund to Rudy Giuliani - after the former mayor agreed 20 percent of the charity's board...

CALIFORNIAN'S WIN A VICTORY FOR RUDY

REPUBLICANS really may have to call him "Sir Rudy" now. They're racing to beg for ex-Mayor Giuliani's help now that he's a certified kingmaker who helped boost pal Bill Simon...

D.C. FUROR OVER COPTER AMBUSH ; PENTAGON DENIES 'BLACK HAWK' SCENARIO IN SOLDIERS' DEATHS

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon brass went on the defensive yesterday as new questions and conflicting accounts emerged about the death of a Navy SEAL commando who fell from a helicopter....

THE PETA-ELF CONNECTION

NEARLY six years after the Earth Liberation Front set off its first firebomb in the United States, the feds may have gotten their first break in figuring out who runs...

HIGHWAY HORROR ; FLYING OBJECT KILLS CARDIAC DOC ON LIE

A top heart surgeon was killed in a freak accident yesterday when a heavy steel plate flew off a tractor-trailer and smashed through his windshield on the Long Island Expressway....

I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT REV. AL'S RIGHT THIS TIME

PLEASE refrain from placing hot liquids in your mouth before reading the next sentence: Al Sharpton has a point. It was maddening to watch the Rev Who Wants to Be...

DEVELOPING CRISIS: WTC MEET CLOSED

An advisory committee of executives from top Wall Street corporations will meet in secret today with the state-city agency in charge of redeveloping lower Manhattan - drawing fire from downtown...

BATTLE IN THE MOUNTAINS: SURRENDER OR DIE - RUMSFELD'S WARNING TO AL QAEDA FIGHTERS

Under a storm of heavy fire, hundreds of U.S. reinforcements hit the snowy mountains of Gardez, Afghanistan, yesterday to finish off a zealous corps of al Qaeda and Taliban troops...

SENDING A MORAL MESSAGE TO COP-BASHING BOOBS

ROBERT NOYER, a lying, cheating, thieving crook, didn't find God quick enough. Yesterday at 5:10 p.m. in Manhattan federal court, Deputy Inspector Dennis Sindone walked free - and suddenly a...

SMASHING ROBBERY AT POSH JEWELERS

It was your basic smash and grab - the only difference being this one was pulled off at one of the busiest intersections in the city. Police say Van Cleef...

JETS HIT TOWERS AT WORST HEIGHT

WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11 hijackers hit the Twin Towers in the perfect spot to cause their collapse, expert engineers told Congress yesterday. The engineers said if the jetliners had...

CALL HIM CAPT. CLEAN ; CITY COP CLEAR OF CORRUPT CHARGES

A high-ranking cop accused of corruption walked triumphantly out of Manhattan federal court yesterday after a jury cleared him of stealing drug money. Capt. Dennis Sindone, whose meteoric rise up...

UNEMPLOYED GARY TRIES TO 'WORK' THINGS OUT

Rudy's California victory / Inside Washington: P. 22Gary Condit is washed up in politics, but he could be on the way to earning big bucks - or going the blue-collar...

THE $70M SEXGATE FINALE: YES, BILL LIED

WASHINGTON - There was "sufficient" evidence to prosecute Bill Clinton for lying about Sexgate - and probably convict him - but he'd already been punished enough, the independent counsel's final...

DIALLO COPS STAY ON DESK DUTY

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday the officers involved in the shooting death of Amadou Diallo won't be put back on full duty any time soon. The officers were acquitted...

SETBACK FOR KILLER LANDLORD

Killer landlord Louis Hubrecht was dealt a major setback yesterday when a judge ruled jurors won't get a chance to acquit him on self-defense grounds. Summations in the murder trial...

BRIDE ON BRINK OF GIVING BIRTH SENT TO JAIL ON 'ECSTASY' RAP

A grown man cried yesterday as he watched his eldest daughter - nine-months pregnant with his first grandchild - hauled off to jail on drug and gun charges with her...

ISRAEL ROCKET ATTACK HITS CLOSE TO HOME FOR ARAFAT

JERUSALEM - Israeli forces blasted a building 30 feet from Yasser Arafat last night in another day of furious military action, one that left 12 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers...

D-DAY FOR SCHWARZ ; EX-COP COULD WALK TODAY

Charles Schwarz is back in New York for a court hearing today that could end with him being free on bail after spending most of the last 2½ years imprisoned...

BUSH MAY TOP $20B N.Y. PLEDGE

President Bush is expected today to loosen the purse strings on some of the $20 billion in aid promised New York after the World Trade Center attacks - and maybe...

TORTOLA SLAY SHOCKER ; NEW RAP FOR ACQUITTED BEAU IN MODEL MURDER

A New York publishing heir acquitted of his ex-gal pal's grisly murder in the British Virgin Islands is set to be reindicted for the killing, sources told The Post. Alexander...

MORE BODIES FOUND

The bodies of two more police officers were recovered from the ruins of the World Trade Center last night and tentatively identified from their ID cards and handguns. Sources identified...

MIKE GETS SAY IN WTC BOARD ; SEEKS DIVERSITY WITH 3 NEW PICKS

The board of the city-and-state agency rebuilding the World Trade Center will be expanded to give Mayor Bloomberg three appointees - his first since the group was created three months...

BUILDING BLOCKHEADS TRIED TO STALL PESKY POST

A spokesman for the head of the agency rebuilding Ground Zero stalled a routine request for the group's bylaws for weeks - apparently because they raise questions about whether one...

GLAD DAD RUDY ; JUDI CAN BE ON HAND WHEN KIDS VISIT: JUDGE

The cease-fire in the Rudy Giuliani-Donna Hanover battle is over, and now the judge presiding over the divorce of the city's former first couple is getting caught in the fray....

11 FREED IN HOSTAGE SIEGE AT L.I. STAPLES

A hostage drama straight out of "Dog Day Afternoon" was playing out in Valley Stream, L.I. this morning, with crisis negotiators coaxing armed robbers into freeing at least 11 hostages...

FED SUIT BIDS TO RE-FORM SLAVE-PAYMENT CON MEN

The Justice Department yesterday made a new bid to squelch the purveyors of a pernicious urban myth that promises slavery reparations to filers of certain tax forms. In two civil...

PREY FOR B'KLYN BIRDIE

A red-tailed hawk that made Brooklyn its hunting ground was fighting for its life yesterday after a harrowing, head-on encounter with an SUV. The wrong-way raptor rammed beak-first into a...

SUPERMAN TAKES ON MEN OF 'STEAL'

Forget Lex Luthor - Superman's new archenemy is ... hair gel? A glowing green goop marketed as "Kryptonite" has come under attack from DC Comics, which publishes Superman. Kryptonite is...

'EXECUTIONER' GETS 117 YEARS

A Queens judge sentenced a convicted drug dealer to 25 years to life in prison yesterday for a 1999 Kissena Park murder, calling the con previously acquitted of a cop...

FTC BAGS WONDER BREAD ADS

Our moms were wary of it when they made our school lunches - and now it's official: Wonder Bread isn't all it's cracked up to be in the nutrition department....

SHOTS FIRED AFTER ALTERCATION ON GARMENT DISTRICT SIDEWALK

A man was shot on a Garment District sidewalk yesterday after an argument with two other men, police said. One witness said he saw the victim standing on the corner...

JUDGE 'POPS' RUDY: SAYS HE SPENT NIGHTS WITH JUDI, NOT HIS KIDS

Rudy Giuliani didn't spend a night with his kids for eight months because of a court order keeping them from his girlfriend, the judge presiding over his divorce said yesterday....

DRUNK MONKEYS LIKE HUMAN PARTY ANIMALS

We all know excessive boozing can make a monkey out of you - and now scientists know why. It turns out that just like humans, monkeys acquire a taste for...

U.S. LEARNING FROM FAILURE OF SOVIET TACTICS

ANALYSIS WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is using massive firepower and high-tech weaponry to rout a guerrilla army in the frigid mountains of Gardez. Those guerrillas are trying to use the...

SUNS SPOIL PARTY AS ; KIDD RETURNS

Suns 89Nets 87 PHOENIX - This was supposed to be the "Jason Kidd Comes Back and Kicks Butt" game. And it very nearly was until the Nets decided that offense...

PIRATES END ROCKY YEAR LOST AT SEA

Last night's depressing end to Seton Hall's miserable season was no different than the numerous other nights the Pirates walked out of a gym as losers. The Pirates' Big East...

MARBURY NOT LOOKING BACK

NET NOTES PHOENIX - Stephon Marbury figured it would be so different. Here in Phoenix, the Suns would again waltz into the playoffs, winning would be a constant companion, the...

HEAVIES A DIVISION OF GRUMPY OLD MEN

EVANDER Holyfield believes the Mike TysonLennox Lewis fight will never happen. He says Lewis is afraid of Tyson and will find reasons not to fight him even if Tyson somehow...

KNICKS GETTING READY TO REBUILD ; CHANEY DEAL SIGNALS CLUB'S NEW DIRECTION

DENVER - Enough hints were dropped by Knicks management at Don Chaney's one-year contract extension press conference Tuesday. Chaney's stunning contract extension is the biggest sign yet the Knicks not...

RANGER RALLY BOOSTS FAITH

CHICAGO - When it was done, when the Rangers had come from 2-0 down after the second period to defeat the Wild 3-2 in Minnesota on Tuesday - the first...

LAYDEN EMBARKS ON TOURNEY TOUR

KNICK NOTES DENVER - While the Knicks flew to Denver yesterday to begin a three-game Western swing, GM Scott Layden, fresh from China, embarked on a four-day, four-tournament college adventure....

EAGLES ONLY HALF BAD ; BRUTAL BC WAKES UP IN TIME TO SOLVE RU

BC 60Rutgers 55 He had to look away. Al Skinner felt the need to avert his eyes, because what he was witnessing out there on the Garden court was such...

JET VOICE DAVID ASKS OUT

Howard David, the Jets' radio play-by-play voice since 1998, has asked out of that position to become the morning drive host on a Miami all-sports station, WQAM. David, with at...

SLUMPING ISLES LOOKING AHEAD

There's no crying over spilt milk. For that matter, there were no tears after Islander losses over the last week to Atlanta and then Pittsburgh - two teams inferior to...

SIDNEY HAS ALL ANSWERS FOR EAGLES

For Boston College's sophomore guard Ryan Sidney, it was a matter of pride. When the league's coaches left him off their all-Big East team Tuesday, he was vexed; and when...

NETS LEARNED BIG LESSON IN LOSING TO ; SHAQ, LAKERS

PHOENIX - The education continues. The Nets seem to learn something valuable about themselves every game. Take the defeat in Los Angeles Tuesday. Rookie center Jason Collins was asked what...

JETS SIGN EX-BILL LB 'SAM C'

The Jets filled yet another key position left empty by free agency when they signed linebacker Sam Cowart to a six-year, $31 million contract yesterday. "Not only did we take...

DUQUE DISHES OLD MAGIC

Yankees 6Rangers 4 PORT CHARLOTTE - They told him to pitch and block out everything else. Forget the trade rumors swirling from The Bronx to San Francisco. Ignore the possibility...

LOU BALKS AT GOMEZ DEAL ; BUT DEVILS GM STILL SEEKS SNIPER

PHOENIX - It sounds as if Do Little Lou is trying to get something big done. On one hand, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is believed to be trying to obtain...

HOYAS ESCAPE THE FRIAR

Georgetown 68Providence 67 Georgetown's victory yesterday in the first round of the Big East Tournament was foul-plagued and turnover-filled, but the final minute was competition at its finest - from...

POSADA READY TO THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND

YANKEE NOTES PORT CHARLOTTE - Jorge Posada isn't going to attempt any off-balance throw that will tax his right shoulder. However, when the Yankee catcher gets a chance to throw...

VALENTIN BAT WOULD BULK UP THE BENCH

PORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets really need the alum of Seton Hall, the Red Sox and long-term parking on the DL to be a player in 2002. And, boy,...

GOALS MORE MODEST FOR RUBEN'S SECOND STINT WITH YANKEES

PORT CHARLOTTE - So deep is the pool of talent, and so rich with legends from eras past is the Yankees' camp, that they can mix a little of this...

OUT-FOR-YEAR ESCOBAR HAS NO ANSWERS

MET NOTES WINTER HAVEN - Alex Escobar hopped on metal crutches yesterday with a blue brace around most of his left leg, looking like a prospect whose ETA has been...

ALOMAR: TRIBE GM LIED

Indians 4Mets 3 WINTER HAVEN - Late yesterday afternoon, Roberto Alomar greeted fans of his old team at the edge of a fenced-off parking lot while the Mets' team bus...

YANKEES TO FANS: DITCH CABLEVISION

The Yankees are telling New York fans who usually watch the Bombers on Cablevision systems to ditch their cable subscriptions for a satellite-dish service to catch games this season. In...

FOR PETE'S SAKE! MOLLOY STUNNED

CHSAA QUARTERFINAL St. Peter's 68Molloy 65 John Baiano and his St. Peter's teammates have been trying for quite a while to prove they can compete with the rest of the...

'NOVA POPS ORANGEMEN'S NCAA BUBBLE

Villanova 78Syracuse 64 Angst has been such a visible part of Jim Boeheim's makeup over the years. Always one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, the Syracuse coach has...

ONE STORMY WIN: JOHNNIES TOP HALL IN GARDEN OF UGLY

St. John's 64 Seton Hall 58 Eighteen straight misses. Twenty wins. It's like a horror story with a happy ending. It's the agonizing, at times horrifying, story of the St....

ONE STORMY WIN : JOHNNIES TOP HALL IN GARDEN OF UGLY

St. John's 64 Seton Hall 58 St. John's has its 20th win of the season. Now it can only hope that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee doesn't get its hands...

JARVIS HOPES HATTEN ISN'T ONE & DONE

BIG EAST NOTES After St. John's had its season ended by Seton Hall, 78-66, last March, point guard Omar Cook was asked if he would return for his sophomore season....

TAKE IT TO THE PLANK: STORM BURNED TO AVENGE TOURNEY LOSS TO PIRATES

The scene and setting were all to familiar, all too frightening. It must have been like walking into a house of horrors for St. John's. The Red Storm dressed for...

SCOTT BACKS KIDD'S SUN-SWIPES

NET NOTES PHOENIX - Byron Scott rarely has held back on his feelings. If he feels one way, he says it. So he had no problem with Jason Kidd's criticism...