June 23, 2007
Piazza, etc.
Mike Piazza brought the lineup card out tonight for the A's, and when he did, the Shea loudspeaker played his former at-bat music. He tipped his cap and got a...
Unanswered Prayers
Looks like "Evan Almighty'' will end up with between $31 million and $34 million over the weekend, a disappointment for a flick with a reported cost of $175 million and...
BASKET CASES
ATTENTION, ants: It's go time. Picnic season has arrived again, with temperatures in the city up into the 80s, beaches open and the Fourth of July right around the corner....
ARE WE THERE YET?
SUMMER'S here, and panic isn't far behind: With the latest travel rules and the thought of bored kids in back seats, forgive us for forgetting that family trips are supposed...
WHAT'S UP
TODAY LOVE ON THE RUN: Work out with Will when New York Classical Theatre's "Shakespeare on the Run" presents "Love's Labour's Lost," an outdoor production requiring audience members to chase...
WILD ABOUT HARRY (AGAIN!)
CAN'T wait to read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"? Try writing part of it yourself! Prove your wizardry by giving us a short scene or conversation (300 words, max)...
SLIDE SHOW
WHAT'S it like driving a big rig 300-plus miles on a highway paved with ice? It's about what you would expect: Cold, slippery and hazardous, especially when yer drivin' through...
BRUNO LASHES OUT AT 'BULLY' SPITZER
ALBANY - Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno yesterday angrily attacked Gov. Spitzer, saying the governor was unable to lead without the power to "subpoena and threaten" that he had as...
E. COLI TRAGEDY
A first-grader in Hackensack, N.J., has died after contracting a rare strain of E coli bacteria. Parents in the Bergen County town were shocked after school officials notified them by...
SHORTEST STEP STILL THE MOST DANGEROUS
He'd already taken the most dangerous step. Twenty-three-year-old Daniel Pujdak had completed the perilous stride off the soaring ladder, roughly 50 feet in the air, when catastrophe struck. But experts...
DESIRE TO BE BRAVEST OF BRAVE
The fireman who plunged to his death from a Brooklyn rooftop was remembered yesterday as a fun-loving go-getter who worked extra hard to become a better firefighter. "He was one...
DRIVEN TO GO UP THE LADDER
A tragic confluence of ill-timed events - including Daniel Pujdak's eagerness to climb a 50-foot ladder and battle a cigarette-sparked fire in Brooklyn - contributed to his heartbreaking death, fire...
BOY SEES UNCLE SLAIN IN HARLEM PARK
A Bronx man was shot to death in front of his 5-year-old nephew during a robbery that occurred at a family outing in an East Harlem park, police said. Terrod...
BOOKS THROWN AT 'LEROY'
A Manhattan jury - refusing to buy the sob story of a writer who created a shocking, sham alter ego that hoodwinked Hollywood heavyweights and literary critics alike - ordered...
'KNOCKOFF JERSEY' DUO FOUL OUT
Two men were busted yesterday after cops discovered their truck contained fake NBA jerseys and other sportswear, authorities said. Baocheng Huang and his passenger, Zeng Yue Huang, were stopped at...
L.I. TEEN KILLED BY THIRD RAIL
A Long Island high-school girl took a shortcut with her friends on the night of the prom and was electrocuted when she fell onto the third rail of the LIRR...
ART-ATTACK BUST
He may not be "The Splasher," but cops say he's a stinker. James Cooper, a 24-year-old Bushwick resident, was hit with a charge of attempted arson yesterday after police say...
GOOOOAL! FOR TACO VENDORS
Score one for Brooklyn vendors in their soccer-taco skirmish. The city will let them hawk tacos and tamales around the soccer fields of Red Hook Park with temporary permits until...
GIRL'S THIEF MOM JAILED
A woman who stole most of her little girl's $186,000 inheritance - in part to buy her fly-by-night younger boyfriend a spanking-new $55,000 black Infiniti - was sentenced yesterday to...
'CAR DOOR' CRASH KILLS BICYCLIST
A 17-year-old riding his bike to work at a Brooklyn restaurant was killed yesterday when a car door opened in front of him - sending him flying into the street,...
COPS SLAY UPTOWN GUNMAN
Two men were shot by cops last night - one of them fatally - when two officers stumbled upon a gun battle in East Harlem, police said. The two unidentified...
TARGET ON IRAN
Israel's air force has been training for potential long-range strikes against Iran, as part of a coordinated effort with the United States to stop the rogue regime from obtaining nuclear...
'UNETHICAL' WRITER TOLD: MOVE ON
WASHINGTON - A newspaper in Washington state announced yesterday it was dumping the "The Ethicist" column of New York Times writer Randy Cohen after he was fingered for forking over...
THANKS BUT NO SKANKS TV BIGS
Paris Hilton can't even give it away. The celebrity skank went from being a $1 million "get" to the biggest reject in the sordid history of checkbook journalism yesterday, when...
BLOOMY IS MINI-ME
Portraying Mayor Bloomberg as a copycat, Rudy Giuliani yesterday took credit for turning the city around, while saying his successor merely followed his path. Amid rising speculation that the formerly...
POLL GIVES MIKE GOOD 'STARTING POINT'
The first national poll since Mayor Bloomberg quit the Republican Party found that 57 percent of voters are unhappy with the two-party system - creating an opening for a possible...
LOHAN'S DAD DEMANDS: PUT ME ON WIFE $UPPORT
Lindsay Lohan's dad yesterday asked a Long Island judge to force his estranged wife to make support payments to him and split their assets, as they had agreed in a...
VIRGIN TERRITORY
It may seem like we're in the "Girls Gone Wild" era, but new federal data shows that girls and guys are a lot less wild than previously thought. According to...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
BROOKLYN Cops are asking for the public's help in finding a teen who disappeared in Sheepshead Bay more than a week ago. Kassandra Rosado , 15, was last seen at...
RICH GAL'S STOCK JUST DROPPED LIKE ROCK
PARIS Hilton needed a million more bucks like I need another three inches on my thighs. And now she's a million bucks poorer - or less rich, at any rate....
OUTRACING HANDICAPS
BRUTALLY accept ing that it was more important for Firefighter Daniel Pujdak to be at God's side than at ours, I felt guilt yesterday. I felt it because I was...
LOTTERY RESULTS
NEW YORK Midday Nos. Fri.: 652; Lucky Sum: 13 / Midday Win-4 Fri.: 1988; Lucky Sum: 26 / Evening Nos. Fri.: 717; Lucky Sum: 15 / Evening Win-4 Fri.: 6043;...
DANIEL PUJDAK, 1983-2007
For a member of the FDNY, danger comes in many forms. That fact was demonstrated tragically on Thursday afternoon when Firefighter Daniel Pujdak died from a fall off the roof...
POLITICS & PILLOW TALK
What could they possibly be hiding? New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and his ex-paramour, state employees' union head Carla Katz (a k a The $6 Million Woman) are fending off...
JIVE AT THE APOLLO
For Herbert Daughtry, it must have been a dream come true. There he was, at the Apollo The ater at the express invitation of the NYPD, for the sole purpose...
REAGANITE RUDY
AS the Washington spending juggernaut steams ahead, Rudolph Giuliani offered to toss several monkey wrenches into its gears. Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, the Republican presidential front-runner unveiled several attractive...
EXPATS ENTHUSE OVER OBAMA
CHICAGO lawyer-businessman William Daley, a leading supporter of Barack Oba ma's Democratic presidential campaign, used a month-long business trip to Asia to address the Illinois senator's supporters in China. Former...
HARD WORKERS DESERVE BRIBES, TOO
I am appalled at the incentive program being initiated this fall to give cash to poor families for putting their kids through school and going to the doctor ("Paying the...
HILL HITS UP MOB FANS: A SPOOF GONE SOUR
There are a few differences between the Clintons and the Sopranos ("Bill & Hill's Sopranos Hit," June 20). The Clintons have more skeletons in their closet, and when the Sopranos...
BEAR BITES BULLET WITH $3.2B LINE OF CREDIT
Bear Stearns held an impromptu conference call yesterday to explain its $3.2 billion plan to bail out one of its collapsing hedge funds and to reassure investors that the loan...
FRENZY FIZZLES
The ballyhooed Blackstone Group stock offering blasted off yesterday but didn't exactly hit the moon, or even the stratosphere. Blackstone shot up in just minutes from its $31-a-share initial offering...
MARTS, BANKS, TANK
Stocks on Wall Street and other world markets suffered a losing day as the subprime market's wobbly legs caused ripples around the globe. Analysts blamed Bear Stearns and the collapsing...
TIME INC.'S UNION REJECTS 1% OFFER
Riled-up journalists at Time Inc. delivered a big thumbs-down to the magazine giant's offer of a paltry 1 percent pay hike to its unionized editorial workers, voting to reject the...
EBAY LIKES LIFE AFTER GOOGLE
EBay ended its ad boycott against Google yesterday but said it would scale back spending on the search engine going forward. The auction giant said the 10-day suspension showed it...
DUBAI GROUP BUYS BARNEYS
The Jones Apparel Group said yesterday that it had reached an agreement to sell Barneys New York to a Dubai investment fund for $825 million, more than double what it...
CURIOUS GEORGE
The cover of "Game of Shadows" forever linked Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds as steroid poster boys. The 2006 book that chronicled the BALCO scandal pictured the two players chatting...
VACARE FACES TOUGH TEST
Vacare, Christophe Clement's 4-year-old filly whose third-place finish last time out in the Grade 1 Gamely over the Hollywood Park turf was her first defeat in six starts, is the...
HONDO BACK IN BUCKS
Hondo bounced back from his latest foray into negativity when he scored magnificently yesterday with the Cubs in the showdown between the Windy City Weenies. Tonight, with 20 broglios in...
PIAZZA PUTS ON SHOW IN BP, HOLDS COURT AT SHEA
At least there was batting practice. Mike Piazza returned to Shea yesterday afternoon with the visiting A's, taking BP despite being on the disabled list with a sprained right shoulder....
BECKY'S BACK, AND LIBS LOSE
Becky Hammon was playing offseason ball in Spain when she got a message on her cell phone that the Liberty, the WNBA club with which she'd risen from undrafted long...
SPORTS SHORTS
BLOTTER: Pacman posts bail Adam "Pacman" Jones posted bail, walked out of jail early yesterday and headed home to Nashville, Tenn., leaving his lawyers to again sort out the legal...
BIG BLUE OPEN CAMP JULY 27
The Giants report to training camp at the University at Albany on July 27, and 21 days of practice begin Saturday, July 28 with a morning-afternoon double session. Camp will...
TOMMY GUNS ONE
Tom Glavine tried to complete his masterpiece last night, to the delight of a standing ovation that welcomed him for the ninth. He lasted one pitch. But while Glavine didn't...
SHAWN ENDS HR DROUGHT
If Shawn Green can keep pace at the plate with Tom Glavine, there might be hope for him yet. "[Glavine] embarrasses us," Green said, referring to the Mets' full-time hitters....
VALENTIN'S NOT WORRIED ABOUT FULL PLATE
Jose Valentin wasn't in the starting lineup last night. And every time that happens, it potentially affects his employment next season. Valentin, who returned from a partially torn ACL in...
RUSSIAN ROULETTE
COLUMBUS, Ohio - On the night NHL Entry Draft history was made when Americans went 1-2 for the first time, the Rangers may well have come away with the steal...
GARDEN FIT FOR KING
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The King has no interest in moving his throne out of New York. Other athletes might play it differently in order to maximize their negotiating leverage, but...
FRAN-TASTIC
SAN FRANCISCO - Kei Igawa helped the Yankees stop a three-game losing streak more at the plate than on the mound last night at AT&T Park, where Barry Bonds inched...
YANKEES DELAY ON DAMON DL DECISION
SAN FRANCISCO - Johnny Damon isn't on the disabled list - yet. Nevertheless, the Yankees' leadoff hitter with the aching body isn't being counted on to play until Tuesday in...
'ONE OF THE GREATEST'
SAN FRANCISCO - It started out as a tribute to Barry Bonds and ended with Alex Rodriguez professing his love for this city. In between, Rodriguez said he is looking...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
A ghoulish gravedigger stole a skull from a broken casket in a Massachusetts church cemetery and made an ashtray of it. Keith Chartrand, of Fitchburg, also took a thighbone to...
Cherepanov
Add another weapon to the Ranger arsenal not born or bred in Canada or the U.S. Alexei Cherepanov slid from the expected fifth selection (by TSN's ranking) in the draft...
First Round Draft Selections
The basement-dwelling Blackhawks had top honors at the draft this year, and with their pick they selected Patrick Kane. With James van Riemsdyk picked, it marks the first time two...