December 26, 2002

CYBER SANTA A DISAPPOINTMENT FOR RETAILERS

The Internet isn't coming to the rescue of retailers the way they'd hoped. Although holiday spending via computers was up 18 percent for the week before Christmas, online spenders appeared...

BERTELSMANN IPO; GERMAN GIANT PUSHES SALE TO KEEP UP WITH VIVENDI

Bertelsmann may seek an initial public offering as soon as 2003, The Post has learned. The German media giant has publicly stated that it is preparing for an IPO, but...

CROWDED AIRSPACE: WHILE BUDGET FLIERS EXPAND, BIG CARRIERS TRY TO GET SMALL

As UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, seeks to remake itself in a bankruptcy court-imposed restructuring, the business model it is adopting is that of low-cost, short-haul carriers like Southwest...

ALL STARS TAKE SHINE TO 42ND ST. ARMORY SPACE

TANKS may be rolling into Baghdad early next year, but one place they no longer roll is on 42nd Street. That's where the former Armory of the 77th "Statue of...

MEGA SALES KEEP LUXURY MART AFLOAT

WHILE high-end real estate has taken its lumps in 2002, several notable sales have managed to keep the luxury housing market afloat. Although none of the recent sale prices eclipsed...

STARR REPORT

McNamara, Grier sweep into 'SVU' Actor William "Billy" McNamara ("Beggars & Choosers") is set to appear in a sweeps episode of NBC's "Law & Order: SVU." McNamara, a native New...

HOW WOMEN COPS BROUGHT LAW AND ORDER TO THE... SCARIEST PLACE IN NEW YORK

"Women in Control:The Tombs" Tonight at 8 on Court TV IF you can't take one more feel-good animated Christmas show created out of a song, or one more feel-even-better Christmas...

AN A FOR ACTING BUT THE YEAR'STOP 10 MOVIES RATE ONLY A B

IT was a good year for film acting - but boasted few first-rate films.Some of the best performances came in the midst of movies that were at best deeply flawed...

THE BEST OF A BAD YEAR

AT the multiplexes, 2002 was the wacky year of "Spider-Man" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."The first was an overpraised, $450 million grosser that pretty much everybody - except a...

FIRST WHIFF OF 'PINOCCHIO'

"Pinocchio" - a live-action version of the childhood classic made in Italy - hit New York movie theaters yesterday, without advance screenings for critics. That's usually a sign of trouble...

SANTA MIKE GIVES WHEELY COOL GIFTS

Mayor Bloomberg played Santa to a Brooklyn teen yesterday, making good on a promise to give away the mountain bike he bought when a transit strike seemed inevitable. "Oh my...

ISRAELIS ARE 'RUFF' AND READY

JERUSALEM - When he heard about Saddam Hussein's vow to "destroy the Jewish dogs," Rafi Kishon wondered how he was going to explain the threat to Shnoopy. Shnoopy, Kishon's 13-year-old...

UPCOMING AWARDS ADD INSULT TO IDIOCY

Death becomes them. Fans of a popular Web site will soon see who takes top honors for The Darwin Awards, the annual citations that memorialize foolish people who've increased our...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

Another town is up for grabs. A two-month-long e-Bay auction will end tomorrow for "the entire rustic town" of Bridgeville, Calif. The winner will get 80-plus acres containing a mile...

A GOOD YEAR FOR CHAMPAGNE

The economy may be flat, but champagne sales are bubbling over. "Champagne is flying," Michael Aaron, chairman of Sherry-Lehmann, said yesterday. "It's not only flying, it's in the stratosphere." Just...

WE'VE WAITED 33 YEARS FOR THIS

How long has it been since New York City had its last white Christmas? Well, the last time it happened, Bing Crosby was still singing "White Christmas." On that snowy...

TRAFFIC BUST A NEW RAP FOR DMX

Bad-boy rapper DMX spent part of his Christmas eve with Westchester cops - after he was busted on the Hutchinson River Parkway. He was pulled over in Harrison around 2:30...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

BROOKLYN A man beaten into a coma more than 13 years ago has died - and a prosecutorial review is underway to determine if two men who served time for...

SHOPPERS SET TO GO $ALE-ING

Monster markdowns kick in today as jittery retailers who didn't get what they wanted for Christmas wooed customers in a last-ditch bid to revive a lifeless shopping season. Look for...

NEW YORK PICTURE POSTCARD PERFECT

There is a reason why people dream of a white Christmas. Across the city yesterday, complaints about the cold and rain quickly turned into good holiday cheer as the snow...

LONELIEST CHRISTMAS ; SOLITAIRE & HOT DOGS FOR QUEENS 'HIT-RUN' WIDOWER

A Queens man spent the loneliest Christmas of his life yesterday after his wife of 39 years was killed in what police said was a hit-run accident as she picked...

MAN DIES AFTER FIGHT WITH BRO

A Long Island man died yesterday after he was involved in an early-morning fight with his brother, Suffolk police said. Scott Valentine, 36, of West Babylon brawled with his brother...

A FLURRY- TALE ENDING ; SNOWY HOLIDAY TAKES US BY STORM

A huge Nor'easter coated city streets in white and buried the northern suburbs under more than a foot of snow, fulfilling New Yorkers' dreams of finally getting a white Christmas....

B'KLYN BONANZA ; MEGA MILLIONS PLAYER NAILS $68M JACKPOT

There may have been snow on the ground, but it was a green Christmas for one lucky Brooklyn lottery-ticket buyer yesterday. The only winning ticket in the $68 million nine-state...

POWER ZAPPED IN ROCKAWAYS

A cable failure at a substation caused scattered power outages yesterday throughout the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, affecting about 9,000 Long Island Power Authority customers. LIPA spokesman Michael Lowdes said...

BAD-BET PETE; ROSE, LIKE SHOELESS JOE, DOESN'T MERIT COOPERSTOWN

WHAT about Shoeless Joe Jackson? If Major League Baseball can overturn Pete Rose's lifetime ban on participating in the game - making him eligible for inclusion in the Hall of...

B'KLYN BONANZA: MEGA MILLIONS PLAYER NAILS $68M JACKPOT

It was a green Christmas for one lucky lottery winner yesterday. The only winning ticket in the $68 million Mega Millions drawing was bought in Brooklyn - marking the third...

A FLURRY- TALE ENDING : SNOWY HOLIDAY TAKES US BY STORM

A huge Nor'easter left city streets coated with white and buried the northern suburbs under nearly a foot of snow, fulfilling New Yorkers' dreams of finally getting a White Christmas....

IT'S ALL ON THE LINE ; GIANTS FACE FIERCE PHILLY PASS RUSH

The Giants' offensive line heard what was being said before they ever lined up together. "Kerry's gonna be hurt by the third or fourth game . . . he's gonna...

BOAT SHOW DROPPING ANCHOR

MANHATTAN is the port of call for the largest boat show in the Northeast, which drops anchor Saturday for a nine-day run at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Launched...

YAO-ZAH! CHANEY PRAISES MING

KNICK NOTES Don Chaney has watched Yao Ming on TV a lot lately. The thing is, Ming's game might look different when the Knicks visit Houston tomorrow. "Unbelievable, remarkable improvement...

SPREE BATTLES BIG CHILL ; KNICK STAR STRUGGLING TO FIND HIS OLD TOUCH

Five-for-15. Five-for-16. Five-for-14. Those are Latrell Sprewell's shooting numbers from the Knicks' last three games. And, unfortunately for Knick fans, they haven't been the exception in his season so far,...

HOME FIELD BIG STAKE FOR PHILLY

GIANT NOTES The motivation and incentive for the Giants is obvious heading into Saturday's battle with the Eagles. Win and they're in the playoffs. There's plenty out there for the...

JETS WARY OF EARLY KO

JET NOTES The television will be on in the Jets' locker room before Sunday's 4:15 finale against the Packers. The danger is the team and the stadium will be deflated...

TROTS ON THIN ICE IF HOLIK ISN'T ON MARIO

Not to suggest the obvious, but John Ashcroft is promising trial by military tribunal for Bryan Trottier on the charge of treason if the coach doesn't match Bobby Holik against...

JETS SET FOR BRETT ; PACKERS LEGEND WON'T LIE DOWN AT STADIUM NOW

Brett Favre is the last quarterback you want standing between you and the playoffs. A year ago at Giants Stadium, on the last Sunday of the regular season, Favre fell...

MARTIN'S DEFENSE RISES TO OCCASION

Last week, Byron Scott and Kenyon Martin sat down to discuss his offense and how he could tweak it to make improvements. Martin's defense never entered the conversation. "I keep...

NETS RUIN CELTS' XMAS

Nets 117Celtics 81 For two minutes in the third quarter, the Celtics were unstoppable. Boston, with its patented one-two punch of Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce hitting 3-pointers, ripped off...

NET CROWD LIGHTS UP LOU'S FACE

Everything is relative. While the Nets had only their second sellout of the season last night - and the bad weather definitely kept several thousands of seats empty - chief...

KERRY'S CLOSE TO RETURNING TO LINEUP

There's no date set yet, but Kerry Kittles' return is close. Real close. And likely closer than that of Chris Childs. Kittles has been out since he injured his left...

KITTLES CLOSE TO GETTING BACK IN LINEUP

NET NOTES There's no date set yet, but Kerry Kittles' return is close. Kittles has been out since he injured his left knee in Portland Nov. 30 and began sitting...

SCOTT: CELTS IN DENIAL: STILL THINK THEY 'WERE THE BETTER TEAM LAST SEASON'

Deal with it, says Net coach Byron Scott. We have, say the Celtics. Scott maintains that the Celtics, last night's Christmas foe, have been in denial over last season's Eastern...