November 21, 2004

AIG STRUGGLES IN DISNEY MOUSETRAP

The one with the most to lose in the shareholder trial against Walt Disney isn't Michael Eisner, or even Michael Ovitz. It's American International Group Inc., which insured the officers...

PLAYING SCROOGE; POPULAR HOST GETTING FANS TO SPEND LESS

If consumers spend less cash this holiday season, retailers can blame an unusual candidate - a radio personality. Clark Howard, an Atlanta-based radio talk-show host known for his penny-pinching ways,...

LIFE ON 'MARS' - MODERN DAY NANCY DREW INVESTIGATES TEEN MURDER; THE NEW DREW

WEALTHY Californian beach towns may be all the rage on teen dramas these days, but "Veronica Mars," set in the fictional community of Neptune, has little in common with Newport...

TOUCHING THE VOID - MOUNTAINEERS FACE DEATH

FOR those not familiar with the harrowing true story about Alpine mountaineer pals Joe Simpson and Simon Yates and their now legendary 1985 climb that led one man to cut...

THE DON'T MISS LIST

NOSTALGIA The gang's all here IT'S "Seinfeld" all the time at the end of November. Not only do the first three seasons of the long-running comedy series come out on...

LOGO TV: THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

TELEVISION execs call it inclusive, media critics call it information overload, but hey - we're all friends here so let's call it by its real name: Incredibly intrusive TV. I'm...

LIVING DOLL - 'SAMANTHA' BRINGS AMERICAN GIRL DOLL AND BOOKS TO THE SMALL SCREEN

MOVE over, Barbie. You may be a recurring TV character, but there's a new girl in town - and she's got her own full length made-for-TV movie. The debut of...

BRIDEZILLA STAR JONES HOGS 'VIEW' SPOTLIGHT

WHAT will Star Jones talk about now that her wedding has come and gone? Herself, naturally. It's her favorite subject and, she assumes, the favorite subject of her audience on...

MOVIE PIX - OUR MOVIE CRITIC MEGAN LEHMANN'S BEST FILMS OF THE WEEK

THE COLOR OF MONEY Monday, 8 p.m., SHO Paul Newman hustles again as a pool shark who takes Tom Cruise's naive hotshot under his wing in Martin Scorsese's powerful 1986...

MUSIQUE WOMAN

SO how did actress Sarah Adler go from"Afraid of Everything," a no-budget indie shot in Queens, to "Notre Musique," the latest big deal by Jean-Luc Godard? It was easier than...

LOGICAL BOOK PICKS - MOVE BY MOVE

CLASSIC chess books inspire imitators. The 2004 versions range from worthy successors to impostors. There have been many imitations of "Logical Chess Move by Move," in which Irving Chernev analyzed...

ENDLESS LOVE; CREATE REMEMBRANCES OF PETS PAST

Several weeks ago, I had to put Hound, my dear old hound mix, to sleep. Now, looking at pictures of him, I wish I had more. Mementos of pets are...

HOT LIST - WHAT WE'RE OBSESSED WITH THIS WEEK

1 The re-opened MoMA Whether the lengthy, $425 million renovation is truly modern or kind of mediocre may be up for debate, but the city hasn't been this excited since...

THIS WEEK'S CDS

U2 "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" Interscope Records (three and one half stars) With energy and urgency, Ireland's favorite band takes the world stage again with a disc of...

HEAR THIS

IN CONCERT * Swede-rockers the Hives at Webster Hall tonight. * At Bowery Ballroom: actress-singer Minnie Driver tonight. Indie rockers Dogs Die in Hot Cars on Tuesday. At Hammerstein Ballroom:...

WAIT UNTIL DARK - MAKE THE LAST CALL AT LUDLOW STREET'S AFTER-PARTY HOT SPOT

It's 1:30 in the morning. Do you know where the rock kids are? At the Dark Room, of course, where all the local rockers and music junkies go when the...

SPACEY CRAFT - HE CAN ACT, HE CAN SING & HE DOES A GOOD DARIN

Kevin Spacey has become a one-man studio. To bring the story of teen idol Bobby Darin to the big screen, Hollywood's favorite chameleon not only produced the upcoming biopic "Beyond...

GO TO HALLES! FRENCH CHEF BOURDAIN SKEWERS FOOD PHONIES

The Hunter S. Thompson of the culinary world, Les Halles' chef turned author, Anthony Bourdain, blew the lid off pretentious chefdom with his hilarious, stomach-churning 2000 best-seller, "Kitchen Confidential." With...

A NEW TAUTOU - 'AMELIE' SWEETIE TALKS ABOUT MOVIES, MONKEYS AND MOI

Regardless of your feelings for French people, it's hard to resist their favorite film star du jour, Audrey Tautou. Even Americans who talk about "freedom fries" loved Tautou's first multi-national...

HOLIDAY JEER - WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CLASSIC CHRISTMAS MOVIE?

It's enough to turn the merriest of moviegoers into Scrooge. From the creepy people in "The Polar Express" to the train wreck that was Ben Affleck's "Surviving Christmas," this year's...

THIS WEEK'S MOVIES

GUERILLA: THE TAKING OF PATTY HEARST A documentary about the American domestic terrorist group, the Symbionese Liberation Army, responsible for the infamous publishing heiress' 1974 kidnapping. ALEXANDER Colin Farrell stars...

QUICK BITES - THE TASTIEST EVENTS THIS WEEK

TURKEY TROTS What's Thanksgiving without leftovers? You can eat out on the holiday and take home a turkey sandwich at City Hall restaurant (131 Duane St., between Church Street and...

HOW NOT TO LOOK FAT - HAVE YOUR FAT AND EAT IT TOO

There's nothing harder than getting dressed for a big family meal. Besides the basic trauma of trying to find clothes roomy enough to accommodate your post-meal tummy, there's the anxiety...

TALK ABOUT A PERFORMANCE - ADAM AND LORI BONDED OVER BEING ARTISTS IN THE CITY

Last week, we set up Adam, 27, a musician, with dancer and actress Lori, 25. In our ongoing quest to put the brave players in our dating game in some...

MEET MARKET - THE PLACE WHERE THE POST HOOKS YOU UP AND SENDS YOU OUT - RUNNER TAKES HER DATING IN STRIDE

MEET Ali, 27, an advertising executive we're aiming to hook up with the man of her dreams. Ali describes herself as "nice, but never sugary sweet, and I do have...

A KERRY SON SET TO RUN!

CHRIS Heinz must want revenge. It's only been a few weeks since his stepdad, John Kerry, lost the election, but Heinz is already telling friends that he plans to run...

RED-HOT MOMA; THOUSANDS CROWD GRAND REOPENING

MoMA is back in Manhattan -and to those who braved rain and a two-hour line to see the newly renovated museum during yesterday's free opening, it was definitely worth the...

GALS BRAIN SUPREME; BOYS' SCHOOL SMARTS SLIPPING

Smarten up, guys. The once vast academic achievement gap between girls and boys has been all but eliminated, a federal report covering a 10-year period has found. More girls than...

CITY EN ROUTE TO TRANSIT BOO$T

New Yorkers are one step away from getting more than $111 million in federal transportation funds. A congressional bill agreed upon yesterday would spend $100 million to link the Long...

CREDIT-CARD RAP FOR 6TH TURKEY TEEN

A high-school senior who rode with the turkey-slinging posse that almost killed a Long Island driver was charged yesterday with possessing DVDs and video games bought with a stolen credit...

NOW, THAT'S RICH! PARKING ATTENDANT WINS $149M MEGA PRIZE

Juan Rodriguez just parked somebody else's car for the last time. The trim, mustachioed car-parker, who recently declared bankruptcy, had just finished working a double shift at an East Side...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN *** A woman who was shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant along with a male companion inside a car last month has died of her wounds, police said. Oidney McDonald, 31, died...

VELELLA'S WEEKEND GETAWAY

Former State Sen. Guy Velella, facing a trip back to a Rikers Island jail cell in just two days, emerged from his Bronx home yesterday to take a spin in...

KID SHOT BY COP IS BUSTED

A 15-year-old alleged car vandal, shot in the groin during a struggle with an off-duty NYPD captain in Staten Island, was charged yesterday with resisting arrest, police said. The teenager,...

RJ: FANS ALSO GUILTY FOR BRAWL

Charging the stands was wrong - but don't lay all the blame on the players who fought with unruly fans in the shocking altercation at Detroit, because the crowd was...

N.Y. MARINE KILLED IN FALLUJAH ATTACK

A 29-year-old New York Marine who begged to join the military after a college friend died in the World Trade Center was killed in action in Iraq this week, the...

BED PLAN A SLAMMER CRAMMER

Beds will be scrunched closer together at several city jails to make room for more inmates if a plan to cut the Correction Department budget is approved. The city will...

YOU'RE 'FLIER'ED! SUVS HIT WITH ECO LITTER-ATURE

West Village SUV owners are jacked up over anonymous environmentalists' windshield-flier campaign against their "weapons of mass consumption." For two months, unknown environmentalists have been tucking brightly colored anti-SUV fliers...

WAL-MART HEIRESS' SCHOOL OF HARD CASH

Wal-Mart heiress Paige Laurie got rich off "Everyday Low Prices" - but she allegedly paid top dollar every day to hire a fellow student to do her homework. Laurie paid...

EX-CON LYING GUIDE; TOLD TO FIB ON JOB HUNT

As they're sprung from prison, job-seeking New York-area ex-cons are being advised in a manual given them by parole officers to fill that questionable gap on their résumés by lying...

KID SHOT BY COP BUSTED; RAP FOR 'RESISTING'

A 15-year-old alleged car vandal, shot in the groin during a struggle with an off-duty police captain on Staten Island, was charged yesterday with resisting arrest, police said. The unarmed...

ABORT-PILL WARNINGS 'TOO SCARY'

Tough new safety warnings slapped on the "abortion pill" may actually endanger women wanting to end their pregnancies by scaring them into undergoing more risky surgery, experts say. Mifeprex, also...

SEINFELD & GANG IN A 'REUNION' ABOUT NOTHING

T HE rumors of a "Seinfeld" reunion have been greatly exaggerated. And that means you shouldn't tune in to Thursday night's "The 'Seinfeld' Story" on NBC expecting to see the...

TROUBLEMAKER TEENS SPRUNG FROM SCHOOLHOUSE 'JAIL'

Students once branded as troublemakers are being moved out of their claustrophobic basement classroom at Lafayette HS in Brooklyn - and starting tomorrow, will get a chance to return to...

'GOTTI' MALL RATS GET MOBNOXIOUS

Grow up, Gottis! Their mall-fighting and wannabe mobster attitude has Long Islanders saying that "Dapper Don" John Gotti's spoiled grandkids - Carmine, 18, John, 17, and Frankie, 14 - have...

TRAGIC WRINKLE; L.A. 'DOC'LEAVES TRAILOF ANGRY,LUMPY STARS

Dr. Daniel Serrano made heaps of cash pandering to the vanity of Beverly Hills ladies like Larry King's wife Shawn, Lionel Richie's wife Diane, TV chef Carrie Wiatt, and stylist...

THE GENDER SPLENDOR - MEET THE LADIES WHO ARE TAKING OVER THE TOWN

1. Hillary Rodham Clinton, 56, United States Senator. Two words: Hillary 2008. And her approval rating is an impressive 61 percent. 2. Sallie Krawcheck, 39, CFO, Citigroup. She's in the...

CON, CON AGAIN - GOV'T TELLS EX-JAILBIRDS TO LIE ON RÉSUMÉS

As they're sprung from prison, job-seeking New York-area ex-cons are being advised in a manual given them by parole officers to fill that questionable gap on their résumés by lying...

TOUGH TEST FOR D-LINE

GIANT NOTES The Giants' defensive line last week in Arizona played its first game in nearly a decade without defensive end Michael Strahan. His absence did not go unnoticed. Lance...

'WINKY' MAKES IT ALL WRIGHT

LAS VEGAS - Shane Mosley fought better in the rematch, but the outcome was essentially the same. Ronald "Winky" Wright proved too strong, too crafty and fought with too much...

PARTNERS DON'T TREAT EACH OTHER LIKE THIS

AWEEK ago we exposed as fraudulent Never Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman's assertion that he had "never discussed the issue [of guaranteed contracts] with the union . . . never,"...

SOX WAITING FOR EVIL EMPIRE TO STRIKE BACK

GEORGE Steinbrenner is facing the biggest challenge of his Yankee ownership this offseason and you can be sure he knows it. The Yankees have created a monster in the World...

KNICKS' SKIES BRIGHTEN ; DIDN'T STUMBLE ON TRIP

Things could be worse for the 3-5 Knicks after the completion of their four-game road journey. They hardly embarrassed themselves in Texas. Lenny Wilkens is very much the head coach...

ZO WON'T SIT DUE TO PINKIE

NET NOTES Alonzo Mourning admits his right pinkie, which he must tape to his ring finger to stabilize ligament damage, causes him problems. But he really doesn't want to talk...

FRASCHILLA BACKS ARTEST

Fran Fraschilla recruited Ron Artest to St. John's and coached him for one season. Mike Jarvis and Artest took the Red Storm to within seconds of a Final Four appearance....

THIS BRAWLING'S DEATHLY SCARY

CLEVELAND - You know the only way this is ever going to stop, right? One of these days, a player is going to climb over the boards, or hop into...

DREADNAUGHT TOPS IN 'RED'

Dreadnaught, ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn for trainer Tommy Voss, collared front-running Certifiably Crazy with a furlong to run and wore him down in a bitter stretch battle to win yesterday's...

MILBURY RECALLS HIS 'SHOE' SHOT

Mike Milbury was in an empty dressing room following a 4-3 Bruin win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden 25 years ago, wondering where were the rest of his...

KNIGHTS KEEP COOL, ADVANCE TO SEMIS

PSAL QUARTERFINALSKennedy 16Bayside 7 Shane Thompson was unable to find his rhythm in the first half of Kennedy's PSAL quarterfinal against Bayside. "We just weren't clicking," Thompson said of the...

BENSON TO REMAIN WITH METS

Kris Benson and the Mets hammered out the final details of a four-year, $30 million contract yesterday. The deal will be officially announced once the right-hander passes his physical tomorrow....

DAWN OF THE RED NORM

St. John's 79 Wagner 68 By halftime, Norm Roberts already had won over the sharpest basketball mind in the building. "I like what I see," said a smiling Lou Carnesecca,...

RJ HAS K-MART IN MIND

Richard Jefferson talks with Kenyon Martin all the time. And Tuesday in Denver, when he sees the player he used to affectionately refer to as his "big brother" in basketball,...

NO PEDRO OFFER; BOSS KEEPS LIPS ZIPPED

George Steinbrenner knows silence can be a very effective tool in public negotiations. And in the wake of yesterday's published report the Boss has offered Pedro Martinez a four-year, $50...

ONE BAD LOSS SHOULDN'T RUIN WHOLE SEASON

YOU gotta shake it off, the Jets said all week, meaning not their heads, which shook plenty privately from the coaching fiasco last Sunday, nor in their boots, like their...

HURRICANE JETS OK WITH BUTCH

JET NOTES CLEVELAND - Almost four years ago, Santana Moss was a big part of Butch Davis' present and Jonathan Vilma and Darrell McClover were a bit part of his...

CAN'T STAND FOR IT - PLAYERS SHOULD NEVER GO INTO CROWD

THERE ISN'T a man among us who wouldn't have reacted like Ron Artest did when a degenerate disguised as a Piston fan lit a match, further incinerating an already flammable...

NETS' DIVE HITS FIVE

Wizards 97Nets 86 This wasn't the Riddle of the Sphinx, the secret to life or even a Jeopardy! $100 question. The plot to the Nets-Wizards game last night was quite...

LONG ISLAND'S MIGHTY DUCK PROJECT ON THE RISE

DUCKS Unlimited will be trapping and radioing American black ducks on Long Island for a two-year research project they hope will help reverse the steady decline of the species. In...

ELI OF THE STORM - GIANTS RALLY AROUND ROOKIE QB MANNING

NO ONE told Will Allen directly, at least not that he could remember. Allen said he found out early this past week that Eli Manning was in and Kurt Warner...

CARRY ON, CURTIS - MARTIN SET TO MATCH BARRY'S 1,000 YARDS FOR 10 YEARS

CLEVELAND - Sometime early in today's game, perhaps even during the Jets' first offensive possession, Curtis Martin will reach yet another remarkable milestone in his mind-boggling career. And, just like...

HEAD TO HEAD

Kevin Kernan: Emotions can get in the way of winning a championship and that's what happened to the Yankees last year as they wound up with the Worst Starting Rotation...

FORMER COACHES SAY RON'S NOT A BAD GUY

Fran Fraschilla recruited Ron Artest to St. John's and coached him for one season. Mike Jarvis and Artest took the Red Storm to within seconds of a Final Four appearance....

JEFFERSON'S EFFORTS WORTH DEFENDING

The Sonics averaged 103 points. The Nets held them to 79. Houston's Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming combined for 20 points in New Jersey. Portland shot .244. Call it searching...

NETS: BOTH SIDES GUILTY

Charging the stands was wrong - but don't lay all the blame on the players who fought with unruly fans in the shocking altercation at Detroit, because the crowd was...

I'LL TAKE MANHATTAN - JASPERS THE CLASS OF SORRY CITY COLLEGE HOOPS SCENE

THE old-timers, they grow weepy when they talk about The Old Garden, the one on Eighth Avenue and Fiftieth Street, the one with the famous marquee in the front, with...

ACC YOU IN ST. LOUIS - MEGA-CONFERENCE WILL SEND THREE TO FINAL FOUR

The Rule of Three has tormented the Atlantic Coast Conference. Long convinced it is the best college basketball league in the country, the Big East has been able to trump...

RE-PETE PERFORMANCE: JET REJECT CARROLL TAKING TROJANS ON ANOTHER TITLE HUNT

LOS ANGELES - Pete Carroll sings along with a rap song coming from the stereo of his Mercedes. He turns to a passenger and says with a smile, "You a...

RACY DOESN'T MEAN RACIAL - DON'T MAKE MNF'S TOWEL STUNT A BLACK & WHITE ISSUE

SANCTUARY! Now we're told that this low-brow ABC Monday Night Football cross-promo issue is less about taste than it is about race - a black man with a white woman,...

'VANDER IN NO-WIN SITUATION

LAS VEGAS - Several key boxing leaders will be rooting for Evander Holyfield to lose his next fight. His opponent will be the New York State Athletic Commission, which decided...