August 13, 2006

LOOK BEYOND BIG OIL TO THE REAL PREDATORS

Dear John: If oil companies aren't using predatory pricing, how can they account for their profits? S.C.Dear S.C.: Oil companies are suffering an embarrassment of riches. In the second quarter...

LEGENDS OF ORANGE AND IRISH TO SELL

A New York sports memorabilia firm is close to inking deals with two of the most sports-crazed universities in the country - Notre Dame and Syracuse, The Post has learned....

SERVICE BROOKLYN; VOLLEYBALL TOUR LOOK$ TO BORO

Leonard Armato, the Jerry Maguire-type sports agent who walked away from the business shortly after winning Shaquille O'Neal about $300 million in guaranteed contracts and endorsements, is on a mission...

DEAL OR NO DEAL; MEDIA MERGER RUMOR MILL CHURNS OUT HOT AIR

It's that time of year again. As soon as the media titans hit the Hamptons for the summer, in sweeps speculation about one merger or another - whether logical or...

ODD CHOICE; BIOVAIL HIRE SUGGESTS STRATEGY

ONE way to look at a firm's strategy is to look at the people it hires. To this end, Biovail, a Canadian drug maker with a penchant for suing people...

TRADERS UNFAZED BY GATHERING TERROR

Stock market analysts don't expect the foiled terror attack in London to have any negative carryover affects on trading this week. After all, the only affect it had last week...

CLASSY JOINTS - WACKY SUBURBAN MOMS RETURN FOR SECOND SEASON OF 'WEEDS'

TELEVISION has two comedies about suburban mothers at their wits' ends - "Desperate Housewives" and "Weeds"-but of the two, "Weeds" is the one that hasn't lost its edge. In fact,...

FLAVOR FLAV'S VULGAR POOP JOKE'S ON US

FLAVOR FLAV had me right up until the moment a woman named Somethin' went to the bathroom on the floor. And it wasn't the bathroom floor either. It was actually...

THE DON'T MISS LIST

REALITY A passion for fashion "PROJECT RUNWAY" is still reeling from the dismissal of Keith Michael. Four other contestants have been voted off as well: Katherine, Bonnie, Malan and Stacy....

REEL GOOD - LINDA STASI PREVIEWS THIS WEEK'S BEST MOVIES

THE ODD COUPLE (1968) Sunday,8 p.m.,TCM The mother lode of comedies is taken from Neil Simon's play about mismatched roommates - slob Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) and neat freak Felix...

ELLEN UNDERCUTTING SHOW WITH GIFTS

SOMETIMES, it's okay to feel sorry for advertisers, to actually feel the pain of those on Madison Avenue. Back in December, a couple of weeks before Christmas, "The Ellen DeGeneres...

WHEN A CHECKMATE DOESN'T END A GAME

A chess game can have three outcomes - a win, draw and "I don't know." The third result comes about when chess rules conflict and nobody knows which rule takes...

STEPPIN' OUT WITH STEPHANIE

BY her own admission, actress-model Stephanie Szostak doesn't have a lot of screen time in "The Devil Wears Prada," in which she plays a French fashion editor. But things are...

HOT LIST - WHAT WE'RE OBSESSED WITH THIS WEEK

Meeting the 'Mazins The Mets are celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the legendary '86 team Saturday with appearances from some of the famous Mets champs. Unless, of course, they get...

'KIKI' LOUNGE - MEET THE MOST BRAZEN SONGBIRDS ON BROADWAY

WITH the bawdy puppets of "Avenue Q" and the satirical show tunes of "Urinetown," Broadway has seen a serious uptick in irreverence. But it's fair to say that nothing has...

'SNAKES' IN A BOOK? A SURE BEST-SELLER!

THE passage you are looking for in the novel version of "Snakes on a Plane" is on page 359. Of course, you could wait until Friday to hear the fabled...

THIS WEEK'S DVDS

Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (three stars) Paramount, $19.99 PRETTY much unnecessary for all but the most maniacal "Apocalypse" fans. But you do get both the '79 and '01 versions...

GIPPER GALORE - REAGAN BETTER THAN THOUGHT IN DVD SET

FILM historians tend to dismiss the Great Communicator's Hollywood career as a mere steppingstone to the presidency, but "The Ronald Reagan Signature Collection" (Warner, $50, out Tuesday) shows the Gipper...

CUTE TRICK - JESSICA BIEL PULLS A BIG RABBIT FROM HER HAT IN 'THE ILLUSIONIST'

JESSICA Biel likes to play dress-up. Last year, when the 24-year-old actress got a callback for a role she badly wanted in "The Illusionist," she used the occasion to go...

FOR PETE'S SAKE - PRETTY THINGS GET OVER LIBERTINE PAST

AT Dirty Pretty Things' London debut last year, frontman Carl Barat suffered a migraine that left him blind for 20 minutes. Earlier this month, he broke his collarbone falling off...

'BASICS' INSTINCT - XTINA STRETCHES ON NEW DOUBLE DISC

CHRISTINA AGUILERA "Back To Basics" (four stars) RCA IT'S a grab bag of neuroses twists that'd make any armchair psychologist drool: Daddy fixation, virgin/whore complex and delusions of grandeur. They're...

BLESSED PETS - ANIMALS OF ALL KINDS GET THE HOLY TREATMENT

IN the Book of Genesis, Adam is given the task of naming all the beasts in the Garden of Eden. "The biblical story says animals were created to end our...

WTC SICK MONITOR TO FOCUS ON CANCER

The World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program, criticized for focusing mainly on respiratory problems, is now gathering data on 9/11 responders who have come down with cancers and other serious...

SIMON SAYS: STAND IN LINE; 10,000 MOB 'IDOL' TRYOUT HERE

He's hot, he can sing and he wants to make history. Anu Alphonse was one more than 10,000 "American Idol" hopefuls standing in line all day yesterday for their chance...

DREAM TEAM - S.I. LITTLE LEAGUERS' BID FOR SERIES GLORY

New York City's dream team is a game away from the World Series. Not the highly paid Mets or Yankees, but a collection of scrappy kids from the Staten Island...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN *** A couple lost its new vehicle yesterday when it fell victim to a carjacking duo in Marine Park, police sources said. The pair, whose identities are being withheld,...

'CARRY ON' WITHOUT BAG CHECK: POLL

Even after revelations of a chilling terror plot to blow up planes using products hidden in carry-on luggage, the majority of Americans would rather take their chances than check their...

'LOOTER' LAWMEN; NYPD RAIDERS EYED IN TV & LAPTOP THEFT

Two NYPD vice cops are accused of looting top-of-the-line electronics - including computers, cellphones, and a plasma TV - from raids on gambling dens and after-hours clubs, police sources said...

POST-BLACKOUT $URGE IN CON ED BILLS SPARK OUTRAGE

Many northwest Queens Con Ed customers are fuming over their July bills, which are higher and show more energy usage than the month before - despite a 10-day blackout. Dozens...

BRAWLER TAKES A 'DIVE' - OFF BOAT

The loser of a fight aboard a late-night fishing vessel took his wounded pride and jumped into the sea yesterday, where he treaded water for over an hour waiting to...

LESSONS SO FAR; HARD TRUTHS TO LEARN FROM ISRAEL'S WAR ON HEZBOLLAH

TEL AVIVISRAEL'S war against the Middle East's first true terrorist army provides tough military and strategic lessons - old, new, and all too often disheartening. Israel's been winning on the...

'NO. 1' QAEDA BRIT CAUGHT; AIRLINER PLOTTER RAN 'PIPELINE' TO PAKISTAN & IRAQ

Al Qaeda's senior man in Great Britain was among the two dozen suspected terrorists rounded up by British authorities last week in raids that thwarted a plot to blow up...

COP KID SAW MA SLAIN; 'NO! NO!' GIRL CRIED

The daughter of a stabbed NYPD detective flung herself across her bleeding mother - screaming "No! No! No!" - as her father calmly took his wife's service gun, pushed the...

THIS CROOK'S A REAL HEAVY

Cops are seeking the public's help in nabbing a short, heavy-set woman who robbed an Upper West Side bank last week. The bandit walked into a North Fork Bank branch...

UNHOLY MESS AT HARE KRISHNA TEMPLE

So much for peace, love and bean sprouts. A faction of Hare Krishna - the kooky cult whose members are supposed to promote goodwill and forgiveness - is in the...

ISRAELI FORCES IN A RACE AGAINST TIME; FINAL PUSH BEFORE CEASE-FIRE

JERUSALEM - Israel said it would halt its war in southern Lebanon tomorrow morning in line with the United Nations' cease-fire resolution, as its troops stormed into the region yesterday...

9-YEAR-OLD, 2 OTHERS SHOT IN B'KLYN GUNPLAY

A 9-year-old girl, a baby sitter clutching an infant, and a 24-year-old man were hit in a rain of bullets yesterday afternoon as two gunmen boldly opened fire on a...

HOW HAIR DYE SAVES THE DAY

I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK: AND OTHER THOUGHTS ON BEING A WOMANBY NORA EPHRON ALFRED A. KNOPF, 139 PAGES, $19.95 WE have Nora Ephron to thank for this wonderful...

FOUR HURT IN MIDTOWN CAB CRASH

A taxi cab carrying four young Long Island women headed for a night out on the town lost control and crashed through the front window of a phone store in...

LOSING GROUND; TIME TO TAKE TERROR SERIOUSLY

AS Israel and Hezbollah wrap up their warring, the winner may not yet be clear - but the loser is: us. The enemies of modernity and freedom have grown stronger...

JOE'S BATTLE PLAN: KEEPING IT 'REAL'

With weeks left until Election Day, Sen. Joe Lieberman has to mine three different types of voters for support if he wants to put together a new coalition that will...

9/11 NUN'S DYING PLEA: AUTOPSY MY BODY TO AID WTC AILING

A nun who spent six months blessing human remains in the rubble at Ground Zero says she is dying of lung disease and wants her body autopsied to prove that...

CLASS-REUNION; CLUE IN '74 SLAY

Cold-case cops believe a conversation at a 30-year high-school reunion might lead them to the sex-crazed killer of a beloved Queens teenager strangled more than three decades ago. Cops said...

'ARM' & A LEG; 2G TO SEE GRID DUEL OF MANNING BROTHERS

Oh, brother! Tickets for the New York Giants' home opener against the Indianapolis Colts - during which sibling-rival quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning will compete against each other on the...

I'M ALWAYS RELIVING JEN'S LAST NIGHT; CLUB PAL TELLS OF FATAL OUTING & NEW TORMENT

Talia Kenan hasn't slept in three weeks. Every time the New Jersey teen closes her eyes, she sees images from the night of July 24 - a fun-filled evening of...

'COMPLETELY DONE' WITH CHELSEA SCENE

Jennifer Moore's horrific death taught her friends a sobering life lesson about clubs and underage partying - and they hope it resonates with other teens. "Act your age," said Talia...

'SHEL NO!' TO MIKE'S FUND-RAISER PLAN

A top aide to Mayor Bloomberg proposed holding a joint fund-raiser with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (left) on behalf of embattled Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman - but Silver says he...

ELEX PANEL PICK GETS COLD FEET

A LONGTIME Bronx Republican political operative - and ally of Mayor Bloomberg - has suddenly turned down his nomination to become a commissioner on the Board of Elections, The Post...

POL PATROL BRINGS EYE OF LAW TO WILD WEST

As cops issued summons and made arrests out of a mobile command center on Chelsea's wild West 27th Street yesterday morning, state Sen. Nick Spano called the street's underage drinking...

THE 5TH ANNUAL LIBERTY MEDAL AWARDS - PRIDE OF THE APPLE

There are gems hidden throughout New York City - people who, with little notice, go about making this a great place to live. Well, we'd like your help in finding...

HARE KRISHNAS IN UNHOLY MESS

So much for peace, love and bean sprouts. A faction of Hare Krishna - the kooky cult whose members are supposed to promote good will and forgiveness - are in...

KID'S SLAY PAIN - SAW COP MA DIE

The daughter of a stabbed NYPD detective flung herself across her bleeding mother - screaming "No! No! No!" - as her father calmly took his wife's service gun, pushed the...

JENNINGS FINALLY GETS FLASHY ON FIELD

GIANT NOTES ALBANY - Michael Jennings has been the flashiest Giants player off the field in training camp, with his mouth full of gold teeth, his No. 15 shaved into...

BUCK, MENEFEE NEW FOX HOSTS

Joe Buck, who already is Fox Sports' lead play-by-play man on baseball and football, will become the host of Fox's NFL pregame show this season, The Post has learned. Because...

NETS' BENCH ALMOST BUILT

The Nets' bench transformation soon will be complete. Two more pieces, guard Eddie House and center Mile Ilic, are on the verge of becoming official. The Nets have gotten younger...

RUSH WEAK ; RAVENS RAN OVER JINTS FOR 5.3 A POP

ALBANY - It was a simple question and it elicited a logical response. What, exactly, does Antonio Pierce want to see from the Giants' defense? Pierce, the thinking-man's middle linebacker,...

PINSTRIPES FITTING ABREU WELL

THERE is no science involved in making these things work out, just guess work, and hope, and a little bit of luck. There are no guarantees attached to the trading...

OPPORTUNITY KNOX

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Track was fast, turf firm, on relatively cool, breezy afternoon.FIRST RACE - Wish we would follow our own advice. Binocs often has noted that turnback from mile-and-eighth...

WRIGHT CAN'T EAT INNINGS

Jaret Wright did what he usually does. The Yankees' starter pitched reasonably well, just not for too long. Wright left with one out in the sixth yesterday, having only allowed...

GO DEPUTY LAYS DOWN THE LAW

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Trainer Todd Pletcher sent his stable's top turf horse, English Channel, to Chicago for the Arlington Million, rather than keeping him home at the Old Spa for...

YANKS RIDING RED-HOT CANO; ROBBY KEEPS ROLLING; BOMBERS HALT HALOS

Yankees 5Angels 2 The Yankees did just fine without Robinson Cano. Cano, though, is making up for lost time. The sophomore second baseman launched a three-run bomb into the right-field...

A PASSING GRADE; CHAD FEELING FINE AFTER JETS' OPENER

Jay Fiedler, now wearing Buccaneers' pirate-themed garb for a living, stood on the opposite sideline to Chad Pennington during Friday night's preseason game at Raymond James Stadium and he served...

PELFREY: RETURN A WEEK AWAY

MET NOTES WASHINGTON - Mike Pelfrey said he believes it is likely he will be back pitching next weekend. The Mets' top pitching prospect had to go on the seven-day...

BARCA GETS TASTE OF U.S. VS. BULLS

EXHIBITIONBarcelona 4Red Bulls 1 With a capacity crowd of 79,002 jammed into Giants Stadium, Champions League winners Barcelona on the field and new coach Bruce Arena on the sideline, billionaire...

NIGHT FALLING ON NFL FANS

PSST, Giants football ticket holders; mark these words and be forewarned: You know those tickets you bought for that Sunday, Nov. 12 game against the Bears at Giants Stadium, the...

HUNTING LICENSES ON SALE

THAT slight chill in the air is a reminder that hunting season is just around the corner, and in New York you will see some changes, especially in the big-game...

CALL-UPS COULD BE THE ANSWER

TOO bad about Francisco Liriano. The brilliant rookie left- hander landed on the disabled with a sore throwing elbow and now the Twins will miss half of their excellent one-two...

JUNIOR'S ON ROUGH ROAD

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s meteoric drop in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings could have stunned him into submission. A blown engine at New Hampshire and a wreck at Pocono (each resulting...

TRUTH OR SCARE - TORRE: A 'CHANCE' SHEFF, HIDEKI ARE OUT FOR YEAR

YANKEE NOTES The worst-case scenario is still a possibility: Neither Hideki Matsui nor Gary Sheffield might be back this season, Joe Torre acknowledged yesterday. Neither Yankees outfielder has been given...

MIGHTY MAINE - METS HURLER STRONG, BUT SCORELESS STREAK SNAPPED IN WIN OVER NATS

METS 6 NATIONALS 4 WASHINGTON - It should be quite an extended period that John Maine sticks around, according to Paul Lo Duca. The Mets catcher also indicated that Maine...

STRIKE AGAINST THEM - REPLACEMENT PLAYERS STILL PAYING THE PRICE

In Cory Lidle's nine-year majorleague career he has pitched in 269 games, registered 79 wins and struck out 814 batters. But it is one inning in a spring-training game 11...

LAST RIGHTS - MILLEDGE STRUGGLING IN FIELD, AT PLATE SINCE NADY TRADE

WASHINGTON - Around the trade deadline, the Mets lost two important pieces of their season. Duaner Sanchez was lost for the year after separating his shoulder in a taxi accident....

SHEA HEY KID - MINOR-LEAGUER GOMEZ REMINDS SOME OF MAYS

TRENTON - Next? Young Jose Reyes and David Wright signed long-term contracts over the past eight days that have catapulted them into the upper stratosphere of Mets stardom. So who...

THE PLAYERS' CLUB - MONEY SEPARATES FANS FROM FAVORITES

THERE'S a wonderful scene in "The Paper" where Robert Duvall, playing the crusty, curmudgeonly and world-weary editor of a feisty New York tabloid (as if there were any other kind)...

UH-OH, SERGIO - GARCIA HASN'T LIVED UP TO MEDINAH DUEL WITH WOODS

Has it really been seven years since that memorable Sunday at Medinah when the future of golf arrived in dramatic fashion? Tiger Woods was 23 then. Sergio Garcia was 19....

AMAZIN' MEMORIES - '86 METS READY FOR REUNION

Kevin Mitchell, alive despite numerous projections to the contrary and more well than even he would have predicted a few years ago, is curious to see if the 1986 Mets...

ROOKIE MONSTERS - FIRST-YEAR PHENOMS MAKING MARK

FRANCISCO Liriano was placed on the disabled list with an elbow injury, Justin Verlander was temporarily shut down to rest a weary shoulder, and Jonathan Papelbon finally showed he was...

GET ARMED & READY FOR FANTASY DRAFT

With the NFL season fast approaching, fantasy nuts are going nuts - gauging players' worth, formulating draft projections, gameplanning draftroom strategy. The Fantasy Draft Tracker is here to streamline the...

BARCELONA LOOKS FOR AMERICAN MARK

Barcelona is the best soccer club in the world, and their midfield maestro Ronaldinho is the best soccer player on the planet. But that isn't enough. The Spanish giants are...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

An Arizona woman racked up 70 speeding tickets in the last five months, a record for the Scottsdale Police Department, officials said. Speed cameras snapped pictures of Francesca Cisneros, 32,...