March 24, 1999
WILPON'S COMPANY DROPS THE BALL
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amNew York Mets co-owner Fred Wilpon struck out on Wall Street yesterday. Stock in his high-flying biotech company, PathoGenesis Corp., crashed after its red-faced management admitted they'd post a significant...
AUTOWEB.COM SCORES WITH $938M IPO
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe Internet IPO frenzy is alive and well. Autoweb.com, the online car seller, nearly tripled in its first day of trading. The California-based company soared 26 from its opening price,...
GHOSTWRITERS HAUNT VERSACE AUTHOR
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTHE bumpy ride to publication that Christopher Mason's bio on Gianni Versace has followed may be in for a few more jolts before Little Brown finally gets it to bookshelves...
MULTIPLEX TO RISE IN B'KLYN LIKE MAGIC
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amOne of Brooklyn's landmark movie theaters will be rebuilt into a modern $30 million megaplex by retired hoop star Earvin "Magic" Johnson. City officials joined Johnson to announce the rebuilding...
ON THE ROAD TO ZANZIBAR: SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWALKING past the huge windows with curtains drawn at Ninth and 45th, you can't help but stop and try to peer in. You wonder, just what's in there? The answer...
MIDTOWN AEGEAN'SHEADS ABOVE THE REST
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am'TELL that Greek I'll sever his head off," John Gotti famously warned a business partner. Decapitation isn't the half of it for the sea creatures bound for sale at Estiatorio...
POLITICAL POINT IS SHANGHAIED
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am'RED" is an ambitious, three-character play that never lives up to its promise; aiming at large themes, it degenerates into a muddy and implausible soap opera. The drama by Chay...
MACDONALD SHOW BELOW NORM
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am"The Norm Show"9:30 tonight on WABC/Ch.7 PRESCRIPTION for "The Norm Show": Fire Norm Macdonald. Beef up the dog roles. Macdonald, who left "Saturday Night Live" under a rancorous cloud, plays...
TV TICKER
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWBAI death Longtime WBAI (99.5 FM) program director Samori Marksman is dead after an apparent heart attack. Marksman, 51, died in his sleep yesterday morning. Staffers at the listener-supported, left-leaning...
PELLEY EYES '60 II' SPOT
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amSCOTT Pelley, CBS News' White House correspondent and one of the network's rising stars, might join "60 Minutes II." Pelley said last week that he is interested in the job,...
IT'S LIKE FORGET IT - THE SMARTEST COMEDY SINCE 'SEINFELD'?
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am"It's Like, You Know..." 8:30 tonight on WABC/Ch.7 LOS Angeles is a great place to visit, but we wouldn't want to do sitcomedy there. You get pigeonholed so easily. One...
DISNEY DIALS EMME - BIG MODEL BEING FITTED FOR A DAYTIME TV SHOW
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amCOULD plus-size supermodel Emme Aronson be the next Oprah? The five-foot 11-inch, 190 pound host of E!'s "Fashion Emergency" has signed a deal with Buena Vista Productions and ABC Daytime,...
OSCAR JOKES ALMOST GOT NBC TOSSED OUT
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTHE Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences threatened to yank NBC News' access to last Sunday's Oscars because of a joke that Jay Leno made on the "Tonight Show,"...
WHY CLAIRE DANES' BOYFRIEND WANTS TO MAKE IT WITHOUT HER - SINGER BEN LEE'S AMERICAN CAREER IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amBen Lee is seated in a back booth at his regular haunt, the Spring Street Natural Restaurant and Bar, a stone's throw from the uncommonly large SoHo loft he and...
RUDY TRIMS FIRST LADY'S LEAD: POLL
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amALBANY - First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's lead over Mayor Giuliani in the U.S. Senate race has narrowed, a new poll shows. The Quinnipiac College survey found Mrs. Clinton leading...
DOCS URGE EARLIER CANCER TESTS - CLAIM AGE-BASED FORMULA SAVES LIVES
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amDoctors aren't giving cancer-screening tests early enough to do the most good, researchers said yesterday. Dr. Malcolm Law and scientists at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London found...
TEARS FOR DWI-VICTIM GRANNY AT S.I. FUNERAL
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amFriends and family bid farewell yesterday to a Staten Island granny killed when her car was rammed by an allegedly drunken firefighter, calling her a giving person who "donated so...
WHY MILOSEVIC WON'T GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am"He wouldn't be able to conduct his ethnic cleansing . . . if he were to accept the peace plan." PAUL WILLIAMS, LEGAL ADVISER TO KOSOVO Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic...
SERBS UNLEASH FIERY TERROR
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amSerb police rushed to burn the homes of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo yesterday before NATO airstrikes begin - while Serb civilians in major cities prepared bomb shelters and bunkers. Clashes...
NEW TA TOILETS WOULD PUT MORE SUBWAYS ON THE FLUSHING LINE; EXCLUSIVE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe Transit Authority has an idea it hopes won't cause a stink - public toilets in more and more subway stations. The TA wants to add toilets in every subway...
WHITEWATER SUE: PREZ DIDN'T LIE ABOUT LOAN
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Susan McDougal answered questions for the first time yesterday about President Clinton's role in Whitewater and claimed Clinton never lied during her trial. "As I sat there that...
ARAFAT TALKS STATEHOOD DESPITE CHAT WITH CLINTON
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Clinton yesterday urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat not to try declaring a Palestinian state in May - but Arafat later hinted he's still considering it. Arafat described...
HILL TO EGYPTIANS: NEVER GIVE UP ON DREAM OF PEACE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton yesterday urged Egyptians to "never give up on the dream of peace" in the Mideast but kept mum on her controversial support for a Palestinian state....
FARE-BEATERS NOW A MERE TOKEN NUISANCE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amA dramatic drop in fare-beating is boosting subway ridership and saving the Transit Authority hundreds of millions of dollars, agency figures show. Fare evasion plummeted 32 percent in 1998 to...
SON OF DR. DEATH 'CLIENT' BACKS JACK
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am"It is absolutely outrageous that Kevorkian has been charged with murder." NORMAN ADKINS The son of the first person Jack Kevorkian helped commit suicide ripped Michigan prosecutors yesterday for putting...
WE'RE SACRIFICING OUR KIDS FOR KOSO-WHAT?
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amHEY, troops, let's go to war and kick ass. Sir, yessir, sir. "Sir, where are we going sir?" We're going to Kosovo. "Sir, permission to speak sir." Permission granted. "Where...
DRUGGIE SUICIDE ACTOR SPENT FINAL DAY WITH HOOKER
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amActor David Strickland spent the last hours of his life in a seedy Las Vegas motel drinking beer and partying with a prostitute - before hanging himself with a knotted...
STOP AND LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE, RUDY; TIME TO STOP AND LISTEN, RUDY
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amBENNO ZIMMERLI was holding a large nylon Swiss flag and screaming like someone raped his family. Wearing designer sunglasses, the 35-year-old drafting student from Switzerland was so boisterous everyone thought...
DIALLO COPS WON'T TESTIFY BEFORE BRONX GRAND JURY
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe four cops involved in the Amadou Diallo killing will not testify before the Bronx grand jury - virtually guaranteeing their indictment on a murder charge. Lawyers for the officers...
DC 37 BIG'S 466G SPENDING SPREE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amA District Council 37 honcho used the treasury to buy clothes, cameras and jewelry - and to hire maids for his lavish penthouse at union headquarters, officials said yesterday. Al...
BOOTED RODMAN FIGHTS FOR HIS SNEAKER-$ DEAL
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amConverse is giving Dennis Rodman the boot - but the basketball bad boy said he won't let the sneaker giant Worm its way out of a big-bucks contract. The company...
CABBY FROM HELL FINALLY OUT OF BIZ
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe Taxi and Limousine Commission yesterday grounded the city's most reckless cabby - a hellion on wheels who racked up 17 license suspensions and caused a 1990 crash that killed...
AIRSTRIKES OK'D AS DIPLOMACY FAILS - PREZ ASKS PRAYERS FOR SERBIA MISSION
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - NATO last night ordered U.S.-led airstrikes against a defiant Serbia, and President Clinton asked Americans to "say a prayer" for pilots facing combat over the Balkans. The Kosovo...
REVL0N PUTS A BLUSH ON T0P C0P - FIRM PAID FOR SAFIR'S OSCAR TRIP
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amPolice Commissioner Howard Safir accepted an Oscar junket last weekend from Revlon's CEO, flying to Hollywood on the makeup maker's jet - in apparent violation of city ethics rules, The...
RUDY VOWS TO FIGHT FED BID FOR NYPD 'WATCHDOG'
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amMayor Giuliani yesterday angrily pledged to fight putting a federal watchdog on the NYPD in the wake of the Amadou Diallo shooting. "I would have serious objections to some kind...
LAST COMMISH QUIT AMID SCANDAL OVER JUNKETS
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amHoward Safir's predecessor as top cop, William Bratton, also landed in trouble for taking freebie trips from millionaire businessman buddies. The furor over Bratton's junkets broke in mid-March 1996. He...
ALI CALLS HOLYFIELD-LEWIS BOUT 'BIGGEST FIX' EVER
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Muhammad Ali says the draw in the Holyfield-Lewis fight was "the biggest fix in fight history" and a "terrible travesty" that has sent the sport "to its lowest...
HIGH-STAKES POKER WITH A FOE WHO WON'T FOLD
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amANALYSIS WASHINGTON - The biggest risk in President Clinton's plan for airstrikes against a defiant Serbia is what to do if Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic pulls a Saddam Hussein -...
EL DUQUE MUM ON CUBA-BIRDS
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amKISSIMMEE - Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez will tell you why he isn't shy about throwing a healthy dose of breaking balls during his first start of the spring. He'll tell...
JERSEY DEVIL - PLAINFIELD GUARD WILLIAMS, H.S. PLAYER OF THE YEAR, IS DUKE'S NEXT SUPERSTAR
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am"I went down [to Duke] and I was blown away. Have you ever been to a place where you walk in and get a good vibe? I got that feeling....
RESORTS STILL GOING STRONG
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTHE spring fling is underway in the mountains of New York and Vermont, so don't put your skis away just yet. More than half a foot of fresh snow fell...
METS BID FOR OREL - VIE WITH 6 FOES FOR VETERAN RIGHTY; EXCLUSIVE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - The Mets have made an offer for veteran right-hander Orel Hershiser, The Post has learned. But six other teams are in the bidding as well, and...
HERE'S TICKET TO PICK 6 RICHES
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amA half-million bucks or more should be up for grabs today at the Big A, thanks to a two-day carryover in the Pick 6. When nobody hit the Pick 6...
MILBURY CAN'T UNLOAD EVERYONE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe Islander firesale screeched to a halt yesterday as GM Mike Milbury was unable to dump any more salaries by the 3 p.m. trading deadline. But enough damage had been...
GIANTS GIVE TE MITCHELL 2 YEARS, $2M
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amAt long last, the Giants secured the services of a tight end who they believe can play a significant role in their often-dormant passing game. They signed unrestricted free agent...
WILSON: IT AIN'T OVER
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - Less than 24 hours after learning he has a torn medial collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, a defiant Paul Wilson said yesterday he won't give...
BROADWAY TIKI BARBER - GIANT RB A HIT IN ACTING DEBUT
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe football is tossed right into his hands and Tiki Barber drops it. But rather than hear groans from his teammates and threats from his coaches, laughter follows Barber's miscue....
BIG TEST OUT WEST - KNICKS FACE CRUCIAL TRIP
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amBefore "Team Fragile" was booed out of the Garden Monday night in the Knicks' humiliating 80-71 defeat at the hands of the Hawks, MSG president Dave Checketts said he was...
ON SECOND THOUGHT, XAVIER LOVES THE NIT
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amWhen the NCAA selection committee passed over Xavier and the Musketeers' 21 wins, they felt cheated and robbed. Coach Skip Prosser said it seemed like there had been a death...
YANKS STEAMED AT STRAW - DARRYL REMARKS STIR IRE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTAMPA - Miffed at Darryl Strawberry saying he doesn't know who is running the club, the Yankees lashed back at Strawberry yesterday. In talking Monday about his desire to play...
NHL STICKS HOLIK WITH 61G PENALTY
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amSergei Nemchinov gained about what Bobby Holik lost. Otherwise, the Devils failed to improve their claim as Stanley Cup contenders yesterday. The Post has learned that Nemchinov has a clause...
NEIL CAN'T TURN OLD INTO GOLD; RANGERS ARE DUD AT DEADLINE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amFORT LAUDERDALE - It has been a season of small steps, so it seems somehow appropriate that the Rangers could do no more than take baby steps, if even that,...
25TH MAN? LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE MORA
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amMET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Utility man Melvin Mora continues to make a strong case for being the Mets' 25th man. Mora decided yesterday's game with a solo home...
DERBY 'DUEL' IN DESERT
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amThe veil of secrecy surrounding the Godolphin Stable 3-year-olds training in the desert of Dubai for the Kentucky Derby was lifted somewhat Sunday with the results of the first trial...
USED CARR HAVIN' A GAS - NET THROW-IN FILLIN' IT UP
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amYou probably won't be seeing Chris Carr buying lox at Zabar's very often. Plopped in New Jersey as a throw-in with Stephon Marbury in the Nets-Timberwolves trade March 11, the...
JERSEY PLUGS HOLE IN MIDDLE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amNET NOTES With Jim McIlvaine out for the season and Rony Seikaly still hurt, the Nets signed 6-11 William Cunningham to a 10-day contract yesterday to bulk up the center...
DEPARTING ULF: LEETCH KEY TO RANGER FUTURE; LEETCH PACT STILL JOB ONE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amFORT LAUDERDALE - Traded to the Red Wings for a pair of draft choices, Ulf Samuelsson yesterday afternoon was asked for his take on the Ranger rebuilding effort. "Are they...
CHECKETTS: WE HAVE TO STAY UNIFIED
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES A subtle message was delivered by MSG president Dave Checketts Monday night to his coach and GM. While he said he knew nothing about any friction between Ernie...
STRAW, YANKS MAKE PEACE - DARRYL HUDDLES WITH GM, MANAGER
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTAMPA - A 30-minute meeting in Joe Torre's vacant Legends Field office last night between Darryl Strawberry and GM Brian Cashman extinguished a bridge that was in flames. Informed by...
ZIMMER: TORRE LOOKS OK
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTAMPA - Until Joe Torre got off a lounge chair, Don Zimmer said, there were no outward signs that Torre was five days removed from prostate cancer surgery. "I was...
NOTHIN' BUT NET - FINAL FOUR BERTH GIVES UCONN'S CALHOUN PEACE OF MIND
March 24, 1999 | 5:00am'I think a writer would like to win a Pulitzer. An actor would like to win an Oscar. A coach wants to get to a Final Four ... I had...
DEVILS' BACKLINE SHOWS BACKBONE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amDevils 1 Sabres 1 They expected otherwise, so when Lou Lamoriello left them intact and shorthanded, what is left of the Devils' defense felt obliged. "We've been saying all along...
ZIM SLATED FOR HOSPITAL STAY
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amTAMPA - When Darryl Strawberry makes his first appearance in left field tomorrow night against the Tigers in Lakeland, he had hoped to perform in front of interim manager Don...
CLEMSON'S SEMI-TOUGH - HOLDS OFF XAVIER'S COMEBACK TO GAIN FINAL VS. CALIFORNIA
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amNIT SEMIFINALS Clemson 79 Xavier 76 Clemson watched a 24-point second-half lead disappear like sand slipping through their hands. The Tigers had been rolling, and now they were being rolled,...
CLEMSON X'S OUT WORST NIGHTMARE
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amNIT SEMIFINAL Clemson 79 Xavier76 Clemson had seen a 24-point, second-half lead whittled away, turned upside down into a three-point deficit. And Xavier had seen the impossibility of an NIT...
SAN DIEGO ST. EYES FRANSCHILLA
March 24, 1999 | 5:00amFran Fraschilla has become a hot item again. When Rick Majerus pulled out of the San Diego State sweepstakes Monday, Fraschilla, the former, St. John's hoop coach, was offered the...