August 5, 2009
Niese tears hamstring, has surgery
As if it even seemed possible at this point, the Mets got more bad injury news today when Jonathon Niese was diagnosed with a complete tear -- from the bone...
RBNY's Angel sidelined tonight
Red Bull captain Juan Pablo Angel is unavailable for tonight's CONCACAF Champions League prelim against W Connection. He suffered a grade 2 concussion in the first minute of the road...
Man struck twice on Grand Central, dies
A 48-year-old Woodhaven man was killed early Sunday morning after being struck by two cars on the Grand Central Parkway, police said.Andrzej Suchorzepka was hit by two vehicles around 1...
The Red Bulls want credibility. Street cred on the line in two hours
Follow the Post's soccer coverage on Twitter!Talk to the Red Bull front office about what this organization needs, and the same word keeps coming up: Credibility. They're building the country's...
Reyes has scar tissue, inflammation
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will remain in New York for manual physical therapy in an effort to break up scar tissue and reduce inflammation in his injured hamstring, the Mets...
Disney's Ben There, Done That; Now, Scott, Phillips To Host 'At the Movies'
Disney is attempting to right the listing "At the Movies'' by getting rid of the much-ridiculed blurbmeister Ben Lyons of E!, as well as the more respected Ben Mankiewicz of...
Porter Block's new album is like a Gowanus music club
Only Peter Block would find his inspiration in the murky Gowanus Canal. The fetid corpse of water lends its name — and its rugged good looks — to the new...
This week's calendar, Aug. 5 to Aug. 12
Thursday, Aug. 6 Cool, Green Edge: The Williamsburg Waterfront Walking TourThe rezoning of Williamsburg transformed the area from an underutilized, industrial district to include a mix of historic and modern...
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival 2009
The dragons have been awakened and more than 145 teams are readying themselves to take to Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for the 19th annual Hong Kong Dragon...
Serenity now! Our full guide to getting some peace and quiet
Horns are honking. Jackhammers are hammering. Politicians are calling. Babies are screaming (or worse, wanting you to play with them). Face it: you can't get any freakin' peace and quiet...
MS 8 teacher pleads guilty to affair with student
A Jamaica middle school teacher who wanted her principal removed on harassment grounds admitted Tuesday to having an illicit affair with one of her own students after classes, the Queens...
Ozone Park fitness guru brings message to masses
Ozone Park personal trainer Anthony Catanzaro has parlayed his success as a fitness model and champion bodybuilder into a new gig: pitchman for his own brand of exercise equipment.Infomercials for...
McLaughlin ally admits to bribery
The former head of a Long Island City-based electric company that hired union workers represented by disgraced former state Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin pleaded guilty Friday to making tens of thousands...
Community Newspaper Group to launch boro politics Web site
Local political junkies finally have a place to call their own on the Web.On Friday, the Community Newspaper Group — of which this newspaper is a part — will launch...
Who Needs to be 'Saved' By the Makeover Bell?
When the cast of "Saved By the Bell" recently reunited (save for the noticeably absent Screech played by Dustin Diamond) for a cover story for People magazine (See the cover...
Queens Library at Broadway reopens after $2.6M revamp
The Queens Library's Broadway branch in Astoria reopened in late July following a $2.6 million renovation, which included new facilities for teenagers, an elevator and technology that will allow visitors...
District 24 charter's fate unsure
The future of a proposed charter school in District 24 was left shrouded in mystery last week after the founders of the would-be institution failed to show up for a...
VIDEO: Angry Fielder looks for Mota
APIf Prince Fielder's teammates and several security guards hadn't stopped the furious Milwaukee slugger at the Dodgers' clubhouse door, reliever Guillermo Mota could have faced a whole other kind of...
Invalid petitions kick Smalls off city ballot
The shape of the Democratic race for City Councilman Eric Gioia's (D-Sunnyside) seat shifted Tuesday morning as the city Board of Elections invalidated most of candidate Kwame Smalls' petition signatures,...
Livery cab crash hurts 13 people at Jackson Heights fair
An Ecuadorian festival in Jackson Heights was disrupted Sunday when a livery cab plowed into several booths and a crowd of people along Junction Boulevard, sending 13 festival-goers to the...
Postal Service now says only two Queens post offices will close
The U.S. Postal Service is reviewing possibly closing two post offices in Queens, far fewer than the 11 venues proposed in a preliminary document that had local residents and officials...
Monserrate to face trial in September
A Queens Supreme Court judge denied motions by state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst) to throw out his indictment and suppress evidence in his pending case on assault charges last...
Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale rezone approved
After years of fighting and negotiating with the city, a major rezoning of Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village went into effect Tuesday, curtailing development in many areas of the neighborhoods.The...
Boro leaders break ground on Queens Plaza
The earth moved for city officials and Queens leaders in Long Island City Monday as they broke ground on the long-awaited Queens Plaza improvements.Borough President Helen Marshall, city Planning Commissioner...
Nunes touts knowledge in run
Political candidate Lynn Nunes says he has seen southeast Queens suffer tremendously over the last four years.The 24-year-old Richmond Hill businessman, who is challenging City Councilman Thomas White (D-South Ozone...
Laurelton student turns homeless encounter into short story
Being approached by a mysterious homeless man in the subway may be a scary situation for some straphangers, but for Laurelton college student Myla Seabrook, one such encounter had a...
City remembers Springfield Gardens soldier with new street
The family of an 18-year-old Springfield Gardens soldier who was killed two years ago in Iraq said they were honored their son's courage and sacrifice was commemorated by the city...
City orders Katrina family out of St. Albans
A working class family who lost their home during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is at the end of their rope after being ordered to vacate a hellhole in St....
Eclectic sounds of JAMS festival fill Jamaica Ave.
Thousands of borough residents lined the streets of Jamaica last weekend for the 14th annual JAMS festival, where attendees had their pick of more than 200 food vendors and booths...
Free concerts cancelled at Forest Park
A lack of funding forced the Queens Symphony Orchestra to cancel two of the summer concerts the organization normally holds free for the public in Forest Park, the group's director...
State offers builders tax credits to rehabilitate areas in decline
The state has now made it easier for homeowners to renovate when they want to give their run-down properties a makeover.Gov. David Paterson signed the Rehabilitation Tax Credit bill into...
Subway trains next in line for security cameras: MTA
Thousands of cameras keep an unblinking, 24-hour watch on subway stations and now the New York City Transit Authority says subway cars are next to undergo such surveillance.Transit officials say...
MTA plans no fare hikes, service cuts in 2010 budget
The MTA, teetering on the edge of a financial abyss only a few months ago, plans no fare hikes or service cutbacks next year.Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said the agency...
Two men die after swimming at Rockaway
A man drowned after swimming in the waters off Rockaway Beach Monday and a search was ongoing Tuesday for a second swimmer presumed drowned off the peninsula during a week...
Jamaica man, son die in crash
The family of Roopnarine Gopaul said the Guyanese immigrant loved two things more than anything else in his life: his family and riding the open sea.Last weekend the Jamaica resident...
Federal gov't grants $20M to LIJ to study schizophrenia
Scientists at a North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System institute were awarded a $20 million grant from the federal government to study the effectiveness of new schizophrenia treatments on patients...
Thompson closing gap on Bloomberg in mayoral race: Poll
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's lead over City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) and city Comptroller William Thompson in the bid for the city's highest office has slimmed, although many city and Queens...
Peralta, Ferreras back de Blasio over boro's Gioia
State Assemblyman Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) and City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) took a pass in endorsing the only Queens contender for public advocate, Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside), when...
Hopefuls for Liu seat stay focused at debate
At a City Council District 20 candidates forum at Flushing Library last Thursday, CUNY Professor Joyce Moy set the ground rules early."The issues facing the 20th Council District are what...
LGA, JFK ranked among worst in flight delays: Study
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has issued a report that he says shows that while airline flight delays have improved across the United States, delays keep worseningat John F. Kennedy...
City salutes Cadillac Man
The City Council honored Astoria street laureate Cadillac Man last week with a proclamation following the release of the formerly homeless author's book "Land of Lost Souls: My Life on...
Vantage CEO defends services
When Neil Rubler and his real estate company, Vantage Properties, launched a 24-hour call center for residents to request repairs or log complaints two years ago, the system was inundated...
New Yorkers want mayoral control: Poll
More than half of Queens residents support renewing mayoral control of the public school system and approve of the way Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been handling education, a Quinnipiac poll...
3 Council hopefuls lose spots on ballot
Only three of the dozens of City Council candidates in Queens were tossed off the ballot by the city Board of Elections this week, but anticipated court battles were expected...
Mayor talks transit in boro
"Everything comes quickly, at a reasonable price," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during a visit to Glendale Tuesday to tout his call for a "mass transit reform," but Hizzoner was praising...
Fresh Meadows woman donates ambulance to Jewish volunteers
State Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) and city Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) honored Fresh Meadows resident Rose Ullman at the Israel Center of Conservative Judaism Sunday for her donation...
City to use Port Authority funds for Willets Point upgrades
The city announced last Thursday it has secured $100 million in funding through the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to aid in the construction of 14 major...
Council OKs rezone, land deal for Willets move to Corporate Park
The City Council voted to approve both a new special zoning district for the College Point Corporate Park and the first step toward moving five Willets Point businesses to the...
Fresh Meadows day care faces eviction
A case that will determine whether a day care center on Klein Farm in Fresh Meadows will be able to remain on the property despite eviction orders from controversial landlord...
Boro leaders miffed over run
A scheduling snafu has pitted the New York Roadrunners club against some community leaders in northern Queens after the group was forced to schedule its College Point half-marathon on one...
Stop-work order put on building of large Little Neck Pkwy. house
A Little Neck Parkway home under renovation that has drawn the anger of nearby residents was served with a stop-work order Friday, city Department of Buildings records showed.The home, at...
Toxicology shows DUI involved in Taconic death drive
The mother who killed herself, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young Floral Park nieces and three men after she drove the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway late last month...
Douglas Manor Beach ranked worst for pollution in city
A national study of the nation's beaches found that two Queens beaches — Douglas Manor and Rockaway's Breezy Point — were among the city's three most-polluted swimming sites.The National Resources...
Fake bomb at LaGuardia incites fear
A 32-year-old Manhattan man who caused thousands of travellers to be delayed for several hours last weekend after he brought a fake bomb to LaGuardia Airport will undergo psychiatric evaluation...
Central Queens, Samuel Field Ys unite to survive
Little Neck's Samuel Field Y has merged with Forest Hills' Central Queens YM & YWHA so that each site can provide services currently unavailable at their own facilities and secure...
Oakland Gardens home attracts vermin
Neighbors living near a vacant Oakland Gardens home said they believe the site has been attracting unwanted critters into their community, including a skunk that has sprayed several neighborhood pets.The...
5 Pointz will remain in L.I. City
As more than 100 artists vacate their illegal studios in the Long Island City building where a staircase collapse seriously injured a woman, one bright spot for urban art aficionados...
Gunfire rocks area
Red Hook's balmy summer nights were shattered with the sound of gunfire as cops investigated two separate shootings.Police said that a man hobbled into Long Island College Hospital at 9...
NBC Wants Paula Abdul
Let the bidding begin! Hours after Paula Abdul announced her departure from "American Idol," NBC reality boss Paul Telegdy said he is "absolutely" interested in bringing the loopy star to...
Assassin's, Splinter Cell, Red Steel
Three things I learned from the Ubisoft demo:1. Assassin's Creed 2 looks amazing. They sent a team out to Venice to capture the city and recreate it for the game....
DEALS: Dubai for less
Man-made islands in the form of palm trees, indoor ski parks, an 18-star hotel shaped like a New Jersey cougar's Lee press-on nail -- yup, Dubai provides just about the most...
Red Bull Arena coming along; 1st roof section done
Follow the Post's soccer coverage on Twitter!Decking for the upper bowl is finished; next up are the seats.So, does looking at the stadium take any of the sting out of...
U.S. stays 12th in FIFA rankings; is a World Cup seed possible?
Follow the Post's soccer coverage on Twitter!The U.S. National Team held steady at 12th in this month's FIFA rankings, despite getting humiliated 5-0 by Mexico in last month's CONCACAF Gold...
It all started with a sore calf
Help me reach my modest goal of 10010 100 followers on twitter.By JUSTIN TERRANOVAIt all started innocently enough.Jose Reyes was being benched by Jerry Manuel for a base-running mistake he...
Cash and cigs
90th PrecinctWilliamsburg–BushwickStick up! Two armed thieves stuck up a Kent Avenue gas station on July 30. The perps reportedly entered the station — which is between Rutledge and Penn streets...
No real edge in QB competition
By MARK CANNIZZAROCORTLAND -- Rex Ryan said today that, through six days of training camp practices, the quarterback competition is at a relative standstill."A lot hasn't changed (at the moment),''...
Niese, Sheffield injured
From MIKE PUMA Add Jonathon Niese to the list of the Mets' hobbling wounded.The lefty needed help off the field today in the second inning against the Cardinals after covering...
Exploding in New York
Just a reminder - I'm on Twitter. Hope you come follow me.OK, I'm back from vacation so I've got a few things to hit you with before we get to...
Jozy Altidore to Hull
Follow the Post's soccer coverage on Twitter!US. National Team forward Jozy Altidore is headed to England, hashing out the details on a one-year loan to Hull City from Villarreal.The New...
LIRR ENGINEER, PASSENGER WHO DROVE TRAIN CHARGED
An everyday passenger's joy ride at the controls of an LIRR train has given him and a railroad engineer a one-way ticket to criminal charges. Investigators found that 16-year LIRR...
Brooklyn South murders on the rise
Despite a sharp decrease in overall felony crime, murder on the streets of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South has jumped 33 percent so far in 2009, according to the latest official...
Bloomberg touts F express
The mayor this week called for express service to be reinstituted on the F train, an overcrowded line whose popularity has soared over the past decade.The proposal calls for the...
Yankees call up Claggett
By GEORGE A. KING IIITORONTO -- Right-handed reliever Anthony Claggett has joined the Yankees for their game tonight against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.Claggett, 25, was 4-6 with a...
STRAPHANGERS ANGRY OVER NON-WORKING METROCARDS
It was MetroCard mayhem at a scorching Upper East Side station this morning, where lines of hostile straphangers were stunned to find that their 30-day passes were no longer working....
McCarver rips Yankees' Joba treatment
Help me reach my modest goal of 10010 100 followers on twitter.By JUSTIN TERRANOVAThe Yankees have 66 games left, which means that Joba Chamberlain would be scheduled to make around...
At last! The 'greenest block' in Brooklyn really is!
Credibility has finally been restored to the celebrated — but controversial — "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" contest. After last year's debacle, in which the decidedly un-green Eighth Street between Eighth...
'ZOO FROM HELL' OWNER REFUSES TO PAY VET BILL
WEST HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. -- A New Yorker convicted of animal cruelty for running what a prosecutor called a "zoo from hell" is refusing to pay a $17,000 veterinarian's bill. Robert...
Minor injuries, major horror, in Court Street multiplex fire
Chaos engulfed the movie theater shortly after 2 pm, as patrons, some covering their mouths, had to find their own way to the smoky lobby of the Bruce Ratner-owned 12-screen...
Blockbuster busted
78th PrecinctPark SlopeBlockbustin' The Blockbuster Video on Fifth Avenue was busted on July 30. A thief ran into the building, which is at 15th Street at about 8 pm, and...
Is this a landmark? For 'Shore' it is!
Landmark status awaits — at long last, some say — at least two historic buildings in Coney Island, including the derelict Shore Theater, but possibly not the most famous site in the...
Italian SuperCup: Inter vs. Lazio
The Italian SuperCup -- known widely in Italy as La SuperCoppa Italiana -- will once again serve as the curtain-raiser to a new season of calcio. Played each year on...
Shanahan staying with Devils
By MARK EVERSONThe Devils have re-signed Brendan Shanahan for the coming season.The 40-year-old winger last season rejoined his first NHL team, signing as a free agent Jan. 15, going 6-8-14...
Castillo sprain considered mild
Luis Castillo is listed as day-to-day by the Mets after suffering what the team described as a mild sprain of his right ankle Tuesday night in a dugout accident.Castillo, who...
STUDY: KEEP CROWDS OFF CENTRAL PARK LAWN
An independent study essentially supports New York City's restrictions on limiting crowds on Central Park's Great Lawn to 55,000 people. The study was required under a settlement reached last year...
The Daily Whacks, Wednesday Edition
You can count me among the tweetin' Twitterers (or is that the Twitterin' tweeters?) now: http://twitter.com/MikeVacc*******There is an interesting story in today's Buffalo News written by my friend Mike Harrington...
The Daily Whacks, Wednesday Edition
You can count me among the tweetin' Twitterers (or is that the Twitterin' tweeters?) now: http://twitter.com/MikeVacc*******There is an interesting story in today's Buffalo News written by my friend Mike Harrington...
15 Ways to a Better Baseball World
1. Let's not overanalyze the Mets to death -- they stink.2. Have the Yankees and Red Sox alternate every other year in the AL Central.3. Put a franchise in Key...
Is Paramount Trying to Game Rotten Tomatoes?
Despite the year's worst advance buzz, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra'' is currently scoring an eye-popping (and eyeball-rolling) 91 percent positive reviews at the popular critical aggregation site...
GIANTS, ELI AGREE TO SIX-YEAR DEAL
ALBANY -- Move over, big brother. Eli Manning will soon make more money than older brother Peyton, as the mega-deal that the Giants have been working on for several months...
Game 107: Cardinals at Mets
Coming off Tuesday night's 12-7 debacle, the Mets will try to salvage the final game of a homestand gone horribly wrong today when young left-hander Jonathon Niese takes on the...
3 UP: REYES/WRIGHT, HAIRSTON, MELANCON
Yes, I am on Twitter.1. As badly as things ended in 2007 and 2008, the Mets could imagine a bright future still ahead, and the strongest reason for that was...
Coverage in The Post
If there was any doubt you could stick a fork in the Mets' season, it was finally erased Tuesday night in a 12-7, extra innings loss to the Cardinals that...
FREED JOURNALISTS HOME IN US AFTER NKOREA PARDON
BURBANK, Calif. -- Two American journalists freed by North Korea returned home to the United States this morning for a jubilant -- and emotional -- reunion with family members and...
FULL TEXT OF GYM KILLER'S BLOG
George Sodini Age 48. DOB 9/30/1960 DOD 8/4/2009 5-10, 155 lbs. Never married. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA Me Why do this?? To young girls? Just read below. I kept a running...
CHILLING RANT OF GYM MASSACRE PSYCHO
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. -- A man who sprayed bullets into a fitness center class filled with women apparently kept a Web page in which he wrote about years of rejection by...
WHY PENNSYLVANIA BOOS OBAMACARE
John Birch Society report on Booing Specter and health reform plan
DANCING TO KIM'S TUNE
Don't forget Kim's other hostages says Gordon Chang in The WSJBloomberg reports Clinton visit could pave way for talks
Eli cashes in
By PAUL SCHWARTZALBANY -- Move over, big brother.Eli Manning will soon make more money than older brother Peyton, as the mega-deal that the Giants have been working on for several...
DJ DISCO WIZ GETS HIS PROPS
Luis "DJ Disco Wiz" Cedeño believes in second chances. As the first Latino hip-hop deejay, it's now that this 48-year-old Bronx native is getting his props. With the release of...
Islanders gain support for new arena
The Islanders believe they have their star of the future in John Tavares. Now they just need a place for him to play. And it's sounding more and more like...
OVERBOARD GAL A 'SUICIDE'
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A woman who went overboard from the cruise ship Zaandam appears to have committed suicide, Holland America said yesterday. "Based on evidence and information to date, it...
INJURED HIKER FINED '25G'
CONCORD, NH -- New Hampshire and a Massachusetts Eagle Scout who had to be rescued from Mount Washington are negotiating the size of his fine, which the state initially set...
POST-9/11 STRESS UP
More people directly exposed to the World Trade Center attacks experienced posttraumatic stress in later years than they did right after the terrorist strikes, according to a study released yesterday....
SUIT OVER SLAIN RIKERS KID
The mother of a teen prisoner beaten to death by inmates at Rikers Island sued the city yesterday, saying her son was the victim of a cabal of dirty guards...
RUSSIA SUBS OFF E. COAST
Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines have been patrolling in international waters off the East Coast for several days, in activity reminiscent of the Cold War, officials said yesterday. Northern Command...
JUMPER SURVIVES B'KLYN BRIDGE LEAP
A man survived a jump from the Brooklyn Bridge last night after he threatened cops with a knife, police said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, waved the...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. A police officer in San Antonio, Texas, was driving so recklessly while trying to pull people over that other cops stopped him and...
AN EX-TREMELY BAD IDEA
WE'RE living in ex-obsessed, stalk-happy times. From MySpace to Facebook to applications like TweetStalk (which lets Twitter users follow others without their knowing), 2009 is a rough time for moving...
MODE FOR EACH OTHER
THE pleasures of Depeche Mode music often seem inspired by the pains in life. Deep, dark issues made musical with synthesizer swirls, driving guitar rhythms and the clenched-fist pleas sung...
CHEAPEST BLACKBERRY EVER
HOW to launch a hot new gadget during a recession: Make it a wallet-friendly $48. The brand-new BlackBerry 8520 -- code name: Gemini -- hits stores today. Priced at $48...
ALL TRUCKED UP!
FROM the oyster stalls of the 19th century to the chicken and rice carts of today, New York has had a long and varied street-food history. Still, just as we'd...
'NEXT' BIG THING
MOVE over, Melissa D'Arabian. The 40-year-old stay-at-home mom from Keller, Texas, was crowned "The Next Food Network Star" just this Sunday, but already the channel is lining up the contest's...
UNSAFE HARBOUR
THE guy on the floor at "sustainable seafood" restaurant Harbour, where we'd just sat down to dinner, wanted to know if we were "fine." I thought about how to respond...
LEAPIN' WIZARDS
'WIZARDS of Waverly Place The Movie" is finally declaring which of the three Russo kids will wind up inheriting the familial magical powers -- at least temporarily. During the Disney...
STARR REPORT
History channels "Defying Gravity," ABC's " 'Grey's Anatomy' in Space" series, didn't exactly mirror its network counterpart in the viewership department. The premiere of "Gravity" (Ron Livingston, Malik Yoba) averaged...
MISCHA DITCHES PRESS
JUST-out-of-rehab Mischa Barton was a no- show yesterday when the cast of the new CW drama "The Beautiful Life" met the press for the first time. The actress, 23, spent...
GOODBYE 'FRISCO . . . HELLO FIELD OF DREAMS
ELI is a loner with ace cheekbones and a brooding stare. He takes arty photographs, develops unrequited crushes and listens to the Smiths: "Call me morbid, call me pale/I've spent...
FILTHY 'RICH'
IT'S enough to make Robin Leach wretch. "How'd You Get So Rich? is a show with a new take on an old formula. Joan Rivers, who almost single-handedly made last...
ED TWO-TIMES 'BACHELORETTE'
REALITY show himbo Ed Swiderski was literally two-timing "Bachelorette" fiancee Jillian Harris -- even after he proposed to her on the ABC show's season finale. According to a bombshell report...
'8' FIZZLES
LOOKS like tabloid hungry viewers have finally had their fill of the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" saga. Ratings for the scandal-ridden series have dropped precipitously, returning to their pre-separation...
'CATCH' GRABS A GOOD BUZZ
MY network of theater spies has fanned out to the West Coast to snoop around a couple of high-profile shows aiming for Broadway. I have enough information to encourage one...
METS CAN'T GET ANY WORSE
IS this what rock bottom looks like? The whole season had been defined, to date, by the absent, by the names missing from the roster, by knotted knees, by hacked-up...
K-ROD BLOWS SAVE; PUJOLS ROCKS GREEN
You know summer's dog days have officially arrived when your All-Star closer answers to "Rusty" and appears ready to chase balls in the outfield. And that's after your starting second...
FREAK ACCIDENT KOS CASTILLO
Luis Castillo has been the Mets' hottest hitter, so it only figures he could be headed to the disabled list. Manager Jerry Manuel had no announcement on the second baseman's...
VINTAGE 'RACHEL' A CORKER
SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Racing fans will soon be able to do more than toast Rachel Alexandra in the winner's circle. The super filly is about to get her own...
MUSCLE HILL LANDS RAIL
Three-year-old trotting sensation Muscle Hill was installed as the 3-5 morning-line favorite, from post position 1, for the $1.5M Hambletonian, Saturday afternoon at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Trained by Greg Peck,...
VINCE 1ST IN JERSEY
The Nets open their home schedule against Vince Carter and the Eastern Conference champion Magic on Oct. 30, after starting the season on the road in Minnesota Oct. 28. And...
KNICKS WAITING ON WILLIAMS
Knicks president Donnie Walsh had a sample of "White Chocolate" yesterday and it tasted sweet. Whether Walsh can get flashy point guard Jason Williams wrapped in a blue-and-orange jersey is...
BIG EAST MAY SPARK AREA BOWL
NEWPORT, R.I. -- A new day could be dawning in the Big East, one that could see a league team as anchor for a postseason bowl game to be played...
BIG TEST FOR RED BULLS
To salvage their sorry season and perhaps coach Juan Carlos Osorio's job the Red Bulls must do something MLS teams almost never do: Advance through the CONCACAF Champions League prelims...
DBS ON FAST TRACK
ALBANY -- The Giants' defensive backs are in an aggressive mode. That has been clearly evident thus far in training camp and it was on display all day yesterday, as...
Give credit to Rangers' GM Sather
NO one had more of a vested interest in Nikolai Zherdev succeeding as a Ranger than Glen Sather. And yet not even the general manager, who sacrificed Fedor Tyutin to...
GIANTS: PIERCE A GREAT TEAMMATE
ALBANY -- The blow hard who once sounded a blowhorn to drown out media questions about the 80 points allowed by his team over two games has the Giants at...
KELLER'S BACKUP A JETS PUZZLER
CORTLAND -- The Jets' plight at tight end appears to have them in a tight spot. * Their top player at the position, Dustin Keller, is an oversized receiver in...
PIERCE HAS FEW REGRETS FOR TRYING TO HELP PLAXICO
ALBANY -- The remorse he feels is not for what he did to aid Plaxico Burress but for accompanying his former teammate into the Manhattan nightclub that fateful early morning...
PAL'S DEATH HAUNTS JETS HOPEFUL
CORTLAND -- Kareem Brown is trying to win a roster spot with the Jets, but he's doing it with a heavy heart. On July 24, as he was preparing for...
HONDO: WOOF, WOOF!
Hondo was like a Royal Canadian Mountie last night in Toronto -- he always gets his winner -- as he hit with the Yankees to lower the burden to an...
SEASON IN JEOPARDY FOR REYES
Jose Reyes' right hamstring is still barking, forcing the Mets' shortstop to come back to New York to be examined yesterday at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Curiously, the Mets...
SPORTS SHORTS
BASEBALL: Longoria jolts Sox In St. Petersburg, Evan Longoria's second homer of the game, a two-run shot off Takashi Saito with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning,...
BOSOX ON WAY AFTER JAYS
TORONTO -- The great Roy Halladay was on the mound against the Yankees last night, but the Red Sox and the upcoming four-game Baseball Armageddon was in the air at...
LATE HOMERS, SHAKY MARIANO RIVERA SAVE LIFT YANKEES
TORONTO -- It made no difference Phil Hughes had fanned two batters looking with unhittable fastballs that appeared to be the size of aspirins. Joe Girardi decided if there were...
DID BILL JUST SAVE THE KIM DYNASTY?
NORTH Korea's release of two American journal ists to former President Bill Clinton must be viewed as part of the succession crisis in Pyongyang. Mourning has already begun in anticipation...
IF IT'S GOOD 'NUF FOR US, IT'S GOOD 'NUF FOR DODD
With Sen. Chris Dodd's diagnosis of prostate cancer, it would seem that everyone, regardless of political beliefs, should wish him a speedy and full recovery ("Prostate Op Due for Sen....
RINGING UP BABY: 221G
It's no secret that raising children can be expensive, but how about a quarter-of-a-million-dollars expensive? A government report released yesterday says a middle-income family with a child born last year...
PRESIDENT ... FOR NOW
TODAY'S planned swearing- in of Mahmoud Ahmadine jad for a second four-year term as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot resolve the regime's crisis. Even some Ahmadinejad supporters...
WHY PENNSYLVANIA BOOS OBAMACARE
POLITICS rarely gets more per sonal than this. On Sunday, furious Phila delphians shouted down Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius at a...
GOTTI PLEADS NOT GUILTY
John "Junior" Gotti yesterday pleaded not guilty to new murder charges that could have brought him the death penalty for allegedly ordering the rubout of two Queens drug dealers more...
GORILLA MOM AGAIN
BERLIN -- A traumatized gorilla who carried around her dead baby's body for several days in a German zoo last year has given birth again -- and this time, her...
SNARLING UP GROUND ZERO
WITH the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks just a few short weeks away, New Yorkers face the unfortunate prospect of yet another anniversary where work at the site has...
POISON-POL CLUE
LONDON -- The dioxin that poisoned Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 was so pure that it was made in a laboratory, a new study says. Still, scientists can't...
Paula quits 'Idol'
Paula Abdul said last night that she's quitting "American Idol." "With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to 'IDOL,' " the ditzy ex-dancer wrote late last night...
Art attack! West Side museum twice-heisted
Brazen art thieves swiped two Russian masterpieces right off the walls of an Upper West Side museum in separate heists that police are finding as hard to decipher as an...
GYM MASSACRE
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. -- Investigators were trying to determine why a gunman walked into a fitness center near Pittsburgh, firing up to 52 shots only at women gathered in a dance...
AUSSIES WORLD'S WORST HUBBIES
Women may "roo" the day they marry an Australian, according to a new study that found mates from Down Under make the worst husbands in the world. That's because Australian...
DEFENSE DEPT. IS ALL ATWITTER
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is reviewing the use of Facebook and other social networking sites on its computers with an eye toward setting rules on how to protect against possible...
'MONKEY' COP SUES
BOSTON -- A Boston police officer suspended for using a racial slur to describe black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. claims in a federal lawsuit that his civil rights...
BAM 'SUMMIT'
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua -- The highest peak on the Caribbean island of Antigua has a new name: Mount Obama. Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer yesterday said renaming the 1,300-foot-tall mountain,...
2ND POLICE CHOPPER PILOT PUTS IT IN PARK
An NYPD helicopter made an emergency landing in Prospect Park yesterday after a faulty indicator light went off -- the second time in less than three days that happened to...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Queens * An off-duty cop helped nail a suspected car thief after a dramatic chase in Glendale, authorities said yesterday. Noel Mendez, 32, and an accomplice allegedly jumped into a...
MINYAN'S MONEY LESSONS
It seems unlikely that a workaholic Wall Streeter would somehow get sick of money. But that's exactly the destiny -- or self-realization -- of former hedge-fund boss Todd Harrison, who's...
SEC TO BAN FLASH TRADES
The Securities and Exchange Commission is about to ban a trading practice that gives some brokerages a split-second advantage in buying or selling stocks. SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro said yesterday...
BAM'S VIDEO COUNTERATTACK
WASHINGTON -- The White House is turning to the Internet to hit back at a Web posting that claims President Obama is trying to eliminate private health insurance. The three-minute...
LADY TEACH GUILTY OF RAPING BOY
A female teacher yesterday pleaded guilty to raping a male student in their Queens school. Melissa Weber, 28, will have to serve 10 years of probation and spend 20 years...
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Economy US personal incomes tumbled 1.3 percent in June, more than forecast and the biggest drop in four years, signaling con sumer spending will take time to recover.Pending home sales...
LA GUARDIA LOON 'TIME MACHINE'
Loony-toon La Guardia "bomber" Scott McGann had a one-way boarding pass -- to the future! The nearly catatonic kook was carrying a hand-drawn schematic for a time machine when he...
BLOOMY BLASTS PA FOR 'ZERO' PROGRESS
Mayor Bloomberg launched a blistering attack against the Port Authority's bungling at Ground Zero yesterday, saying the agency has "an obligation to the nation" to rebuild the site on time...
JEWS RIP O HAIL MARY
WASHINGTON -- A prominent Jewish group slammed the White House yesterday for bestowing its highest civilian honor on a woman who critics charge has expressed hostility toward Israel. Mary Robinson,...
'CLUNK' CASH ON THE WAY
The almost-out-of-gas "cash-for-clunkers" program is now on the fast track for a $2 billion extension that will likely keep the popular auto sales incentives going through September, Senate Majority Leader...
DISCOVERY BUCKS TREND, POSTS $183M Q2 PROFIT
The resilience of the cable network business model and the tabloid fascination with Jon and Kate Gosselin helped Discovery Communications do something quite rare for a media company these days...
JESS BACK ON ROAD TO LOVE
Single-again Jessica Simpson has her Porsche packed and is ready to move on from ex-beau Tony Romo. Jess is as curvy as the road ahead in this fetching shot for...
PREZ BIRTHDAY GIFT
WASHINGTON -- On the day he turned 48, President Obama decided to share the celebration with White House correspondent Helen Thomas who was 89 yesterday. The president led the roomful...
SONY DEBUTS KINDLE RIVAL
In a bid to steal some of the thunder of Amazon's Kindle, consumer-electronics giant Sony today will unveil two new digital-reading devices, including a touch-screen version and one priced cheaper...
HALL OF SHAME
Uncle Sam yesterday released its "hall of shame" for banks that haven't lifted a finger to help struggling homeowners prevent foreclosures -- with Bank of America as one of the...
I DON'T REALLY MEAN 'KILL'
A prominent Manhattan lawyer yesterday tried to convince a jury he wasn't really thinking about harming anyone when he was caught on tape discussing ways to "neutralize" or "kill" a...
RIHANNA: LET BROWN NEAR
Rihanna wants a judge today to lift the court order barring abusive ex-beau Chris Brown from getting near her -- but that's not likely, sources said yesterday. If Judge Patricia...
'SEX' IS LOUSY
IT'S almost enough to put you off sex. Almost. We lined up like mad cattle in the blazing sun, thousands of women and a few secure men. Some wore ball...
LEASES COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT
THE appetite for large retail leases is alive and well, as several big blocks of space thrown into the market as a result of bankruptcies are getting snapped up. In...
E. SIDE 'KILLERS' CARTED OFF WRONG SAFE: SON
The thugs who killed a 91-year-old Auschwitz survivor grabbed the wrong safe -- taking one stuffed with paperwork and leaving behind the one with $3,000 in cash, police sources and...
HS STUDENTS CASH IN ON CHALLENGING TESTS
They earned more than an education. A privately funded program that pays high school kids up to $1,000 for each Advanced Placement exam they pass boosted the pass-rate for black...
AIG AIRCRAFT SALE GROUNDED AGAIN
Private-equity firms that are in talks to buy American International Group's massive aircraft leasing business are trying to raise money from sovereign wealth funds to help keep the government-funded deal...
ASTOR SON MAY HAVE TO PAY OFF TURNCOAT TWINS
His twin sons testified against him, dramatically, in May -- but if he's acquitted, Anthony Marshall may still have to give his boys $10 million each. As the Astor swindle...
BANKING ON A SUIT
Joseph Cotchett, the San Francisco trial lawyer who last week made a splash when he sat down with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, is using the fruits of that interview...
GE FINED $50M FOR GOOSING PROFIT
Regulators accused General Electric of overstating profits by as much as $1.15 billion in a bid to keep alive its once-stellar record of never reporting a loss for more than...
PRINCESS & PLEA: STOP TAKING OUR DAD'S MILLIONS!
A Jordanian princess has been living like a queen thanks to the millions she's received from her elderly, mentally incapacitated boyfriend, sensational court papers claim. Jet-setting Princess Firyal allegedly has...
SEA OF RED AT CONDE
CONDE Nast is reeling from what is expected to be a loss of 5,000 ad pages this year, translating into a revenue shortfall of between $275 million and $350 million...
NOT-SO-BLIND JUSTICE
Brand new judge, same old issue. New York's new chief judge, Jona than Lippman, is personally lobbying Gov. Paterson and the Legislature for pay hikes for the state's 1,300 jurists....
MIKE'S PORK PROBLEM
Mayor Bloomberg's reputation for fis cal competence took one on the chin this week with a troubling report in The New York Times about some unexplained city funding of two...
DANCING TO KIM'S TUNE
When the job is to send a Clinton to pick up a couple of chicks, who ya gonna call? Why, Bill, of course. Thus the former president found himself in...
DROWN SEARCH IS EXPANDED
The search for a Brooklyn man presumed drowned off the Rockaways has been expanded 20 miles east to Jones Beach, searchers said yesterday. Anthony Bolden, 21, was pulled into the...
BUBBA GETS 2ND CHANCE
BILL CLINTON, whose hopes for a peace making trip to North Korea fizzled while he was still president, got a second chance yesterday and negotiated the release of two American...
CRASH MOM WAS FULLY 'LOADED'
A Long Island mom guzzled vodka and smoked pot in a minivan packed with young kids before speeding the wrong way down the Taconic Parkway, sparking the head-on collision that...
ONE 'SORRY' BANK ROBBER
He's the sorriest bank-robber in town. First, the would-be thief left empty-handed when he tried to knock over a Bronx bank -- then felt so guilty, he called cops to...
COACH HOLTZ MULLS REP RUN
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Former Notre Dame and Jet football coach Lou Holtz is weighing a run for Congress in Florida as a Republican, a GOP strategist said yesterday. Holtz, 72,...
BILL CAN STILL GET THE WOMEN
WASHINGTON -- North Korea last night issued a special pardon that freed two captive US journalists after Bill Clinton met with oddball North Korean President Kim Jong Il. Clinton flew...
JACKO'S MA CRIES MURDER!
LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson's family has ordered yet another autopsy to be performed on the singer's drug-ravaged body in the hopes of coming up with evidence of "foul play"...
'ROID SOX HAVE COMPANY
People in glass syringes shouldn't inject half-truths ("Red Sox 'Roid Rangers," Editorial, July 31). I say publish the whole list and be done with it. Bud Selig and Donald Fehr...
RISING STAR: AUBREY PLAZA
STANDING OUT in a movie with Seth Rogen can't be easy, but that's just what New York transplant Aubrey Plaza has done in the new Judd Apatow comedy "Funny People."...
ROCKIN' FRANKIE
Paul Simon - who discovered Frankie Negrón at 14 years of age when the Newark native was singing doo wop in a five-boy acapella group -- will not be surprised...
AUGUST ON THE CHEAP
Long Tales Help revive the old tradition of storytelling with Cuento Que Me Cuentan (A Tale I've Been Told), an evening of songs and stories for the entire family. Hear...
Leases come to those who wait
THE appetite for large retail leases is alive and well, as several big blocks of space thrown into the market as a result of bankruptcies are getting snapped up. In...
UP TO 5 DEAD IN GYM SHOOTING
A gunman burst into an exercise class at a health club in suburban Pittsburgh on Tuesday night and started spraying bullets. A television station reported at least four people were...
CLINTON, 2 JOURNALISTS DEPART NKOREA FOR US
SEOUL, South Korea -- Former President Bill Clinton brought two freed U.S. journalists out of North Korea early Wednesday following rare talks with reclusive leader Kim Jong Il, who pardoned...