April 3, 2016
How dominant Villanova, UNC pulled 180s for powerhouse final
HOUSTON — Greatness was gone from the game this season. Dominance didn’t exist. College basketball’s national champion looked like it would be rewarded by timing, a team destined to be...
National title game: Ignore my bracket, pick less talented team
HOUSTON — Never have I looked forward to the end of the NCAA Tournament so much, never have I been so ready for the offseason. The worst slump of my...
UNC scandal has changed Roy Williams — for the better
HOUSTON — North Carolina’s players insist the academic fraud scandal and never-ending NCAA investigation hasn’t affected them, no matter how many times they are asked about it. But it sure...
How Villanova, North Carolina match up at every position
Half of the participants in Monday night’s championship game were predictable. North Carolina, virtually everyone’s preseason favorite and the lone No. 1 seed to reach the Final Four, is back...
Low velocity, no movement: Tanaka worries everywhere
Ace-less in The Bronx. The Yankees open the 2016 season Monday with Masahiro Tanaka on the Yankee Stadium mound, hoping once again that the right-hander can somehow be their ace....
Knicks B-team almost ruins Pacers' playoff bid
With Carmelo Anthony resting, Kristaps Porzingis rehabbing and Jose Calderon mending, Kurt Rambis’ Knicks figured to be road kill for the eighth-seeded Pacers in the midst of a crazed playoff...
North Carolina's four big factors could give Villanova fits
HOUSTON — When Brice Johnson picked up his second foul midway through the first half of Saturday’s national semifinal, there was the sense that Syracuse had caught a break. Instead,...
Why Starlin Castro says he's better for failing in playoffs
Starlin Castro started and finished his sixth season with the Cubs exactly where he thought he’d be: as their shortstop. But the only reason he was there at the end...
Halliburton throws 'Hail Mary' to save $35B deal with Baker Hughes
Halliburton executives are making a last-ditch bid to save the company’s proposed $35 billion tie-up with rival Baker Hughes, The Post has learned. While the Department of Justice has not...
Paramount gets Leo's production company after years of wooing
It took 12 years, but Paramount Pictures boss Brad Grey finally got his man. Hollywood’s hottest actor, Leo DiCaprio, announced last week that his production company, Appian Way, was breaking...
The do's and don'ts for prom 2016
OMG. Prom is coming. All across America, teens are obsessing over shoes, dresses, hair, makeup, fake tans, nails, handbags, limos, jewelry and everything else that goes with this American tradition...
The opt-out crowd won't quit until all tests are meaningless
The teachers unions and their pawns won last year’s fight over state tests hands-down. So why are they still fighting? The annual testing starts this week. But some teachers still...
Why millennials may never give up on socialism
Millennials love socialism — but only as long as they’re on the “to each according to his need” end. The Cato Institute’s Emily Ekins has the numbers. Yes, the under-30...
How Mayor de Blasio can prove he's truly 'livid' over that $72 million scandal
It took several days of embarrassing news stories — plus a Post editorial insisting he “should be furious” — but Mayor Bill de Blasio finally declared himself “livid” over that...
No, college isn't always the way to get ahead
There’s a catchy commercial on the air right now, for the University of Phoenix, an online college. To the tune of “If I only had a brain” from the Wizard...
Andrew Cuomo's 'best' budget means big trouble for New York
The budget adopted by New York’s Legislature last week was described by Gov. Cuomo as “the best plan that the state has produced . . . in decades, literally.” If this is...
Next Italian restaurant adds flavor to Long Island City
Fast-rising Long Island City is getting a next generation Italian joint. Oro, a new construction restaurant at 41-17 Crescent St., is slated to open later this month from Vlado Celic...
The new 'Utley rule' is going to be a blight on baseball
For baseball fans, the wait between the end of the World Series and Opening Day can seem to take forever. Unfortunately, as we finally begin the season, the games themselves...
Muslim woman run down at protest
Warning: Video includes graphic content https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJzJi7Pv2A8 A Muslim woman was purposely run over by a driver who plowed through a Belgian police checkpoint Saturday during a far-right protest in the...
Villanova's hidden challenge heading into NCAA title game
HOUSTON — It is a walk they make every day on campus, a walk from a perfect past into the present. There are highlights of The Perfect Game and a...
Why an Aaron Hicks start would put Girardi in sticky situation
When the Yankees acquired Aaron Hicks from the Twins for catcher John Ryan Murphy, they pointed to the switch-hitting outfielder’s success against left-handed pitching. With defending AL Cy Young Award...
Alain Vigneault's benching the possible savior as Rangers sink
The last two games would have to give anyone pause about the Rangers’ prospects for postseason success. For it is not just that the Blueshirts lost potential playoff clinchers to...
How Yankees are moving past dynasty shadow they cast
If the Yankees launch their 2016 championship quest as scheduled Monday, it’ll occur in nasty conditions. Wet. Windy. Chilly. Not ideal when you’re trying to cure a hangover. Then again,...
Add increased security to Yanks fans' Opening Day worries
Not only will fans be facing the prospect of inclement weather for Opening Day in The Bronx on Monday, they also will be dealing with increased security. The Yankees are...
Same questions hover over 2016 Yankees — are they any better?
Starlin Castro is a huge upgrade over Stephen Drew. This year’s model of Didi Gregorius is likely to be better than last year’s. Luis Severino was in Double-A last April...
Heisman winner in sad DUI: 'I'm officer, sir,' ABC disaster
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Former Ohio State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith was arrested Sunday on charges of driving under the influence and marijuana possession. According to police, Smith...
Woman accused of mugging 103-year-old has 27 prior arrests
The mugger who allegedly shoved a 103-year-old woman and robbed her -- swiping her magnifying glass, bingo cards and food she was bringing home from a local senior center --...
Johnny Manziel finally regrets something: an Instagram post
Flipping a middle finger to the Redskins in the preseason; a trip to rehab amid nonstop partying; seemingly endless backslides toward alcohol, with picture evidence popping up near daily; getting benched after...
Clinton, Sanders eye Big Apple debate
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both agreed Sunday to a debate in New York — just not with each other. In the latest, strange chapter of the posturing...
Kristaps Porzingis' FIFA trash-talk is hilariously violent, graphic
Kristaps Porzingis definitely has the killer instinct. The Knicks rookie, sidelined (perhaps for the season's remainder) by a right shoulder strain, is letting his competitive urges flow elsewhere, his 7-foot-3...
'Anti-police atmosphere' to blame for rise in city shootings, slashings: PBA
PBA President Patrick Lynch took to the airwaves Sunday to blame recent spikes in shootings and slashings on an "anti-police atmosphere" in the city. “When you hear that we’re going...
Scottie Pippen casually dismisses Warriors: My Bulls would sweep
Basketball fans and analysts seemingly love nothing more than comparing players and teams across eras, even though it's impossible to say, for example, whether Stephen Curry would be dominant in...
Bills WR's April Fools' joke leaves fans spiteful, panicking
AUSTIN, Texas -- Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin says it was an April Fools' joke that led some to believe he was leaving football for track in an Olympic year,...
Nets pull plug on Brook Lopez's, Thaddeus Young's seasons
With the Nets’ season effectively over, they officially ended the seasons of Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young before Sunday’s 106-87 loss to New Orleans. Brooklyn shut down its two big...
In My Library: Maya Lin
In 1981, Maya Lin was a 21-year-old Yale student when she won a public design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Her conception — a black stone wall carved with...
How NL-champion Mets actually get better: the 3 wild cards
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Something to keep in mind as this season begins: The 2015 Royals were better than the 2014 version. Their offense improved while they maintained the excellence...
Ex-Yankee once owned, crash-landed plane that rocked California
FALLBROOK, Calif. -- Former Tigers and Yankees catcher Matt Nokes said he once owned the plane involved in a fatal crash on a Southern California freeway, and he safely landed...
US soccer hero Abby Wambach arrested for drunk driving
PORTLAND, Oregon — Retired World Cup soccer champion Abby Wambach was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence. Portland police Sgt. Peter Simpson said in a statement Sunday that...
How 'American Idol' changed my life
It’s the end of an era. Fox’s “American Idol,” the granddaddy of modern TV talent shows, calls it a wrap on Thursday after 15 seasons, innumerable memories and hundreds of...
LIRR manager: I was fired for not hiring executive's daughter
A former Long Island Rail Road human-resources manager claims he was fired for refusing to hire a former senior vice president’s daughter. Walter Tanner, 37, says his bosses handed him...
Train smashes into double-decker bus in Thailand
Warning: Video contains graphic content https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t8puLMH6TM BANGKOK — A train smashed into a double-decker bus carrying Thai tourists at an unguarded railway crossing in central Thailand on Sunday, with local...
Boob-iful women are stripping down for Trump
Melania Trump isn’t the only beauty supporting her husband — there’s a whole Twitter account devoted to the women who want to make America great again. And they're not shy...
Millennials are being dot.conned by cult-like tech companies
Tech startups love millennials. Tasty, tasty millennials who get underpaid, overworked, churned up and turned into nourishment for venture capitalists. Millennials are the Soylent Green of the tech world. As...
Megyn Kelly would 'absolutely' have Trump back on her show
Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly says Donald Trump is “absolutely” welcome back on her show despite his relentless verbal attacks against her — and admitted some of the attention she's...
Driver in Times Square bomb scare slapped with summonses
A clueless driver whose truck sparked the frantic evacuation of Times Square Saturday night was slapped with 10 summonses and let go hours after he was taken into custody, police...
Air France will force stewardesses to wear headscarves on flights to Iran
Air France stewardesses have caused an uproar over new uniform rules that will require them to wear headscarves on flights from Paris to Tehran when the airline resumes services there...
Man arrested for trying to grab cop's gun
A cop in Midtown arrested a man early Sunday for trying to grab his gun from its holster in Penn Station, police sources said. Robert Pelletier, 30, was walking behind...
2 dead after Amtrak train derails near Philadelphia
An Amtrak train locomotive partly derailed when it struck a backhoe south of Philadelphia on Sunday, killing two people and injuring 35, officials said. Amtrak, the U.S. passenger train company,...
Three injured in triple cab crash near Holland Tunnel
Three yellow taxis collided near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel Saturday night, causing three injuries, according to officials and one of the cab drivers. The accident happened at about...
Former NY-Presbyterian Hospital boss admits to affair
The former president of New York-Presbyterian Hospital has finally admitted that an extramarital affair was the main reason for his hasty and mysterious departure from his $3 million-a-year job last...
MLB about to be very jealous of Jeurys Familia's walk-on song
When Mets closer Jeurys Familia exits the bullpen this season, he’ll run onto the mound to the notes of his own personal anthem. The pitcher’s catchy new walkout song, “Somos...
Passing the Common Core: High School Math
The Basics: In high school, students use a deeper understanding of mathematics to solve real-world problems. While in elementary and middle school, the math skills children need to know are...
Passing the Common Core: High School English
The Basics: In high school English Language Arts, students read works of literature and informational texts with a critical eye. They analyze classic and contemporary works from various eras, cultures...
Protesters carry inflatable joint in front of White House
Folks strolling near the White House likely got a strong whiff of a high-profile protest on marijuana reform — as well as the startling view of a 51-foot-long inflatable joint....
Passing the Common Core: 8th grade
The Basics: In math, students tackle the Pythagorean theorem, bringing their math to a higher level of algebraic reasoning and knowledge of the properties of operations. With their understanding of...
Three children killed by ISIS found in Palmyra mass grave
The bodies of three children and 21 other civilians were among the victims of Islamic State jihadists found in a mass grave in Palmyra days after Syrian troops recaptured the...
Passing the Common Core: 7th grade
The Basics: In math, students develop an understanding of rates and ratios, using tables, graphs and equations to solve real-world problems of proportional relationships. Students also work on solving multi-step...
Passing the Common Core: 6th grade
The basics: In math, students learn the concept of rates and ratios and use these tools to solve word problems. Students work on dividing multi-digit whole numbers and adding, subtracting,...
Passing the Common Core: 5th grade
The Basics: In math, students advance to work with decimals up to the hundreds place. Students add, subtract, and multiply fractions, including fractions with different denominators. They expand their geometry...
Passing the Common Core: 4th grade
The Basics: In math, children use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to solve word problems. They tackle measurement of volume, mass and time. They learn more about fractions — creating...
Dozens pay tribute to New Yorkers lost in Vietnam War
In honor of Vietnam Veterans Day, more than 60 people gathered in lower Manhattan on Saturday morning to remember loved ones and friends killed in the war. Former Fire Commissioner...
Jake Gyllenhaal destroyed this woman's home
When the residents of Pebble Lane in Roslyn Heights, Nassau County, saw construction workers on Sharon Yarom Gucker’s front lawn, they assumed she was remodeling. Her nosy neighbors were partly...
Passing the Common Core: 3rd grade
The Basics: In math, students develop an understanding of fractions as numbers. They learn the concepts behind multiplication and division and apply problem-solving skills and strategies for multiplying and dividing...
Passing the Common Core: 2nd grade
The Basics: In math, students extend their understanding of place value to the hundreds place. They use this to solve word problems, such as those involving length and other units...
Passing the Common Core: 1st grade
The Basics: In math, students work with whole numbers and place value. They group numbers into 10s and 1s, and learn to add and subtract up through 20. They use...
Passing the Common Core: Kindergarten
The Basics: In math, kindergartners focus on learning numbers and what numbers represent, then learn about addition and subtraction. Students also identify and work with shapes. In English, students learn...
What's new for the Common Core in 2016
With fewer questions and no time limits, this month’s Common Core tests in English Language Arts and math will still be a challenge for city students. It’s the fourth year...
Clooney used 'Golden Girls' role for healthcare, and other show secrets revealed
T-shirts, live reenactments, ice-cream tributes, and of course, reruns: No matter which way you slice it, “The Golden Girls” are still a platinum hit. It was an unlikely concept —...
Cops clear out Times Square over bomb scare
Cops staged the most exciting show on Broadway Saturday night — frantically evacuating at least two blocks in the heart of the theater district after someone spotted an illegally parked...
Volunteer firefighters might lose jobs for sharing wedding invite
A New Jersey volunteer fire chief is hot under the collar about a pair of firefighters who posted a wedding invitation on Facebook that included a proud photo of their...
Rita Coolidge was muse to rock icons -- and this is how they treated her
In 1970, Eric Clapton’s drummer, Jim Gordon, composed a gorgeous progression on the piano, and played it for a woman he was dating, singer Rita Coolidge. Coolidge composed a second...
'Outlander' Season 2 moves its heroine to French high society
'Outlander' Saturday, 10 p.m., Starz Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe), the heroine of “Outlander,” is a woman with a mission. The Scottish time traveler knows her 18th-century husband, Jamie Fraser (Sam...
How Mayor de Blasio sells us out
Put “Bill de Blasio” and “historic” in a web search, and you’ll chum up a half-million hits. It’s the mayor’s favorite word in the whole wide world — save perhaps...
Ivana Trump on how she advises Donald — and those hands
It’s Ivana Trump’s fault that Donald didn’t run for president sooner. “Probably five years before our divorce, Reagan or somebody brought him a letter and said, ‘You should run for...
Say goodbye to one NYC's last living landmarks
It took more than $1 billion to give us a haunting glimpse of century-ago New York — and, very soon, to obliterate it forever. In a few weeks, the 100-year...
Man claims broken parking meter landed him in jail, files suit
A broken muni-meter cost a Brooklyn motorist a night in jail after a parking cop refused to believe he had properly paid, the driver claims in a $10 million lawsuit....
Wisconsin primary expected to be tight race for Democrats
Hillary Clinton has a 6-point lead in Wisconsin ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary, according to a poll released Saturday — but after three statewide surveys last week showed rival Bernie...
Trump zeroes in on Wisconsin women amid tight primary race
Donald Trump campaigned hard this weekend in the GOP proving ground of Wisconsin, where polls have him in a tough fight with Ted Cruz over the state’s pivotal 42 delegates....
State budget process plagued by 'secrecy and dysfunction': critics
ALBANY — Democrats hailed this year’s state budget as a dream come true, but critics said it marked a historic low for lack of transparency. “Nothing that happened this week...
Kid sues city after alleging she was attacked with knife in school
A Manhattan middle schooler claims classmates attacked her with a knife after warning, “snitches are bitches,” according to a lawsuit. Brianna Brickhouse is suing the city and the Department of...
Man claims his cellphone gave him third-degree burns
A Queens man suffered second-and third-degree burns when his cellphone exploded in his pants pocket, according to a lawsuit. Muhammad Sattar, 52, claims he had used the Optimus F6 phone...
State employees told to prove health-insurance dependents
Some 100,000 state employees and retirees are being asked to prove they are not living in sin, or risk losing their health insurance. Even those married for decades have until...
De Blasio will spend way more money than Bloomberg ever did
Mayor de Blasio hasn’t found a problem he can’t throw money at, planning to shell out $1.4 billion for new initiatives over the next two years. According to the city’s...
Italian first-graders may soon be taking wine classes in school
While America’s first-graders are learning how to read and perform basic math, 6-year-olds in Italy will be schooled in the history of wine and how to drink it responsibly. A...
De Blasio slams nursing home sale — but doesn't punish aides
Mayor de Blasio claims to be “livid” that his administration approved a deal to convert a nursing home to a luxe condo — yet the staffers and aides who let...
Landlord allegedly refuses to sell apartment to cancer patient
A West Village renter says his landlord refuses to sell him his apartment because he has cancer. A lawyer for landlord BRG West Village rejected Antonio Durazzo’s bid to buy...
Yankees' home opener expected to dodge messy weather
Chill out — the arctic blast expected to send shivers through summer-ready New Yorkers early Sunday should not spoil the Yankees’ home opener Monday afternoon. Though flurries of wet snow...
Al Sharpton supports Common Core testing in schools
The Rev. Al Sharpton said he is squarely behind Common Core testing — and against the opt-out movement — as he urged schoolkids Saturday to take the state’s standardized tests...
Now comes the hard part for Aroldis Chapman
MIAMI — Slacks and button down shirts heavily occupied the Yankees’ clubhouse Saturday afternoon here at Marlins Park. You want to look your best when you arrive in New York...
The mysterious partners who bamboozled city into luxury condo deal
The obscure Brooklyn company at the center of a City Hall scandal already owed millions of dollars in unpaid taxes, and its principals were accused of “secretly scheming” against a...
Five things must happen for Mets to win the World Series
Here are five things that need to occur for the Mets to win the World Series: 1. Reach the playoffs You can’t win the big prize without first reaching the...
Why Alex Rodriguez is calling a one-homer spring 'good'
MIAMI — Alex Rodriguez finished his latest spring with just one extra-base hit — a home run in his first at-bat of spring training. If Rodriguez is concerned about the...
Bittersweet ending to Syracuse senior's up-and-down career
HOUSTON — Trevor Cooney rarely did much right in the eyes of many Syracuse fans, but the senior couldn’t have done much more in the final game of his career....
Syracuse's cruel reality check: Sometimes Goliath is just better
HOUSTON — Sometimes, Goliath breaks your heart. Sometimes, Goliath rips that Final Four slingshot from you and breaks it over his knee. Sometimes, Goliath belts you around the ring and...
This guy would rather go to jail than let red-light cameras stand
They want to put a red light to red-light cameras. Long Islander Bryan Valentine, 26, was arrested Friday night for putting plastic bags over two red-light cameras at the intersection...
Jordan Spieth talks like he has momentum heading into Masters
Someone asked Jordan Spieth recently if he was excited about defending the Green Jacket at the Masters next weekend in Augusta, Ga. You can guess his answer. “It makes you...
All the belief Mets need for magical ending twist: other dugout
The Mets would have preferred to make this return trip five months ago, of course. That was the plan, after all, up two runs with three outs to go in...
How Henrik Lundqvist plans to rebound from terrible night
Zemgus Girgensons had just put a carelessly left rebound into the slot past Henrik Lundqvist, it was 3-0 Sabres just 46 seconds into the second period, and Lundqvist was headed...
New-age sports' sordid messes: Lakers scandal, NFL's selective morality
As the world-gone-nuts turns ... Twenty-five years ago, Lakers’ forward A.C. Green became the target of ridicule after he acknowledged his beliefs prohibited him from engaging in premarital sex. Green’s...
The loony tree that grows stuffed animals and enraptures kids
It started with one — a stuffed-animal tiger that Eugene Fellner hung, just as a lark, on his cherry tree about seven years ago. “It was a large, realistic tiger...
103-year-old woman refuses to be afraid after brutal mugging
A 103-year-old Bronx woman who was heartlessly mugged vowed Saturday to stay fearless. “I’m not going to be afraid,’’ Louise Jean Signore vowed a day after a heartless female thug...
Daily Blotter
The Bronx Cops are looking for the suspect pictured above who allegedly stabbed and slashed a foe at a City Island gas station. The 45-year-old victim was in the Sunoco...