March 13, 2006
TAKE-TWO TANGO - GAME MAKER UNIT'S PAYMENT POLICY DRAWS FIRE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTake-Two Interactive, the controversial video-game maker, has managed to dress up its cash position by delaying payments by its distribution unit, sources have told The Post. That may come as...
PARSONS' CHARM OFFENSIVE ICED ICAHN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amIn the end, it was Time Warner boss Dick Parsons' political skills that saved him in his battle with corporate raider Carl Icahn. Parsons, seeing that the fight was as...
OFFICE READS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTHE ART OF BUSINESS LUNCH by Robin Jay Career Press $14.99 AH, the eternal business lunch. What should you order? What if (horror of all horrors!) the creamed spinach gets...
BUILT UP - WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO IN CONSTRUCTION?
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amEVERY woman knows the feeling: You're walking down the street, chatting away on your cellphone, when you're interrupted by the sounds of men from a nearby construction site whistling about...
MORE SMOKE THAN FIRE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amJOHNNY Cash ain't misbehavin' - and that ain't good. "Ring of Fire," the new musical that opened last night at the Ethel Barrymore, was presumably intended to do for the...
JERRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? - CHRISTINE BREAKS 'SEINFELD' CURSE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amMAYBE you have to be/been the single mother of kid in private school, who has a great relationship with your ex (and his new girlfriend), to really enjoy "The New...
CHLOE'S DESIGNS SELL OUT - EMPTY 'RUNWAY' RACKS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTHE winner of "Project Runway," Chloe Dao, arrived home in Houston over the weekend to find out that all the clothes she designed before the reality series began are now...
STARR REPORT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTyra, Twitty talk These are busy times for Tyra Banks. Her talk show's been renewed for a second season, "America's Next Top Model" premiered to record ratings last week, and...
LITTLE CHOP OF HORRORS - THE NEW 'HELL'S KITCHEN' BOILS OVER
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTHE Devil is out of hot water on the newest "Hell's Kitchen." Fear-inducing chef Gordon Ramsay completed filming "Hell's Kitchen 2" - the follow-up to last year's Fox hit reality...
FIRING BLANKS - LIKE TONY, SHOW IS BLEEDING, SLUGGISH AND FADING FAST; NEW SEASON NOT A HIT, MAN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amI COME to bury the final season of "The Sopranos," not necessarily to praise it. I realize that not falling in lockstep with every other critic in the world seems...
'SOPRANOS' BASH ENDS WITH A BANG
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe Sopranos are back with a whack - and fans last night loved every minute of it. "I need scenes from next week now," said 28-year-old Matthew Caldecutt, 28, of...
N.Y. BIRDBRAINS KEEP FEAR OF FLU AFLIGHT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe bird flu hasn't hit the city yet - but doctors say fear of it certainly has. "It's a scary concept - it's easy to believe it can happen to...
'GOOD GUY' WAS LEFT HOLDING THE BAG
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA Manhattan man says he was taking a seemingly abandoned backpack to a subway token-booth clerk when cops busted him for theft in their controversial sting dubbed "Operation Lucky Bag."...
BETTER OR VERSE - YOUNGSTER'S BLACK-POWER POEM RILES SCHOOL
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA 7-year-old prodigy unleashed a firestorm when she recited a poem she wrote comparing Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin to "pirates" and "vampires" who robbed blacks of their identities and...
ROBO-TRAINS IN MANHATTAN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe L train moves one stop closer to automation today, as testing of the new navigation technology is expanded to Manhattan. Trains running between Third and Eighth avenues will be...
BUBBA'S RAINMAKERS SLOW TO $PILL FOR HILL
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Nearly a decade after President Bill Clinton wooed Dem fat cats and Tinseltown titans with lavish Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers, his political investment is paying only modest dividends for...
SENATOR SAYS CENSURE BUSH FOR SNOOPING
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Sen. Russ Feingold wants the Senate to censure President George Bush for illegally authorizing an National Security Agency program to eavesdrop on Americans. Feingold (D-Wis.) said Bush's conduct...
CHICKS CLICK WITH 'FAILURE'
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe romantic comedy "Failure to Launch" defied its name and soared straight to the top of the weekend's box office, with the star power of hunky Matthew McConaughey and hometown...
'MOB COPS' ARE FACING JURY TODAY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe sister of a tortured wiseguy delivered to his death, allegedly by two cops, is hoping their trial, beginning today, will put the grisly murder behind her. "I just wish...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTHE BRONX * Cops have busted a homeless man in the brutal murder of a woman in her Belmont apartment last week, police sources said. The body of Lisette Estrada,...
JUNIOR BLOWS HIS TOP - GRUMPY GOTTI RAGES AT CHURCH MASS GAWKERS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA stressed-out John "Junior" Gotti finally cracked yesterday under the pressure of his two racketeering mistrials - he lashed out after a Mass celebrating repentance and forgiveness. The admitted former...
ROAD BLAST KILLS FOUR GIS IN AFGHANISTAN CONVOY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA roadside bomb killed four U.S. troops in an armored vehicle in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, the deadliest attack on coalition forces in a month. In Kabul, a suicide bomber narrowly...
TRIBUTE BREAKS GROUND TODAY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amMore than four years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, work will begin today on construction of a World Trade Center Memorial, even as a group of victims' families heads...
MARKET MASSACRE - CAR-BOMBING VERMIN KILL 46 IRAQ SHOPPERS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTwo huge car bombs - one detonated by a suicide bomber - tore apart two markets filled with shoppers in a Shiite slum in Baghdad yesterday, killing 46 people and...
NETANYAHU SHUNS PACT WITH OLMERT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amJERUSALEM - Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud Party, yesterday ruled out joining acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in a future government, to protest Olmert's planned West Bank withdrawals....
MAN HELD IN SLAY AT QNS. PAWN SHOP
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe killer of a high-living pawn-shop owner from Queens has been nabbed, thanks to a tipster who gave cops vital information about the crime, officials said yesterday. Demetrious Green, 29,...
REMEMBER THE 'GOOD STORIES,' IRAQ POL URGES
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - An Iraqi mayor says he was motivated to write a letter praising the performance of U.S. troops in his city because he believes the American public is not...
BULLET GAL SUING OVER MYSTERY COP
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA Bronx woman claims a cop she never saw discharged his service revolver outside her apartment last year, shattering her bedroom window and grazing her forehead. Now she wants the...
CONGRESS PUSHES FOR A PORT BILL
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWASHINGTON - Powerful members of Congress are pushing ahead with legislation to expand oversight over foreign investment in the United States - even after the collapse of a deal to...
LOOKS LIKE MONSTER'S LUCK HAS RUN OUT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amIT seemed to me by the end of last week that Darryl Littlejohn was either too damn lucky - or an innocent man. Now, he appears just lucky. Even that's...
007 SEAN BARES N.Y. TUMOR OP
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amSean Connery, whose James Bond character made a living uncovering secrets, revealed one of his own yesterday: He's recovering from surgery to remove a kidney tumor. Connery, 75, had the...
'DWI COWARD' - FLEES CRASH AFTER HURTING TEEN: COPS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA drunken hit-and-run driver yesterday caused a nightmare smashup that left a 19-year-old Queens nursing student critically injured, cops said. Francescia Caballero was in the intensive-care unit at Jamaica Hospital...
JUST STAY AWAY - THE BEST THING GOV. PATAKI CAN DO FOR GROUND ZERO
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNOW that Gov. Pataki is on the mend after his medical crisis, there is one thing he can do to help things along at beleaguered Ground Zero: Recuse himself from...
TWO-HANDED SLAP AT ALBANY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amMayor Bloomberg asked Council Speaker Christine Quinn to join him for his weekly radio address yesterday to maintain pressure on state legislators to hand over more than $5 billion to...
DAUGHTERS DESPERATE TO SAVE DAD
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA Long Island man's two daughters have been handing out leaflets at Manhattan subway stations and on crowded city streets looking everywhere for "a very special person" - one who...
SCHOOL WORKER IN FIGHT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA special-education school worker was arrested for allegedly punching her father's home health aide in the face in Brooklyn yesterday. Marcella Lemonnier, 45, went to her parents' home on Caton...
$30M 'SLUR' SUIT VS. SUPERMART
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA former manager of an Upper East Side Gristedes supermarket has sued the chain for $30 million, charging that a security supervisor at the store uttered ethnic slurs at him...
GHOUL-BUSTER - DETECTIVE IS HAUNTED BY BODY-SNATCH CASE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe NYPD detective who exposed a multimillion-dollar body-parts-theft ring said it has changed every aspect of her life - even when she's in the dentist's chair. During a recent appointment,...
GOPER IN HOLY FUROR
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amREPUBLICAN Senate hopeful Katherine Troia McFarland's declaration that she's not an evangelical Christian has prompted a major backlash from the state's leading evangelical organization. "This will definitely come up during...
RAPPERS SHOOT FOR 'NET' GAINS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amRapper Jay-Z will pick a winner today in the contest to determine a new hip-hop anthem for his could-be-Brooklyn-bound New Jersey Nets. And judging by the number of contestants who...
BUSH-BASH KID A $ITE TO BEHOLD
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA Texas father has refused to pay for his son's college education - unless the 17-year-old switches allegiances and becomes a Republican. But Dallas high-school junior Teddy Gambordella Jr. has...
BIAS BUSTS IN DINER ATTACK
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amTwo Manhattan men have been arrested for slashing three Asians during a bias attack in a Gramercy Park eatery, sources said. Norberto Fernandez, a 26-year-old Hispanic with 15 prior arrests,...
ARGUMENT ENDS IN FATAL STABBING
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThree assailants fatally stabbed a young man yesterday after a violent argument in Queens, police said. The 20-year-old man, whose name was not released, was attacked at 195th Street and...
KEY DAY FOR DEFENSE IN COP'S SLAY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amLawyers for "Sopranos" actor Lillo Brancato and his suspected cohort in the killing of a cop last year are expecting prosecutors to turn over key evidence to them today. Mel...
COP WHO BUSTED 'SON OF SAM' DIES
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA hero detective who helped arrest "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz has died. Detective John Falotico, a 36-year police veteran, passed away at his New Jersey home Saturday at...
YACHT CLUB BARS RANDY MAYOR FOR 'AFT GRAB'
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe mayor of a wealthy Long Island community, who describes himself as a conservative "to the right of Barry Goldwater," can no longer drop anchor in a Gold Coast yacht...
COL. PERV ABUSED ME, SON SAYS - REVEALS 'SCANDAL' BEHIND ADOPTION
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA 30-year-old man claims a Manhattan Army officer snatched up in an Internet sex sting last month adopted him decades ago for the sole purpose of sexually abusing him. Rey...
FIERY PLANE CRASH IN N.J.
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA single-engine plane crashed in flames just outside the airport in Old Bridge, N.J., last night, injuring several people, authorities said. It was not clear how many people were on...
$ICK HOSPS' ULTIMATUM
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNew York's underused and financially ailing hospitals have been given an offer they can't refuse: Perform their own surgery to slim down or be put to rest. A "right-sizing" commission,...
MAN'S REMOTE CONTROL HOTTOR - VICTIM SUES OVER FUME BLAST IGNITED BY CLICKER
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWhen Anthony Howell clicked his TV remote control to watch his favorite quiz show, he had no idea his life would be in jeopardy. But with the push of the...
COP-SLAY SUSPECTS' LAWYERS AWAIT KEY CLUES
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amLawyers for "Sopranos" actor Lillo Brancato and his suspected cohort in the killing of a cop last year are expecting prosecutors to turn over key evidence to them today. Mel...
CHUCK RIPS AIRFARE SURPRISES
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amSen. Charles Schumer yesterday ripped airlines for trying to advertise fares that do not include surcharges. "Consumers shouldn't get hit like a ton of bricks with hidden fees when they...
VICTIM'S PALS KILL 'ATTACKER'
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amA young man who was part of a gang beating a 16-year-old in Queens last night was stabbed to death by friends of the teenager, police said. The 20-year-old stabbing...
CRITICS IN 'DUST'-UP WITH FEDS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe Environmental Protection Agency's rules for deciding which lower Manhattan buildings to clean of potentially deadly 9/11 dust are overly strict - and could lead to some toxins' being missed,...
BLOOD TRACE TIES EX-CON TO IMETTE IN PROBERS' 1ST HUGE BREAK
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amSlay suspect Darryl Littlejohn's blood has been found on the plastic ties that were used to bind the hands of Imette St. Guillen - cops' first bombshell piece of physical...
STEPH FIRES BACK
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNUGGETS at KNICKS - Tonight 7:30 - MSG; ESPN (1050) Stephon Marbury has given Larry Brown a taste of his own, bitter medicine. Late Saturday night, Marbury took a dig...
HERE COMES DESORMEAUX
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amHall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, 34, who rode Derby winners Real Quiet and Fusaichi Pegasus, will move his tack from southern Cal to Big A beginning March 29, when...
SNY STEPS UP TO PLATE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amSPORTSNET New York, the new Mets network, will debut Thursday with a spring training game and a fabulous opportunity. Among the three local sports networks that are at least partially...
BIG FINISH GIVES CAUSE TO BELIEVE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amShades of Silky Sullivan. In the weekend's only meaningful Triple Crown prep, Saturday's $100,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields, the grey colt Cause to Believe channeled the legendary stretch...
NETS ARE OK (FOR NOW)
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNETS 95 - HORNETS 84 OKLAHOMA CITY - So what exactly was going on here? The Nets had a big lead and did not play from behind the whole game....
RICE RULES CITY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amOVERTIME: Rice 62 - CTK 60 Kashif Pratt has grown accustomed to being in the shadows of his higher-profile teammates, Edgar Sosa and Curtis Kelly. That's no longer a problem....
LESTER'S 31 POWER CHIEFS
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amPSAL: Canarsie 69 - Banneker 53 Nathaniel Lester came to Canarsie three years ago with hopes of contending for a PSAL championship as a freshman. But that plan was derailed...
LAVAR MOVES ON
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amLaVar Arrington arrived Saturday night, left yesterday afternoon and did not take along with him an agreement to play for the Giants. That doesn't mean a deal can't be made...
STURTZE SCRATCHES PITCH ITCH
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amYANKEE NOTES WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Tanyon Sturtze, by his own estimation, was starting to itch. Sturtze was held back this spring due to shoulder woes from last year, but...
DAMON'S BANISHED TO BENCH
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWBC NOTES ANAHEIM - On a team of superstars the first big name to get benched by manager Buck Martinez was Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon. Damon, who batted .167...
RIGHT TRACH - STEVE IN LINE FOR METS' NO. 3 SLOT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00am10 INNINGS: Orioles 3 - Mets 2 FORT LAUDERDALE - Last year's No. 3 Mets starter and this year's No. 3 Mets starter were in the same stadium yesterday, but...
FORDHAM SHUT OUT OF NIT
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amDereck Whittenburg had a championship-winning airball for N.C. State in the 1983 NCAA tournament. The ball landed in Lorenzo Charles' hands and the subsequent put-back defeated the famous Houston Phi...
ESCAPE ARTIST - EVEN ON BAD DAY, CHACON IMPRESSES
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amIndians 7 - Yankees 5 WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Joe Torre thinks Shawn Chacon is one of the most relaxed players he has seen this spring. Yesterday, the unflappable right-hander...
AMAZIN'S PICTURE IS A BIT FUZZY
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amFORT LAUDERDALE - What Willie Randolph has now, mostly, are images of how good his baseball team can be, hints and hunches of what it can do and where it...
CLASSIC FINISH - A-ROD BROKEN-BAT HIT CAPS CONTROVERSIAL WIN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amUnited States 4 - Japan 3 ANAHEIM - So, how do you say "We got robbed" in Japanese? Team USA stole away with a controversial 4-3 victory over Japan in...
RANGER SKID HITS FIVE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amOVERTIME: Thrashers 3 - Rangers 2 It's now the serious part of the NHL season, where teams are clawing for points and playoff positions and goals are at a premium....
CLASSIC FINISH - A-ROD RBI SINGLE CAPS CONTROVERSIAL WIN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amUnited States 4 - Japan 3 ANAHEIM - So, just how do you say "We got robbed" in Japanese? Team USA got away with a controversial 4-3 victory over Japan...
JETS LOOKING AT KITNA
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe Jets, under their new management team and head coach, have made it abundantly clear that they won't be wallflowers in free agency. They do, after all, have many holes...
GUTTY GAELS KNOW NO FEAR
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amIF you dare to dream, and dance, as they did last night inside the Hynes Rec center at Iona College in New Rochelle, then you better answer this question: What...
DESTINATION INDIANAPOLIS - BIG EAST SNAGS RECORD EIGHT BIDS TO DANCE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amIf the NCAA wasn't such a stickler on this gambling issue, then yesterday's NCAA Tournament selection show really should have been sponsored by a Las Vegas casino website. Unlike last...
DESTINATION INDIANAPOLIS - IT'S SIMPLY ANYONE'S BALLGAME IN '06
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amIf the NCAA wasn't such a stickler on this gambling issue, then yesterday's NCAA Tournament selection show really should have been sponsored by a Las Vegas casino website. Unlike last...
BRACKET BREAKDOWN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amATLANTA J.J. Redick, the greatest scorer in ACC history, leads the Blue Devils, who get their 10th No. 1 seed. UNSUNG PLAYER: Leon Powe, California - He's fully recovered from...
A FEVER PITCH FOR BROWN, DANES
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNCAA NOTES Nothing has been able to temper Will Brown's enthusiasm these days. Not a 103.5-degree fever. Not six hours of sleep in a three-day span. Not even a first-round...
DETERMINED DANES DRAW UCONN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNCAA NOTES The buzz started three months ago, after Albany shook a 2-6 start, won eight consecutive games and began to live up to the hype surrounding the top pick...
RENNEY PULLS SWITCH
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amFour straight defeats in which the Rangers managed to score a total of four goals were enough for Tom Renney to abandon a laissez-faire approach to the personnel and combinations...
TOURNEY SHOWS LACK OF PRIDE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amHofstra coach Tom Pecora gathers his staff each summer for a retreat. They congregate at a Long Island beach house and explore the possibilities of the upcoming season. "Last year,...
PERSISTENT PIRATES ON BOARD
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe Seton Hall Pirates suffered through a week of sleepless nights, hoping and praying to see two words appear on their TV screen last night. When they did, coach Louis...
NCAA: NO PRIDE
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amHofstra coach Tom Pecora gathers his staff each summer for a retreat. They congregate at a Long Island beach house and explore the possibilities of the upcoming season. "Last year,...
LOCALS IN
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amWHO'S IN TEAM: Seton Hall Pirates. RECORD: 18-11, 9-7 Big East. COACH: Louis Orr. ONES TO WATCH: Donald Copeland, Sr., G (16.1 ppg; 4.5 apg); Kelly Whitney, Sr., F-C (15.1...
DANCE HALL
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amThe Seton Hall Pirates suffered through a week of tossing and turning and sleepless nights, waiting to find out their NCAA tourney fate. But when the words they had prayed...
IT'S OFFICIAL: ISLES STINK
March 13, 2006 | 5:00amNassau Coliseum is officially a cesspool. The Islanders' workout room and nearly half their dressing room facility were destroyed over the weekend when a Coliseum sewage pipe burst Saturday night...