December 19, 2003
IMAX IS LOOKING FOR HARRY POTTER MAGIC
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amImax Corp. is betting that "Harry Potter" can help it conjure a comeback. The third film in the boy wizard series, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," will open...
BLACK CAN'T SELL - HOLLINGER BOARD WON'T LET OUSTED CEO OFF HOOK
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amExecutives at troubled newspaper empire Hollinger International plan to block any attempt by ousted CEO Conrad Black to sell his controlling stake in the company, The Post has learned. Hollinger...
DUELING DUETS: MUSIC DOWNLOAD RIVALS CHOOSE NEW RETAIL PARTNERS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amBeatles vs. Stones. Ja Rule vs. 50 Cent. Justin vs. Britney. Now comes the latest music rivalry: Apple vs. Microsoft. The battle for the digital music market intensified yesterday, as...
IT'S NO SLAM DUNK - BIG BOARD CEO CHOICE GETS MIXED REVIEWS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amReeling from six months of scandal, the New York Stock Exchange chose another Wall Street insider, Goldman Sachs President John Thain, to be its new CEO. Skeptics questioned whether Thain,...
WALL ST. PONIES UP FOR DUBYA'S '04 BID
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWall Street is the home of the "rangers" - the fat cats who are raising $200,000 or more for President Bush. The financial district boasts one of the highest concentrations...
EX-FREDDIE BIGWIGS HIT WITH FINE$
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amFreddie Mac's former executives could be penalized $8.4 million for their roles in the mortgage company's accounting scandal, regulators said yesterday. The lender's oversight agency also said it was considering...
CASH-STRAPPED KB CUTS PAYMENTS TO TOYMAKERS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amKB Toys, a chain of 1,300 stores with an estimated $2 billion in annual sales, has stopped paying some suppliers in an attempt to conserve cash, two people familiar with...
STRONGER ECONOMY LIGHTS UP MARKETS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe economic recovery turned a final corner yesterday and triggered one of the strongest global stock rallies of the year. Boosting the outlook for the economy next year were a...
BLANKFEIN NEXT IN LINE AT GOLDMAN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amAlmost as soon as Goldman Sachs President John Thain was named CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street powerhouse anointed super-trader Lloyd Blankfein as president and the...
FULLER MAKES DOLCE A STAR - TAPS EX-DETAILS BOSS TO RUN AMI'S CELEBRITY WEEKLY
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amAMERICAN Media Editorial Director Bonnie Fuller has finally settled on a new editor in chief for the Star Magazine. It will be Joe Dolce, a onetime editor of Details who...
KERKORIAN, TIME WARNER IN MGM TALKS - AGAIN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amKirk Kerkorian, the octogenarian billionaire who has sold and bought back Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer twice before, may soon flip the Lion once again. MGM is in early-stage talks with media giant Time...
HANK YANKS $21M FROM GOLDMAN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIt hardly comes as a surprise, but Wall Street's bosses are getting raises of up to 800 percent this year. With the Street coming off its second-best year ever, the...
ROSIE, G+J REDUCE CLAIMS FOR MONEY
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amRosie O'Donnell and publisher Gruner + Jahr USA have lowered their demands in the bitter lawsuit over who is responsible for the demise of Rosie - but both are still...
JEFFRIES, BROADVIEW DEAL NEAR
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amJefferies & Co., a New York-based investment bank, is near a deal to acquire technology advisory boutique Broadview International LLC, sources familiar with the matter told The Post. Jefferies is...
NYSE'S INSIDE MAN - BIG BOARD PICKS WALL ST. EXEC FOR TOP JOB
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWhile Wall Streeters cheered the appointment of Goldman Sachs bigwig John Thain to the top job at the New York Stock Exchange, critics quickly slammed the choice. Skeptics questioned whether...
STARR REPORT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00am'AH' deals with grief "Access Hollywood" paid tribute last night to Albert Carvajal, a production assistant for the show here in New York who was murdered in Cuba. Carvajal, 33,...
DALI/DISNEY 'DESTINO' A DILLY
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amDESTINO [] (four stars)AUDIENCES for "Calendar Girls" will get an extra added treat - "Destino," a dazzling, six-minute animated short that itself is well worth the price of admission. French...
PROPER PIN-UPS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amCALENDAR GIRLS [] (three stars) A British charmer. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated PG-13 (discreet nudity, language). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the Beekman, others. ---- 'CALENDAR Girls," inspired...
OPRAH GRABS RATINGS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amOPRAH Winfrey's daytime appeal translated strongly to prime-time Wednesday night. Winfrey's sitdown with ABC's Diane Sawyer, "Primetime Special Edition - Oprah in Africa," notched 13.9 million viewers from 10 to...
FULL 'HOUSE'
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amHOUSE OF SAND AND FOG [ 1/2] (three and one-half stars) Surefire Oscar bait. In English and Farsi, with English subtitles. Running time: 126 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity). At...
BRIT'S SIS NABS SHOW
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amBRITNEY Spears' kid sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, has been signed to star in a series on Nickelodeon. Nick has ordered 13 episodes of the comedy, set at a co-ed boarding...
A NEW CABLE CHANNEL: IT'S ALIVE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA group of science stars, including Carl Sagan's widow and astronaut Sally Ride, think the U.S. is ready for an all-science channel like C-SPAN. "Because we say it will be...
DESERVES HONORABLE MENSCH'N
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHE HEBREW HAMMER [] (two stars) Sporadically funny spoof. Running time: 85 minutes. Not rated (language, implied violence, sex). At the Angelika and the Sutton. ---- FIRST-time writer-director Jonathan Kesselman's...
A POE HO HO SHOW
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amPOP crooner David Poe is not a troubled troubadour. He doesn't drink vodka and Red Bull on stage and ramble on incoherently. And he doesn't beat up other bands' members....
FLYING OUT OF ITS COCOON
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHE BUTTERFLY [] (three stars) Floats like a . . . In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 79 minutes. Not rated (nothing objectionable). At the Cinema Village, 12th Street,...
'FOG' LIFTS VEIL FROM VIETNAM FIGURE MCNAMARA
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHE FOG OF WAR [] (three stars) Clever, powerful documentary. Running time: 106 minutes. Rated PG-13 (images and thematic issues of war and destruction). At the Lincoln Plaza and the...
'FOX NEWS SUNDAY' TOPS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00am'FOX News Sunday" snared 2.6 million viewers last week - the most viewers in its seven-year history. Last Sunday's show was only the second "FNS" to be anchored by new...
'DILEMMA' A NO-BRAINER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amROSE'S DILEMMA At the Manhattan Theatre Club, 131 W. 55th St. Call CityTix, (212) 581-1212. ---- RELAX, Mary Tyler Moore. You did the right thing in stomping out of "Rose's...
JFK DIES - BUT NOT MAG STAFFER'S REGRETS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amFRAME 312 At the Atlantic Theater Company, 336 W. 20th St. Through Jan. 11. (212) 239-6200. ---- SOMETIMES a play's subtext is more gripping than its ostensible subject. Such is...
A SHOW EVEN I COULD LOVE - DONALD GETS TO FIRE SOMEONE EVERY WEEK
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHIS LATEST REALITY SERIES WILL STAND ON ITS OWN BECAUSE, FOR ONCE, THE PREMISE ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE.MY job hasn't been half the fun it used to be since Donald Trump...
GLOBES LOVE 'SEX,''ANGEL' - "FRIENDS" SNUBBED WITH JUST ONE NOM
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHE Golden Globes Awards declared its love for "Sex and the City" yesterday, bestowing five nominations on the HBO show - one for each of its stars and another for...
MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS - ON-LINE OFFSPRING PREVIEW DOESN'T 'SPLINTER' SALES
December 19, 2003 | 5:00am"Now I take a lot more time with the lyrics. I always try, even in the darkest song, to get a sense of hope in the words." -Dexter Holland THE...
PRIMA DONNA - MURPHY MISSING TOO MUCH 'TOWN'
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amNOW that the U.S. military has found Saddam Hussein, maybe they can find Donna Murphy. The star of "Wonderful Town" was out of the show six times last week, triggering...
'MONA LISA' BILE" ROBERTS RIDICULOUS IN PREACHY, PREDICTABLE FEMINIST YARN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amMONA LISA SMILE Crude misfire. Running time: 119 minutes. Rated PG-13. At the Clearview Chelsea, the Union Square, Kips Bay, others. PART soap opera, part old-fashioned feminist tract, "Mona Lisa...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA feisty teller thwarted a bank heist by balling up the robber's demand note and throwing it back in his face. "I can't accept this!" the teller at BB&T bank...
MONEY HAPPY 'RETURNS' - 'RINGS' SETS $34M RECORD ON FIRST DAY
December 19, 2003 | 5:00am"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is reigning triumphant at the box office, taking in a record $34.1 million opening-day gross - on its way to...
SLAY-HORROR DRIVER: I HAD SEIZURE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA 25-year-old Long Island man charged with murder after a tragic, drug-fueled crash that killed two mothers and a child in Brooklyn earlier this year says he suffered a seizure...
BIGGEST SHOCK: 'LAST SAMURAI' CUT DOWN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S hardly surprising that "Cold Mountain" did so well in the Golden Globes nominations or that "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" came out with half...
ROUNDING 'EM UP - SADDAM'S CAPTURE ALREADY AN INTELLIGENCE WINDFALL
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHERE are three essential rules for men to live by: Never write checks to your mistress on an account you share with your wife; never wear any article of clothing...
NYPD BIG JAILED FOR 100G CHARITY THEFT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA top NYPD official will be sent to prison for about a year after admitting yesterday he looted more than $100,000 from a jailhouse charity to pay for thousands of...
'MOUNTAIN' TOP - CIVIL WAR EPIC DOUBLES UP ON 'RINGS'
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe "Lord of the Rings" juggernaut hit a speed bump yesterday when "Cold Mountain" swept the Golden Globe nominations. The lush Civil War epic snagged eight nods, double the number...
DA HUNTS FOR RUNAWAY BRIDES IN MARRIAGE SCAM
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amProsecutors in Manhattan have issued arrest warrants for seven women they say are involved in a multiple-marriage scam. Immigrants would pay the women between $2,000 and $10,000 for their hands...
BUSH DROPS IN ON WOUNDED TROOPS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday visited soldiers wounded in Iraq - some missing arms and legs - and paid tribute to the doctors and nurses who take care of them...
LIFER'S LAST TAUNT - COP-SHOOT CON TARGETS HEROES
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amCareer criminal Sean Pritchett, who wounded two cops during a wild 1995 shootout, was sentenced in Queens to 75 years to life yesterday - but not before he insulted his...
POW BELLE OF NEW YEAR 'BALL'
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amShoshana Johnson, the first black female POW in U.S. military history, was selected yesterday as the city's "special guest" to help Mayor Bloomberg greet the New Year in Times Square....
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amBROOKLYN * Police say this man (right) is one of two thugs being sought for a pair of daylight muggings that occurred within five minutes of each other near Prospect...
ON THE HOLE, BUDGET TEAM SAYS MIKE'S RIGHT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA leading fiscal watchdog group yesterday confirmed what Mayor Bloomberg has been saying for weeks - that, despite better than expected revenues, New York City is still facing massive budget...
MTA'S JOB CUTS A REAL DOWNER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amUndeterred by a chorus of boos and hisses, the MTA slashed hundreds of jobs yesterday - including the controversial move to eliminate 22 elevator operators - despite ending the year...
COURT ORDERS FEDS TO FREE 'DIRTY' RAT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe Bush administration was ordered yesterday to release the Brooklyn-born "dirty bomb" terror suspect from a military jail in an appeals court ruling that limits the president's authority to detain...
JUDGE EYES FALL TRIAL FOR NORMAN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amBrooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman and his top lieutenant are not expected to be tried on extortion and grand larceny charges until next fall, a judge said yesterday. Judge Martin...
GROUND ZERO TOWER DESIGN DEBUTS TODAY
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThey've buried the hatchet and today rival architects David Childs and Daniel Libeskind will lift the veil on their hybrid Freedom Tower design. The public will get its first glimpse...
UPROAR FOR HARLEM TIGER MAN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIt was a circus, with only the tiger missing. "Tiger Man" Antoine Yates - busted in October for keeping a quarter-ton tiger in his Harlem apartment - came to a...
COURTS VS. THE TERROR WAR - ONE RULING'S FAIR, ONE IS ABSURD - WILL DEMS SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA NEW York-based appeals court ruled yesterday that the Bush administration did not have the right to detain U.S. citizen Jose Padilla as an "enemy combatant" for his association with...
MOM MATCHES SON'S 500G SLOTS WIN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA South Carolina mom won a cool $537,000 playing the slots in Atlantic City - just eight months after her son raked in $512,000 on the same machine. Darlene Allen...
DEAN STANDS BY HIS 'WE'RE NO SAFER' BIT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Howard Dean dug in yesterday and defended his claim that the country's no safer with Saddam Hussein behind bars, and he called his opponents "Washington Democrats" who are...
SHARON: PULLOUT DUE IN 'MONTHS'
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday Israel would begin unilateral steps to cut itself off from the Palestinians within "a few months" if there's no peace progress -...
NEW YUCK CITY FOOD VENDORS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amStreet food vendors aren't aggressively inspected by the city Health Department, which took five months to look into the case of a bagel with lox - and cockroaches - according...
EMINEM WINS ON 'RACIST' CD
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA Manhattan federal judge has come to Eminem's rescue, stopping a hip-hop magazine from distributing a CD of a previously unreleased recording that has allegedly racist lyrics. Judge Gerald Lynch...
AIRTRAIN DEBUT A RUNAWAY HIT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amJFK-bound travelers can finally take the train to the plane - and they're flocking to it in droves. The AirTrain's opening day was a rousing success with riders - attracting...
MOB SON IN HOLIDAY MELTDOWN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amHe's been naughty - not nice. The son of a Gambino crime family captain was arrested yesterday for destroying equipment at the city's largest marine terminal after he was barred...
SCORE 2 MORE ASSAULTS, 1 GUN FOR JUVENILE DELINQUENTS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA gun-toting freshman was nabbed at a Bronx high school, a girl's head was smashed through a trophy case and a librarian was attacked by a suspended student as violence...
DIGITAL DOLT'S CASE NEARING 'RESOLUTION'
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA dull-witted career shoplifter with a yen for digital cameras was arraigned yesterday after his accomplice snapped a picture showing him stealing a cartful of high-tech gear from a Long...
BANDIT-BEATER - QNS. CLERK FIGHTS OFF ROBBERS - AFTER HE'S SHOT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA defiant Queens laundry clerk crowed, "I'm not a wimp. I'm no chicken!" after attacking two masked men who tried to rob him - shoving away a pistol pressed against...
BUBBLEHEADED BURGLAR BUSTED
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA gutsy liquor store clerk tackled a gunman attempting to rob a Bronx liquor store - and the defeated felon might have gotten away with the failed heist if he...
KNOCKOFF SALES SACK CITY PURSE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe city could be losing as much as $500 million a year in tax revenues to peddlers of counterfeit luxury goods, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday as he stood beside the...
BATTERY MATES - JUDGE ORDERS YANKS TO BE TRIED FOR FENWAY FIGHT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amOctober's Fenway Park bullpen brawl became a criminal case yesterday - when a Boston judge beaned two Yankee players with assault charges for allegedly attacking a Red Sox groundskeeper during...
GIFT-BEARING BANK 'BANDIT' JAILED
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA gun-toting robber nabbed for allegedly trying to hold up a bank with a phony bomb wrapped like a Christmas present was put on suicide watch yesterday. Wayne Phillip Costigan,...
KILLER NURSE BEAT DOGS: EX
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe ex-nurse who says he killed as many as 40 patients under his care at hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania in order to end their pain also brutally beat...
SCARED STRAIGHT OUT - ROUGH RACE TAUNTS CHASE GIRL FROM HS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA 14-year-old Brooklyn high-school girl says she's been too frightened to go to school for the past week - ever since three girls taunted her with a racial epithet and...
SNIPER BRAT MALVO CONVICTED IN TERROR SPREE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTeenage sniper sidekick Lee Boyd Malvo - who partnered with Beltway psycho-slayer John Allen Muhammad during his 2002 terror spree - was found guilty of capital murder yesterday in the...
TENANT-SLAY FIEND GETS LIFE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amAn angry Manhattan judge slammed a depraved murderer with 25 years to life in prison, calling the beating and dismemberment slaying "one of the most horrific cases I've ever encountered...
MOURNING KIDNEY OP SET TODAY
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amFormer NBA star Alonzo Mourning is getting a new kidney from his cousin today. "He's going to get a transplant Friday," jubilant New Jersey Nets president Rod Thorn said yesterday....
PARENTS YESTERDAY DEMANDED THAT CITY OFFICIALS TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO BOLSTER SCHOOL SAFETY ...
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amParents yesterday demanded that city officials take immediate action to bolster school safety by booting violent students, increasing security patrols and installing more surveilance cameras. "We have to get rid...
UH, OWE: NEW MARTHA WOE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amMartha Stewart is letting things slip on the home front. Stewart failed to pay nearly $40,000 in monthly maintenance charges on her classy West Village condo. The condo's managers filed...
LITTLE BOY BOOZE - SEX FIEND JACKO USED LIQUOR TO MOLEST: DA
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amBizarro pop superstar Michael Jackson was slapped with nine charges yesterday - seven accusing him of performing lewd acts on a youngster and two accusing him of plying the youngster...
CARE PACKAGE FOR MOM'S DWI KILLER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA Queens construction worker who pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter for mowing down a woman outside her church was given a package yesterday by his victim's daughter before he was...
'PRODUCERS' A FLOP WITH $1,500 TIX FOR NEW YEAR'S BASH
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amMatthew Broderick and Nathan Lane are going to have to find somewhere else to pop their corks on New Year's Eve. The stars of "The Producers" had been planning to...
CITY UNIONS OK BENEFITS PACT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amCity employee unions yesterday agreed to a new health-benefits deal. The Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella organization, agreed to have its members pay a $35 annual charge and higher co-pays...
JURY $OCKS CIG MAKER IN NYER'S DEATH
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA jury yesterday awarded the widow of a man who died of cancer as the result of cigarette smoking $350,000 in compensatory damages - the first time in New York...
JUSTICE FOR VICTIM IN MUTILATE HORROR
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA jury yesterday found two men guilty of hog-tying, gagging, blindfolding, stabbing and burning a Brooklyn man and then leaving him for dead - only for him to rise from...
IRAQI SPIES FED INFO FROM U.S. BASES
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - A document found in Saddam Hussein's briefcase has revealed there was a nest of Iraqi spies operating inside the U.S. military and civilian command centers, it was reported...
COMRADES, KIN CROWD FDNY WAKE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amHundreds of firefighters packed a Queens funeral home yesterday for an emotional wake for fallen comrade Thomas Brick, who died Tuesday fighting a blaze in a mattress storehouse in Inwood....
'TIGER MAN' TURNS COURT INTO A ZOO
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIt was a circus, with only the tiger missing. "Tiger Man" Antoine Yates - busted for keeping a quarter-ton tiger in his Harlem apartment - came to a Manhattan court...
GROUP: ADD $2B TO N.Y. ED. BUDGET
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - New York state must to boost school funding by $2 billion next year to begin to comply with a court order, according to the group that successfully sued...
SPIES EYED IN ATTACK ON BREMER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Assassins targeted the top U.S. civilian in Iraq shortly after he visited Saddam Hussein in prison on Sunday - and investigators are probing whether Saddam's spies in the...
JUST ANOTHER SCHOOLDAY: 2 ASSAULTS, 1 GUN, 1 POT BUST
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA gun-toting freshman was nabbed at a Bronx high school, a girl's head was smashed through a trophy case, a teen was busted with 33 bags of pot and a...
'ROBBER' NABBED AFTER STANDOFF
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA four-hour standoff between cops and a suspected bank robber, who barricaded himself inside a Queens house, ended peacefully last night when he finally gave up, cops said. Lamar Moore,...
BUTCHER SHOP PAIR IN FATAL KNIFE FIGHT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amAn argument between co-workers turned deadly last night when a man was stabbed outside a kosher butcher shop in Williamsburg, cops said. Jose Lewis, 22, was stabbed in the back...
BUSH DROPS IN ON WOUNDED GIS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday visited soldiers wounded in Iraq - some missing arms and legs - and paid tribute to the doctors and nurses who take care of them...
SCARED STRAIGHT OUT: ROUGH RACE TAUNTS CHASE GIRL FROM HS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA 14-year-old Brooklyn high-school girl says she's been too frightened to go to school for the past week - ever since three girls taunted her with a racial epithet and...
PARENTS: BOOT VIOLENT STUDENTS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amParents yesterday demanded that city officials take immediate action to bolster school safety by booting violent students, increasing security patrols and installing more surveilance cameras. "We have to get rid...
AIRTRAIN A RUNAWAY HIT IN DEBUT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amJFK-bound travelers can finally take the train to the plane - and they're flocking to it in droves. The AirTrain's opening day was a rousing success with riders - attracting...
N.Y. GROUP DEMANDS $2B MORE FOR SCHOOLS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amALBANY - New York state must to boost school funding by $2 billion next year to begin to comply with a court order, according to the group that successfully sued...
RANGERS FLEX THEIR MUSCLE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThis is the way hockey must be played in the 21st Century NHL. This is the way the Rangers must play in order to give themselves a chance to break...
LIFELESS ISLES ARE NO-SHOWS VS. RANGERS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe Islanders have been called just about every name in the book this season, from chumps to quitters to being a wee bit sensitive about the fragility of their lockerroom....
FISHY NUMBERS HAVE ANGLERS ON THE HOOK
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHE NEWS coming from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is not good for New York's saltwater anglers. As in the past, the two groups...
PECA WON'T CHANGE HIS TOUGH STYLE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amMichael Peca wasn't quivering at the thought of walking into the Garden last night and he certainly wasn't afraid that some ticked-off Rangers may have been seeking retaliation for the...
SORRY EXCUSE FOR APOLOGIES
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTHE diminished state of our sports culture is such that even apologies ain't what they used to be. Today, the near-apology - the sort-of apology - will do. Saturday, Trail...
THE FAN'S CORNER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amHow's this for a fan: Kelley Peabody named her first-born son Brady in honor of New England quarterback Tom Brady. Her husband, by the way, is a Cowboys fan. The...
SCHWAB SITS AND WAITS - DEV BACKUP GOALIE GETS SO LITTLE TIME
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amATLANTA - The least-worked backup in the NHL says he's ready to rise from his seat. Corey Schwab proclaimed himself ready should Pat Burns give him the nod to guard...
PRO BOWL SOOTHES STRAHAN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIt has been an emotional two days for Michael Strahan. When Jim Fassel told the Giants on Wednesday he was finished as the team's coach, Strahan sat on his locker...
JORDAN ADDS MORE TURMOIL FOR SCOTT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amNET NOTES Hollywood wouldn't even buy this coincidence. Capping off a week during which turmoil was spelled in capital letters for the Nets, a week during which players challenged coaches...
HOUSTON PLEADS FOR WARD RETURN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES TORONTO - In a rare plea to management, Allan Houston yesterday said he's hoping GM Scott Layden does the right thing and brings back Charlie Ward next season,...
PRIME TIME FOR PATS - BELICHICK'S BOYS HAVE FIREPOWER TO SWAMP JETS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIF the prime-time win over the Titans is any indication, the Jets will be a pumped-up team tomorrow night in the Meadowlands. With no consequences for losing, the Jets can...
WISE MAN HONDO PRESENTS HIS GIFTS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIT'S beginning to look a lot like - Schwartz and Cannizzaro? Can't be, but if not them, who? It won't be any of the losers behind Hondo - they're too...
SHOCKEY SNARES PRO BOWL BERTH
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amGIANT NOTES Jeremy Shockey has missed the previous five games and isn't expected to play Sunday against his buddy, Bill Parcells, and the Cowboys. Still, yesterday, Shockey was named to...
'DYESS OFFERS TO SIT DOWN - WANTS TO END THOMAS' TORMENT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amTORONTO - Antonio McDyess has more to worry about with his aching left knee than a teammate's bruised feelings. But McDyess admitted to being troubled by the disharmony wracking the...
COACH HAS WEIS STUFF - JETS KNOW CHARLIE CAN RUN OWN TEAM
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWHEN the 6-8 Jets face the 12-2 Patriots at Giants Stadium tomorrow night, one of the enemy coaches they'll be up against might be - no, should be - the...
JETER NOT WORRIED ABOUT BOSOX MOVES
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amDerek Jeter isn't tossing and turning the nights away worrying about Alex Rodriguez. In fact, as he gave out Christmas toys yesterday inside Children's Hospital at New York Presbyterian, Jeter...
GIANTS LOOK AHEAD - PLAYERS WONDER ABOUT NEW COACH
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amLSU coach Nick Saban, speaking yesterday at a Sugar Bowl press conference, said he had not spoken with the Giants about their head-coaching vacancy and reiterated how happy he is...
HAMMOND TRADED TO OAKLAND
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES The Yankees cleared space in their bullpen yesterday when they dealt lefty Chris Hammond to the A's for two minor leaguers. The question is, who fills the void?...
THORN: NET MOVES MINE, NOT JASON'S
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amCall it Damage Control 101. Nets team president Rod Thorn yesterday met with reporters to discuss a wide range of topics, but zeroed in on his franchise player, Jason Kidd,...
VAZQUEZ SMELLS RED SOX BLOOD
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWith Yankee fans still pining over the loss of Andy Pettitte " and what may end up being the unretirement of Roger Clemens "yesterday the man acquired as their nominal...
NO KIDDIN': SCOTT DOOMED
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIt isn't often a winning coach commands such widespread disrespect. NOW that the metropolitan area's media mob, after finally figuring out what Jason Kidd, the person, is all about, strung...
ANGRY SOX FANS RIP INTO MLBPA
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amA small group of Red Sox fans gathered in front of the Major League Baseball Players Association office building on East 49th Street yesterday in protest of the union's decision...
ELLIS AND MAWAE MAKE AFC TEAM
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amJET NOTES Shaun Ellis finally was rewarded for his hard work when he was named to the AFC Pro Bowl defense yesterday for the first time in his career. The...
HOLE LOT OF RUMORS ABOUT RIGHT
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amMET NOTES Don't count on Vlad. Despite a gaping hole in right field and the open-market presence of the game's best right fielder, the Mets reiterated that they're unlikely suitors...
CONFIDENCE IN CENTER - CAMERON SEES BETTER DAYS AHEAD FOR METS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amHe certainly had his share of pursuers. In the end, though, Mike Cameron looked at the Mets and saw one thing - promise. "I only chose the Mets for one...
SHEEPSHEAD BAY SHOCKS LINCOLN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe popular belief around the PSAL was that this season would be little more than a formality as Lincoln marched to its third straight title. Sheepshead Bay didn't share that...
VAZQUEZ EAGER TO BASH BOSOX
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWith Yankee fans still pining over the loss of Andy Pettitte (and possible unretirement of Roger Clemens), the man acquired as their nominal replacement yesterday said all the right things...
THIS DEAL WILL HAPPEN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amAll parties are continuing to try to get the best deal for themselves, but - more important - everyone knows a deal must get done. COME on, we all know...
BOSTON CAN CURSE FATE
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amRED Sox Nation still has to learn baseball's greatest truth: If you are going to play with the big boys, you have to close the deal. That's something the Red...
BOSTON'S MOVES DON'T BUG JETER
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amDerek Jeter isn't tossing and turning the nights away worrying about Alex Rodriguez. In fact, as he gave out Christmas toys yesterday inside Children's Hospital of New York Presbyterian, Jeter...
'HOT' SNOW FINALLY HAS MELTDOWN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThe magic was gone last night. For four games in a row, Garth Snow gave the Islanders some of the most spectacular goaltending of the season, providing them with some...
NEW HERO & ANOTHER ZERO
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amDevils 3 - Thrashers 0 ATLANTA - Don Quixote scored. The all-but-abandoned dream came true. Career minor- league enforcer Rob Skrlac, at 27 even too old to be a rookie,...
CATCH HER WHILE YOU CAN - MNF HONCHO LUKEWARM ON LISA'S SIDELINE RETURN
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amABC Monday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli says that sideline reporter Lisa Guerrero has improved this season, but he wouldn't guarantee she will return next year. "That is like asking...
5 QUESTIONS FOR DICK EBERSOL
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amThis week, The Post's Andrew Marchand spoke with NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol. The 56-year-old Ebersol signed a nine-year contract this week.Q: What has been the top moment of your...
MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: MICHAEL STRAHAN VS. TIKI BARBER (WHO HAS MORE POTENTIAL AS A BROADCASTER?)
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amWhen Tiki Barber and Michael Strahan stop playing - and some might argue that's already happened, with the way the Giants have performed this year - both could have successful...
THE TUNA CURE - 'BOOT CAMP BILL' HAS 'BOYS ONE VICTORY FROM PLAYOFFS
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amSunday, Giants at Cowboys, 1 p.m., Fox Earlier this season, Fox Sports analyst Troy Aikman heard a Cowboy - whom Aikman declined to name - explaining why Dallas suddenly was...
RANGERS READJUST - BLUESHIRTS GO BACK TO DRAWING BOARD
December 19, 2003 | 5:00amIf ever there were going to be a defining game for these Rangers, last night's Garden match against the Islanders would seem to have been it. Not only was victory...