November 4, 2005

FIRMS LINE UP WITH INITIAL REFCO BIDS

Initial bids for what's left of bankrupt trading firm Refco Inc. are due in U.S. Bankruptcy Court today. At least six companies plan to make offers that could top $1...

SECOND SCORE - DYNAMIC DUO TURN THE OLD COLLEGE TRY INTO GOLD

Brian Bedol pulled the same trick twice. Bedol, who two years ago founded the college sports network (CSTV) with about $100 million, agreed yesterday to sell the network to Viacom...

STERN BLASTS OFF - RAUNCHY STAR BURST FEATURED IN MOVIE THEATER ADS

A new ad trumpeting shock jock Howard Stern's switch to Sirius Satellite Radio is a lot like his show: raunchy, sophomoric and outrageously funny. The 60-second spot - which would...

FORD DEBUTS NUDE SCENT

Like everything else Tom Ford has done, his return to the world of fashion has been engineered to precision. There was Ford posing for a 22-page spread in this month's...

HALF-BAKED 'CHICKEN'

'CHICKEN Little," Disney's first fully computer-animated feature, isn't totally fowl - but it suffers from the kind of half-hatched storytelling that forced the Mouse House to throw in the towel...

FLAWED & PALTRY 'DALTRY'

THE Weinsteins may have left the building, but Miramax is still apparently legally obligated to provide at least a token New York theatrical opening for "Daltry Calhoun," which tanked when...

A CUT ABOVE - DELIGHTFULLY ODD 'TODD'

OK, it's a gimmick - but in the end, nothing redeems a gimmick like success. In John Doyle's cunningly bizarre staging of Stephen Sondheim's dark classic "Sweeney Todd," which opened...

TEMPTATION AMID GRIEF AND GUILT

FILM noir meets Greek tragedy in "The Dying Gaul," playwright Craig Lucas' audacious and extremely well-acted - if flawed - debut as a film director. The title refers to a...

JANE CURTIN RISES TO MOTHERHOOD ROLE

IT'S been more than a couple of decades since anyone called Jane Curtin an ignorant slut on national television. Part of the inaugural class of clowns on "Saturday Night Live"...

THROW THIS ONE BACK

'BROOKLYN Lobster" fails to dig out the dramatic meat, despite a yeoman performance by Danny Aiello as a man fighting to hold onto the Sheepshead Bay seafood store his father...

'70S' GAY OL' TIME

AND the award for least deceptive film title of the year goes to "Gay Sex in the 70s," a great big gay buffet of mustaches, muscles and cutoff shorts. As...

CLEAN RAPPER WEST IN SHOW

THERE'S a long-standing notion that solo rap artists are incapable of commanding a stage for an entire concert - which Kanye West shattered Wednesday night at the Theater at Madison...

DESERT SCORN - GULF WAR DRAMA THE MOTHER OF ALL FLOPS

JARHEAD ½ (one and a half stars) Welcome to the suck. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated R (profanity, violence, strong sexual content). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the Kips...

SUPER CALLA FRAGILISTIC

AURELIO Valle knows how to set a mood. When Calla's frontman begins to sing, he breaks the haunting silence (extraordinary for a New York crowd) with his seductive vocals, which...

LESS VEGAS - 'Q' IS A NO-WYNN SITUATION

MY nose is twitching. It's smelling trouble all over the place. First, from Las Vegas, comes word that "Avenue Q," the little puppet show that was supposed to transform Sin...

MARY'S HOT PICK

Jim Campilongo, a San Francisco native who moved to New York years ago, works magic with his Telecaster, melting together elements from jazz, blues, rock and country to create a...

WHICH 'VEGAS' STAR GETS IT?

ONE of the major characters on "Las Vegas" is, well, cashing in his or her chips. No word on whom, of course, but it's the surprise ending of the Nov....

ALL CRIME, ALL THE TIME

NBC is launching a new cable network all about crime. The channel, called Sleuth, will feature shows and movies about investigation and suspense 24 hours a day starting Jan. 1....

IT'S ONLY MOCK-BELIEVE - 'WEST WING' DEBATE PLAYS POLITICS FOR REAL

If the election were held today, Democrat Matthew Santos would roll over Republican Arnold Vinick in a historic landslide, according to poll numbers to be released today from political pollster...

'BEFORE THE SHOW, WE'LL THROW UP!'

Forrest Sawyer has done plenty of live TV before, but nothing quite like this. "We'll be rehearsing right up until Sunday. And before the show, we'll gather together and throw...

'OPRAH NOT A THREAT': WALSH

'AMERICA'S Most Wanted" host John Walsh welcomes the help he's getting from Oprah Winfrey getting child molesters off the street. "I'm a big believer in what she does" and not...

MOVING TO L.A. - REAL TEEN ANGST IN DEEP 'SOUTH'

JUST when "The O.C." was starting to seem a bit stale, along comes a teen-angst soap that's so good, it might put The N (the Noggin-at-night channel) on the map....

FANCY FOOD FOR THOUGHT - PREP SCHOOLS FEATURE HAUTE CUISINE

The course load at New York's fanciest private prep schools now includes Michelin-quality lunches. Instead of the usual hot dogs and fish sticks, students at Dalton, Spence, and Grace Church...

HIS PAINT IS RUNNING - MARATHON FEAT HEARTY & ARTY

The 20th mile of the New York City Marathon is known as "the wall," and to Dutch artist Erik van Loon, there's no better place to hang a canvas. As...

EX HEXES CORZINE IN AD

WASHINGTON - An extraordinary new TV ad in the New Jersey governor's race highlights charges from Sen. Jon Corzine's ex-wife that he can't be trusted because "he let his family...

MANDATE FOR MODESTY

IN a few days, Michael Bloomberg will win a second term for mayor, very likely by a margin greater than the 57 percent to 43 percent that Rudy Giuliani scored...

POST SETS OFF PUGGLE STRUGGLE

The puggle is now officially a star. After The Post put the hot new hybrid cross between a beagle and a pug on the front page yesterday, area pet stores...

BOO$T FOR DETECTIVES

The city's 5,500 detectives reached a tentative contract yesterday that followed the pattern of other uniformed unions, boosting their pay about 17 percent over four years. The deal - which...

SCOOTER TELLS IT TO THE JUDGE

WASHINGTON - Former top vice presidential adviser I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby pleaded not guilty in the sensational CIA leak case yesterday. Pale and on crutches, Libby hobbled into a federal...

WAGING THIS WAR IN HER OWN NAME

THIS rape victim will be referred to by her name. She is Kathleen Ham. She wants you to know that. "I have nothing to be ashamed of," she said defiantly...

TEENS IN INTERNET BLOG CLOG

More than half of today's teens are blogging or have otherwise created their own Internet content, a survey found. Some 57 percent of kids 12 to 17 - or about...

MRS. FERRER 'ADS' HER SUPPORT EN ESPA-OL

Fernando Ferrer's wife, Aramina, hit the Spanish-language airwaves yesterday as part of an emotional ethnic appeal that urges Hispanics to vote for the "dignity" of her husband against the "money"...

DRUG THUGS SHOOT TEEN

One person was shot and several others pistol-whipped after four masked men entered a Brooklyn apartment yesterday demanding drugs and cash, cops said. The four men showed up at a...

UPLIFTING ELEVATOR NEWS WILL REALLY FLOOR YOU

"Going up" has gone high tech. A revolutionary new system that selects the fastest elevator to your destination is being installed in buildings all over the city. The Miconic 10,...

HEARTLESS WALLET SCAMMER JAILED

A Brooklyn woman who admitted fleecing four naive victims out of more than $20,000 using a simple confidence scam was sentenced to 2 ½ to 5 years in prison yesterday....

TIMES: LETTER CHOP 'FAIR'

The New York Times defended its treatment of a letter written by a Marine killed in Iraq as "entirely fair" yesterday, after days of complaints by the soldier's family that...

SPIKE PSYCHED - LEE AND KNICK FANS ARE GUNG-HO

With a new coach and a new young roster, Knicks fans are filled with new hope as Madison Square Garden gets set to rock to the sounds of the team's...

VICTIM SPEAKS OUT FROM THE GRAVE - WINDOW KILLER HEARS LOVE LETTER, GETS LIFE

It's not many sentencings where the victim gets to speak, as if from the grave, to her murderer. But a striking exotic dancer named Sheila Cordell did so yesterday in...

'INSTANT' HOME TEST FOR AIDS

A candlelit dinner, a bottle of wine and a swab of saliva could be the next new dating ritual. A Food and Drug Administration panel yesterday discussed over-the-counter sales of...

MIKE WINS JUAN

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday hit challenger Fernando Ferrer where it hurts - rolling out an endorsement from the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico's largest city. "The Hispanic communities, especially the...

LEBANON PM KILLERS CAN'T HIDE: BOLTON

American U.N. Ambassador John Bolton yesterday warned that Syria faces stiff economic sanctions if it continues stonewalling the investigation into the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "They...

FLASHY ADS IN MOTION - 'MOVING' PIX IN CITY

It's the cutting edge of advertising - but no more advanced than a cartoon flip book. A New York ad company has set up a series of streetside advertisements around...

COP'S HEFTY SUIT VS. CITY

A hulking female ex-cop who once weighed in at 250 pounds claims her fellow detectives drove her to the brink of suicide with lewd comments about her large frame -...

STRIKE FAILS TO STOP ROCKETTE LAUNCH

The show went on at Radio City yesterday as stagehands, actors and the all-important Rockettes high-stepped past tuxedoed musicians who were locked out of the annual Christmas Spectacular after their...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * Police are asking for the public's assistance in finding a suspect wanted in connection with the September shooting death of a man in Brownsville. Joseph Wilson (above), 25,...

GRAMPS LEFT TO DIE BY HIT-RUN DRIVER

An angry, grief-stricken son demanded justice yesterday for his 84-year-old dad, who was killed by a coldhearted hit-and-run driver while crossing the street a block from his Brooklyn home of...

GUN SCARE AS COPS NAIL 'FARE BEAT'

A furious struggle in the heart of Penn Station landed two undercover cops and a subway-fare beater in separate hospitals yesterday after the suspect lunged for one cop's gun, police...

LOADS OF LOVE GLOVES - 300K SCHOOL CONDOMS

There's a whole lot of loving going on with city teens - public high schools have ordered 310,000 condoms for students over the past 18 months. City Department of Education...

FACE OF PERVY 'FDNY' FIEND - EAGLE-EYED NEIGHBOR MAY ID COSTUME CREEP

The Chelsea woman who was targeted by a fiendish fake fireman on Halloween night was blindfolded throughout her 13-hour ordeal of sexual assault but was able to slip it off...

FIGHT TO THE FINISH - GET-OUT-THE-VOTE WAR

Behind the scenes, both the Bloomberg and Ferrer campaigns are feverishly revving up massive get-out-the-vote operations for Tuesday, officials said. For its part, Mayor Bloomberg's operation is relying on a...

UFT'S DEAL IS DONE - TEACHERS VOTE YES

After working nearly 2 ½ years under an expired contract, city public-school teachers have approved a 52-month deal with the city that calls for a 15 percent raise in exchange...

SEAMAN 'SLAY' THREAT - SAID HE'D KILL ME: POL

The former Huntington councilwoman accused of sexually harassing the town's horny harbormaster after he ended their affair testified yesterday that he threatened to kill her - but that didn't stop...

THE NAKED 'I': NEW XXX IS SLEAZE IN POD - PORN FIRMS RUSH TO SELL MINI-SMUT

Call it iPorn - your iPod will soon be showing blue movies. The popular portable device - enjoyed by 20 million users to hear music and now watch TV -...

GAL FACES '73 'RAPIST' WITH NEW ALLY: FIEND'S OWN DNA

She remembers the rapist's hand in the dark, at her fire escape window, lifting it open. His hand at her bleeding neck, holding a knife. His beard, like "Brillo," was...

SUBWAY WASHERS SUSPENDED

Battle lines were drawn yesterday at the city's largest rail yard after four transit employees were suspended for refusing to drive trains through an automated, enclosed car wash that uses...

AIR-HEADS READY TO ALLOW BLADES

WASHINGTON - The flying public turned white-knuckled yesterday over word that the feds might ease post-9/11 restrictions to allow passengers to bring scissors and small knives aboard planes again. "I'd...

TRAFFIC BUST BAGS 600-LB. POT HAUL

Two Brooklyn cops seized a whopping 600 pounds of pot from a van they pulled over after its driver ran a stop sign, police said yesterday. The officers spotted the...

BUTT-HEAD GUILTY OF HS ASSAULT

A Bronx HS of Science student was convicted yesterday of slugging a dean who caught him smoking in a bathroom. Josue Lopez, 17, was found guilty of assaulting Evan Frankl,...

MOB 'DUES' BOOST BUSTED BONANNOS

Bonanno gang members should rest assured that the family takes care of their busted brethren. At least 90 family members still out on the streets contribute a monthly $8,000 stipend...

HIT-RUN KILLS WW2 VET, 84 - B'KLYN KIN CALL FOR JUSTICE

An angry, grief-stricken son demanded justice yesterday for his 84-year-old dad, who was killed yesterday by a coldhearted hit-and-run driver while crossing the street a block from his Brooklyn home...

PALS MOURN 'EGG' MAN

In life - as in death - Joey Padro was a generous man. In life, he gave pal Mathew Caraballo the money to leave their Bronx housing project and move...

CREEDMOOR PATIENT BOLTS

A 33-year-old Creedmoor Psychiatric Center patient bolted yesterday on the way back from a supervised trip - and was captured four hours later at a relative's home in the Rockaways,...

CHUCK 'SORRY' SOUGHT OVER 'SAMBO' SLUR

WASHINGTON - Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a Republican trying to become the state's first African-American senator, is demanding an apology from Sen. Charles Schumer - over an Internet link...

FACE OF PERVY 'FDNY' FIEND - COPS SEEK 'PERSON OF INTEREST' IN QUEENS

Cops said yesterday that they want to question a "person of interest" in the sickening case of a fake fireman who conned his way into a Chelsea woman's apartment and...

WIGGED-OUT 'BURGLE' BUST

A crew of burglars who allegedly committed dozens of break-ins wearing ski masks and blond wigs were nabbed yesterday after cops watched them climb out of a Queens house, authorities...

'INSTANT' HIV HOME TEST

A candlelit dinner, a bottle of wine and a swab of saliva could be the next new dating ritual. A Food and Drug Administration panel yesterday discussed over-the-counter sales of...

50-POUND EX-COP LAUNCHES HEFTY SUIT VS. CITY

A hulking female ex-cop who once weighed in at 250 pounds claims her fellow detectives drove her to the brink of suicide with lewd comments about her large frame -...

CAMPOLI RAISING ISLES' EYEBROWS

There was only one NHL Rookie of the Month in the building last night, and his name was not Chris Campoli, Petteri Nokelainen or Robert Nilsson. The three Islander rookies,...

GETTING CHARGED UP - JETS AT THEIR BEST AGAINST THE BOLTS

SUNDAY'S game against the Chargers is clearly the Jets' last chance to salvage the season and stay off the highway to 3-13. And while many Jets fans would like to...

THE FAN'S CORNER

Doug Clarridge wants to use his time in the Fan's Corner to pick up girls. Good call. Chicks dig the Fan's Corner. "Can you put that I'm a Christian guy...

RAIDERS AIM FOR PLAYOFF POSITION

Port Richmond spent virtually the entire season entrenched in second place in the PSAL, not losing a game until it dropped an overtime decision to Wagner a week ago. With...

NYRA, HORSEMEN AGREE ON VLT CUT

A major milestone toward getting the long-overdue slots casino built at Aqueduct race track, after years of obstruction and delay, was reached yesterday when the New York Racing Association finalized...

JUMP ON BOARD, FISHING'S STILL FINE

THE WEEKEND shapes up as one to take advantage of since we have striped bass on the feed, good blackfish and sea bass action and warm sunny days, a combination...

JEFFERSON ISN'T FINED, SUSPENDED

NET NOTES TORONTO - Richard Jefferson need not go into hiding for his actions that led to his ejection in the Nets' opener Wednesday. NBA vice president of operations Stu...

BAND ON THE RUN - MARATHONERS WIN RACE FOR THEIR LIVES

The irony is as poignant is it is palpable. Two dozen runners made their way from New Orleans to New York - from the city flooded by Katrina to the...

NO RETURN IN SIGHT FOR GIANTS' PETERSON

GIANT NOTES Any optimism regarding Will Peterson's return seemed to vanish yesterday. The cornerback, who has been inactive for the last five games because of a stress reaction in his...

NETS TRYING TO MOVE ON - CLOSE BOOK ON BRUTAL OPENER

NETS at RAPTORS - Tonight 7:30 - YES; WFAN (660) TORONTO - It's over. All the hopes and dreams for the Nets, dashed in one despicable 48-minute display. Will they...

A SOPH SPOT - NUMBERS LAME, BUT ELI VOWS TO PICK 'EM UP

The Giants have won their last two games without eye-popping numbers from Eli Manning, but they know if they are going to stay atop the NFC East, the quarterback is...

PEYTON HAS PRAISE FOR BRO

INDIANAPOLIS - Big brother got a chance to watch Eli Manning play last week, and he likes what he sees. While the Colts enjoyed their bye week, Peyton Manning tuned...

BABY MACE READY TO STORM GARDEN

Anthony Mason Jr. already accomplished one goal since returning to the city his father helped rule as a member of the Knicks. He has an 'M' etched into his right...

HE'S NOT FEELIN' JOLLEY

Draft day last April was a seemingly jolly day for both the Jets and their prized acquisition, Doug Jolley. The Jets traded their first-round pick to the Raiders for Jolley...

YANKS NARROW CENTER SEARCH

The popular belief heading into the GM meetings next week in Palm Springs is that the Yankees will have a better chance of laying the groundwork to find bullpen help...

BROWN'S ROOKIES STILL UNDER WRAPS

KNICK NOTES So much for the youth movement. The Knicks' celebrated three rookie first-round draft picks played a total of nine minutes on opening night in Boston. And it's not...

ALTHOUGH HE CAN'T TALK DEAL .. WAGNER GREETS THE METS

The Mets cannot offer Billy Wagner a contract yet, but they are doing just about everything else they can do right now to show the star closer their interest. The...

OPENING SHOTS

EACH season around this time extremist fans and militant members of the media corroborate it's never too early to overreact. One shrill loss by the Nets and already one local...

RANGERS FLIP DEVILS RIVALRY

Rangers 4 - Devils 2 The Rangers have made believers of these Devils already. And a little mincemeat, too. "Right now, they've got our number," Scott Gomez said. "It's definitely...

RANGERS AREN'T KIDDING AROUND

FORMULATING the plan to go with youth can be far easier than actually sticking with it, especially if you're the Rangers, you've been out of the playoffs since 1997, and...

BROADWAY GOLD IS A NO-SHOW

Today, Eibar Coa begins serving seven-day suspension for careless riding at Belmont in eighth race Sept. 28. SECOND RACE: It wasn't just how 7-5 favorite Bones Ferrone lost, it was...

AL GETS NBC FREEZE-OUT

When NBC begins its NHL coverage, Al Trautwig - surprisingly - will not be manning the studio. Instead, Bill Clement will be the network's host, and the analyst will be...

MARCHAND'S MEMO OF THE WEEK

To: TV Executives From: Andrew Marchand Re: Technical Difficulties CC: Inspector Gadget Dear Execs, Are you guys even trying? Come on, you have to be better than this. On Monday,...

5 QUESTIONS FOR JIM MCKAY

This week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with legendary sportscaster Jim McKay. After more than 50 years at the mike, McKay, 84, lives with his wife, Margaret, on a...

CALL HIM PEY-ROD - LIKE ALEX, MANNING HAS BIG HOLE IN RESUME

Monday Colts at Patriots 9 p.m., ABC Both are considered the best players in their sport. Both are annually tested by a New England nemesis. But most of all, the...

IT'S TIME TO GO BROWNTOWN! - HERE'S LARRY'S LONG-AWAITED MSG DEBUT

The moment has finally arrived and Larry Brown can't wait. When the Knicks hired Brown in late July, the famous Garden marquee screamed, "Welcome Home, Larry." And tonight Brown officially...

MADISON SQUARE CAN'T BE A SECRET GARDEN ANYMORE

YOU don't have to be born here to understand the magical possibilities of a big night at Madison Square Garden. Eddy Curry is a Chicago kid, raised to believe that...

ENOUGH! - TASTELESS ESPN NEEDS TO CUT US A BREAK

HERE'S how screwy things have become at ESPN: In the course of roughly the last six months, we've spoken with, I don't know, maybe 50 different ESPN staffers. And not...

SID SMACKS ISLES

Penguins 5 - Islanders 1 Mario Lemieux has been showing Sidney Crosby the NHL ropes. Last night must have been the lesson in how to kill the Islanders. Super Mario...

GANG GREEN IS WARY OF THE GOLDEN GATES

JET NOTES By contrast to the Jets' offensive problems - particularly their lack of production at tight end - the Chargers come to Giants Stadium Sunday with one of the...

OLIWA LEFT IN CAP LIMBO

Since Krzysztof Oliwa cleared waivers Oct. 25, the Devils have avoided announcing that he had been assigned to their Albany farm team. But that's the way the NHL has him...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A trip to the rest room at Home Depot was anything but restful for one man. Bob Doughtery, 57, says he got stuck to a toilet seat after a prankster...