July 1, 2007
ROTO FILES - 2nd half wonders & blunders
There's no fireworks or superstar halftime performance to mark the halfway point in the baseball season. The celebratory moment is the All-Star Game next week. In reality, the midway landmark...
Impossible to Avoid: Trump Cards
Talk shows by guest:ALY AND AJ â Regis and Kelly, WED., 9:00 A.M., CH. 7 79723CHRISTINA AGUILERA â Ellen DeGeneres, THURS., 11:00 A.M., CH. 4 86698JESSICA ALBA â The View,...
'Ratatouille': The Summer's Tastiest Dish
Lou and I occasionally have wildly differing opinions about a movie; more often one of us rates a film half a star higher than the other. (He gave "Live Free...
Oy, Bay! 'Transformers' Review
Hollywood Antichrist Michael Bay's "Transformers'' arrives in theaters at 8 o'clock tomorrow night. Here's my two-star review in today's Post. As noted, fanboys can feel free to add a star...
THE DON'T MISS LIST
CATEGORY: REALITY Abdul melts down in Apple Paula Abdul comes to New York to attend the Young Menswear Association Fashion Scholarship Fund for Parsons School of Design. With her beleaguered...
REEL GOOD
MONSTERS, INC. (2001) Sunday, 9 p.m., Disney Sully and Mike (John Goodman and Billy Crystal) are a couple of working monster-stiffs at the scare factory in Monstropolis, a city powered...
'BRONX' CHEER
John Turturro wanted to walk up to Billy Martin, tell the on-again, off-again Yankees manager he was a fan, maybe wish him luck. Then Turturro thought better of it. "I...
THE WAR BACK HOME
It's the scenario every Army wife dreads: Denise Sherwood is happily drinking wine at her friend's home when she flips on the TV and learns that her officer husband's chopper...
FAIR LADY
They're calling her the Eliza Doolittle of "Extreme Makeover." Micha Snodderly, 32, is a small town Tennessee girl who was so demoralized by unkind comments about her appearance that she...
OUCH! BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS
Hey, there's NBC's Gene Shalit talking up TIVO in that TIVO commercial! Hey. But isn't TIVO in large part designed to eliminate commercials? And isn't NBC a commercial network? I've...
THE LAST WORD ON 'THE SOPRANOS' - I PROMISE!
This is the last "Sopranos" column ever. I mean it. After this, I plan on never writing about that show again. I shouldn't even be writing about it now, except...
CONCERT FOR DIANA
Princess Diana died ten years ago, but Americans' love for the People's Princess goes ever on. Hence NBC's willingness to fork over $2.5 million for the U.S. broadcast rights to...
GOLDEN AGED
HIS ears, face and coat suggest he's part Akita. His blue tongue bespeaks chow chow heritage, and his muscular physique is clearly pit-bullish. And at 18 years old, the mixed-breed...
ASK DR. MICHAEL FOX
DEAR DR. FOX: My friend's newest puppy is very hyperactive. He even bites on his ankles, and whenever people come over, the puppy jumps on and bites them, too. How...
ADOPT ME
Schmiddy is a young, fun-loving male cat who's just a blast to hang out and cuddle with. Meet him from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Humane Society of...
HERE COME THE POLITENESS POLICE
CHESS SERIOUS players are not known for displaying civility toward their opponents. If they stop short of snarling at the person sitting opposite them, they're considered models of good behavior....
HOT SEAT
When George Lopez asks his audience to guess who's running the United States, he doesn't just come out and say, 'Every Mexican who's mowing your lawn, washing your dishes, painting...
HOT LIST
1 Integrity Props to MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski, who refused to lead her report with a Paris Hilton story. First she tried to torch the story script, then wound up...
DEAD OF NIGHT
If the excitement of fireworks, barbeque and beer is too much for you on July Fourth, here's a potentially thrilling alternative. How about a leisurely, four-hour stroll through lower Manhattan...
'PLEX APPEAL
WHILE trends come and go, the seemingly inviolable truth of Hollywood is that audiences show up to see stars. You didn't think "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" rang up $186 million...
THE ACTOR FACTOR: N.Y.C.'S MOST HATED
WE asked random New Yorkers which stars send them running from the Hollywood hills. Judging by their responses, Tom Cruise may have a war of his own world on his...
THIS WEEK'S DVDS
Chancer: Season 1 3 STARS (Acorn Media, $59.99) First aired on the BBC in 1990, 'Chancer' was the series that turned Clive Owen into the U.K.'s hot young thing. A...
LEGACY OF LETTERS
Alexander Waugh and his wife Eliza are rushing through Paddington Station with a suitcase and bags of groceries. They are leaving London for their home in Somerset following a party...
REQUIRED READING
Almost a decade ago, James St. James wrote the terrific "Disco Bloodbath" about his involvement with Michael Alig, who murdered Club Kid Angel Melendez. In a wonderfully ambiguous recording of...
PATRIOT DAMES
RED, WHITE AND BLUE STYLE WAS BORN IN THE U.S.A.!
FIND YOUR FEST!
Arguing over musical genres may be an exercise in futility, but there's no arguing with the type of people who hit certain summer festivals. Here's a look at what (and...
VELVET REVOLVER "LIBERTAD"
In the wake of pop's recent chart domination, there's been little that's heavy enough to demand you headbang to the beat. With the release of Velvet Revolver's towering second CD,...
KELLY ROWLAND "MS. KELLY"
UNLIKE her debut solo effort, which didn't tank but failed to produce a single that any respectable thug would pump through his Jeep speakers, Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland's new...
HERZOG TO THE 'RESCUE'
WHO WOULD'VE thought we'd live to see the day when legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog released a film that went head-to-head with one from Hollywood's poster boy for the mainstream,...
PRODIGY HAS PLENTY TO HIDE
FOR decades, "Rosemary's Baby" has easily held the title of creepiest kiddie on the Upper West Side. But director George Ratliff's aiming to give that classic Satanic-spawn flick a run...
THE EGO HAS LANDED
THEIR WAR. Our world." That may be the official motto for "Transformers," out Tuesday, but it applies equally well to the endless squabbling between actionschlock director Michael Bay and old-school...
OY, BAY! BIG 'BOTS DON'T HIT THE SPOT
THIS IS 10 TIMES cooler than 'Armageddon,'" exclaims a youngster when he sees one of the title characters in "Transformers," Michael Bay's deafeningly loud and proudly silly epic inspired by...
KIM'S VIDEO
I had never heard of So Yong Kim until a few days ago, but I'm al ready convinced that - based on her directorial debut, "In Between Days" - she's...
SWEET AND LOWDOWN
The Big Apple is about to become caramelized. Over the past couple of years, pastry chefs have been opening treat spots like Chickalicious, Kyotofu and Room 4 Dessert. But with...
BACKMAN, 28, AND GALES, 41
JUNE 1 - Luther Gales is a man who knows what he wants. "We're both corrections officers on Rikers Island, and we met on the job in May 2005," recalls...
MEYERS, 31, AND COHEN, 30
MAY 12 - Bonnie Meyers and Robert Cohen knew they wanted to have a New York City wedding, but the thought of their guests sitting in Saturday night traffic spurred...
SCHWINDT, 32, AND RAMOS, 39
May 26 - For most people, April Fools' Day is for playing jokes. For Michael Ramos, though, April 1, 2003, was one of the most serious days of his life....
LANG, 25, AND TRUE, 25
JUNE 3 - Fresh out of law school and new to Manhattan, Ashley True and Aaron Lang put their trust in an expert - True's mother - to help plan...
KRISTOL, 24, AND SILVER, 25
MAY 27 - First impressions are everything. "We lived in the same freshman dormitory at Duke University and met before the first day of class," explains Elliot Silver of Rebecca...
MEDICAID FRAUD'S BITE
Let's all give thanks to Dr. Mohinder Mayell. After all, Medicaid fraud - a prime topic of discussion during last fall's political campaigns - had all but dropped off the...
LET RUDY SPEAK
Rudy Giuliani says he's ready to head down to Capitol Hill and testify before Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-Manhattan) pack of legislative hyenas about what the city did and didn't do...
LOUSY LONDON LESSONS
NEWS that British police uncovered a car stuffed with explosives, seemingly ready to bring a bit of Baghdad to London, will likely prompt another round of really dumb ideas about...
WORLD-WIDE WHOPPERS OF THE WEEK
IF a Web site were created just to record the daily lies of world leaders, politicians and other invertebrates, overwork would soon wipe out its staff. But sometimes a week...
HAIR-SPLITTING 4 JESUS . . .
IN January 2002, in Juneau, Alaska, Joseph Frederick had the sort of idea that makes a teenager seem like one of nature's mistakes. Last week, after five years and the...
DE-FUNDING TERROR
I applaud Dick Morris and Eileen McGann's article, "Starving the Mullahs" (PostOpinion, June 25). I would only clarify that my report, "Terrorist Treasury: How The New York State Public Pension...
CLEARING THE AIR: THE GROUND ZERO FACTS
THE ISSUE: Accounts of air quality at Ground Zero post 9/11. Nicole Gelinas' excellent column, "The 9/11 Deniers," (PostOpinion, June 27) brings some much-needed sanity and reason to this whole...
HEALTH-CARE RX
WHO KILLED HEALTHCARE?: AMERICA'S $2 TRILLION MEDICAL PROBLEM - AND THE CONSUMER-DRIVEN CUREBY REGINA HERZLINGERMCGRAW-HILL, 240 PAGES, $24.95 THE U.S. health-care system was in a declared crisis in the 1970s,...
LOST BEARINGS
It's going to get a lot hotter for Bear Stearns' CEO Jimmy Cayne this week. The longtime Wall Street executive will have to explain to Securities and Exchange Commission investigators...
A&W BEEFS UP ITS AD CAMPAIGN
Struggling fast-food chain A&W is taking an interesting tack in its most recent advertising campaign - it's hoping burger lovers will stampede to its stores because it uses only U.S....
A COLORFUL BLOG CAN'T DISGUISE BEAR STEARNS' STRUGGLES
WHAT do you do when the hedge funds you manage are in a death spiral and in need of a headline-making, multi-billion dollar bailout? Well, you take in the new...
JUST BUSINESS
If you're planning a big soiree out in the Hamptons this weekend for your co-workers or business contacts, here's a couple of tips: don't sleep with a perspective client and...
IRA OPTIONS VARY, SO CHOOSE WISELY
Dear John: If I roll over my pension into an IRA, should it be into a Roth IRA or a regular IRA. I believe the pension should be worth $100,000....
SLAM HAMPTONS
The rich and famous who summer in the Hamptons are about to get skewered once again. Miles Jaffe, the industrial designer cum satirist who rocked the summer denizens of the...
RICH GET RICHER AT CARBON NYC 'CLUB'
There is a free lunch after all - just ask Jay Friedlander. The 33-year-old former banker and record label producer, who formed the social club Carbon NYC three years ago...
WATER BILL FOR YOUR CELL
The good news is your Blackberry's not pregnant. The bad news is you may wish it were. More and more cell-phone owners are being forced to dig deep to pay...
THIS WEEK'S WINNERS AND LOSERS
WINNERSTINA BROWN Author of "The Diana Chronicles" laughs off a scathing review as Doubleday announces 255,000 copies have gone to print.JASON BINN Niche Media founder partners with Ocean Drive Media...
NEW GREEK BEAUTY SHOPS INVADING GOTHAM
Greece, the country that gave us democracy and philosophy, is facing its biggest export challenge yet: convincing New Yorkers to slather themselves in yogurt body butter and olive oil hair...
FREQUENCY PROBLEMS
A shareholder vote on radio network Westwood One's content syndication deal with CBS Radio has been delayed until at least the fall, On the Money has learned. The delayed vote,...
FLIERS HERE KEEP COOL
Security at the city's airports was ramped up yesterday following the attack in Glasgow - but resilient travelers didn't let long delays stop their plans. No flights to London were...
PROBERS EYE HOMEGROWN GANG
The terrorists who packed two Mercedes-Benzes with explosives and left them in busy central London, and those who drove a flaming SUV into a Glasgow airport, are likely homegrown extremists...
POOL-ISH NEGLECT AS $3 MIL SITS UNUSED
As New Yorkers suffer through the summer's blistering heat, a dilapidated city pool sits cracked, empty and closed in Midtown Manhattan - while millions of dollars available to fix it...
FAMILY SHOCK AT FUN-PARK DEATH
The actions of a Rye Playland employee who was killed on a ride left park officials at a loss yesterday to explain exactly what led to her death. Eyewitnesses told...
GAS GOOFBALL'S TERROR SCARE
A Mexican man sparked fears of terrorism in Brooklyn last night when his minivan containing a tank with 80 gallons of gasoline caught fire, cops said. Dennis Alvareto, 35, was...
TRANSFORM THIS
Queens graphic designer T.J. Morris still plays with toys. The 28-year-old, self-described "Transformers super nerd" keeps 300 action figures from his favorite cartoon - which has been transformed into a...
BIRTH CONTROL DEVICE KILLED MY BELOVED
Frank Mariconda chased his wife, Rosana, around their suburban New Jersey kitchen for a goodbye kiss. He told her he loved her and left for work. Just 45 minutes later,...
NEW $CRAP FOR HOTTIE & HOCKEY EX
Supermodel Carol Alt and former New York Rangers captain Ron Greschner divorced in 2001, but they fight like they're still married. Last week, the covergirl slapped the ex-hockey stud with...
HOTEL LET BEDBUGS BITE: SUIT
Bedbugs aren't their bag, baby. A Manhattan man named Austin Power, and his wife, Hannah Clements, were attacked by the nocturnal nuisances while staying at a Midtown hotel in September,...
WIKI PROPHET PROBE PUSH
Cops seized the computer of a Connecticut blogger who posted an eerily prophetic Wikipedia update stating that Chris Benoit's wife had died more than 12 hours before her murdered body...
UNION BIG OPENS 'FIRE' ON GIULIANI
Calling Rudy Giuliani unqualified to lead, the city's firefighter union is vowing to try to torpedo the former mayor's bid for the presidency. Uniformed Firefighters Association president Steve Cassidy told...
SHOWER SON-SLAY HORROR
A depressed Brooklyn man murdered his son by pumping him full of bullets while the young man was taking a shower yesterday morning - then killed himself. The father, Lebrun...
ALITALIA WAS UNFAIR IN AIR: BIAS LAWSUIT
The former managing director of the North American division of the airline Alitalia is suing the company for unspecified damages - claiming he was harassed and told to fire older...
TURNING A BLIND 'I' TO HANG-UPS
Widely reported i-glitches couldn't dampen iPhone users' spirits after a weekend of frenzied buying for Apple's latest must-have gizmo. "I spent $650, I expect it to work the day I...
DOGGED RIVALS
Two New York roomies who turned their East Village walkup into a competitive-eating shrine hope to cut the mustard Wednesday when they face each other in Nathan's Famous 4th of...
OH TOW IS ME, SAYS MOTORIST
An East Village computer programmer says he's a victim of a hit and run - by the city, which towed his legally parked car and damaged it so badly it...
'OZ' KIN DEATH ANGER
The family of the Bronx man who died after falling down an elevator shaft during a brawl at a Chelsea nightclub is outraged that prosecutors have ruled the death an...
UFO 'ALIEN'ATION SUIT
Here's a space suit NASA might find interesting. An internationally known UFO expert is suing to get his X-files back from a Staten Island woman who he says is greedily...
HE'S BACK IN 'FORCE'
The last thing Police Officer Andrew Suarez remembers about his ill-fated graveyard shift in Park Slope last winter was staring down the barrel of a gun. It wasn't until the...
HEP-OUTBREAK PROBERS EYE 'DOUBLE DIP' SYRINGES
Health investigators are looking into whether an anesthesiologist suspected of spreading hepatitis infections tainted batches of medication by "double dipping" syringes into vials used for multiple patients, The Post has...
BOSS ON SIMMER BREAK
When George Steinbrenner turns 77 this Wednesday, July 4, he'll be in Tampa, celebrating quietly with his family. "I promise you, I'm going to have a big piece of birthday...
S.I. LOONY BEATS BIRD TO DEATH
Police are searching for a young man who viciously attacked a wild peacock with a baseball bat before horrified onlookers on Staten Island. The fiend spotted the male bird in...
FIRE BOMBERS STRIKE AIRPORT
Terror gripped Britain again yesterday when two men slammed an SUV into the main terminal of Scotland's largest airport and ignited a fireball, a day after authorities foiled a bomb...
HISTORY'S WALLS MAY CRUMBLE
Historic monuments across Europe including the Coliseum, the Eiffel Tower and the Parthenon - which have survived wars - are now under threat from climate change. An Italian study warns...
'CASTING' MAGIC
She's gone from super fan to superstar. Harry Potter freak Evanna Lynch, 15, steals the spotlight in her silver-screen debut as Hogwarts space cadet Luna Lovegood in the highly anticipated...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
BROOKLYN A man was shot dead in front of a Fort Greene housing project early yesterday, police said. The unidentified victim was shot once in the arm and twice in...
STATE RIDES MANHATTAN TAX BOOM
MANHATTAN residents ac count for nearly a quarter of the state's income-tax collections, a figure that makes it clearer than ever that the city is the economic engine of the...
LOTTERY
NEW YORK Midday Nos. Sat.: 497; Lucky Sum: 20 / Midday Win-4 Sat.: 9806; Lucky Sum: 23 / Evening Nos. Sat.: 178; Lucky Sum: 16 / Evening Win-4 Sat.: 6793;...
HE'S GOING STRONG
PHILADELPHIA - For three days after 9/11, former NYPD Officer Gerard Benderoth moved massive mounds of steal and dirt from Ground Zero, and pulled bodies from the smoking rubble. These...
GOIN' NOWHERE
BEFORE I go away for the summer (to camp . . . at least that's what my family is telling me), there are certain things I need to get off...
BONDS' STAR STILL BRIGHT
BARRY Bonds is going to be an All-Star. You know why? He should be. Even if you don't want to make him a starter due to his stumbling defense and...
NO CHOKING MATTER
HERE'S the fun part about being a sports writer: we get to use the word "choke" with more frequency, and more urgency, and more immediacy, than any other human beings...
HAVE A BALL THIS SUMMER
THIS is the best time of year because the baseball experience takes place in so many different ways. Here are 10 innings of baseball pleasures that will keep you busy...
FREE-AGENT FRENZY CENTERS ON GOMEZ
THE Oilers are set to offer Scott Gomez the key to the city when the free-agent market bell tolls at noon today. Unfortunately, the city is Edmonton. Thomas Golisano spent...
LAME EXCUSES
After a modestly successful junior career on the links as a 0.8 handicap, Post reporter Brett Cyrgalis is forging a comeback, attempting to compete with the best amateur golfers in...
2ND-HALF WONDERS, BLUNDERS
THERE'S no fireworks or su perstar halftime perform ance to mark the halfway point in the baseball season. The celebratory moment is the All-Star Game next week. In reality, the...
GO 4TH, BUT BE SAFE ON THE WATER
THE busiest boating time of the year is here, the July 4th holiday. Harbors, bays and rivers are filled with boaters, vessels will flock to waterfront fireworks shows, and busy...
FIREWORKS ON THE 4TH
For years, baseball was as big a part of the Fourth of July as fireworks and picnics. Every team in baseball played doubleheaders, giving fans a long day at the...
PENNANT RACING
Red Sox owner John Henry will have one eye on their score today and the other on New Hampshire International Speedway, where he will have five drivers competing for the...
NIELSEN RATING
Leading by three, the enemy is not so much his pursuers, as Lonnie Nielsen's own nerves as he chases his first career victory today on a top pro tour. "Three...
SUBURBAN TAKEN BY 'FORCE'
Unlike the first time Hall of Fame horseman H. Allen Jerkens won the Suburban Handicap, when he sent out Beau Purple in 1962 to beat Kelso and Carry Back, there...
VAC'S WHACKS
I would pay to watch Kevin Durant play. But I'd pay more to watch Greg Oden's team play. * Just in time for summer comes "The Ultimatum," a splendid and...
SPORTS SHORTS
BOXING: Evander by decision Evander Holyfield outworked and outclassed Lou Savarese last night, winning a 10-round unanimous decision in El Paso, Texas, to remain undefeated in his latest comeback. Holyfield,...
HONDO FLYING WITH O'S
Hondo, who collected with the Yankees Friday night to reduce the debt to 45 chesbros, had his little heart set on bouncing back into the black last night with the...
THRILL OF VICTORY
* Congratulations, Post! The back page of Tuesday's Post, showing the Mets celebrating Shawn Green's game-winning home run Monday against the Cardinals ["Going Green," The Post and nypost.com, June 26]...
DEVILS SAYING 'BYE-BYE BRIAN'
The Most Loyal Devil may leave New Jersey today, low-balled by Lou Lamoriello when any decent raise would have brought Brian Rafalski to Newark. "It appears I'll be reaching free...
TRADE SURPLUS
With NBA free agency beginning today, Isiah Thomas still has tuneup work to do on his overloaded Knicks roster following Thursday's feast. After acquiring five players on draft night, including...
SERBY'S SUNDAY Q&A WITH...WILSON CHANDLER
The Post's Steve Serby chatted with the 6-foot-9 forward from DePaul who was the Knicks' first-round pick in Thursday's NBA Draft: Q: Three dinner guests? A: (DePaul coach) Jerry Wainwright;...
CARLOS BELTS PHILLIES AGAIN
PHILADELPHIA - It was a dazzling effort from everywhere. In the right batter's box and the left batter's box. In center field. And also in one other spot - the...
AN INJURY? SAY IT AIN'T SOSA!
PHILADELPHIA - Jorge Sosa's left hamstring is strained, although proba bly not as much as the Phillies' credibility as a contender. Oliver Perez has an ailing back, that though not...
BAD BACK HAS PEREZ SKIPPING
PHILADELPHIA - Oliver Perez will miss his scheduled start today and is questionable for a makeup outing. Perez was scratched from the Mets' finale of the four-game series with the...
CARTER OPTS OUT OF PACT
Vince Carter is officially a free agent today, as the Nets yesterday received formal notification of their leading scorer's plan to opt out of the final year of his contract....
NETS' MASSMANN GOOD MAN AMONG MEN
PETER Vecsey, in Friday's Post, wrote fondly about Fritz Massmann, who passed last week at 80. I didn't even know Massmann had passed until I read Vecsey. And Massmann, the...
YANKEES' BATS GAUD AWFUL
Welcome to Rock Bottom where fingers are being pointed and gloves burned. During the first three months of a season that has slipped away, the Yankees have avoided chirping about...
JUST ANOTHER LOSS IN 2007 DEBACLE
THIS isn't so much about yesterday's game in which the Yankees were able to get one measly hit, and this isn't so much about last week's road trip in which...
PROCTOR IN SHAMBLES, BURNS GLOVE
After getting torched in the seventh inning, Scott Proctor did some torching of his own a couple hours later. Proctor, who was lit up for three runs during the Yankees'...
1-HIT WONDER
The Yankees grudgingly praised Athletics starter Chad Gaudin yesterday afternoon, but the right-hander returned the favor. Gaudin allowed one hit - a sixth-inning single by Johnny Damon - over seven...
DIGGING DEEP FOR BULLPEN HELP
The Yankees have promoted 26-year-old right-handed reliever Edwar Ramirez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he will report today to provide support for a bullpen that has been wretched. Ramirez, who threw...
OUT AND ONLINE: CRACKING THE CODE TO GAY PROFILES
When I first discovered online dating, I felt like I had won the lottery. As a young gay man who grew up in a small conservative town, I found it...
MEET MARKET
SHANA'S a go-getter. "I keep a running list of places I want to go and things I want to experience," says the 27-year-old retail marketing supervisor. "I want to meet...
ANIMAL MAGNETISM
DARYL, a 22-year-old casting director, and Jonathon, a 25-year-old sales associate, have all the makings to hit it off: Both are Jewish, share a similar appreciation for lowbrow and highbrow...
HIS NAME IS TROUBLE
'WHEN you smile," says the first man I've had insane chemistry with in forever, as he leans in close, "you ooze sex." We are on the subway. I laugh out...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
A Pennsylvania man was busted for punching out a female fast-food drive-through clerk - because he thought she was rude for not saying "please," or "thank you." "He didn't like...