June 13, 2003
FURYK FACTOR - THIS U.S. OPEN COURSE GIVES JIM FIGHTING CHANCE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amSunday, U.S. Open 12:30 p.m., ESPN; 1:30 p.m., NBC --- The beauty - yeah, beauty! - of Olympia Fields is its simplicity. While many in the golf world whined, wailed...
CONDITIONS JUST RIGHT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Justin Leonard woke up yesterday morning, looked out the window and liked what he saw. There were clouds in the sky, but no hint of rain....
PLAYERS NOT SHOCKED BY FIRING OF PHILLIPS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amMET NOTES ARLINGTON - There was little surprise among Mets players yesterday when they learned about the firing of Steve Phillips. "We realize if we were playing well and in...
AS UGLY AS IT GETS ; DEFENSE DOMINATES AS SPURS, NETS EYE TIEBREAKER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amIt has been played with the grace of a drunk on rollerblades, the splendor of low tide in August, the beauty of construction worker Jell-O fighting. And yet this NBA...
BOBBY V IS $PEECHLESS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amARLINGTON - Bobby Valentine wouldn't comment on the firing of Steve Phillips yesterday, but he has 2.7 million reasons not to. The former Met manager, who was stunned Phillips was...
PHILLIPS FINALLY WALKS THE PLANK ; PAYS PRICE FOR ANOTHER DISASTROUS MET SEASON
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amARLINGTON - The question "What about Steve?" has finally been answered. General manager Steve Phillips, who constructed the fourth pennant-winning team in Met history and then oversaw its deterioration into...
BOREDOM PAR FOR COURSE WITH USGA
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - When Brian Davis, a 28-year-old Englishman, played his first four holes of the 2003 U.S. Open yesterday in eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, the USGA tournament committee...
PAR'S OK WITH TIGER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Tiger Woods is nowhere near the top of leaderboard, but that seems to be just fine with him. For the moment, anyway. Woods, beginning defense of...
MEET THE NEW BOSS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTHE Boss was not danc ing in a conga line when he entered the Yankee clubhouse at 11:51 yesterday morning and headed toward Joe Torre's office. On the way, George...
DEVS' BIG M PARTY
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThree times is a tradition, far better than having nothing to celebrate. The Devils will hold their third Stanley Cup party at 1 p.m. tomorrow in front of Meadowlands Arena,...
YANKS MUST GIVE ROCKET A BOOST
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe Yankees are sure of one thing in Roger Clemens' quest for 300 victories: The Rocket is doing his job. It's up to the rest of the Yankees to take...
DIXON HAS KNEE SCOPE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amGiants receiver Ron Dixon yesterday underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, a procedure the team believes will not prevent him from being ready by the July 24 start of training camp. "We're...
'MNF' SIDELINE DRAMA - SUMMER, LISA AMONG FINALISTS FOR GIG
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWith just a little more than six weeks until the first ABC Monday Night Football exhibition game, producer Fred Gaudelli has cut his list for the sideline-reporter's job to a...
PHILLIPS' SACKING NO SHOCK TO CLUB
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amMET NOTES ARLINGTON, Texas - The Mets expressed little surprise yesterday about the firing of Steve Phillips. "We realize if we were playing well and in first place, nobody's going...
COPS QUERY MAN IN TRIPLE-SLAY
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amPolice were questioning a man last night in connection with Monday's triple homicide in Queens, sources said. Cops got a tip the man may have been in the Cambria Heights...
BREATH OF FRESH AIR - DNA TRIO ENJOY LIFE ON OUTSIDE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amDennis Halstead was wearing a bright-yellow T-shirt and an even brighter smile yesterday as he hugged and romped with his grandkids outside their Oceanside, L.I., home. Alexandra Kalin, 2 1/2,...
SWIMSUIT BEAUTY'S $2M SMASH-UP SUIT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amNow she's rich and beautiful. A Manhattan jury has awarded Sports Illustrated swimsuit model May Andersen $2 million for injuries she sustained in a Midtown car crash 2½ years ago....
TARNISHED SILVER - AIDE'S ACCUSER BLAMES HIM IN 'RAPE'
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - The woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's top aide two years ago yesterday charged Silver himself was ultimately responsible for this week's...
WALKING, TALKING DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amIT WAS just last week that Gregory Peck's enlightened attorney, Atticus Finch, topped the American Film Institute's roster of all-time greatest screen heroes. In an age of caped crusaders and...
EX-COP GETS LIFE IN FELLOW COP SLAY
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA "remorseless" former New York City detective was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for murdering a fellow cop - after she demanded that the married police officer stop dating...
'FIRST GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP I'VE HAD IN 18 YEARS'
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amJohn Restivo sat on the front steps of his mother's Lynbrook, L.I., home yesterday afternoon savoring a bologna sandwich and his newly won freedom. "I'm doing pretty good because I...
BUSH BACKS HITS ON HAMAS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - President Bush's team yesterday talked tough against Hamas, endorsing a crackdown that will "come down hard" on terror groups. In a switch, Bush aides yesterday refrained from criticizing...
N.J. POL SEES HIS WOUNDED DAUGHTER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - A New Jersey state Senate leader was reunited yesterday with his "lucky" daughter at the Jerusalem hospital where she is recovering from shrapnel wounds suffered in Wednesday's deadly...
TIME WARNER CABLE WILL GIVE AN 'OUT' ON YES
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amNew Yorkers who subscribe to Time Warner Cable will soon be able to decide if they want to pay to see Yankees games. Time Warner Cable, which has about 1.2...
BLOOMBERG: BRING ON BUBBA IN '05
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amIf Bill Clinton wants to run for mayor, he'd better get ready for a fierce fight. So says Mike Bloomberg, the current office-holder and a man who seems intent on...
DAD OF SCOTT EX-MISTRESS SPEAKS OUT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe father of Amber Frey - accused killer Scott Peterson's former mistress - told the public to get off his daughter's case yesterday, comparing her to a dedicated soldier. In...
FATHER'S DAY '03 IS 'SINGLED' OUT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amFather's Day hasn't changed much since it was created 93 years ago - but fathers sure have. There are now 2 million single fathers in the United States, up from...
LIRR OKS $1.8M DEAL WITH FIRM UNDER PROBE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA Long Island Rail Road committee yesterday approved giving a $1.75 million contract to a train-parts company, even though it is under investigation for giving gifts to former LIRR President...
LOCALS ON BOARD B, D SUBWAY PLAN
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amBrooklyn residents yesterday came out in support of a plan to restore subway service to two tracks of the Manhattan Bridge and bring B and D trains back to the...
JAPAN'S 'PISTOL' RIGHT ON TARGET
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amPISTOL OPERA [1/2] Deadly woman. In Japanese, with English subtitles. Run ning time: 112 minutes. Not rated (violence). At the Cinema Village, 12th Street between University Place and Fifth Avenue....
YES STRIKES BACK - PLANS SUIT OVER TW YANKEE CABLE PACKAGE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amCablevision and the YES Network are planning to join forces to battle Time Warner Cable, which yesterday announced it will take Yankee games off basic cable and sell them a...
GUITAR CENTER PICKS UNION SQ. SITE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe Guitar Center is hitting high notes with investors at the same time it is strumming into Union Square for its first-ever city store and 115th U.S. location. The addition...
QNS. 'TYSON' GIVES JUDGE AN EARFUL
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe "Mike Tyson" of the Queens courthouse was up to his old tricks yesterday - demanding a new lawyer, a new judge and a change of venue for his trial....
THE ONLY PATH TO PEACE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTHE president of the United States wants the Israelis and the Palestinians to make a deal. That's great. George W. Bush made the discussion possible by forcing two regime changes...
GUERRILLA CAGE - BLITZ BAGS SADDAM'S DIEHARDS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - Thousands of U.S. troops launched a massive blitz against diehard supporters of Saddam Hussein yesterday, bombing a terrorist training camp and rounding up hundreds of guerrilla fighters in...
SLICK SAUDI BOO$TS KILLERS AT 'ANTI-TERROR' TALK
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWASHINGTON - At a press conference that was supposed to be about Saudi Arabia's support for America's war against terror, the kingdom's sultan of spin, Adel al-Jubeir, yesterday defended his...
AW, POOR MILLIONAIRES ARE REALLY $UFFERING
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amU.S. millionaires are starting to feel the pinch. Wall Street bean-counters said the number of Americans worth over a million had dropped to 2.2 million last year, a decline of...
MINE-HERO TRAGEDY - RESCUER KILLS SELF IN PA.
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA man who helped rescue nine Pennsylvania miners last year - and later called the saved men ungrateful "bastards" - shot himself to death outside his home this week, officials...
HOUSING ABUSE - WHY WASTE PRICEY N.Y.C. LAND ON LOW-INCOME UNITS?
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amNOW that Mayor Bloomberg is giving Gov. Pataki a hard time over how to spend $1 billion in federal funds Downtown, insisting that the money be used for affordable housing,...
GIVE THIS WEARY OLD 'HEART' A BYPASS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTHE HEART OF ME [] Romantic drivel with a very stiff upper lip. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated R (brief rape scene). At the Angelika, the Cinema 1. ----- 'THE...
ANGRY, BITTER ...AND FUNNY; BUT STILL, IT WAS HARD TO LAUGH AT WILD BILL HICKS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00am"Outlaw Comic: The Censoring of Bill Hicks" Sunday at 9 p.m. on Trio 1/2 WHO is Bill Hicks and why is there a special about him nearly decade after his...
CROWN'S UP-CIDE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amFUNNY Cide, the upstate New York gelding who lost his bid for the Triple Crown last Saturday, turned out to be the biggest star on TV last week. More than...
BEYOND THE PALE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amGHOSTS At the Harvey Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn. Call (718) 636-4100 or Ticketmaster, (212) 307-4100. Through tomorrow. ---- AT 85, Ingmar Bergman brings to the...
PEARCE-ING
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTHE HARD WORD [ 1/2] Unpredictable heist caper. Running time: 103 minutes. Rated R (strong violence, language, sexuality and brief drug use). At the Angelika, Houston and Mercer streets. -----...
TIME IS RIGHT FOR WAL-MART - PUBLISHER COMING UP WITH LOW-PRICE, NO-SEX WOMEN'S MAG
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWAL-MART is kicking out some of the so-called "beer and babes" titles and covering up the naughty bits on some women's magazines from Hearst and Conde Nast, but its relationship...
HOME FOR KASPER - KELLWOOD WILL PAY $164M FOR COMPANY
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amKellwood Co., the maker of clothing under the Sag Harbor and Izod names, said yesterday that it has agreed to acquire Kasper A.S.L., the suit maker that also owns the...
TRUMP HAS TO SELL HIS GM STAKE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amDonald Trump may be on a winning streak with his Atlantic City casinos and Miss Universe pageant - but he's a loser when it comes to keeping the GM Building....
PEOPLESOFT SPURNS ELLISON'S $5B OFFER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amPeopleSoft yesterday angrily rejected the $5 billion takeover bid made earlier this week by Oracle and its swashbuckling CEO, Larry Ellison. Ellison, 58, plotted the $16-a-share hostile bid for PeopleSoft...
CHEAP GETS CHIC FOR MALL OWNERS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWal-Mart may soon be coming to a mall near you. Real estate developers are increasingly turning to discount stores to anchor shopping malls from Long Island to Los Angeles, inking...
A SPECIAL MOMENT FOR OLD PRO, CADDIE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Bruce Edwards has been there for nearly every big moment in Tom Watson's legendary career that is now in its fourth decade. But none has meant...
PAR OK WITH TIGER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Tiger Woods is nowhere near the top of leaderboard, but that seems to be just fine with him. For the moment, anyway. Woods, beginning defense of...
MR. MET EXCUSES BETTER GET NEXT ONE RIGHT ; FRED CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER WRONG MOVE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amFRED from Fifth Avenue was back in a familiar old place working a familiar old room, slinging another round of excuses that have to bounce off the sensibilities of Mets...
BACK IN THE SWING ; YANKS RALLY AFTER TORRE'S NO-NO SCOLDING
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amYankees 6 Astros 5 With Joe Torre's paint-blistering words from late Wednesday night still ringing in their ears, the Yankees borrowed a chapter from the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez-Joe Girardi Never...
COMEBACK REVIVES YANKEES' SWAGGER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amRemember the days when the sight of Yankees pinstripes struck fear into the opposing dugout, and when the Bombers carried themselves with the swagger of being World Champions? Seems like...
PARKER SAYS LOSS WASN'T ALL HIS FAULT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amAn engaging, slightly bemused, affable kid, seemingly immune to the pressure of the NBA Finals, was replaced yesterday by a somewhat surly, impatient and annoyed youngster who might be ready...
MARCHAND'S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK: YES VS. MSG (WHICH HAS A BETTER NET POSTGAME SHOW?)
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThese postgame programs are extensions of the games that diehard fans just watched, so YES should lose the highlight recap at the start of its shows in favor of immediate...
FISH BITING DESPITE BAD WEATHER
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amSALTWATER fishing continues to be excellent in marine waters around New York while the weather continues its ugly ways with wind and rain becoming the norm. The fish are there...
AMAZIN'S FIRED UP ; RIP RANGERS HOURS AFTER PHILLIPS' AXING
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amMets 11Rangers 0 ARLINGTON, Texas - Al Leiter was one of the first major players Steve Phillips acquired, and he's now outlasted the former Met GM. On the day Phillips...
EVIL TWEED: SCHOOL HIT BY CIG-BAN TICKET
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amNo one is immune from the city's smoking cops - not even Mayor Bloomberg's treasured City Hall Academy. City inspectors handed out two notices of violation - including failure to...
MORE BLAIR-ING ERRORS FOUND
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe New York Times yesterday identified 10 more articles in which disgraced reporter Jayson Blair plagiarized, invented quotes and flubbed facts. The new corrections of articles, which were published from...
FDNY SCORES ON EXAM FIGHT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA state appeals court ruled yesterday the FDNY has the right to give preference to EMS workers who passed the firefighter test over other candidates who scored passing grades. Two...
N.Y. JUDGE SPIKES TV NAME GAME
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amSpike TV is going off the air before it even goes on. A Manhattan judge yesterday signed an order temporarily barring Viacom Inc. from changing the name of its TNN...
TEACHERS WILL HAVE MORE CLASS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amSchools Chancellor Joel Klein said yesterday that, starting this fall, teachers will teach one additional, 50-minute class per week, and spend another 50-minute period training to learn the new math...
ZONGO THOUGHT COP WAS 'A CROOK'
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amAfrican immigrant Ousmane Zongo fled in terror when a stranger emerged from the elevator of a Chelsea storage warehouse and pointed a gun at his friend's head. That's what Seidou...
WILD ON ALBANY: DRUNKEN DEVIANTS OF 'SIN CITY'
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - The climate in Albany in which the alleged rape of a legislative aide by Assembly Chief Counsel J. Michael Boxley took place has gone unchecked for decades. Branded...
TEN MORE BLAIR-ING ERRORS FOUND
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe New York Times yesterday identified 10 more articles in which disgraced reporter Jayson Blair plagiarized, invented quotes and flubbed facts. The new corrections of articles, which were published from...
POTTER PREVIEW NOW E-AVAILABLE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amEveryone connected with the new Harry Potter book, coming out on June 21, has been sworn to secrecy - but a brief and tantalizing tidbit is already on the Web....
OL' TOM TERRIFIC TURNS BACK TIME: WATSON SHOOTS 65 TO SHARE TOP SPOT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Sometimes in sports the best stories rise up and capture our imagination, tug at our hearts and bring tears of joy and disbelief to our eyes,...
GIANTS, CARDS IN UGIE CHASE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amYANKEE NOTES Brian Cashman said one call from another GM could alter the face of the Yankees. Well, calls being made from San Francisco and St. Louis to Texas may...
IACONO WANTS CURTAIN CALL
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amPeople still come up to Sal Iacono and ask him the same question, but he never gets tired of answering it. "It happens all the time," the Tottenville third baseman...
FRANCESA'S FLUBS NEVER HIS FAULT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amODD, how newspaper folks - Jayson Blair, of late - walk the plank and suffer great humiliation for presenting the work of others as their own. On sports radio stations,...
5 QUESTIONS FOR BOBBY VALENTINE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThis week, The Post's Andrew Marchand spoke with ESPN's Bobby Valentine. In six-plus years as Met manager, Valentine, 53, led the team to the 2000 World Series before being fired...
PELOSI WALKS FREE TODAY
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amDanny Pelosi is set to be sprung today from a Long Island lockup after serving a four-month DWI rap - but his release from jail today may be tempered with...
METS HAD THEIR PHIL ; GM TAKES THE FALL AFTER TEAM FELL APART
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amARLINGTON, Texas - The question "What about Steve?" finally has been answered. General manager Steve Phillips, who constructed the fourth pennant-winning team in Mets history then oversaw its deterioration into...
GARSON-CASE ATT'Y IN SICK SEX BOAST
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA Brooklyn lawyer who had been accused of bribing a judge to rule for his clients - and then nailed a sweetheart deal with prosecutors in exchange for gathering evidence...
MEL DOESN'T STICK TO THE SCRIPTURE IN CRIME OF 'PASSION'
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTHE film has yet to be released. But top Catholic and Jewish scholars who've read a script for Mel Gibson's $40 million "The Passion" - his self-financed epic about Jesus'...
HE WAS A 'MODEL' OF TRUST
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amFOR David Brinkley and the other anchormen of his generation, it all came down to trust. We trusted them to give it to us straight, and they delivered - night...
KID & OLDTIMER FIGHT CARJACK SUSPECT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA 65-year-old man and a 7-year-old boy both battled a pumped-up carjacker in separate cars on Long Island, and both escaped after duking it out with the hulking, 6-foot, 200-pound...
PELOSI FREE TODAY UNDER A CLOUD
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amDanny Pelosi is set to be sprung today from a Long Island lockup after serving four months for DWI - but his relief may be tempered with concern that he's...
HOT LINE RINGS UP 1M GRIPES
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe city's new 311 non-emergency hot line is ringing off the hook - logging its 1 millionth call this week. Operators are receiving an average of 12,500 calls daily registering...
LANDLORD LOSES AT 'WAR' GAME$
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amWar! What is it good for? Absolutely not for getting out of paying your bills, a judge has ruled. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Diane Lebedeff has dismissed an East Side...
RENT LAWS GET 1-DAY REPRIEVE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amALBANY - The state's rent laws were extended yesterday - but just for a day, as Gov. Pataki and legislative leaders continue to negotiate a longer-term deal. The rent-protection laws,...
MEMORIAL PLAN 'PITS' REBUILD BOSS VS. SELF
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe head of the downtown rebuilding agency said yesterday a Ground Zero memorial could be built at street level - instead of at the bottom of the World Trade Center...
TO BRITS, U.S. IS LAND OF THE FREE AND HOMER THE BRAVE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amD'oh! Get the donuts ready because Homer Simpson likely may triumph over Abraham Lincoln as greatest-ever American. The animated dad currently holds the top spot in an ongoing British poll...
WEIRD BUT TRUE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA shoplifter slipped out of a Kmart in Sedalia, Mo., with $60 in goods after letting a swarm of honey bees loose in the store. "It was so we'd be...
MOM TO ALL - SHE GIVES HOPE AFTER LOSING 3 KIDS TO GUNS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amFrances Davis is a mother with no children. Within six years, the Brooklyn mom lost all three of her sons to gunfire - and for the past decade, she has...
BOOGER KING
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amRUGRATS GO WILD! [ 1/2] Kiddie gross-out. Running time: 81 minutes. Rated PG (mild crude humor). At The Empire, the Kips Bay, The Orpheum, others. ------ THE Rugrats clan continues...
GRAB A CHUTE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amJET LAG [] The beautician and the beastly bore. Running time: 81 minutes. In French, with English subtitles. Rated R (profanity, sexuality). At the Paris, West 58th Street at Fifth...
'ANNIE,' GO GET YOUR GUN
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTRINITY Rep, a self- described "populist theater," recently shook things up in sleepy Providence, R.I., with a tough, unsparing and gritty new revival of - I'm not kidding - "Annie."...
STARR REPORT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amIf it's Friday, Letterman must be off It's official: David Letterman is adopting a four-day work week for the month of June. The CBS "Late Show" host announced late yesterday...
DEAD ON ARRIVAL
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amHOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE [] Harrison Ford, comedian? Running time: 111 minutes. Rated PG-13 (violence, sexual situations and language). At the Empire, the Lincoln Square, the Orpheum, others. -------- SEXAGENARIAN Harrison Ford,...
POWERFUL INDIE ON A BUDGET
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amMANITO [] A powerhouse indie. In English and Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 73 minutes. Not rated (language, sex scenes). At the Quad, 13th Street between Fifth and Sixth...
SNOW: NO SECRETS AT FREDDIE & FANNIE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTreasury Secretary John Snow said the veil of secrecy must be lifted from giant mortgage financiers Freddie Mac and its troubled sister, Fannie Mae. The nation's economic chief yesterday made...
TOM'S TERRIFIC IN 1ST ROUND ; WATSON, 53, FIRES 65 TO SHARE OPEN LEAD
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Sometimes in sports the best stories rise up and capture your imagination and your heart, regardless of how improbable they seem. Those, of course, are the...
NETS CAN'T ESCAPE DUNCAN
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amHe is always in their minds, always in their thoughts, always in their gameplans. It doesn't matter what his numbers are. It doesn't matter if he's missed five shots in...
A ROTTEN DUNK JOB PUT RICH IN A FUNK
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amIn high school, he was a winner. In college, he was winner. In the pros, he was a winner. Yep, everything always seemed to go Richard Jefferson's way. And then...
POP-ING OFF AT THE MOUTH
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amEARLY ON in the Spurs-Mavericks series, during the ritualistic post-game interview process, I had the nerve to ask Gregg Popovich why his team was doubling off Dirk Nowitzki. "Are we...
DREAM LIVES FOR TOUR RABBIT GILLIS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amU.S. OPEN NOTEBOOK OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - One of the early rabbits atop the U.S. Open's first-round leaderboard was an unlikely name, Tom Gillis, a journeyman grinder who has spent...
K-MART FEELING ILL, BUT SET FOR GAME 5
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amNET NOTES The towel on the head was a bit of a giveaway. The look on Kenyon Martin's face confirmed it for Byron Scott. "I just walked up to him...
TAGG CONFIRMS 'CIDE' WILL START IN HASKELL
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTrainer Barclay Tagg confirmed to officials of Monmouth Park yesterday that Funny Cide will make his next start in the $1 million Haskell Stakes on Aug. 3. Tagg and owners...
BOBBY V LEFT $PEECHLESS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amARLINGTON, Texas - Bobby Valentine wouldn't comment on the firing of Steve Phillips yesterday, but he has 2.7 million reasons not to. The former Mets manager, who was stunned Phillips...
WATSON GOES TO BAT FOR ALS CURE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Tom Watson was basking in the glorious moment of his opening-round 65, which has him tied for the U.S. Open lead, when he said he wanted...
WORST POLL YET IS A 'LOW' BLOW TO MIKE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amAs his popularity plummets, Mayor Bloomberg is stuck doing the political version of a limbo dance, a new survey says. Just as a limbo dancer tries to slip under a...
IT'S WEDDED DISS AT SHEA
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amHeartbroken high-school baseball stars have been shut out of playing their championship games at Shea Stadium - all because Rep. Gary Ackerman went to bat for his daughter. For months,...
LEGAL GLITCH KOS SLAY CONVICTION
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amA Brooklyn federal judge yesterday tossed out a 32-year-old man's murder conviction on a technicality after he served nearly 10 years for shooting a pal's boyfriend to death. Judge Jack...
FRAUDS MUST PAY $2M AFTER RAILROADING MTA
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amAn electrical contractor at the center of an MTA corruption probe has agreed to repay the agency $2 million after pleading guilty to a bogus-billing scam, prosecutors in Manhattan said...
CLOTHING TAX EXEMPTION WILL BE BACK IN A YEAR
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe sales tax on clothing and shoe purchases under $110, which was reinstated just last week, will be eliminated in 12 months - a year earlier than planned, City Council...
HS-DROPOUT MALE-STROM
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amIn a bid to close the yawning gender gap in school performance, the Bloomberg administration yesterday promised new initiatives to help prevent males from flunking out. "The gender gap is...
EVIL TWEED TICKETED BY PUFF POLICE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amNo one is immune from the city's smoking cops - not even Mayor Bloomberg's treasured City Hall Academy. City inspectors handed out two notices of violation - including failure to...
LETHAL ISRAELI STRIKE 'JUST THE BEGINNING'
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amJERUSALEM - Israel ratcheted up its war against Hamas yesterday, launching a missile strike that killed a top terrorist, along with his wife and 1-year-old daughter. An Israeli security source...
ARSON ARRESTS - STUDENTS NAILED IN DORM BLAZE THAT KILLED 3
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amTwo former Seton Hall University freshmen have been charged with murder and arson for allegedly setting the 2000 dorm fire that killed three students and injured 50 others. Joseph E....
HS COACH JOBLESS OVER TOPLESS VISIT
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amThe Long Island high school coach suspended after his players visited a strip joint while on spring training in Florida has been fired - by a letter dated the same...
QNS. BLAZE INJURES EIGHT FIREFIGHTERS
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amEight firefighters and an occupant of a Queens home were hurt in a fire last night, fire officials said. None of the injuries were life-threatening. The fire started in the...
TEEN THUGS INDICTED IN ATTACK AT HS GAME: DA
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amFive teens, accused of terrorizing a high-school baseball game with guns, bats and broken bottles, were indicted on a slew of charges topped by attempted murder, the Queens District Attorney's...
THE WORLD'S SCARIEST PLACE
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amBILL Clinton, who knew little of soldiering, got it exactly right once about Korea, calling its DMZ (demilitarized zone) the "scariest place in the world." Year after year, as entire...
NUMB AND NUMBERER : BRAINLESS PREQUEL HARMLESS FUN
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amDUMB AND DUMBERER: WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD Even dumberer than the original. Running time: 82 minutes. Rated PG-13 (crude and sex-related humor and language). At E-Walk, Loews 84th Street, Chelsea...
BOYD OH BOYD - DAVE MATTHEWS' VIOLINIST TINSLEY TAKES A SOLO BOW
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amBOYD Tinsley, the manic violinist for the Dave Matthews Band, says he doesn't scare easily - but when faced with the unknown, he gets a slight case of the willies....
NOTHING PLAIN ABOUT JANE'S
June 13, 2003 | 4:00amJANE'S ADDICTION ---- IN glittering silver pants and a girly pink sports coat draped loosely over his shirtless chest, Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell was missing only his ringmaster's top...