January 20, 2003

SPITZER TELLS INSURERS: MAKE WALL STREET PAY

Eliot Spitzer wants the Wall Street firms he beat up to reach deeper into their pockets as punishment for their scams. The combative New York attorney general - who took...

BASEBALL BUMMER: YANKEES LIKELY OFF CABLEVISION NEXT SEASON, TOO

No Godzilla, no Jeter, no Giambi. That's what it will look like for Yankee fans who subscribe to Cablevision: another season without the Bronx Bombers. With less than a month...

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM : ALWAYS END UP NAKED IN CLASS? YOU'RE NOT ALONE

"The Dream Team" Tonight at 11 p.m. on SCI FI IF you - like me - are obsessed with all things unexplainable like psychic phenomena, ghosts, UFO's, and even what...

DOWNEY, BUT NOT OUT

JUDGING by the rapturous response he's received at Sundance this past week, formerly drug-bedeviled star Robert Downey Jr. is back with a vengeance. It was standing room only at Friday's...

THE MANY FACES OF MEL GIBSON

WHETHER he's playing an American patriot, a suicidal cop or even a man without a face, Mel Gibson has always been sexy onscreen - until now. With the addition of...

GIRLISH KISS REVS UP 'FAST LANE'

IF sex sells, then same- sex sex appears to sell super well. A much-promoted lesbian kiss on the stylish, LA cop drama "Fast Lane" between hottie Tiffani Thiessen and guest...

'CHICAGO' GETS OSCAR HEAD START

LAST night's largely surprise-free Golden Globes point to an easy Oscar win by the musical "Chicago" - and forecast one of the least suspenseful Academy Awards nights since "Titanic" swept...

CHINESE INTRIGUES DRAG ON

SHANGHAI MOONAt the Greenwich House Theatre, 27 Barrow St. Call the box office, (212) 633-9632. Through Feb. 9. IN "Shanghai Moon," Charles Busch again dons drag to parody - with...

STARR REPORT

Queens connection: 'Amazing,' ex-Met Carter, 'Supreme' star Harriel Teams from "The Amazing Race 3" spent some time with the kids last Friday at P.S. 225 in Rockaway, Queens, and with...

DRESSED TO THRILL

Much like snowflakes or airbrushed T-shirts, no two awards show red carpets look alike. An edgy outfit that looks fly on the red carpet at the go-go Grammys might totally...

RETRO CHIC : FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTENT IN MILAN

MILAN - Everything old was new again at the men's fall 2003 fashion shows held here last week. Gucci's Tom Ford brought back the '70s - think Johnny Depp in...

THE REAL BURGER KINGS

LET us now praise inexpensive burgers. The time is right, considering that we are in the midst of The Burger War, a ground-beef orgy in which top restaurateurs are competing...

CAPITOL MOTOR MOUTH - 'LIMO BRIBE' POL MAY NAME OTHER LAWMAKERS

A GROWING number of state lawmakers fear that former Assemblywoman Gloria Davis, convicted of bribery earlier this month, is naming names to criminal investigators. Several legislators told The Post that...

LOGO-ING CRAZY ; FDNY CASHING IN ON ITS RED-HOT EMBLEM

The Fire Department is expanding its logo-bearing product line - which may soon even include bedding, swimwear and children's furniture. With the FDNY's moniker and logo already on lunchboxes, backpacks...

SCHUMER AIDE HAS SEIZURE

Sen. Chuck Schumer got a scare yesterday when one of his aides suffered a seizure and passed out just as the senator was about to begin a press conference. The...

N.Y. HERO'S BUDDIES MOURN A TRUE SOLDIER

The men in the 82nd Airborne who served with Sgt. Steve Checo knew the score all too well. Huddled on a roof somewhere in southeast Afghanistan, behind sandbags and concertina...

PROTEIN A CANCER BASHER

Scientists have uncovered a powerful new weapon in the war against cancer - a natural protein that causes tumors to self-destruct. In tests at the Washington University School of Medicine...

$5 BILLION IS SITTING UNCLAIMED

Many forgetful New Yorkers could fatten their wallets just by checking a state Web site, according to one government agency. New York is holding $5.4 billion in unclaimed money from...

FROM HELL TO HOPE ; STRANGERS FLOODING NEWARK KIDS WITH OFFERS OF HELP

The checks, letters and good wishes are coming in from all over America - the Midwest, the South, even as far as Las Vegas. People are opening their hearts -...

JAGGER-LENNON HIDDEN TRACK

In a discovery that will make fans of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones jump for joy, a long-lost recording by John Lennon and Mick Jagger has been found. The...

ARIEL SHARON'S OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN T-SHIRTS HAVE BEEN LINKED TO A TERRORIST GROUP

Ariel Sharon's official campaign T-shirts have been linked to a terrorist group that wants to wipe out Israel, it was revealed last night. The embarrassing discovery had Sharon's political aides...

ANCIENT EGYPT HAD TOOTHPASTE

The world's oldest-known formula for toothpaste has been discovered - proving that folks were brushing their pearly whites more than 1,500 years ago. The recipe, discovered on a piece of...

BLOOMBERG: REFORMING SCHOOLS A KING THING TO DO

Mayor Bloomberg began his celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by giving impassioned speeches on his education reform plans at several black churches in Harlem yesterday. Over and...

THOUSANDS 'COLD CALL' BIG APPLE HEAT LINE

New Yorkers slammed by an arctic cold streak logged a record number of calls to the city's emergency heat and hot-water line over the weekend. "Saturday was a record day....

MIKE TO RELEASE OWN SCORE CARD

Mayor Bloomberg plans to release a progress report on where his administration stands on promises he made during his campaign. It's not clear when he'll present the highly unusual scorecard,...

A PINT-SIZED PLEA FOR BLOOD

As blood banks here and around the country report critical shortages, a Brooklyn girl is reminding New Yorkers why they should provide the gift of life. "They have to give...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN * A man held his 18-month-old baby hostage for several hours yesterday after his girlfriend's family tried to boot him out of their apartment, cops said. Instead of being...

PAL FEUD ENDS IN SLAYING

Bad blood between two old friends who grew up on the same Brooklyn block led to a violent string of events that left one of them shot dead yesterday, police...

IT PAYS TO BE A WINNER - AWARDS BOOST BOX-OFFICE TAKE

They'd be the Golden Globes even if the trophies were plated with brass. That's because studios, actors, directors and distributors whose films win Golden Globe Awards can expect to cash...

ISRAELI VS. ISRAELI AT TERROR FUNERAL

JERUSALEM - Israeli police and Jewish settlers clashed yesterday as the settlers tried to bury Nethanel Ozeri in the illegal outpost of Hebron where he was slain by terrorists as...

ZAP GUNS AIM AT SADDAM

The U.S. military has a top-secret weapon - a manmade bolt of lightning so powerful, it could render Saddam Hussein's stockpile of chemical and biological weapons useless in a flash....

WEIRD BUT TRUE

In a jaw-dropping case of dumb and dumber, candidates in Charleston, W.Va., actually misspelled their party names on official forms. Four Democrats wrote either "Democart" or "Democrate," and two GOP...

RICE, POWELL DIFFER OVER RACE 'QUOTAS'

President Bush's two top black advisers yesterday split on a university program that gives special bonus points to minority applicants - Secretary of State Colin Powell said he backs it,...

TAKING 'HOME'-FIELD ADVANTAGE OF BIG-BUCK BOWL-ERS - SAN DIEGANS RENT OUT POSH PADS TO GRID FANS

SAN DIEGO - Thousands of residents here want to open their doors to strangers in hopes of scoring Super Bowl-sized rental profits. These innkeeper wannabes expect to be flooded this...

IRAQ ADMITS TO 4 MORE CHEM ARMS

Iraq yesterday admitted it has at least four more chemical warheads on top of the 12 found last week, said U.N. weapons inspectors in Baghdad. "When we find chemical ammunitions...

'PRACTICE' STAR'S DUDS TUTU AWFUL FOR WORDS

When it comes to dressing for the Golden Globes, "Practice" doesn't make perfect. Last night, Lara Flynn Boyle, the ABC drama's quirky star and veteran of many Globe shows, rudely...

'CHICAGO' FIRES AWAY - BLOWS PAST ALL ITS MOVIE RIVALS

The Golden Globes have put "Chicago" on Oscar's map. The movie version of Kander and Ebb's Broadway musical danced off with Golden Globes for best picture (in the comedy/musical division),...

SENIOR-HOME HORROR - KILLER SHOT DEAD AFTER SLAYING GRANDPA AND ACCIDENTAL WITNESS

A deranged man fatally stabbed his grandfather in a Newark senior-citizen building yesterday - then moments later, killed a 79-year-old newspaper carrier who stumbled upon the bloody scene, cops said....

HIT-RUN SON'S FURY

The son of a well-known Bay Ridge man who was killed in a hit-and-run Saturday night blasted the driver for abandoning his father to die on the street. "The fact...

CHILLING RICIN TWIST - LONDON POISON CELL TIED TO MILLENNIUM BOMB PLOT

WASHINGTON - The terrorists arrested in Europe for planning to carry out attacks there with ricin are part of the vicious Algerian network behind the millennium bomb plots in the...

KING'S LEGACY; LISTEN TO HIS WHOLE MESSAGE

FOR those who think Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Dream" speech was his only significant work, consider this offering: America "must not only radically readjust its attitude toward the Negro in...

OFF THE PATH OF LEASHED RESISTANCE

EXCLUSIVE Two years after the city cracked down on unleashed pooches in city parks, the number of summonses issued against naughty dog walkers has dropped by 31 percent. Parks officials...

W'S HALFWAY POINT; JUST WHO IS THIS WARTIME LEADER?

When George W. Bush was sworn in as president two years ago, nobody knew what to expect. He ran as a compassionate conservative, and nobody knew what he meant by...

SCHOOLS CRACK DOWN

The Department of Education is getting tough on school staffers who have sex or inappropriate relations with their students. An aide at a Bronx high school was recently fired, for...

ARTHRITIS MED MAY AID HEARTS

Several drugs that relieve arthritis symptoms may also help people with heart disease, researchers say. The anti-inflammatory medications - including the popular brands Celebrex and Vioxx - could help blood-vessel...

MIKE SET TO RELEASE OWN SCORE CARD

Mayor Bloomberg plans to release a progress report on where his administration stands on promises he made during his campaign for the mayoralty. It's not clear when he'll present the...

SURVIVOR'S POINT-BLANK GUN MIRACLE

Yesterday was not Jason Pawlak's time to die. A hood aimed a loaded .45-caliber handgun inches from the bouncer's face and pulled the trigger - but the weapon didn't fire....

LUCKY SON OF A GUN : BOUNCER SURVIVES 'EXECUTION' AS THUG'S PISTOL JAMS

Yesterday was not Jason Pawlak's time to die. A hood put a loaded .45-caliber handgun to Pawlak's head and pulled the trigger - but the weapon didn't fire, cops said....

FIRED FEMALE PRIEST BECOMING EPISCOPALIANS' LOST CAU$E

A former New York Episcopal bishop, sued by a priest for allegedly trumping up charges against her so his "very close" female friend could take her job, has been advised...

EXCLUSIVE: TIME'S UP FOR SEX TEACH: '70S ABUSE CASE BACK TO HAUNT HIM

A popular Bronx math teacher has been allowed to retire with his full pension after admitting he sexually abused one of his female students - 25 years ago, The Post...

SEREY LOSES APPEAL ON BANS

Trainer Juan Serey, currently working upstate at Ernie Paragallo's Center Brook Farm, has lost his court appeal of two 90-day suspensions issued by the N.Y. State Racing and Wagering Board....

KIDD KUDOS FOR STOCKTON ; JASON: JAZZ MAN STILL BEST

Jason Kidd says tonight's Nets game will feature the best point guard in the NBA. And Kidd will do what he can to slow him down. Maybe you've forgotten about...

SCALABRINE'S WORKING OUT

NET NOTES One thing's for sure: If Brian Scalabrine struggles on the Nets' West Coast trip, it won't be for a lack of preparation. "He's one of the hardest-working guys...

SPOON'S JUST FINE COMING OFF BENCH

KNICK NOTES Clarence Weatherspoon won't lobby for the ball or for his starting job back from Othella Harrington. Weatherspoon is content to wear the hard hat even if he knows...

IT IS TIME FRANK GOT SOME RUN

The Knicks gave up in the third quarter Friday night in Detroit, finishing the period down 25 points. On tap was 12 minutes of garbage time. On tap should have...

BATTERED MCNAIR IS TRUE TITAN

OAKLAND - Steve McNair ran out of bullets in his shootout with Rich Gannon. The battered Titans' QB - using his legs and arm - gutted out his team's 41-24...

THIS WEEK WILL BE MADDENING

DON'T say I didn't warn ya: As the Super Bowl grows closer to kickoff, tuning to ABC, this year's Supe network, will make for an increasingly risky choice - unless...

NBA SUPER SCOUT: HATTEN'S REAL DEAL

WASHINGTON - Marty Blake had yet to see the best of Marcus Hatten, but by halftime of Saturday's astonishing St. John's comeback win over Georgetown, the NBA's super scout knew...

B&G, GRADY SHOW NO FEAR

Boys & Girls 66Cardozo 60 During most seasons, teams have emerged by this point as the clear front-runners for the PSAL title. But this isn't a typical season. With Lincoln...

WEEK 4 WIN OFF RAIDERS' RADAR

CHAMPIONSHIP CONFIDENTIAL OAKLAND - The Raiders went into last night's AFC Championship Game wary of their opponent. Remember, they were 52-25 winners over the Titans in Week 4 of the...

ISLES TRIP THRASHERS

Islanders 4Thrashers 1 ATLANTA - Like the road trip that got off to a somewhat slow start with an overtime loss in Washington, yesterday's game against the Thrashers was much...

BUCS LEAVE BIRDS IN THE COLD: SUPE'S ON FOR TB AFTER WIN IN CHILLY PHILLY

PHILADELPHIA - The cold. The Vet. The fans. The rock-hard turf. The bleak history. The opponent. So little time, so many obstacles, too many obstacles for the fair-weather Buccaneers to...

BUCS GOT A BARGAIN IN GRUDEN

PHILADELPHIA - Is any coach worth four high draft picks? If you run the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the answer is an unequivocal yes. That was the price tag Al Davis...

LOMAS CAN'T FORGET GIANT HEARTBREAK

ChAMPIONSHIP CONFIDENTIAL PHILADELPHIA - Two years ago, all Lomas Brown kept hearing from his offensive line-mate, Glenn Parker, were warnings. Brown was heading into his first-ever Super Bowl in 2000...

KEY STICKS IT TO PHILLY FANS

PHILADELPHIA - He hears it most everywhere he plays, so the chants of "Keyshawn [stinks]" did not really get to Keyshawn Johnson. In fact, he sort of enjoyed the sound...

HAD THEIR PHIL OF FAILURE

PHILADELPHIA - They never saw it coming. No championships since the Sixers in 1983, one indelible Mitch Williams down-the-middle fastball, four Flyer losses in the Finals since they last won...

CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE: ANOTHER SUPER DAY FOR THE BARBERS

PHILADELPHIA - Ronde Barber told himself when he became a pro that he'd never go to a Super Bowl unless he was playing in it. Then his brother Tiki went...

NEDNEY INJURY KICKS TITANS WHILE DOWN

CHAMPIONSHIP CONFIDENTIAL OAKLAND - The Titans suffered a damaging blow when they lost kicker Joe Nedney to a knee injury in the second quarter of last night's AFC Championship game....

DONOVAN JILTED ON DATE WITH DESTINY

PHILADELPHIA - From a loss in the divisional round two years ago - his first year as a starter - to one in the NFC Championship Game last season, step...

HALFWAY HOME, TITANS LURCH INTO BLACK HOLE

OAKLAND - The Titans' end-of-season journey home to Nashville only seemed as long as their 11/2-minute journey to halftime yesterday. Back-to-back turnovers just before intermission fueled a Titans' implosion and...

IT WAS NICE WHILE IT LASTED

Flyers 4Rangers 2 The Rangers were rolling and so was the Garden crowd. Up by two after 20 dominant minutes against the Flyers, on the verge of validating their recent...

CATCH CAPS EMOTIONAL WEEK FOR JUREVICIUS

PHILADELPHIA - Joe Jurevicius wore the smile of victory on his face in a joyous Bucs locker room following Tampa Bay's 27-10 win over the Eagles in the NFC Championship...

GANNON'S NOT DONE YET

OAKLAND - Everyone wanted to see Rich Gannon cry. They'd seen Tim Brown bury his head underneath a towel. They'd watched Jerry Rice's eyes glisten as he silently counted the...

SOUPED-UP RIADERS ROLL PAST TITANS: WILL FACE EX-COACH GRUDEN IN SD

Raiders 41 Titans 24 OAKLAND - It's going to be an all-pirate Super Bowl, and what an utterly delicious climax to the NFL season it's certain to be Sunday in...

RICE SHOOTS FOR FOURTH RING AT 40

OAKLAND - Jerry Rice was happy for his teammates, for his coach, even for his ex-coach, the man who'd beaten him to the Super Bowl by a couple of hours....

RAIDERS: 'CHUCKY' IS NO FACTOR

OAKLAND - Who could have fathomed this kind of theater to end the NFL's 2002 season? Who dared to dream of Super Bowl XXXVII becoming "Chucky Bowl?" "No, I wouldn't...

BROWN TICKLED PINK ABOUT SUPER BERTH

CHAMPIONSHiP CONFIDENTIAL OAKLAND - One of the most emotional players on the field in Oakland last night as the final seconds ticked away on Raiders 41, Titans 24 was Tim...

ROMANOWSKI JUST WANTS TO WIN

OAKLAND - He has won four Super Bowl rings with two teams, and now Bill Romanowski goes for one for the thumb with a third. "As you get older you...

EAGLES SAY GOODBYE TO VET IN SAD FASHION

PHILADELPHIA -The karma couldn't have been more unnerving for the Buccaneers. The temperature at kickoff was 26 degrees, which didn't bode well for a team that had won just one...

BUCS LAND LAST PUNCH KO EAGLES, SPOIL FINAL PARTY AT VET

PHILADELPHIA - The Buccaneers, knocked out here more times than Eric Lindros, took a 72-yard overhand right from Brian Mitchell on the opening kickoff, a 20-yard left hook from Duce...

SUPED-UP RAIDERS ROLL PAST TITANS: WILL FACE EX-COACH GRUDEN IN SAN DIEGO

Raiders 41 Titans 24 OAKLAND - It's going to be an all-pirate Super Bowl, and what an utterly delicious climax to the NFL season it's certain to be next Sunday...

ONE LAST HURRAH FOR OLD RAIDERS: AGE WILL CATCH UP TO TEAM NEXT YEAR

OAKLAND -These infamous words from the Raiders' venerable owner, Al Davis, have resonated throughout the NFL for years: "Just Win, Baby." As Davis' Raiders hosted the AFC Championship Game for...

MCNAIR'S A TRUE TITAN

OAKLAND - Every time he dragged himself up from the turf, bloodied and bruised, his mangled hand howling at him, Steve McNair brought honor to himself and glory to his...

TITAN OF A COACH

OAKLAND - John Robinson would love to tell you that he looked into the future and saw a coach running around the L.A. Coliseum all those years ago. He would...

JUREVICIUS PERFECT WITHOUT PRACTICE

PHILADELPHIA - Joe Jurevicius did not practice with the Buccaneers this week. He spent time with his wife and newborn son, who was a month premature. That did not stop...

BOUCHARD NOT SATISFIED

Despite what anyone might infer, Joel Bouchard is not just happy to be here. "No, no, no," the 28-year-old defenseman who was promoted from the AHL Wolf Pack to the...