December 3, 2008
Virtual Food Fight
By CARLA SPARTOS and MAXINE SHENTaking their cue from the enormously popular "Cooking Mama" franchise, several gourmet and celebrity chef-themed video games have hit stores just in time for the...
PLAXICO HELPS OUT HIXON
Plaxico Burress has been called a lot of things since Saturday morning. You can add good teammate to the list. When his replacement, Domenik Hixon, talked to Burress on Tuesday,...
First Look: Laurence Fishburne on 'CSI'
Out with the old and in with the new.Back in August, we told you that "Matrix" star Laurence Fishburne was joining the ranks of movie stars jumping ship for the...
ELI KNOWS TROUBLE COMES WITH TERRITORY
Eli Manning knows New York City can bring out the best -- and the worst -- in people, his Giants included. "I don't know if it's just being in New...
WAL-MART BLACK FRIDAY HORROR
Fresh Meadows resident Ogera Charles, father of a Jamaica man, Jdimytai Damour, who was trampled to death at a Wal-Mart on Black Friday, is tired and filled with more sadness...
ASTORIA'S AMORALISTS PORTRAY THE GOOD AND BAD IN PEOPLE
The Amoralists theater company was created one day about two years ago when Astoria residents Matt Pilieci, Derek Ahonen and James Kautz decided to leave Los Angeles in a little...
NEXT UP: JETS
If the Jets are expecting a beaten-down team that's playing out the string Sunday afternoon against the 49ers, they are in for a wakeup call. New coach Mike Singletary has...
NEXT UP: GIANTS
Tom Coughlin said it best. "Believe it or not we have a football game this weekend," Coughlin told the press when explaining why he wouldn't answer any more questions about...
Deal of the Day-Ananas
In this economy versatility is the name of the game when it comes to purchases.And this LouLou Bag from Ananas by designer Jennifer Baum Lagdameo is just that.The sleek leather...
California Dreamin'
Lots of talk today about traveling to the West Coast and the effects it has on your body. The Jets are 0-2 this season out west going into Sunday's game...
Four sign minor-league deals
Nelson Figueroa, (pictured) who was 3-3 with a 4.57 ERA as a starter and reliever for the Mets last year, was one of four free agents signed to minor-league deals...
NHL SLOPPY HANDLING AVERY
As of tonight, Sean Avery will have been suspended for as many games (two) for yesterday's on-camera vulgar reference in Calgary to the Dion Phaneuf-Elisha Cuthbert relationship as Randy Jones...
Bushes Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Jon Niese
Jon Niese (Binghamton/New Orleans): 11-8, 3.13 ERA, 144 SO in 164 IP.After a decent 2007 season with High-A St. Lucie (11-7, 4.29 ERA), Niese was promoted to Double-A Binghamton in...
ACTOR'S BROTHER CLINGING TO LIFE
The brother of actor Mark Ruffalo was clinging to life after an execution-style shooting in Beverly Hills, sources told The Post today. Scott Ruffalo, 39, has been in intensive care...
JUDGE DENIES BAIL FOR ALLEGED BUS DRIVER STABBER
A Brooklyn judge denied bail today for a 20-year-old repeat offender accused in the senseless killing of an MTA bus driver, referring sardonically to his "illustrious career" of lawbreaking. The...
YULE LOG GOES HI-DEF
The simple Yule Log has gone high-tech. An in-demand version of the holiday-themed faux-fire place will be available this year in hi-def, turning even the flattest of flat-screen TV's into...
SAIGON GRILL OWNER SURRENDERS TO POLICE
The owner of the popular Saigon Grill restaurants and his wife surrendered to police this morning to face a slew of criminal fraud charges related to their alleged exploitation of...
Pulse Sale-Ann Taylor
ANN TAYLOR645 Madison Ave., at 60th street; 212-832-2010Sale: Dec. 4. Thurs., 6 p.m.-8 p.m.20 percent off the entire store - and enjoy a gift bag with any cashmere purchase.Anahita [email protected]
'Family' Guy Smartest in TV Biz
What would Seth MacFarlane do?Writers, producers and actors alike should ask themselves that very question now that the "Family" funnyman has been named the smartest person in TV.In honor of...
COUGHLIN: DISAPPOINTED AND SADDENED BY BURRESS SHOOTING
Tom Coughlin walked into his weekly press conference and saw an inordinate amount of media members jammed-packed into the room. He looked up and said, "Something new going on today?''...
Cyber Monday Steals
Bad weather, laziness, agoraphobia, general ennui, misanthropy - all reasons to shop from home this holiday season. Another, better reason is Cyber Monday - the weekday after Black Friday, when...
Coughlin: "Disappointment and sadness''
BY PAUL SCHWARTZTom Coughlin yesterday walked into his weekly press conference and saw an inordinate amount of media members jammed-packed into the room. He looked up and said "Something new...
CI LEADERS TO COMBAT DRUGS
A flamboyant new leader of the City Island Civic Association is taking the helm, and he has vowed to fight a drug trade including heroin arising among young people living...
POLS BLAST MTA
Proposed service cuts to the Bx 14, Bx 4, Bx 8, and BxM7B have local elected officials up in arms, demanding that the MTA's $1.2 billion budget shortfall not be...
BRONX-WHITESTONE BRIDGE APPROACH UPGRADE
With the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge set to turn 70 next year, the MTA has announced that it has awarded a $192.8 million contract to rebuild the entire Bronx approach to the...
FERRY POINT GOLF COURSE PLANS BACK ON TRACK
As a holiday treat it was announced that the Ferry Point Golf Course seems to be progressing into a world-class 18-hole green as promised. "We are finally at the point...
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR BRONX' RESURGENCE
Home to a development deluge and prepped for more, the Bronx is booming. Ongoing: a spate of affordable housing projects, Yankee Stadium, the Croton Water Filtration Plant, The BankNote complex...
TODAY'S TEN: POLITICAL SCANDALS OF 2008
2008 was a big year for political scandals. From Washington to Albany and everywhere in between, money, power and sex proved to be too much for elected officials to handle....
Deal of the Day-Kimchi
This cotton wool mixed Shirttail Cardigan by Kimchi is an adorable departure from standard short cardigans or grandpa sweaters.Its curved hemline will look like a dapper vest under a blazer...
CCNY: Sabathia and the Yanks
FROM JOEL SHERMAN1. I want to help all the backpage headline writers in town because I think we are going to see something like this next week: CCNY. No it...
3 UP: Sabathia, Cano and Vazquez
1. I want to help all the backpage headline writers in town because I think we are going to see something like this next week: CCNY. No it is not...
Oscar Watch: Eastwood Caps Career In Dirty Harry's Neighborhood
Clint Eastwood has said "Gran Torino,'' which he also directed, is his farewell to acting after 54 years on the big screen -- the 78-year-old workaholic has at least two...
'Frozen River' Named Best Feature at the Gotham Awards
Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River'' won the best feature prize at tonight's Gotham Awards, presented by IPF at Ciprani Wall Street. "Trouble The Water'' was named best documentary. Melissa Leo of...
BRITNEY BUSTS OUT
Britney Spears can barely contain herself last night as she arrives at Club Tenjune in the Village to celebrate her 27th birthday and the release of her album "Circus." She...
BOY, 13, SHOT DEAD IN B'KLYN
A 13-year-old boy was shot to death on a Brooklyn street corner last night, police said. Police were searching for witnesses and a motive for the bloodshed wasn't immediately known....
PARTY TIME FOR 'PARK' CHURCH
A federal judge yesterday answered the prayers of a landmark Park Avenue church, ruling that it can rent out space for parties despite objections from influential neighbors such as former...
I AIN'T DEAD YET!
Patrick Swayze insisted yesterday he's winning his fight against cancer - blasting a tabloid report that put him at death's door. The "Dirty Dancing" star railed against claims that the...
BRUTALLY SLAIN WIFE OF RABBI PREGNANT
A Brooklyn rabbi's wife was five months pregnant when she was slain in the Mumbai Massacre, her father revealed yesterday in Israel, where thousands of Orthodox mourners packed the funerals...
'MASTERMIND' ID'D
A terrorist chieftain in Pakistan masterminded the Mumbai massacre and kept in touch with the 10 attackers by satellite phone, Indian police believe. They said Yusuf Muzammil, head of anti-Indian...
'LOVE' FAILS IN E. VILLAGE
Love Saves the Day could use its own savior. The East Village kitsch shop made famous in Madonna's 1985 flick "Desperately Seeking Susan" - which peddles all used things Americana...
INSIDE INDIA'S HOTEL HELL
These chilling photos bare just a glimpse of the nightmare endured by the guests and workers trapped inside Mumbai's posh Taj Mahal Hotel during last week's terror siege. Fire ravaged...
LEGAL HEAT ON CLUB
The State Liquor Authority yesterday reversed course and said it will investigate the Midtown nightclub where Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself. The SLA's abrupt about-face on the Latin Quarter club...
NO MOVE IS WEIS MOVE FOR NOTRE DAME
THE worst thing that can be said about a football team is that it is soft. Ask any coach in the country on any level and they'll tell you -...
CC STILL SITTING ON YANKS' OFFER
Are the Yankees headed for another Randy Johnson situation when dealing with CC Sabathia? Johnson orchestrated his way out of Arizona to The Bronx for one reason: Yankee dollars. As...
THE TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Post's Top 25 College Football
LABEL HOPPING
ADMIT it. You pick your wine based on the label. But don't feel bad - we do too. In fact, we recently went to the local wine store and picked...
FOOD FIGHT!
PREFER blowtorching creme brulee to blowing stuff up? Prepare yourself for the ultimate food fight. Taking their cue from the enormously popular "Cooking Mama" franchise, several gourmet and celebrity chef-themed...
SHOULD MAKE A HO CHI MINT
BARBAO is the Asian flower that was missing from the Upper West Side's culinary blossoming. Perched precariously in an imaginary realm between the Mekong Delta and Columbus Avenue, it delivers...
BACKSTAGE SECRETS
KAROLINA Kurkova is fat. Now, you might not be able to tell this watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show tonight (10 p.m. on CBS) from the comfort of your apartment,...
NEXT FOUR GAMES WILL DEFINE ERIC ERA
WITH four games left in the Jets' season, plenty of questions remain about this team. Does Brett Favre have any magic left in that old right arm? Can they win...
IRAQ STAR
HOW do dictators happen? On Sunday night, HBO starts a four-hour, two-night miniseries, "House of Saddam," that will answer that question for you, and more. No, they don't, thank God,...
HIXON NOT FAZED BY NEW ROLE
Unlike Plaxico Burress, who faces a gloomy future, Domenik Hixon spent a good part of yesterday spreading holiday cheer. Along with fellow Giant wide receivers Steve Smith and Mario Manningham,...
WILPON NOT WORRIED ABOUT SLOW OFFSEASON
Nearly three weeks into free agency and with a gaping hole at closer, the Mets' only major move so far has been re-signing journeyman outfielder Fernando Tatis. But Mets chief...
HIS DAYS WITH BIG BLUE ARE OVER
PLAXICO Burress brought em barrassment to his team and shame onto himself. There is no doubt he has to be banished from the Giants, and the first step in that...
DIPIETRO ON ICE
Rick DiPietro was back on the ice yesterday following last month's knee surgery, although the the goalie isn't likely to play anytime soon. The Isles continue to try to figure...
MARBURY, BANNED FROM FACILITY, WORKS OUT ALONE
On the one-year anniversary of his father's death from a heart attack at the Garden, Stephon Marbury - as his sneakers once read - was "All Alone." All alone from...
GIANTS BOOT PLAX FOR REST OF THE YEAR
The first step in severing ties with troubled Plaxico Burress came yesterday, when the Giants took their only logical course of action once their top receiver shot himself in the...
RENNEY SHUFFLES LOOK OF RANGERS
Rangers coach Tom Renney put together a top-flight scoring line yesterday for the first time since the preseason - just as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins are set...
WALSH & CO. STUCK ON '10
DONNIE Walsh is still at that cozy, comfortable place in his New York timeline when he is a magnet for the people with the autograph books, the truest of the...
SPORTS SHORTS
MLB: Braves deal for Vazquez The Braves and White Sox reached a tentative agreement yesterday that would send pitcher Javier Vazquez to Atlanta, two people familiar with the deal said....
NETS SWAMPED BY LOWLY WIZARDS
The Nets were coming off one of their best weeks in recent memory, returning from the West Coast with a three-game winning streak and all the laurels and platitudes that...
HARRY: DON'T SHOOT DOWN RETURN
Though Eli Manning agrees on the Giants' decision to put Plaxico Burress on the shelf for the remainder of the season, Harry Carson thinks Burress should get another chance to...
'SLOPPY' DISS GETS AVERY SUSPENDED
Sean Avery was suspended indefinitely by the NHL yesterday, hours after the Stars forward made a crude reference to former girlfriends while talking with reporters. Avery's inflammatory comments came following...
WEARY KNICKS FALL FLAT IN 4TH
The Knicks' decimated state going on two weeks finally reared its exhausted head last night. MORE: Marbury Banned From FacilityVaccaro: Walsh and Co. Stuck on '10KNICKS BLOG Trades, injuries, a...
CITI SELLING ITS PRIVATE JETS
Would you buy a used jet from this bank? Citigroup execs are quietly trying to unload two of their corporate jets. CitiFlight, the corporate entity that owns the bank's four...
JUNIOR GOTTI WINS TURF WAR
John "Junior" Gotti has landed the first punch in Round 4. A judge in Tampa, Fla., yesterday thwarted the feds' plans to try the mob scion in Florida after three...
SUICIDE-PACT DOC KILLS SELF
The Long Island doctor who last month fatally stabbed his cancer-stricken wife as part of a bungled suicide pact hanged himself yesterday. The body of Dr. Rajasekar Sham, 68, was...
HIGH FAT AND LOW INTELLIGENCE FOR THIS SHOOTING STAR
THEY say you are what you eat. Which means Plaxico Burress, the idiot Giants wide receiver who shot himself in the thigh to save his drink, is recklessly high in...
B'KLYN EMMY NOMINEE DIES IN PEAK PLUNGE
An Emmy-nominated TV editor from Brooklyn plunged more than 1,000 feet to her death after slipping on an ice-covered California mountain, police said yesterday. Chihiro "Cherry" Enoki's two climbing buddies...
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Bronx Cops are looking for the man pictured above who allegedly stabbed a livery driver in a botched robbery in Parkchester. At 11:40 p.m. Sunday, the suspect entered the vehicle...
NEW CHARITY RULES FOR BILL
WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton yesterday convened the final meeting of his global charity before he must submit to strict scrutiny following the nomination of wife Hillary as secretary of state....
O VOWS $$ AID FOR GOVS
PHILADELPHIA - President-elect Barack Obama promised speedy relief yesterday to governors - including New York's David Paterson - hit by a dwindling tax base and a crumbling economy. "Every one...
POL SOUNDS ALARM ON VOTE SNAFU
The Board of Elections' failure to process more than 3,500 new-voter registration forms for two months is "more than alarming," City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said yesterday as she demanded...
YOU, TOO, CAN BE FAKE JERSEY BOY
You, too, can be No. 17 - Harris Smith! Giants bad boy Plaxico Burress checked into New York-Cornell Hospital under that generic fake name, The Post first revealed this week,...
TRANSIT SON RIPS LACK OF SECURITY CAMS
The MTA has security cameras on 272 buses in Manhattan but none in Brooklyn - not even on the route with the city's most fare evaders where a driver was...
BUS-SLAY ARREST
An ex-con recently busted for carrying a knife on the subway was arrested yesterday for fatally stabbing a beloved Brooklyn bus driver, police said. Horace Moore, 20, allegedly 'fessed up...
TAX-REBATE DEAL CLOSE
Aides to Mayor Bloomberg have told City Council members that City Hall is ready to send out long-delayed property-tax rebate checks this month in time for the holiday shopping season,...
GO SHOVE YOUR BAILOUT!
With the Big Three automakers and the UAW asking Congress for billions of dollars, hardworking Queens waitress Anna Cruz was taking a short break from her job yesterday and getting...
COP FACES ATTACK RAP
A hot-headed cop is in hot water for body-slamming a Queens pedestrian who punched his car, officials said yesterday. Narcotics Officer Jamel Dennis, 32, was charged with assault for viciously...
FEAR FUELED GIANT FOOL
Four days before Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg, another Giants receiver was robbed at gunpoint, cops confirmed yesterday, leading a former teammate to suggest that may be why...
PELOSI 'PLEDGE' TO KEEP RANGEL
Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised him he will keep his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee as long as he wants -...
HILLARY $TATES HER BIZ
ALBANY - Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton, aided by hubby Bill, moved swiftly yesterday to cash in on her future power position to help retire the $7 million debt...
DOC BENCHED IN GIANT BOO-BOO
The doctor who helped treat Giants star Plaxico Burress' self-inflicted gunshot wound was mysteriously summoned to the hospital in the middle of the night - and has been suspended for...
COPS IMPOUND PIERCE'S SUV
Cops yesterday impounded Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce's SUV, in which receiver Plaxico Burress was taken to the hospital after he shot himself in the leg at a nightclub, sources said....
WEIRD BUT TRUE
This is one tough dude. A man in Philadelphia had no idea he was walking around with a knife sticking out of his back until somebody told him. The man...
LOSE THIS TWO-BIT GIANT - HE HAD HIS SHOT
THE ISSUE: The weapons-possession charges against Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. *** By shooting himself in the thigh, Plaxico Burress actually shot himself in the foot ("Plaxico Coverup," Dec. 1)....
STARR REPORT
Sweeps: Well, whoever ends up hosting "Meet the Press" following Tom Brokaw's re tirement inherits a show fir ing on all cylinders. "MTP" had its best November since 2004 in...
IT SPECKS FOR ITSELF
I never knew dust could give me such pleasure. No, I don't snort the stuff; rather, I have had the plea sure of viewing the charming German documentary "Dust." It...
SEE 'REAL' BROOKLYN FRIDAY
'THE Real World" will take viewers back to Brooklyn Fri day, when the first episode of the new season is screened in mid-town for paying fans. The twenty-first season of...
9/11 'RESCUE'
BREAK out the tin-foil hats - Denis Leary says the new season of FX's "Rescue Me" will focus on 9/11 conspiracy theories. Leary dropped the bomb at a book signing...
3 FILMS TIED ATOP SPIRIT LIST
THE dramedy "Rachel Getting Married" star ring Anne Hathaway, the border smuggling thriller "Frozen River" and the Mississippi family drama "Ballast" topped nominations for the Indie Spirit Awards yesterday. Each...
RE-'ELECTRIFIED'
'HEY, you guuuyyyyyssss!!!" - "The Electric Com pany" is back. Revamped, updated and with a new cast, the classic '70s kids show returns next month on PBS with the same...
GREAT 'BOY' BUT NO 'PAL'
CHRISTIAN Hoff was a terrific sup porting player in "Jersey Boys" - so good, in fact, that he won a Tony for his performance as the thuggish Tommy De Vito....
THE TERROR 'GENIE'
THE terrorist attacks in Mumbai provide India and Pakistan with a threat and an opportunity. The threat isn't hard to see. New Delhi and Islamabad have reversed gear on their...
THE TIMES SMEARS AN AMERICAN HERO
WHEN New York Times "investigative reporter" David Barstow was in kindergarten, a young Army officer lay in a hospital bed recovering from one of the three grievous wounds he would...
ONE-TIME NBC MANAGER GETS 21 MONTHS FOR THEFT
A former NBC Universal treasury manager was sentenced to 21 months in prison yesterday for helping his boss steal more than $1 million from the media giant to finance their...
THE MTA: WHO'LL PAY?
THE Ravitch Commission report on the MTA's finances, due out by Friday, could have a major impact on the quality of mass transit in the metro area - and on...
BIG & BEAUTIFUL FOR HELL'S KITCHEN
SHOULD Community Board 4 approve a building that's gorgeous, but immense? The board must decide tonight, as it holds a public hearing and vote on the 900-unit mixed-use project, Clinton...
BANKS THREATEN FORECLOSURES
BANKS are not only circling the city, they're more aggressively starting to wave their foreclosure wands. One developer and manager of residential projects in many boroughs - including some high-profile...
AIG IN BONUS BUNGLE
Executives at government-rescued AIG who are taking cash perks to remain in their jobs - some as much as $3 million - are lucky even to be employed. So says...
EX-AOL CEO'S $$ NOT TIED TO YAHOO!
Former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is indeed trying to raise money - just not for an acquisition of Yahoo!, as a report yesterday implied. Rather, two sources close to Miller...
UNTIL DEBT THEY DO PART: ICAHN FILES SUIT VS. BLACK
Add billionaire investor Carl Icahn to buyout tycoon Leon Black's growing list of troubles. Icahn, who was pals with Black in his days as a corporate raider, is now suing...
PROPERTY-TAX CAP-OR BUST
Tom Suozzi's blue-ribbon tax-reform panel this week released its final rec ommendations for combating New York state's sky-high local property taxes. Here's hoping Suozzi & Co. have better luck this...
'CAUSE' AND EFFECT
Even in tough times, more and more marketers are seeking to boost their bottom line by adopting a charitable bent. This holiday season, companies eager to align with good causes...
SI OF RELIEF FOR ANNA
CONDÉ Nast Chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr. is denying reports that he is wooing the editor of French Vogue to become the new editor of the company's flagship, American Vogue. "It...
A REWARD TOO FAR
Mayor Bloomberg has an interesting way of rewarding Comptroller Wil liam Thompson for finding extra cash that's owed to the city: He lets him keep it. As The Post reported...
INVESTORS SUE PARAMOUNT SEEKING $40M+
Paramount Pictures, the movie studio owned by Sumner Redstone's Viacom Inc., is being sued by a consortium of investors who claim they poured $40 million into a film financing slate...
Bushes Yankees Minor League Player of the Year: Jesus Montero
The Yankees entered 2008 with the hopes of incorporating young pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy into the starting rotation while also continuing to win. Despite the clear...
HOLIDAY DVD PICKS
The Post's Chief Film Critic Lou Lumenick presents 26 DVD Picks for the Holiday Season.MORE: Lou Lumenick's Online Gift GuideColumbia Pictures Best Picture Collection Eleven complete features, with supplements, in...
ADS: Steve Wynn is crazy
We are not in the habit of posting commercials on this blog, but if Steve Wynn wants to climb on top of his new hotel - Encore, next door to...
ADVENTURES: Get your crabs here
A couple hours' catching crabs off British Columbia's Salt Spring Island? "America's Toughest Jobs," this ain't. These good times are brought to us by Gary Le Marchant, a crusty local...
Wilpon on sleepy Hot Stove
Here's an interview Mets COO Jeff Wilpon did with local beat reporters today at Citi Field about the Mets' glacial offseason so far: