July 21, 2002
12B-1 FEES A RIP-OFF
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amBY now, most fund investors know better than to fork over a load - a front-end fee - before buying a mutual fund, since so many good no-load funds exist....
DOLLAR DIVE A BOON? WEAK BUCK SPARKS PROFIT IN JAPAN AND EUROPE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amAfter helping Americans splurge on vacations abroad and fancy imports for the past few years, the strong dollar is falling fast. But before you cancel that trip to Europe, take...
LIFE AFTER OPTIONS: NEW TYPE OF INCENTIVES LIKELY FOR EXECS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amThe kinds of stock options that made Jack Welch a billionaire CEO role model are now history. He got rich and powerful pushing up General Electric's stock price for decades...
WHAT I WATCH
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amROBERTA MYERSEDITOR-IN-CHIEF, 'ELLE' MAGAZINE "AMERICAN IDOL," BECAUSE THE CONTESTANTS ARE EARNEST AND A FEW CAN ACTUALLY SING. THE SHOW IS VAGUELY SUSPENSEFUL BUT NO ONE HAS TO GET IN A...
SMALL WONDERS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amIF YOU ONLY WATCH ONE CHANNEL THIS WEEK... THE other night I came face to face with dozens of midgets with darkened skin, wearing only loincloths, clutching spears and bows-and-arrows,...
COMING SOON TO TV NEAR YOU: THE PANIC BOOM
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amGiven my aversion to any landscape that doesn't feature at least three bistros, two newsstands and one Duane Reade every 100 feet, it's unlikely that I'll ever be stranded on...
SEX, LIES AND SUNDAY NIGHT
July 21, 2002 | 4:00am'Sex and the City" starts tonight - which means it's back to Sunday nights on the sofa with a round of Coronas. And even though there's now a baby in...
BOUNCING CZECHS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amKARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic - Tall, underdressed Czech women make the annual film festival here one of the sexiest in Europe. Sure, Cannes offers a parade of topless sunbathers, but...
STYLE & SUBSTANCE: KARI WUHRER
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amKari Wuhrer, who stars opposite wacky David Arquette in the creature feature "Eight Legged Freaks," can't contain her excitement about her toehold in Hollywood. "I really want to be a...
SOMETHING GAINED IN THE TRANSLATION
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amThe word "translation" is probably one of the more ambiguous entries in the English language. It once meant "to transport." Nowadays, the word is commonly taken to mean "to change...
YEAH, BABIES: A TALE OF AUSTIN'S LEADING LADIES
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amIf it weren't for the bodacious ladies he teams up with - both in the sack and on the crime-fighting front - Austin Powers would be nothing but a doofus...
A CASE AGAINST EGGS BENEDICT
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amAvra Estiatorio 141 E. 48th St. (between Lexington & Third avenues) (212) 759-8550 Of all the brunches around town, Avra Estiatorio's may be the first to offer fig pancakes. Saturday...
HIGH NOTES & LOW NOTES
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amHIT OF THE WEEK: Who says you don't get any do-overs in music? Industry mag Hits predicts the Dave Matthews Band's "Busted Stuff," a remake of the shelved Lillywhite sessions,...
JUNK JUSTICE FOR JIHAD JOHNNY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amGO figure. Lizzie Grubman - in a fit of a snit - backed into a big bunch of rich people, got sued for more than 90 million bucks, and could...
BILLY BOB LOOKS BEYOND ANGELINA FOR HIS JOLLIES
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amNO matter how much you wish for the best, you just can't trust movie-star relationships that begin with big tattoos and on to matching pendants filled with one another's blood....
SLIM PICKIN'S ON CALISTA'S PLATE . . . AND MINE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amNOT for nothing, but Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford might have partied at the Russian Tea Room after the premier Wednesday night of his movie "K-19: The Widowmaker," but they...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amBetter late than never. A British woman received a postcard in the mail from her daughter last week - a staggering 17 years after it was mailed. Anne Smith said...
BIG HOPE OF 'SEX' FANS: DEVOTEES PLEAD: GIVE US ROMANCE, REALISM AND A MAN-CRAZY SAMANTHA
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amBring Big back! That's what many Manhattan women hope to see in the new season of "Sex and the City," airing tonight on HBO. After the bushy-browed bachelor (played by...
CITY HOME PRICES SEEN FALLING BACK TO EARTH
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amWHILE real estate prices have remained steadfastly buoyant through the stock market decline, a survey among brokers at one of the city's largest residential firms suggests home prices are on...
WHEN VICTIMS PAY TO BE ABDUCTED
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amLaw-enforcement officials yesterday slammed the idea of people paying to get abducted for fun - calling it "twisted" and saying it would "desensitize" people to real-life horrific scenarios. "This is...
DNA NAILS SAMANTHA SUSPECT
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amCalifornia cops say DNA samples belonging to a factory worker arrested in connection with the rape and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion match fibers found on the little girl's body....
TRUST ME, LIZZIE'S SORROW IS FROM THE HEART
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amEMBATTLED p.r. princess Lizzie Grubman insists her emotional apology outside a Riverhead, L.I., courthouse last week was genuine and spontaneous despite an absence of tears in published photos of the...
NEW OSBOURNE ORDEAL: SON'S PIER-STUNT INJURY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amWild rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family are in the midst of a crisis - and it'll probably make for some juicy TV viewing. A week after family matriarch Sharon...
TERROR FEARS FLARE UP: OUTAGE BRINGS TRAFFIC CHAOS, 'WEIRD ENERGY'
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amYesterday's Con Ed transformer fire prompted new fears of a terror attack for many New Yorkers. "People are looking around like it's Sept. 12, looking up in the air, looking...
IT'S THUMBS DOWN: PLANNERS BACKPEDAL AFTER HUNDREDS PAN WTC DESIGNS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amGround Zero planners yesterday suggested they may rethink their rebuilding ideas after hundreds at a massive town hall meeting panned most of the six early designs, saying they were too...
ZAPPED: EXPLOSION PUTS DOWNTOWN IN POWERLESS SUMMER DAZE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amWith a great boom, a transformer fire broke out in the East Side Con Ed plant yesterday, blacking out parts of downtown, spewing thick black smoke across wide swaths of...
TWISTED BALLAD HONORS TALI-RAT
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amNASHVILLE - American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh is glorified and called Jesus-like in a country-rock song to be released soon by maverick singer-songwriter Steve Earle. The controversial ballad called...
MANY IDEAS TO MARK MOURNFUL ANNIVERSARY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amA silent parade from Ground Zero to Central Park. Fireworks. Individual air balloons representing every victim. Rivers nationwide dyed red. Those are among the hundreds of suggestions people from around...
NOW IT'S PRIEST VS. PRIEST IN UNHOLY WAR
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amA BITTER wrangle between two priests based on abuse allegations has put the city's Catholic clergy leaders in danger of violating the church's new zero-tolerance policy toward sex-related scandals. Just...
YOU'VE GOT E-MAIL
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amFROM John Contini@satiretv.com: "Congress passed a corporate-accountability bill in record time in the hopes of boosting investor confidence. They just couldn't believe that all their money from their slush funds,...
COUNCIL DONOR $$ ROLL IN
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amA new breed of money men has emerged at City Hall - and it's all because Mayor Bloomberg insists on paying his own way. An unprecedented flow of cash is...
GITMO GOONS COSTING US 357G A DAY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - The jailing and grilling of terrorists at Guantanamo Bay is costing $357,000 per day with no end in sight, according to the latest Pentagon budget figures. The Defense...
AMERICANS WHO ANSWER THE TWISTED CALL OF JIHAD
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Hundreds of Americans have left behind freedom to join Osama bin Laden's international jihad over the past two decades, according to government estimates. As British authorities come to...
WOMEN'S HEALTH IS HER PASSION
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amDr. Nicoletta Pallotta is living the American dream - while rescuing thousands of women from their health nightmares. Pallotta, a single mother with a 3-year-old daughter, is the founder and...
E. VILLAGERS CLAMOR FOR SCHOOL TO KEEP IT DOWN!
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amAngry East Village residents say they live next to the noisiest city school - and their complaints have triggered a cultural war with a Mexican-American dance group that performs there....
RUSSIAN MOB WITNESS IS COLD AS BORSCHT
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amWHEN Hollywood tanks with "Godfather 25," they will pay a court reporter a dollar a page for the transcripts of a Russian mob trial which concluded with the bad guy...
VICTORIA GOTTI
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amI'M back - and I can't think of a better way to start than at the top. And in this city, the top administrator is the mayor and one of...
2ND QUEENS BOAT VICTIM RECALLED AS A GREAT GUY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amA Queens man who died in a horrific boat crash in Little Neck Bay was remembered yesterday as a helping hand with a sense of humor. The Rev. Kevin McBrien...
THAT 'SOX' BIG TIME : FANS FLIP LID OVER YANKS' NO-RUDE-T-SHIRT POLICY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amYankee fans with malice in their hearts for the Boston Red Sox yesterday had to suck it up and keep their feelings to themselves. Fans who entered the stadium wearing...
BROTHERS HELD IN HELLISH FIGHT
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amAll hell broke out in Hell's Kitchen when an argument turned into a knife fight that left two men stabbed and two brothers busted, police said. Cops called to a...
PACK PIX OF UGLY HABIT CAN'T SCARE PUFFERS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amBootlegged cigarette packs showing graphic pictures of decayed teeth and infected gums are showing up in the Big Apple - but they don't appear to be stopping smokers from lighting...
PRISON OFFICER IN CRACK BUST
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amA state correction officer was arrested for possession of 11 bags of crack cocaine after he was seen buying the drug from another man who was also arrested, cops said...
CAN'T FIND A HIDDEN GEM? SHIRLEY YOU JEST
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amLOCAL GOLF Did somebody say vacation? Here's eight great places to play golf this summer: 1. Links at Shirley - Next trip to the Hamptons, hang a right on the...
CHEAP ISLES JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS?
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amMORE questions than answers (for once) on the eve of our summer recess: If, as the organization insists, it was not Computer Associates' financial setbacks that kept the Islanders out...
HUNTERS, MARK YOUR CALENDARS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amTHE waterfowl season here in New York is just weeks away and as usual the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has released a tentative schedule for 2002-03 hunting...
KNICKS FINDING IT'S NOT EASY TO DEAL SPREE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amOne day after Timberwolves president Kevin McHale told The Post he won't trade for Latrell Sprewell "because of his contract and other things," Hawks GM Pete Babcock piled on, indicating...
YOUNG CYCLONE'S TEARING UP NY-PENN LEAGUE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amYOU know what? This is pretty simple really. Alhaji Turay is the most talented player the Brooklyn Cyclones have ever had. This year, last year, any year. He's the most...
WHY TIGER, NOT JETER?
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amDEREK Jeter was named The Sporting News 2002 No.1 Good Guy in Pro Sports last week, an award the magazine said is given annually to "a player whose off-field accomplishments...
SERIES HERO DEAD AT 81
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amYankee World Series hero Frank Spec Shea passed away yesterday at a Connecticut hospital. He was 81. Shea, who pitched for the Yankees from 1947 to 1949 and again in...
JORDAN WON'T LEAVE NETS' STAFF
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amEddie Jordan is staying put on the Nets' coaching staff. The Nets' trip to the NBA Finals made Jordan a hot commodity on the coaching front and he interviewed for...
MONDESI'S BREATHING EASIER AFTER CAT SCAN
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amRaul Mondesi, who had been hospitalized with chest pains and shortness of breath Thursday night, underwent a CAT scan yesterday morning at Beth Israel North hospital. The tests were negative...
ELS WEATHERS BAD CONDITIONS, STORMS TO TOP
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amGULLANE, Scotland - As usual, Ernie Els was overshadowed by Tiger Woods yesterday. Woods' Grand Slam-halting 10-over 81 was the stunning news of the third round. But today, Els could...
ROUND LEAVES FIELD ALL WET: PLAYERS SAY BLACK WAS EASIER
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amOPEN NOTES GULLANE, Scotland - Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia, among many other players, called yesterday's conditions for the British Open much more difficult to deal with than the second...
LEADERS READ LIKE 'WHO'S THAT?'
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amGULLANE, Scotland - The top end of the British Open leaderboard reads like a who's-who of who-are-these-guys? All tournament long, a fellow named Des Smyth has refused to go away....
JILBAB TAKES OAKS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amOnce again, a horse stumbled badly coming out of the gate in a Grade 1, mile-and-a-half stakes race for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park yesterday. But unlike a year ago in...
LEAKY PEN NEARLY RUINS YANKEES - ROBIN'S EXTRA EFFORT SAVES DAY VS. SOX
July 21, 2002 | 4:00am11 Innings Yankees 9 Red Sox 8 On a perfect summer afternoon the Yankees' marrow froze as Mariano Rivera walked off the mound yesterday in the eighth inning with a...
DEFIANT RED SOX STILL TALKING TOUGH
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amEntering the Red Sox clubhouse after losses to the Yankees in recent years felt a lot like walking onto the floor of the stock exchange in recent days. The sense...
WEAVER'S ANXIOUS FOR SHOT AT SOX
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amJeff Weaver has watched two pulsating Red Sox-Yankees games from the dugout. Today he gets to experience the heated rivalry from the epicenter as he makes his first start against...
TORRE TO SEND MO FOR TESTS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amYankee closer Mariano Rivera entered yesterday's 9-8 win two batters into the eighth inning, trying to get a rare two-inning save. Instead, he was forced from the game after throwing...
SORIANO SAVES DAY - AGAIN
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amMARIANO Rivera was out injured, ominously with a tight shoulder. Ramiro Mendoza and Mike Stanton already had been used. Steve Karsay had given Joe Torre three innings and 54 pitches,...
BOMBERS WIN BATTLE, BUT MAY LOSE RIVERA
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amFOR Yankee fans among the 55,526 at the Stadium yesterday, watching Mariano Rivera walk off the mound in the middle of the eighth inning, stride for stride with trainer Gene...
MINOR SETBACK FOR BACSIK
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amMET NOTES CINCINNATI - Michael Bacsik proved he's good enough for a cup of coffee in the majors. But Bacsik will probably be having his java at Triple-A Norfolk in...
METS COMING UP - CONTINUE CLIMB IN RACE FOR WILD CARD
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amMets 8 Reds 7 CINCINNATI - Goodbye, Expos. Hello, Reds. The Mets are leaving wild-card contenders in their wake left and right, climbing out of a self-dug hole that was...
STRIKE REALITY: FANS WILL COME BACK
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amONLY one thing rolls my eyes higher than an athlete making millions, protecting his right to make even more millions, saying he has to think about his family. That would...
KIDS BETTER BE ALL RIGHT: GIANTS HAVE HOLES TO FILL AFTER SALARY-CAP EXODUS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amVirtually every year, as Jim Fassel heads north to training camp at the University at Albany, along for the ride are predictions of gloom and doom for the Giants. This...
SKY'S THE LIMIT FOR JETS: TESTAVERDE, MARTIN EXPECT 'SPECIAL YEAR'
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amFrom time to time, from place to place inside Weeb Ewbank Hall, Vinny Testaverde and Curtis Martin will meet and notice a gleam in the other warrior's eyes. It is...
SOLVING MYSTERY THAT IS SARATOGA: POST POINTS WAY TO WINNER'S CIRCLE
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amThe dog days of summer are finally over. Saratoga is here! The world's greatest race meet opens Wednesday at the Old Spa for a 36-day stand that runs through Labor...
VALENTINE SAVORS MEMORIES OF CINCY
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amMET NOTES CINCINNATI - Bobby Valentine has a lot of good memories from Cinergy Field. The Met manager got his first major-league base hit in the 23-year-old stadium, which opened...
PEDRO EARNS HIS 'MULA': FREE-AGENT STEAL'S BECOMING THE BULL OF AMAZIN' ROTATION
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amCINCINNATI - Pedro Astacio was not sure what to do, and Bobby Valentine wasn't, either. In the middle of the fourth inning on Friday night, there was an extended break...
NOT FAIR TO COMPARE BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amA FEW decades ago, George Carlin did a funny bit on the difference between bucolic baseball and militaristic football. These days, in conjunction with baseball's labor strife, many folks are...
THE INSIDERS: THE POST TAKES YOU BEHIND THE LOCKER-ROOM DOORS
July 21, 2002 | 4:00amHome Alone Long Islander Dick Collins, the first photographer for the Mets before becoming the official shooter of the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, mourns the loss of his good...