January 5, 2003

FORECAST 2003 : STORIES WE'D LIKE TO SEE IN THE NEW YEAR

With the new year just under way, Bull's Eye offers up its annual prediction of business stories you're likely to see in the coming year - or, more precisely, the...

STARR REPORT

York, squared: Duchess comes to ManhattanSarah Ferguson is blowing into town for a flurry of appearances to chat up her new book and her upcoming syndicated talk show ("Fergie"). First...

ROMERO'S 'DEAD' LIVE AGAIN

BOLT the doors, barricade the windows and get out the shotgun - those flesh-eating zombies are loose again. George A. Romero, whose repertory includes "Night of the Living Dead" (1968)...

STYLE & SUBSTANCE: ALICIA WITT

It's not easy being teased by one of Hollywood's hunkiest stars.While shooting the the romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice," Hugh Grant poked fun at Alicia Witt for not knowing how...

HE'S NO JFK JR.: AN UNKNOWN TAKES ON THE ROLE OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE SON. AT LEAST THEY GOT THE HAIR RIGHT.

The poster reads: "America's Prince." That's all the ad for the TV biopic about John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. (set to air next Sunday, Jan. 12, 8 p.m on TBS) needs...

HIGH NOTES & LOW NOTES

Ryan Watch 2003: We thought we'd start the year off without any thoughts given to Ryan Adams and his nemesis - in name only - Bryan Adams. (If you missed...

DRUGSTORE COWBOY: HE DRANK, DID MORPHINE, DIVORCED THE SAM WOMAN TWICE AND DIED AT 29: IT'S HANK WILLIAMS, THE MUSICAL

A musical genius with a dark side lives fast, dies young: by now it may be a cliche, but American icon Hank Williams pioneered the tradition. Country music's first superstar...

LOUDMOUTH: THE POST'S NOTORIOUS ANDREA PEYSER GOES SOFT. REALLY.

It was wicked fun to serve as inspiration for a kick-ass character - a columnist with an acid tongue, fabulous wardrobe, killer abs and absolute inability to commit to house...

SUBWAY-WORKER MEMORIALS

Transit workers killed in two track accidents last November were remembered in memorial services yesterday. Signal maintainer Joy Antony's service was held at the Catholic church at Rockland Psychiatric Center...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Women in Taiwan have begun eating mouse testicles in a bid to get pregnant. The craze follows claims by several infertile couples that they got pregnant after munching on dishes...

SKAKEL DAD'S DEATH ANOTHER TRAGIC KENNEDY ENDING

RUSHTON Skakel, father of Michael, passed away Friday at the age of 79, leaving behind a life of heady mountaintops and devastating crevices. "Before the verdict came in, he hugged...

FEAR OVER AIR-GEAR THEFT

Several articles of clothing bearing the US Airways logo, plus airline ID badges, were stolen from a car Dec. 29, raising concerns over terrorism with the NYPD. A US Airways...

'JOGGER' EX-CON: JAIL 'HORRIFIC'

The first of the Central Park 5 to speak publicly recalled prison life yesterday as a rough time when he had to keep looking over his shoulder. "It was rough...

HIP-HOP TOUR 'BUST' : FEDS EYE RAPPERS' ON-THE-ROAD CRIME LINK

Money laundering and drug dealing on the road are at the heart of a federal probe into hot-rising rap label Murder Inc. - home to such stars as Ashanti and...

POLICE BLITZ CRIME ZONES TO PAVE WAY FOR ROOKIES

Cops on overtime are flooding 21 crime hot spots before rookies take over the job at the end of the month, police sources told The Post. Besides the patrol cops,...

ROSS PALS: DWI BUST A WAKE-UP CALL

Friends of drink-driven diva Diana Ross hope the spectacle she caused when she was pulled over in Arizona - disoriented and unable to write out the alphabet - is just...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN A 23-year-old man died after he was found unconscious and bleeding from the head in a Morningside Heights apartment building, police said yesterday. Corey Jack was discovered unconscious at...

BIG BLUE FAITHFUL: GIANTS GOING TO KICK NINERS' QUICHE-TERS

It's East vs. West. Springsteen vs. Bennett. Cheesecake vs. quiche. The Big Apple vs. the City by the Bay. Let's rumble! It's do-or-die on the gridiron today as the Giants...

WOMAN STRUCK DOWN : KILLED BY POLICE CAR RACING TO SHOOTING

An unmarked police car riding to a Brooklyn shooting struck and killed a woman heading to church as she crossed a busy street in Bushwick yesterday, cops said. Lucia Rodriguez,...

NYPD UNDER FIRE: SLAY COP ALSO SHOT TEEN IN '02

A cop involved in one of four fatal shootings of civilians in the first two days of the New Year gunned down a teen in Brooklyn just seven months earlier,...

FOLLOWER: I'VE GOT WOMB FOR THEIR CHILDREN

Marina Cocolios, a Montreal art student in her early 20s, isn't just any member of the Raelian movement, the group that recently claimed to have cloned a baby named Eve....

SLAIN TEEN'S KIN MOURN 'GOOD KID'

A teary-eyed stream of family and friends gathered in Brooklyn last night for the wake of a murdered teen - who was gunned down in a hail of bullets on...

VICTORIA GOTTI

HOLIDAY HANGOVER: The 12 days of Christmas are over, and that makes this week one of the most wonderful times of the year. Finally, I can get back to reality....

TV JOURNO PITCHED CLONE STORY

The former ABC News reporter who offered to independently test the Raelians' cloning claims tried to pitch the story to several news organizations long before it first broke, it was...

IT'S SKY-HIGH HEAVEN FOR JETS: GANG GREEN DEVOTEES PARTYING LIKE IT'S 1969

The Jets turned Giants Stadium into a giant slaughterhouse yesterday - as they ripped apart the hapless Colts in front of a rowdy sellout crowd that braved frigid temperatures to...

PATAKI SET TO DEBUT HIS $10B BUDGET-BALANCING ACT

Gov. Pataki, who led the state during the crisis of 9/11, faces another rendezvous with destiny Wednesday when he presents his State of the State address to the Legislature. Pataki's...

PROBERS: HOW GUARDIAN LOOTED HIS AILING CLIENTS

The criminal probe of a lawyer charged with stealing millions from the infirm and dead has exposed long-standing cracks in the state courts that let the greedy exploit the needy,...

BEWARE 'MUSCLE' TACTICS

Every January, thousands of New Yorkers - heavy on the hips from holiday overeating - flock to sign up at their neighborhood gyms, emboldened by New Year's resolutions to get...

'COFFIN-CHASERS' DIGGING UP RIGHTFUL HEIRS

Dennis Langel has made a living for the past 30 years tracking down the lost heirs of dead New Yorkers. Langel, a forensic genealogist who lives in Long Island, trolls...

STATE OF OUR POLS : MIKE 'B'-GUILES FOES THEY GRADE HIM HIGH ON 1ST YEAR

If there's one guy in town with a reason to be tough on Mayor Bloomberg, it's Mark Green. But the former public advocate, who narrowly lost City Hall to Bloomberg...

TRIAL'S A WAKE-UP FOR GOTTI

Reputed mob boss Peter Gotti, whose racketeering trial starts tomorrow with jury selection, has some long days ahead. Security concerns and jailhouse procedures will mean each day of his trial...

THE AL QAEDA LINK TO PALESTINIAN TERROR GROUPS

JERUSALEM. ISRAEL recently supplied the Bush administration with evidence that elements of al Qaeda have joined Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The evidence, which obviously can't be revealed, was...

LOCALS HIT BUSH ON AID TO SCHOOLS

President Bush yesterday said he will boost education spending by $1 billion to help schools nationwide comply with the "No Child Left Behind Act" - but some local officials have...

SLAY COP ALSO SHOT TEEN IN '02

One of the cops involved in the fatal shootings of four civilians in the first two days of the New Year gunned down a teen in Brooklyn just seven months...

FREED SPEECH

The first of the Central Park 5 to speak publicly recalled prison life yesterday as a rough time when he had to keep looking over his shoulder. "It was rough...

TRIAL'S A WAKE-UP CALL FOR GOTTI CREW

Reputed mob boss Peter Gotti, whose racketeering trial starts tomorrow with jury selection, has some long days ahead. Security concerns and jailhouse procedures will mean each day of his trial...

SLAY RAPS ON QNS. 'PSYCHO' SUSPECT

The Queens DA unloaded a barrage of charges yesterday against the "psychopath" truck driver accused of stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend and her young daughter - and wounding the woman's...

STRAHAN, EX-MATE ON GRAGG-ARIOUS TERMS

SAN FRANCISCO - For five years, Scott Gragg and Michael Strahan went at each other in training camp and during practice sessions, with Strahan usually getting the better of the...

BELL TOLLING FOR BARROW

SAN FRANCISCO - When Micheal Barrow's bell was rung, it tolled for the Giants. With the middle linebacker on the sidelines suffering cobwebs thicker than the ones around Ron Dixon's...

SCOTTY'S NOT THRASH TALKING

LIKE the Flames before them, the Thrashers weren't afraid to shoot the moon in searching for a coach. But, Slap Shots has learned, like Calgary, Atlanta was politely rejected by...

IT'S SHOW TIME IN GARDEN STATE

OUTDOOR enthusiasts and sailors will be heading to New Jersey this week for the double billing of the Annual Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen's Show and the Atlantic SAIL EXPO. The...

THE TIME FOR TALK IS OVER JINTS READY TO SILENCE NOISY NINERS

SAN FRANCISCO - The journey to get this far was so exhausting and exhilarating that the Giants barely had time to consider where they fit into the playoffs. One moment...

RIVALRY ALWAYS BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN THESE TEAMS

SAN FRANCISCO - They were never a detested rival, the way the Landry Cowboys were, or a bitter rival, the way the Joe Gibbs Redskins were, or even a loathed...

FLAG PAINS 'CANES CONTROVERSIAL CALL PAVES WAY FOR OSU

TEMPE - For a few seconds, the Miami Hurricanes were euphoric. The 'Canes were leading Ohio State 24-17 in the first overtime of Friday night's Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes faced...

IT'S BOWL OR BUST MARIUCCI NOT FAZED BY EXPECTATIONS

SAN FRANCISCO - The win-or-go-home stakes of today's 49ers-Giants playoff game also brings a quiet desperation for two nervous Niners - one looking to hold his job and the other...

NINERS LOOK FOR KICK-START

SAN FRANCISCO - There are kicks and then there are big kicks. The 49ers have made plenty of the former and few of the latter in an up-and-down kicking season...

GREY COMET STREAKS TO COUNT FLEET WIN

Can a New York-bred win the Kentucky Derby? That's a prospect trainer Gary Contessa can afford to dream about after his steel-gray 3-year-old colt Grey Comet remained undefeated in four...

HATTEN & CO. HUMBLE HALL

St. John's 74Seton Hall 66 At midcourt, Seton Hall guard Andre Barrett gave St. John's guard Marcus Hatten a half-hug as a sign of respect. The two appeared like a...

HAWKS PUT TERRY ON TRADING BLOCK

TEN days after replacing Lon Kruger with assistant coach Terry Stotts, the Hawks are trying to arrange a trade involving restricted free agent-to-be Jason Terry. According to sources, the Blazers...

CHANEY OF COMMAND: KNICKS' COACH HAS CONFIDENCE OF TEAM

It's time to give Don Chaney his due. There are a number of reasons the Knicks have risen from the dead after a 1-8 start and into a playoff race...

PASSING THE TORCH JOE'S SUPER LEGACY IN GOOD HANDS

THE Jets' past - their glorious, championship past - fixed his blue eyes on the present and future from his home in Florida. He himself had a day like this...

PLAYOFF PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE MYSTIFIED MANNING

Three playoff games, three playoff losses. You can start firing your Peyton Manning-can't-win-a-big-game salvos right about now. He's certainly ready for them. "It doesn't really matter what I have to...

MAYNARD LIKES JET LOOK

DON Maynard was at his home in El Paso rooting hard just like any other Jets fan when fullback Richie Anderson caught a short screen pass from quarterback Chad Pennington,...

WIN IS BITTERSWEET FOR HERM AS HE AND TONY MAKE HISTORY

The mixed emotion was evident on Herman Edward's face when Tony Dungy's name was mentioned. Amid the euphoria of the Jets' 41-0 whipping of the Colts yesterday at the Meadowlands,...

GREEN 'D' SHOWS ITS TRUE COLORS

This is how the Jet defense was supposed to be. This is how the players and coaches knew they could play. "This," safety Sam Garnes said, "is what we envisioned...

GREEN MACHINE IS RUNNING WILD

The Jets' nickname is perfectly appropriate, because they're flying. Who'll stop them is anybody's guess. But the Jets are moving on in the playoff tournament in dramatic fashion after yesterday's...

51-19 SHOTS EDGE DOESN'T MATTER

Leafs 2Devils 1 TORONTO - While the Devils were pounding their heads against the wall, losing despite an overwhelming 51-19 shot advantage, The Post has learned they have another significant...

JORDAN KEEPS CURTIS FRESH

How dangerous are the Jets? "We're real dangerous," Wayne Chrebet said. Why are they real dangerous? Chad Pennington, defense, special teams . . . and a rested Curtis Martin. Martin...

ISLES LET PENS PICK UP EXTRA POINT

OVERTIMEPenguins 3Isles 2 PITTSBURGH - It really didn't get any simpler for the Islanders, who had been fighting tooth and nail to get back into this season and had a...

BARNABY'S HEART PUMPS RANGERS

Rangers 2Capitals 2 Matt Barnaby is a wanted man - wanted by the first-place Senators, who crave the winger's toughness and have been trying to get him in a trade...

NINE AND COUNTING: STREAKING NETSSURVIVE MAGIC

Nets 88Magic 83 ORLANDO - The Nets insist all of this is a learning experience. They are learning ways to win, gaining insights with every game. Well, there are some...

VICK IS A PACKER SMACKER

GREEN BAY - Moments after Michael Vick and his Falcons made the impossible look easy - a snowy, 27-7 first-round NFC win over the Packers that handed Green Bay the...

NFL STIFFS FANS YET AGAIN PRIME-TIME GAMES HAVE TICKET-BUYERS STUCK IN THE COLD

LET THEM eat frozen cake! As the NFL's playoffs have increasingly become prime-time programming, it's worth noting that the league was once in the habit of smugly poking fun at...

FRAN'S THE MAN IN BOOTH

WHILE he doesn't go berserk at the sight of a slam-dunk, and while he's not yet a national TV regular, every time ex-Manhattan and ex-St. John's coach Fran Fraschilla calls...

MIAMI'S GREAT RUN GRINDS TO A HALT

TEMPE - Perhaps it is fitting that it took a gut-wrenching game to halt one of the great runs in college football history. Ohio State ended Miami's reign as national...

DUNHAM: WE HAVE BIG EDGE: GOALIE WANTS RANGERS TO USE THE BODY MORE

Mike Dunham likes to talk about the Rangers' size. After the 2-1 win in Florida a week ago last night and then again after the New Year's Eve 2-0 victory...

TORRID ISLES ARE SETTING HIGHER GOALS

PITTSBURGH - If the Islanders do in fact win the Atlantic Division, the goal that has now replaced that measly short-term feat of getting themselves out of the giant hole...

AFTER SHUTOUT, SCHWAB SITS

TORONTO - Even Pat Burns, who denies his system has anything to do with his team's offensive failings, missed all the scoring of Friday's first 58 minutes of the Devils'...

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

VAN GUNDY'S FUTURE IS SO BRIGHT Now that Bill Parcells has landed in Dallas, let's peek at where the basketball version of the Tuna will land. That would be the...

KITTLES' GAME UP AND RUNNING

NET NOTES ORLANDO - Jason Kidd had joked that, after a month off, returning teammate Kerry Kittles was going to need an oxygen tank after his first few times up...

RJ GETS SHOW ON ROAD: JEFFERSON'S STAR NOW ON THE RISE IN SECOND TERM

ORLANDO - Last year, when the participants for the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge were announced, there was a glaring omission: Net Richard Jefferson. Boston's Joe Johnson, who was so...

SPREE BEST WHEN GOING ON ATTACK

KNICK NOTES All season, Latrell Sprewell has passed well out of the double-team on drives, finding the open guy when he sensed his path was blocked. But until Friday night...

FALCS TRY TO FORGET FAVRE DEAL TO PACKERS

GREEN BAY - The fruits - or folly - of one of the most lopsided trades in sports history was on display in last night's first-round NFC playoff game between...

HOW SOD: TURF'S UP! NEW PLAYING SURFACE NEEDED AT THE SWAMP

Unless a slew of upsets ensue, yesterday's Jets-Colts playoff game was the last NFL contest on Meadowlands grass. And we don't just mean this season. The three-year experiment to play...

TASTE OF WINNING WHETS JET APPETITES

AFC WILD-CARD CONFIDENTIAL JET NOTES The Jets went into yesterday's AFC playoff game against the Colts chasing that euphoric feeling they basked in last Sunday after beating Green Bay and...

GETTING HERE NOT ENOUGH ANYMORE: PLAYOFF WIN WAS NEXT JET STEP IN HERM'S MASTER PLAN

The Jets were faced yesterday with a chance to put a new and different stamp on their franchise with a playoff win over the Colts at Giants Stadium. A victory...