February 23, 2004
BID-'EM-UP BATTLE - LAZARD CHAIRMAN CHAFES AT BRUCE'S BIG SPENDING
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amBid-'em-up Bruce seems to have bid things up too high. Since taking the helm of merger boutique Lazard in January 2002, famed dealmaker Bruce Wasserstein's rebuilding strategy has turned the...
RULE CHANGE MAY SPARK TRADING TURF WAR
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amThe SEC is set to propose a rule change tomorrow that, if adopted, will transform the fierce rivalry between the nation's two most significant marketplaces - the New York Stock...
'BILL' AN ACE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amBIG BILLAt the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 W. 65th St. TeleCharge, (212) 239-6200. ---- 'BIG Bill" is A.R. Gurney's impressionistic, jumpy, jaunty biographical play about Bill Tilden, the first...
'ROULETTE' CAN'T SPIN
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amROULETTEAt the John Houseman Theatre, 450 W. 42nd St. Call Telecharge, (212) 239-6200. --- A zany, surreal comedy needs to observe the world from an odd vantage point. In "Betty's...
'SEX' COMES TO A SATISFYING CLIMAX
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIN THE end, all four found love, each in her own way. That's how "Sex and the City" ended its historic run last night. The HBO series, originally about four...
PROBLEM SOLVED: 3 PAGES OF OSCAR FASHION PREDICTIONS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIT'S six days until Oscar night - and designer dresses are flying faster than you can thank your agent. In Los Angeles, the showrooms of Rodeo Drive are jammed with...
DVD RECORDERS PUTTING PLAYERS OUT TO PASTURE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amREMEMBER that sweet five-disc progressive- scan DVD player you dropped $500 on two years ago? It's a dinosaur - make room for it on the shelf next to the old...
KNOCKING ON WOOD - ICON'S 'MYSTERY' STILL LINGERS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amPETER Bogdanovich has known a lot of people in Hollywood, but he barely knew Natalie Wood. "I met her socially at a screening once in '62," recalled Bogdanovich, who has...
'MY HAIR ISN'T TERRIBLE' - DOESN'T CARE WHO KNOCKS HIS LOCKS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amDONALD Trump can't get out from under his hair. The billionaire builder and now TV star of "The Apprentice" let a reporter take a close look at his scalp this...
LEARNING HOW TO BE 'COOL'
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIN retrospect, it seems inevitable - a cable channel is putting together a new reality-makeover show about a team of blacks trying to show a white person how to be...
SPREAD THE EMMY LOVE AROUND
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTHE Emmys are getting a makeover. In hopes of breaking the habit of the usual suspects winning year after year - "The West Wing" has won best drama four years...
CONSERVATIVE BIG COOL TO CHUCK FOE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amGOV. PATAKI'S long-shot candidate to challenge Sen. Charles Schumer is already in trouble with the state's small but influential Conservative Party. "I'm not convinced Howard Mills is the best decision...
NEW CHUCK-HILL RIVALRY - BOTH JOSTLING FOR KEY SENATE FINANCE-PANEL SEAT
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer are in competition again, this time as they gear up for a fight to win a coveted spot on the prestigious...
A-ROD STOCK A-RI$ING - COLLECTOR DEMAND SOARS FOR HIS ITEMS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amEverybody wants a piece of A-Rod - and that's sent the prices of Alex Rodriguez memorabilia rocketing higher than one of the prolific power hitter's patented home-run blasts. Baseballs signed...
TEARFUL FAREWELL FOR DELIVERY TEEN
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amDozens of mourners gathered at the funeral of slain Queens deliveryman Huang Chen yesterday - without the robbery victim's heartbroken mother. Family members said Shui Jin Lin was too grief-stricken...
YANKEES FACING RAP FOR MORGY TIX
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amALBANY - Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has been tossed a political hot potato - the possible criminal prosecution of the New York Yankees for giving tickets to Manhattan District Attorney...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amA Michigan thief who broke into a home, stole a gun and then defecated on the floor may wish he'd thought twice about that last act - he's been sentenced...
'PASSION' IS 'ONE OF THE CRUELEST MOVIES' EVER: TOP CRITIC
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMel Gibson's controversial movie, "The Passion of the Christ," got its first critical pan today, a scathing review in The New Yorker that calls it "a sickening death trip." In...
PROTESTING AMERICA
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amJOHN Kerry arrives in New York today. Our city is an old stomping ground of his, of course. He used to hang out at 156 Fifth Avenue - the headquarters...
BILL WOULD LET ARNIE BE PREZ
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amActor-turned-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday left the door wide open to a future White House bid as he touted a proposed constitutional amendment to let foreign-born Americans like himself run for...
GUARD & COUNTRY - 11 IRAQ-BOUND N.Y. GIS BECOME CITIZENS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTwo weeks ago, these 11 foreign-born New Yorkers weren't even citizens yet. Two weeks from now, they'll be serving their adopted country on the front lines in Iraq - as...
ISRAEL BEGAN TEARING DOWN A SMALL SECTION OF ITS CONTROVERSIAL WEST BANK BARRIER YESTERDAY ...
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIsrael began tearing down a small section of its controversial West Bank barrier yesterday, a day before the World Court opens hearings on the fence's legality. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom...
FERRER WOOS QUEENS HOMEOWNERS WITH EYE ON MIKE'S JOB
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amFernando Ferrer courted homeowners in Queens yesterday, setting the stage for his expected 2005 run against Mayor Bloomberg - who raised property taxes 18.5 percent. Ferrer, who has run for...
DEMS WAIL AS NADER JOINS RACE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTo the distress of Democrats, consumer advocate Ralph Nader yesterday said he'll run for president again this year because the two parties are too much alike - insisting Al Gore...
OSCARS' GUILDY PRESSURE - ACADEMY'S EYES ON ACTORS' PRIZE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amAcademy Award fever reached the boiling point last night as movie stars, directors and studios nervously awaited the results of the last of the "Oscar Jr." award shows. The Screen...
'PRESIDENT ARNIE' - HAILS BID TO OPEN RACE TO FOREIGNERS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amor-turned-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday left the door wide open to a future White House bid as he touted a proposed constitutional amendment to let foreign-born Americans like himself run for...
WEB WEAVES SUPPORT FOR EDWARDS AMONG OLD DEAN BACKERS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amROCHESTER - John Edwards' long-shot battle for New York has begun to pick up some support from frustrated Howard Dean backers, including a former press secretary who yesterday launched a...
SCHUMER TAKES ON 'WEB' OF DECEIT
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIllicit Internet pharmacy businesses are ripping off consumers by the "tens of millions of dollars," Sen. Charles Schumer charged yesterday as he called on two federal agencies to begin a...
MAYOR BEGS MTA TO HELM PRIVATE BUSES
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg made another plea yesterday to get the MTA to take over the city's seven private bus lines. Just days before a panel is expected to approve a plan...
EMT BLOWN AWAY - SHOOTING ENDS BARROOM FEUD
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amA paramedic was shot dead inside a Queens after-hours bar yesterday when his feud with a hot-tempered boozer erupted in violence, police said. Erick "Eddie" Gonzalez, 25, died two hours...
MONEY GAL HOLDS FATE OF MARTHA
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMartha Stewart's hopes of avoiding prison could rest in the hands of her longtime financial adviser Heidi DeLuca, who will take the witness stand this week to back up her...
FLIGHT FRIGHT - STALLED ENGINE FORCES WHITE-KNUCKLE JFK LANDING
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amPassengers on a Tokyo-bound flight out of Kennedy Airport got the scare of a lifetime yesterday when one of the plane's engines failed and the aircraft was forced to turn...
COP CRASH - TWO OFFICERS INJURED IN QUEENS CHASE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTwo cops were incredibly lucky to be alive last night after their police cruiser wound up a crumpled heap of metal when it collided with a luxury SUV during a...
SUBWAY CHANGES LOOK RAIL GOOD TO COMMUTERS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIt's not quite as simple as A-B-C, but straphangers yesterday seemed to be getting the hang of the B-D-M-N-W-Q subway lines affected by the massive new route changes that went...
'PERFECT' DAD SHOT DEAD IN ID MISTAKE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amA young Brooklyn father of two was shot and killed yesterday - and police sources said he may have been targeted by neighborhood thugs who wrongly believed he was snitching...
54 HURT AS BUS SMASHES TRUCK
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amA Canadian bus carrying 48 passengers bound for Miami plowed into a tractor-trailer and two other vehicles at a U.S. Border Patrol roadblock 90 miles north of Albany yesterday, injuring...
3 INJURED IN VICIOUS SUBWAY ASSAULTS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIt was a weekend of violence on the subways, as three straphangers were attacked, one in The Bronx and two in Brooklyn, police said. A 20-year-old man was viciously stabbed...
NADER JOINS RACE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTo the distress of Democrats, consumer advocate Ralph Nader yesterday said he'll run for president again this year because the two parties are too much alike - insisting Al Gore...
INSURANCE SPURS MONTHLY-METROCARD SURGE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMore straphangers are taking advantage of monthly MetroCards - thanks to the insurance policy that comes with them. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued 12,805 refunds to 30-day card users...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amQUEENS * A woman was hospitalized last night after being found on a Ridgewood street doused with gasoline. The woman, whose name and age were not immediately released, was found...
CROWN FOR 'THE KING' - SURPRISE WIN FOR BEST ACTOR DEPP
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amThe magnificent gnome-and-nobility flick "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" copped overall top honors at last night's Screen Actors Guild awards - but it was quirky...
STUDENTS FLEE HOFSTRA FIRE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amAn electrical fire broke out in a Hofstra University dormitory last night, forcing students to flee the building and seek emergency housing elsewhere on the Long Island campus, fire officials...
EDWARDS HAILS OLD FOE DEAN IN BID TO WOO HIS BACKERS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amROCHESTER - Trailing badly in the polls, John Edwards last night stepped up his courtship of lingering supporters of Howard Dean's aborted Democratic presidential campaign. During a campaign stop in...
STUDENTS FLEE HOFSTRA DORM FIRE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amAn electrical fire broke out in a Hofstra University dormitory last night, forcing students to be evacuated for about two hours, fire officials said. No one was injured in the...
QNS. QUINTS THRIVE AS 5
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMY, HOW they've grown! When last we visited the Brooklyn-born quintuplets, one year ago, the enormous brood of tiny babies was languishing in the hospital, without a home to call...
PARKS DEPT. SENT KIDS TO JEW-BLAMING 'CROWN HEIGHTS' PLAY
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amThe Parks Department sent kids in an after-school program to a play that Jewish leaders charge "distorts history" and exacerbates racial tensions, The Post has learned. The play, called "Crown...
RIVALS HAVE 'WEALTH' OF EXPERIENCE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Presidential hopefuls John Kerry and John Edwards are both filthy rich, but how they obtained their millions - and how they spend them - set the two Democrats...
REVEALED: CITY SCHOOLS THAT ARE HOOKY HAVENS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amCall it the hooky report card. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has compiled a 36-page top-to-bottom ranking of absenteeism at all of the city's 300 schools and programs. The Shuang Wen...
MTA PASS A HOT TICKET
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMore straphangers are taking advantage of monthly MetroCards - thanks to the insurance policy that comes with them. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued 12,805 refunds to 30-day card users...
MARTHA FATE IN HANDS OF MONEY GAL
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMartha Stewart's hopes of avoiding prison could rest in the hands of her longtime financial adviser Heidi De- Luca, who will take the witness stand this week to back up...
STALLED ENGINE FORCES WHITE-KNUCKLE JFK LANDING
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amPassengers on a Tokyo-bound flight out of Kennedy Airport got the scare of a lifetime yesterday when one of the plane's engines failed and the aircraft was forced to turn...
GEG LINE HAS DEVS ROLLING
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amDevils 3 - Flames 1 In their weekend of wonder, the Stanley Cup champs again resembled contenders, a team worth tweaking. Suddenly paced by their GEG Line, whose two goals...
ALL'S FORGIVEN AT TOURNEY TIME
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amWE were in the same place this time last year. Everyone was down on big-time college ball. Only that stuff at Fresno St., St. Bonaventure and Georgia that made people...
RANGERS TRY TO KEEP THE FAITH
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amIn the Rangers' locker room, Jed Ortmeyer smirked. He couldn't believe that for the first time since he grabbed a hockey stick, his team would miss the playoffs. Down the...
CLARK CHEWING ON REFS' WAFFLE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amKevin Clark apologized to his players and the media for his blowup in the final seconds of Saturday night's 54-53 loss at Virginia Tech. Frankly, it was refreshing to see...
THE CLIFF'S EDGE SETTLES FOR SECOND
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amLike Birdstone and Eurosilver, trainer Nick Zito's other top candidates for the May 1 Kentucky Derby, The Cliff's Edge turned in a solid if unspectacular effort in his first start...
NINJA SHORTSTOP
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - As sexy as the Mike Piazza to first base story is, the success of the Mets is going to depend on how quickly Kazuo Matsui and...
WILKENS: NO NEED TO HURRY HOUSTON
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amKNICK NOTES Allan Houston's bad knees may force him to miss the Knicks' entire four-game West Coast swing, coach Lenny Wilkens said yesterday before Houston missed his 10th straight game....
LEBRON AS GOOD AS HE HAS TO BE
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amSOME day, probably in the distant future, when or if Isiah Thomas has transformed them into Bad Boy Knicks, LeBron James, who will soon be faster than a bullet and...
FANS TELL TIM HE'S NO KEITH
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amAs Tim Thomas' 23-foot shot clanged off the rim - and with the Knicks getting blown out of their own building by lowly Cleveland - a chant began cascading down...
TURNAROUND TIME - GLAVINE OUT TO ERASE UGLY '03
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amPORT ST. LUCIE - You are Tom Glavine and you're 37 years old. You've won more games in your career than all but eight other southpaws. You've captured two Cy...
A REAL HERO TO HIS SUBS
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTo Aaron Williams, it's about matchups. To Lucious Harris, it's about consistency. To Rodney Rogers, it's about using everybody. Lawrence Frank's substitution patterns have given the Nets a far more...
METS: HELP FROM KEITH NOT NEEDED
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amMET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - The franchise player is learning how to play first base. The best first baseman in club history was an 11-time Gold Glove winner. So...
TOO MANY DEALS? - RETOOLED KNICKS LOOK UNSETTLED
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amCavs 92 - Knicks 86 The Chosen One - as the billboard of LeBron James a block away from the Garden proclaims - arrived at basketball's Mecca yesterday. By the...
NET NOTEBOOK
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amThe Nets have been seeking additional size for a few seasons now: Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Eddie Griffin, an off-season attempt at Rasheed Wallace. Though elusive, the solution may be...
SUPERSTAR SAYS HE HAS TO EARN STRIPES
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTAMPA - He is not going to pick up balls and put them in a bucket during batting practice. Nor is he about to lug the bats from the team...
LOFTON: I'LL DH IF NEEDED
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Joe Torre will meet with Kenny Lofton today to discuss where the veteran leadoff hitter fits into the Yankees' lineup. Lofton, who reported to camp yesterday,...
IT STILL LOOKS ODD
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amKISSIMMEE - Andy Pettitte began the first day of his new job at 8:55 a.m., when he pulled into the company parking lot and became engulfed by autograph seekers. Already...
ROCKET: YANKS WEREN'T 'TRUE' TO ANDY
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amKISSIMMEE - Roger Clemens yesterday seemed disappointed that the Yankees bungled the Andy Pettitte negotiation, comparing the Bombers' ineptitude in courting Pettitte to his own messy divorce with the Red...
ROCKET: YANKS NOT 'TRUE' TO ANDY
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amKISSIMMEE - Roger Clemens yesterday seemed disappointed that the Yankees bungled the Andy Pettitte negotiation, comparing the Bombers' ineptitude in courting Pettitte to his own messy divorce with the Red...
DJ LEAVES ALEX IN WONDERING LAND - ICY JETER SEEMS TO HAVE LEFT A-ROD IN THE COLD
February 23, 2004 | 5:00amTAMPA - Forget about ever seeing the kind of barbed exchange between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez that Boston owner John Henry and George Steinbrenner delivered last week. These players...
WORLD IS OURS - MILLAR TO BOMBERS: SOX WILL WIN IT ALL
February 23, 2004 | 5:00am" I honestly believe that we're going to win the World Series this year." - Kevin Millar FORT MYERS - Kevin Millar walked into the new season in much the...