March 10, 2006

SITE PLANS $PAM-ALOT FOR MONEY

An Internet start-up is betting that spam-besieged Web surfers would be willing to trade some personal information for e-mail ads they'd actually be interested in. Start-up firm Root Markets is...

NYSE SHARES OFF $3.90

The honeymoon ended abruptly yesterday for the share price of the New York Stock Exchange's new stock, as investors shook off the feel-good rhetoric about a new era and sent...

SABAN GROUP MAY BID $12B FOR UNIVISION

Billionaire television producer Haim Saban, Mexican broadcasting company Grupo Televisa and a group of other well-heeled investors are planning a $12 billion bid for Hispanic television giant Univision, sources told...

DREAD AT SCREWSDAY - REPORTERS FEAR BIG CHANGES COMING AT DOWNSIZED PAPER

THE long-smoldering fuse at Newsday has finally ignited. As management tries to spread its greatly thinned staff into new assignments, many beleaguered reporters at the Long Island tabloid are fighting...

AN ERROR MIRRORING BUCKNER'S

GEORGE Clooney joked on Oscar night that he was glad his obituary would now not begin by recalling he once played Batman. Not so Michael Keaton, who has rarely caught...

'TEMPEST' BRINGS CRIMINALS TO TEARS

IN a place of deep despair - the medium-security Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Kentucky - a group of inmates are turned into theater people. Haven't they suffered enough? The...

FRENCH CONNECTION - FILM FESTIVAL FOCUSES ON FUNNY FLICKS

THE best French comedy in several years highlights the 11th annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, a rotating series of films open ing tonight at Lincoln Center. This year, additional screenings...

STRONG-VOICED DOMINGO STILL NOSE HIS STUFF

THERE was an unsung question hanging over the Metropolitan Opera House Wednesday night when Placido Domingo returned to give the first of three performances in Franco Alfano's "Cyrano de Bergerac."...

THESE TROOPS REAL TROUPERS

THE pea brains in charge of expensive Hollywood junk should be forced to watch "The Fallen," an indie war movie shot for less than a million bucks over 10 years....

IT ENDS WITH 'DUST' BLUSTER

THERE'S a nice whiff of anticipation coming off "Ask the Dust," but you can't live on anticipation. Watching it is like being in a restaurant where the waiter brings out...

ABUSIVE AGAINST FILMGOERS

CHILD abuse is practically a fetish in "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things," Asia Argento's lurid, over-the-top adaptation of the second novel perpetrated by the literary hoax formerly known...

NO LIFE IN THIS OLD DOG

TO paraphrase the over used song employed in Disney's latest dismal recycling of "The Shaggy Dog" - who let this dog out? Disney's need to keep Tim Allen on a...

NUCLEAR BOMB

'THE Hills" are alive with the sound of mutants. These man-eaters are deadly, mainly in their ability to bore you to death. When the government conducted all those nuclear tests...

'EVIL' VERY GOOD

SCHOOL bullies are in vogue this week. Wednesday brought us the Japanese thriller "The Neighbor No. 13," about a kid scarred for life by the class bully. Now there's "Evil,"...

ENNUI MIGRATES SOUTH

A hilariously deadpan black- and-white slacker comedy, "Duck Season" is sort of like "Wayne's World" directed by a Mexican Jim Jarmusch. When 14-year-old Flama's mom leaves Sunday morning, he and...

VAN-SWIPED TOUR

INDIE bands have it rough enough, but now groups must worry about getting their vans full of equipment stolen. The latest victim is Film School, a San Francisco act whose...

NEWEST CON IS AN OLD PRO

THE British are coming, the British are coming - never mind, they're here. There has been a stealthy British invasion of Broadway this season, with the Brits not originating major...

BABY GOT SLACK - MELLOW MATT, STILL-SEXY SARAH LAUNCH LAUGHS

FAILURE TO LAUNCH (three and a half stars) Sex and the slacker. Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity, sexual content, partial nudity). At the E-Walk, the Lincoln Square, Kips...

JESSICA-LESS NICK FINDS A JOB

LET the Nick and Jessica jokes begin: Singer Nick Lachey is close to signing to star in a new sitcom called - get this - "She Said, He Said." The...

'BILLY' BORDER WAR - CANADIANS TRY TO GRAB HIT MUSICAL

HAS Toronto snatched "Billy Elliot" from New York? What critics have called "the best Brit ish musical ever" may put its plans for a Broadway engagement on hold for several...

FINAL DOZEN - 4 AXED AS 'IDOL' BEAT GOES ON

THE latest series of "American Idol" just got a lot more interesting. The 12 finalists left standing for the fifth season were announced last night after four more pop-star wannabes...

STARR REPORT

Ed TV - not! Another one of those weird "Where-did-that-come-from?" listings on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has actor Edward Norton guest-starring as "John Bauer" on an upcoming episode of...

WATCH YOUR PEP - STRANGE SPIRITS HAUNT 'CHEERLEADER NATION'

"Cheerleader Nation" Sunday night at 10 on Lifetime (two stars) Whatever happened to just cheering on the team? Like so many other things in our lives, cheerleading has become complicated....

THREE RING CIRCUS - WILL 'LOVE' GIVE POLYGAMY BAD NAME?

Sunday night's premiere of "Big Love" on HBO (10 p.m.) is making much of Utah nervous. Everyone from practicing polygamists to the Mormon church - which shunned the practice more...

FAST-CHARGING THIEF GOES ON 14G SPREE IN 3 HOURS

A woman with high taste but low ethics racked up more than $14,000 in stolen credit-card charges last month during a three-hour shopping spree at such pricey havens as Bergdorf...

COP RELIVES BOWL-BALL 'SLAY BID'

A cop told a Brooklyn jury yesterday how he came within steps of certain death last year after an elderly tenant hurled a 10-pound bowling ball at him and fellow...

LIGHTING LIBERTY IS A BREEZE

Lady Liberty's torch will soon be lit by windmill power. The federal government says it will get all the electricity needed for the Statue of Liberty from wind turbines. The...

SAVED BY REVOLT - DUBYA'S LUCKY LOSS ON PORTS

GEORGE Bush's enemies are excited. The Dubai ports deal is dead. The president had said he would veto any attempt by Congress to block it - but a House committee...

'RAIDING REVEREND' LOSES BID TO TOSS 820G THEFT CASE

The shocking case of an allegedly filching father is headed to trial after a judge yesterday dismissed the Manhattan monsignor's plea to throw out the case. Monsignor John Woolsey, 68,...

QUACK DOC GETS 6 YEARS

A doctor who operated on patients after his license was pulled was sentenced to two to six years yesterday - a punishment one of his victims said was too light....

TRUTH POURS FROM PUB PROPRIETOR

JACK DORRIAN was playing solitaire in his Upper East Side restaurant yesterday - and he gave a giant sigh of frustration. He doesn't believe what he's read in the newspapers...

JEWISH POLS OK WITH JAVITS BUILDER

Jewish politicians and organizations said yesterday it's kosher to let a famed British architect design the Javits Center expansion after questions arose about his support for Israel. So it's back...

WEINER A WINNER IN 2009 RUN: POLL

Rep. Anthony Weiner's strong showing in last year's Democratic primary has given him a head start in the next race for mayor, according to a poll released yesterday. Weiner, who...

TEEN SMOKING KICKED IN ASH

City teenagers are kicking butts - cigarette butts. The results of a new city Health Department survey released yesterday show a 36 percent decline in teen smoking since 2001. Just...

DUBAI: BYE-BYE TO DEAL - PORTS GO TO U.S. FIRM

WASHINGTON - Dubai Ports World surrendered its bid to take over operations at New York's port and five other major American harbors yesterday amid withering fire from lawmakers on both...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN * Police yesterday were searching for a bandit posing as an NYPD cop and two accomplices who stuck up a Chinatown jewelry store at gunpoint. Two unidentified men -...

CORZINE CATCHES ETHICS FLAK IN BAILOUT

New Jersey Republicans yesterday accused Gov. Jon Corzine of violating his own ethics guidelines by coughing up $5,000 to bail out a lobbyist accused of stalking - and demanded that...

'BEING BIN LADEN' - OSAMA'S NIECE WAFAH INKS REALITY-TV DEAL

Call it "Growing up bin Laden." Wafah Dufour bin Ladin, niece of Osama, wants to be a reality-TV star and has inked a deal with powerhouse publisher/TV producer Judith Regan...

LARRY IS 'BUILDING' LEGAL CASE

With a deadline looming next week in talks over his future at Ground Zero, developer Larry Silverstein vowed yesterday that he will not give up his right to rebuild the...

LEB HEIRESS IS A 'BILLION DOLLAR BABY'

She's a raven-haired stunner, she's 22, she's single - and she has $1.4 billion. Meet Hind Hariri, the youngest - and very likely the most beautiful - billionaire in the...

GIRL'S TEXT 'TERROR' A BG LI: COPS

Frightening text messages sent by a 13-year-old New Jersey girl who claimed she was kidnapped and being held captive were probably a cruel hoax, cops said yesterday. Natasha Browne -...

BLOOMY SUSPENDS 'HATE TALK' IMAM

The head Islamic chaplain for the city jail system was suspended yesterday after he claimed Muslims were being tortured in Manhattan lock-ups, and declared that the "greatest terrorists in the...

PUFF BADDIES - $40M CIGAR-SMUGGLE RING SNUFFED: COPS

Cheap cigars meant big bucks for a $40 million stogie-smuggling ring that authorities smoked out yesterday in a series of arrests in New York and Pennsylvania. The scam involved several...

KILLER KIDS WERE ON PROWL: COP

Two 13-year-old thugs lurked on a Bronx street for hours waiting for a victim to come their way before one of them fatally stabbed an older teen for his cellphone,...

MTA, UNION URGED TO TALK

A state board yesterday torpedoed the MTA's request for binding arbitration in its contract dispute with the Transport Workers Union - instead urging both sides to renew talks. Earlier negotiations...

B'KLYN HS STAGES CURSE-OUT

Sticks and stones may break bones, but words are raising eyebrows at a Brooklyn high school. A weeklong campaign against name-calling at the High School for Global Studies included the...

FEDS PROBE 2003 S.I. BIAS BRAWL

The feds are stepping into the probe of a 2003 bias-attack case in which a black college student and her friends were assaulted by a group of white teens with...

HO, NO! KELLY'S HEROES BUSTED - COPS IN 'BROTHEL RACKET'

Two corrupt Queens cops - once lauded by a smiling Police Commissioner Ray Kelly for their aggressive prostitution crackdowns - were arrested for protecting a brothel that raked in $4,000...

'73 SLAY ESCAPEE A 'MODEL FATHER' IN BRONX

A brutal child killer, who spent three decades on the lam after bolting from prison in 1973, was nabbed yesterday by U.S. marshals at a Bronx apartment building - where...

'PATRIOT' POWER - BUSH INKS TERROR LAW

In a triumph after a long struggle with Congress, President Bush yesterday signed the new version of the Patriot Act to keep special terror-fighting powers passed after 9/11. "The Patriot...

COP-SLASHER GUILTY AT 2ND TRIAL

A Queens man who used a carpet knife to slit the throat of a cop was convicted of attempted murder yesterday. Radcliffe Meeks, 33, was found guilty in the March...

BANK-SLAY WIFE'S FURY AT PHOTOS

The widow of the Long Island banker slain by a cop impersonator wept yesterday as she saw the "gruesome" autopsy photos of her husband displayed at the trial of alleged...

BOUNCER 'I.D.' SHOCK - RAPE VICTIM FAILS TO PICK OUT IMETTE-SLAY SUSPECT

The cops' only suspect in the rape and murder of Imette St. Guillen was yanked from his cell on Rikers Island and whisked off to Queens to face a judge...

HEY - WE'RE NOT YOUR BABY SITTERS - B'KLYN PRINCIPAL FED UP WITH TARDY PARENTS

I'm no baby sitter! That's the cry of one fed up Brooklyn principal who has ordered children out of his school at dismissal time, whether or not their parents are...

MANHATTAN MANIA - CONDO PRICES ZOOM BY 20%

Despite a softening national real-estate market, condomania is still going strong in Manhattan. According to reports released yesterday by the Real Estate Board of New York, the median sales price...

HERO'S SISTER IN 'SLEEP-IN'

The sister of a city firefighter killed on 9/11 is sleeping across from Ground Zero indefinitely to protest plans for the World Trade Center "underground" memorial. Since Wednesday, Rosaleen Tallon...

'JUNIOR' JURY IS HUNG UP ON 1ST DAY

A sharply divided jury raised the specter of another hung jury in John "Junior" Gotti's racketeering retrial yesterday - penning a note that suggested it was split over the former...

JUDGE HALTS GRILLING OF 'INCEST' KID

A furious Long Island judge yesterday abruptly ordered a defense lawyer to end his badgering cross-examination of a teenage boy testifying that his mother sexually abused him and his two...

SHUT JACKO'S RANCH: STATE

LOS ANGELES - The California labor board ordered Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch shut down yesterday - and accused the King of Pop of failing to pay workers'-compensation insurance. The state...

BX. SLAY SUSPECT BUSTED WITH MURDER-STORY CLIPPING

A Bronx man wanted in connection with two murders in Puerto Rico was arrested early yesterday after cops found him with a loaded semiautomatic - and a newspaper clipping describing...

MYSTERY OF BRONX COMA KID, 13

A 13-year-old boy is in a coma after he was mysteriously found unconscious - possibly from a severe beating - in the lobby of a Bronx apartment building, authorities said...

SUSPECT ARRESTED WITH SLAY CLIPPING

A Bronx man wanted in connection with two murders in Puerto Rico was arrested early yesterday after cops found him with a loaded semiautomatic - and a newspaper clipping describing...

SLAY RAP DUE FOR MOB FED - GRAND JURY ON CASE

Prosecutors will seek murder charges next week when they present the case of an alleged turncoat FBI agent - who is believed responsible for three mob hits - to a...

MYSTERY BOY FOUND IN COMA

A youngster was in a coma last night after he was found unconscious - possibly as the result of a severe beating - in the lobby of a Bronx apartment...

ELIAS, NEW GUYS EYE FINAL PUSH

WASHINGTON - Their cap scare a false alarm, the Devils went contrarian in the New NHL, going Old Time for the playoffs. After bolstering his odd-lot backline with defensive defensemen...

PITT WIN SETS UP TOURNEY CATFIGHT

Pittsburgh 68 - West Virginia 57 There's no place to hide in the Big East, not that Pittsburgh and Villanova were looking to duck each other this season. In a...

VENEZUELA ESCAPES VS. SCRAPPY AUSSIES

Venezuela 2 - Australia 0 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Last night, Australia started a self-taught knuckleballer. Moreover, 35-year-old Phil Brassington didn't play baseball in 2005 and was selling real...

JINTS TO BENEFIT IN DEAL

The Giants, John Mara admits, are "in a little bit of an unusual position" as the league comes to grips with a new formula for revenue sharing. Of course, the...

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE!

2005-06 AWARDSIONA entered the season with expectations as tall as its 6-foot-10 coach. Thanks to a roster splashed with seniors, the Gaels knew that. By anointing them the preseason choice...

KIRBY'S DEATH REVEALS WORST

NO dignity, no shame. No shame, no dignity. Postcards from Hades: During his stand-up days, Woody Allen told of being kidnapped when he was a child. When his father learned...

SATHER ADDS BARGAIN DEFENSE IN OZOLINSH

Trumps all season, Glen Sather sounded very much like a GM barely containing his glee. He ventured little and if right, has everything to gain, even if he refused to...

RED-HOT RAMON WINS FIVE

Ramon Dominguez closed to within three winners of Eibar Coa, 80-77, in race for riding title, booting home five winners, including pair of perennial also-rans, Devil's Last Dance in third...

DUDDY HEADS 'IRISH' CARD

Jim Borzell compares John Duddy's prospering career to being in the eye of a hurricane. "Everything is circling around you and you just try to stay balanced," said Borzell, a...

PAIN FORECAST - FLOYD UNDERGOES KIDNEY TESTS

Astros 3 - Mets 2 KISSIMMEE - Despite a ninth-inning 3-2 loss yesterday to Houston, the Mets have played well this spring, posting five victories in their eight games. But...

SWOON UNIT - JOHNSON WAXED AGAIN, BUT REMAINS CALM

Tigers 6 - Yanks (ss) 1 TAMPA - As the Yankees' infield was turning a double play to end the fourth inning, Randy Johnson raised both arms toward heaven as...

PETIT A FORGOTTEN SUPERSTAR

BEFORE Pistol Pete Maravich, Shaquille O'Neal and Rudy Macklin (no, not David Duke) flaunted their simonized stuff at LSU, Bob Petit splashed its program all over the basketball map. Despite...

ISLANDERS PURGE THE ENTHUSIASM

LEAFS at ISLES - Tonight 7:00 - MSG; WBBR (1130 AM) There were no white flags raised above Nassau Coliseum yesterday, but there is a feeling that the Islanders have...

RANDY NOT SO DANDY

TAMPA - The gasps were audible, and they were immediate, and they bounced around the grandstand at Legends Field like acoustic Superballs. Randy Johnson understands, he does. He realizes people...

BELTRE POWER SHOW PROPELS DOMINICAN

Dominican Rep. 8 - Italy 3 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Who needs A-Rod? Not only does the Dominican Republic have the next best thing at third base, but it...

BANNISTER'S TURNING SOME HEADS

MET NOTES KISSIMMEE - So far in camp, the Mets' best pitcher has been Brian Bannister. The 25-year-old righty tossed three more scoreless innings yesterday in the Mets' 3-2 loss...

RIVERA SERVES UP BLAST

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - Marcus Thames of the Tigers has a thing for future Hall of Fame pitchers. Four years ago in a Yankees uniform at Yankee Stadium, Thames homered...

BONDS FEELS THE HEAT - STRIKES OUT ON FIELD, WITH MEDIA

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Barry Bonds was back on the field yesterday and back under the microscope. The controversial Giants slugger laid low after allegations about his steroid use surfaced this...

ELIAS, NEW ARRIVALS SET FOR FINAL PUSH

WASHINGTON - Their cap scare a false alarm, the Devils went contrarian in the New NHL, going Old Time for the playoffs. After bolstering his odd-lot backline with defensive defensemen...

HOYAS RALLY AGAIN

Georgetown 62 - Marquette 59 Georgetown is developing a habit of spotting teams early leads in the Big East tournament. But senior forward Brandon Bowman and his resilient Hoyas are...

JETS CLOSING IN ON RAMSEY DEAL

The Jets, hell-bent on repairing their crippled quarterback situation, are acting quickly on Patrick Ramsey - so quickly that the former No. 1 draft pick out of Tulane could join...

IS DOWD THE ONE TO RUN INQUIRY?

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The man who investigated Pete Rose said yesterday Major League Baseball needs to launch an inquiry into Giants slugger Barry Bonds and his alleged steroid use. "It's...

COD & LING ARE TALK OF MONTAUK

MOTHER Nature is giving us a break this weekend and with temps going above the 60-degree mark, anglers should take advantage of this early spring gift. The western end of...

DUKE, ZAGS MAY CLASH AT MSG

It's too bad J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison are seniors, because if they returned next season, there's a good chance the two would face each other on one of the...

BARRY WON'T EXIT QUIETLY

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Barry Bonds will never go quietly into the night. He's having too much fun Just Being Barry. There was Barry laughing it up down the right field...

HARDY GETS SOME HELP IN JFK WIN

PSAL PLAYOFFS: Kennedy 61 - Wadleigh 58 Jarell Collier has heard people tell him all year that the only reason Kennedy is any good this year is because of Dwight...

NUMBERS GAME - TEAM USA ADVANCES WITH WIN TODAY

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Win behind the Rocket and Team USA is in - the next round. After a day of living dangerously Team USA got the help it needed last...

MARA LIKES NFL DEAL

The Giants, John Mara admits, are "in a little bit of an unusual position" as the league comes to grips with a new formula for revenue sharing. Of course, the...

WARY 'NOVA HANDLES RUTGERS

VILLANOVA 87 RUTGERS 55 Coaches, like lawyers or politicians or college basketball analysts, can fall victim to an affliction whose symptoms are heard but not seen. They become enamored with...

KNIGHTS, WATERS STILL FLOWING

The 700-pound gorilla was officially lifted a week ago Wednesday when Rutgers coach Gary Waters resigned and the Scarlet Knights could focus on the triangle offense and zone defense. To...

UCONN'T WIN THE BIG EAST - MCNAMARA, ORANGE OUTLAST HUSKIES

OVERTIME Syracuse 86 UConn 84 Perhaps the sweat from Syracuse's overtime marathon Big East quarterfinal upset of top-ranked Connecticut had dripped in Gerry McNamara's eyes. Maybe. More likely it was...

NUMBERS GAME - TEAM USA'S FATE LIES IN WBC'S ARCANE TIE-BREAKER

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Derek Jeter has had this helpless feeling before. His team has all the talent in the world and nothing to show for it. Yankees fans know what...

LAVAR & A WAY - AGENT: GIANTS INTERESTED IN REDSKINS LB

When he came out of Penn State in 2000, LaVar Arrington was thought to be the next big thing, the second coming of Lawrence Taylor. It hasn't quite turned out...

IONA STEPS INTO BIG DANCE

IONA entered the season with expectations as tall as its 6-foot-10 coach. Thanks to a roster splashed with seniors, the Gaels knew that. By anointing them the preseason choice to...

NFL NET TURNING NEW LEAF? MAY TAP RYAN FOR DRAFT-DAY COVERAGE

Who would be better to talk about the pressure of the NFL Draft than perhaps the biggest bust in league history? NFL Network - which for the first time will...

MARCHAND'S MEMO OF THE WEEK

To: Mark Fainaru-Wada From: Andrew Marchand Re: WFAN Clinic CC: Chris Russo Dear Mark, Not only are you the co-author of "Game of Shadows" - the book that has detailed...

5 QUESTIONS FOR JERRY TARKANIAN

This week, NYP TV Sports' Andrew Marchand spoke with former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. Tarkanian, 75, currently hosts "The Shark Tank," a college-basketball show on Sirius Satellite Radio on Fridays....

NO SLAM DUNK - LOADED UCONN CAN BE BEATEN - HERE'S HOW

NCAA Tournament Thursday Noon, CBS Before yesterday's overtime upset loss to Syracuse, nearly every analyst we talked to picked UConn to win the national championship. While Syracuse laid out a...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A Bakersfield, Calif., man is grateful he was shot during a robbery at his market. While Donald Batsch was being treated for bullet wounds to the arm and abdomen, doctors...