February 21, 2003

VIACOM OGLES CNN: WOULD BUY NEWS OUTLET IF AOL TIME WARNER’S PRICE IS RIGHT

Now Mel Karmazin wants to buy CNN. The grenade-throwing Viacom chief operating officer says he'd be more than happy to take the cable news network off the hands of struggling...

CONNIE SKATING ON THIN ICE AT CNN

Connie Chung could be the next to go. The anchor of CNN's "Connie Chung Tonight" is shaping up as Public Enemy No. 1 within her own network, judging from the...

BLOOMBERG PULLS OUT OF NYU PROGRAM

Mayor Bloomberg's media company has slipped in yet another sloppy puddle since he left on a sabbatical to run the city. Bloomberg LP - a champion for press freedom -...

HOMELAND SECURITY ADS? THAT’S NEWS TO TV STATIONS

THE new terrorism preparedness ads from the Office of Homeland Security are supposed to hit the airwaves as early as this week - but probably won't because broadcasters don't know...

FLY-BOY PHIL SLAPPED WITH GREAT BIG BILL

ADVICE-king "Dr. Phil" McGraw is being accused of stiffing a Texas aviation firm out of nearly $136,000. DDH Aviation, a Dallas-based company which rents out corporate jets, has filed a...

YA GOTTA LOVETT ; SINGER/SONGWRITER HAS EVERY REASON TO ‘SMILE’

"[The bull that broke Lovett's leg] is not a bad character, although I don't hang out with him. The old guy wasn't being mean; he was just being territorial."Lyle Lovett...

AL QAEDA BUNGLED PLAN TO ATTACK U.S. WARSHIP IN PERSIAN GULF

Al Qaeda bungled plans for another attack Sept. 11 - an assault on a U.S. warship at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, Newsweek magazine says on its Web site....

CHRISTIAN U. TAKES 1-2-3 STEP FORWARD

They still can't have sex or booze it up, but students at the super-strict Wheaton College finally have permission to dance. The evangelical Christian school - whose graduates include the...

THE ROAD TO ZION ; HARLEM CHURCH STARTED IN STABLE

Lionel Hampton performed there, Frederick Douglass was married there, self-made millionaire Madame C.J. Walker was a member and Paul Robeson sang songs from its pulpit. For 207 years, the Mother...

HS ATHLETES ARRAIGNED ON SEX RAP

The four Queens prep-school athletes accused of forcing themselves on a 15-year-old girl during a Halloween party were arraigned yesterday on two misdemeanor charges. The students, all alleged first-time offenders...

ICE RESCUE DOG NEEDS NEW DIGS

He went from floating on a cake of ice in the Passaic River on Wednesday to star turns on national television yesterday morning, but now "Lucky" is looking for a...

‘LIES’ LEAD TO MISTRIAL IN SHOOTING

A trial of a man accused of shooting and paralyzing a St. John's University football star ended in a mistrial because the defendant's pal lied on the witness stand about...

COPS CITED FOR BANK-HEIST BUSTS

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly yesterday lauded three plainclothes cops who this week captured two bank-robbery suspects allegedly responsible for 10 heists. The cops - assigned to a new undercover detail,...

JIG IS UP FOR DANCING TYCOON IN 9/11 SCAM

Prosecutors are filling up the dance card of an elderly millionaire who allegedly tried to use the mass murders at the World Trade Center for a get-richer-quick scheme. Beatrice Kaufman,...

GOTTI BRO: THEY GOT NOTHING ON ME

Federal prosecutors rested their racketeering case against Peter Gotti and six reputed mobsters yesterday after six weeks of testimony - but the accused Gambino boss said the feds haven't proven...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

Manhattan Five protesters were arrested yesterday when they tried to unfurl a banner criticizing Citibank down the side of an East Side building, police said. The three men and two...

KING HS SHOOTER GETS 10 YRS. IN SLAMMER

It's 10 years behind bars for the teen who opened fire in Manhattan's Martin Luther King HS on the civil-rights leader's birthday last year, wounding two male students. Vincent Rodriguez,...

RABBI BUSTED IN ‘PERV’ STING

A prominent rabbi was busted yesterday on charges of trying to pick up a young girl in an Internet chat room. Israel Kestenbaum, 54 - who works for the New...

SNOW’S PILING UP VICTORIES

The Islanders return home from a four-game road trip in which they collected points in three of those, thanks greatly to the play of Garth Snow. With Chris Osgood on...

METS BUYING INTO GLAVINE’S ALL-BIZ APPROACH

PORT ST. LUCIE - Tom Glavine's power of persuasion is way more impressive than a 95 mph fastball. Glavine has set an early tone after the first week of Met...

TATTOO ADDS TO BIZARRE PICTURE

MEMPHIS - This should have been a fight that warranted only casual interest on the sports radar. Mike Tyson versus Clifford Etienne was supposed to be one of those tune-up...

WARD HEADED TO DL

KNICK NOTES SAN FRANCISCO - Backup point guard Charlie Ward is expected to be placed on the injured list today, meaning he will miss at least five games in what...

CTK EXPRESS KEEPS ROLLING

GIRLS H.S. HOOPSCTK 63Vianney 47 Despite what people may think, Bob Mackey doesn't make plans to go to Glens Falls before the season starts. "We don't even think about that...

IN N.J., ARTEST STARS IN ENEMY OF THE STATE

Give him credit - nobody plays the villain like Ron Artest. The Pacers' feisty swingman came into the Meadowlands as much a disliked opponent as when he left, thanks to...

FUNK FIRES SHOTS AT USGA

NOTEBOOK PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - While conversing about the longer-is-better approach to golf-course design yesterday, Fred Funk couldn't help himself from taking a sharp shot at the USGA for its...

KICK THE CANNED ; PRODUCERS WAFFLING ON MUSICIANS’ MINIMUMS ; PRODUCERS WAFFLING ON MUSICIANS’ MINIMUMS

BROADWAY producers, having swaggered their way out on a limb in their rancorous negotiations with the musicians' union, are quietly looking for a way to crawl back to the treehouse....

POSADA CAUGHT BETWEEN FAMILY, JOB

YANKEE NOTES TAMPA - After missing two days of workouts because his son needed a third surgery on his skull, Jorge Posada returned to spring training yesterday trying to find...

ED CUTS HIT SOUR NOTE WITH TONY

Tony Bennett is singing the blues to Gov. Pataki over $478 million in proposed cuts to the city's public schools. Bennett, a founder of the Frank Sinatra HS for the...

BOSS TAKES MORE JABS AT YANKEES ; TORRE AND JETER NOT OFF HOOK

TAMPA - George Steinbrenner walked his grandson - George Michael Steinbrenner IV - around Legends Field yesterday, displaying a touch of humanity to offset his ogre image. He even attempted...

JETS WAIVE ROBINSON, WHITE

The Jets made a couple of expected moves yesterday when they waived safety Damien Robinson and defensive end Steve White, two free agent signings who failed to meet expectations. Robinson,...

CHEERS FOR ANNIKA, BOOS FOR USGA

GOLF NOTES PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - Among several hot topics in the golf world at the moment, two have elicited the most debate - Annika Sorenstam and equipment. After his...

DOWN-AND-OUT DUBLINERS DOOMED TO SAD FATE

DUBLIN CAROL At the Atlantic Theater, 336 W. 20th St. Call TeleCharge (212) 239-6200. TO playwright Conor McPherson's jaundiced eye, Dublin is a city of the lost and the screwed-up...

WHO’LL TAKE JANE PAULEY’S PLACE?

JANE Pauley is leaving NBC in May - so who, if anyone, will succeed her on and "Dateline"? One the highest profile jobs in TV news is suddenly open and...

MOTORIST SHOT NEAR LINCOLN CENTER

Gunfire erupted on Columbus Avenue last night, as a man was shot inside his car across the street from Lincoln Center. A 38-year-old man carrying two passengers in his Lincoln...

CANCER STUDY BARES FRUIT BENEFITS

A new study suggests fruit may help prevent cancer. Researchers studied 1,350 families who completed food diaries in the 1930s. They then traced 4,000 men and women who had been...

DE NIRO TRI-BECKONS N.Y. TO FILM FEST

Robert De Niro's wildly successful Tribeca Film Festival will expand to nine days when it returns for a second year this May, organizers said yesterday. "I have just one thing...

PA PLANS $8.7B TRANSIT PROJECTS

Tighter airport security and restoring PATH train service to downtown Manhattan are two of the projects the Port Authority will put in place this year, officials said yesterday. The Port...

SLAIN MODEL TRIED SUICIDE

An aspiring model swallowed a handful of pills last August after quarreling with the Indian-American man accused of hiring hit men to bump her off this month in Bombay, police...

SHAM PLAN FOR NEW WTC: BIGS LOOK CERTAIN TO CUT HEART OUT OF TOWER DESIGN

Development officials are expected to pick the Ground Zero plan by architect Daniel Libeskind - but the new World Trade Center is likely to end up looking a lot different...

RABBI BUSTED IN NYPD PERV STING

A prominent rabbi was arrested yesterday on charges of trying to pick up a 13-year-old girl in an Internet chat room. Israel Kestenbaum, 54 - who works for the New...

FORDHAM READY TO HEAVE HILL; COACH SAYS IT WOULD BE BEST

Fordham University is exploring options that would allow it to sever ties with coach Bob Hill, The Post has learned. A source close to the situation said athletic director Frank...

CENTER FIELD KEEPS CEDENO ON HIS TOES

PORT ST. LUCIE - This was a day made for John Fogerty.Oh, put me in, coach - I'm ready to play today; Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to...

SCOTT CAN’T WAIT TO CHAT UP JORDAN

Byron Scott clammed up last night about Ron Artest, Latrell Sprewell and Scott Layden, but he will talk to Michael Jordan in Washington tonight. Scott was involved in another round...

YAO-ZA! MONSTER MING MAKES GARDEN DEBUT TUESDAY

The 7-foot-6 phenomenon's arrival should fill every seat in the Garden on Tuesday. Yao Ming, the Rockets' center, is only a rookie, but he's already as much icon as athlete....

RADIO DAYS FOR ANTHONY: GREG WILL FILL IN ON KNICK-CASTS

Toward the end of next month, ex-Knick point guard and current ESPN analyst Greg Anthony will analyze three Knick games on the MSG Radio Network, heard here on WFAN. "I'm...

K-MART’S TIME HAS COME

THESE are precisely the kinds of nights that Kenyon Martin dreamed about during the long offseason, after Keith Van Horn was jettisoned and the Nets made it perfectly clear that...

CLIFFORD, CHANCE FINDS NEW HOME IN MIDTOWN TOWER

Ending a long quest for a new Midtown home, law firm Clifford, Chance Rogers & Wells has dramatically snubbed two glamorous new projects for a big block of sublease space...

P. DIDDY, DEF JAM MAKE UP

Puffy and Def Jam made amends yesterday. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs - formerly known as "Puff Daddy" - settled a highly publicized spat yesterday with Lyor Cohen's Island Def Jam...

FRAT PACK RULES: INSPIRED CASTING A CLOWNING ACHIEVEMENT

OLD SCHOOL ½ Arrested adolescents. Running time: 91 minutes. Rated R (some strong sexual content, nudity and language). At Loews Lincoln Square, AMC Empire, Chelsea Cinemas, others. OLD School," from...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Warning - no nudity is allowed on the radio! The BBC refused to let a disc jockey interview nude-rights campaigner Steve Gough because he was going to be buck-naked in...

JET PLAYER OFF HOOK IN ASSAULT

A grand jury has decided not to indict Jet lineman John "Jumbo" Elliott for allegedly assaulting a limo driver. Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon said he would not bring...

SAUDI ARABIA SENDS SECRET PROPOSAL TO U.S. RE: ISLAMIC OCCUPATION

WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia has sent the United States a secret proposal calling for the establishment of an Islamic occupation force to temporarily rule Iraq after Saddam Hussein has been...

HIS SHAMEFUL DEFENDERS

IT'S hang-your-head-in- shame day for a whole crew of naifs who simply could not face the possibility that Palestinian terrorists were being organized, funded and controlled from a tenured perch...

POLITICAL PAYBACK ; COUNCILMAN WARNS HE’LL SUE GIFF OVER DISS

City Councilman James Davis, a Brooklyn Democrat who voted against the 18.5 percent property-tax increase, yesterday threatened to sue Speaker Gifford Miller for removing him from the council's Cultural Affairs...

DEMS: REV. AL WILL SPUR VOTES

WASHINGTON - The Democratic Party's national chief yesterday said it will "benefit" the party to have the controversial Al Sharpton in the 2004 presidential race because he'll energize new voters....

‘MEGA’ MAN COULD DO VERY DWELL HERE

The Central Park gardener who won a $128 million lottery jackpot doesn't have to leave the Big Apple to fulfill his dream of putting down roots in a toasty warm...

ISRAELIS DESCEND ON TERROR HOTBED

JERUSALEM - Israeli paratroopers and tanks seized a center of terrorism in the West Bank yesterday - and may stay for several months until it's cleaned out, officials said. The...

FLA. PROF BUSTED AS TERROR BIG

WASHINGTON - The feds yesterday charged a college professor and seven others with operating a Palestinian terror cell out of the University of South Florida that was responsible for 100...

NYPD O.T. MAN HIT WITH 24G TAX RAP

A money-hungry NYPD carpenter who rakes in more overtime than most cops was busted yesterday on tax-evasion charges after trying to weasel out of paying bills worth $24,000, the feds...

‘VISION’ PROBLEMS OF SPACED-OUT PLANNERS

IF you read the above story on this page about the LMDC and the Port Authority leaning toward the Daniel Libeskind plan for Ground Zero, you have every right to...

BUSH CALLS ON U.N. FOR A ‘TRIGGER’

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials say they'll introduce a new U.N. resolution next week that could trigger war by declaring Iraq in "material breach" of its obligation to get rid of...

MY BOUT OF PANIC ; BOMB SCARE ABOARD FLIGHT TO TYSON FIGHT

BOARDED Northwest Flight 803 from Newark to Memphis on Wednesday to cover the latest chapter in the ongoing soap opera of Mike Tyson's career - his on-again fight with Clifford...

EX-CON BARBER IN HAIR TANGLE

A Manhattan judge is getting snippy with the state for teaching a Bronx convict to cut hair in jail so he could make an honest living after his release -...

22 DOGS FOUND IN L.I. HELLHOLE

Dozens of dogs living in squalor inside a Long Island home were rescued yesterday, Nassau County cops said. A private contractor doing work inside the Franklin Square house tipped off...

MUGABE JOINS CHIRAC RAT PACK

WASHINGTON - French President Jacques Chirac yesterday cozied up to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe - a controversial dictator criticized for election fraud, torturing opponents, and seizing land from white farmers....

OSAMA DEPUTY GETS 10 YEARS

An al Qaeda operative who created a terror cell in Sudan for Osama bin Laden was sentenced in Manhattan yesterday to 10 years in prison after the government agreed to...

SHAM PLAN FOR NEW WTC : BIGS LOOK CERTAIN TO CUT HEART OUT OF TOWER DESIGN

Development officials are expected to pick the Ground Zero plan by architect Daniel Libeskind - but view it as a scheme they can manipulate. The likely outcome makes a sham...

‘MILLIONAIRE’ LOSER: HEY, JOE, I AM NOT A GOLD-DIGGER!

LOS ANGELES - Sarah Kozer insists she's no gold-digger - and would gladly take Pizza Hut over a French chateau any day. In her first comments since "Joe Millionaire" Evan...

DECOY COLLECTORS SHOW IS THE REAL THING

THE Long Island Decoy Collectors Association will host its 32nd annual collectibles show on Sunday at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Main Street in Patchogue. The show will feature...

RUSSO KNOWS BETTER ; CAN’T DEFEND READING ADS FOR EPHEDRINE

CHRIS RUSSO isn't as ignorant as the character he plays on radio. He knows right from wrong. Wednesday, in the wake of the sudden death of Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler,...

ISIAH: BAD BOYS WOULD POUND HIS ‘PUPS’

The Indiana Pacers are rough. They're physical. They're coached by Isiah Thomas. The Detroit Pistons of 15 years ago - basketball's Bad Boys - were also rough. They were physical....

LOW-FAT WEIGHS IN

MET NOTES PORT ST. LUCIE - Mo Vaughn weighed in at the 260-pound range during a physical yesterday morning, according to a source who was present. More important to Vaughn...

SPREE STAYS HERE ; KNICKS STAND PAT AT TRADE DEADLINE

SAN FRANCISCO - With Knicks GM Scott Layden striking out for the second straight year at the trading deadline yesterday, with Latrell Sprewell still on this structurally flawed roster, the...

JINTS’ WAGNER DEAD AT 84

Ed "Whitey" Wagner, who served as the Giants equipment manager for more than 20 years, died Tuesday at the age of 84. Wagner was a key member of the Giant...

BUCKS’ KARL HITS PAY-DIRT

NOT enough hours have elapsed since the NBA's trading deadline reached its crescendo yesterday at 3 p.m., when the Bucks and Sonics electrified the league by swapping superstars (and two...

SPREE STAYS HERE ; KNICKS-RAPTORS DEAL DIES AT TRADE DEADLINE

SAN FRANCISCO - With Knicks GM Scott Layden striking out for the second straight year at the trading deadline yesterday, with Latrell Sprewell still on their structurally flawed roster, the...

THORN TAKES A PASS ON DEADLINE DEALS

NET NOTES The phones rang. Discussions were held. And then . . . nothing happened. The NBA trading deadline came and went and the Nets stayed just the way they...

SCOTT’S WORDS PUT NETS IN SPIN MODE

Byron Scott clammed up yesterday. But others didn't, particularly Knick GM Scott Layden, who fired back at the Nets' coach for his remarks about Latrell Sprewell. "He's one of those...

NETS BLOW BY INDY; RED-HOT JASON SLASHES PACERS FOR 31 IN VICTORY

Nets 98Pacers 91 At the morning workout, there was evidence. The Nets, so disjointed on the court and uptight off it in recent days, were light and relaxed. Kenyon Martin...

MARCHAND’S MATCHUP OF THE WEEK

Tim Brando vs. Chris Fowler (studio hosts) He owns no signature phrase such as "Booya!" Nor does he bestow nicknames on players. Strangely, given the current sportscasting climate, ESPN's Chris...

RUSSELL ACTS A ‘BLUE’ STREAK IN L.A. THRILLER

DARK BLUE 1/2 Kurt Russell delivers, again. Running time: 118 minutes. Rated R (violence, profanity, sex). At the E Walk, the First and 62nd, the Battery Park City, others. 'DARK...

AUSSIE ROMANCE ALL WET

TILL HUMAN VOICES WAKE US Sleepy time.Running time: 97 minutes. Rated R (a scene of sexuality). At the Angelika and the 62nd St. & Broadway. HARKING back to lyrical Australian...

AFTERSHOCKS OF UNTIMELY DEATH

LAWLESS HEART 1/2 Three men and a funeral. Running time: 86 minutes. Not rated (sex, brief nudity). At the Sunshine Cinema, Houston Street, between First and Second avenues. FINALLY, a...

‘NEVER BE KRAMER AGAIN’

KRAMER is dead. That's the word from Michael Richards, the loose-limbed actor who immortalized the character on "Seinfeld." Richards, 53, now says he doesn't want anything to do with his...

JUST CALL GLEN THE LINE KING

ANAHEIM - Look, the Rangers have had games like Wednesday's 4-2 win in Minnesota before, haven't they? Well, as a matter of fact, no, they have not. Not this year,...

TRUMP MAY FIRE INSURANCE CARRIER AIG

Donald Trump is shopping for a new insurance carrier to cover his extensive real estate portfolio, The Post has learned. On the outs is one of the world's largest insurance...

STARR REPORT

Jane's next step - she's not sure Jane Pauley, who announced yesterday that she's leaving NBC after 27 years, says she really doesn't know what she'll do next. "I'm not...

‘GALE’ WINDBAG

THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE Cruel and unusual punishment. Running time: 130 minutes. Rated R (sex, violence, nudity, profanity). At the E-Walk, the Beekman, the Union Square, others. WHAT'S with...

DRIVE-BY SMOOCHING

OPEN HEARTS 1/2 Gritty and real. In Danish with English subtitles. Running time: 114 minutes. Not rated (sex, violence, profanity). At the Lincoln Plaza, the Angelika. ONE of the better...

NOT READY FOR BIG-SCREEN SEX

EROTIC TALES Running time: 90 minutes. Not rated (sex, nudity). At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues. IN 1996, Germany's state- funded TV network commissioned 12 international...

‘NO, I’M NOT PREGNANT’ … BUT TRISTA AND RYAN WANT TO INVITE CHARLIE TO THE WEDDING

NO, "Bachelorette" Trista Rehn isn't pregnant, and no, she was never stopped for speeding - with Charlie in the car. Rehn, in fact, debunked nearly every rumor that was floating...

‘GODS’ AWFUL

GODS AND GENERALS Incompetent epic. Running time: 233 minutes. Rating PG-13 (gore). At the E- walk, the Lincoln Square, the Village East, others. A soggy, baggy prequel to the flawed...

KID WHO STABBED ‘BULLY’ GETS 2 YEARS

A Queens high-school student convicted of stabbing a classmate in retaliation for repeated bullying was sentenced to two years in jail yesterday. Malcolm Williams, 18, plunged a steak knife into...

BASEBALL BIG MOURNS PAL IN MYSTERY SLAY

The former president of baseball's National League, Leonard Coleman, yesterday called the mysterious knifing death of a former college buddy, architect James Brown, a "terrible tragedy." "He was a real...

KING HS SHOOTER GETS 10 YRS.

It's 10 years behind bars for the teen who opened fire in Manhattan's Martin Luther King HS on the civil-rights leader's birthday last year, wounding two male students. Vincent Rodriguez,...

MAYOR PUTS $QUEEZE ON UNIONS

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday told municipal labor leaders that they have less than two months to come up with ways of saving $600 million - or else. "The clock is ticking,"...

L.I. SHRINK SCOPED OUT BEST SHARK ZONES: D.A.

A psycho shrink who planned to slay six people surfed the Internet to find the deepest shark-infested waters off Long Island in which to dump their bodies, a prosecutor said...

CIG ARRESTS: $10M IN BOGUS BUTTS AT INDIAN RESERVATION: FEDS

The feds yesterday charged six smugglers who slipped at least 35 million fake Marlboros onto an upstate Indian reservation, where they were sold as the real deal, authorities said. The...

TRAGIC WIDOW FINDS TEEN SON DEAD IN BED

A Brooklyn mom whose husband died of cancer a month ago awoke to another tragedy yesterday morning when she found her teenage son mysteriously dead in his bed, police said....

LEONA $OCKED ; SUED FOR BELL’S LEGAL FEES

They won an $11.175 million verdict against her, but Charles Bell's lawyers aren't through with Leona Helmsley. The law firm of Herrick, Feinstein has filed papers in Manhattan State Supreme...

HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO BECOME A DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADER

You don't have to do Dallas to become a Cowboy cheerleader - they're holding auditions right here in New York. For the first time ever, the fetching football femmes plan...

‘BRIBE’ EXEC FINGERS TWO B’KLYN POLS

--- EXCLUSIVE --- ALBANY - An official of a bribery-linked company has admitted providing valuable campaign services to two Brooklyn lawmakers who then failed to disclose them on legally required...

FEDS DROP SEX RAP AGAINST L.I. COP IN ‘STOP & STRIP’

A Long Island highway cop who was charged with forcing five women to strip to avoid drunken-driving arrests is in the clear on the most serious charge. Without explanation, federal...

PROSECUTORS DROP 5TH ‘STOP & STRIP’ RAP AGAINST L.I. COP

A Long Island highway cop who was charged with forcing five women to strip in order for them to avoid drunken-driving arrests has been cleared in one of the cases,...

NETS REVVED FOR INDY; ‘BYRON’S BOYS’ PUMPED BY PACER VISIT TO SWAMP

"This is one of those games that hopefully can catapult a team, hopefully us, to start getting back playing the way we're capable of playing."BYRON SCOTT Kenyon Martin sat next...

CARGILL CAPTURES CUNY AWARDS

CCNY forward Lauren Cargill had a hard time saying goodbye to her friends yesterday at the CUNYAC awards luncheon in Midtown. No, Cargill wasn't upset, she just didn't have a...

BIG TRADE, FEW ANSWERS ; TOO SOON TO ANALYZE PAYTON-ALLEN SWAP

NOT enough hours have elapsed since the NBA's trading deadline reached its crescendo yesterday at 3 p.m. EST, when the Bucks and Sonics electrified the league by swapping superstars (and...

DEVS’ WHITE SPRAINS KNEE

Disaster was averted yesterday for the Devils when it was learned Colin White sustained just a right knee sprain Wednesday in the loss to the conference-leading Senators. White will miss...

KIDD CAN’T BE STOPPED

THIS is supposed to be the way you figure out these Nets. You coax them into a close game. You drag them into a fourth-quarter wrestling match, where every possession...

5 QUESTIONS FOR JAY BILAS

This week, The Post's Andrew Marchand talked with ESPN college hoops analyst Jay Bilas. When the 39-year-old Bilas is not covering basketball, he is a practicing lawyer. Q: What was...

NETS STAND PAT AT TRADE DEADLINE

NET NOTES The phones rang. Discussions were held. And then ... Nothing happened. The NBA trading deadline came and went and the Nets stayed just the way they were before...

DON UNDERSTANDS DEREK’S DILEMMA

TAMPA - Now, Don Mattingly can talk "perspective." He has a child old enough to be considering colleges. He is far removed from George Steinbrenner telling the world he is...

‘TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!’ TESTY TIGER (72) YELLS AT SPECTATOR AFTER MISSED PUTT

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - The day was already an agitating one for Tiger Woods. His opening round of the Nissan Open was already headed toward 5½ hours and his group...

KLEIN TAPS TWO NEW TOP EXECS

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday appointed two veteran Queens superintendents to help manage his new centralized school-transfer program and coordinate compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Law. District...