January 2, 2006

WHEELY TOUGH - ROLLER DERBY MEETS REALITY TV

HOW can any decent person love a reality show about a bunch of dirty girls who take to the rink in ripped-up fishnets and nasty micro-mini skirts, skate like hell,...

'SCRUBS' DOCS RETURN TO NBC

THE future of "Scrubs" was up in the air until NBC brass recently decided to bring it back. So the wackos behind the NBC sitcom decided they had nothing to...

THE SOCIAL-LITE DIET - HOW THE WEALTHY LOSE WEIGHT FAST; STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO LOSINGA DRESS SIZE; ALL THIS WEEK IN PULSE

WE all know the type. That razor-thin suit storming down Park Avenue in a pencil skirt, waving a cab with her Hermes bag, while typing into her BlackBerry and conducting...

KATHERINE'S DIET DIARY

The holidays were good to me: friends, family, presents, food, drink, fruitcake. When my mother took me shopping the day after Christmas, however, I learned they were a little too...

COMPLAINTS AGAINST COPS SURGED IN '05

There were over 1,000 more allegations of misconduct against the NYPD in 2005 than the year before - and over 100 more complaints that were "substantiated," Civilian Complaint Review Board...

PAC-ING ON PERKS - N.Y. REPS LAVISH $$ ON ART & FINE EATS

WASHINGTON - Ten members of the New York congressional delegation are digging into private cash stashes to fund elaborate political networks - and one is even buying expensive artwork, The...

MEET POOCH-INI - LINCOLN CENTER DOG EASES RUFF DAYS

He's the diva dog of Lincoln Center - an adorable pooch who's spent the past decade greeting famous conductors and calming nerves backstage. Jake, a little terrier with a soothing...

2 DEAD IN GANG BATTLE - SOCIAL-CLUB SHOOTOUT

A pair of armed gangs turned a Queens social club into the O.K. Corral, as a New Year's Eve celebration ended in a shootout that left two men dead, police...

NEW YEAR TURNS TRAGIC IN QNS. - BELOVED STUDENT IS FIRST '06 SLAY VICTIM

A beaming Carlos Cintron rang in the New Year with his family and then told his girlfriend how much he loved her. Two hours later, the well-liked Queens teen was...

FIND OUR SON - HEARTBREAK PLEA 31 YRS. AFTER LOSING FOSTER CHILD

A former Bronx couple, who felt like their hearts "were ripped out" when they had to give up their foster son 31 years ago, are on a crusade to find...

TRUCK-FALL FIREMAN ON MEND

He's laughing, joking, recovering well - and dreaming of going back to firefighting. That was the good word yesterday from the family of critically injured firefighter Joseph Moore, who was...

SMART SPEECH - MIKE SETS GOALS WISELY

THE world will little note nor long remember the words spoken by Mayor Bloomberg yesterday as he gave his second inaugural address in City Hall Park. In fact, I'm writing...

PERVY PUNKS RAIDING B'KLYN SYNAGOGUE

It's a holiday heartbreaker for one Brooklyn synagogue: Burglars have broken into the house of worship seven times in the past two months, once downloading porn onto a computer used...

SUBWAY BABY IN SUDDEN MYSTERY DEATH

A subway ride to The Bronx turned tragic yesterday when a 3-month-old girl suddenly stopped breathing and died a short time later, police said. Miracle Diaz was in her mother's...

DOZENS 'WEIGHT' FOR FREE POUND-SHEDDING SURGERY

Folks longing for a fat chance at fulfilling their resolutions to lose weight headed yesterday for Times Square - where a doctor was offering a shot at free gastric-bypass surgery....

BX. 'KILLER' WILL FACE GRAND JURY

The paroled rapist accused of going on a bloody Christmas-morning rampage - stabbing his Bronx landlord's daughter to death and seriously wounding her father before turning the knife on himself...

THIS TIME, IT'S FOR REEL: 007 WOOS JUDE'S GAL

Here's some news that's going to shake, not stir, Jude Law - new "James Bond" star Daniel Craig is urging producers of the spy series to cast Sienna Miller as...

DISASTER WARNING - GROWING THREAT FROM VIOLENT EARTH: U.N.

It is the end of the world as we know it. That's the sad song environmental experts - who fear global warming triggered many of the cataclysmic natural disasters that...

TRYING OUT THE COCK-PITT

First he flew into Angelina Jolie's arms - now Brad Pitt is flying into the wild blue yonder. The Hollywood heartthrob looks as hunky as ever in a pair of...

NEWT SLAMS SICK $YSTEM

WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested a New Year's resolution of sorts for members of Congress yesterday: Stop holding fund-raisers in Washington, D.C., with big-money lobbyists. Gingrich, appearing...

MLK CONFESSED TO WIFE

Civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whose name would later be tarnished by tales of womanizing, confessed an affair to his wife at her most vulnerable moment - days after...

BROOKLYN'S 'POLAR' EXPEDITION

Hundreds of tattooed hipsters, wiry old men and assorted kooks and masochists started off the new year by throwing themselves into the icy ocean at Coney Island yesterday. Howling with...

KID BID TO BEAT L.I. POL - TEEN VS. 'GRINCH'

This kid has got a prayer. Spurred on by a Long Island politician's tirade over a priest's benediction at a public Christmas tree lighting, a 16-year-old boy has thrown his...

BUSH DISSED JUSTICE BIG AS 'CUOMO'

President Bush belittled top Justice Department official James Comey with the nickname "Cuomo" after the former Manhattan U.S. attorney balked at allowing controversial warrantless eavesdropping to catch terrorists, a new...

A GODSEND FOR STROKE VICTIMS

British researchers are developing a hands-free walker for stroke patients that would use a harness to support the torso and wheels behind - not in front of - the user,...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * A hit-and-run driver has been arrested and charged with fatally mowing down a homeless man in East Harlem, police said. Tony Jonathon Nuñez, 19, was busted Saturday...

TAPS 'VITAL': W. - DEFENDS BUGGING PHONES

WASHINGTON - President Bush strongly defended a high-tech domestic spying program yesterday as a vital tool to hunt down al Qaeda terrorists before they strike again. "It seems logical to...

WHAT'S TOPS AT BOX OFFICE? 'NARNIA' BUSINESS

"King Kong" got shot out of first place as "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" reigned at the box office for the first two days...

GOV FURY AT 'TRAIN ROBBERY' - RIPS TWU SIDE DEAL

Gov. Pataki said yesterday that he was "extremely upset" by a secret side deal on pensions that the MTA cut with transit workers - but he ducked questions about the...

MAYOR TAKES AIM VS. GUNS - CRACKDOWN HIS TOP GOAL

Routing the city's "scourge of illegal guns" will be the top priority in the next four years, Mayor Bloomberg pledged yesterday as he was sworn in for a second term....

HEY, JUDE, 007 WANTS YOUR GIRL

Here's some news that's going to shake, not stir, Jude Law - new "James Bond" star Daniel Craig is urging producers of the spy series to cast Sienna Miller as...

LIZA STARTS BY SPREADIN' THE NEWS

Showbiz legend Liza Minnelli stole the show at Mayor Bloomberg's inauguration yesterday with a powerful performance of "New York, New York." Wearing a bright-red smock and black pants, the songstress...

GOP 'TURNCOAT' - FUROR OVER 'BOOST' FOR DEM

AN INFLUENTIAL GOP leader wants a prominent Republican Party consultant fired for allegedly working to help a Democrat defeat an upstate Republican congressman. The extraordinary demand was made over the...

YULE 'SLAYER' TO FACE GRAND JURY

The paroled rapist accused of going on a bloody Christmas-morning rampage - stabbing his landlord's daughter to death and seriously wounding her father before turning the knife on himself -...

ROOKIES EARN TIME IN LARRY'S LATEST ROTATION

KNICK NOTES It's a new year and the Knicks have a new goal: Develop the young players. Coach Larry Brown announced it's time to sink or swim with their three...

ESPN RIDICULES ITS OWN PRODUCT

IT IS rare when a network tells you: Don't watch our game. But that is exactly what ESPN did on New Year's Eve. The overreaching trio of Steve Young, Tom...

BREAKING SILENCE - FAMILY FEUD THAWS AS BROWN & MARBURY TALK

They're speaking! Knicks coach Larry Brown revealed he and Stephon Marbury finally had an airing-out session regarding last Wednesday's fiasco in Orlando in which the point guard looked completely disinterested....

NETS WIN WITH BENCH STRENGTH

The numbers don't overwhelm. Most of them, anyway. For example, in the Nets' last eight games, their bench players have seen their average rise from 21 points (through the first...

PENN ST. AIMS TO D-LIVER

MIAMI - Most of the news around Penn State's resurgence this season has been focused on its offense. Led by flashy quarterback Michael Robinson and a trio of speedy freshman...

THIS OFFSEASON, NO REST FOR THE BLEARY

NOW the hard part begins. Certainly, the Jets will take time to celebrate their season-ending 30-26 victory over the Bills yesterday at the Meadowlands. When victories have come as sparingly...

KINGS OF THE EAST

GIANT REPORT CARDQUARTERBACKS: B+ Less was more for Eli Manning (12 of 24, 204 yards, 1 TD), who made some big-time throws and kept his team out of danger areas....

BUSH 'SPY' KEEPS EYE ON LEINART

LOS ANGELES - The ghost of Larry Burdine must have possessed Texas safety Michael Huff. Southern Cal fans remember Burdine. Oklahoma fans recall him, too, but only when pressed. He...

BOLLINGER SOWS SEEDS FOR FUTURE

JET NOTES Brooks Bollinger, who won his second game in nine starts at quarterback for the Jets yesterday, said he hopes he's done enough to show the Jets he's worthy...

IT'S THE END OF AN ERROR - NOW, JETS NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S IN HERMAN'S HEAD

Jets 30 - Bills 26 Dramatically breaking the silence in the quiet nervous moments before the Jets would leave their home locker room and take the field for the last...

YASHIN DRAGS DOWN ISLES

One of Alexei Yashin's New Year's resolutions should be to spend less time in the doghouse. You can count on one hand the number of dominant performances Yashin, the Lord...

REDSKINS FIND A WAY TO WIN - RALLY TO RETURN GIBBS TO PLAYOFFS

Redskins 31 - Eagles 20 PHILADELPHIA - After 11 seasons out of football, Joe Gibbs came back to the Redskins in 2004, went 6-10 and heard how the game had...

LAW STILL KNOWS HOW TO PICK 'EM

Ty Law came to the Jets under a cloud of doubt, coming off of a broken foot that cost him part of last year and left a question as to...

JINTS DRAW POWERFUL PANTHERS IN 1ST ROUND

A feeling of satisfaction filled the visitors locker room Saturday night as the Giants gleefully rang in a truly special New Year, donning NFC East champion hats. But before they...

CAROLINA ON THEIR MINDS - PRIME FOCUS IS NOW ON PANTHERS, NOTHING ELSE

ALL that matters now for the Giants is this next game, against the Panthers, this next season, starting Sunday at Giants Stadium. The NFC East championship does not matter. Tiki...

ALL'S WELL - MARA: DAD WOULD BE SO PROUD

In the afterglow of victory, John Mara stood in the visitors locker room at McAfee Stadium moments after the Giants defeated the Raiders 30-21 to win the NFC East title....

FAST START FOR DUTROW, ARROYO

If one of your New Year's resolutions was to bet horses ridden by Norberto Arroyo Jr. and/or trained by Tony Dutrow, congratulations. Dutrow saddled three winners and Arroyo won first...

GRACIOUS BARBER LOSES RUSHING TITLE

GIANT NOTES This was one chase Tiki Barber knew he wasn't going to win. After amassing 203 rushing yards Saturday night in a 30-21 victory over the Raiders, Barber was...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

An Arkansas man used the sex-offender registry to steal $20,000 from credit cards and federal tax refunds, cops say. Matthew Buescher, 35, of Siloam Springs, allegedly blew the ill-gotten gains...