January 24, 2009
THE OPRAH SYNDROME
In one of her top-rated shows this season, Oprah Winfrey used her Jan. 5 episode to publicly confess, in a gauzy, soft-palette setting, her mortification and shame at hitting 200...
GILLIBRAND STARTS STATEWIDE TOUR IN HARLEM
Senator-designate Kirsten Gillibrand started her statewide "listening tour" Saturday in the urban heart of Harlem - far from the upstate farmlands she represented as a congresswoman. A day after Gov....
COPS BUST BRONX COCK-FIGHTING RING
A cock-fighting ring that set up bloody bird battles to the death in the basement of a Bronx apartment building was busted by federal authorities, cops said. Officers responding to...
SULLY A HOMETOWN HERO
DANVILLE, Calif. - He may be a hero to the rest of us, but US Airways pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III was nothing but humble when he received the...
BRAZIL MODEL WHO LOST HANDS, FEET DIES
Health officials say a Brazilian model whose feet and hands were amputated because of an infection has died. Officials said in a statement early Saturday that 20-year-old Mariana Bridi's condition...
METS INK GARCIA TO 'MINOR' DEAL
Freddy Garcia's signing to a minor-league deal was made official by the Mets yesterday. The 33-year-old Garcia is expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation during spring...
YANKS ON THE MOVE
The Yankees are making another big offseason move, but this one doesn't involve a player. Employees at the old Yankee Stadium yesterday began transferring plastic crates with office materials onto...
PARISE BECOMES 'STAR' IN NEW JERSEY
MONTREAL - Here's how you prove a negative - Zach Parise is here for tomorrow night's All-Star Game representing the Devils and not the Rangers or Islanders, who both unaccountably...
PARCELLS: REX HAS WHAT IT TAKES, JUST LIKE I DID
BILL Parcells can smell a rat a mile away. He knows football and he knows football men. He is certain the Jets have themselves a football man in Rex Ryan....
BRIAN GETS ANOTHER SCHOTT TO RUN OFFENSE
One more piece of the 2009 Jets puzzle fell into place yesterday when Brian Schottenheimer agreed to remain as the team's offensive coordinator. Schottenheimer, 35, was given a contract extension...
KNICKS' CELEBRITY ROW A HOT SPOT ONCE AGAIN
The feel-good vibe of the Donnie Walsh-Mike D'Antoni Era has extended to celebrity row, where the rich and famous aren't waiting for 2010 and LeBron James to don the orange...
NETS ROOKIE DOUGLAS-ROBERTS PLAYING PATIENCE GAME
Chris Douglas-Roberts does not want to hear it anymore. He knows he will, though. And he knows he has to be patient about playing time as an NBA rookie. He...
YOU BETTOR READ THE FINE PRINT
THE Super Bowl is always a good bet for wild and wacky stories from Las Vegas. "I've been accused of having a hotline directly to the Broncos sideline," Las Vegas...
RANGERS TANDEM EXCELS WHEN A MAN DOWN
MONTREAL - The best penalty-killing unit in modern Rangers history was formed by Walt Tkaczuk and Billy Fairbairn, linemates on the imposing Bulldog Line, partners who specialized in ragging the...
DEVILS' MOTTAU HAS GUITAR HERO IN FAMILY
When Uncle Eddie wants to play at the wedding, well, thanks, I guess. But Devils defenseman Mike Mottau jumped at such an offer. His Uncle Eddie is guitarist Eddie Mottau,...
ALL-STAR STREIT BRIGHT SPOT FOR ISLANDERS
Mark Streit returns to Montreal this weekend to play in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time. And though the Islanders defenseman, in the midst of his best year,...
AS THE WORLD TURNS
Provisional 45-man rosters for the upcoming World Baseball Classic are in, but some questions remain before the final squads are set in late February. Here's a look at who's in...
AMAZIN' HURLER READY TO SHOULDER HIS LOAD
The moment Derek Lowe signed his four-year deal with the Braves, John Maine became that much more vital to the Mets. Maine is ready for the challenge. This is a...
JERSEY NATIVE HAS NAVY SAILING IN RIGHT DIRECTION
BILLY Lange remembers the night as if it was last week. He was an assistant coach at Villanova some five years ago, and was enjoying a quiet night at home...
TOP-HEAVY ACC DOESN'T HAVE DEPTH OF BRUTAL BIG EAST
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski started the rhetoric. His former assistant, Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he believes the Big East will finish it. Coach K said earlier this week...
MOSLEY READY TO SPILL MARGARITO
LOS ANGELES - Shane Mosley is either fooling himself or ready to make fools of us. How else can you explain his recent assessment that he's trying not to be...
JONES GUNNING FOR OLD FASHIONED WIN IN '09 DERBY
WHEN the racing aristocracy gathers in Miami on Monday night to honor the outstanding achievers of 2008, trainer Larry Jones will be in the audience hopeful that his Proud Spell...
ED FOUNTAINE'S STAKES SPOT PLAYS
PAUMONOK HANDICAP Aqueduct, 8th race. Purse: $65,000. 6 furlongs, 3-year-olds and up. Post: 3:49 p.m. LOWDOWN: Accredit was an easy winner of his last three starts run in the mud...
GET READY FOR 4706
JUST when 1.4 billion people in China had gotten used to writing Rat on their checks, the Year of the Ox kicks off Monday. OK, we admit it - that...
WHAT'S UP?
TODAY HAPPY FEET: Anyone who dreams of tutus and toe shoes should see "Dances by Very Young Choreographers," in which students ages 8 through 18 perform modern moves of their...
THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT ON TV
SHE'S perky, precocious and pig-headed, but then, Olivia can't help herself. Piggybacking on the success of Ian Falconer's prize-winning picture books, the porcine princess is getting her own animated series...
SHOW TIME!
WITH so many marquees gone dark lately, Broadway's a bleaker place. So it's cheering to see a bunch of kids' shows come to town. It's even nicer to be able...
GARMENT CTR.'S HISTORIC THREAD
The Garment Center Historic District is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The area includes the Midtown blocks from 34th to 41st streets and from Sixth to...
SUSPECT BUSTED IN DORM-THEFT SPREE
An 18-year-old thief has been busted for a rash of robberies at an NYU dorm, authorities said yesterday. Juan Molina, who is not an NYU student, was arrested after allegedly...
GOV SAYS CAROLINE TURNED 'NASTY'
Gov. Paterson rapped Caroline Kennedy at a private event the night before he tapped Kirsten Gillibrand for the Senate, telling guests Kennedy had been "nasty" to him and shown "disrespect"...
LIBERTY CROWN MAY OPEN
Change could be coming to the Statue of Liberty. President Obama's new Interior secretary, Ken Salazar, said yesterday it's "very important" that visitors be given access to the landmark's iconic...
TRAVOLTA KID 'PLOT' TWIST
The $20 million John Travolta blackmail plot took a new turn last night when authorities in the Bahamas filed extortion charges against a member of the island's parliament. Nassau cops...
'E-ZER PASS' EYED FOR CASHLESS TOLLS
Tollbooth attendants could soon be left in the dust. Cashless tolls could come to MTA bridges and tunnels after the agency conducts a 14-month study to begin at the end...
SCOUT COOKIES ON DIET
Blame it on dough - the number of Girl Scout Thin Mints in a box will be thinner this year. Due to the higher cost of baking ingredients, there will...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Queens * Tuesday from nearby eateries, for delivery to the Ravenswood Houses, cops said. The deliverymen were put in choke-holds, beaten and robbed, police said. Navarro and Mays were arrested...
KID-DEATH VAN DRIVER IS CLEARED
The driver of a van that killed two preschoolers after it was left in reverse and rolled through a line of children in Chinatown will not face criminal charges, police...
SCHOOL BIGS 'THREATENED' KIDS
Administrators at a Bronx elementary school interrogated a class of 7-year-olds individually about their teacher - and then threatened to suspend those who told their folks, several fuming parents told...
FEDS IN PROBE OF LATEST DEUTSCHE BLDG. ACCIDENT
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration yesterday said it was probing an accident that left a worker's leg smashed in yet another mishap at the disastrous Deutsche Bank building...
WANTED: MORE MONKEY BIZ
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Santa Ana is running low on monkeys. For decades, the rules stated the primate population had to be over 50. But, lately, Santa Ana Zoo has...
THEIR LIFESAVING KIDNEY 'HUNCH'
Three savvy New York women, desperate to help their ailing dad find a kidney, found an organ donor amid the used-car ads, garage sales and personals on Craigslist. "It was...
DOC RAPED NEAR B'KLYN HOSPITAL
A doctor on her way to work at Brooklyn Hospital was dragged under a Fort Greene stoop and raped after stepping out of the subway, cops said yesterday. The horrific...
$3M BRUNO 'FRAUD'
Former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, one of the state's three most powerful officials for more than a dozen years, was indicted yesterday for allegedly taking $3 million in bogus...
STORIED '21' CUTS ITS TIES TO PAST
Jan. 23, 2009, will forever be marked as the day that an era of old-fashioned elegance and gentlemanly standards in New York passed away. The hallowed '21' Club - one...
GOOSE-DOWN ENGINE GETS ONCE-OVER
In another step forward in the probe of what happened to US Airways Flight 1549, salvage workers yesterday hauled the jet's missing engine from the muck at the bottom of...
TOURIST'S PAINFUL TALE OF SUBWAY-STAB TERROR
Two years ago, a Texan tourist named Christopher McCarthy was randomly stabbed in the heart by a deranged stranger on a downtown C train - and lived. Yesterday, before a...
DAVE DOOMS SELF TO LOSE VS. ANDY
ALBANY - Gov. Paterson sealed his own fate yesterday as he insulted state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo with his bizarre selection of little-known upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand as Hillary Rodham...
EX-GIANT CHARGED IN HS PLAYER'S PRACTICE DEATH
A Kentucky high-school football coach who briefly played for the New York Giants is facing charges of reckless homicide after one of his players died during a tough, hot-weather practice....
LIPSTICK 'BUNGLE'
A sticky-fingered stage manager turned the NBC show "Lipstick Jungle" into a fashion victim when he stole nearly $30,000 in designer props from the Brooklyn set and tried to hawk...
DEM RED 'AL'ERT ON SEN. KIRSTEN
Gov. Paterson yesterday named upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to be the state's new US senator - but the press conference took a bizarre turn when Republican mega-lobbyist Alfonse D'Amato moved...
OBAMAS' PICTURE PERFECT 1ST DAYS
WASHINGTON - It's good to be the king. These dramatic photos provide an intimate glimpse into the historic first 48 hours of the Obama administration. The President and First Lady...
NETS MISS CHANCES FOR SHOCKER
SAN ANTONIO - The Nets could not have asked for more. They had battled the mighty Spurs on the road and were within a point for the endgame. And they...
SERENA CRUISES INTO FOURTH ROUND
MELBOURNE, Australia - Serena Williams didn't have to deal with any unexpected distractions earlier today, advancing to the fourth round at the Australian Open. Williams, who won the title here...
NO TOPPING DICK'S 'D'
With "Steel Curtain" and "Blitzburgh" long claimed, perhaps it is fitting that Pittsburgh's 2008 defense, almost as good as any the Steelers have had, still lacks a copyright, perhaps even...
CARDS' OFFENSE EDGE-S AWAY FROM AIR SHOW
What the heck has happened to the high-flying Cardinals offense that filled the air with passes and treated the ground game as enemy soil? The Cardinals are rolling into Super...
LETTING DAVID GO NOT EASI-LEE DONE
SOMETIMES, change is easy. An unpopular coach gets whacked. A bumbling general manager gets pushed aside. Underachieving players get sent out of town for a rack of balls and a...
SPORTS SHORTS
SPORTS SHORTSNFL: Reeves interviews to be Niners' OC Longtime Broncos coach Dan Reeves interviewed for the 49ers open offensive-coordinator position yesterday, meeting with coach Mike Singletary and GM Scot McCloughan...
HERM AXED BY CHIEFS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Herm Edwards, the head coach of the Chiefs during the worst two-year span in team history, was fired yesterday - and former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan...
DOCS: GALLINARI WON'T PLAY TWO STRAIGHT NIGHTS
The Knicks medical staff has decided to shut down rookie Danilo Gallinari on the second leg of back-to-back games for the time being, The Post has learned. Hence, Gallinari will...
WIN STREAK MATCHES SEASON HIGH; PLAYOFF HOPES RISING FOR KNICKS
The Knicks began the second half of their season last night squarely in a playoff race and did nothing to ruin the importance of their showdown tonight with the seventh-place...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
A "Big" mistake won a scratch-off lottery player a "Jumbo" prize. An upstate woman scratched her way to a cool $1 million after she asked for a "Big Bucks" ticket...
TURNER'S 'GOLDEN' VS. MARIST
Frank Turner had 22 points as Canisius beat Marist (7-14, 3-6) last night, 79-70, in Poughkeepsie. Elton Frazier and Tomas Vazquez-Simmons scored 12 points apiece for Canisius (7-12, 2-7 MAAC),...
PIVOTAL KNIGHT FOR FOUNDERING STORM
It was "Pick up the Pieces" day at St. John's yesterday. Tonight we get to see if the Red Storm can put any of those pieces back together again. Fresh...
KELLY REHAB DRAMA
PRODUCTION on Ozzy Osbourne's new Fox variety show ended just in time for daughter Kelly Osbourne to check into rehab. Kelly, 24, reportedly checked into a 30-day program at Oregon's...
MR. PRESIDENT, YOUR RIDE IS HERE
IF timing is everything, tomorrow's Nat Geo special, "On Board Air Force One," is in lock-step with the country's cultural metronome. With Barack Obama's inauguration still fresh in everyone's minds,...
'FAB' NEWS
FOX has handed a pilot pickup to "Absolutely Fabulous," a US version of the cult British comedy about a neurotic fashion publicist, Edina, and her best friend, Patsy, an outrageous...
Stallion to rest in Philly
By MARC BERMANIf Rocky Balboa intends to head to the arena in South Philly tonight to catch the Knicks' own Italian Stallion, he will be disappointed.As we reported in Saturday's...
BARCLAYS MAY REPORT EARLY
British banking giant Barclays PLC might report its fourth-quarter earnings early in an attempt to quiet rumors that the bank is in trouble. Barclays, which this week completed its acquisition...
OUR UNDIGNIFIED WAY OF DEATH
Whatever happened to that 'do no harm' business? AS the new president looks at reshaping our health-care system, he can do the na tion a big favor by considering the...
GROWING NYC'S GRID
IN his inaugural address, President Obama spoke of the need to build "the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together." Great idea - but...
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Harley skids Harley-Davidson said fourth-quarter profit fell 58 percent to $77.8 mil lion, or 34 cents a share, from $186.1 million, or 78 cents, a year ago, missing analysts' estimates....
NYSE LOWERS LISTING MINIMUM
The New York Stock Exchange relaxed listing requirements at the world's largest equity market, reducing the minimum value for companies to $15 million following the worst year for US stocks...
IT'S BANK NATIONALIZATION BY ANY OTHER NAME
The US government's decision to pledge billions of additional dollars with strings attached to Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. may be nationalization by another name, according to former...
ROOTING FOR OBAMA
CALLS for national unity were rampant this week, as is common when the na tion welcomes a new leader. But to boost our chances of overcoming the huge challenges we...
THE TORCH IS PASSED: A NEW ERA FOR AMERICA
The day after the inauguration of Barack Obama, I purchased The Post's inauguration edition, and, as I turned to the PostOpinion section, I was greeted with titles and commentary that...
RECESSION OFFICIAL; UK POUND-ED
The pound slid to the lowest level since 1985 against the dollar and posted its biggest weekly drop in three months after a report showed the UK economy shrank more...
NY TIMES DEBT JUNKED BY MOODY'S
The New York Times Co.'s efforts to complete the sale of its Midtown headquarters took on greater urgency yesterday after Moody's Investors Service joined Standard & Poor's in downgrading the...
THE RIKERS RING: WHO ELSE KNEW?
It wasn't a case of the inmates running the asylum. It was worse. Three Rikers Island guards were indicted this week for turning a jail housing teen prisoners into their...
ONE FARCE ENDS
Everything New Yorkers need to know about the fundamentally corrupt nature of Albany was on display yesterday as Gov. Paterson finally bestirred himself and named a replacement for ex-Sen. Hillary...
MARTHA FILETS HER STAKE 39%
Perhaps owning stock in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia isn't such a good thing. That appears to be the message the Diva of Domesticity Martha Stewart has sent to Wall Street...
LEWIS LOOKS LIKE GONER
Bank of America chief Ken Lewis has gone from being hailed as a Wall Street hero to now looking like a big fat zero. Just a day after Lewis decisively...
GE IMMELT-DOWN
Jeffrey Immelt's star has fallen so far that people are beginning to wonder if General Electric would have been better off naming someone else as CEO. That's the conversation going...
PREZ ZINGS GOP FOE IN A $TIMULATING TALK
WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and...
DVD Extra: Universal's Pre-Codes
Universal, which is perpetually criticized by fans for sitting on the bulk of its huge library of 1929-1948 Paramount titles while putting out three different DVD editions of "Holiday Inn,''...