May 19, 2002

BULL'S EYE

IKEA SENDS RICH PACKING Ikea recognizes that the rich are different. So the affordable home furnishing store is banning those who earn more than $200,000 a year from its annual...

AMEX CEO LEADS FROM 9/11 HQ

Salvatore Sodano, three years at the helm of the American Stock Exchange as chairman and chief exec, occupies an office nestled in a warm and spacious office overlooking the back...

COMPANIES RAKE IT IN AT SAMPLE SALES

Sample sales offer more than bargains for savvy shoppers - they bring in big bucks for the companies that host them. Due to the rise in popularity of shopping at...

ADS FOR SAMSUNG NOT THE SAME SONG

The screaming may finally stop in consumer electronics commercials. Instead of using brassy, hard-sell pitches for TVs, DVDs, radios cell phones and other gadgets, Samsung is switching to a calming,...

HENNESSY GROWTH FUND STICKS WITH ITS PICKS 'TIL THEY PAY OFF

WHEN a fund manager admits that he refuses to sell losers - even companies heading into bankruptcy - an investor would have to assume investing in that fund would not...

GUARDIAN ANGEL

"The Guardian"Season finaleTuesday 9-10 on Ch. 2 WHY do some shows make it and others don't? In the case of "The Guardian," success in its first season has everything to...

SOMETHING TO DRINK ABOUT

Socially conscious columnist that I am - as evidenced by my longstanding refusal to eat whale blubber - it's only natural that I speak out against network television's ban on...

THE GIRL IN THE BIRTHDAY CAKE

Caroline Cho wears many hats: dancer, choreographer, East Village barmaid. But it was her work as an actress that brought the Korean-American woman to Cine File's attention. Specifically, it was...

CLEA DUVALL

Clea DuVall doesn't waste her time on doing makeup, fiddling with hair extensions or worrying about what to wear. The 24-year-old actress - who stars in "Thirteen Conversations About One...

INCHING TOWARD A ROMANCE RESOLUTION

How do you know when you're spending too much time wondering what your date is thinking? Is constant speculation about where things will go part of the exciting first flushes...

PET SHOP GOES POP : BRIT DUO DANCING TO NEW TUNE

They weren't talking about West End girls or East End boys, but the London duo Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, who formed the Pet Shop Boys in 1981, had lots...

THEY STRIP AWAY PRETENSE OF WORDS

Some people are unwilling to try theater that isn't either a standard play or musical. But there are worthy alternative works out there that creatively combine music and drama, including...

FURRY NICE: HAUTE-TICKET DESIGNS FOR THE ANIMAL SET

Fed up with dog beds that flatten out like pancakes shortly after you spend big bucks on them? Then consider Eazy Bean, a haute take on the bean-bag chair designed...

HEY, FLANDERS! A BURST OF BELGIAN BREWS TAPS INTO AMERICAN MARKET

It's odd that for a country many believe is the best in the world at making beer, Belgium has never had a top 40 hit in the United States. Not...

MUNCH ADO ABOUT DOWNTOWN FOOD FEST

Ready. Set. Graze. The fifth annual Dine Around Downtown takes place Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Lower Manhattan food fest, originally scheduled for Sept. 12, is moving...

WHAT I WATCH

JACK SCALIA Actor "All My Children" I get my sports encapsulated by watching "ESPN Sports Center" and my daily news updated with Fox News Channel: "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity &...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A little old granny was sentenced to four years in prison after confessing that she ran a massive pickpocket ring in Florida. Ernestine Williams, 65, ordered her 80 recruits from...

THIS BUSH-WHACKING IS NONSENSE

HOW much did the president know and why didn't he do more to stop it? That was the question being bandied about all week on the talk shows. What were...

PERSECUTING PROSECUTOR'S PERFIDY EXPOSED AT LAST

FOR almost five years I've been telling anyone who wanted to listen that federal prosecutor Alan Vinegrad is as venomous as a viper. Now Vinegrad the vicious has had to...

SWISS MISSED SHOT : HURTING HINGIS, 21, MAY BE ON LAST LEGS

At 16, she was a tennis sensation, winning three of the four major titles and becoming the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon. At 20, she surpassed Monica Seles' record...

NEW EGAN BOMBSHELL : PAID OFF PERV PRIEST AND IGNORED VICTIM: LAWYER

Edward Cardinal Egan resisted compensating an alleged victim of a pedophile priest while giving the clergyman as much as $17,000 to settle bank debts and pay for a defense lawyer...

VATICAN BIG: DON'T TELL FLOCK

Victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests yesterday blasted a Vatican canon lawyer's comments that bishops should avoid telling congregations whether priests sexually abused someone. "It seems...

BUSH FLYING INTO EURO FIRESTORM

After days of criticism at home over his handling of pre-Sept. 11 attack warnings, President Bush is now facing a wave of criticism in Europe as he prepares to embark...

B'WAY SONGBIRD TUNES OUT CHARITY GIG

Three-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald pulled a Pavarotti yesterday - dropping out of a benefit performance because of "vocal problems." The 32-year-old recording diva and TV actress was scheduled to...

CIG TAX MAY LURE BUTT-LEGGERS

A new crop of cigarette smugglers is expected to blow into town if the proposed $1.50-a-pack tax hike is approved by the state and city this week. A vanload of...

RAIN HALTS WTC CLEANUP

Downpours left Ground Zero waterlogged yesterday, forcing cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center site to be temporarily halted. The rains left huge puddles in the Ground Zero pit, which...

FIVE ALIVE: PIERCE WANTS NEW 007 BID

From Cannes with love. Actor Pierce Brosnan, who flew to the Cannes Film Festival yesterday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of James Bond's first appearance on the silver screen, is...

COP SHOOTER ELUDES DRAGNET

Cops are still on the hunt for the sniper who shot at a group of rookie police officers Friday, hitting a policewoman twice in the arm. Crystal Jeffrey, 23, remained...

NEW SINAI PROBE EYES HEART-OP DEATH

A state investigation of patient deaths and complaints at Mount Sinai Hospital is now looking into a heart operation in which the patient died after a valve was allegedly put...

SON OF FLT. 587 VICTIM IS SLAIN

Tragedy struck a star-crossed Bronx family for a second time yesterday as the son of a man killed in last November's crash of American Airlines Flight 587 was shot to...

DRUG MULES PLANE STUPID

Teams of desperate drug mules are being packed onto the same inbound flights to JFK Airport in a foolhardy game of chance only a few ever win, The Post has...

GOV TO FACE A 3RD-PARTY PRIMARY

Gov. Pataki will face Tom Golisano in a primary election for the Independence Party nomination after the billionaire businessman got enough support at the party's convention yesterday to force the...

NEW TERROR DATA MIRRORS PRE-9/11, BUT THIS TIME... WE'RE READY

The United States has intercepted a new series of frightening messages that suggest al Qaeda is planning a second wave of attacks that would be as big or bigger than...

VICTORIA GOTTI

THE click of a paparazzo's camera is an evil sound. And those framed by the camera can be plunged into a living hell. Trust me, I know. I've lost count...

FBI IS ALL OVER AL QAEDA'S CASE : CRACK AGENTS SCOUR CITY IN HUNT FOR CELLS

The FBI remains highly vigilant to the threats of a possible terrorist attack. Although the bureau has found no evidence that an al Qaeda-like terrorist cell exists in the Big...

7 COUNTRIES AGREE TO TAKE 13 TERRORISTS

JERUSALEM - With Cyprus sick and tired of playing host to a group of alleged Palestinian terrorists, who spent a relaxing week lounging at a seaside resort, the European Union...

CITY COPS TO LEARN ABOUT BOMBERS

Training officers from the NYPD's Office of Counterterrorism will be in Israel this week to learn how to combat bombers, department sources told The Post. Five officers have been invited...

PORN-IKOVA PILE-ON PUTS FOCUS ON PAPARAZZI

Judge Denny Chin has seen a lot in his eight years in Manhattan federal court, but he sure got an eyeful last week trying to decide a lawsuit over a...

MAFIA: HELP WANTED : SHRINKING FAMILIES ON RECRUITING DRIVE

Faced with damaging defections and the demise of longtime leaders, local Mafia families have begun opening their arms to a new generation of willing hoods, The Post has learned. The...

BETTER ESCHEW THE FAT IN FLAB FIGHT

If two T-bone steaks, a Caesar salad and a butter-filled baked potato sounds like too much for an appetizer, then don't even think about cheese fries the next time you...

GOING TO SCHOOL CAN BE A RISKY BUSINESS

Walking through city schools could be hazardous to your health, according to inspectors. The number of reported building violations in city public schools skyrocketed 280 percent last year - to...

EVILDOERS SPENT 300G ON 9/11

WASHINGTON - The elaborate Sept. 11 conspiracy was run on a shoestring budget and cost Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network about $303,000 to orchestrate, according to new figures released...

PLENTY TO DO IN VERMONT AFTER SNOW MELTS

FLY fishing was around for quite some time before Charles Orvis came along, but it hasn't been the same since. Outside of the Catskill region of New York, there is...

SI'S TYSON PUFF PIECE HAD MOTIVE

THERE'S a fresh new line of reasoning being floated by those who, for one reason or another, can't help but still be smitten with Mike Tyson. It goes like this:...

EXPLOITING A DESPERATE, DESTITUTE MAN

WHILE Fox's "Celebrity Boxing" was born of how-low-can-you-go TV, this week's edition, featuring corpulent William "The Refrigerator" Perry vs. 7-7 flagstick Manute Bol, is more sad than sick. Bol, who...

TIME FOR SATHER TO CALL WILSON

SO NOW Glen Sather sits, anticipating follow-up meetings with candidates he deemed unacceptable the first time around, waiting for permission to speak to "B"-list assistants whose teams are still playing....

BIG BROTHER AT THE GOLF COURSE : U.S. OPEN BACKGROUND CHECKS VIOLATE OUR AMERICAN FREEDOM

IN the interest of full disclosure, I would like to make the following confession to the United States Golf Association: The other night, while driving home from work, I slightly...

NETS HOPE TO MAKE HISTORY

They have longed for this for 26 years, ever since the Nets took up residence in the NBA. During that span, the franchise has alternated from comical to dreary to...

TEARS FLOW AT HATTON MEMORIAL TOURNEY

JoAnne Hatton was moved to tears on several occasions on Friday during a memorial golf tournament honoring her husband, Leonard Hatton, who lost his life in the Sept. 11 terror...

BYRON'S PLAN FOR PAUL: DENY, DENY, DENY

If Paul Pierce doesn't have it, he can't shoot it. That's the way the theory goes and that's what Byron Scott wants Kenyon Martin to understand heading into tonight's Eastern...

SENSE OF DEJA 'EW' AT LOTTERY

After the Knicks had captured the first NBA lottery and Patrick Ewing on a frantic, historic Mother's Day, 1985, David Stern and his wife Dianne left the Waldorf-Astoria arm-in-arm. The...

MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR YAO AND KNICKS

Knicks GM Scott Layden says he's not superstitious and doesn't have a lucky suit for the Secaucus dais for today's lottery at 6:40 p.m. Though it will be at the...

ALOMAR FEELS RIGHT AT HOME IN SAN DIEGO

SAN DIEGO - Like a captain of industry traveling to his college homecoming, Roberto Alomar returned to the cradle of his All-Star career on Thursday. And probably like the undergrads...

NETS: NEW-AGE CELTICS DON'T SCARE US

BYRON Scott can remember the days when he was a Laker and playing the Celtics was as tough mentally as it was physically. He can recall the sauna of the...

CELTICS' REBIRTH A FRONT-OFFICE PHENOMENON

IN previous years, three out of four, to be exact (once, in hopes of reversing the Celtics' luck, Kenny Anderson was used as a stand-in on stage), Chris Wallace would...

LILLY FINALLY PUTS 'W' IN THE BANK

Ever since Andy Pettitte went on the disabled list with tendinitis in his elbow, it's been up to fellow southpaw Ted Lilly to take his place. And although the sleepy-eyed...

YANKS GET AN ASSIST FROM UMP

The Yankees won yesterday's game over the Twins, 6-2, thanks to a strong outing by Ted Lilly, another home run by Alfonso Soriano and an assist from home-plate umpire Gary...

BRONX WARMING UP TO GIAMBI

JASON Giambi and the Yankees cooled off yesterday. For one thing, it was 44 degrees and felt more like 24 degrees, thanks to a forceful wind on a gray day...

AIN'T THAT GRAND? PIAZZA JOINS ELITE CLUB

SAN DIEGO - Mike Piazza launched a grand slam, then launched a grand question. In the seventh inning on Friday night, the Met catcher smashed his 13th career grand slam....

KARSAY ADDS AMMO TO BULLPEN

Jason Giambi wasn't the only new Yankee face in need of making an adjustment to New York. Even though he was raised in Queens, Steve Karsay had to get used...

BANGED-UP U.S. ON A MISSION FOR DUTCH TREAT

FOXBORO - In the U.S. soccer team's final tuneup for the World Cup, highly-regarded Holland should provide its toughest test to date. But far more important than beating the Netherlands...

IRISH 'ROSE' STARTS DAY WITH VICTORY

BALTIMORE - The Preakness wasn't the only stakes run on yesterday's 13-race card at Pimlico. Seven black-type heats preceded the main event, beginning with the $100,000 Woodlawn Stakes for 3-year-olds...

LOSING JOCKEYS GET THE LAST WORD

How the losing jockeys saw yesterday's 127th running of the Preakness Stakes, won by War Emblem with Victor Espinoza aboard: Richard Migliore (Magic Weisner, 2nd): "It was a shame we...

'EMBLEM' BECOMES REAL TRIPLE THREAT : PREAKNESS WIN SETS UP SHOT AT CROWN

BALTIMORE - Get ready, New York! The Triple Crown will be on the line three weeks away in the June 8 Belmont Stakes after Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem, in...

BAFFERT'S 'WAR' HORSE LIGHTS UP SPORT

BALTIMORE - Blow the bugle, deck the halls with carnations and fasten your seat belts: We've got a Triple Crown threat coming to New York to send the magic city...

SORIANO'S GOT CLOUT : 3-RUN HR POWERS YANKS, PUMPS ALFONSO MVP CRED

There is so much baseball left to play before October arrives that it may sound a bit ludicrous to put the subject on the table. Yet if the first six...

SHINY BAND ROCKS IN SHUVEE 'CAP

Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens pulled the upset again as Shiny Band got through on the rail and drew off to win the 27th running of the Grade 2,...

THERE'S A 'SLEW' OF SIMILARITIES HERE

BALTIMORE - The comparisons are eerie between new Preakness hero War Emblem and the late Seattle Slew, who preceded him to the winner's circle here 25 years ago before going...

ESTES A SORE WINNER : DINGED TWICE AS AMAZIN'S POP PODS

SAN DIEGO - Shawn Estes was hit all night, suffering blows on the body and in the box score. But the Met lefty smelled a win after his teammates gave...

NEW ASSISTANT GM HAS GIANTS' CAP ON STRAIGHT

They are far removed from the field, often faceless to the public, without any serious name recognition. Yet in many ways, this new generation of youngish executives, known fondly (and...

BIG-DEAL BARTOLO: TRIBE'S COLON TOP PRIZE IN SUMMER SWAP-STAKES

CLIFF Floyd will not be the most consequential player dealt before the trading deadline despite the frequency of his name in rumors. That honor will go to Cleveland's Bartolo Colon....

THE MATCHUPS: NETS VS. CELTICS

A superb and intriguing story unfolds at virtually every turn in the Eastern Finals. Boston beat the Nets, 3-1, in the season series. Doesn't matter now. It's the first one...

BREAK FROM REALITY: BRAVEST JOIN PROS FOR ROUND IN THE SUN

For two precious, irreplaceable days this week, tears, anguish and lumps in the throat were replaced by a bunch of bogeys, an occasional par and countless laughs for three deserving...

THE INSIDERS: THE POST TAKES YOU BEHIND THE LOCKER-ROOM DOORS

'BAR' LEAGUE BOSS Denny McLain is commish of softball circuit - in prison Nobody kept Bowie Kuhn busier than Denny McLain, who twice was suspended by the former baseball commish...

'WAR' SIRE OWNERS STRIKING IT RICH

BALTIMORE - Even before yesterday's win in the Preakness, War Emblem was already the greatest dream-come-true, the jackpot of a lifetime for an elderly couple who took the gamble of...