April 5, 2007
DiceKMania
By Mike VaccaroKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Ever since Hideki Matsui became a Yankee, bringing with him a teeming gaggle of Japanese writers, broadcasters and commentators, I've often wondered: Is there...
Obsessives: Every time we think we're out ...
We give up. "The Sopranos" are everywhere, so we might as well check out what has inspired everybody and their brother to try out their best Big Pussy accent:sopranoland.comThis is...
Turkey Talk
Friday evening I will jet off to Istanbul (nee Constantinople) for the 26th edition of the city's annual film festival. (This will be my fourth visit.) Keep an eye on...
Have You Bought Guitar Hero II Yet?
Well, in case you've been under a rock, make sure you pick it up for the Xbox 360.We're mega fans here at PGR, in case you couldn't already tell, and...
For those about to rock, we'll salute you (in 7 months)
Now that "Guitar Hero II" has finally launched for the Xbox 360 and "SingStar Pop" is out for the PS2, I'm finally able to seriously process the fact that Harmonix...
Deal of the Day
Wedge your bets and stock up on the shoes of the moment...These C Ronson Multi-Color Braided Suede Wedges will fit nicely into the summer shoe repertoire paired with strappy sundresses...
BURN BABY BURN
Bernie Williams is home. Johnny Damonâs calves are barking. Melky Cabrera is the centerfielder of the day. Miguel Cairo is the backup outfielder. Thatâs whatâs happening in Yankee World. The...
Ralphie's Alter Ego
I was so shocked when I wrote about director Bob Clark's untimely demise due to a drunk driver last night that I forgot I once did a long profile of...
Someone at the NHL deserves . . .
. . . a pat on the back. Scratch that! Someone at 1251 Avenue of the Americas deserves a raise. And it ain't Bettman. It's the ingenious pencil pusher on...
$10, $20, $30
Today in The Post -- three bags, three dresses and three pairs of shoes, all under $30. That includes this $10 belted dress at Conway. And since the weather shows...
IT'S ART: Spiders, oh my
Culture comes to Southie. (Bettah believe!) Something new in Boston? Don't be too surprised. After kicking it in Back Bay for some 70 years, Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art has...
SING FOR YOUR SUPPER
I imagine I was a cabaret singer in another life. I base this not on my excellent singing voice (which I don't have), but that I like the idea of...
TRIPLE PLAY
$10Strappy belted dress at Conway (254 W. 34th St.) $18Floral-print dress at forever21.com $24Dead ringer for a $595 Botkier: Pleather satchel at Mandee(48 W.14 St.; [212] 220-0095) $10Ankle-tie ribbon espadrilles...
THE YOUNG AND THE FLAWLESS
FORTY years! The Metropolitan Opera celebrated its 40th year at Lincoln Center Tuesday night with no sign of middle- age spread. Quite the reverse: This gala was virtually a celebration...
STARR REPORT
'Rock' rolls on NBC announced yesterday that Tina Fey's "30 Rock" has gotten a reprieve, and will be around for another season. The sitcom, co-starring the very funny Alec Baldwin,...
JUMP IN!
AND now, three words on the topic of talk-show spoofs: I hate them. They're too easy. Talk shows in general are already funny, so spoofing them is redundant. In addition,...
'HEROES' SPOILS ITSELF
NBC seems to have fig ured out a way to keep "Heroes" alive while the show is on hiatus. It's a feat whose results may not be seen until the...
BOBBY BLUE
IT figures that "Sopranos" co-star Steve Schirripa originally auditioned for the minor role of an FBI agent and not for Bobby "Bacala" Baccaliere - since nothing about his road to...
FANS STILL 'IDOL'IZE SANJAYA
THE situation on "American Idol" is really getting hairy. The much-maligned Sanjaya Malakar, who stunned viewers last week by sporting a funky Mohawk-type hairdo, is alive and well on "Idol"...
FOUL PLAGUE
THE Ten Plagues of Hollywood: The ledgers bleed with red ink, the audience is treated like diseased cattle, sequels and remakes breed like locusts, and lo, the firstborn of every...
IF IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY
Whatever triumphs or disasters you face over the coming 12 months will be entirely of your own making. A Mars-Pluto aspect on your birthday will endow you with limitless self-belief...
NO HEADLINE
Don't pretend that you care about a certain person just because you think it is expected of you. Librans may be the nice guys of the zodiac but some people...
CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 5 DAYS
EVERYONE wants to improve their lives, but too few actually examine what that means. If you want to be motivated to fulfill your dreams, you must take the time to...
SPITZER SPUTTERS IN 13-PT. POLL PLUNGE
ALBANY - The steam is going out of Gov. Spitzer's vaunted "steamroller," with just 48 percent of New York voters approving of his performance and 27 percent disapproving, according to...
MIKE'S AIR BLITZ ON 'FLYING IMAM' SUIT
People must be able to alert the police if they see suspicious behavior that could be terror-related, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, endorsing legislation moving through Congress that would protect whistleblowers...
'CHECK' IS IN THE MAIL
New Yorkers who live alone were offered a new safety check yesterday - a mailbox decal that alerts letter carriers to summon help if mail goes uncollected. "If this, once...
FLYAWAY BRIT TEEN MISSING IN N.Y.
A London teenager ran away from home, crossed the Atlantic, and was missing in New York last night, police said. George Lenon, 17, got into an argument with his parents,...
MOMMY TWISTS 'ALMS'
A Yonkers mother of five put an Oliver twist on the normal rules of parenting - forcing her young children to work as panhandlers, au thorities said yesterday. The unemployed...
HAWK NUT A $OAR LOSER
A Manhattan judge has thrown out a hawk lover's $2 million lawsuit against former lovebirds Paula Zahn and her estranged real-estate-developer husband. Lincoln Karim, 44, had sued the CNN host...
KIN SUPPORT 'RAPIST-SLAYER'
The Brooklyn man charged with the grisly murder of a Guyanese beauty who had accused him of rape faced a judge in a Queens courtroom yesterday with the support of...
HIP-HOP STAR TRUCE COLLAPSES
So much for a new truce. Just one day after parents and community leaders urged two of hip-hop's biggest stars to end their feud, The Game released a song on...
PETE THE PERV'S HANGIN' IN THERE
Flaky "fire fiend" Peter Braunstein tried to hang himself at Rikers Island last month, according to new pretrial testimony in his upcoming sex-abuse and kidnapping case. The failed suicide bid...
IT'S SUPERCHASE!
A Long Island motorcy clist, sporting a Superman emblem on his bike, coolly puffed on a cigarette and awaited his arrest after a 140-mph, six-highway chase that left a phalanx...
RUSH HOUR FOR SUBWAY CONDOMS
The city's free subway-themed condoms have rubbed New Yorkers the right way - a staggering 5 million have been handed out since Valentine's Day, the Health Department said yesterday. Health...
COPS SET TO SLAM HOODS AT CAR SHOW
A beefed-up detail of state troopers and NYPD cops will swarm the Javits Center and nearby streets during this weekend's auto show to prevent a repeat of last year's mayhem...
BX. QAEDA ADMITS PLOT TO TRAIN TERRORISTS
A Bronx martial-arts master has confessed to terrorism charges stemming from a chilling plot to establish a local site to train al Qaeda jihadists in hand-to-hand combat. Tarik Ibn Osman...
RUDY TO DO 'CUT' AND RUN
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is working on a plan to leave his consulting firm in the weeks ahead as his presidential campaign hits full speed, sources told The Post yesterday....
BLOOMY BALKS
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday made good on his threat to veto the proposal that would ban metal bats during high-school competitions. Supporters say metal bats hit balls faster than wooden ones...
TEEN DEATH MYSTERY
An autopsy on the body of a 17-year-old Staten Island high-school track star was inconclusive, and authorities said yesterday they will have to wait for the results of toxicology tests...
MOM-SON IN HOSP HORROR
A 70-year-old woman was accidentally run over and critically injured by her son in the garage at Long Island Jewish Hospital last night - then taken two miles away to...
'SHOOTER HUBBY' COP RAP
A cop charged with stashing her husband's bullet-riddled car following his shootout with undercover officers on a Brooklyn street has been indicted, prosecutors said yesterday. Jacqueline Melendez-Rivera, 37, was hit...
CITY EYEING $CHOOLS PRIZE
For the third consecutive year, New York City has been named a finalist for one of the most prestigious awards for improving urban public education. The Broad Prize, which has...
N.Y. CROWDS IN
New births and immigration from overseas are keeping the New York region's population on the grow, new Census data shows. Between 2000 and 2006, the greater New York area's population...
QUEENS DAD OF 5 SLAIN
A Queens father of five who had just sent a money order to Jamaica for his aunt's funeral was killed by a would-be robber yesterday, cops said. Courtney Atkinson, 51,...
600 PILLS IN HER FINAL 5 WEEKS
Anna Nicole Smith might have popped as many as 600 pills - prescribed by her own Dr. Feel Good - during the last five weeks of her life, according to...
FREED IN CHEAP SUITS
Iran's hard-line president yesterday freed 15 captive British sailors as an Easter gift - after dressing them in the sort of chintzy, ill-tailored garb that he himself favors and mocking...
ASSAD'S KEY EXPORT: TERROR
The United States accuses Syria of sponsoring terrorism and estimates that up to 90 percent of the foreign suicide bombers in Iraq enter via the Mideast country. Syria, which has...
LAST RITES FOR THOSE UNWANTED WEDDING RINGS
Your marriage died, you got a divorce, and you want to bury the past. Now, there's a coffin for your wedding ring. A Manhattan divorcée dreamed up the 6-by-2-inch solid...
PELOOPSI AS PELOSI SYRIASLY BUNGLES MISSION
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday met with Syrian dictator and terror sponsor Bashar Assad - drawing an immediate slap from the White House for rewarding his "bad behavior."...
OBAMA NIPPING AT HILLARY
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama raised an eye-popping $25 million for his presidential bid in the past three months - a stinging counterpunch to Hillary Rodham Clinton's record $26 million haul....
EDWARDS CASHING IN ON WIFE'S CANCER
Democratic White House hopeful John Edwards' team has been collecting e-mail addresses from supporters who've sent his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, notes - and using them for fund-raising requests, aides acknowledged...
KEITH BLOWS OFF DAD-SNORT TALE
Keith Richards yesterday tried to explain away his boast of snorting his dad's ashes with cocaine - claiming he only made the kooky comment to explain how close they were....
AMISH-MURDER WIDOW FINDS LOVE
The widow of the homicidal milkman who murdered five Amish schoolgirls has found love again and is planning to remarry as early as the fall. Marie Roberts, 29, met her...
SCHOOLS MAY GET A 'PASS'
A Bush-administration proposal to let more disabled students take simpler tests than those required under the federal No Child Left Behind Law could lower the number of city schools deemed...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
BROOKLYN This man is a suspect in the murder and robbery of an MTA security officer in Brooklyn on Mar. 11. Police believe the suspect marked James Plocica, 37, as...
DIPLO SHOW TURNS INTO DAMASCUS A**-KISS
TWO THOUSAND years ago on the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus was struck blind, fell off his donkey, heard the voice of the Lord and became St. Paul. This...
LOTTERY
NEW YORK Midday Nos. Wed.: 322; Lucky Sum: 7 / Midday Win-4 Wed.: 2571; Lucky Sum: 15 / Evening Nos. Wed.: 921; Lucky Sum: 12 / Evening Win-4 Wed.: 7111;...
OSTRICHES VS. TERROR
Iran's decision to release its 15 military hostages as "a gift to the British peo ple" - along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's provocative sit-down with Syrian uber-thug Bashar Assad...
SPITZER'S NUMBERS
Gov. Spitzer's stratospheric approval ratings, earned during a campaign against a penniless Republican nobody ever heard of, were never going to survive the friction of actual governance - but who...
IRAN'S CRACKDOWN
WAS the crisis over the cap ture of the British host ages part of a smoke screen for a crackdown on dissidents in Iran? The question is posed in Tehran...
SOARING, SCHMOARING
THEY come with metro nomic regularity, these media stories about "soaring" gasoline prices and the causes thereof - news stories which always identify the same two culprits, supply and demand....
PUSH ISRAEL? NOT DUBYA
JERUSALEM AN overriding melancholy here this Holy Week follows Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's mission to Jerusalem the previous week. To Arabs and Jews seeking meaningful peace negotiations, it confirmed...
ANIMAL-RIGHTS ACTIVISTS JUDGE JUDI AND RUDY
Judith Giuliani's past life at U.S. Surgical Corp. should not be portrayed as a medical service ("Judi's Job with Pup-Killer Firm," April 2). The Giuliani campaign admits that she was...
TO DEMOCRATS: HOLD YOUR FIRE
John Podhoretz claims that the Democrats will pay for inflating the firing of the eight U.S. attorneys into a major scandal ("Attorneys' Fee," PostOpinion March 30). Instituting a policy of...
ON THE NBC-SAW
The board of Ion Media Networks is pushing media giant NBC Universal and hedge fund Citadel Investment Group to boost their already-sweetened takeover offer before a deadline next month that...
AMEX DRESSES UP FOR $UITOR
The American Stock Exchange's quest to find a buyer or investor is picking up steam. The investment bank it hired to explore "strategic options" has managed to convince at least...
DEUTSCHE POACHES M&A STAR
Deutsche Bank scored a big coup yesterday after luring highly-regarded investment banker Bruce Evans away from an 18-year career at Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs. Evans will join Deutsche Bank's...
WALL ST.'S VERSION OF THE LOTTERY IS TOMORROW
IT'S time once again to play Guess the Employment Figure. In our last game the Wall Street experts who never win were guessing that the labor market would be weak...
SACRE BLEU IT
French corporate raider Vincent Bollore, considered France's version of Carl Icahn, has Madison Avenue riveted on his unrelenting crusade to win seats on the board of Aegis, the world's largest...
BARNEYS SPIN-OFF SEEN AS LIKELY
Ever since the Jones Apparel Group failed to find a buyer last year, speculation has swirled regarding the fate of the company and its chief executive Peter Boneparth. Although there...
ZELL SNUBS B&B DUDES
Paper chasers Eli Broad and Ron Burkle can forget about inking a deal with rival Sam Zell, who's set to take control of Tribune Co.'s newspaper and television-station empire. In...
U.S. NEWS BOTCHES POST-GRAD RANKINGS
Less than a month after Mort Zuckerman's U.S. News & World Report drew fire for its college rankings, the magazine is again catching flak for accidentally including two lower-ranked graduate...
DISCOVERY PLANS WEB PREMIERES
In another example of TV programmers using the Internet to fuel demand for their traditional broadcasts, Discovery Communications plans to premiere two new shows each week on its Web site...
MOODY'S NEW BLUES
Moody's Investors Service - already buffeted in recent weeks by mounting criticism that it responded slowly to the subprime mortgage debacle - said it would review the credit ratings on...
HOUSES OF THE WEEK
NoHo $1.249 millionBedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 1/2 Square feet: 1,200 Maintenance: $1,005 Gut-renovated, this prewar co-op loft on Bleecker Street is now "magazine-quality" (and obviously, newspaper-quality, too). The redesigned sunken...
THE DEPARTING
Not only has filmmaker Martin Scorsese won the elusive Oscar for Best Director, he's also finally - and perhaps more important - sold his Upper East Side townhouse. Scorsese and...
A NEW POINT OF VIEW
When Jose Lim Jap and his wife, Melinda, sold their Carnegie Hill apartment a little more than three years ago, the plan was to take that money and buy a...
MODERN TIMES
Amid the massive-scale, skyline-changing development planned and undertaken in Yonkers, there are a slew of design-centric boutique projects - from lofts to eateries to shops - cropping up around the...
JUST SOLD!
Manhattan FINANCIAL DISTRICT $1,190,000 71 Nassau St. Prewar two-bedroom, two-bath condo, 1,376 square feet, with Sub-Zero and Bosch appliances, central AC and N/E exposures; Croft Building is pet-friendly and features...
FROM THE GROUND UP
When it comes to New York's new luxury developments, filling them with residents isn't a problem - but retail space can be another story For anyone living near Bowery and...
THE BLAME NAME
It was just what the potential buyer was looking for - a $3 million new-construction home with six bedrooms and five-plus baths. Then the client noticed the street name. "Little...
DREAM HOMES
Chappaqua, N.Y. $4.9 million This slice of Westchester is still prime territory - and if you have the chance to pick up an acre or two, it's a worthy investment....
A LEGEND LARGER THAN LIFE
AUGUSTA - Legend is a word thrown around much too often in sports these days as if it can be measured simply by an extended existence or a series of...
IONA HIRES WILLARD
Eight days after Iona announced the buyout of former coach Jeff Ruland, the New Rochelle school has found his replacement. The Post has learned Louisville assistant Kevin Willard - a...
YOUNG TALAMO HEADING WEST
Horses were running over Aqueduct's main track - sealed and sloppy - instead of inner dirt for first time since Nov., but racing was still IDT-quality. Hopefully fresh blood will...
STUNNING LOSS FOR HONDO
Contrary to what many were beginning to think, Hondo will not be going undefeated this year. The Jorge Julio Horror Show wrecked what looked like a sure winner with the...
DIAZ FOCUSED ON FREITAS
Juan Diaz is studying to be a lawyer, so he is unfazed by the politics behind the WBA's threat to strip him of its lightweight title should he refuse to...
SPORTS SHORTS
HOOPS: Patroons ax Micheal Ray The Albany Patroons didn't renew Micheal Ray Richardson's coaching contract yesterday following his suspension for alleged anti-gay and anti-Semitic remarks. The former Knicks and Nets...
'BIZ' WOOD FAVORITE
Trainer Barclay Tagg's Nobiz Like Shobiz, making his first start at Aqueduct since he won the Nov. 25 Remsen by 6 ½ lengths, is rated the 7-5 morning-line favorite breaking...
MLB, IN DEMAND REACH AGREEMENT
Major League Baseball reached a long-term agreement with iN Demand yesterday, meaning baseball fans across the country will now have access to out-of-market games without having to purchase DirecTV. In...
FULL METTLE WINS JACKET
AUGUSTA - The backdrop to the Masters every year resembles something oddly akin to "Groundhog Day." Time stands still at Augusta National in that, come Masters time every April, everything...
AFTER GOING AFOUL, HOWELL IS ON THE PROWL
AUGUSTA - You think A-Rod had a tough October? It doesn't compare to the 36 holes of torturous golf Charles Howell III endured at the 2006 Masters. Imagine growing up...
CLAUDE EXITS VIA HIGH ROAD
PHILADELPHIA - Perhaps this was exactly the sort of deference to Lucite Lou Lamoriello his players disrespected. Claude Julien yesterday refused to even mildly criticize the Teflon GM who is...
SLIP-SLIDING AWAY
The good news came on the Garden scoreboard, with Orlando losing. The bad news came on the court, with the Knicks losing a nine-point lead with 7:51 left, built on...
SOMETHING TO 'BALK' ABOUT
As this Knicks season slips away, Renaldo Balkman is giving the team a reason to look forward to next season. The rookie played his best game of the season last...
CHAMP CARDS PUT TO SWEEP
ST. LOUIS - After his fellow Virginia native's sensational outing last night, Billy Wagner saluted John Maine. "I told him, 'Way to represent!'" Wagner said. Maine represented Virginia and New...
THEY'LL DRINK TO THIS START
ST. LOUIS - If ever there were a case to be made for a justifiable hangover, this would have qualified - right up there with the one after an NBA...
WILLIE PROUD TO HONOR JACKIE
ST. LOUIS - Willie Randolph will be proudly changing his number for the day on April 15. That's Jackie Robinson Day in MLB, and Commissioner Bud Selig is authorizing every...
NETS MOVE 1 STEP CLOSER TO PLAYOFFS
The opponents, the lottery-bound Hawks, had almost as much talent in the infirmary as they had on the floor. And yet the Nets early last night were trying their best...
RANGERS TRY AGAIN
They are not quite holding a single dismissive finger in the air like Mighty Casey after taking strike one, but the Rangers don't seem particularly fazed at having allowed their...
HIGH 5 FOR RASNER
The opportunity is there if Joe Torre wants to skip the No. 5 spot in the Yankees' rotation Sunday, but evidently Darrell Rasner's impressive spring carried some weight with the...
NO CALFING MATTER
The cramps Johnny Damon suffered on Monday have turned into something more serious - something that might require an MRI. Damon was missing from the lineup with a strained right...
PETTITTE FOLLOWS KEY TO SUCCESS
WHILE in the minor leagues, Andy Pettitte used to sneak into the clubhouse when he was not starting to watch the Yankees on the satellite and focus on one pitcher...
ANDY WEATHERS FIRST STORM
Now that Andy Pettitte is a Yankee again, he must get accustomed to inclement weather after playing three seasons of home games under a roof in Houston. Pettitte's homecoming start...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
An Alabama woman on a midnight horseback ride has been charged with DUI after her steed rammed a police car and bolted, authorities said. "She wouldn't stop. She kept riding...
Bizarre Lee saga continues
By MARC BERMAN Of all the weird things that happened in last night's discouraging loss to the Sixers, David Lee's surprise decision to be in uniform and receive a DNP...
What it Feels Like
By Mike VaccaroST. LOUIS -- Youâll never know what this feels like. Iâll never know what it feels like. Tuesday night, Aaron Heilman got a chance to find out what...
'Shutter' Bugs
"Shutter,'' a chilling ghost story from Thailand, is just reaching DVD outlets, but it already has been picked up for a Hollywood remake. To avoid confusion, Tartan Video, which is...
What's in a Name?
I don't know how good the new horror flick by somebody named Sylvia St. Croix is, but its name, which I came upon in the pages of Fangoria, is a...
Nielsen Remix: Sounds of âSopranosâ
One of âThe Sopranosââ legacies is that itâs now cool to act on TV. Once HBO brought good writing, directing and acting (read: pricey) to the tube, every out-of-work movie...
Endy's catch, six months later
By Mike Vaccaro ST. LOUIS -- The pity, of course, is that as great a catch as it was, as great a moment as it was, it is destined never...