Friday, June 29, 2012

China Province Backtracks on Housing

SHANGHAI—China's central Henan province appears to have beaten a hasty retreat on a proposal to ease housing-market curbs in an about-face reminiscent of several earlier episodes across the country, illustrating continued tensions between Beijing and local governments over property policies.

The move pulls back an attempt to help first-time home buyers in the province with discounted loans.

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Reuters

A construction site for a residential complex in Wuhu

In a quick and chaotic reversal, Henan's provincial government Wednesday removed a newspaper report it had posted on its website two days earlier, outlining how it directed banks to extend loans at rates of as much as 30% below the benchmark lending rate for first-home buyers.

Such cat-and-mouse games between the local governments and the central government have been commonplace since China rolled out its property tightening campaign two years ago, which includes higher down-payment requirements and outright bans on purchases of second and third homes in some areas.

Local authorities didn't put the actual directives online, but posted the newspaper report in its entirety, an indication of caution pending the central government's response.

When asked for comment, an official from the Henan government's information office referred to a report by a different newspaper, the 21st Century Business Herald, which cited an unnamed source from the Henan office of China's banking regulator as saying that the easing measures weren't in line with the central government's policy.

The official recited the headline of the report—"Henan Housing Loan Policy Cancelled; Official Says Policy Was Mistakenly Passed On"—but declined to say more.

Henan faces huge pressure from slowing economic growth, and the relevant authorities might have hoped to accelerate growth through the real-estate sector, the newspaper cited the unnamed official as saying.

Henan's policy proposal was sent to different departments of the banking regulator over the past two weeks but was then revoked, according to the newspaper.

The Henan branches of Bank of China Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China said they weren't offering home-loan discounts.

Calls to the Henan branch of the country's banking regulatory agency, which was cited by the 21st Century Business Herald, weren't answered. Officials at China's central Ministry of Housing and Urban Development couldn't be reached for comment.

As China's economic growth weakens, the central government has been slightly more tolerant of local authorities' policies aimed at propping up the real-estate market, particularly if the policies try to meet "real" demand from first-home buyers and appear designed to exclude speculators.

Local governments, dependent on land and property sales for much of their revenue, have devised a raft of policies to spur sales, offering tax concessions and more lenient residency rules for out-of-town buyers.

But while cities have been able to get away with introducing tax concessions, Beijing has rejected a number of local authorities' adjustments to the tightening measures that directly contravene the central government's policies, particularly in regard to the limits on home purchases.

In October, Foshan in Guangdong province had its wrist slapped when it proposed easing curbs on the number of homes a buyer could purchase, while in February, Wuhu in Anhui province also had to reverse a move to provide subsidies for home purchases. Earlier this month, local media reported Beijing had rejected a plan from Shijiazhuang in Hebei province to ease limits on the number of homes a family could buy.

China, Henan province, Henan, newspaper report, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, local authorities, central government, Beijing, government

Online.wsj.com

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Hey big spender

He didn’t want to crimp his lifestyle.

Hedge fund honcho Phil Falcone improperly borrowed client cash to continue living the high life with his glamorous socialite wife, including a private jet, an estate on St. Barts and two Manhattan town houses, according to a bombshell complaint.

The Securities and Exchange Commission slapped Falcone, the founder of Harbinger Capital Management, with civil fraud charges yesterday, accusing him of taking out an improper loan from one of his funds to pay his personal taxes, playing favorites with clients and manipulating the markets.

PatrickMcMullan

Poor moneybags Phil Falcone. What’s a guy to do when his personal dough is tied up in such essentials as a St. Barts villa and a private jet?

“Today’s charges read like the final exam in a graduate school course in how to operate a hedge fund unlawfully,” Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, said in a statement.

Falcone, who has been battling the SEC’s pending allegations for months, denied the charges yesterday through his lawyer, Matthew Dontzin.

“The notion that Mr. Falcone committed a fraud in connection with the loan from a Harbinger fund is unsupportable,” Dontzin said in a statement.

Dontzin said the loan was obtained with the approval of “a leading national law firm” and that all the charges will be “vigorously defended in the courthouse.”

The SEC claimed that Falcone’s need to keep up with the Joneses prompted the 49-year-old money manager to forgo a bank loan backed by his personal assets to pay off a looming tax bill in 2009, according to the charges.

Instead, Falcone borrowed the $113 million on the sly from Harbinger’s Special Situations Fund — a $2.4 billion fund that had recently barred nervous investors from taking their money out.

Falcone — who made billions betting against the subprime mortgage market — hid the transaction from investors for months, according to the suit. By June 2010, the fund was unable to meet the flurry of investor redemption requests.

Falcone “undertook significant personal expenditures” in early 2009 after Lehman Brothers collapsed, including “extensive” renovations on his Manhattan town houses and paying for a security detail, according to the complaint.

The SEC said Falcone was also sinking a lot of money into motion pictures — most likely with his wife Lisa’s production company, Everest Entertainment, which was behind the 2010 film “Mother and Child,” with Samuel L. Jackson.

The SEC is seeking to bar Falcone from serving as an officer or director of a public company, which would force him to step down as the head of his publicly traded Harbinger Group. It’s also seeking the return of ill-gotten gains and civil penalties from Falcone and Harbinger.

The suit is the latest in a string of embarrassments for Falcone. In May, his biggest investment, wireless startup LightSquared, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The SEC yesterday also charged Falcone with market manipulation tied to bonds he traded in 2006 and 2007, and with wrongfully favoring certain investors’ redemption requests over others.

In addition, the SEC charged Peter Jenson, Harbinger’s former COO, with aiding and abetting Falcone’s improper loan.

kwhitehouse@nypost.com

Phil Falcone, Harbinger Capital Management, Harbinger’s Special Situations Fund, Falcone, St. Barts, SEC, Robert Khuzami ebook download

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

TV inquiry

DirecTV and Dish Network have received requests from the US Justice Department about pricing contracts with television networks, part of a broader federal probe into whether pay-TV companies are squeezing out Internet-video rivals, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

Dish Network, US Justice Department, DirecTV, television networks, federal probe

Nypost.com

Monday, June 25, 2012

NBA will investigate Knicks' Stoudemire for homosexual slur to fan on Twitter: sources

The NBA held its first annual social media awards last week to commend the best tweeters, with the Knicks’ Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields copping honors. Now the league is looking into the dark side of player Twitter interaction with fans.

A source told The Post the NBA plans to look into the authenticity of a profane direct message allegedly sent by Amar’e Stoudemire to a fan over the weekend. Stoudemire allegedly called the fan a homosexual slur in the direct message, which was forwarded to Deadspin.com via photo.

A Twitter direct message is visible only to the recipient, unlike a normal Twitter post which can be seen by anyone.

The fan ignited Stoudemire’s alleged reply by saying he must step up this season in harsh tones. “You better come back a lot stronger and quicker to make up for this past season, dead[butt].’’

Stoudemire’s alleged reply was: “[Expletive] you. I don’t have to do anything [slur].’’

Stoudemire’s spokesperson did not return several messages the past two days seeking comment on whether Stoudemire actually sent the message.

Deadspin later reported Stoudemire apologized to the fan in a subsequent direct message but after the story had come out yesterday. “I apologize for what I said earlier,” Stoudemire allegedly messaged. “I just got off the plane and had time to think about it. Sorry bro!! No excuses. Won’t happen again.”

Another Knicks fan, Drew Austin, told The Post yesterday he had a testy direct message exchange two weeks ago.

Austin questioned Stoudemire sitting courtside in Miami for a playoff game vs. the Celtics. Stoudemire replied four times, tweeting, in part, “You can’t control my life. Don’t breathe down my neck. I’m not a rookie. You have much more to worry about than another man.’’

Austin informed Tommy Dee, who runs a prominent online destination for Knicks fans, The Knicks Blog. Dee posted one part of the exchange two weeks ago. The Post obtained the alleged Stoudemire direct messages yesterday.

Yesterday, Austin said, “I’m not the first person who has told me Amar’e has direct messaged them in that tone. He seems very sensitive and defensive with the fans, insecure or something.’’

Stoudemire is coming off hand surgery during the playoffs when he punched a glass-enclosed fire extinguisher following a Game 2 loss in Miami. He missed Game 3 and played with one hand heavily bandaged in Games 4 and 5.

marc.berman@nypost.com

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

Failed Deal Ensnares Mandela's Grandson

Miners at a gold mine in Orkney, South Africa had hoped the political ties of the new owners, including a grandson of Nelson Mandela, would translate into business and better conditions. It hasn't turned out that way. WSJ's Devon Maylie reports.

ORKNEY, South Africa—Zondwa Mandela set out to make his company one of the African continent's biggest gold producers. Now, the 28-year-old grandson of Nelson Mandela faces fraud charges related to a failed mining deal and angry unemployed workers who accuse him of trading on the name of South Africa's first black president.

The younger Mandela grew up among the freedom fighters who ended white-minority rule in South Africa and shaped the country's democratic landscape. But while his grandfather focused on politics, Zondwa Mandela, like some other revolutionary offspring, found business more appealing.

His ambitions led him from a small marketing company to the formation of Aurora Empowerment Systems Ltd., a partnership with another scion of South Africa's political elite, Khulubuse Zuma, a nephew of South Africa's current president, Jacob Zuma.

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Devon Maylie/The Wall Street Journal

Union representative Pelembe Paul, left, speaks to former workers at the defunct Orkney mine in South Africa.

In late 2009, the politically connected pair won the rights to operate two bankrupt mines outside Johannesburg by bidding to eventually purchase the mines for 605 million rand ($72 million).

Aurora said it had only to secure the funding to buy the mines outright, which was a condition of winning the bid to operate them. The mines were auctioned off by liquidators working on behalf of bankrupt mining company Pamodzi Gold.

Mr. Mandela boasted at the time that the deal would form the foundation of an empire to rival industry giant Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. "As long as we manage our operations correctly," he told reporters in Johannesburg, "nothing will stop us."

But funding for purchasing the mines never materialized, and the company's existing funds weren't enough to operate them. Neither Mr. Mandela nor Mr. Zuma had any mining experience, and Aurora was soon mired in debt. Aurora, which is itself now in bankruptcy, had been chosen by the liquidator for Pamodzi Gold to take on the mines and pay the mines' bills.

Instead, over the next year, the venture stopped paying contractors and worker salaries and stripped the mines of crucial equipment, according to the liquidator representing Pamodzi Gold and former mine employees.

Now, the Pamodzi Gold liquidator, Icon Insolvency, is suing Mr. Mandela and other Aurora managers for 1.7 billion rand in unpaid bills and services because Aurora allegedly failed to fulfill its promises to run the mines on behalf of the bankrupt Pamodzi.

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Devon Maylie/The Wall Street Journal

Potholes dot the road leading out of the Orkney mine.

Those civil fraud charges against Messrs. Mandela and Zuma and other managers were filed in May by the liquidator and are scheduled to go to court after the Aurora managers file an opposing affidavit due next week.

Aurora executives say they did nothing wrong and maintain that the search for investment capital in the middle of a global financial crisis was always going to be an uphill battle, despite surging gold prices at the time. "Nothing sinister was done," said Aurora's former commercial director, Thulani Ngubane.

But the Aurora case and the involvement of Messrs. Mandela and Zuma have given ammunition to critics who charge that politically connected deals in South Africa are trumping any real progress bringing historically disadvantaged South Africans into the economic mainstream.

The liquidator for Pamodzi Gold said Aurora was selected in part because it met Black Economic Empowerment policy requirements. The BEE system requires firms to meet benchmarks such as black ownership, skills training and development in poor communities.

Aurora's pitch to buy the mines also was the better offer because it included keeping all of the employees on board, the liquidator said in the May filing.

One person involved in the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Aurora's political connections did indirectly influence the decision amid fears of repercussions if they weren't selected.

Critics and public commentators in South Africa say the Aurora case failed the BEE system. In an April column, a lawyer on BEE deals, Thabo Masombuka, said the Aurora case is "distasteful and unforgiveable" because of the way it harmed the financial livelihood of "ordinary" workers.

Aurora was liquated by the North Guateng High Court in October 2011.

The soured mining investment has enraged workers and union leaders, and some of them have directed their ire at the grandson of the man who delivered political freedom to black South Africans.

"The big names are stripping our people as if they do not have consciences," Zwelinzima Vavi, head of Cosatu, South Africa's biggest trade union, said when he visited one of the mines recently.

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Devon Maylie/The Wall Street Journal

An unused barracks at the mine

Zondwa Mandela declined to comment. Lawyers for Khulubuse Zuma didn't respond to requests to comment.

The fallout from the failed mining deal is evident here at the defunct mine in Orkney, a two-hour drive southwest of Johannesburg across an expanse of flat farmland. The mine is one of the two that Aurora won the right to operate in 2009 and then failed to get back on track. By February 2010, former workers at the Orkney mine say, Aurora had stopped paying them. In April 2011 electricity to their barracks was cut.

Dozens of former miners are still living at the closed Orkney mine in brick barracks without electricity, unable to find jobs elsewhere. They survive on food donations from local charities and promises from union organizers that a new buyer for the mine will emerge soon. After Messrs. Mandela and Zuma failed to deliver on promises, workers are concerned about the fate of the mine and themselves.

"They were liars, I'm sorry to say, professional liars," former worker and union leader Pelembe Paul said of Aurora's directors. "Someone can give them a diploma, a degree in lying."

Solly Phetoe, regional head of the Cosatu union that represents most of the mine's workers, said he believes Aurora's managers had no interest in mining and only wanted access to equipment they could sell as scrap metal.

These days, Mr. Mandela is keeping a low profile. He has avoided many of the company's liquidation hearings and hasn't commented on the mines publicly since his early, jubilant press conference.

Mr. Ngubane, Aurora's commercial director, said the company's leaders weren't being malicious or negligent but that they inherited more workers than the mines could support, given the amount of gold they were producing. Tight funding for mining deals amid the global financial crisis added to the odds stacked against the company, he said.

"Because of what happened here, it made it difficult to pursue other deals," Mr. Ngubane added.

The second mine, east of Johannesburg in Grootvlei, was sold in April for $8.4 million to a small South African mining company called Gold One International Ltd., which already owned a mine nearby. Gold One's chief executive, Neal Froneman, said the mine shafts are ruined because Aurora stopped paying to have water pumped out of them daily. So the company is planning to drill a whole new set of shafts.

"A lot of destruction," Mr. Froneman said, "took place in the last two years."

Write to Devon Maylie at devon.maylie@dowjones.com and Patrick McGroarty at patrick.mcgroarty@dowjones.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B1

A version of this article appeared June 23, 2012, on page B1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Nelson Mandela's Grandson Comes Under Fire for Failed Mining Deal.

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Fueling the fire, Mets' Francisco says Yankees 'complain too much'

Frank Francisco is still bringing the high heat.

A day after calling the Yankees "chickens" in an exclusive interview with The Post, the Mets closer didn't back down one bit Friday before the first game of this weekend's Subway Series.

"I make a simple comment because they complain a lot, for every call, for every thing," Francisco said.

Francisco said his Mets teammates had a "chicken song" playing as he entered the clubhouse Friday afternoon. He did say he respects the Yankees, but didn't amend his "chickens" statement at all. Instead, he added fuel to the fire.

Getty Images for Delta

Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson and Mets Third Baseman David Wright attend Delta Air Lines' Third Annual Delta Dugout at Grand Central Station In Celebration Of The Subway Series.

"I think they complain too much for everything," Francisco said.

Earlier in the day, players from both the Mets and Yankees addressed Francisco’s “chicken” comments, and the reactions to the Mets closer’s words were a bit surprising.

Yanks outfielder Curtis Granderson did not seem to be jarred by being called out by Francisco, who said he “can’t wait to face those chickens.”

“No, [the comments didn't bother me] at all,” Granderson told The Post. “I think it’s great that guys get a chance to talk about it. You’re supposed to feel confident, you’re supposed to be able to go out there and say ‘We’re going to win.’ You don’t want the other team to win.”

PHOTOS: BEST SUBWAY SERIES MOMENTS

Granderson seemed happy that there has been some juice added to this weekend’s Subway Series with the Mets at Citi Field.

“I think it’s great, add fuel to the rivalry, help add to the fire between the two teams,” Granderson said. “Any time you have something to say about your team...you should go out there and have all of the confidence in the world to say it.”

Granderson’s sentiments were not exactly echoed by Mets third baseman David Wright. During an appearance Friday morning at the Delta Dugout in Grand Central Terminal, where fans can catch the entire Subway Series, Wright seemed a bit wary about prodding Granderson and the Yankees hitters.

“Obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Yankees, I don’t know if you want to get those guys too riled up, they have a great offense,” Wright told The Post.

Wright, who leads the Mets with a .358 batting average, did hope that Francisco, who also added that he wants to “strike out the side" against the Yankees, can back up his bold statement.

“I’m glad Frankie is as confident as he is,” Wright said. “I hope he does get the chance to go in there for the save, because that means we’re winning in the ninth, so I hope that he does get to back those comments up.”

The Post exclusively reported Friday that Francisco had commented on facing the Yankees this weekend in the second leg of the Subway Series.

Francisco quickly quieted down the chatter, saying “I think I’ve said too much already,” when asked to elaborate.

The Yankees swept the Mets two weekends ago in The Bronx, kicking off a 10-game winning streak for the Yankees and a wild ride for the Mets, who have alternated sweeps for the past four series.

“It’s just been incredible, I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of something so much like a roller coaster ride,” Wright said. “From sweeping to getting swept to sweeping and they’re [against] good teams. I think it’s a great series and we’re going to need all of the momentum going into this and obviously [the Yankees] showed that playing well against us.”

Since rattling off 10 straight, the Yankees have dropped their past two games against the Braves and will look to prevent extending the losing streak when they take the field tonight against the Mets.

“The main thing is it's just baseball being baseball, you have to just take everything as it goes, you have to forget about yesterday,” Granderson said. “The great thing about this game is you get to play almost every day and no matter what, you can’t look too far ahead. Today’s the most important day, after we handle today, we can move forward into Saturday.”

Despite not looking past tonight’s game, Granderson did hint that he thinks there’s a chance the Yankees and Mets will not have seen the last of each other after Sunday.

“[A World Series meeting] is definitely possible; anything is possible in this game," Granderson said. "We have around 100 games left to play,”

asulla-heffinger@nypost.com

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Curtis Granderson, Granderson, Granderson, David Wright, David Wright, Mets ebook download, Frank Francisco, Francisco, the Yankees, the Yankees, the Mets, Mets, Delta Air Lines, Subway Series, Yankees

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Hondo: Phil fills the bill

Semi-sizzling Hondo posted another gain in light betting last night as his bullishness on the Tigers was rewarded with a victory that slashed the deficit to 1,270 crosettis.

Today, wrapping things up early with a Stadium matinee, Mr. Aitch will hop on Hughes & Co. to humble Hanson – 10 units.

-$

John Kerry reportedly will play the role of Mitt Romney in Obama’s mock debates. That seems like a terrible case of miscasting – Kerry’s mopey horse face is way too long and morose for the role . . . Roger Clemens owes absent-minded Andy Pettitte a huge debt of gratitude for forgetting at trial what Clemens said he misremembered in the first place . . . Memo to Angry Alec Baldwin (from photographers everywhere): FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAN, MEDICATE NOW!!!

hondo@nypost.com

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Semi-sizzling Hondo, Mitt Romney, Hughes & Co., Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Angry Alec Baldwin, the Tigers

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Yonkers Results

FIRST- mile; pace; clm; $11,500

1

IdylwoodPhonx(BSrs)

3.90

2.60

2.10

3

Tevenay Hall (L Stalbaum)

6.20

3.30

5

Somethinsgotagive (G Brennan)

2.70

* Exacta (1-3) $19.20 * Triple (1-3-5) $68.50

SECOND- mile; trot; clm; $14,500

2

Jeanie Marie(CManzi)

31.80

11.40

7.30

5

Mr Jim Dandy (J Bartlett)

4.90

4.60

3

Travelin Preacher (J Stratton)

9.40

* Exacta (2-5) $138.00 * Triple (2-5-3) $1,025.00 * Daily double (1-2) $81.50

THIRD- mile; pace; clm; $14,500

1

GameJocko(BHollnd)

12.60

7.10

4.10

4

Yuma Hanover(LStalbaum)

9.60

5.40

7

Mcardle Park (J Stratton)

4.30

* Exacta (1-4) $116.50 * Triple (1-4-7) $564.00 * Superfecta (1-4-7-5) $1,272.00

FOURTH- mile; pace; $11,500; cond

1

HghStksGm(BHollnd)

45.20

12.60

4.20

2

Bigtime Rush (J Bartlett)

6.10

3.60

5

Drunken Frenchman (G Brennan)

2.40

* Exacta (1-2) $128.00 * Triple (1-2-5) $1,040.00 * Pick 3 (2-1-1) $9,484.00

FIFTH- mile; pace; clm; $14,500

6

TnysMllon(LStalbum)

20.20

6.40

3.10

2

Make It Brief (G Brennan)

2.50

2.10

3

Lord Of The Bling (J Stratton)

2.40

* Exacta (6-2) $57.00 * Triple (6-2-3) $212.50 * Superfecta (6-2-3-5) $866.00

SIXTH- mile; pace; clm; $17,000

5

BgTmeRocks(JBrtlett)

12.60

5.30

3.50

4

Showtime Shark (B Sears)

3.60

3.00

8

Modern Day Clyde (L Stalbaum)

11.40

* Exacta (5-4) $51.00 * Triple (5-4-8) $749.00 * Pick 4 (1-1-6-5) $451.50

SEVENTH- mile; trot; $14,500; cond

1

ArmbrCpnhn(Schntkr)

5.60

2.80

3.00

2

Cashahallic (B Sears)

2.60

2.70

3

Miss Lee (C Manzi)

5.00

* Exacta (1-2) $10.40 * Triple (1-2-3) $53.00 * Pick 3 (6-5-1) $374.00

Exacta picked by Bill Smith

EIGHTH- mile; pace; $11,500; cond

1

LghtnngStrk(SBchrd)

5.00

3.10

3.20

6

Prince Bubba (L Stalbaum)

26.20

10.00

5

Cheyenne Moishe (C Manzi)

3.60

* Exacta (1-6) $138.00 * Triple (1-6-5) $430.00 * Superfecta (1-6-5-3) $1,875.00

Winner picked by Bill Smith

NINTH- mile; pace; $14,500; cond

3

SilentPartner(BSears)

2.70

2.10

2.20

4

Relentless G (J Stratton)

8.10

5.20

2

Southwind Chase (D Dube)

5.80

* Exacta (3-4) $18.00 * Triple (3-4-2) $92.00

TENTH- mile; pace; clm; $19,000

6

BaccrtSten(LStlbum)

12.80

7.00

4.20

4

Ultimate Desire (B Holland)

5.90

5.90

7

Vesuvio Grande (G Brennan)

8.20

* Exacta (6-4) $73.50 * Triple (6-4-7) $1,136.00 * Superfecta (6-4-7-8) $4,179.00 * Pick 3 (1-3-6) $122.50 * Pick 4 (1-1-3-6) $372.00

ELEVENTH- mile; pace; $14,500; cond

1

MdnghtGmbl(GBrnnn)

6.20

4.30

2.40

2

Eagle Now (L Stalbaum)

6.70

4.80

5

Talktomecourage N (J Stratton)

3.90

* Exacta (1-2) $42.60 * Triple (1-2-5) $161.00 * Superfecta (1-2-5-4) $770.00 * Late double (6-1) $76.50

Total Handle-$745,723.

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L Stalbaum, L Stalbaum, L Stalbaum, 14,5002Jeanie Marie, G Brennan, G Brennan, J Stratton, pace, J Bartlett, clm, clm, mile

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Florida St. eliminates UCLA

OMAHA, Neb. — Scott Sitz gave up five hits and struck out eight in a season-high 6 2-3 innings, and Florida State eliminated UCLA from the College World Series with a 4-1 victory last night.

Florida State (50-16) plays Arizona tomorrow, needing to beat the Wildcats twice to reach the championship round.

No. 2 seed UCLA (48-16) was knocked out a day after No. 1 Florida was eliminated from the opposite bracket.

Sitz (4-3) had not made it through five innings in six of his past seven outings. The junior held the Bruins to two singles through five innings and struck out the side in the sixth after UCLA loaded the bases.

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Post experts pick the winners

DaSilva

Fountaine

Affrunti

Debbie L.

Vic C.

Consensus

1

Tap Chap

Tap Chap

Key to the Empire

Tap Chap

Tap Chap

Tap Chap

23

Big Magnum

Baraja de Oro

Tap Chap

Caylee's Song

Key to the Empire

Key to the Empire

10

Key to the Empire

Key to the Empire

Baraja de Oro

Baraja de Oro

Big Magnum

Baraja de Oro

5

2

Plantagenet

R Blackjack

He Has Passion

He Has Passion

A.P.'s Buddy

he HAS Passion

14

R Blackjack

He Has Passion

A.P.'s Buddy

Plantagenet

R Blackjack

R Blackjack

11

He Has Passion

A.P.'s Buddy

Kel's Angel

Eternal Flight

Kel's Angel

A.P.'s Buiddy

9

3

Benimari

Benimari

Benimari

Benimari

Benimari

Benimari

26

Stickyourtongueout

She's Evil

Princess Sapphire

She's So Evil

She's So Evil

She's So Evil

9

Brush Creek Honey

Princess Sapphire

Brush Creek Honey

Princess Sapphire

Princess Sapphire

Princess Sapphire

6

4

Jimmy Windows

To Dubai

Dr. Goldfarb

To Dubai

Dr. Goldfarb

Dr. Goldfarb

14

Quiet Rally

Dr. Goldfarb

Spanish Wildcact

Quiet Rally

To Dubai

To Dubai

13

Tapesprit

Spanish Wildcat

Tapesprit

Dr. Goldfarb

Tapesprit

Quiet Rally

6

5

Lori Z's Punch

Wink for Free

Bounding Bi

Noble Maz

Look At Me Dance

Noble Maz

14

Look At Me Dance

Noble Maz

Noble Maz

Bounding Bi

Noble Maz

Bounding Bi

9

Ms. N. Tarsia

Look At Me Dance

Wink for Free

Wink for Free

Bounding BI

Look At Me Dance

9

6

Part One

Rovin Man

Arkansas Joe

Arkansas Joe

Bird Tale

Arkansas Joe

12

Hot Necker

Double Talk

Bird Tale

Rovin Man

Double Talk

Rovin Man

10

Arkansas Joe

Arkansas Joe

Rovin Man

Bird Tale

Rovin Man

Bird Tale

9

7

How Far We've Come

How Far We've Come

How Far We've Come

How Far We've Come

Littlebitwicked

How Far We've Come

22

Everlasting Eve

Hot Smile

Littlebitwicked

Hot Smile

What a Delight

Little Bit Wicked

8

Hot Smile

Anearful

Hot Smile

Ware Riot

How Far We've Come

Hot Smile

8

8

Bellamy Roadster

Moon Philly

Assyria

Moon Philly

Assyria

Moon Philly

14

Moon Philly

Shebop

Ridethesilvertrain

Assyria

Shebop

Assyria

13

Cimbria

Ridethesilvertrain

Shebop

Shebop

Cimbria

Shebop

8

9

Calvello

Eversoul

Eversoul

Mosquito

Eversoul

Eversoul

19

Regal Revenge

Rapala

Mosquito

Eversoul

Magnifi Cat

Mosquito

8

Ricky's Lite

Saco River

Magnifi Cat

Saco River

Inauguration

Calvello

5

10

Gambini

Kangaroo Kid

Fiarview Heights

Fairview Heights

Kangaroo Kid

Fairview Heights

17

Kangaroo Kid

Fairview Heights

Aconcerttoremember

Kangaroo Kid

Fairview Heights

Kangaroo Kid

17

Fairview Heights

Silver Coated

Kangaroo Kid

Moreforyourmoney

Runninginflipflops

Gambini

5

Consensus is based on 5-3-1 point system. Extra point given for BEST BET.
Nypost.com

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Meadowlands Graded Entries

Post Time: 7:00 p.m.

Best Bet: Mr Pompo (1st)

FIRST: mile pace; $11,000; cond

10 Mr Pompo

(CCallahan)

1-1-1

3-1

4 Eight Ten Eom

(MLachance)

4-4-5

8-1

2 Bestjetyet

(THall)

3-6-6

4-1

1 Only Rock N Roll

(DDube)

5-3-4

7-2

3 Blueridge David

(SAllard)

8-2-1

12-1

5 Gallic Warrior

(BSimpson)

2-4-4

12-1

6 Sir Jeff

(PBerry)

2-7-4

6-1

7 Rock N Roll Legend

(MLewis)

1-2-8

15-1

8 W H Skooter

(MKakaley)

4-7-9

15-1

9 Jolt Of Fire

(WLong)

6-8-6

20-1

SECOND: mile pace; $15,000; claiming

2 MostHappyKeene

(MKakley)

3-5-5

5-2

4 Stormin Rustler

(Lachance)

8-2-4

4-1

6 Allamerican Inca

(SAllard)

4-5-2

3-1

1 InKenny'sHonr

(KDBenedett)

10-4-3

10-1

3 Cc Racy

(DDube)

6-8-7

8-1

5 Inform

(CCallahan)

4-6-6

12-1

7 Enry

(THall)

5-3-1

6-1

8 Enlightened Cam

(ADavis)

3-3-6

15-1

THIRD: milre pace; $12,500; cond

10 Rockweiller

(MKakaley)

1-1-8

7-5

6 RelentlessDremer

(MLchnce)

2-2-5

4-1

5 Hang Ten

(EAbbatiello)

3-5-5

5-1

1 An Artist's Dream

(PBerry)

6-1-1

20-1

2 Pangali

(KDiBenedetto)

8-4-4

20-1

3 Sir Jack

(DDube)

8-2-1

8-1

4 Majority Rules

(BSimpson)

7-6-2

15-1

7 Taxed

(THall)

5-5-2

20-1

8 Vavoomster

(SAllard)

9-8-8

20-1

9 Betterthanlynx

(CCallahan)

4-7-1

10-1

11 Western Dog

(JPlante)

11-5-7

20-1

FOURTH: mile pace; $9,500; cond

10 Veal Marsala

(SAllard)

7-7-4

5-2

8 RedStarTomahwk

(MLchnce)

2-4-5

3-1

6 Best Life

(THall)

10-2-2

8-1

1 Mister Barnett N

(CCallahan)

11-6-1

15-1

2 Big Black Mack

(JPlante)

2-9-10

20-1

3 Great Dragon

(PBerry)

6-4-6

10-1

4 Cr Fixed Asset

(MLewis)

4-6-2

12-1

5 Party For Two

(BSimpson)

6-8-6

15-1

7 Sir Sisu

(DDube)

1-3-7

9-2

9 Topgun Raider

(MKakaley)

7-2-4

15-1

FIFTH: mile pace; $10,500; cond

5 Trigger Finger

(SAllard)

4-6-6

7-2

7 WoodstockHanover

(CCllhn)

7-1-9

3-1

6 ThanksForStoppin

(EAbbtell)

4-5-3

12-1

1 Little Gold Ring

(BSimpson)

3-3-5

20-1

2 Noble Falcon

(THall)

9-7-1

6-1

3 Rockstar Temper

(DDube)

6-4-1

20-1

4 Fool Of Ideas

(MKakaley)

5-6-6

4-1

8 MysteriousMment

(Lchnce)

8-10-1

8-1

9 Colossal Cruiser

(PBerry)

5-6-7

15-1

10 Donttellporkies N

(JPlante)

3-3-4

10-1

SIXTH: mile pace; $20,000; cond

6 Major Belle

(MKakaley)

2-5-3

3-1

10 Flipper J

(THall)

8-8-3

4-1

7 Electrofire

(MLachance)

3-3-3

7-2

1 Untold Legend

(MLewis)

2-3-7

10-1

2 Lettherockbegin

(EAbbatiell)

3-2-1

15-1

3 Pedro Island

(BSimpson)

6-9-6

20-1

4 SouthwesternDream

(Dube)

6-8-7

8-1

5 Kevlar Hanover

(CCallahan)

1-7-4

12-1

8 Heart Of Rocknroll

(PBerry)

5-7-1

12-1

9 Mr Coolie

(SAllard)

4-3-6

6-1

SEVENTH: mile pace; $25,000; Kingnw

4 Mambo Italiano

(SAllard)

1-1-4

3-1

2 Fat Mans Alley

(DDube)

1-7-6

6-1

6 Gold Like U

(CCallahan)

1-2-3

7-2

1 Frog Juice

(PBerry)

3-1-5

10-1

3 Triple Major

(THall)

2-4-2

9-2

5 Morality

(ADavis)

1-7-4

15-1

7 Success Rocks

(EAbbatiello)

2-5-7

15-1

8 Evening Job

(MLachance)

5-1-4

10-1

9 Sheer Desire

(BSimpson)

1-2-6

8-1

10 Takemewithyou

(MKakaley)

5-1-4

12-1

EIGHTH: mile pace; $22,000; cond

2 SirZiggy'sZTam

(Lachance)

3-3-5

4-1

5 Big Bam Ray

(SAllard)

3-4-2

3-1

4 Keep Going

(JKelley)

4-2-2

15-1

1 Home Again Dragon

(DDube)

2-5-5

8-1

3 WesternTrademark

(MKkley)

2-2-2

5-1

6 Shoobee's Place

(THall)

6-5-3

7-2

7 Power Of Tara N

(CCallahan)

3-2-3

10-1

8 FreddyDayHanover

(MLewis)

5-5-4

15-1

9 Artist's View

(GSholty)

1-2-2

12-1

NINTH: mile pace; $15,000; Kingnw

4 T M Top Gun

(SAllard)

5-3-7

9-2

2 MustBeTheBunny

(BSimpsn)

3-7-6

12-1

7 Four Starz Bling

(CCallahan)

3-7-9

3-1

1 Brandon's Colt

(PBerry)

7-2-5

20-1

3 Tyree

(MKakaley)

3-7-7

15-1

5 ShrkDressedMn

(KDBenedet)

2-5-3

6-1

6 Shellysblockbster

(MLchnce)

4-4-3

10-1

8 CooperstownKid

(EAbbatiell)

2-7-6

8-1

9 Strung Out

(DDube)

3-4-4

7-2

10 Stopwatch N

(THall)

2-7-7

15-1

TENTH: mile pace; $20,000; cond

5 Blatantly Good

(CCallahan)

6-4-4

3-1

4 Grams Legacy

(DDube)

1-3-2

7-2

3 Rescue Plan

(JPoliseno)

2-7-2

10-1

1 A Real Special

(THall)

1-3-3

4-1

1 Thebestofjoel

(MKakaley)

1-4-2

4-1

2 Deep Finesse

(KDiBenedetto)

7-3-5

15-1

6 Mystic Desire

(SAllard)

6-6-3

10-1

7 Touch The Rock

(BSimpson)

5-7-5

6-1

8 Blue Claw

(PBerry)

2-3-6

15-1

9 BlueridgeWestern

(Lchnce)

3-1-4

12-1

ELEVENTH: mile pace; $15,000; claiming

3 Myra's Hiho

(MKakaley)

2-1-2

5-2

7 All Powerful

(PBerry)

5-5-2

9-2

8 Cullens BlueJean

(CCallahan)

6-1-7

3-1

1 Blue Boy

(DDube)

8-5-3

12-1

2 Moneybackgrntee

(BSmpsn)

8-3-7

8-1

4 Amasa Al

(ADavis)

6-4-8

10-1

5 Da Vision OfArt

(MLachance)

7-6-3

15-1

6 Awesome Armbro N

(Plante)

9-2-6

10-1

9 TheMdnghtOwlN

(DBenedet

6-X-2

20-1

TWELFTH: mile pace; $14,000; cond

1 Joe Palz

(THall)

2-2-4

5-2

3 Social Network

(MKakaley)

3-6-5

2-1

7 Prince Sharka

(CCallahan)

4-5-4

12-1

2 Bullet Bob

(BSimpson)

7-4-5

3-1

4 Oh My Joepa

(PBerry)

7-9-10

20-1

5 Legal Dream

(DDube)

1-7-7

15-1

6 Rock The Country

(SAllard)

5-5-X

15-1

8 Long Live Rock

(MLachance)

8-2-3

6-1

THIRTEENTH: mile pace; $12,500; Kingnw

5 Lemon Drop Hall

(CCallahan)

6-3-2

3-1

6 Liberty Call

(MLachance)

7-3-7

8-1

2 Remissionofsins

(THall)

7-5-2

15-1

1 MillionaireCam

(DBenedett)

8-6-1

15-1

3 KaufmanHanover

(Kakaley)

6-5-2

12-1

4 Blade Runner

(SAllard)

11-3-5

9-2

7 Hurrikane Anthony

(Chiodo)

5-6-3

20-1

8 Dunkirk Beach

(EAbbatiello)

4-6-3

10-1

9 Carson City Road

(DDube)

10-4-8

6-1

10 I'm A Gordy Too

(SSmith)

4-3-6

4-1

mile pace, SAllard, SAllard, Mr Pompo, Rock N Roll, THall, THall

Nypost.com

Friday, June 15, 2012

Jefferson's Abanikanda set to walk-on at Temple

The most important moment of Michael Abanikanda’s senior year wasn’t a touchdown run or long gain. It was in a small classroom, months after the season ended – when he took the SATs for a third time.

“My back was against the wall,” he said of taking the test in May. “I had to study and accomplish my goal.”

The bruising 5-foot-8, 185-pound Thomas Jefferson running back, a B+ student, received the necessary score, clearing the way for him to take the next step in his football career. Abanikanda was accepted into Temple and will be a preferred walk-on. He will be the first Jefferson player to go straight to Division I out of high school since Dwayne Kennan went to Syracuse after graduating from Jefferson in 1986.

Denis Gostev

Thomas Jefferson's Michael Abanikanda will walk-on at Temple.

“That means I’m that person that was different from all the other players,” he said. “I stayed focused. I had a mindset to keep working no matter what was in front of me.”

“My hard work paid off and everything I work toward came true,” added Abanikanda, who ran for 607 yards and eight touchdowns, helping Jefferson reach the PSAL City Championship division quarterfinals. “I had faith in God and I kept working toward my goal.”

Abanikanda is just the start of the Division I parade of Jefferson football players. Highly recruited defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko, a rising senior, will announce his commitment among Syracuse, Notre Dame and Florida, July 20 at the Aviator Sports Complex. Dynamic wide receiver Kendall (Speedy) Thomas has heard from several Division I schools, such as Rutgers, UConn and Maryland, coach Gus Cyrus said.

“I’m really proud of Mike,” Cyrus said. “He was a workhorse for us. We can see Mike on TV and in a year Ebenezer and Speedy. That’s really good for the program.”

As a non-scholarship player, he will have to earn his time. He is preparing by putting himself through two-a-day workouts with a few different trainers, including his track & field coach at Jefferson, Claudel Martin.

Abanikanda said he has spoken to the Fordham coaching staff on a few occasions and they have intimated they could use him at running back, in the slot or even in the defensive backfield.

“I really worked hard to get to where I am now,” he said. “I’m glad about it, but I’m not taking it for granted.”

In Temple, Abanikanda will be joining an on-the-rise program, which under coach Al Golden is moving to the Big East and is coming off a 9-4 season and win over Wyoming in the Gilden New Mexico Bowl. The Owls have sent several players to the NFL in recent years, including former Fort Hamilton standout, safety Jaiquawn Jarrett.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “I’m going to be seen in the northeast. The Big East is a good conference. That’s what I strived for when I got to high school, make sure I get to the big leagues, where the competition always is. The program is building up.

zbraziller@nypost.com

Michael Abanikanda, Thomas Jefferson, Abanikanda, Ebenezer Ogundeko, PSAL City Championship division quarterfinals, online

Nypost.com

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Pride not enough for Devils to prevail

headshotLarry Brooks
Follow Larry on Twitter
Blog: Slap Shots

LOS ANGELES — The foundation of success has been re-established, the historical pedigree of the franchise honored.

And yet, even as the Devils dealt with the bitter-sweet sentiments that came rebuilding a winning environment even while coming up a couple of games shy of the ultimate goal following last night’s King-sized, 6-1 Game 6 defeat in the final after which the Kings celebrated their franchise’s first Stanley Cup, the face of the New Jersey franchise acknowledged that the future might be out of his control.

Martin Brodeur, who has reaffirmed his status as an elite goaltender at the age of 40, acknowledged that regardless of the fact that he wants to continue career his career and cannot envision doing it anywhere else but in the Devils’ uniform he has worn for 18 seasons, circumstances beyond his control might send him in a different direction.

CUP, YEAH! Kings captain Dustin Brown hoists the Stanley Cup after Los Angeles’ 6-1 victory over the Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Reuters

CUP, YEAH! Kings captain Dustin Brown hoists the Stanley Cup after Los Angeles’ 6-1 victory over the Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Circumstances beyond president and general manager Lou Lamoriello’s control, as well, said the all-time goaltender who will go to July 1 unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.

“The Devils are what I am, what I believe in and what I want to be, but circumstances might be out of Lou’s hands or my hands,” said a serene Brodeur, no doubt alluding to potential economic issues involving ownership. “I don’t see myself at all [playing for another team], and I don’t want to, but it could be out of my hands.

“I’m going to go to July 1 free agency. I’m going to take a little bit of time off and be back in New Jersey in late June and then see what happens.”

Lamoriello has built his organization in the image of the late Vince Lombardi, who has been immortalized for winning five championships in Green Bay and for having said on more than a few occasions: “Winning isn’t everything . . . it’s the only thing.”

Except winning everything wasn’t everything for the 2011-12 Devils, who rose from of the ashes of last season’s failure to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995-96 to within two victories of the franchise’s fourth Cup in five trips to the final in the last 17 playoffs.

Because this was the spring in which the victory in the conference finals over the Rangers became an exorcism of the demon of 1994 in twisting the Battle of the Hudson their way 18 years later.

New Jersey is the site of the team that gets to raise a “2011-12 Eastern Conference Champions” banner before next season’s home opener, not New York.

This is no mere footnote for this franchise that is the second-most famous hockey brand in its own backyard and this is no mere door prize for Devils fans who are often regarded as afterthoughts in their backyards that exist in the shadow of Manhattan.

Brodeur shared a warm and lingering embrace in the handshake line with LA’s 26-year-old goaltender Jonathan Quick, the kid from Connecticut who rooted as an 8-year-old for Mike Richter and the Rangers in 1994, and who earned this year’s Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.

“I congratulated him and told him I think he deserves the honor of winning the Stanley Cup,” Brodeur said. “It’s always nice for young players to relate to me.

“I told him it’s important for him to enjoy it, because you never know when you’re going to get back. I don’t know at 40 if I’m going to be able to.”

And when Brodeur was asked what Quick said to him, the New Jersey goaltender’s smile broadened.

“He wanted to make sure I don’t retire,” he said. “He likes me . . . he likes beating me.”

This is Quick’s time. Somehow it is also Brodeur’s time. And somehow, it could be time for Brodeur to leave if circumstances conspire to spin out of control.

Circumstances be damned. That simply cannot and must not be permitted to happen, for even if winning everything isn’t necessarily everything for this team, Brodeur wearing a Devils uniform for as long as he desires is the only thing acceptable for this franchise.

larry.brooks@nypost.com

the Devils, Devils, New Jersey, Stanley Cup, New Jersey, circumstances, Brodeur, Larry BrooksFollow Larry

Nypost.com

Monday, June 11, 2012

Kuroda-for-Gardner a fine trade for Yanks

headshotKen Davidoff
Follow Ken on Twitter
Blog: Baseball Insider

Hiroki Kuroda said his left foot felt “much better” yesterday at Yankee Stadium, while Brett Gardner, stationed in Charleston, S.C., told his bosses his right elbow was worse.

And with that confluence of events, the Yankees’ game plan seems likely to change. Suddenly, as teams head toward the period of serious trade discussions, this team might have to prioritize an outfield upgrade over one for its starting rotation.

Gardner couldn’t even make it through a full game Friday night with Single-A Charleston, leaving in the top of the sixth inning. He’ll see noted orthopedists James Andrews and Tim Kremchek this coming week, and it’s natural for baseball fans to anticipate the worst when Andrews’ name in particular is mentioned.

GOOD JOB! Curtis Granderson, bumping fists with Robinson Cano after a solo home run in <a href=the Yankees’ 4-2 home victory over the Mets last night, may get a new neighbor in left field if the team ventures into the trade market to replace Brett Gardner, who suffered a setback in rehabbing an injured elbow." title="GOOD JOB! Curtis Granderson, bumping fists with Robinson Cano after a solo home run in the Yankees’ 4-2 home victory over the Mets last night, may get a new neighbor in left field if the team ventures into the trade market to replace Brett Gardner, who suffered a setback in rehabbing an injured elbow." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/06/10/sports/web_photos/10.3s086.DavidoffC--300x300.jpg" />

AP

GOOD JOB! Curtis Granderson, bumping fists with Robinson Cano after a solo home run in the Yankees’ 4-2 home victory over the Mets last night, may get a new neighbor in left field if the team ventures into the trade market to replace Brett Gardner, who suffered a setback in rehabbing an injured elbow.

In the best-case scenario, the Yankees don’t expect to get Gardner back until after the All-Star break next month. The worst case would call for the Yankees to lose Gardner for the duration of the season.

The Yankees haven’t missed Gardner severely because Raul Ibanez, 40, signed primarily to serve as the team’s designated hitter against right-handed pitching, started his 32nd game in the outfield last night as the Yankees defeated the Mets, 4-2, in the second Subway Series game at the Stadium.

Ibanez doesn’t cover the sort of ground Gardner does out there, but he represents a considerable upgrade in the slugging department and is even one of the few Yankees performing well with runners in scoring position.

Andruw Jones, 35, has helped the team as he did last year, with occasional starts in the outfield and others at DH, though his splits oddly have reversed with better numbers against righties than lefties.

Nevertheless, no less an authority than Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, “I don’t want to overexpose the old guys.”

And there’s no disputing the Yankees’ offense has lost its speed dimension with the injury to Gardner and the demotion of Eduardo Nunez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Internally, the Yankees have Chris Dickerson, who spent some time in the majors last year and is currently with Scranton; he’s more of a backup, as you recall. They also have Nunez, whom the Yankees not long ago envisioned as someone who could help as a super utility player. He’s out with a right-thumb injury, however, and not ready to return any time soon.

Outside the organization? Well, this will be a challenging year because the addition of the second wild card means fewer teams will surrender and trade veteran players. A wrinkle of the new collective bargaining agreement — free agents acquired midseason can’t be offered arbitration and therefore can’t bring back up a compensatory draft pick — will further increase the difficulty of completing a deal.

There surely will be options, though. The Padres will listen to offers on free-agent-to-be Carlos Quentin; his pro is his power, while his cons are his right-handedness and that he’s returning from right knee surgery.

The Cubs would throw a party if they found a taker for former Yankee Alfonso Soriano, who is enjoying a decent season and is owed $18 million annually through 2014. This one just doesn’t make enough sense. Besides, at 36, Soriano is older than Jones, and he’s worse defensively than Ibanez.

The Angels’ Torii Hunter? Maybe. The Angels do have a glut in their outfield. The Phillies’ Shane Victorino? For sure, if Philadelphia gives up, which probably won’t happen. The Twins’ Denard Span? He’s under control through 2014, so the price would be high.

It doesn’t look like a great market, yet it looks like a place where the Yankees might be able to find some sort of solution if Gardner can’t make it back. The starting pitching shopping list looks to be even worse, so if the Yankees have to choose a poison, they probably are better off with yesterday’s news going the way it did.

There could be more twists of fate that shift the Yankees’ radar once again. However, this felt like a significant shift, one we’ll probably be talking about for a while. As will the Yankees themselves.

kdavidoff@nypost.com

Brett Gardner, the Yankees, the Yankees, Yankees

Nypost.com

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Mets need Ike to break out of season-long funk

headshotJoel Sherman
Blog: Hardball

One of the best byproducts of the Sandy Alderson/Terry Collins administration has been a heightened accountability around the Mets.

For too long — even during losing years — a sense of entitlement permeated the clubhouse; players who shouldn’t have nevertheless acted as if they were on scholarship. And too infrequently was anything done to confront and extinguish such behavior. That Club Met syndrome infested the franchise.

The expectations and standards are higher now. Thus, Ike Davis’ extended slump will not be tolerated much longer — even if every organizational decision maker believes what is best long term for the franchise is this: Davis playing first base for the Mets, not the Buffalo Bisons.

IKE IT OR NOT: With the Mets playing winning baseball, Joel Sherman says they cannot afford to waste a spot in the batting order waiting for Ike Davis to turn his season around.

IKE IT OR NOT: With the Mets playing winning baseball, Joel Sherman says they cannot afford to waste a spot in the batting order waiting for Ike Davis to turn his season around.

The Mets are in the midst of six games at Yankee Stadium and Tropicana Field. Two places in which a designated hitter affords an extra bat in the lineup, two places that favor lefty might. Davis needs to awaken in this stretch or else how can the Mets go forward with him when they return for nine games at Citi where there is not such kindness to lefties and the lack of a DH means harder choices whom to play?

Look, if the Mets were 28-32 and, as expected, entrenched in last place, then I could see playing for the future, letting Davis continue to try to work out of this season-long slump in the majors. But we are beyond Memorial Day, the Mets are surprise contenders and Davis is among the worst hitters in the sport (.162 average, just five homers). Therefore, there must be accountability to the whole roster and to the fan base to field the best team possible to try to win.

“What is best for this club is Ike swinging the bat well, here,” hitting coach Dave Hudgens said.

He did better last night in the Yankees’ 4-2 victory. Davis singled and drove an out to deep center. He also walked twice, once after falling behind 0-2 to Phil Hughes and the other off Rafael Soriano. Hudgens had said before the game that anxiety had been robbing Davis of patience central to the first baseman’s game, so perhaps this is a positive bellwether.

“Usually when I walk more, the average comes up,” Davis said.

But the Mets need more than a few walks, an uptick in average. They need impact. To that end, Davis was out before regular batting practice yesterday and with his long, lean, lefty power — somewhat akin to Shawn Green — he launched one ball after another beyond the short porch. Collins said no stadium regardless of size can contain Davis when he is right. Actually, Collins went further in the home of the major league home run leaders, stating: “Ike Davis has as much power as anyone in the ballpark tonight. We have to get him going.”

But how? Collins said, “we are videotaped out.”

In other words, what is wrong is no mystery. Davis has a swing with lots of movement. He has become susceptible, in particular, to off-speed stuff. He has not experienced failure near this level before and, in Hudgens’ estimation, has “lost confidence,” which has only exacerbated the problems.

Collins feels learning how to work through failure in the majors will benefit Davis and, thus, the team in the long run. But, for now, the Mets must emphasize the short term. It is a delicate balancing act for a team still in, at the least, a partial rebuild phase. They have to honor the contention. They have to play the best lineup. Thus, Davis either launches a positive run or Plan B must be implemented.

The Mets could move Lucas Duda to first with Collins manipulating a group of outfielders that now includes Jason Bay again.

“I hope he works through this here,” Hudgens said. “He is one of our core guys. We need him to do well. ... If he gets out of this, he helps us win. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know if he is going to get out of it. But I know this, if we are going to compete on a large scale, we have to have Ike Davis in the middle of the lineup.”

Yes, this is the devilish problem — to be their best, the Mets need a productive Davis, but an unproductive Davis is currently keeping the team from being its best.

The Alderson/Collins regime has demanded accountability, so Davis must do more — and soon. By this time next week, the Mets will be home and, if the results don’t get better, Davis very well might not be with them.

Ike Davis, Ike Davis, Ike Davis, the Mets, Dave Hudgens, Mets

Nypost.com

Noda Presses Nuclear-Restart Case

TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Friday that nuclear energy is a vital source of power that the nation and its economy can't do without, in an attempt to accelerate the government's plan to restart two idled nuclear reactors in key areas facing electricity shortfalls.

"In order to protect the lives of our people, the Oi reactors number 3 and 4 [in western Japan] should be restarted," Mr. Noda said during a nationally televised news conference.

He also said that a temporary restart during the peak summer-demand months wouldn't be enough to safeguard Japan's energy needs and security.

As a resource-poor country dependent on energy imports, "nuclear power is an important source of energy from a security standpoint as well," Mr. Noda added.

The direct public appeal for understanding of the government's plan to restart idled nuclear reactors was widely seen as aimed at local communities that host the reactors.

Mr. Noda made the appeal as the governor of Fukui prefecture in western Japan reiterated his support for a restart of the Oi reactors in his prefecture. Gov. Issei Nishikawa has insisted Mr. Noda send a clear message to the public about the need for restarts.

Mr. Noda said he will begin the procedure to restart the reactors when local leaders give their official consent.

Mr. Noda and three other cabinet ministers could make the final decision to restart the Oi reactors as early as next week. The reactors could be activated within a day or two after that.

All of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors have gone off-line since the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant last year. Most of the reactors have been shut down for regularly scheduled maintenance, with no specific restarts planned. The last one went off-line last month. Japan previously relied on nuclear power for as much as a third of its energy needs.

Mr. Noda's administration has struggled with the challenge of assuring the public and host communities that nuclear power is safe, even as it deals with the aftermath of Fukushima accident.

Mr. Noda has warned the public of the threat of power shortages in the coming summer months of peak demand. The government says the area serviced by the Oi plant, including the city of Osaka, would face shortfalls of up to 18% during the summer months.

A spokesman for the Oi plant operator, Kansai Electric Co., said, "We cannot restart without the understanding of the local communities and the country, and we will be paying attention to the public reaction to [Mr. Noda's] speech."

Community leaders have been divided about restarting reactors. The leaders of communities on the periphery of the area served by Oi have demanded the reactors be operated only during the summer months.

But earlier this week, Gov. Nishikawa criticized that proposal and called on Mr. Noda to declare a deeper commitment to nuclear power if the reactors are to be restarted at all.

—Eleanor Warnock contributed to this article.

Write to Toko Sekiguchi at toko.sekiguchi@dowjones.com

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, nuclear power, nuclear reactors, nuclear energy, western Japan, Oi, Japan, Issei Nishikawa

Online.wsj.com

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Monmouth Park Results

FIRST-6 fur; $17,000; clm($20,000); 3up

1

Blck nd Wht (Trjll)

3.00

2.20

2.10

7

Rocket Dee (Mangalee)

4.20

3.20

5

Fireymstonthehll (MarquezJr.)

3.60

Scr: Siberian Wildcat, Christinelisa.

* Exacta (1-7) $12.40 * $1 Trifecta (1-7-5) $18.20

Winner picked by Dasilva

SECOND-5 fur(T); $26,000; clm($20,000); 3up

7

Wld Ranbow (Coa)

22.00

8.60

5.00

5

Cherry On the Top (Serp)

3.40

2.60

8

No Satis Action (Trujillo)

3.00

Scr: Natalie's Goal.

* Double (1-7) $34.20 * Exacta (7-5) $79.40 * $1 Trifecta (7-5-8) $118.30

THIRD-1m&70yds; $18,000; clm($5,000); 3up

3

Bobbsqun (CottJr.)

3.40

2.20

2.10

5

Full N Sassy (Santiago)

2.40

2.10

4

Myprincessabigail (Uske)

2.10

Scr: Pyramyst.

* Double (7-3) $48.80 * Exacta (3-5) $6.60 * $1 Trifecta (3-5-4) $5.70

FOURTH-1 1/16m(T); $25,000; cl($16,0); 3up

6

Slw Jons (Crmuch)

7.00

3.60

2.40

8

Rogue (Bravo)

9.60

5.20

1

First Acquital (Marquez,Jr.)

3.20

Scr: Supersonic Beauty, Cat Can Do.

* Double (3-6) $12.20 * Exacta (6-8) $68.60 * $1 Trifecta (6-8-1) $129.40

Winner picked by Dasilva

FIFTH-6 fur; $20,000; clm($12,500); 3up

2

Chiquis (Coa)

5.40

3.00

2.40

8

I'm Not Myself (Trujillo)

2.80

2.20

4

Tommy V M (Camacho)

2.60

Scr: Bravaccio.

* Double (6-2) $23.20 * Exacta (2-8) $14.80 * $1 Trifecta (2-8-4) $22.30

SIXTH-1 1/16m(T); $26,000; clm($25,0); 3up

4

Ktrn's Prnc (Trujll)

7.60

3.80

2.60

2

Leipzig (Cintron)

2.60

2.20

7

Runaway Jim (Serpa)

3.20

* Double (2-4) $24.20 * Exacta (4-2) $18.20 * $1 Trifecta (4-2-7) $36.30

SEVENTH-6 fur; $52,000; alw; 3up

4

Sloane Rnger (Co)

12.20

5.80

4.00

6

Escrow Kid (Bravo)

8.60

4.20

2

Golddigger's Boy (Elliott)

3.00

Scr: Soaring Stocks, Comedero.

* Double (4-4) $49.80 * Exacta (4-6) $99.20 * $1 Trifecta (4-6-2) $125.70

EIGHTH-1 1/16m(T); $24,000; cl($20,0); 3up

5

Jersy Jzz (CottoJr.)

5.60

3.00

2.20

8

Oh So Debonaire (Bravo)

4.00

2.60

1

They Call Me Giant (Coa)

2.20

Scr: Dubai Time, Courage to Be, Taylor's Wise Lion.

* Double (4-5) $53.40 * Exacta (5-8) $24.60 * $1 Trifecta (5-8-1) $22.80

Winner picked by Dasilva

NINTH-6 fur; $44,000; alw; 3up(f)

1

Winne Dxe (Serpa)

3.20

2.60

2.40

4

Devlsh Slver (MrquezJr.)

4.20

3.40

3

Banner Elk Lady (Trujillo)

4.60

* Double (5-1) $11.60 * Exacta (1-4) $14.00 * $1 Trifecta (1-4-3) $44.50

TENTH-6 fur; $21,000; clm($20,000); 3up

2

Mnr Prblm (Trujll)

3.80

2.60

2.40

3

Heckuva Ride (Cintron)

4.40

3.00

7

Eternal Stone (Hampshire,Jr.)

8.80

* $1 Trifecta (2-3-7) $140.70 * Double (1-2) $7.20 * Exacta (2-3) $17.40

Attendance 4,762. Track Handle $313,503.
Nypost.com

Third time’s the charm

headshotJohn Crudele

Let the games begin!

A sometimes testy, sometimes playful judge sparred with defense lawyers yesterday in the insider-trading trial of former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta.

If you just saw the highlight reel of yesterday’s four-hour session that featured the testimony of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein you would be under the mistaken impression that this was interesting stuff.

It wasn’t — unless you are tired of Judge Judy and her half-hour brand of justice and can’t get enough of long-form jurisprudence.

The case in Manhattan federal court involves charges that Gupta passed secret information to his pal, Raj Rajaratnam, a hedgie who then profited from what he had been told.

HELLO AGAIN: Goldman Sachs CEO <a href=Lloyd Blankfein entering court yesterday." title="HELLO AGAIN: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein entering court yesterday." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/06/08/business/web_photos/lloyd_blankfein--300x300.jpg" />

Reuters

HELLO AGAIN: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein entering court yesterday.

Rajaratnam has already been convicted.

Now it’s Gupta’s turn. His trial has gone on for several weeks before an increasingly frustrated Judge Jed Rakoff and a jury that has gone from nearly catatonic to ready for outright embalming.

Rakoff let prosecutors and the defense team have it before Blankfein took the stand yesterday. The judge wanted Blankfein’s testimony to end yesterday — but the Goldman CEO will be back for a third session this morning.

“I’m not happy about this, obviously,” the judge complained to both the defense and prosecution.

Blankfein’s testimony started Monday. Court wasn’t in session on Tuesday and Blankfein couldn’t make it on Wednesday because his kid was graduating from high school.

So it came down to yesterday. Rakoff was so anxious to get things going that on a few occasions he started questioning witnesses himself, leaving the lawyers with their jaws hanging.

Defense lawyer Gary Naftalis had barely started his cross examination of Blankfein, who repeated again and again that Gupta, as a Goldman director, would have been given privileged, confidential information that he wasn’t supposed to blab.

Now that you are up to date on the ordinary stuff, let’s dish.

Right before the cross examination began yesterday afternoon, prosecutor Reed Brodsky asked if Gupta’s defense team planned to bring up any current investigations of Goldman Sachs.

The idea, I guess, is that Goldman isn’t pure and shouldn’t expect its directors to be, either.

Naftalis obviously didn’t want to tip his hand.

This, of course, could be the highlight of the trial and end up being No. 1 on the Top 10 legal plays of the day. For everybody in the courtroom — journalists like me included — there is nothing better than a list of all the probes of the most vilified firm on Wall Street.

Investigations of Goldman are, on the other hand, the last thing the government wants revealed.

Heckling didn’t just come from the judge yesterday. Brodsky and Naftalis were going at each other pretty good in what they assumed to be a private interchange.

Sometimes it sounded as if the courtroom staff had forgotten to turn off the microphones at the lawyers’ tables. Folks heard Naftalis complain to his co-counsel that prosecutors were trying to get a “tactical advantage” by putting an FBI agent on the stand yesterday morning and pushing Blankfein to the afternoon.

And one prosecutor had his own gripes about late-night sessions. “I’m totally exhausted. I got a baby waking me up at 5 a.m.,” he said.

john.crudele@nypost.com

Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, Raj Rajaratnam, Judge Judy, Jed Rakoff, defense lawyers, Blankfein

Nypost.com

Friday, June 8, 2012

Netherlands not interested in being runner-up again

KRAKOW, Poland — Second-best just isn’t good enough for the Netherlands anymore.

After losing to Spain two years ago in the World Cup final, Amsterdam has let it be known that the players shouldn’t count on any official celebration unless they come home with the European Championship trophy.

‘’Losing that final is now the motivation to win Euro 2012,” Netherlands captain Mark van Bommel said, still remembering the bittersweet taste of the big homecoming celebrations two years ago on the canals of the capital.

Now, even the grandest Dutch city let it be known that being runner-up is too average to celebrate. Been there, done that — too often.

“Last time we set up festivities when they came in second,” Sara Gradstein, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Thursday. “(This time) they’ll only get one if they come in first.”

The pain of losing stretches back to 1974, when the golden generation of Johan Cruijff lost to West Germany 2-1 in the World Cup final despite dominating the tournament with their revolutionary brand of free-flowing Total Football.

Four years later, the same thing: The Dutch felt sure they had won the World Cup when Rob Rensenbrink shot past Argentina goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol in the dying seconds of regular time — only to see it hit the post. The hosts won it 3-1 in extra time.

It seemed it was more fate than fear of failure that denied the Dutch.

Instead, the plaudits kept coming. The Dutch were the Brazilians of Europe. The Dutch were the best team never to win the World Cup. The latter especially stung.

It was only when the AC Milan trio of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard were united with 1974 coach Rinus Michels that the drought could be broken. But, almost a quarter century later, the memory of the Euro 1988 title is fading fast.

Two dozen years without a cup may make them look like underachievers. Yet considering their population of 16.7 million surrounded by powers like Germany, Italy, France and Spain, the Dutch might as well be considered overachievers.

Almost without fail, they produce a great crop of players. For the past years, the team has been built around creative talents like Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, with a bruising organizer like Van Bommel thrown in.

At Euro 2012, this generation is looking for late redemption.

‘’We realize this is perhaps our last chance to win a tournament,” said Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt, one of the core of players that reached the 2010 final that will start against Denmark on Saturday.

If their skills are beyond doubt, their cockiness and pluck may hide a mental fragility when it counts. So often so cool, yet they have too often floundered under pressure.

They lost penalty shootouts at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 European Championships and in the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup against Brazil.

Especially missing five penalty kicks in regulation time and during the shootout against Italy in the Euro 2000 semifinals has haunted the nation and players for years.

This time around, that fear centers on Robben. He missed a penalty kick in the Champions League final against Chelsea and another in a vital late Bundesliga match for Bayern Munich against Borussia Dortmund.

Yet there is no fear.

‘’You have to turn the page,” Robben said. “I have a new goal and that is the European Championship.’

For Van Bommel, too, he wants the title to chase the ghosts of the past, specifically losing the World Cup final.

‘It stays with you for life,” he said.

World Cup final, Netherlands captain Mark van Bommel, Netherlands, Netherlands, World Cup, World Cup, Arjen Robben, Spain, Van Bommel, KRAKOW, Poland, Sara Gradstein, the European Championship

Nypost.com

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Mo sets date for surgery

Mariano Rivera is finally ready to take the next step in his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in his right knee over a month ago, with surgery planned for Tuesday at Hospital for Special Surgery.

After Rivera landing awkwardly while shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City before a game May 3, doctors found a blood clot which ended up delaying the surgery, but the 42-year-old remains confident he will be ready by next season.

“No doubt about that, God-willing,” Rivera said during a visit to Yankee Stadium before the Yankees beat the Rays, 4-1, last night.

Mariano Rivera

Anthony J. Causi

Mariano Rivera

The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek, the Mets’ team doctor.Rivera said he isn’t concerning himself with an exact timetable after the procedure.

“I don’t want to have that,” Rivera said. “I don’t want to put in my mind a line.”

And while he isn’t concerning himself with the possibility of returning this season, he hasn’t completely ruled it out — even if the team has no such expectations.

“I don’t want to think about it,” Rivera said. “Again, miracles happen. I just have to be able to do what I was doing before. That’s what I want.”

The Yankees would like him to that, as well, since Rivera has vowed to pitch again next season.

And while Rivera is confident he’ll regain his old form, he acknowledged there are no guarantees that will happen.

“I have to get it fixed first,” Rivera said.

In the meantime, he’s been doing what he could to make the knee stronger to hasten the recovery after the procedure.

“You work at it, simple as that,” said Rivera, adding that he has kept himself occupied during his absence. “I’ve been so busy with therapy, I don’t even think about [the surgery]. I get home, I’m tired and then I watch the game. It’s a full day.”

Rivera’s return shouldn’t be impacted by the delay, according to Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“The usual wait on surgery after an injury like this is two or three weeks, until the swelling goes down and they can build the strength back up,” Geier said.

Rivera’s return shouldn’t be impacted by the delay, according to Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“The usual wait on surgery after an injury like this is two or three weeks, until the swelling goes down and they can build the strength back up,” Geier said.

And although Rivera will have to stay on blood thinners after the surgery to make sure he doesn’t get another clot, Geier doesn’t believe that will hurt his recuperation.

“It should have no effect on an athlete’s ability to recover from surgery,” Geier said.

If all goes well, that means the Yankees’ closing issues that they hope are behind them this season, won’t show up again next year.

dan.martin@nypost.com

Mariano Rivera, David Geier, the Yankees, Medical University of South

Nypost.com

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

NYC baseball rankings

We promised changes and we delivered. Aside from top-ranked Grand Street, not a single team is in the same spot it was last week -- that's how wild the postseason has been. Surprising PSAL Class A semifinalists John Adams and Telecommunications break in while No. 1 Grand Street and No. 3 George Washington meet in the finals Friday night at 7 p.m. at MCU Park in Coney Island.

Fourth-ranked Fordham Prep takes on No. 5 St. Joseph by the Sea in the CHSAA Class AA championship round elimination game with the winner advancing to see Iona Prep in the title game Friday night at St. John's.

Lauren Marsh

Grand Street Campus and Charlie Garcia remain atop The Post's NYC baseball rankings.

For a complete rundown of our vastly different top 10, read below:

1. Grand Street (20-1) (Last week: 1)

Jose Cuas saved his best afternoon of the spring at the plate for Grand Street’s most important contest. In the second game of a PSAL Class A semifinal sweep of John Adams, he had five RBIs, including a grand slam, as the Wolves booked their first trip to the finals in program history. A four-year starter headed to Maryland, a city championship would be the perfect way for Cuas to go out.

Next: No. 2 George Washington, PSAL Class A finals (June 8, 7 p.m. @ MCU Park)

2. Poly Prep (20-4) (5)

A third straight NYSAISAA crown next spring is a probability for Poly Prep as it returns top pitchers Andrew Zapata, Phil Maldari and Morgan Gray. The three were hard to hit this spring and they will be even better by next April, a scary proposition for the Ivy Prep League.

Next: Season complete

3. George Washington (19-2) (6)

The Trojans have been absolutely dominant this postseason, winning their five games by a combined 49-9. Co-ace Edwin Corniel has been brilliant, winning three times and Alexis Torres has put on a power display with eight RBIs, two home runs and four runs scored.

Next: No. 1 Grand Street Campus, PSAL Class A finals (June 8, 7 p.m. @ MCU Park)

4. Fordham Prep (15-8) (NR)

A.J. Pinto was marvelous in a CHSAA Class AA winner’s bracket game Sunday night, but he was outdueled by Iona Prep’s Joe Finnegan. Ace Sean McNamara should be on the hill Tuesday against St. Joseph by the Sea with a finals berth on the line.

Next: No. 5 St. Joseph by the Sea, CHSAA Class AA elimination game (June 5, 6 p.m. @ St. John’s University)

5. St. Joseph by the Sea (17-5) (9)

Chris Falcone gave up one run on four hits with nine strikeouts while battling back spasms to down Molloy. That sets up a meeting with Fordham Prep with a CHSAA Class AA intersectional finals berth on the line – and ace Brian Russell will be on the hill.

Next: No. 4 Fordham Prep, CHSAA Class AA elimination game (June 5, 6 p.m. @ St. John’s University)

6. Archbishop Molloy (15-9) (NR)

Rosario DiLorenzo saved the season by coming back on two days rest to beat Moore Catholic and then Greg Boyle, who missed all of last year, defeated Xaverian. Molloy’s semi-Cinderella run, however, came to an end Sunday against St. Joseph by the Sea.

Next: Season complete

7. Xaverian (19-3) (2)

The Clippers lost three games all season – and two of them came Thursday and Friday as they exited the playoffs. It was a stunning turn of events, Fordham Prep and Archbishop Molloy getting the better of Xaverian in the CHSAA Class AA championship round.

Next: Season complete

8. John Adams (17-4) (NR)

We can’t wait to see what Anderson DeLeon will have in store for us next spring. The diminutive yet dominant sophomore won eight games this year and led John Adams to an upset of favored Tottenville in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals last week. Too bad he didn’t have enough rest to face top-ranked Grand Street in the semifinals.

Next: Season complete

9. Telecommunications (16-5) (NR)

Telecom’s top hitter, Austin Ruiz, is a freshman; its ace, A.J. Serrano, is a sophomore; and other key parts, Chris Lee, outfielder Josh Palacios, Josh Mercado and Anthony Nunez, are all coming back. The young and talented Yellow Jackets should only get better.

Next: Season complete

10. Cardozo (18-1) (3)

This was supposed to be the year Cardozo got into the final four, after another perfect league season. Instead, it ended a round early, to underdog Telecommunications in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals. Elite juniors Connor Doyle and Adrian Castano will be back, but the Judges do lose a lot of key pieces, such as Diego Gonzalez, Nicanor Luna and Calvin Luk, that will be difficult to replace.

Next: Season complete

New: John Adams (17-4) and Telecommunications (16-5)

Dropped out: St. Raymond (14-7) and Tottenville (17-4)

On the bubble: St. Raymond (14-7), Moore Catholic (13-5), All Hallows (11-10), Tottenville (17-4), Norman Thomas (16-3), James Monroe (15-4) and James Madison (14-4)

zbraziller@nypost.com

mraimondi@nypost.com

John Adams, John Adams, Fordham Prep, Fordham Prep, Telecommunications, Telecommunications, George Washington, CHSAA Class AA, CHSAA Class AA, Grand Street, Grand Street, Iona Prep, Archbishop Molloy, PSAL, St. Joseph, St. Joseph, elimination game, Poly Prep

Nypost.com

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Courtship of Serena Williams

Paris

At this year's London Olympics, one precious gold medal will dangle lower than the rest. Here's all it takes to win it: Serena Williams's phone number.

For the first time since 1924, the games will host a mixed doubles tournament, and whichever American team includes Williams will be the immediate favorite to win gold. The wooing began earlier this year, but at this year's French Open, there seems to be a winner of Williams's hand: Bob Bryan, who with his brother Mike has been part of the premier doubles team of the past decade.

Williams has won 27 Grand Slam titles: 13 in singles, 12 in doubles and two in mixed. She's the best tennis player of her generation, and one of the best ever. It's enough to make Bryan giddy. "It's exciting," he said.

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Any mixed doubles team that includes Serena Williams will be the team to beat at the London Olympics.

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When Williams's agent reached out to Bryan a few months ago to see if he would play the French Open with Williams, Bryan had an immediate answer: "Yes!'" he said. He then spoke to Williams in Madrid.

"She said something like, 'If we do well and we get our mojo going, maybe we can roll it into the Olympics,'" Bryan said.

Williams had been a favorite to win the French Open singles title before a shocking first-round upset Tuesday. Bryan was nervous. "I didn't know what to expect after her loss," he said. "Then I got an email from her, she wanted to practice."

Williams hasn't fully committed to the Olympics yet. Mixed doubles will be a last-minute decision for many players, depending on their health or their results to that point in Olympic singles or doubles. It will include 16 teams with at most two teams per country; 12 teams will receive direct entry based on a combined ranking. The International Tennis Federation will select the remaining four teams.

But any team that includes Williams will be the team to beat, despite the potential for some formidable foes. Petra Kvitova, the defending Wimbledon champion, plans to play with fellow Czech Radek Stepanek, a strong singles player and a doubles expert. Ana Ivanovic, a former No. 1 from Serbia, will team with Nenad Zimonjic, one of the world's best doubles players.

But Williams would be the best female partner in the field. Doubles is a fast-paced affair that turns on strong serves and forceful returns of serve. Williams has the best serve and the best return in women's tennis. In 2008, Mardy Fish partnered with Williams to win the Hopman Cup prior to the Australian Open. Asked at the time what made her such a great partner, Fish said, "She serves like a guy."

Williams knows she's coveted and has kept her suitors on their toes. "It's so tough to choose, there are so many good American men," she said in an interview in New York this spring. "I harass the guys a little bit and I just have fun with them."

Williams had planned to play with Andy Roddick at the Australian Open this year, but Roddick retired with an injury in singles and couldn't play. Roddick hasn't been shy in his courtship of Williams, a close friend since they were children.

"I want to play the Olympics," Roddick said after losing in the first round in Paris this week. "I can't get ahold of her. If you see her, ask her for me."

Roddick has never played a professional mixed doubles match. Fish, Williams's one-time partner, recently had a medical procedure on his heart and will skip the Olympics. John Isner, the top-ranked American, said earlier this year he might be willing to "bribe" Williams for the privilege of playing with her. Lately, though, he's less sure.

"When the Olympics roll around, I want to be really tired because I've done so well," Isner said. "And if that's the case, to be honest, I don't see mixed doubles in my future."

Bryan took a more subtle approach: He didn't woo Williams at all. "We're not like great, great pals...but we always say hi at the tournaments," he said. "I was totally taking a back seat." He figured Roddick would get the call and had another partner in mind: Williams's older sister. "I tried to lock down Venus, and she wasn't returning my calls," he said.

As Grand Slam competitions go, mixed doubles is the least tense. But with a gold medal on the line, that attitude changes.

"I really want to play well for Serena this tournament," he said. "Usually before mixed I'm sitting on the computer with a banana in my hand and it's like, 'Oh my God, it's time for mixed?' And then I put on my shoes and I go out there. I'll definitely go down to the gym this time and do some stretching, maybe five minutes on the bike."

A version of this article appeared June 1, 2012, on page D10 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: The Courtship of Serena.

Serena Williams, Williams, Bob Bryan, Mixed doubles, mixed doubles, French Open ebook download, Andy Roddick, London Olympics, the Olympics

Online.wsj.com

Woody’s shadow is looming large at Belmont

headshotRay Kerrison

From now until the end of time, the Belmont Stakes never will be run without recalling the unique exploits of the great classic’s master craftsman, the late Woody Stephens.

On a streak in the 1980s, the trainer won five straight Belmonts, a feat that all but defies comprehension. It is said that winning the Triple Crown is the single most difficult achievement in sports. But how can that be when 11 horses have done it in 134 years?

Only one man has won five consecutive Belmonts in 144 years, and no one expects ever to see it again. Three trainers, including Wayne Lukas, have won three in a row. But five? Never. Impossible.

HIGH FIVE: The late Woody Stephens, above pictured in 1985, is the only trainer to have won five straight Belmont Stakes. One of his disciples, Dale Romans, will saddle up Dullahan in Saturday’s race.

NYRA

HIGH FIVE: The late Woody Stephens, above pictured in 1985, is the only trainer to have won five straight Belmont Stakes. One of his disciples, Dale Romans, will saddle up Dullahan in Saturday’s race.

Woody’s memory has overhung every Belmont since his death in 1998, but this year it will be especially tender if Dullahan wins. The likely second favorite behind I’ll Have Another, Dullahan is trained by Dale Romans, one of Woody’s acolytes.

Romans worked for him briefly in 1986, when Danzig Connection, completed the Stephens sweep.

“I was just a kid then,” Romans recalled yesterday. “I went to work for him because I wanted to see how a stable like that operated. Woody was my hero.”

He was almost everyone’s hero. Trainer John Parisella has a fund of Woody stories.

“I remember he once entered a horse for $75,000 in a claiming race and the leading trainer in the city at that time claimed him, but the horse wasn’t worth a dollar,” Parisella said with a laugh. “Woody bragged about that for three months. Then he went out and bought [his wife] Lucille a new Mercedes with the 75 grand.

“Sometimes he’d see me and say, ‘Johnny, bet your money today. I closed the top door on this one.’ ”

Back in 1984, Woody took his front-running Kentucky Derby winner Swale to Pimlico for the Preakness.

Parisella was waiting for him with a speed freak named Fight Over. Parisella held court with the press and told them, “You tell Woody he’s not getting the lead here. We’re gonna be on the lead.”

We ran over to Woody’s barn and told him what Parisella said. Woody thought for a moment and said, “Parisella would rather be on the lead than president.”

And so it happened. Jockey Ossie Vergara gunned Fight Over out of the gate and opened three lengths, scorching the mile in a killer 1.34.2 — more than a second faster than Secretariat ran it. At the finish, Fight Over held for third while Swale was nowhere to be seen at 4-5.

Swale went on to win the Belmont, but a few days later, he collapsed and died as he was walking from the track back to the barn. To this day, the exact cause of death is unknown.

“Woody stood alone,” said Parisella. But how did he win five Belmonts?

“Because he laid those horses on the fence,” Parisella said.

Meaning, Woody worked his horses hard, fast and often. And if they couldn’t take the heat, they were gone.

“Not many trainers today do what Woody did all those years,” Parisella said. “The one exception is Bob Baffert. He trains his horses just like Woody — he lays them on the fence. He doesn’t think twice about working a horse 6f. in 1.10 and change before a big race.”

Trainer Bill Badgett worked in Woody’s barn for four of his five Belmonts. To this day, he stands in awe of the master.

“He was a tremendous person with phenomenal charisma,” Badgett said yesterday. “He was extremely competitive, more than most people realized. But he was a great horseman, tremendous to work for. He never raised his voice and generous? I made more money with his stakes winners than with my salary.”

Just winning five Belmonts is unthinkable, but Badgett said that what made the accomplishment even more astounding is that Woody never had more than 36 horses in his barn at any one time.. Some big modern trainers have a hundred to 200 horses.

Woody Stephens was a Kentucky hardboot at heart, but he had a special kind of magic that we all miss — and especially at this time when the bugler calls the field to the track for the Belmont Stakes, known now and forever as Woody’s Race.

Woody Stephens, Belmont Stakes, Belmont Stakes, John Parisella, Dale Romans, Belmonts, Parisella, horses, Woody, Dullahan, trainer

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