March 12, 2004

SAT RADIO GIDDY AS STERN FLIRTS

The self-proclaimed "king of all media" could knight a fledgling industry - satellite radio. Howard Stern believes he's going to be fired from his syndicated radio program because of the...

VIACOM WINNER IN DISH DISPUTE

EchoStar caved in to Viacom's demands yesterday, agreeing to put CBS and other cable networks including MTV and Nickelodeon back on the air just two days after kicking them off...

NEW PLAN COULD DUMP GUCCIONE

A bitter new bankruptcy fight could get porn prince Bob Guccione booted from his Penthouse magazine empire and left without any income. The drama took a nasty turn yesterday for...

B OF A EYES STEEP FUND FRAUD FINES

Bank of America may have to fork over more than $300 million to settle allegations that executives allowed certain clients to engage in improper trading, sources close to the matter...

EX-E*TRADE CEO PAYS UP

E*Trade has squeezed another $4.6 million out of its former CEO Christos Cotsakos, ousted for taking an excessive $80 million paycheck while the company's earnings tanked. E*Trade whittled his pay...

JORDAN SHOES IN A SLAM FUNK

With the planned introduction on Saturday of the first Air Jordan sneaker since Michael Jordan retired from basketball, Nike is betting that kids still want to "be like Mike." Yet...

OBSERVERS CALL NEW GUCCI TEAM A FASHION FAUX PAS

The Gucci Group yesterday named four separate designers to replace outgoing chief executive Tom Ford, in a move some observers said is a gamble on an unproven approach to high...

NEW 'GODFATHER' GAME IS IN THE WORKS

Bada-bing, bada-beep. Electronic Arts wants to make gamers an offer they can't refuse. An executive from the video-game company told an investor conference that EA was working on a title...

BENETTON CHANGING ITS COLORS - ANDERSEN, DUMENCO WANT THEIR MAG TO BE MORE 'FUN'

COLORS, the unconventional magazine sponsored by Italian fashion designer Benetton, will have a new look and a New York-based team to replace a staff based in Treviso, Italy when the...

STARR REPORT

Kelli - at long lastRosie O'Donnell's new wife, Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell, is breaking her long silence - and says the couple's decision to get hitched in San Francisco was tied...

WONDER OF IT ALL - QUIRKY SERIES ISN'T EASY TO LOVE

"Wonderfalls" [] (three stars) Tonight at 9 on Fox ----THE THING IS THAT AFTER THEY GET PAST BEING SMARMY AND STUPID, THE SHOW TAKES OFF AND ACTUALLY GETS CLEVER AND...

GREEK TO US

SPARTAN [] (two stars) Mamet misfire. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity). At the Empire, the Kips Bay, the UA 64th and Second, others. --- POLITICAL satire and...

WORTHY LIFE LESSONS FROM A TURKISH ODD COUPLE

DISTANT [ 1/2] (three and one-half stars) Lonely in Istanbul. In Turkish, with English subtitles. Running time: 110 minutes. Not rated (mature subject matter). At the Cinema Village, 12th Street,...

AN ISRAELI FAMILY, UNHAPPY IN ITS OWN WAY

BROKEN WINGS [] (three stars) A remarkable debut. In Hebrew, with English subtitles. Running time: 84 minutes. Rated R (some language, brief nudity and drug use). At the Lincoln Plaza...

'CODY' TANKS

AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON [Zero stars] License to bore. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated PG (action violence, crude humor). At the Empire, the Chelsea, the Union Square, others....

DEATH DEALT DEFTLY

WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF [] (three stars) Facing death in Glasgow. Running time: 111 minutes. Rated R (sex, suicide). At the Lincoln Plaza and the Angelika. ---- DON'T be...

CRACKED 'WINDOW' - FLAWED THRILLER SAVED BY CRAFTY, INVENTIVE DEPP

SECRET WINDOW ½ (tow and one half stars) Another virtuoso Depp turn. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence/terror, sexual content and language.) At the E-Walk, the Lincoln Square, the...

IT'S A 'TRAGEDY' INDEED

SMALL TRAGEDYAt Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St. Ticket Central, (212) 279-4200. Through March 28. ---- IF you're going to attempt to show how real life eerily parallels the story...

EREKA AND OMAROSA FACE OFF

EX-"Apprentice" contestant Ereka Vetrini says her nemesis, Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth, lied when she claimed to have been called the "N" word on Donald Trump's reality show. "I'm here to tell you...

A CAR WRECK

NASCAR 3D: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE [] (One star) Never gets out of first gear. Running time: 45 minutes. Rated PG (some crash scenes). At the Lincoln Square IMAX, Broadway and...

FLIP SIDE OF PARADISE

MAESTRO [] (One star) ----JOSELL Ramos' superficial, talking-heads documentary "Maestro" looks back at the beginnings of the New York underground music scene from the late 1960s into the 1980s. Main...

FILM STRIPPED OF MEANING - AND CLOTHING

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: NEW YORK [ 1/2] (One and one-half stars) Naked game show. Running time: 97 minutes. Not rated (male and female full- frontal nudity). At the Chelsea, 23rd...

THE ELECTED COLLECTED SELECTED SOUNDS

L.A.'s the Elected embody that sunny psychedelic California roots pop sound of Gram Parsons and the Byrds, adding Beach Boys embellishments as well as unexpected electronic touches in some parts...

ALL THE RAGE - BOLT DOWN THE FURNITURE - VINES PLAYING NYC

"When I arrived there were all these cops and drug-sniffing dogs at the station. One of the dogs sniffed me." -Hamish Rosser"It always seems to shock people the first time...

CHUMP 'CHANGE' - STAR ACTRESS LOWBALLED IN B'WAY MOVE

THE maid is holding out for higher wages, and she's prepared to burn down the house to get them. The transfer of "Caroline, or Change" from the Public Theater to...

TV TRUMP GIVES HEIDI HEAVE-HO

BRASSY Heidi Bressler was "fired" by Donald Trump on last night's episode of "The Apprentice." Although Trump called Heidi a "remarkable woman," he said he didn't think she had the...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Texas man - too drunk to drive - put his 11-year-old son behind the wheel for their 200-mile trip home, police said. Cops spotted the car speeding and dangerously...

S.I. CULTURE BIG'S JOB NOT SO 'SNUG'

Snug Harbor Cultural Center CEO Paul Goldberg will step down to take charge of fund raising, ending weeks of uncertainty that caused an uproar in Staten Island's arts community. Board...

SHARPTON CAMPAIGN EYED

WASHINGTON - The Federal Election Commission voted yesterday to give the Rev. Al Sharpton's presidential campaign $100,000 in taxpayer matching funds, but the FEC also will investigate its questionable finances....

NYU: STOP THE SPIN

THE fourth suicide at NYU this academic year brought yet another public relations spin effort from the university. This is the second sentence of the letter to the university community...

GRUBBY SUBWAY - TRAINS CLEANER - BUT STILL A MESS

The Transit Authority may be cleaning up its act in subway cars, but some riders are still getting the short end of the broom, a new survey says. The Straphangers...

JAYSON SHOT 'POINT-BLANK'

SOMERVILLE, N.J. - Costas "Gus" Christofi was standing six to 18 inches away from the end of Jayson Williams' shotgun when it fired and killed him, a leading forensics expert...

BACK TO REALITY - THE BOMBINGS IN SPAIN AND THE U.S. CAMPAIGN

GO ahead, you deluded or dishonest folks who claim George W. Bush has no business discussing or showing the 2001 attacks on America in his advertising. Go right ahead with...

SUMMER SCHOOL NURSE CUTBACK$

Nurses will not be staffing summer schools this year, health officials confirmed yesterday, sparking anger among legislators. "The school health program is substantially over budget," Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden told...

KERRY: NO APOLOGIES

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry yesterday refused to apologize for calling his Republican opponents "crooked" and "lying," while the GOP ripped him for taking the low road. Kerry was under...

HEALTH DEPT. RAIDS MIKE 'CIGAR' HOTEL

The Health Department's "smoking police" raided The St. Regis hotel last week after reports that cigars were smoked during a Wall Street bash attended by Mayor Bloomberg, The Post has...

AL QAEDA FEAR RUNS THROUGH EUROPE

JERUSALEM - Even if it turns out that Basque separatists are responsible for the blood on the tracks in Madrid, European security officials are very concerned about the possibility -...

60 NEW BX. SCHOOLS ON BOOKS

Sixty new schools - including two for boys only and one for girls - will open next fall in The Bronx, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. That means within a year,...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

THE BRONX * An unidentified man was killed yesterday after he apparently leaped in front of a subway train in a Norwood station, authorities said. The man was hit by...

'OLD & TIRED' TYSON THROWING IN TOWEL

Iron Mike has rusted - complaining yesterday he doubts he'll ever return to the ring. "I'm old, I'm tired," Mike Tyson said after his first few hours of community service...

COURT D-DAY FOR CROOKED COPS

Two rogue cops accused of stealing $169,000 from a drug courier will be arraigned today on drug and money-laundering charges as new details emerged yesterday about their long and lucrative...

APPLE ON GUARD - TRAIN SECURITY TIGHTENED AFTER MADRID HORROR

Security was beefed up at transportation terminals around the city yesterday in response to the deadly terror attack in Spain, officials said. "More uniformed forces are out there now," said...

'RELUCTANT' ARREST IN COP 'DWI'

Cops were sloppy in investigating an allegedly drunken colleague whose car collided with a motorcycle in Bay Ridge in 2002, leaving the biker dead, prosecutors implied at trial yesterday. A...

L.I. MOM'S 'SEDUCTION' OF TEEN

The Long Island teen who testified that his best friend's mother had sex with him when he was 15 years old told jurors yesterday she would hit on him, telling...

TRAGEDY RECALLS NYERS' DARK DAY

It was a chilling echo of 9/11. In a frantic search for their loved ones, scores of people rushed to Madrid's main hospital or to a makeshift crisis center to...

COPS SAVE DAY IN QNS. BLAZE

In a dramatic early-morning rescue, three hero cops rushed into a burning Queens building and helped terrified residents flee a quick-spreading blaze that injured eight people, including four firefighters. The...

ANOTHER E. END VANISH MYSTERY

The strange disappearances of two young people who had everything to live for has transformed the Hamptons into a real-life Twilight Zone. Last Friday, 20-year-old auto-parts store manager Jason Kosinski...

ADS HIT 'SOFT' KERRY - W. PLAYS UP TERROR AS ISSUE

WASHINGTON - President Bush's campaign yesterday launched its first TV attack ads, charging that Democrat John Kerry is soft on terrorism. One of the stinging new commercials says Kerry would...

NURSE MOM IN HOSP AS SHOT SON DIES

In an eerie irony, the gun-toting Harlem ex-con fatally shot during a violent struggle with two plainclothes cops was pronounced dead at the hospital where his mom was on duty...

FEDS CHECK BRAKES OF RUNAWAY LIRR TRAIN

Federal investigators spent yesterday examining the brakes of a runaway locomotive in an attempt to determine whether it was a mechanical malfunction or human error, officials said. National Transportation Safety...

MAYOR BACKS KLEIN IN JOB FLAP

Mayor Bloomberg gave beleaguered Schools Chancellor Joel Klein a vote of confidence yesterday, hoping to put an end to the hubby-hiring scandal that led to the ouster of two top...

SADDAM'S U.S. 'SPY' - CONGRESS EX-STAFFER GOT 10G TO AID THUGS: FEDS

An ex-staffer to four members of Congress was busted yesterday on charges she acted as a spy for Saddam Hussein before and after the Iraq war. In the latest Iraqi...

MARTHA GOOD THING

Convicted good-living goddess Martha Stewart will continue to pick the bedspreads and bake the pies at the company she founded, but will resign from her post on the board of...

TEARFUL BUSH DEDICATES 9/11 SHRINE ON L.I.

President Bush wept with 9/11 families yesterday as he helped break ground on Long Island for a memorial to honor those killed in the Twin Towers attack. Anti-Bush protesters marched...

TRUCK KILLS TRAGIC BX. BOY AT CROSSWALK

A nine-year-old boy ignored a crossing guard, stepped into a busy Bronx intersection and was killed by a passing tractor-trailer yesterday, police said. The accident happened just after Jermaine Stewart,...

S.I. MAN 'DEAD' WRONG - ARMY CORPSE SALES

A prominent Staten Island funeral director has been accused of selling cadavers to the U.S. Army for blowing up in landmine experiments when they had been donated for science. A...

SPAIN REELS FROM A '9/11' - * DEATH TOLL 192 IN 10 RAIL BLASTS * SCENES OF HORROR IN MADRID * QAEDA AMONG PRIME SUSPECTS

Ten huge terror blasts tore through packed commuter trains and stations in Madrid yesterday - turning the morning rush hour into a bloodbath that left 192 people dead and more...

COURTS CAN'T BLOW COPS' COVER

In a precedent-setting decision that could protect undercover cops throughout the city, a panel of state appellate judges ruled yesterday that the officers can testify in open court without showing...

ASBESTOS SHUTS DOWN SCHOOL IN BROOKLYN

A Brooklyn public school will be closed indefinitely after asbestos was found in the gym yesterday during a reconstruction project, officials said. Students and staff, who were evacuated from PS...

TRUCK KILLS BX. KID

A 9-year-old boy ignored a crossing guard, stepped into a busy Bronx intersection and was killed by a passing tractor-trailer yesterday, police said. The accident happened just after Jahmal Stewart,...

60 NEW SCHOOLS ON THE BOOKS

Sixty new schools - including two for boys only and one for girls - will open next fall, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. That means within a year, the city will...

BODIES OF EVIDENCE AGAINST CORPSE SELLER

A prominent Staten Island funeral director has been accused of selling cadavers to the U.S. Army for blowing up in landmine experiments after they had been donated for science. A...

D-DAY FOR CROOKED COP DUO

Two rogue cops, accused of stealing $169,000 from a drug courier, will be arraigned today, as new details emerged yesterday about their long and lucrative pattern of rip-offs. Ex-Detective Thomas...

NYPD TO SUE ID WEB SICKO

The NYPD is planning to file suit against a Web-site operator who has posted the names and addresses of undercover cops, federal agents and government officials on the Internet, officials...

A SPLIT DECISION - YANKS, BRAVES DIFFER OVER SHEFF'S INJURY

Tigers 3 - Yankees 2 TAMPA - The Yankees don't care whether Gary Sheffield merely sprained his right thumb or tore ligaments in it last year while playing for the...

SPAIN REELS FROM A '9/11' - * DEATH TOLL 192 IN 10 RAIL BLASTS SCENES OF HORROR IN MADRID * QAEDA AMONG PRIME SUSPECTS

Ten huge terror blasts, exploding in quick succession, tore through packed commuter trains and stations in Madrid yesterday - turning the morning rush hour into a bloodbath that left 192...

UNDER-FIRE KLEIN NAMES DEPUTY

Schools chancellor Joel Klein yesterday named a 40-year veteran educator to replace his top aide, Diana Lam, who was ousted in a nepotism scandal. Carmen Farina, superintendent of Brooklyn's Region...

L.I. COPS BAFFLED AS 2 VANISH

The strange disappearances of two young people who had everything to live for has transformed the Hamptons into a real-life Twilight Zone. Last Friday, a 20-year-old auto-parts store manager spent...

'SEX'-CRAZED SHOP SPREE - FANS 'CARRIE'D AWAY IN SOHO

If you've ever dreamed of raiding Carrie Bradshaw's closet, yesterday was your lucky day. Hundreds of "Sex and the City" wannabes stood in line for hours outside the Ina Consignment...

MISSION: POSSIBLE - UPSET OVER FRIARS GIVES 'NOVA HOPE FOR TOURNEY TITLE

QUARTERFINAL: Villanova 69 - Providence 66 Villanova came to the Garden for the Big East Tournament with a mission: Somehow, some way, the Wildcats had to win two games to...

MARCHING TO MADNESS - ST. JOE'S IS NO. 1 - BUT TOURNEY'S WIDE OPEN

Thursday, NCAA Tournament, 12 p.m., CBS In the mid-1960s, Matt Guokas led some excellent St. Joseph's teams. Today, even with the Hawks' still in his blood, Guokas has doubts if...

SHOCK & AL - TRAUTWIG'S FAVOR FOR RAPPER TURNS INTO A DIRTY SHAME

IF WE'VE said it once, we've written it a thousand times: As a group, sportscasters don't take nearly enough care to learn whom and what they sell, lend and lease...

FOR SALTWATER ANGLERS, A BITTER PILL

SALTWATER fishing season is a week away - but it will be anything but upbeat; especially with the new regulations New York anglers will now have to endure. Summer flounder...

IT JOE'S TO SHOW YOU - IT'S ANYBODY'S TOURNAMENT

PORT ST. LUCIE - The restaurant, R.J. Gators, was abuzz with the news, electric with the lunch-hour latest. Have you heard? Have you seen? The bartenders pointed to the screen....

MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Dick Vitale & Mike Patrick vs. Len Elmore and Dan Shulman (Who would you rather watch do a big game?) ESPN's Dick Vitale is a big part of college basketball....

5 QUESTIONS FOR MATT DOHERTY

This week, The Post's Andrew Marchand spoke with Matt Doherty. Doherty, 42, will analyze the NCAA Tournament for the College Sports Television Network. Doherty, who hails from East Meadow, Long...

HALL-UVA CLAIM BY PACKER - ENSHRINE GAVITT BEFORE ME, CBS-ER SAYS

With his rival analyst Dick Vitale one of the nominees for the Basketball Hall of Fame, Billy Packer proclaimed he would not accept an invitation into the Hall until Big...

ISIAH: I'M BUILDING FOR PRESENT AND FUTURE

KNICK NOTES No, Isiah Thomas doesn't regret making the Keith Van Horn trade. With criticism of Thomas swirling on the New York streets, the Knicks president still doesn't feel he...

PITT STAYS ON TRACK FOR TITLE

QUARTERFINAL: Pitt 74 - Va. Tech 61 It was physical, sloppy and at times downright ugly - for everybody except Pittsburgh. Yesterday's 74-61 Big East quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech...

MOSLEY'S FIGHTING STEROID SUSPICION

LAS VEGAS - By comparison, Sugar Shane Mosley hasn't endured the same scrutiny his baseball brethren, Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, have for their connection to BALCO and...

UNION REP: NO RIFTS ON 'ROIDS

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Union official Michael Weiner, who presided over yesterday's annual spring training meeting with the Mets, claimed no division exists within the Players Association on...

HERM MAY HELP JETS LAND LYNCH

There appears to be a very logical reason why the Jets have waited this long to aggressively pursue a safety to play alongside Jon McGraw. Yesterday, it became known that...

MO'S CONFIDENT DEAL WILL BE DONE

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Mariano Rivera wants a three-year contract extension very badly and is looking forward to having it done before spring training ends. However, the All Star closer...

NO DEAL SUITS SEAN

There were exceptions to the general head-scratching after Lou Lamoriello failed to deal for a defenseman at the trade deadline Tuesday. One of those would be Sean Brown. He had...

BERTUZZI GETS HIS DUE; COACH DESERVED BAN

WOULD all those columnists who only devote their time and space to hockey when it's convenient for them to perpetuate hysterical stereotypical myths about the game please return to their...

TELFAIR VOWS TO BE SEMI-TOUGH

He may have just finished signing dozens of autographs, mainly from fans who had sent him issues of Sports Illustrated with his picture on the cover - and likely is...

IT'S AN INSIDE JOB BOSTON COLLEGE USES VICTORY LANE TO PASS SYRACUSE

QUARTERFINAL Boston Coll. 57 Syracuse 54 The smile couldn't be helped. Boston College coach Al Skinner had just watched his team play 40 minutes of basketball and not make one...

DUNHAM NOT DONE YET

Beginning with his 2-0 shutout victory in Carolina on Dec. 31, 2002, Mike Dunham recorded six shutouts in 39 starts for the Rangers. He then went 46 more starts before...

VILLANOVA FINDS FAITH IN FOYE'S JUMPER

"We told each other that one of these would drop our way and this was the one." - Villanova's JASON FRASER At Villanova, a squad loaded with breathtaking young talent...

BAKER VINS HIS FREEDOM - KNICKS, HEAT VIE TO SIGN EX-CELT

At the end of practice yesterday, as the Knicks tried to further meld together, team president Isiah Thomas sat on a stationary bike, watching, listening and talking. With his cell...

BOSS SEEKING BETTER SPRING RESULTS

TAMPA - George Steinbrenner wants to win every exhibition game, while Joe Torre is more concerned about making sure his veteran team gets ready for the real deal. It's a...

YOU GOTTA LOVE THIS GAME

WHILE I loathe Jerry Colangelo's decision to sell the Suns (the moment Marriott puts the Camelback Inn on the market I'm out of Arizona) there are still 999 reasons to...

BC TURNS SYRACUSE INSIDE-OUT

QUARTERFINALBoston Coll. 57Syracuse 54 The smile couldn't be helped. Boston College coach Al Skinner had just watched his team play 40 minutes of basketball and not make one jump shot....

SPRING IN HIS STEP - FLOYD BATTLING TO REGAIN HIS FORM

PORT ST. LUCIE - Cliff Floyd doesn't know if he'll ever be 100-percent healthy again. His right heel injury has improved, but the soreness lingers. Floyd may never again display...

YES THEY CONN - SUPPORTING CAST STARS FOR HUSKIES

QUARTERFINAL: UConn 66 - N. Dame 58 Notre Dame heard the good news: No-kafor. Emeka Okafor and the stress fracture in his spasming back would be on the UConn bench...

VAZQUEZ EARNS HIS PINSTRIPES

TAMPA - Javier Vazquez may be new to the Yankees, but he understands the responsibility that goes with the job. "For me pitching is fun but I understand my job...

CALIPARI IN STORM MIX - ST. JOHN'S COMMITTEE EXPANDS COACH SEARCH

With the worst season in St. John's basketball history still fresh in its mind, the university's search committee has been working doggedly to find the right coach to lead the...

BOSS WANTS SPRING IN STEP

TAMPA - George Steinbrenner wants to win every exhibition game and Joe Torre is more concerned about making sure his veteran team gets ready for the real deal. However, The...

DEVS ESCAPE WITH WIN

Devils 6 - Hawks 4 The closer the playoffs come, the further the Devils look from being ready to defend their Stanley Cup. Tomorrow's vital visit to Philadelphia will be...

KRAUSER KEEPS PITT ON TITLE TRACK

QUARTERFINAL: Pitt 74 - Va. Tech 61 It was physical, sloppy and at times downright ugly - for everybody except Pittsburgh, that is. Yesterday's 74-61 Big East quarterfinal win over...