August 19, 2005
BLACK CORNERED - TWO TOP HOLLINGER EXECS CHARGED MAY TESTIFY
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTick-tock. That's the sound of time ticking away on shamed ex-newspaper baron Conrad Black's days as a free man. Yesterday two of Black's former top deputies at newspaper giant Hollinger...
METS GO 1-0 VS. CABLE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amCablevision struck out in its bid to halt the Mets from starting their own sports network. Judge Helen Freedman of New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan tossed Cablevision's lawsuit...
BYRNE TARGET TO FIRE BACK
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amRocker Partners, the short-selling hedge fund being sued by Overstock.com, said it is in the process of filing a counter-suit against the company and its controversial chief executive officer, Patrick...
CELEBS TO 'SELL' PHONES
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amCelebrities go for their own clothing lines, perfumes, energy drinks and even iPods. Now, they're doing their own cellphone services. A new generation of wireless providers - so-called mobile virtual...
JUDGE THROWS OUT CABLEVISION-METS SUIT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amCablevision struck out in its bid to halt the Mets from starting their own sports network. Judge Helen Freedman, of New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, tossed Cablevision's lawsuit...
KOREA SENDS HORRID BUT HEARTFELT 'SYMPATHY'
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amBLOOD and urine flow freely in the savage yet spellbinding "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," by South Korean cult helmer Park Chanwook, whose "Oldboy" continues to jolt viewers in New York....
NOTHING TO CELIBATE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00am'THE 40-Year-Old Virgin" is a calculating crowd-pleaser aimed squarely at the under-25 crowd, who can feel free to add a star or two to my rating. Like the somewhat less...
MIDLIFE'S ENJOYABLE DILEMMAS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00am'KING of the Corner," a witty and wise midlife comedy, not only represents Peter Riegert's debut as a feature director but gives this gifted veteran performer his juiciest big-screen role...
'VALIANT' TRY, BUT ...
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amIF your kid has a poster of Adm. Nelson rather than 50 Cent over his bed, if he remembers newsreels and the Normandy invasion - in short, if your kid...
MILITARY NIXES 'FEAR'
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amFOR the U.S. Department of Defense, fear will officially not be a factor. The DOD will not allow active-duty service members to appear on NBC's "Fear Factor" as official representatives...
CHICAGO TROUPE FLUIDLY BLENDS FOREIGN STYLES
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amCHICAGO, set in a wind tunnel in the heart of the nation, must be among the most American of cities. Yet its splendid Hubbard Street Dance Chicago has a disconcertingly...
LAST LAUGH - PLOTTING AND BACKSTABBING PAY OFF FOR 'BIG BROTHER'
August 19, 2005 | 4:00am'BIG Brother 6" still has another month to go - but it's already earned its stripes among "BB" fans. "For me, [the strength of this season] has been the unknowable...
A MAVERICK GOES IT ALONE - MODEST MASTER STRUMS OF LOVE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTHE clash of sight and sound was jarring when rotund Raul Malo reached for the sweet, pure falsetto notes Wednesday at the opening night of his residency at Joe's Pub....
A FINE STATE OF MIND
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amSUFJAN Stevens is on a mission to celebrate each of the 50 states in song. He debuted his home state, releasing "Greetings from Michigan" two albums ago, strayed a bit...
COHN: I THOUGHT I'D DIE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amMARC Cohn, the musician-husband of ABC's Elizabeth Vargas shot in an aborted carjacking, says he thought he was going to die. "I touched myself, and it was blood all over...
JET SCREAM - SURPRISING 'RED EYE' BUILDS SOME CABIN PRESSURE; A SCARE-PLANE RIDE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amIN a summer when so many overhyped, overlong and sloppily directed movies have disappointed, Wes Craven's unpretentious, lightning-paced B-movie "Red Eye" offers far more nail-biting thrills than we've come to...
A WYNN-WIN SITUATION - VEGAS BETS BROADWAY SHOWS WILL HIT JACKPOT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00am'THE money is unbelievable. It almost has no meaning out there." That's how one top theater producer describes the scene in Las Vegas, where theater creators, producers and investors seem...
STARR REPORT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amJust settle it already That that long-talked-about danceoff between "Dancing with the Stars" winner Kelly Monaco and runner-up John O'Hurley has been booked for Tuesday, Sept. 22 on ABC (8:30-10...
HARE-RAISING - LINDA HOPS FOR 'GREG THE BUNNY' RETURN
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTALK about life imitating art! If only I'd been smart enough to watch "Hopeless Pictures," a new animated sitcom premiering on IFC tonight (it has been playing on the Web...
MARY'S HOT PICKS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amBlues guitarist and vocalist James Blood Ulmer (pictured) a 63-year-old South Carolina native who first picked up a guitar at age 4, celebrates his new stripped-down disc, "Birthright," at the...
MARIAN KIND - 'DEDICATION' THE STUFF OF SELDES
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amIT takes a lot to blow Nathan Lane off the stage. But a leggy 76-year-olddoes it every day - twice on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Meet Marian Seldes - student of...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amEllie Barr puts out plenty of birdseed to make quail welcome around her home, but maybe should start sprinkling it on her car engine, too. The nurse from Yakima, Wash.,...
TEEN HELPING WOMEN DRESS FOR SUCCESS - DONATES PEARLS FOR JOB SEEKERS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA Queens teen who started her own costume-jewelry business is working on another gem of a project - donating jewelry to a charity that dresses women going for job interviews....
IRAQI BRAVEST 'HUMBLED' BY PROMOTION
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amWhen Airman Gregg Magi was promoted to FDNY lieutenant in Iraq on Wednesday, he could hear the applause from 6,000 miles away - over a phone line. For Magi, it...
'RAT'-A-TAT-TAT VS. WEINER
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amEnraged union leaders called Democratic mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner "a rat" yesterday, after he said they should "hang their head in shame" for backing Mayor Bloomberg's re-election. They made sure...
PRICE-PLUNGE LOOMS FOR 'INFLATED' HOMES
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amCalifornia house values are sitting on a precarious bubble, but homeowners here have little to fear, a new study says. Median prices for single-family homes in a third of the...
IT'S A THREE-FOR-ALL TO FACE FERRER IN RUNOFF
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amIt's beginning to look like a real horse race for the No. 2 spot in the Democratic primary for mayor. A poll released yesterday showed three of the four contenders...
BLOODIED 'SEX FIEND' AT HIS DOOR
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA Bronx building porter yesterday chillingly described how a blood-spattered sex offender wanted for assaulting a Health Department inspector knocked on his apartment door as police bloodhounds outside sought the...
KOSHER COUPLE ENJOYS WATER, WITH A SIDE OF RESPECT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amIf you keep kosher, there's something for you at Parkhill's Waterfront Grill - if you like ketchup, that is. While the menu - featuring burgers, buttered shrimp and pork rolls...
SUBWAY LEAD PERIL 'ELEVATED'
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA dilapidated elevated subway station along the No. 3 line in Brooklyn is covered with peeling paint that contains 56 times more lead than federal safety limits allow for, according...
TAGGER TO MIKE: LET US SPRAY
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe organizer of a graffiti block party the city is trying to shut down has an offer for Mayor Bloomberg: Get a can of spray paint and join us. "I'd...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amBROOKLYN * A 70-year-old civil engineer who was taking "before" pictures of a Brooklyn building set to be renovated was beaten by a man who objected to the photo shoot,...
WELD'S LACK OF COURTESY RILES BRUNO
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno yesterday chastised former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld for not calling him to express interest in a run for New York governor. Bruno...
CITY SELLS LAST VACANT LOTS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe city has reached a milestone that no one could have predicted years ago - selling off the last of its vacant lots, it was announced yesterday. The 248 parcels...
WHEELCHAIR TRAGEDY - TRUCK KILLS ACTOR'S DISABLED DAD IN QNS.
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA truck swerving to avoid a young boy on a busy Queens street clipped the child and then fatally crushed a 67-year-old stroke victim sitting in his wheelchair in front...
RABBI'S 'HIGHER' CALLING - FACES POT RAP
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amMembers of a Westchester synagogue will "weed" it and weep - their beloved rabbi was busted with marijuana in his car, cops said yesterday. Rabbi Steven Kane, 50, head of...
'DIRTY' DISH ON N.J. 'JEW' EATERY - 2ND DINER TELLS OF GETTING CHECK WITH NASTY INSULT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA posh Jersey Shore eatery, under fire for referring to a pair of diners as a "Jew Couple" on their check, is in hot water again. Longtime customer Joanne Fordyce...
'TWO-TIMING' CONDUCTOR FACES MUSIC
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA Manhattan teacher accused of cutting class to conduct her symphony orchestra may have been playing musical chairs with taxpayer money, city Department of Cultural Affairs records suggest. The New...
GOTTI RAT: MY THUGS WERE BEHIND '89 YUSUF RACE SLAY
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amMob turncoat Joseph D'Angelo made a bombshell admission yesterday: The goons behind the explosive 1989 murder of Yusuf Hawkins in Bensonhurst were there on his orders - and he attempted...
PENTAGON DENIES IT ID'D ATTA
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The military brass hit back at an Army intelligence officer yesterday, saying a probe has found nothing to back up his claims that an intelligence unit had discovered...
GOTTI RAT: I SENT 1989 RACE KILLER
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amGambino gangsters were responsible for the notorious racially motivated killing of Yusuf Hawkins, the black teen whose senseless murder polarized and traumatized the city in 1989, it was revealed yesterday....
NATASHA'S HELL - 'MISSING' STAR FOUND IN DOWNTOWN HOSP FACING DESPERATE DRUG AND HEALTH CRISIS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00am"American Pie" star Natasha Lyonne, on the lam since she failed to appear in court in April, is lying in Beth Israel Hospital's intensive-care unit under an assumed name -...
EX-COP'S SHOOTING CONVICTION TOSSED
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amAn appeals court yesterday threw out a controversial assault conviction against a cop who accidentally shot an unarmed teen - saying it could have set a dangerous precedent. The now-retired...
COPS BUST OD CO-EDS' 'PUSHER'
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe Manhattan man who lives in the apartment where two co-eds died of apparent drug overdoses has been slapped with drug charges, police said yesterday. Alfredo Morales, 34, was picked...
MAID IN THE SHADES - DE NIRO 'SCAMMER' BAIL CASH CLEAN: JUDGE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe maid-to-the-stars accused of ripping off five wealthy clients - including Robert De Niro's wife and Candice Bergen - was sprung from jail yesterday after her bail money passed a...
BROOKLYN MOTHER AND SON, 8, FOUND BUTCHERED
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA teenage girl survived a frenzied attack that left her mother and brother brutally murdered in their Coney Island home yesterday, cops said. Patricia Whitley, 46, and her son Malik,...
1930 CRATER VANISH 'SOLVED' - DEAD WOMAN'S NOTE: MY HUBBY & COP PAL KILLED JUDGE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe NYPD's longest-running unsolved missing-person case - the bizarre and famous disappearance of Judge Joseph Force Crater - may finally be solved. Judge Crater - who vanished mysteriously 75 years...
WEINER IS A RAT: UNION BIGS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amEnraged union leaders called Democratic mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner "a rat" yesterday, after he said during Tuesday's debate they should "hang their head in shame" for backing Mayor Bloomberg's re-election....
EMINEM HITS A LOW NOTE: REHAB
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amEminem has checked into a hospital for a drug-rehab stint, the rapper's record company announced yesterday - two days after he scrubbed a European tour that had been scheduled to...
HORROR IN CONEY - MOM AND 8-YEAR-OLD SON BUTCHERED
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA madman stabbed a woman to death and decapitated her 8-year-old son in their Coney Island apartment yesterday, cops said. Patricia Whitley, 46, was found with numerous knife wounds on...
'POT' RABBI HAS HIGHER CALLING
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amMembers of a Westchester synagogue will "weed" it and weep - their beloved rabbi was busted with marijuana in his car, cops said yesterday. Rabbi Steven Kane, 50, head of...
SEX FIEND AT MY DOOR
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA registered sex offender who allegedly assaulted a female Health Department worker knocked on a Bronx porter's door hours after the attack and asked to use his sink to clean...
JETS' OPEN FIELD - QNS. MAY GET PARKLAND
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe Jets want to run a Flushing flea-flicker. If the city hands off 13 acres of Flushing Mead ows Park for the team's new stadium, the Jets are ready to...
JETS' OPEN FIELD - MIGHT TURN WILLETS POINT INTO PARKLAND
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe Jets want to run a Flushing flea-flicker. If the city hands off 13 acres of Flushing Meadows Park for the team's new stadium, the Jets are ready to turn...
NATION'S MOST INFLATED HOUSING MARKETS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amHomeowners, beware. Median prices for single-family homes in a third of the U.S. housing market are "extremely overvalued" and at high risk of a price correction, according to a study...
ANTI-WAR MOM OUT OF TEXAS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amFallen soldier's mom Cindy Sheehan, who launched an anti-war vigil near President Bush's ranch two weeks ago, yesterday left Texas to rush home to California because her mom suffered a...
VACANT CITY LOTS GO ON THE BLOCK
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe city has reached a milestone that no one could have predicted years ago - selling off the last of its vacant lots, it was announced yesterday. The 248 parcels...
MA, BOY, 8, SLAIN - SISTER SAVED AFTER 5-HR. CONEY ORDEAL
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA courageous 14-year-old girl found her mother and kid brother butchered - then was forced to spend five terrifying hours with the madman who slaughtered her family before sneaking away...
OUTRAGE AS BOAT 'KILLER' IS FREED - 4-HOUR DELAY IN DWI TEST
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe allegedly drunken driver of a speeding boat that killed a Long Island girl was sprung without bail yesterday after blood tests found no alcohol in his system - four...
THE TEMPLE OF GLOOM - TROOPS TAKE SETTLERS FROM SYNAGOGUES
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Israeli riot police stormed synagogues and removed hundreds of hard-line settlers and their young supporters yesterday, in the most violent confrontations of the Gaza Strip withdrawal. Authorities said...
ARIEL RELIEVED STRIFE HASN'T TURNED TO CIVIL WAR
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - In between meetings at his Jerusalem office yesterday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon looked at the TV screen to catch glimpses of something no one ever thought they'd see...
'DIRTY' DISH ON N.J. 'JEW' EATERY- 2ND DINER TELLS OF GETTING CHECK WITH NASTY INSULT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA posh Jersey Shore eatery, under fire for referring to a pair of diners as a "Jew Couple" on their check, is in hot water again. Longtime customer Joanne Fordyce...
TEED-OFF MEDIA CATCH PGA'S EAR
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTALE of Two Issues: The sports media, at least the print side, had a strong week. They identified, attacked and perhaps helped reduce a problem. The final round of the...
OFFSHORE ACTION IS HOT & HEAVY
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amOFFSHORE fishing has been hot the past two weeks, offering a variety of big time game fish for some challenging action. Tuna, marlin, swordfish and sharks have provided the excitement...
MLB GIVES $1M TO 'ROID CHARITY - MCGWIRE FOLLOWS SUIT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amA few days after the March 17 congressional steroids hearing, Donald Hooton was back in his Plano, Texas, home when the phone rang. When he picked it up, he heard...
CHAD TO SEE YA - FIRST SNAPS FOR PENNINGTON
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThough it is merely a preseason game, a night of competitive practice against another team, tonight's game between the Jets and Vikings at Giants Stadium does represent an unveiling of...
JACOBS TRIES TO CATCH ON
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amProving it's better to arrive late than never, Mike Jacobs was recalled by the Mets from Double-A ball Wednesday afternoon and got to Flushing just in time for his first...
MAC SLAMS USTA
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThe U.S. Open isn't for 10 days, but John McEnroe was in rare form yesterday, blasting the USTA for failing to install instant replay for this year's fortnight, saying tennis...
JENNINGS HOPES FOR MANY HAPPY RETURNS
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amGIANT NOTES ALBANY - The revolving door at punt returner for the Giants has now allowed Michael Jennings to enter. He gets first crack tomorrow night in the preseason game...
'TRACTOR' TRAYLOR MAY PARK IN JERSEY
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amWhile the Lakers have stepped in and interrupted their pursuit of free agent Aaron McKie, the Nets appear to be just days away from adding Robert "Tractor" Traylor to their...
BROWN SET TO GIVE HOUSTON HIS SHOT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amAllan Houston played just 20 games last season. One of them was against Larry Brown's Pistons. It happened to be one of the most effective games of his short-lived comeback...
CARLOS HITS BACK - AFTER CRASH, BELTRAN STAYS HOT AT PLATE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThere wasn't much suspense yesterday when Carlos Beltran's name was again in the Mets' lineup. Wednesday, Beltran played his first game since last Thursday's horrific collision with Mike Cameron, and...
FACING WRIGHT WRONG MOVE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amIT'S a no-brainer that keeps turning into a head-scratcher for Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon. Having come to the logical conclusion that Cliff Floyd is the most dangerous hitter in the...
CHOWDER'S FIRST IN FEATURE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amAt meeting with horsemen yesterday, NYRA president Charles Hayward discussed variety of issues - detention barns, purses, search to hire new director of racing and plan to offer rebate program...
PIAZZA NOT SURE ABOUT WEEKEND
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amMET NOTES Mike Piazza said his fractured left hand was "a little better" yesterday. But the injured Mets catcher did not start again last night against the Pirates and couldn't...
LEITER NO LOCK FOR NEXT START
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES CHICAGO - Late Wednesday night, Joe Torre was asked if Al Leiter was going to start Tuesday against the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. "I am not sure,...
ALL BACKED UP - AFTER ELI, IT'S WIDE OPEN FOR BIG BLUE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amALBANY - Up ahead, Eli Manning has tomorrow night's preseason game against the Panthers at Giants Stadium to hone in on. Swirling around him are messy scenarios involving the quarterbacks...
AMAZIN'S ZIPPED BY ZACH
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amZach Duke came, he saw, and he kicked the Mets square in the teeth last night in a dominating 5-0 win at Shea, as the young Bucs lefty was untouchable...
THIS PITT STOP DISTURBING
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTHE fans began leaving Shea Stadium after the seventh inning last night, convinced their Mets had no shot to overcome the 4-0 deficit they faced against the Pirates' young hot-shot...
METS CAN'T PUT UP WITH DUKE - PIRATES ROOKIE SHUTS 'EM DOWN AT SHEA
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amPirates 5 - Mets 0 It cost the Mets a phenom to land Victor Zambrano. Last night they were victimized when a phenom completely outdueled him. Zambrano could have guided...
COLD BOMBER BRASS HAS JOE FEELIN' HEAT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTEN YEARS later, Joe Torre is Buck Showalter. He is in the crosshairs of an owner, who has surrounded himself with confidants who hate the manager. He is second-guessed and...
YANKS ALIVE & NOT WELL - STILL IN BOTH RACES, BOMBERS HIT WINDY CITY
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amCHICAGO - Dead Team Walking? Nope. Try Lost Team Crawling! Yes, the Yankees are 1 ½ games out in the AL Wild Card race and trail the suddenly frigid A's...
JOE VS. THE VOLCANO - AFTER DECADE WITH TORRE, BOSS FINALLY STARTS TO ERUPT
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amEVENTUALLY, all these things come home to roost. Maybe Joe Torre believed he was going to be granted immunity from the insanity. Maybe he figured the high times would be...
LAKERS ENTER MIX WITH NETS FOR MCKIE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amWhile the Lakers have stepped in and interrupted their pursuit of free agent Aaron McKie, the Nets appear to be just days away from adding Robert "Tractor" Traylor to their...
LITTLE WONDERS - THIS IS WHY YOU LOVE BASEBALL
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amYou can knock the graphics ESPN will inevitably show. Info like: Little Johnny's favorite X-Game BMX freestyler is Jamie Bestwick. Fine. But you'll never know the kid's favorite designer steroid....
MARV STILL MIFFED? YES! - ALBERT RIPS GARDEN BRASS ... AGAIN
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amLooks like Marv Albert is still harboring bad feelings for James Dolan and the rest of Albert's former Garden bosses. Albert, who will be the Nets' play-by-play man this season,...
5 QUESTIONS FOR BARRY MELROSE
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amThis week, NYP TV Sports' Mike Forde spoke with hockey analyst Barry Melrose. Melrose, 49, worked for ESPN but now is in limbo, as the Outdoor Life Network just landed...
MEMO OF THE WEEK
August 19, 2005 | 4:00amTo: ESPN From: Mike Forde Re: Quite Frankly CC: Advertising Age Dear ESPN: We give in, finally. Quite Frankly, with Stephen A. Smith, is a lot better than we expected....