April 1, 2005

'JACKSON'-LIKE EXEC SCOLDED

A federal judge blew his top yesterday, saying he won't allow a securities fraud trial to turn into a circus of "Wacko Jacko" proportions. Manhattan District Judge Jed Rakoff went...

'JOB'-BUSTER CHAIN FINDS $51M FOR CEO

The money-losing Blockbuster video-rental chain yesterday said its boss got paid the max while hundreds of employees will get the ax. The Dallas-based retailer said it paid Chief Executive John...

AIG SHARES FALL AMID PROBES

AIG investors continue to run for the exits. Spooked by the potential fallout from the widening federal and state investigations, investors bid down AIG shares another 3 percent yesterday -...

MORGAN DOWNER - DISSIDENT EIGHT STEPS UP PUSH TO OUST PURCELL

Dissident Morgan Stanley investors turned up the heat in their war to oust CEO Phil Purcell from the Wall Street giant's top job - and may be winning the approval...

OIL PRICE PANIC - GOLDMAN'S REPORT ON $105 CRUDE RIPS MARTS

A doomsday prediction of oil at $105 a barrel in a few years spooked consumers and Wall Street yesterday - setting the stage for new fears of runaway inflation. The...

AO-WELLNESS GUYS: CASE AND LEVIN

Steve Case and Jerry Levin are back in the same line of business. Case and Levin - the main architects of the ill-fated merger of Time Warner and America Online...

THE WELLNESS GUYS: CASE AND LEVIN

Steve Case and Jerry Levin are back in the same line of business. Case and Levin - the main architects of the ill-fated merger of Time Warner and America Online...

TRUE GRIT - TOWERING DRAMA, NO 'DOUBT' ABOUT IT

NUNS, priests, a battle of wills, child abuse - all this and more make up the enthralling fabric of John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt." The play, which opened at the Walter...

'KONTROLL' A KROCKPOT OF HUNGARIAN GOULASH

ENOUGH of the myths, lies and legends. I want the naked truth, the sizzling hot dish about what life is really like for Hungarian subway-ticket inspectors. If the above thought...

PLAY THING; WHY STARS CRY FOR NICK AWARDS SHOW

HOW does Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards attract some of Hollywood's biggest stars? Simply put: "It's fun," says Stan Rosenfield, media strategist for Will Smith, one of the megastars slated to...

KISS AND RUN - SATISFYING LONDON TRYST WITH A TWIST

THIS review won't reveal anything that happens in the brilliantly plotted second half of this twisty surprise, but others will. Shun them. Just listing some of the many films "dot...

FRENCH HEAVY HITTER

Here are excerpts from Lou Lumenick's review that appeared when "Look at Me" screened at the New York Film Festival last fall. THE 20-year-old heroine of the French comedy "Look...

AFFAIR DOESN'T 'PLAY'

EVERYTHING you never wanted to know about Robin Greenspan and Lacie Harmon is to be found in "Girl Play." They're the California actors who, in a play called "Real Girls,"...

AUDIENCE WEIGHS IN

DID he or didn't he? When the curtain comes down on "Doubt," the dialogue continues - in the audience, on the street and via e-mails to its playwright, whose address...

ORIGINAL SIN - GRITTY TOUGH-GUY TALES CRAWL OUT OF THE DARK; NAKED 'CITY'

FROM the opening sequence, it's clear that "Sin City" - which co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have not so much adapted as lovingly copied from Miller's acclaimed graphic novels...

VROOM WITH A VIEW

'THIS is not for wusses," warns the organizer of the 1,000-mile free-for-all road race known as the Baja 1000. No, it's for men who wish that life were a little...

SIZEMORE WALKS

TROUBLED actor Tom Sizemore lashes out on tonight's "Dateline" - storming out of an interview. Sizemore gets enraged when asked if his tears in court, when he was recently sentenced...

TED MANWALKING; 'NIGHTLINE' RUN TO END

"DOING THE HOUR LIVE FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK JUST WOULDN'T WORK. THAT WAS THE REAL POINT." TED Koppel - the dry-witted, longtime foundation of "Nightline" - is leaving ABC rather...

STARR REPORT

Snow in September "GMA Weekend" co-anchor Kate Snow is expecting her second child, and will officially announce the news on tomorrow's show (8-9 a.m./ Ch. 7). It will be the...

FOUR KIDS ON THE BLOC

EVERYTHING is derivative these days, but those art punks from South London, Bloc Party, have an original mix of Cure vocals (on 78 RPM) and Gang of Four beats. The...

TIME PASSED HIM BY

THE old newsies are dropping like flies. Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather and now Ted Koppel - oh where, oh where are we to get our news? Well, pretty much everywhere...

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH HIM

IMPROV comedy has a lot in common with police work, contends comic - and former NYPD officer - Ed Herbstman. "One key to improve is trusting your partner," he says....

SILLY SEASON - OFF-STAGE IS OFF THE WALL WITH 'CHARITY' AND 'LA CAGE'

GOD, I love theater people. When they contract of a case of March madness, it's really a doozy. How else to explain the wacky off-stage sagas of "Sweet Charity," the...

WEST SIDE WARS - STADIUM FOES IGNORE HISTORY OF 'HOOD

CHANCES are you know what you think about the proposed stadium for the Far West Side - the plans for which just crossed a major hurdle yesterday. If you live...

RAZZLE DAZZLE PUZZLE - GET HOOKED ON NEW POST GAME

Su Doku, the diabolically addictive puzzle game that has taken the world by storm, begins this Monday in The Post. The game's explosion of fans, from Japan to Britain, has...

NEW TRAINS UP AHEAD, PATH SAYS

New PATH trains will hit the rails in 2008, the Port Authority said yesterday as it announced that it had approved a $499 million contract with Kawasaki for 340 cars....

$3.4M EFFORT TO FIX SIDEWALKS

Three days after filling a pothole in Queens, Mayor Bloomberg returned to the borough yesterday to announce a $3.4 million program for repairing sidewalks cracked by tree roots. "This problem...

RANGEL GIVING NOD TO FIELDS

Rep. Charles Rangel, dean of New York's congressional delegation, threw his support yesterday behind the mayoral candidacy of Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields. Rangel's endorsement came on the heels...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A man was arrested for pushing and threatening his roommate with a knife in their Sheepshead Bay apartment, authorities said yesterday. Police sources said William Cleveland, 48, shoved...

STATE $$ PANEL HOLDS KEY

ALBANY - A little-known but powerful state agency could still block construction of the $1.9 billion West Side stadium. The tiny Public Authorities Control Board - created in 1976 to...

COP BUSTED ON BAD-LANDLORD RAP

An NYPD housing cop has turned out to be a landlord from hell - racking up his second arrest for alleged crimes against his tenants. Police Officer Sam Esposito, who...

HIGH-RISE PRICES - MANHATTAN APTS. SOAR BY UP TO 26%

The Big Apple's real-estate bubble keeps expanding, with no signs of bursting. Three new industry reports show the average sales price of a Manhattan apartment jumped by as much as...

KOFI SET TO SLAP U.N. BIG

WASHINGTON - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday launched disciplinary action against the man in charge of ethics at the United Nations, as the Iraq oil-for-food scandal continued to sweep through...

THOUSANDS SUING OVER MATCH BURNS

The Daily News is getting slapped today with the first class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of cheated winners of their bungled "Scratch n' Stiff" contest. Attorney Steven Gilden said he...

BOOZE SELLERS BUSTED - W'CHESTER 'TEEN' STING

Nearly a quarter of supermarkets and convenience stores in Westchester sold alcohol to minors, in a sting by the county District Attorney's Office, officials said yesterday. The undercover operation, which...

COMPLAINT LOG - LOWER E. SIDERS GRIPE AS CITY CHOPS DOWN TREES

Lower East Side residents are angry over the removal of 105 trees from East River Park, but the city says many of the trees are dying anyway and need to...

WINNERS AFTER ALL - POST GOOD 'NEWS' FOR DISNEY CLAN

ORLANDO, Fla. - After being taken for a ride by a Daily News contest, a Harlem family embarked on a magical Disney adventure yesterday - thanks to the New York...

MIRACLE IN ALBANY: BUDGET IS ON TIME

ALBANY - It wasn't pretty and it's still incomplete, but the state Legislature - rated the most dysfunctional in America - passed the first on-time budget in 21 years yesterday,...

BERGER TO COP PLEA IN SOCKS DOCS CASE

WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton's former national security adviser, Sandy Berger, today will plead guilty and admit he illegally sneaked top-secret documents out of the National Archives, sources have told The...

GRISLY ACCOUNT IN CO-ED SLAY

The grief of relatives and friends of a slain pregnant SUNY student was compounded yesterday as they heard gruesome testimony. "Is it true that maggots were found in her ears,...

DEAF DUO'S BODIES SAT FOR DAYS

A hearing-impaired Queens couple found fatally gassed inside their home may have been dead for days when they were found by a relative, neighbors said yesterday. Blair Mazin, 50, and...

MIKE TO MSG: GIVE UP - WANTS D'AMATO'S HELP AS JETS WIN

Fresh off a victory in his battle to build a West Side stadium, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday urged powerhouse senator-turned-lobbyist Alfonse D'Amato to tell his clients at Madison Square Garden to...

'FIT' IN AT SCHOOL - NEW PROGRAM FIGHTS FLAB

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein wants kids to shape up - and not just inside the classroom. A Department of Education initiative to help middle-schoolers in the city's flabbiest neighborhoods slim...

'IDOL'S' SOUR MUSIC - '01 BUST ON PARTNER ABUSE

It turns out that "American Idol" finalist Scott Savol has some hits in his past - just not of the musical kind, it was revealed yesterday. Savol, 28, was busted...

TUG-O'-LOVE TWIST - MODEL WINS BACK TWINS

Bridget Marks won the fight of her life yesterday when an appeals court gave her back custody of her two little girls. "She's ecstatic. She feels vindicated and she's extremely...

JEOPARDY LOVEBIRDS: WHAT'S LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?

Brigid Laurie and Mark Urciuolo may have lost as contestants on "Jeopardy!" - but they won each other's hearts there. The Alexandria, Va., couple will soon marry - eight years...

A CHANCE TO BE A 'GRID' STAR

When they asked me to test-drive this puzzle, I thought, "Not me! I'm a writer, not an algebra teacher!" But to my surprise - and pleasure - Su Doku has...

FIREMAN BUSTED IN BRAWL

An off-duty firefighter who owns a building in The Bronx was busted for assault yesterday after a he got into a shoving match with one of his tenants, authorities said....

RUDY: I MAY RUN DESPITE MY NEW GIG

Opening a law firm this year "doesn't rule out anything" - including running for governor next year, Rudy Giuliani said yesterday. Giuliani made the comment at the unveiling of his...

CLASS-ACTION SUIT OVER MATCH BURNS

The Daily News is getting slapped today with the first class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of cheated winners of its bungled "Scratch n' Stiff" contest. Attorney Steven Gildin said he...

DIGGING FOR MOB CORPSE

Federal investigators plan to dig for a second day today in a Brooklyn parking lot, in hopes of finding clues to yet another murder linked to two alleged NYPD detectives-turned-mob-hit-men....

TUB TOT'S DAD TELLS OF TRAGEDY

A father charged with beating and drowning his 2-year-old son in a bathtub made five conflicting statements to cops - and admitted in one that he hit the child after...

FEUD LASTS TO THE BITTER END - TERRI'S HUSBAND FORCES HER SIBLINGS FROM ROOM JUST BEFORE SHE DIES: REV.

In an ugly family feud that lasted until Terri Schiavo died yesterday, her husband barred her frantic siblings from the bedside while he cradled her body. "His heartless cruelty continues...

SCHOOLKID HAS GRANNY'S GUN

It was show and tell - and threaten - when a young Long Island student found his grandmother's loaded handgun and brought it to school to menace a classmate, police...

NEW PERV-TEACH RAP DUE

A former female Catholic school teacher on Staten Island is expected to be slapped with new sex-abuse charges this month for allegedly kissing and fondling a 12-year-old girl student, authorities...

TUB-DEATH MYSTERY

A man was found dead in a bathtub - alongside a gasoline container - after firefighters extinguished a house fire yesterday, Suffolk County cops said. The unidentified man was discovered...

I.D. ON 6TH AVE. SLAYER SUSPECT AT RIKERS

The coldblooded assassin who fatally shot a Diamond District jeweler in broad daylight was identified by cops this week - and it turns out he's been locked up at Rikers...

TINY CON FEARS RAPE IN BIG HOUSE

A diminutive violent criminal appealed for sentencing leniency for fear of being raped by bigger inmates. The request came from the lawyer for Ambiorix Frias, who pleaded guilty to plotting...

DAD'S TALE OF TRAGIC TUB TODDLER

A father charged with beating and drowning his 2-year-old son in a bathtub told cops the child wet himself, and admitted he beat the boy that day - but wavered...

3 INVADE L.I. HOME AND ROB FAMILY

Three masked men grabbed a Long Island homeowner at gunpoint as he took out the garbage, then forced him and his family to lie on the floor during a home-invasion...

WICKED LANDLADY - SOUGHT HIT MAN TO TAKE OUT TENANT, COP: DA

A Long Island landlady and her female sidekick have been busted for trying to hire a hit man to murder a troublesome tenant, and also to hurt or kill a...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

An outdoor art business in Edinburgh, Ind., has been ordered to move its cement copies of world-famous statues - including the Venus di Milo and Michelangelo's David - out of...

MOTHER & CHILD REUNION

JERUSALEM - Twelve years after a Yemenite boy was spirited to New York by a Hasidic sect and then freed in a legal battle, he was reunited this week with...

3 TO 6 YRS. FOR SEX-SLAVE PIMP

A Queens man, charged with raping, beating and enslaving two teenage runaways, was sentenced to three to six years in prison yesterday, following a plea deal with prosecutors. Barrington Heffenden,...

LOVE THE ANSWER FOR 'JEOPARDY!' DUO

Brigid Laurie and Mark Urciuolo may have lost as contestants on "Jeopardy!" - but they won each other's hearts there. The Alexandria, Va., couple will soon marry - eight years...

'FEVER' FLOOR MAN DEFIANT

The owner of a Beverly Hills auction house says he will dance to his own beat and ignore a Brooklyn judge's decision to prevent him from selling the famous flashy...

WAKSAL EYES CUT IN SENTENCE

ImClone founder Sam Waksal filed court papers yesterday to reduce his 87-month prison sentence resulting from a stock scandal that took down pal Martha Stewart. Like Stewart, Waksal submitted a...

COLUMBIA JEWS WANT OUTSIDE PROBE

Calling a Columbia University report on charges of student intimidation by professors a "whitewash," angry students and faculty yesterday said they may call for an independent inquiry into their complaints....

CEO SMACKS DOWN HOT 97

The CEO of controversial rap station Hot 97 - awash in negative publicity especially from its recent brutal "Smackfest" segments - said staffers at his top-rated station have been behaving...

W. SIDE PRAYED BOTH WAYS

West Side residents and business owners yesterday were as sharply split as fans for the home and visiting teams after the MTA approved a football stadium for the Jets in...

FIGHT LASTS TO TERRI'S DEATH - HUSBAND BARS SIBLINGS FROM ROOM IN HEARTBREAKING END TO 13-DAY DRAMA

In an ugly family feud that lasted until Terri Schiavo died yesterday, her husband barred her frantic siblings from the bedside while he cradled her body 13 days after her...

BUSH JOINS MOURNING AS PRO-LIFERS VOICE ANGER

President Bush led the nation yesterday in extending condolences to Terri Schiavo's family and praised its members' "grace and dignity." "I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue...

JETS, CITY HALL HURT LITTLE GUYS

GIVEN THAT the Jets have become a front-of-the-paper issue, Jim Burns, a reader from Long Island, read the headline the wrong way at first: "U.S. Is Set To Sell Jets...

IT WILL BE ALL ABOUT TROUT TODAY

EASTER weekend was kind of quiet, with many anglers spending the time with their families. Just as well, as the flounder fishing was slow and the cod action was mostly...

SETBACK FOR GHOSTZAPPER

Ghostzapper, 2004 Horse of Year, has been pulled out of projected 2005 debut, April 9 Oaklawn Handicap, suffering from sinus infection at Churchill Downs, according to trainer Bobby Frankel, and...

ECK: PLAYERS WERE 'MONSTERS'

Sluggers with escalating statistics and expanding biceps have caught the brunt of baseball's recent steroid accusations. Dennis Eckersley, a 2004 Hall of Fame inductee who had a 24-year major-league career...

IT'S DEFENSE 1ST FOR MIENTKIEWICZ

PORT ST. LUCIE - For Doug Mientkiewicz, it's al ways been about catching the ball, no matter what shape or size. At Westminster Christian Academy in Miami he was a...

ROY HAULS HEAVY LOAD

ST. LOUIS - They bear a special burden, one that rarely invites sympathy and frequently draws scorn. Coaches who win a lot of games but never win the game have...

HUGGINS: FINAL FOUR TEAMS ARE DIFFERENT

ST. LOUIS - Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins has listened to the glowing comparisons of Louisville and Illinois and doesn't get it. Are all these other coaches and talking heads looking...

HERB STILL FOCUSED

So many people surrounding the Knicks are starting to look to next season. Herb Williams is not one of them. "I haven't really thought about next year," the Knicks coach...

KNICKS CAN BE SPOILERS; NETS CONTINUE PLAYOFF PUSH

Bloated and rotten, the Knicks are dead in the water. The question was simple, the task not quite. Tim Thomas didn't even attempt to answer how to stop Vince Carter,...

ISHII WAY OUT; NEW METS STARTER CAN BE WILD RIDE

Dodgers 3Mets 0 PORT ST. LUCIE - The first two Dodgers hitters who faced Kaz Ishii yesterday drew full counts and saw a combined 18 pitches. Then Ishii got them...

NOTHING ROUTINE - GAME-DAY PRAYERSPOWER CARDS' GARCIA

ST. LOUIS - Louisville's Francisco Garcia goes through the same emotionally rejuvenating routine before every game. He's been doing so ever since his half-brother Hector was killed in a senseless...

JOE'S LEE ON 'D' SPREE - HAWKS' GUARD AIMSTO DEFEND HIS 'HOME'

South Carolina coach Dave Odom scouted St. Joseph's two days before his Gamecocks faced it in last night's NIT final at the Garden. He watched the Hawks' ferocious defense, their...

32 LEFT ON METS ROSTER

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - With the Met roster needing to be set by tomorrow night, things are starting to become clearer. The Mets made their latest cuts yesterday,...

BRENNAN LIKES MSU

ST. LOUIS - Standing outside the coaches' hotel, where he is everyone's best friend, recently retired Vermont coach Tom Brennan was asked the first thought that comes to mind when...

CONGRESS EYES NFL ; ASKS LEAGUEABOUT STEROIDS

The white-hot spotlight a Congressional committee shined on baseball last month moved to the NFL yesterday. The leaders of the House Government Reform Committee faxed a letter to NFL commissioner...

GORDON PUTS HORNS IN BULLS

HOW many Fortune 500 companies would kill to have Ben Gordon produce their fourth-quarter statements? The latest pride of Mount Vernon (succeeding Gus and Ray Williams, Scooter and Rodney McCray,...

MAX JOINING 1050 LINEUP

Max Kellerman is coming to 1050-ESPN Radio. Kellerman will host a one-hour program from 7-to-8 weeknights. "We are bringing Max in," 1050 GM Mike Thompson said. "I think he is...

KASTOR HAS SIGHTS SET ON RECORDS

Once the majority of athletes hit the pinnacle of their respective sport, they slowly wind down their career until they retire. Women's distance runner Deena Kastor refuses to be part...

PRAYERS POWER CARDS' GARCIA

ST. LOUIS - Louisville's Francisco Garcia goes through the same emotionally rejuvenating routine before every game. He's been doing so ever since his half-brother Hector was killed in a senseless...

VT. COACH BELIEVES IN SPARTANS

ST. LOUIS - Standing outside the coaches' hotel, where he is everyone's best friend, recently retired Vermont coach Tom Brennan was asked the first thought that comes to mind when...

GAME-BREAKER; LATE 3 GIVES S.C. THE NIT TROPHY

NIT FINALS. Carolina 60St. Joe's 57 After St. Joseph's Pat Carroll hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds, last night's NIT final seemed destined for overtime. That's until South...

MUSSINA FORECASTS PLAYOFF BOUT WITH BOSOX

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - His spring training complete, Mike Mussina stated what many people in baseball believe: The Yankees and Red Sox will meet in the postseason. "I am sure...

RIVERA SUBPAR VS. TRIPLE-A OUTING

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - His first pitch was swatted over the center-field fence by Marlon Byrd. Thirty pitches later Nate Grindell drove a ball over the left-field wall. Ten pitches...

TINO TIME - MARTINEZ TO OPEN AT FIRST; GIAMBI TO DH

TAMPA - When Joe Torre announced Jason Giambi would be his DH Sunday night against Boston lefty David Wells, it was a win-win situation for Giambi and Tino Martinez. Giambi,...

AIM ROD - NEW SEASON, SAME STORY: ALEX REMAINS THE TARGET

TAMPA - When the Red Sox were weighing in daily to defile Alex Rodriguez, their most common harangue was that he "was not a true Yankee." Actually, nobody in baseball...

BURR-EAK OUT:NEW TEAM, NEW START SUIT PLAXICO

The controversial way he arrived (late), left (abruptly) and finally signed (surprisingly) made for interesting theater but will be long forgotten the first time Plaxico Burress steps on the field...

JEREMY'S ABSENCE NOTHING SHOCK-ING

GIANT NOTES One Giants player yesterday said Jeremy Shockey's absence from the offseason workout program has nothing to do with being a malcontent and everything to do with Shockey's determination...

CURTAINS FOR AL & JOHN? PAIR COULD GO IF MNF SWITCHES TO ESPN

One of the underlying dramas of the Monday Night Football TV negotiations is the future of the NFL's two most prominent sportscasters. With many TV officials currently thinking that ABC...

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR LARRY BOWA

This week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with new ESPN baseball analyst Larry Bowa. Bowa, 59, was fired last year as Phillies manager after four seasons. Q: How hard...

MARCHAND'S MEMO OF THE WEEK

To: Billy Packer From: Andrew Marchand Re: Final Four CC: Dick Vitale Dear Billy, A player hits a three, you credit the coach. A player misses a three, you blame...

BONANZA! THIS WEEK'S TV LINEUP HEAVEN ON EARTH FOR FANS

How good is this sports TV week? Well, if Brent Musburger and Dick Vitale were morphed together, they might not be able to overhype it. From the Final Four to...

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (33-4) VS. ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (36-1)

POINT GUARD Louisville's Francisco Garcia vs. Illinois' Deron Williams Garcia is an anomaly in the Chris Mullin mold, a 6-7 swingman who can shoot and has such great court vision,...

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (31-4) VS. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (26-6)

POINT GUARD UNC's Raymond Felton vs. MSU's Drew Neitzel There is no team more dependent on one player in the Final Four than Carolina is on Felton. Without him they...