April 14, 2005

NETS BOSS OK ON JETS PLACE

YOU'D expect Bruce Ratner to be opposed to the building of a stadium for the Jets on the West Side of Manhattan. He is, after all, the owner of the...

HAVAS' BATTLE ROYALE

Advertising heavyweight Havas is gearing up for a fight with its largest shareholder at a crucial investor meeting. Havas said yesterday that it would not ask shareholders to consider French...

REEBOK AD TRIGGERS U.K. BOYCOTT

A Reebok television spot featuring rap artist 50 Cent is drawing growing complaints in the U.K. that it glorifies gun violence. With screams and sirens blaring in the background, the...

TOY FAIR IS URGED TO STAY

Senator Chuck Schumer yesterday urged a gathering of toy industry executives to keep Toy Fair in New York, part of an ongoing debate resulting from the sale earlier this year...

NEW YORKER REIGNS - MARTHA TITLES WIN IN TWO CATEGORIES

THE New Yorker dominated this year's National Magazine Awards with five wins, tying the all-time record, but it was the return of Martha Stewart to the winners' circle that seemed...

PURCELL-OUTS - 2 KEY EXECS BOLT TROUBLED MORGAN STANLEY

Morgan Stanley CEO Philip Purcell moved quickly yesterday to replace the head of the firm's lucrative investment banking operation - but it was unclear if the move was enough to...

GRASSO, SPITZER SPLIT VICTORY OVER TAXES

Dick Grasso can keep his tax returns private - for now. A state judge yesterday allowed the former CEO of the New York Stock Exchange to walk out of court...

STARR REPORT

Tom's short rebuttalTom Green's fans, and Green himself, are firing back at Martin Short over comments Short made to W magazine which were printed here exclusively last week. Short, featured...

MORE 'LOST' DEATHS TO COME

YOU haven't seen the last "Lost" character to die. The actor who plays Boone says he was just the first. "There are gonna be a lot more," Ian Somerhalder -...

JENNINGS' YELLOW BAND OF BROTHERS

PETER Jennings is getting a boost from his colleagues, who are sporting yellow "Live Strong" wristbands to support the ABC anchorman, diagnosed last week with lung cancer. A total of...

SHEAR MADNESS - SEASON FINALE COULD BE SWAN SONG FOR 'ARRESTED'

NOBODY likes "Arrested Development" anymore - it's too good. That's an awkward paraphrasing of the famous quote attributed to Yogi Berra, who supposedly said about a restaurant: "Nobody goes there...

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO SEDER

'WHERE'S the food?" yelled Dee Snider as he got his first look at the Seder setup for VH1 Classic's "Matzo and Metal: A Very Classic Passover." "I was picturing something...

FALLEN 'STAR' - 'IDOL' VIEWERS BOOT EARLY FAVE NADIA

Nadia Turner, a singer "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson once said had "star quality," got the boot last night on the live "results" edition of the popular Fox talent show....

'ALIAS' LOVE - ALL IS FORGIVEN AFTER ON-SET AFFAIR

THERE'S no bad blood between the two super-spies at the heart of "Alias" - despite a failed real-life romance. Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan, who are a couple on the...

ME & MY LIEPOD - SONGS OF SHAME LURK ON EVERY PLAYLIST

SO, what's on your iPod? If that question strikes terror into your heart, you may be suffering from a new disorder unofficially called Pod Panic - especially if your answer...

BATTLE OF THE BAND NAMES

JUST when we'd started to figure out the difference between the Kills, Stills, Thrills and Chills, a whole new set of same-name bands arrives to wreak havoc on our orderly...

BRIT'S BABY BLOG

HERE'S a sneak peek at what mom-to-be Britney Spears' Web log has in store for her followers if her baby just happens to be a girl: Sept. 24, 2005: Dear...

THE PRIVATE POPE

The world was accustomed to seeing Pope John Paul II dressed in gallant papal vestments and presiding over the pageantry of Roman Catholic services. Outside the public eye, the pope...

2002 THUG UNMASKED

Life probably feels like a horror flick to a Long Island thug who was busted recently after DNA evidence linked him to a creepy 2002 crime in which he donned...

I AM A BETTER MAN - ROCKER SAYS HE'S MATURED SINCE '99 TRASHING OF APPLE

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - From his hairstyle to his outlook on New York, John Rocker says he is a different man from the one most people remember. In an exclusive interview...

'SAVIOR' SON BAIL SHOCK

A heartbroken Queens mom - already reeling after watching her own teenage son fatally stab her drug-addled fiancé - cried fresh tears yesterday after a judge ordered the boy held...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

The editor of South Dakota State University's campus paper has launched a campaign to make students clean up after themselves after sex. Sophomore Tara Halbritter, who found a used condom...

EXPERT RIPS PLAZA-CONDO BILL

One of the nation's leading constitutional scholars is scheduled to testify today that a bill aimed at halting the conversion of The Plaza hotel to condos is illegal. "I started...

DA PROBES HUGE TAX DODGE

A Long Island family is being probed by state officials for dodging millions of dollars in taxes, officials said yesterday. Three brothers - Iranian immigrants Soleyman, Saied and Davoud Shamash,...

SURVEY: CITY'S BUGGY WHIPPED

New Yorkers can officially consider themselves Sultans of Swat - the Big Apple has been named one of the "10 Buggiest Cities in the United States." Our fair city comes...

BIZ EXECS WOULD FIRE THAT 'JERK' JENNINGS

City Councilman Allan Jennings is "a hard-core harasser" who would have been fired from a private-sector job for his sleazy conduct, top corporate experts said yesterday. "How did this man...

PLEADING FOR LIFE - AMERICAN HOSTAGE ON VIDEO

WASHINGTON - An Indiana man, scared and clutching his passport to his chest, was shown at gunpoint on a videotape aired by al-Jazeera television yesterday, two days after terrorists kidnapped...

MIKE THROWS 'BLOC' PARTIES

Demonstrating the power of incumbency, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday delivered good news to two important voting blocs - Orthodox Jews and blacks - before heading to a civic meeting in Queens,...

ISRAEL'S NUKE NIX - UP TO U.S. TO KO IRAN WEAPONS: ARIEL

WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday brushed aside reports that he is planning to blow up Iran's nuclear facilities, as he did Saddam Hussein's more than 20 years...

HILL EYES BOXER'S LEFT HOOK

SEN. Hillary Clinton suddenly morphed into Howard Dean last Saturday when she raged on about election conspiracies and "a brave new world of extremism" - sparking some Dems to wonder...

IRS ISN'T BUYING YOUR INEXCUSABLE EXCUSES

Don't tax your head coming up with lame excuses not to file your income-tax returns - the Internal Revenue Service has heard them all. With tomorrow's tax deadline looming for...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * Police are searching for a man who kidnapped and raped a teenager as she walked to school in East New York Tuesday morning. Police said the man (above)...

CARL, FREDDY IN DIALLO SPLIT

Former state Comptroller Carl McCall yesterday threw his support behind Fernando Ferrer for mayor, but made it clear he parts ways with the Democratic hopeful over the police shooting of...

ANOTHER SUBWAY STABBING

For the second consecutive day, a teen on his way to school was knifed in the subway system - this time following a fistfight with an acquaintance aboard a Brooklyn...

7 BIG APPLE LABS HELD KILLER FLU

Seven labs in the city were among the thousands in the nation and around the world that received vials of a 1957 killer flu virus in kits used for proficiency...

SUBWAY HONCHO PROMISES TRAIN CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

The MTA has declared zero tolerance on subway disruptions with a strategy that includes reviewing staffing levels, prioritizing capital repairs and creating an e-mail notification service alerting riders to weekend...

GRISLY BUS CRASH - YOUNG BROOKLYN WOMAN CRUSHED ON 'DEATH AVENUE'

A Brooklyn pedestrian was crushed to death yesterday after a freak accident left her helplessly pinned between a school bus and a building. "Oh, my God," gasped victim Olga Pilay,...

GALS' SEX 'APPEAL' - U.S. WOMEN LOVE THEIR LOVING - AND WANT MORE

American women do have sex on the brain - just not as much as gals in many other countries around the world, a new survey reveals. Esquire conducted a global...

JACKO'S TONGUE-LASHING - HE LICKED MY SON, SAYS DISGUSTED MA

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The mother of Michael Jackson's young accuser painted a putrid scene at 30,000 feet yesterday as she claimed to have witnessed the pasty-faced Pop King licking...

SLOTS ON TRACK FOR AQUEDUCT, YONKERS

ALBANY - Plans for two huge video slot-machine parlors at Aqueduct and Yonkers racetracks are at the starting gate as part of a budget deal between Gov. Pataki and legislative...

CITY TO PAY STRIP-SEARCH KID 100G

The city has agreed to pay $100,000 to a 12-year-old Bronx special-needs student who claimed he was illegally strip-searched by a school employee, court records released yesterday show. Since the...

HS GUARD LIGHTS UP A STUDENT

A school security guard landed in hot water after he threw a lighter at a student's hair and set it ablaze, cops said yesterday. The flare-up Tuesday in the hallway...

WEINER BATTLES GIFF ON ELEX $$

A heated dispute has erupted between City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and Rep. Anthony Weiner over spending in the Democratic mayoral race. Miller, who's already raised the maximum allowable for...

AIR GUARD PAIR IN FED DRUG BUST

Two members of the Air National Guard used Air Force cargo planes to smuggle millions of dollars worth of drugs into New York, the feds said yesterday. Captain Franklin Rodriguez,...

TWO HOT - 2ND TEACHER-KID AFFAIR AT SEX HS; 2ND BED-UCATOR EXPOSED

It seems sex education is a hands-on course at the HS for Health Professions and Human Services - city officials yesterday revealed charges of a second affair between a female...

PORN JOINTS GET REPRIEVE

Don't say thanks for the mammaries just yet - a state judge yesterday signed an order allowing more than 100 porn palaces to stay in business for at least a...

B'KLYN SCHOOLGIRL, 2 OTHERS HIT IN HAIL OF GUNFIRE

Three people - including a 12-year-old girl walking from school - were shot and wounded yesterday afternoon on a Brooklyn street, police said. "Whoever did that was ruthless!" said Jackie...

'MOB' COPS RETURN - DISGRACED DUO FLOWN IN FROM VEGAS

Two ex-NYPD detectives accused of leading double lives as mob hit men were returned to New York in handcuffs yesterday, a month after being roused from their cozy retirement in...

BUBBA: BOOST INTERNATIONAL AID

Former President Bill Clinton told a Long Island audience yesterday the United States should increase its humanitarian efforts to build up respect for America. "It wouldn't cost us much to...

POL IN THE FAMILY - N.J. BIG'S BRO IN SCANDAL

The younger brother of New Jersey U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is among the 20 New York Stock Exchange specialists accused this week of illegal trading practices that enriched themselves and...

LEX PERV BUST - OLD-TIMER GROPED KIDS ON EAST SIDE SUBWAY: COPS

A senior citizen groped two sixth-graders on a Lexington Avenue subway train yesterday - but was caught quickly by a pair of undercover cops aboard the train on an anti-pickpocket...

MTA VOWS TO FIX UP SUBWAYS

The MTA has declared zero tolerance on subway disruptions, including reviewing staffing levels, prioritizing capital repairs and creating an e-mail notification service alerting riders to weekend track work, officials said...

IRS WON'T BUY INEXCUSABLE EXCUSES

Don't tax your brain coming up with lame excuses not to file your income-tax returns - the Internal Revenue Service has heard them all. With tomorrow's tax deadline looming for...

TWO HOT - 2ND TEACHER-KID AFFAIR AT SEX HS; SECOND HS BEDUCATOR EXPOSED

It seems sex education is a hands-on course at the HS for Health Professions and Human Services - city officials yesterday revealed charges of a second affair between a female...

RUSH-HOUR TANGLE ON LIRR

Smoke in one East River tunnel and stalled Amtrak trains in another caused massive rush-hour headaches for thousands of LIRR commuters out of Penn Station last night. The smoke condition...

GIS CLEARED IN ITALIAN'S DEATH

U.S. soldiers reportedly have been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of an Italian journalist and an intelligence agent last month in Baghdad. U.S. military officials told NBC News that...

MOLD-CASE ATTORNEY DISBARRED

A Manhattan lawyer who refused to tell hundreds of clients suing over mold in their homes how much money he'd won for them has been booted from the bar. Steven...

OFF-DUTY COP NABS CABBY SLASHER

A cabby who'd just been stabbed and robbed by a passenger flagged down the right car for help on Central Park West last night - it had off-duty cop Chris...

PETER COOPER - A CHAMPION FOR EDUCATION

Peter Cooper believed that education should be as free as air. His Cooper Union makes sure that happens. Peter Cooper was born in Feb. 12, 1791 in New York City....

CABBY SLASHED NEAR CENTRAL PK.

A cabby who'd just been stabbed and robbed by a passenger flagged down the right car for help on Central Park West last night - it had off-duty cop Chris...

BAIL SHOCK FOR 'SAVIOR' SON - SECOND ANGUISH IN FIANCÉ SLAY

A heartbroken Queens mom - already reeling after watching her own teenage son fatally stab her drug-addled fiancé - cried fresh tears yesterday after a judge ordered the boy held...

BRIT 'FEELS' LIKE A MOM

Look out, Kevin: Britney's got someone new. Pop tart Britney Spears happily caresses her pregnant belly on a Florida beach yesterday, one day after announcing she's becoming a mom. "She...

CURT DEBUT FOR SCHILLING

BOSTON - The ability to pound the strike zone was back, and so was the faith from his manager. But Curt Schilling's endurance was low, and his stuff a little...

HELP! NETS BEHIND 8-BALL

INDIANAPOLIS - The Nets need help again. They enjoyed controlling their own destiny for about one whole day before that control slipped away because of a weak third quarter, a...

ROD STILL HOPES FOR RJ'S RETURN

NET NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - Rod Thorn won't count on Richard Jefferson playing in the regular season. But the Nets team president doesn't rule out a return for the playoffs -...

GIANTS CONTENT TO PLAY PICK 4

Never before in the Giants' 81-year history have they entered an NFL Draft with only four picks. That's what awaits the team on April 23 and no one is overly...

REY-ZOR SHARP - JOSE'S HOT START PROVIDES PEEK AT FUTURE

Jose Reyes feels as if he has a lot to prove to Met fans this season, and even yesterday, the effervescent shortstop was still beaming about his performance Monday at...

CLIFF HANGERS - DECISION TO KEEP FLOYD LOOKS AMAZIN'

Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make. So far this season, that's been the case for the Mets and Cliff Floyd. After being traded a dozen times...

WILLIE KNEW YANKS WOULDN'T DUCK RINGS

MET NOTES Willie Randolph never expected the Yankees to duck out of watching the Red Sox ring ceremony Monday at Fenway Park. Instead of disappearing into their clubhouse, Joe Torre...

TREVOR AN OUTSIDER - SITS (AND WONDERS) DURING KNICK 'L'

Trevor Ariza stood at center court after practice in Greenburg yesterday chatting with Herb Williams. All the other Knicks had gone back to the locker room, leaving only the 19-year-old...

ROCKER: DON'T STICK FORK IN ME

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - The snarl remains the same. As John Rocker releases another fastball, the look on his face is the same one he wore when he was striking out...

KNICKS HAVE SHOT TO HELP OUT NETS

KNICK NOTES The Knicks continue their role of spoiler against the Cavs in Cleveland tonight - and could help the Nets in the process. The Cavs are in seventh place...

ROGER'S RULES RARELY REQUIRED

ON Monday afternoon at Shea, when the rosters were announced, Pedro Martinez was introduced with his Mets teammates even as some observers cried out that circumstances dictated that he really...

EMIRATES AIRLINE JUMPS ON BOARD

At a news conference at the 21 Club in Manhattan, NYRA announced the addition of Emirates Airline as an official sponsor. The sponsorship deal is for three years and will...

JOE ORDERS UP SOME OFFENSE - A-ROD DROPS TO FIFTH VS. CURT

BOSTON - Unable to change the names to get the Yankees out of a two-game funk at the plate, Joe Torre rearranged his lineup card against Red Sox ace Curt...

NETS' BATTLE CRY: JUST WIN, BABY!

INDIANAPOLIS - For the first time, the Nets really could be on their own. Help arrived. So it was up to the Nets to help themselves. And the process began...

TORRE'S OWN RENDITION OF BILLY'S HAT TRICK

BOSTON - Joe Torre decided he just needed a change, that his lineup was stale, that he needed to do something different. So Bernie Williams found himself batting ninth last...

STONY BROOK TABS GW AIDE PIKIELL

Steve Pikiell is accustomed to making big things happen in a hurry. As a freshman guard at Connecticut in the late 80's he walked into the Garden for the Big...

GIAMBI LEADS SCHILLACKING - CRUSHES CURT WITH GO-AHEAD HOMER AS YANKS PREVAIL

BOSTON - Joe Torre's greatest managerial skill is handling players. Last night he displayed a shrewd touch when it came to defrosting a frigid lineup. Thanks to a lineup shuffle...

STILL LEERY OF RANDY - BOSOX: WON'T GET ANY EASIER

BOSTON - The best way to deal with it was to joke about it, so clubhouse prophet Johnny Damon dismissed Boston's opening night 9-2 loss to the Yankees' new fearsome,...

SOX: BEANBALLS PART OF GAME

BOSTON - Someone's always keeping score when it's Yankees against Red Sox, and after last night's clash, the score was 5-2. Five Yankee batters hit, that is, to two Boston...

IT WAS VINTAGE ROCKET

In Roger Clemens' first appearance in Flushing since the infamous Shawn Estes retaliation-that-wasn't, the 22,431 on hand at Shea spewed their venom at every opportunity: introductions, at-bats, big pitches. And...

ELEVENTH HOUR - REYES SINGLE GIVES METS 3RD STRAIGHT WIN

11 INNINGS: Mets 1 - Astros 0 Before the game, Willie Randolph was saying how one day we're going to be mentioning Jose Reyes and Derek Jeter in the same...

BROWN'S ALL SET FOR SUNDAY

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - It seems as long as Kevin Brown avoids the pitching mound at Legends Field his back is fine. Brown started the season on the DL with...

NEED TO SEE MO

JOE TORRE can alter his lineup - and he did last night. Tony Womack climbed nine spaces to lead off, Alex Rodriguez was shuffled from the indignity of second to...

JOE'S SHUFFLE LEAVES SOX ACE RUFFLED

The balls soared like rocket blasts across the black Boston sky, high and deep and devastating in their effect. Curt Schilling watched both of them the whole way, with slumped...

FLIGHT OF THE PITCH - YANKS, BOSOX BANK ON IMPORTED ARMS

BOSTON - They have mined similar areas in hopes of rotation solutions. The Yankees and Red Sox have tapped the National League, in general, and the top of the Diamondbacks...

FRANCONA: WE NEED TO PITCH 'EM INSIDE

BOSTON - Someone's always keeping score when it's Yankees against Red Sox, and the score was 5-1 entering last night's clash. Five Yankee batters hit, that is, to one Boston...

BROWN SAYS HE'S READY TO MAKE COMEBACK

YANKEE NOTES BOSTON - As long as Kevin Brown avoids the pitching mound at Legends Field, it seems his back is fine. Brown started the season on the DL with...

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT - BOSOX FEAR THEY COULD BE BUTCHERED AGAIN BY JOHNSON

BOSTON - The best way to deal with it was to joke about it, so clubhouse prophet Johnny Damon humorously dismissed Boston's opening night 9-2 loss to the Yankees' fearsome,...

GIANTS 2005 SCHEDULE

The Giants hope history repeats itself when it comes to their franchise getting ignored by Monday Night Football. Although they play in a major TV market, for the second straight...

JETS 2005 SCHEDULE

The Jets, who were 10-6 and losers in the AFC divisional playoff round to the Steelers last season, open the 2005 season with a Sept. 11 game in Kansas City,...