January 9, 2003

MEDIA HONCHOS TAKE SHOTS AT FAILED AOL-TW MERGER ON CNBC

As CNN looks to move away from in-depth investigative features in favor of more gabfests, CNBC is banking on the opposite. The business cable channel - whose ratings have fallen...

SPITZER'S NEXT TARGET: GOTHAM HEDGE FUND

THE next stop for the Eliot Spitzer investigative team will be hedge funds, starting with one called Gotham Partners. Sources tell me that one of the New York State attorney...

MARTS GET BACK TO REALITY - EARNINGS FOREBODING SINKS STOCKS; DOW DOWN 145.28

So much for the Bush economic stimulus plan. Stocks sank yesterday on concerns that corporate profits will be lousy. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 145.28 to 8,595.31. The S&P...

FACING THE MUSIC - DAVIS LAYS OFF 22% IN NEW ROLE AS RCA CHIEF

Clive Davis is handing out pink slips. Fresh from his holiday vacation in St. Barts, Davis' first order of business as he settled into his new job as head of...

'KNOCKOUT' STOUTE INKS DEAL FOR JOINT VENTURE WITH SONY

Steve Stoute, who in the late 1990s got in an infamous brawl with Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, is close to signing a joint venture deal with Sony Music, The Post...

PETCO OPENING NEW UPPER WEST SIDE STORE

Upper West Side pet lovers and exercise buffs are getting a new Petco and Equinox at 2473 Broadway at the southwest corner of 92nd Street. Petco leased the entire three-story,...

EMINEM INKS SHADY RETAIL DEAL

You can listen to him, watch him on the big screen and now wear the Eminem line of sportswear. The rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, has signed a...

REPORTERS AT AP PLAN A PROTEST

Associated Press reporters nationwide will withhold bylines for 24 hours beginning tomorrow to protest the slow pace of labor negotiations, said the head of the union representing editorial workers. Management...

RATNER RISES AT CABLEVISION

Cablevision Systems is beefing up its management ranks with the promotion of lawyer-turned-programmer Hank Ratner to vice chairman. Stock in the metropolitan area's largest cable TV group has more than...

BARRY & 'FAT' MAN - DILLER DISS REIGNITES FEUD WITH MARVIN DAVIS

Barry Diller is reviving his personal war against oilman Marvin Davis by calling him a fatso with the mogul skills of a waiter. Diller notched another hit on his infamous...

AOL WRITEDOWN OF UP TO $10B IS EXPECTED

AOL Time Warner is getting dragged even deeper into a black hole over the costly merger of AOL's online assets. The media giant is expected to take anther writedown of...

$15M SHOE SALE - KENNETH COLE UNLOADING 5TH AVE. FLAT

FASHION designer Kenneth Cole and his wife, Maria Cuomo Cole, are selling their 14-room apartment at 927 Fifth Avenue. "It's just sitting there, unloved and unoccupied," says one broker familiar...

ONLINE SALES FORCING RECORD STORE CLOSURES

The increase of online music sales may soon turn the "record store" into a dinosaur. Lagging sales of pre-recorded music at brick-and-mortar retailers is causing growing pains at the larger...

ME AND MY BIKES

MOLLY CULVER, ACTRESS Molly Culver, from TV's "V.I.P". and last year's movie"Warrior Angels," has been riding bikes since she was 11. Yes, that's actually her below doing a racing turn...

JESSE PUMPED UP TO BE THE NEW DONAHUE

FORMER Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is about to announce that he will host his own show on MSNBC, sources say. It's not yet clear yet where Ventura's one-hour show will...

NEWS AT 11: SHARON V. REGIS AND KELLY

SHARON Osbourne's talk show is a "go" for September - on Ch. 11. There's even a chance the reality-TV superstar will go head-to-head with Regis and Kelly. The show, which...

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR

NEW YORK CITY BALLETAt New York State Theater, Lincoln Center. (212) 870-5570. Season runs through March 2. ----- AT the New York State Theater Tuesday night, New York City Ballet,...

HERE'S CANNIE! - NEW HBO HEROINE IS SMART & NO SIZE 2

GOODBYE, Carrie - hello, Cannie. "Sex and the City" is calling it quits after six seasons on HBO, but there's a new single gal coming to cable - and the...

EXTRA LONG 'SEX' CLIMAX COMING

'SEX and the City" will go out with a bang as it ends its run next year. HBO will reward "Sex" fans with a bonus 20- episode season, producing eight...

'SOPRANOS' AIR DATE? DON'T ASK

IF HBO knows when "The Sopranos" will return for its fifth season, they ain't talkin'. HBO officials are now saying they don't know when the hugely popular mob drama will...

TIX! GETCHA CHEAP THEATER TIX!

NEW York theaters are having a Great White Way sale. Shows both on and off-Broadway - including some that have yet to open - are offering deep discounts. While you...

STARR REPORT

No Meadow lark - Sigler sets wedding date People magazine's "Insider" column has confirmed that "Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow) will be marrying manager A.J. Discala on July 11 -...

'8' IS AGAIN NO. 1

'8MILE" is going the extra mile. Fueled by its appearance on countless critics' year-end top-10 lists, Eminem's soundtrack to the movie "8 Mile" edged out jazzy blues singer Norah Jones...

HAS-BEEN HEAVEN - THEY USED TO BE FAMOUS - NOW THEY'RE HOUSEMATES

"The Surreal Life" [] Tonight at 9 on WB ----- TO paraphrase those cheesy, smell-alike perfume ads - If you love "Blind Date," you'll like "The Surreal Life." "Surreal Life"...

MAKE ME A WOMAN - FANS LINE UP FOR PLASTIC SURGERY

NEW YORK'S Roseland Ballroom was transformed into lipo-land last night when more than 100 people panting for plastic surgery auditioned for ABC's bizarre new reality show, "Extreme Makeover 2." On...

DRIVEN BY RAGE - PREPPIE-SLAY SIS DREAMS OF REVENGE

The sister of the teen beauty strangled in Central Park by Robert Chambers says she's "haunted by a feeling of dread" knowing that the Preppie Killer will be freed from...

MOM WHO STARTED A REVOLUTION

MAMIE Till Mobley, who died Monday at age 81, never dreamed that she would become the catalyst for a social revolution. Like Don Corleone in "The Godfather," she just wanted...

SHARON RIPS PROBE AS 'DESPICABLE PLOT'

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon broke his silence yesterday over a mushrooming corruption scandal involving his family - as a new poll shows his re-election this month is...

N.Y.-QUEBEC OLYMPIC BID

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki yesterday announced a unique New York-Canadian effort to win the Winter Olympics for upstate New York in 2010 - even as New York City pursues the...

SECRET EXILE FOR SADDAM

WASHINGTON - Iraq's neighbors have intensified secret diplomatic efforts to avoid war by trying to convince a defiant Saddam Hussein to go into exile, it was revealed last night. Diplomatic...

PARTY'S OVER IF MIKE'S PRIMARY MOVE IS OK'D

-- EXCLUSIVE -- Mayor Bloomberg is strongly considering pushing for non-partisan elections in referendum this fall - a move that would significantly help non-Democratic candidates for city office, The Post...

ONE-ARMED 'MOBSTER' FACES COURT

A reputed mobster nicknamed "One-Arm" was anything but a fugitive yesterday as he made an appearance in Queens Supreme Court for a pre-trial conference. Ronald Trucchio, 51, of South Ozone...

JAYSON TRIES LAST-SECOND SHOT

Ex-NBA star Jayson Williams yesterday called for a time-out as his trial for the shotgun slaying of a limo driver approaches - asking an appeals court to toss out the...

A RETURN TO THE RIGHT?

ALBANY GOV. Pataki's State of the State Address yesterday signaled his return to the fiscally conservative policies that marked his bold, debut State of the State eight years ago. Or...

DEATH WON'T HALT TAX-ASSESS PROBE

The alleged mastermind of a mammoth city property tax scandal was laid to rest yesterday, two days after he died on the day he was to decide whether to go...

BUSH AND WAR CHIEF POWWOW

WASHINGTON - Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, briefed President Bush yesterday on the massive military build-up in the Persian Gulf. A White House official...

IT'S GOOD 'OLD' PATAKI: BACK TO 'RIGHT' STUFF AS HE KEEPS TAX CUTS

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki returned to his conservative roots yesterday, ruling out "job killing" tax hikes, preserving scheduled tax cuts, and pledging to slash spending to cope with a huge...

HIP-HUG HEALTH HAZARD

Attention, Mariah, Christina and Gwyneth! Those tight and trendy low-cut hip-huggers you're wearing could be dangerous. A Canadian doctor has warned that the popular women's jeans can squeeze a sensory...

COPS HUNT PERVS' 'PALS'

Long Island cops are desperately trying to locate several underage girls who communicated through a computer chat room with two accused cyberpervs. Donald Sparling, 50, of Islip Terrace and James...

FIRE VAN KILLS MAN IN HAMPTONS

A van belonging to a Hamptons volunteer fire department struck and killed a man walking near his home. The driver, Timothy Weber, 27, of East Hampton, who had been en...

'BOOB-JOB' GIRL MAKES 'NET BREAST REQUEST

A California student is using a Web site to solicit donations to pay for her boob job. The 23-year-old nutrition student, who says her name is Michel, hopes to raise...

'CLONE' REPORTER NOT A DNA-SAYER

The TV journalist tapped to set up the DNA tests of an allegedly cloned human baby said yesterday "there's a chance" a cult-linked cloning company's claim is true. "I do...

GAY SENATOR'S FURY OVER BISHOP

ALBANY - The state Senate's only openly gay member yesterday took on the Catholic Church. Sen. Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) was upset that Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard delivered the legislative session's...

4 GUILTY IN VILLAGE HORROR SHOOT

A young man who was shot in the eye during a Greenwich Village robbery can concentrate solely on his recovery now that his four assailants have pleaded guilty, his family...

GOP PUSH TO RUN RUDY VS. SCHUMER

WASHINGTON - The Senate's chief GOP campaign recruiter said yesterday he wants Rudy Giuliani to run against Sen. Charles Schumer in 2004. "I think Rudy would be ideal. I think...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * An armed thief robbed a livery cab driver yesterday in Wakefield, and cops are probing whether he committed a similar crime days before. The latest robbery occurred...

WHODUNIT? ASK PROBERS OF WALL FALL

City officials yesterday were investigating who was responsible for the excavation on a Brooklyn lot that likely felled the wall of a neighboring four-story building. The facade of the Prospect...

CITY SLASHES DEFIBRILLATORS

Amid demands to put defibrillators in schools after two students died, Mayor Bloomberg has scaled back a plan to put 1,500 of the lifesaving devices in city buildings. The plan...

JOBLESS GET HELP FOR 13 MORE WEEKS

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday signed a bill extending unemployment benefits by another 13 weeks, enacting the plan just hours after the House approved it. Checks will be mailed out...

BALDUCCI'S EYES DOWNTOWN SITES

Balducci's parent company is in a frantic search to find a space for a new flagship location in downtown Manhattan - and the company would consider opening more than one...

RAP PAL EYED IN 2 SLAYS

A convicted cocaine kingpin who is associated with the head of one of the nation's largest rap record companies is suspected of being involved in at least two murders being...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Fort Worth, Texas, man who beat his 79-year-old mother to death, cut her open and ate some of her heart was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison. Joey...

PRESIDENT BUSH'S TAX-CUT PACKAGE

WASHINGTON - A top House Republican predicted quick approval of President Bush's tax-cut package, even as Democrats ripped it as an "obscene" giveaway to the rich. Using unusually harsh language,...

$TILL LITTLE FOR APPLE TO CHEER IN GOV'S ADDRESS

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki's State of the State Address yesterday didn't offer much relief for New York City's fiscal problems. In what many insiders perceived as bad news for the...

'FINAL RESTING PLACE': GROUND ZERO GUIDELINES INCLUDE SITE FOR REMAINS

A permanent Ground Zero memorial should include a "final resting place" for the unidentified remains of the terror-attack victims and a private area for relatives of the dead, according to...

REGAL RUDY SAILS THROUGH ANOTHER PERSECUTION

RUDY Giuliani glided across the courthouse floor, hand outstretched, wearing a massive grin that was so rare when Rudy's reason for living was protecting this city. "Looking forward to this?"...

GIULIANI 'FIRES' BACK

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani testified yesterday he publicly declared that a police officer and two firefighters would be fired for appearing in blackface on a parade float - even though...

BUSH BEATING DEMS AT THEIR OWN TAX GAME

PRESIDENT BUSH is in a "make my day" mood when it comes to Democrats - and the most intriguing part of his tax-cut plan is his determination to confront Dems...

PREZ TIPS CAP TO N.Y. SCHOOL-BOOST EFFORT

The federal government signed off yesterday on New York's plan to hold schools accountable for results on standardized exams and to provide struggling students options for tutoring or transfers to...

SCHOOLS BIG STEPPING DOWN

The Department of Education czar who oversees food, transportation and sports programs announced he's stepping down as Schools Chancellor Joel Klein puts the final touches on his sweeping reorganization plan....

DA ASKING PAKISTAN TO LET HIM PROSECUTE ITS U.N. AMBASSADOR

The U.S. government has given Pakistan a Friday deadline to strip its United Nations ambassador's diplomatic immunity so he can face domestic-violence charges in Manhattan. The Manhattan's district attorney's office...

HOUSE-CRASH 'DWI': I WAS CARJACKED

The DWI Long Island man who launched his sports car into the air and crashed into the second-floor bedroom of a sleeping couple blamed a non-existent carjacker - whom he...

HS GUARD INJURED IN FISTFIGHT

A safety officer at a Queens high school suffered a fractured ankle yesterday when he was jumped by a student while breaking up a fight, authorities said. The student at...

7 O'CLOCK BROADWAY STEAMS EATERIES

With little public fanfare, 23 of the 32 Broadway shows have brought their curtain times forward on Tuesdays from 8 to 7 p.m. - and Midtown's restaurants are up in...

THE SATANIC VERSE:RAP POEM BY WENDY'S THUG BELIES APOLOGY

Just before was sentenced to die, John Taylor yesterday offered "to be put to death . . . right now" if the relatives of the Wendy's workers he slaughtered would...

COPS FACING THE AX; KELLY SAYS MAYOR'S BUDGET CUTS MAY FORCE LAYOFFS

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is considering laying off cops to comply with Mayor Bloomberg's latest directive to cut nearly $100 million more from his department's 2004 budget. Speaking at a...

GO-GO'S LU$T: DANCER KEPT KIDS FOR WELFARE CASH: KIN

The go-go dancer sought in the Newark House of Horrors child-abuse case refused to return the youngsters to their mother because she wanted the welfare money, relatives charged yesterday. "She...

CITY CUTS BACK ON DEFIB PLAN

Amid demands to put defibrillators in schools after two students died, Mayor Bloomberg has scaled back a plan to put 1,500 of the lifesaving devices in city buildings. The plan...

COMMISH SHARPENS AX: SAYS MAYOR'S BUDGET CUTS MAY FORCE LAYOFFS

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is considering laying off police officers to comply with Mayor Bloomberg's latest directive to cut nearly $100 million more from his department's 2004 budget. Speaking at...

$TATEMENT GIVES CITY LITTLE TO CHEER

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki's State of the State Address yesterday didn't offer much relief for New York City's fiscal problems. In what many insiders perceived as bad news for the...

COLD HOU HOT ABOUT BENCHING

KNICK NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - Allan Houston has probably played his three worst games this season against the Pacers. Plagued by foul trouble early and benched in the fourth quarter, Houston...

SZOTT'S WORDS FUEL RAIDERS

ALAMEDA, Calif. - Jets guard Dave Szott probably didn't realize he touched off a bulletin board war with the Raiders a month ago. A seemingly forgotten, near-innocuous quote from Szott,...

TAGS MAKES CALL - OFFICIAL CHANGES IN PROCEDURE

Maybe they can call this The Giants Amendment. Or the Seubert Solution. No matter what they call it, changes are coming to the NFL in the wake of the disastrous...

LAMONT STAYS IN HUNT FOR BIG GAME - BACKUP RB ACCEPTS ROLE

A friend of Jets running back LaMont Jordan faxed him a quote from Ernest Hemingway that begins: "There is no hunting like the hunting of man." He sent Jordan the...

KIDD AND BIBBY: ROYAL SHOWDOWN

If you've got any friends who aren't NBA fans, tonight's the night to convert them. For one, it's the 26-9 Nets against the 26-9 Kings at the Meadowlands, which in...

LOADED GANNON GETS SHOT AT REDEMPTION

ALAMEDA, Calif. - This is the payoff for all those years when he needed to hire a detective to locate his name on a depth chart, for all those coaches...

EDWARDS DUG TEAM JET NOTES

JET NOTES Herman Edwards yesterday compared the Jets' awful early plight to when he was a kid walking home from school in Seaside, Calif. "Where our school was it was...

COLUMBIA HIRES BC'S SHOOP

Boston College head football coach Tom O'Brien remembers Bob Shoop jumping up and down on the Eagles sidelines, slapping helmets and barking encouragement to the defensive backs he coached. "He...

WEBBER FEELS FOR JASON

NET NOTES Chris Webber knows what Jason Kidd is going through. Because he went through the same thing in his free-agent-to-be season two years ago. "He's in a tough position....

COLES FANS FLAMES - WR STARTS TO CATCH ON

Laveranues Coles demands respect, and why not? This season, Coles caught 89 passes for 1,264 yards and five touchdowns, yet on Sunday when the Jets face the Raiders in an...

SCATCHARD'S GIVING ISLES NEEDED BOOST

Unlikely as it sounds, maybe Dave Scatchard will be that extra 30-goal scorer the Islanders failed to land during the free-agent season. And wouldn't that help the Isles' suddenly plausible...

RAIDERS FEEL SPECIAL

ALAMEDA, Calif. - If a club can make special teams any more special during one week of preparation, the Raiders said it'll be them. Oakland doesn't have to look any...

CHAD PASSES ON PRAISE - JETS QB DEFLECTS MONTANA MEMORIES

In Chad they trust. This is the Jets' mantra as they brace themselves for a wild ride in Oakland against the Raiders in Sunday's divisional playoff with a ticket to...

WALSH: CHAD'S A CHAMP - JETS QB EVOKES MONTANA MEMORIES

In Chad they trust. This is the Jets' mantra as they brace themselves for a wild ride in Oakland against the Raiders in Sunday's divisional playoff with a ticket to...

B&G TAKES HOOPS FORFEIT

Robeson coach Larry Major anticipated a typical practice yesterday as his team prepared for today's game against Boys & Girls, but that changed when a reporter informed him that his...

METS EXTEND SPRING PACT

It was a guarantee that the Mets would spend spring training in Port St. Lucie, although they didn't have an agreement before yesterday. It's now agreed that they'll spend their...

RANGERS ACQUIRE MIRONOV

The Rangers don't come out ahead of the Devils very often, but they did yesterday when Glen Sather was able to acquire Boris Mironov before Lou Lamoriello was able to...

ANOTHER ENDGAME DEBACLE FOR KNICKS

Pacers 89 - Knicks 87 INDIANAPOLIS - Those frantic final seconds keep going all wrong for the Knicks. In their third straight heart-wrenching loss, the game was there for the...

RANGERS RAISE 'CANE - HOLIK & CO. THUMP CAROLINA

Rangers 5 - Hurricanes 1 Had the Bobby Holik bobble-head doll that was distributed at the Garden last night been an authentic replica, the figure would have come out of...

THREE GOOFS & SJU'S OUT

Providence 75 - St. John's 71 PROVIDENCE - The margin for error is so small that almost any mistake - mental or physical - can cost St. John's a win....

PSAL DIRECTOR CALLS IT QUITS

While the NYC Dept. of Education will undoubtedly be hurt by the hundreds of jobs lost because of impending budget cuts, another major loss came yesterday, voluntarily. Kevin Gill, who...

SYRACUSE, REFS PUT SQUEEZE ON HALL - NON-CALL AT END STEAMS PIRATES

Syracuse 70 - Seton Hall 66 For all of the hype about star Carmelo Anthony, for all the hoopla about Syracuse's eight-game winning streak, after Seton Hall's crushing 70-66 loss...

ARTEST: NO CALL SPURRED TIRADE

KNICK NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - Ron Artest finally explained what prompted his Garden-hallway tirade after Friday's loss to the Knicks. He feels the Pacers got jobbed. Artest missed a one-handed lefty...

HOUSTON, WE HAVE AN INDY PROBLEM

INDIANAPOLIS - During the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals, Allan Houston owned the Pacers, averaging a team-high 19 points in the Knicks' six-game triumph. So far this season, the Pacers have...

RANGERS BEAT OUT DEVILS FOR MIRONOV

The Rangers don't come out ahead of the Devils very often, but they did yesterday when Glen Sather was able to acquire Boris Mironov before Lou Lamoriello was able to...

AMAZIN'S OK A NEW SPRING PACT

It was a guarantee that the Mets would spend spring training in Port St. Lucie, although they didn't have an agreement before yesterday. It's now agreed that they'll spend their...

SHAW COMEBACK KID

PROVIDENCE - Willie Shaw's comeback is almost complete. It is a comeback from injury. It is a comeback from bad life decisions, which got Shaw suspended from last year's NCAA...

ANTHONY LATEST ORANGE CRUSH

College basketball has been buoyed by the best bumper-crop of freshmen to come along in over a decade. They're fearless, flashy, and immensely talented. And the best of the lot...