December 11, 2004

MERGER COULD HANG UP NEXTEL

Sprint Corp. shares, which had been trading up for most of the day, dropped sharply in the afternoon following a report the company would pay more than $36 billion for...

WE'RE BREAKFAST CLUBBED BY EYE-OPENING PRICES

Breakfast is eating America. The morning meal is becoming one of the most costly for consumers - whether at home or eating out - as inflation quickened its pace in...

MOUSE HOUSE FLICK IN WORKS

It has it all: backstabbing, lying and scheming. The classic power struggle between Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner and former feared talent agent Michael Ovitz makes for high drama...

OVITZ-PRICED OUSTER FORESEEN

A former Walt Disney Co. director said some board members knew it would cost the company a bundle to oust Michael Ovitz as president. In a Delaware courtroom, Raymond Watson...

MY NEW HOME

City boy seeks challenge and a home What he bought: Fort Tryon one-bedroom, $245,000 Search time: One month THEY say that for every door that closes, a window opens. For...

COMING SOON: DELANCEY CROSSING

IT seems that the more gentrified the Lower East Side becomes, the more it clings to its immigrant past. Certainly an admirable trait, but also not without its irony. Consider...

SNAP DECISION - LEANING TOWARD A NEIGHBORHOOD - BUT DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO BUY OR RENT? OUR AREA GUIDE GIVES YOU THE SCENES AND PRICES - AND HELPS YOU FIND YOUR NEXT HOME

Sunset Park - Brooklyn (Buy) An express subway stop (36th Street on the D) and row houses a quarter-million dollars cheaper than Park Slope's are making this neighborhood an increasing...

N.J. PICKET LINES - WASHINGTON TWP. GETS WHITE-FENCE PRECIOUSNESS

WHEN attorney Tom Halm showed a colleague the house he planned to buy in Washington Township N.J.'s Town Center development, she remarked, "It's almost like you're moving into the town...

HOME SHOPPING CLUB - LIGHTING IT UP

Michael Wainwright 150 E. 61st St., at Lexington Avenue, Apt. 16D (413) 303-0131 Sale: through Sunday Open: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Hundreds of handmade porcelain tabletop and home-accessory pieces are up...

GIMME SHELTER

HOTEL HOT SHEET DETAILS of the St. Regis Hotel's condominiums are emerging. According to the Fifth Avenue hotel's spokesman, there will be 33 units marketed as hotel/condo apartments, ranging from...

'HARDT RACING: DALE EARNHARDT BIOPIC IS VICTORIOUS

"3" Tonight at 9 on ESPN ½ (three and one half stars) ESPN's track record with its original TV movies has just gone from checkered to checkered flag. The all-sports...

THE TOP PICKS FOR TRULY PICKY TEENS

Too young for a car, too old for action figures. What do teens want? Sure, you could ask them, but they probably won't tell you. Lucky for you, The Post...

IT'S SPLENDOR IN THE BRASS

If, somewhere during tomorrow's Holiday Brass concert, five staid members of the New York Philharmonic show up in tutus, well, blame Canada. The Canadian Brass, that is. hat long-running quintet...

ILLEGAL NANNY KOS KERIK AT HOMELAND

Former city top cop Bernard Kerik, who was set to take over the reigns as secretary of homeland security, shocked the nation last night when he withdrew his name from...

BEEP BOMBSHELL; CAUGHT-IN-LIE MOBSTER: I PAID OFF STATEN IS. BOROUGH PREZ MOLINARO

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro laundered mob money and got a mob associate's daughter a city job in exchange for the cash, the reputed Colombo crime-family pal claims in...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Britney Spears caused quite a stink on a recent flight from Los Angeles to New York. Seems she took her shoes off and "the smell was unbelievable," a passenger reported....

'CRYING FOR HELP' ; BABY SHRIEKED FOR DAYS BEFORE SHE JOINED PA IN DEATH

Neighbors yesterday said they heard a 3-month-old infant frantically wailing and shrieking for days before she was found lifeless in her crib next to her dead father. One said he...

'SOCKS'-ING STUFFER; BUBBA BUYS CAT KEEPSAKE FROM OWN LIBRARY

Former President Bill Clinton has the purr-fect Christmas idea for someone who's naughty or nice - a meowing Socks the Cat doll from his very own presidential library. The $11.95...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

QUEENS *** Cops are asking for the public's help in finding a man wanted for fatally shooting a 37-year-old man in a Forest Hills motel room. Casaba Daroczi was in...

KILLER STATS: MURDER RATE NEARS '63 LOW

New York could end the year with the fewest murders in city history - or at least since cops began collecting reliable homicide data. With three weeks left in 2004,...

SCHOOL RUMBLINGS - COPS SWARM HS AMID GANG FEARS

Police flooded one of the city's toughest high schools yesterday on word that a massive gang rumble was brewing in the wake of a six-student brawl the day before. The...

COPS BUST DUO IN L.I. BOOKMAKER-SLAY

Long Island cops busted two men yesterday in connection with the execution-style killing of a young mortgage broker and former high-school wrestling star, police said. Nassau homicide detectives nabbed Mark...

DUO NABBED IN 2001 DELI BLAST

A reputed Gambino mob underling and a Daily News delivery-truck driver have been busted on charges they firebombed a Staten Island deli three years ago with a converted high-tech pyrotechnic...

BRAVEST GI IS LAID TO REST

ARLINGTON, Va. - Chris Engeldrum manned his final post at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday, joining 104 other American heroes here who gave their lives for their country fighting in Iraq....

HAWK FANS SINK TALONS IN CO-OP - NATURE-LOVERS TURNING UP HEAT IN AVIAN 'EVICTION' FLAP

Supporters of the city's most famous homeless couple have published the names and phone numbers of their privacy-loving former landlords - and demanded that CNN report on the bird brouhaha,...

PENNILESS 'MADAM' ESCORT-ED TO RIKERS

The Upper East Side's alleged millionaire madam was tossed into jail last night when she couldn't scrounge up a measly $5,000 bail. Clad in clinging black from her turtleneck to...

GOTTI JR. WHINES OF 'NEVER-ENDING' CHARGES

John "Junior" Gotti urged a judge yesterday to drop attempted-murder and racketeering charges against him - arguing the feds have engaged in an unfair and never-ending prosecution. Gotti is charged...

LAWYER KNOWS WHO DONE IT! IT WAS THE BUTLER - NO, WAIT, IT WAS GENEROSA - ANYONE BUT DANNY BOY

The butler did it. Or the estranged wife. Or the two of them together. Or perhaps it was a frightening gay man. But it certainly wasn't Danny Pelosi - the...

APT. SELLS FOR RECORD $44M ON FIFTH AVE.

A triplex Fifth Avenue penthouse was just sold for nearly $44 million - shattering the record sales price for a Manhattan residence. The 20-room penthouse at 834 Fifth Ave., listed...

GUARD BEAT CUFFED INMATE: DA

A federal prison guard is charged with beating up and seriously injuring a handcuffed inmate who was lying on the floor in a lower Manhattan lockup, a federal prosecutor charged...

COP GETS NAILED IN DRUG OP ; ROBBED DEALERS: POLICE

A dirty cop wearing a bulletproof vest was caught in a police sting designed to snare an armed band ripping off drug dealers, authorities said yesterday. Officer Porfirio Mejia, 28,...

GOV'T MAY PAY FOR BIG BONANNO'S DEATH-TRIAL LAWYERS

It's been a long fall for Mafia boss Joseph Massino, who went from being the top Bonanno to needing the government to pick up his legal tab in his fight...

'MADAM' GETS JAIL ESCORT; CAN'T MAKE 5G BAIL

The Upper East Side's alleged millionaire madam was tossed into jail last night when she couldn't scrounge up a measly $5,000 bail. Clad in clinging black from her turtleneck to...

WISEGUY: WE KEEP IT IN THE 'FAMILY'

A mob turncoat said yesterday his old Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights were above the law because they are filled with "wiseguys" who settle turf disputes by themselves....

RABBI IS FATALLY RUN OVER

A Brooklyn rabbi, rushing to make Hanukkah services at his temple, was mowed down and dragged to death by an SUV last night, police and witnesses said. Abraham Zafrani, 84,...

COPS SWARM IN AMID BX. SCHOOL RUMBLINGS

Police flooded one of the city's toughest high schools yesterday on word that a massive gang rumble was brewing in the wake of a six-student brawl the day before. The...

BUBBA TOOK OWN HITS ON APPOINTEES

The startling discovery that forced Bernard Kerik to step aside as the homeland security czar was not the first time a political appointee was knocked out of the ring due...

CARL CLOSE ... AND WELLS OKS BOSOX DEAL

ANAHEIM - It appears the Yankees have bested the Red Sox in the first big offseason fight - for Carl Pavano. But the Red Sox look like they've won the...

KIDD & BYRON A-OK - SCOTT TIPS CAP TO JASON

OVERTIME Nets 94 Hornets 91 All along both Byron Scott and Jason Kidd insisted there is no rift. Before the Nets' 94-91 OT win last night over the Hornets, Kidd...

TWO GOOD TO BE TRUE ; DUOS HIGHLIGHT HEISMAN RACE

Remember this season. Remember the 70th awarding of the Heisman Trophy. The changing game of college football will be epitomized tonight when one of five deserving finalists wins the most...

CARDOZO AWAITS DAVIS

Cardozo was considered one of the favorites in the PSAL basketball in no small part because of the presence of 6-9 center Theo Davis, who helped lead the Judges to...

LONGSHOTS SHINE IN THE SLOP

The day after favorites went 5-for-9 at Big A, four winners paid 10-1 or higher, including $88.50 bomb in finale. Track was sloppy and sealed all day.1ST RACE - Pain...

COLOGNY COULD GRAB ROSES

Assuming that the inner dirt track at Aqueduct, which was a sea of slop yesterday, stays wet for today's $75,000 Garland of Roses Handicap, it's hard to go past the...

VILMA IS BEDROCK OF JET 'D'

JET NOTES Rookie Ben Roethlisberger has done some special things for the Steelers this year, leading Pittsburgh to 10 straight wins since replacing Tommy Maddox at quarterback. But rookie linebacker...

PASSING THE BUS ; MARTIN, BETTIS SET FOR HISTORIC GROUND DUEL

If Jerome Bettis is "The Bus," then Curtis Martin is the guy stuck behind him in the left lane, flashing his lights, laying on his horn and trying to get...

MINUTES MAY FALL FOR TIM

KNICK NOTES WASHINGTON - If Lenny Wilkens ultimately decides to start Allan Houston down the road, the odd man out could be Tim Thomas, not Jamal Crawford. With Houston making...

STORM GOES EAST TO HOFSTRA

St. John's shortest and, to locals, most significant road trip of the season comes this afternoon when it rides 14 miles east to Hofstra Arena. For the first time since...

SNEE, TAYLOR SUFFER SETBACKS

GIANT NOTES Two players who were thought to be on the mend and available for tomorrow's game in Baltimore experienced setbacks this week and their absence could further weaken the...

MOURNING GORY ; NETS MAY PLACE AILING 'ZO ON IL

While the Nets have clearly been buoyed by the return of Jason Kidd, now it appears they'll have to do without Alonzo Mourning for the very immediate future, and might...

RED SOX PUSH TO SIGN WELLS - OFFER ONE YEAR, $6.5 MILLION

ANAHEIM - David Wells may be the next member of Boston's idiot brigade. The Red Sox made a one-year offer for $6.5 million to the veteran lefty yesterday, and Cleveland...

RATNER: KIDD A KEEPER

NET NOTES Nets owner Bruce Ratner hadn't had much to say publicly since the day Rod Thorn received his contract extension, but he did stop by yesterday morning's shootaround and...

THE GIANT KILLER ; BIG BLUE NEED TO GET PHYSICAL WITH RAY LEWIS

"He is the rock star of the NFL."SHAUN O'HARA on Ray Lewis Right then and there, the Giants might have known they were in trouble. Tiki Barber certainly got that...

KLITSCHKO HAS SCORE TO SETTLE

LAS VEGAS - Though Lennox Lewis will concede Vitali Klitschko might be the front-runner to succeed him as the recognized heavyweight champion of the world, he isn't convinced the current...

HUDSON ON HORIZON? UNIT MAYBE FADINGFROM YANKPICTURE

ANAHEIM - Two weeks ago, all of the Yankees' eggs were in Randy Johnson's basket. Now, with baseball's winter meetings under way, the Yankees are acting as if they can...

D'BACKS SIGN ORTIZ; RANDY IN LIMBO

BASEBALL ROUNDUP ANAHEIM - Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the supposedly cash-strapped Diamondbacks are flying high in the free-agent market. Thursday, Arizona signed former Angel Troy Glaus to...

LIFTOFF, HOUSTON ; KNICKS FINALLY HAVE ALLAN BACK

WASHINGTON - Several hundred fans here at MCI Center gave a standing ovation with 3:20 left in the first quarter last night when Allan Houston got up off the bench,...

METS MIGHT NEED PLAN B - PEDRO SEEMS SET TO SNUB OMAR, RE-UP WITH SAWX

ANAHEIM - For weeks, Pedro Martinez has been the Mets' No. 1 priority. Pretty soon, it might be time to start looking at No. 2. There were multiple indications yesterday...

KIDD & BYRON A-OK ; SCOTT TIPS CAP TO JASON

OVERTIME Nets 94 Hornets 91 All along, both Byron Scott and Jason Kidd have insisted there is no rift, maintaining there are no hard feelings. Before the Nets' 94-91 OT...

CARL'S DONE WITH VISITS - SOURCE: RED SOX LIKELY CHOICE

ANAHEIM - Now it's up to Carl Pavano. Pavano's agent, Scott Shapiro, informed a gaggle of reporters last night that the pitcher is in the final stretch of his decision-making...

BROWN WILL BE BACK

ANAHEIM - Whether it's Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Eric Milton, David Wells or Tim Hudson joining the Yankee staff, they will have Kevin Brown as a teammate. "I expect him...

HOUSTON BOILER ; SITS OUT FINAL PLAY IN LOSS

Wizards 106 Knicks 104 WASHINGTON - Allan Houston made his season debut last night. But somebody forgot to tell Lenny Wilkens. With 7.1 seconds left and the Knicks needing a...

METS MAY NEED PLAN B - PEDRO SEEMS SET TO SNUB OMAR, RE-UP WITH SAWX

"As far as I know, it's not done."OMAR MINAYA ON PEDRO MARTINEZ RE-SIGNING WITH RED SOX ANAHEIM - The Mets may be severe longshots in the Pedro Martinez Derby, but...

ACHING ALONZO SITS OUT

NET NOTES Alonzo Mourning sat out last night's 94-91 OT win over New Orleans, and isn't expected to be with the team tonight in Atlanta. His new kidney isn't the...

LENNY: WE WUZ ROBBED

KNICK NOTES WASHINGTON - Lenny Wilkens called last night's officiating "ludicrous" and Stephon Marbury cited a missed goaltending call as helping cost the Knicks their fourth loss in five games....

BORAS MUM ON BELTRAN

ANAHEIM - Speculation is that Carlos Beltran won't sign until sometime next month because, in part, of his desire for a 10-year contract. Is that possible, even for a Scott...

BOND$ TO FAN$: I'M DONE IN 2 YRS.

For $7,500 each, fans at the Mariott Marquis hotel last night got to talk baseball - not steroids - with Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who told one fan he's packing...