Premier: Ban soccer in Italy for 2-3 years

ROME — Premier Mario Monti suggested yesterday that Italian soccer be suspended for two to three years after the latest match-fixing scandal rocked the national team and again tarnished the sport’s image in the country just a week before the European Championship.

Dawn raids on Monday resulted in 14 arrests — including Lazio captain Stefano Mauri — to bring the total number of suspects arrested in the match-fixing inquiry to about 50 since last year. Many more have been placed under investigation.

“Football should be stopped for two to three years,” Monti said yesterday in a powerful message to Italy’s soccer authorities on the need to clean up the game. “It is not a proposal by the government but a question I am asking as someone who was passionate when football was still football.”

Monti made the comments while standing beside the prime minister of Poland, which is co-hosting Euro 2012 with Ukraine starting June 8.

“I’m not making a proposal, and even less is it a proposal that comes from the government, but it’s a desire that sometimes I feel inside me: That it would really benefit the maturity of us Italian citizens if this game was completely suspended for two to three years,” he said.

He also ruled out the use of public money to bail out teams in difficulty.

Police swept through the Italian national squad’s training camp near Florence on Monday as part of the operation and Italy defender Domenico Criscito was left off the Euro 2012 squad after he was placed under investigation.

Antonio Conte, who coached Juventus to the Serie A title this term, was also officially notified that he is under investigation for alleged wrongdoing while in charge of Siena in 2010-2011.

Apart from those arrested Monday, three people have been placed under house arrest and two others are to present themselves to authorities. Five of the arrests were made in Hungary.

Numerous others have had their houses searched, including Chievo Verona striker Sergio Pellissier as well as Conte and Criscito.

The investigation was started by judicial authorities in Cremona last year. It has resulted in former Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni being banned from soccer for 3 1/2 years, and the arrest of former Lazio captain Giuseppe Signori.

Mario Monti, Stefano Mauri, Italian soccer online, investigation, soccer authorities, Domenico Criscito, proposal, Lazio, Sergio Pellissier

Nypost.com

Home Team Lineups

TODAY
May 29

WED
May 30

THU
May 31

FRI
June 1

SAT
June 2

SUN
June 3

MON
June 4

Yankees

L.A. Angels
10:05
YES Network
WCBS 880 AM

L.A.A. 10:05 YES WCBS

NO GAME

Det. 7:05 YES WCBS

Det. 7:15 FOX
WCBS

Det. 1:05 YES
WCBS

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

Mets

Philadelphia
7:10
SportsNet NY
WFAN 660 AM

Phi.
7:10
SNY
WFAN

NO GAME

St.L. 7:10 SNY WFAN

St.L. 4:10 WPIX
WFAN

St.L. 8:05 ESPN
WFAN

St.L. 1:10 SNY WFAN

Devils

NO GAME

L.A.
8:00
NBC
WBBR

NO GAME

NO GAME

L.A.
8:00
NBC
WFAN

NO GAME

L.A.
8:00
NBCSN
WFAN

NO GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

Ind.
7:10
No TV

Ind.
6:00
MSG

NO
GAME

Red Bulls

NO
GAME

^Char. 7:30

NO
GAME

NO GAME

NO GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

HOME

AWAY
Nypost.com

Belmont Analysis

Post Time: 12:50 p.m.

All Horses appear in post position order

1. 6 1/2 fur; $59,000; alw; 3up

SMOKIN HERO likes an off track and should improve after tiring this level in first start since January. RECURRING DREAM stalked the pace and finished third in the slop this level going longer. MOONLIGHT SONG set the pace and tired going longer in most recent.

PN Horse, Wt.

Jockey

Last 3

Trainer

Odds

1 Sailmate(L),121

D Cohen

4-1-1

Kimmel

7-5

2 Smokin Hero(L),121

C Nakatani

7-6-3

Englehart

5-2

3 Moonlight Song(L),121

J Alvarado

5-1-1

Baker

6-1

4 Recurring Dream ,118

E Castro

3-1-1

Barker

3-1

5 Wishful Tomcat(L),121

I Ortiz, Jr

7-4-4

Arroyo

12-1

6 Tap Attack(L),121

A Lezcano

6-6-6

Persaud

20-1

2. 6 fur; $28,000; mdn clm($20,000); 3up(f)

JOY RISING goes turf to dirt and drops in class after tiring badly in seasonal debut for new barn. LADY UTOPIA shows steady works while prepping for career debut. LA BUSTA goes turf to dirt and drops in class.

PN Horse, Wt.

Jockey

Last 3

Trainer

Odds

1 Signora Sofia(L),111

W Garcia

10-4-9

Sciacca

20-1

2 Catalina Island(L),118

D Cohen

8-3-9

Englehart

5-2

3 Joy Rising(L),118

J Alvarado

11-10-8

Ferraro

8-1

4 Lady Utopia ,118

T Hole

x-x-x

Goodwin

20-1

5 Freud's Dream(L),117

J Ortiz

10-2-3

Ryerson

3-1

6 Read the Research(L),118

R Maragh

5-6-x

Pompay

2-1

7 Galaxy Jet(L),124

A Lezcano

6-4-8

C Martin

8-1

8 La Busta(L),124

I Ortiz, Jr

11-5-8

Campo

12-1

3. 1 mile; $77,000; alw; 3up

ENDER KNIEVEL has been working steadily after pressing the pace and tiring in the Grade 3 Sunland Derby. THIS HARD LAND usually runs off the pace but led every step of way to defeat state-breds in the slop this distance. PRIVATE TALE cuts back in distance after finishing second as favorite.

PN Horse, Wt.

Jockey

Last 3

Trainer

Odds

1 Street Thug(L),118

R Dominguez

1-2-x

R Dutrow

7-2

2 Term Loan(L),116

C Nakatani

6-1-2

Violette

4-1

3 This Hard Land(L),123

J Lezcano

1-2-1

Ubillo

5-1

4 Adirondack Express(L),121

R Napravnik

4-3-5

R Dutrow

8-1

5 Ender Knievel(L),116

J Velazquez

5-1-2

Pletcher

6-5

6 Private Tale(L),121

J Castellano

2-3-1

Trombetta

12-1

4. 1 1/16 miles; $75,000; mdn; 3up

HE AINT BLUFFING adds blinkers after finishing third as the favorite at Gulfstream in career debut in January. DESERT STORM finished second while going shorter and adding blinkers in April. MULHEB adds Lasix after finishing fourth in the slop when making US debut.

PN Horse, Wt.

Jockey

Last 3

Trainer

Odds

1 Transplendent(L),118

D Cohen

5-9-x

Kimmel

15-1

2 Desert Storm(L),118

J Alvarado

2-3-3

Mott

2-1

3 North Ocean(L),118

E Castro

6-x-x

Weaver

20-1

4 He Ain't Bluffing(L),123

R Dominguez

3-x-x

R Dutrow

5-2

5 Stressing(L),118

I Ortiz, Jr

3-7-5

Persaud

10-1

6 Beach Boy Alex(M),118

J Velazquez

x-x-x

Contessa

15-1

7 Mulheb(M),118

A Garcia

4-8-x

McLaughlin

5-1

8 Arkansas Joe(L),118

C Nakatani

3-2-4

Zito

4-1

Next >

1

2

3

Recurring Dream, Horse, LADY UTOPIA, career debut, career debut, Signora Sofia online, La Busta

Nypost.com

Pitching Form

(Game time)

2012

'11 vs OPP

CAREER

LAST 3 STARTS

LINE

W-L

ERA

*REC

W-L

ERA

vs OPP

W-L

IP

ERA

*AHW

Yankees

Nova (R)

6-7

4-2

5.69

6-2

—

—

0-0

1-1

18.1

5.89

13.3

Athletics

Ross (R)

(10:05pm)

2-4

5.73

3-4

—

—

0-0

1-2

17.2

2.55

12.7

Padres

Bass (R)

(7:10pm)

2-4

2.89

3-5

0-0

2.25

0-0

1-1

19.2

1.83

11.0

Mets

Gee (R)

5 1/2-6 1/2

3-3

5.44

4-4

1-0

1.35

1-0

1-1

17.2

7.13

14.3

Cubs

Dempster (R)

(7:05pm)

0-2

2.28

1-6

2-2

5.25

8-12

0-1

19.0

4.26

12.8

Pirates

Burnett (R)

Even-6

2-2

4.78

4-2

1-0

3.37

4-0

1-0

22.0

2.45

9.4

Giants

Lincecum (R)

(7:10pm)

2-4

6.04

2-7

1-0

0.00

2-0

0-2

16.0

6.75

15.8

Marlins

Johnson (R)

5 1/2-6 1/2

2-3

4.82

5-4

—

—

0-3

2-0

21.0

2.14

8.6

Rockies

Friedrich (L)

(7:10pm)

1-1

5.00

1-2

—

—

0-0

1-1

18.0

5.00

13.0

Reds

Cueto (R)

8-9

5-1

1.97

7-2

1-0

0.00

1-1

1-1

18.0

3.50

13.0

Nationals

Detwiler (L)

(7:35pm)

3-3

3.65

4-4

1-0

2.25

1-0

0-2

16.0

7.31

14.1

Braves

Hudson (R)

7-8

3-1

3.03

4-1

4-1

2.64

14-3

2-1

21.2

1.25

9.1

Phillies

Lee (L)

Even-6

0-2

2.66

1-5

1-1

1.76

3-1

0-1

21.0

3.43

9.4

Cardinals

Lohse (R)

(8:15pm)

5-1

2.91

7-2

1-1

1.76

3-4

1-0

17.1

4.67

15.1

Brewers

Gallardo (R)

(9:40pm)

2-4

4.62

3-6

2-0

1.38

5-0

1-1

18.0

2.50

10.0

D'Backs

Kennedy (R)

5 1/2-6 1/2

3-4

4.47

3-6

1-0

0.00

1-1

0-3

17.1

7.27

13.0

Astros

Harrell (R)

(10:10pm)

3-3

4.09

3-6

—

—

0-0

1-1

16.2

2.70

13.0

Dodgers

Kershaw (L)

10-12

4-1

1.90

7-2

1-0

1.29

3-1

2-1

24.0

0.75

7.1

Royals

Chen (L)

(7:05pm)

3-4

4.17

3-6

1-1

3.09

2-1

3-0

19.2

2.75

11.0

Orioles

Hammel (R)

6-7

5-1

3.12

6-2

0-1

12.27

0-2

2-0

17.0

5.29

12.2

Rays

Cobb (R)

(7:10pm)

1-0

2.57

1-0

—

—

0-0

1-0

7.0

2.57

10.3

Red Sox

Lester (L)

8-9

3-3

3.95

4-5

1-3

4.32

10-6

2-1

20.0

2.70

10.8

Blue Jays

Morrow (R)

(8:05pm)

5-2

2.63

6-3

1-0

2.77

4-4

2-1

20.0

3.15

9.5

Rangers

Holland (L)

6 1/2-7 1/2

3-3

4.27

4-4

1-0

3.21

2-1

1-1

18.1

2.95

10.3

Tigers

Smyly (L)

5 1/2-6 1/2

1-1

2.89

4-4

—

—

0-0

0-1

15.2

5.17

10.9

Twins

Swarzak (R)

(8:10pm)

0-3

4.73

0-3

0-0

3.00

0-1

0-3

14.2

6.75

14.7

Indians

Gomez (R)

Even-6

3-2

3.19

5-2

2-0

2.25

2-1

1-1

20.0

3.60

10.8

White Sox

Quintana (L)

(8:10pm)

0-0

0.00

0-0

—

—

0-0

---

---

---

---

Angels

Santana (R)

5 1/2-6 1/2

2-6

4.22

2-7

2-2

2.34

11-6

2-0

21.0

1.71

10.3

Mariners

Beavan (R)

(10:10pm)

2-4

4.46

4-4

1-0

2.53

1-0

1-1

12.0

4.50

14.3

* REC: Won-lost record of pitcher's team in games he has started.

* AHW: Average total of hits and walks yielded per nine innings.
Nypost.com

5 questions for... Jon Barry

Espn analyst Jon Barry breaks down the NBA playoffs with The Post’s Justin Terranova.

Q: How have the Spurs adapted from a defensive team to an offensive one this season?

A: It’s Gregg Popovich. You have to change with the times, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. They have got younger and more athletic around their three guys. And Popovich is not afraid to play them. A lot of times you get to the playoffs and they say you have to shrink your rotation, and he’s certainly not done that.

Q: A year ago many questioned the chemistry between the Thunders’ Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Why has that not been as much of an issue this season?

Jon Barry

A: It’s all predicated on how well Westbrook plays. He’s so much more in control than he was last year at this time. He just has a better understanding of when to pick his spots, and when he does that he has a chance to take over a game like we saw against the Lakers in Game 4.

Q: Last year the Heat rolled to the NBA Finals. Do you think getting tested by the Pacers will help?

A: It is good, but they are going to need Chris Bosh back. I don’t think they can win a title without Bosh. They don’t have the interior depth, something they haven’t addressed in two years, without him. Fortunate for them is this game is not about big men anymore. Of the teams left, Tim Duncan is the only post player left who plays with his back to the basket.

Q: Do you give the 76ers a chance in Game 7?

A: The Celtics should prevail, but they are like a box of chocolates: You never know what you are going to get. They go through offensive lulls, they lose their defensive intensity at times. They are just really inconsistent. Paul Pierce is really banged up. The 76ers did a great job to get here.

Q: What do the Knicks have to do in the offseason to get to the next level?

A: If you are going to keep Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire on the same team you have to figure out some sort of system to get these guys together. It’s simple as that. Jeremy Lin is not going to get to play like that again. Mike D’Antoni is gone and that’s not the way it’s going to be. So that’s a huge question. They need some perimeter shooting. They are on the right track. They started to believe under Mike Woodson and understanding that defense wins. There’s a lot of good pieces in place, but there’s a lot of work to be done for this to be a championship team.

jterranova@nypost.com

Gregg Popovich, NBA playoffs, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Chris Bosh, Jon Barry, Carmelo Anthony, NBA Finals, Mike Woodson, Tim Duncan, Espn

Nypost.com

Giants' Tuck won’t duck talk of ‘dynasty’

Justin Tuck did not back off the “dynasty’’ comments he made at last week’s championship ring ceremony, continuing to claim the Giants — who have two Super Bowl victories in a four-year span — can attain that lofty status.

“Why wouldn’t I feel that way?’’ Tuck said yesterday. “I don’t need to be playing the game if I’m not thinking about winning the championship every year. I feel very confident in this team’s talent and this coaching staff and we have that shot. We do have a shot at it.’’

Coach Tom Coughlin did not exactly embrace the “dynasty’’ talk, but he didn’t shoot it down, either.

“I would say this: I think we must raise the bar for our own performance, whether it be in the meetings, on the practice field, on the game field,’’ Coughlin said. “That’s what I’d like to see. I’d like to see everyone come in here — the young players, the new players — [and] understand the New York Giants championship culture ... and try to raise the level of how we do everything so that it is championship level.’’

paul.schwartz@nypost.com

Exclusive Super Bowl merchandise featuring New York Post front pages

Tom Coughlin, Justin Tuck, championship ring, the Giants, championship, Super Bowl victories

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Rangers coach ‘very optimistic’ about 3-for-all

The Rangers have not played their best hockey in Newark, and the worst of it came last night when they lost to the Devils, 4-1, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Yet that hasn’t kept coach John Tortorella from seeing the glass as half full with the series, now a best-of-three, shifting back to the Garden for tomorrow night’s Game 5.

“I’m very optimistic,” Tortorella said. “I still think some guys are close to getting their games. I don’t think all of us are there. But as I’ve said all year long with this club, when you get in these situations — and we’ve been trading [wins and losses] all playoff season — they always find a way to find a good game.

“So I’m truly confident we’ll answer it the proper way,” he continued, “when we play our next one.”

Though the stat sheet had the Devils outshooting the Rangers just 30-29 — and out-attempting them just 52-50 — it was clear who dominated the play all evening, something that Tortorella wasn’t exactly willing to deny.

“I think the most important thing is we just have to have the puck more,” Tortorella said. “We had opportunities. We had the yips with it. We just gave it back to them, and they just progressed with their forecheck.”

The players echoed their coach’s sentiment, though in a little different manner.

“I’m pretty sure our composure has been pretty good all year long,” Derek Stepan said. “We just have to move past it as fast as we can and get ready for Game 5.”

In each of the Rangers’ three playoff series, they have won Game 1 only to lose Game 2. They have only won consecutive games within a series once, when they took Games 6 and 7 against the Senators in the first round.

After an emotional 3-0 win in Game 3 on Saturday, they followed up with a dud that kept them from taking a stranglehold on the bitter Battle of the Hudson.

“Of course we’re real, real disappointed now, not being able to come back with a big one here,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 26 saves. “We just have to forget about it.”

For a team that finished atop the Eastern Conference in the regular season with 109 points, the Rangers’ confidence in a comeback is reasonably well-founded.

“All I’m concerned about is the next game,” Tortorella said. “We need to answer the proper way. That’s the only thing I’m concerned about right now — how we’re going to answer. And we’ve done it all playoffs.”

bcyrgalis@nypost.com

John Tortorella, Tortorella, Tortorella, Eastern Conference, the Devils, Rangers, Derek Stepan, Henrik Lundqvist, Eastern Conference

Nypost.com

The Wheel Deal

If the subways seemed less crowded last Friday, it may have been because it was National Bike to Work Day, which had thousands of New Yorkers saddling up for their commute.

The pro-biking group Transportation Alternatives marked the event by handing out iced coffee and fruit on the Brooklyn Bridge and in a half-dozen other city locations.

The group also geared up for the event last Wednesday by staging a commuter showdown that put a biker, a motorist and a subway rider head to head in a race from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to SoHo.

The pedaler prevailed, making the trip in a mere 15 minutes — beating the subway rider by 11 minutes. The driver fared the worst, with a laggardly travel time of 41 minutes (and $37 spent on gas and parking).

Biking commuters have spiked in New York City in recent years — more than doubling since 2005, according to the city Department of Transportation.

Misery & Co.

If you’re not in love with your current job, you’ve got plenty of company, according to a new survey by Right Management. When the firm asked workers to rate whether they were “satisfied,” “somewhat satisfied,” “somewhat unsatisfied” or just flat out “unsatisfied,” the latter won by a landslide – 44 percent gave that answer, while 21 percent more said they were “somewhat unsatisfied.” Only 19 percent deemed themselves content.

Hire aspirations

We’ll follow that grim statistic with some better news: the seasonal job market is expected to be reasonably healthy this summer, according to the hourly employment network Snagajob.

In Snagajob’s annual survey of hourly hiring managers, employers said they expected to hire at a level similar to last year’s — which showed a marked improvement from the previous few years.

As for what they’re looking for in a worker, flexibility was number one, with 32 percent of hiring managers saying they needed people willing to adapt to their required schedules. Second was a positive attitude, with previous experience coming in third.

Transportation Alternatives, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, National Bike, the Brooklyn Bridge

Nypost.com

Yankees unable to Nova-come deficit

Ivan Nova has lost his magic touch, and the Yankees still are searching to find theirs.

After the young right-hander was knocked around for five runs in six innings, the Yankees’ ninth-inning rally fell a run short in a 6-5 loss to the Reds yesterday in The Bronx.

“We just didn’t get that last hit we needed,” manager Joe Girardi said. “It was good to be able to come back, but it’s frustrating to get so close.”

In years past, this was the kind of game the Yankees seemed destined to win. They came up with a pair of runs in the ninth, knocking Reds closer Sean Marshall out of the game after Jayson Nix’s RBI single brought them within a run with one out.

Christopher Pasatieri

SIN CINCY: Ivan Nova has nowhere to hide during a six-inning, five-run outing (with 12 strikeouts) in the Yankees’ 6-5 loss to the Reds yesterday at the Stadium.

Derek Jeter followed by grounding into a fielder’s choice to third, barely beating the relay from second to avoid the double play and extend the game. But Curtis Granderson mustered just a slow grounder to first, and the Yankees lost for the fourth time in their last five games.

The end wasn’t the only disappointment for the Yankees, who saw Nova finish with a career-high 12 strikeouts. That impressive number was overshadowed by his slider that Joey Votto hit out for a three-run shot in the fifth inning after the Yankees had tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth.

“I don’t care about the strikeouts,” Nova said. “I don’t like the way I’m pitching right now. I’m making a lot of mistakes.”

None was more damaging than the Votto homer, the sixth Nova has given up in his past four games.

“I’m just falling behind hitters, and then I’ve got to go to the middle [of the plate],” Nova said. “When you make a mistake, they hit it hard.”

Though Nova suffered a sprained right ankle in his last start in Baltimore, he said he was not bothered by the injury — and the dozen strikeouts back that up.

“It was really just the one home run to Votto that hurt us,” catcher Russell Martin said.

But that was the kind of fatal blow that either didn’t happen to Nova last season, when he finished 16-4, or if it did, it was something the Yankees would overcome.

Martin remains confident Nova still will get results.

“There’s not much difference between last year and this year,” Martin said of Nova (4-2). “Maybe his fastball is up a little bit more.”

Nova’s troubles are symbolic of what has been ailing the rest of the team this season.

Whether it was ugly starting pitching early in the season or the recent failure to hit with runners in scoring position, the Yankees have been missing something throughout the year. That has them just two games over .500 nearly a quarter through the season.

The ninth inning provided some glimmer the old explosive Bombers were returning.

With the Yankees down 6-3, Raul Ibanez started the inning with his second double of the game and scored on Nick Swisher’s single to center. After Martin struck out looking, Andruw Jones delivered a single that sent Swisher to third.

With regular first baseman Mark Teixeira was unavailable because of illness, Nix had to hit and delivered his third hit of the day, knocking in Swisher.

But that proved to be the final hit of the day. Jose Arredondo came on to retire Jeter and Granderson, who was ahead in the count 3-0 before grounding out.

“Maybe what we were able to do in the ninth will turn things around,” Girardi said.

It can’t come soon enough.

dan.martin@nypost.com

Ivan Nova, the Yankees, Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson ebook download, Joey Votto, Joe Girardi, Nick Swisher, Jayson Nix

Nypost.com

Business briefs

Rundown

Former Red Sox hurler Curt Schilling must seek private financing to keep his video game company 38 Studios afloat. The studio earlier this month failed to make a $1.125 million payment to Rhode Island on a $75 million loan. The payment was ultimately made, but RI Gov. Lincoln Chafee implemented changes that prevent 38 Studios from receiving any additional financial help from the state.

Kayak ready

Travel search company Kayak.com, which has been putting off its plans to go public for more than a year and a half, is now getting ready to pull the trigger.

Janney

Midsize broker Janney Montgomery Scott expects to increase its total advisers by 5 percent to 10 percent annually.

Empire blues

New York’s jobless rate rose to 8.5 percent, marking the third month in a row in which it was the sole state with an unemployment rate higher than the previous year, the Labor Dept. said.

Cheaper java

Kraft Foods lowered prices on many of its US coffees, including Maxwell House.

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click For Restrictions

Lincoln Chafee, Curt Schilling, 38 Studios, Red Sox, Janney Montgomery Scott, Rhode Island

Nypost.com

Facebook frenzy zaps Apple as tech darling

John Crudele

Something odd happened a few weeks ago.

The love affair that small investors had with Apple Inc. finally started to cool.

This, of course, was long overdue especially since Wall Street professionals had been having a torrid dalliance with the tech giant for years and had run up Apple’s stock price to orgasmic levels.

Always the last to know, small investors needed another stock to obsess about. And, says one Wall Street executive, they picked Facebook.

It didn’t matter, this executive said, that shares of Facebook weren’t going to be available to the public until tomorrow at the earliest. Or that small investors would have to hand over considerably more to get a piece of the social networking company than the anticipated $34-to-$38 initial public offering price that the well-connected will pay.

“We were getting a lot of calls about Facebook,” said the executive mentioned above, even as the number of trades on Apple’s stock handled by his firm was declining from about 30,000 a day to one-third that amount.

What does this prove? It proves that small investors, like the love-struck fools all of us once were, are thinking these days with something other than their brains.

Facebook’s IPO is expected tomorrow. But it is possible that the offering could be delayed, especially since General Motors announced earlier this week that it was pulling its considerable amount of advertising from the site.

Kids who like to chat with their friends and keep them up on their latest dating adventures apparently don’t buy Chevrolets. (Really, who would have ever guessed that?)

There hasn’t been a domino effect yet among other advertisers, but that certainly has to be on the minds of Wall Street underwriters — who stand to get huge fees from this IPO — and Facebook officials who could cash out $16 billion worth of their stock. (They won’t be buying Chevys either.)

Only a small part of Facebook will be sold to the public. At its IPO price range, Facebook would be valued in total at around $100 billion. One. Hundred. Billion. Dollars.

And that price for a company that didn’t cure cancer or find an alternate to carbon-based fuel or make a nifty new computer or even figure out how to keep nachos from getting soggy when adorned by toppings.

“To put Facebook’s valuation in perspective, if Apple — which manufactures tangible products — was valued at a multiple comparable to Facebook, Apple’s market value today would be over $3 trillion,” says Brian Hamilton, the chief executive of Sageworks, a leading expert in privately-held companies.

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Iona Prep moving up, All Hallows down in CHSAA hoops realignment

CHSAA boys basketball will have a slightly new look – and a new schedule – during the 2012-13 season, league chairman Paul Gilvary confirmed with The Post on Monday night.

Headlining the changes will be a move up to Class AA for Iona Prep as All Hallows moves down to Class A. Moore Catholic will also move up to ‘AA’ on Staten Island, switching spots with Monsignor Farrell, which will now be ‘A.’ Like last year, the alignment was put together by a ranking system voted on by league coaches.

“The way that we want to look at it is, nothing is ever set in stone,” Gilvary said. “This year is this year. What we felt was that the changes made worked out wonderfully last year. All three divisions were thrilled with it. I think it benefited the ‘AA’, the ‘A’ and the ‘B.’”

Denis Gostev

Iona Prep will be up in CHSAA Class AA next year after winning the 'A' city and state titles this past season.

Nazareth goes from Class B to ‘A,’ along with Salesian. The CHSAA ‘B’ league will now just have five teams.

Iona Prep won the CHSAA Class A city and state titles this past season and Nazareth did the same in the ‘B.’ Moore Catholic went to the ‘A’ city semifinals and Salesian went to the ‘B’ semis after winning the title in 2010-11.

Another big change came in the ‘AA’ schedule.

This past season, Brooklyn/Queens teams only played Archdiocesan teams in league play with a similar ranking based on the coaches’ vote. For instance, Christ the King was ranked No. 1 in Brooklyn/Queens in the preseason and only played St. Raymond and Cardinal Hayes of the Archdiocesan, the top two ranked teams.

That will no longer be the case next year. Each team will play its diocesan rivals twice and play teams from the other diocese once. Only the Archdiocese will play the Staten Island teams, though, and just once, giving them 18 league games. Brooklyn/Queens will play 16 league games.

“That was just to get it off the ground,” Gilvary said of the format this past season. “The coaches overwhelmingly want to play everyone.”

Here’s how the alignment will look:

CLASS AA

Brooklyn/Queens

Archbishop Molloy

Bishop Loughlin

Christ the King

Holy Cross

St. Francis Prep

Xaverian

New York Archdiocese

Archbishop Stepinac

Cardinal Hayes

Fordham Prep

Iona Prep

Mount St. Michael

St. Raymond

Staten Island

Moore Catholic

St. Peter’s

CLASS A

Brooklyn/Queens

Bishop Ford

Monsignor McClancy

Nazareth

St. Edmund Prep

St. John’s Prep

New York Archdiocese

All Hallows

Cardinal Spellman

LaSalle

Regis

Salesian

Xavier

Staten Island

Monsignor Farrell

St. Joseph by the Sea

CLASS B

Blessed Sacrament

Cathedral Prep

Monsignor Scanlan

Sacred Heart

St. Agnes

mraimondi@nypost.com

Class A. Moore Catholic, Paul Gilvary, Iona Prep, CHSAA, Class AA, Monsignor Farrell, Moore Catholic, Staten Island, CHSAA Class AA, Francis PrepXaverianNew York ArchdioceseArchbishop online, Gilvary, Cardinal Hayes

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NYC baseball rankings

The playoffs don't begin until the weekend, but this is a big week nonetheless. Division titles will be determined in the PSAL and CHSAA while the NYSAISAA tournament gets underway on Saturday.

With so many top teams facing one another, we may finally get some real movement in our top 10. The only big change is Poly Prep's fall, from third to seventh, after an 8-1 loss to sixth-ranked Tottenville. Red-hot St. Raymond does break in at No. 9.

For the entire breakdown, read below:

1. Grand Street Campus (13-1) (Last week: 1)

Grand Street got ready for its big week on Friday, by hammering Brooklyn A West leader Fort Hamilton and No. 1 starter Jonathan Maldonado. It only gets tougher from here, as the Wolves face pitching-rich James Madison twice to decide the Brooklyn A East crown, and meet Poly Prep and Andrew Zapata Tuesday in Bay Ridge. Good thing for coach Melvin Martinez he may have the best lineup in all of New York City.

Denis Gostev

Tottenville and Iona College-bound outfielder Joe Sessa have moved up to sixth in The Post's NYC basebal rankings.

Next: @ No. 6 James Madison (May 14, 4 p.m.)

2. St. Joseph by the Sea (10-1) (2)

Chris Falcone was strong against Fordham Prep on Saturday in a bounce-back win after Farrell ended Sea’s unbeaten season Friday night. Brian Russell was strong through eight in that game, but the Lions got the best of the Vikings in nine innings.

Next: No. 8 Moore Catholic (May 14, 4 p.m.)

3. Xaverian (14-1) (3)

John Pena pitched great Friday, but Dylan Lawrence was just a little better as St. Francis Prep ended Xaverian’s undefeated season. The Clippers came back Saturday and clocked McClancy behind a no-hitter by Brian Rosa and Anthony Amatuzzi.

Next: @ Monsignor McClancy (May 14, 4 p.m.)

4. George Washington (14-1) (2)

We have bad news for the PSAL: GW has hit its stride. The Trojans unloaded on Norman Thomas and Franklin Pierce-bound ace Jeffrey Ledesma in Friday’s 10-3 win. Since they dropped their first league contest in three years, to Manhattan Center, the defending PSAL Class A city champion has won seven straight league contests by a scary 91-12.

Next: No. 9 Norman Thomas (May 17, 4 p.m.)

5. Cardozo (14-0) (3)

Good thing Ron Gorecki created such a tough non-league schedule – because Cardozo hasn’t had many tests in Queens A East. In fact, it was only really challenged by Queens A West leader John Adams in crossover action. The Judges are well on their way to another perfect league season, yet unlike last year, they should make it to June.

Next: @ Bayside (May 15, 4 p.m.)

6. Tottenville (13-3) (4)

Mike Sullivan has been a one-man wrecking crew this spring, as dominant on the mound as he is at the plate. The uncommitted senior is 5-0 with 49 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched and has yet to give up an earned run while also hitting .500 with three home runs and 16 RBIs.

Next: Susan Wagner (May 14, 4 p.m.)

7. Poly Prep (16-4) (3)

It was all about the Zapatas this week. Andrew pitched Poly Prep to a 11-1 rout of rival Fieldston on Thursday and younger brother Matt went the distance in a 4-2 win over Trinity the next day to clinch the Blue Devils’ sixth straight Ivy Prep League crown. Poly Prep needed a third Zapata on Saturday, though, as it fell to Tottenville, 8-1, in non-league play.

Next: Dalton (May 15, 4:30 p.m. @ Randall’s Island)

8. Moore Catholic (10-1) (8)

Shea Spitzbarth, John Baggs, Matt Diorio and company have their shot this week to take the Staten Island crown with games against St. Joseph by the Sea – twice – and Monsignor Farrell. Winning the division was the Mavs’ goal in the preseason.

Next: @ No. 2 St. Joseph by the Sea (May 14, 4 p.m.)

9. St. Raymond (11-3) (NR)

The Ravens are one of the surprises of the city and it’s mostly because of their pitching. Brian Paulino was brilliant against Cardinal Spellman on Tuesday and Anthony Colon, Adam De La Cruz and Julian Monserrate have been as good.

Next: @ Cardinal Hayes (May 15, 4 p.m.)

10. Fordham Prep (11-4) (10)

The Rams can hit with anyone in the city, led by Virginia Tech-bound Andrew Velazquez, Furman-bound Steven Fondu and Holy Cross-bound Jack Sexton. The pitching will have to prove itself when the playoffs begin next week.

Next: @ Salesian (May 14, 4 p.m.)

New: St. Raymond (11-3)

Dropped out: James Monroe (12-2)

On the bubble: All Hallows (8-6) and St. Francis Prep (9-4), John Adams (11-1), James Madison (12-1), Manhattan Center (10-3) and Norman Thomas (11-2)

zbraziller@nypost.com

mraimondi@nypost.com

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Bundesbank Stays Tough on Inflation

FRANKFURT—Germany is facing a unique dilemma as many euro-zone counterparts debate how much fiscal belt-tightening their citizens can withstand to restore sound public finances: how much inflation it can stomach to help its southern neighbors.

On Friday, Germany's central bank rejected speculation that it is softening its anti-inflation rigor, as its leader tried to keep a largely economic debate about restoring growth in Southern Europe from damaging the Bundesbank's cherished reputation in Europe's largest economy.

"The citizens can rely on the vigilance of the Bundesbank," its president, Jens Weidmann, told the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. He called the debate over whether the bank would let inflation gain a foothold as part of a broader economic rebalancing in Europe "absurd."

His comments came days after the Bundesbank's chief economist, in testimony to the German Parliament, said German inflation could be higher than the euro-zone average for a time if the country takes steps to boost its service sector and raise investment while Greece and others slash wages and government spending.

The testimony quickly touched off a flurry of anxious speculation, particularly in German media reports, that the country's chief inflation hawk was relaxing its guard and risking German economic health in favor of its neighbors.

"Inflation Alarm!" screamed a front-page headline in the influential daily tabloid Bild-Zeitung on Friday. "How quickly will our money be eaten away?" The daily Financial Times Deutschland weighed in with a piece titled, "Bundesbank tolerates higher inflation." 

The central bank's remarks to Parliament, though, didn't reflect a sea change in the Bundesbank's anti-inflation philosophy that goes back more than half a century. Rather, it acknowledged a process slowly under way in the euro bloc, called "rebalancing." Economists for many months have said fragile economies such as Greece and Spain must become more efficient through wage cuts and productivity gains. The result in these countries will likely be very low inflation rates. For instance, Greek consumer prices are expected to fall 0.5% this year, the European Commission said.

Germany went through a similar belt-tightening process over the past decade, and given its recent economic strength, may see inflation rates above those of its southern neighbors, analysts say. The European Commission expects German inflation of 2.3% this year.

"There are two sides to the rebalancing story: the peripherals go through deflation, and the Germans give some relief by higher inflation," said Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Bank, adding that the Bundesbank economist's testimony was "preparing the ground" for this process.

For now, German inflation is at its slowest pace in more than a year. Consumer prices rose just 2.2% in April from the previous year, Germany's statistics office said on Friday, below the euro zone's 2.6% average.

Still, angst over climbing prices has risen recently. Europe's low interest rates and the European Central Bank's moves to provide cheap loans to banks have triggered signs of a property-price boom in some parts of the country. And after a decade of little growth, German wages are also set to climb.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble last week gave vocal support to higher wages for German workers, and signaled that German inflation in the 2% to 3% range is "acceptable."

Unions already have won wage increases of more than 6% in the public and telecommunications sectors in recent months. Spurred by corporate Germany's robust profit in recent years, the country's largest industrial union, IG Metall, is also pushing for a 6.5%  wage increase for the 3.6 million workers it represents in negotiations this month.

On Friday, some 94,000 IG Metall members temporarily stopped or slowed production at German car makers BMW and Audi and others, such as engineering and electronics companies Siemens AG and Bosch GmbH.

Indeed, that type of rate wouldn't cause much of a stir in other major economies. U.S. inflation, for instance, was 2.7% through March. It is 3.5% in the U.K. Central banks in those countries have official interest rates near zero and have taken more aggressive steps than the ECB to spur growth by purchasing large quantities of government bonds.

Germany, though, remains scarred by the economic disarray of the 1920s, when the Bundesbank's predecessor, the Reichsbank, triggered hyperinflation by buying massive quantities of German government bonds, wiping out the savings of millions of Germans. That collective memory has shaped Germany's postwar hawkishness on inflation. To reinforce the history lesson, the Bild-Zeitung ran an image of a one-trillion reichsmark note from 1923 in its Friday edition.

But the inflation anxiety has persisted because of fears that even a modest uptick in prices would hurt the competitiveness of Germany's all-important exports and cut into the value of its savings, among the highest levels in Europe.

"If you are Volkswagen or the little [German] manufacturing company and are competing against the Chinese, will you really go for substantially higher wages? No," said Mr. Brzeski.

SmartMoney Glossary:

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Sweed hopes for chance to bust out

To look at Limas Sweed — all 6-foot-4, 220 pounds of him — is to understand why the Steelers made the strapping wide receiver the 53rd overall pick four years ago.

To look at his meager NFL statistics and numerous trips to the trainer’s room is to understand why Sweed finds himself reduced to a tryout player in the Giants’ rookie mini-camp this weekend.

“I’m just looking for a chance,” the University of Texas product said after the first day of camp at the Meadowlands. “I know what I’m capable of doing in this league, but injuries have really held me back. But if I can stay healthy and get that opportunity, watch out.”

Although the Super Bowl champions have Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz and took wideout Rueben Randle from LSU in the second round last month, Sweed still sees that opportunity with the Giants because of Mario Manningham’s free-agent exit and the top-heavy look of their receiving corps.

Sweed, who has been out of football since Pittsburgh released him last September after another stint on the injury list, also won’t have to endure his name being little more than a punch line like it quickly became with the Steelers.

Pittsburgh doesn’t miss often in the draft, but they whiffed massively with Sweed. In the rare moments when he could stay healthy, he appeared in just five games over four seasons (including one playoff trip) and caught a mere seven passes for 69 yards and no touchdowns.

As well as the frequent medical maladies, Sweed is perhaps best known in Pittsburgh for finally working his way into the lineup then promptly dropping a potential TD pass against the Bengals in Week 3 in 2009 — a miscue that resulted in a 23-20 loss.

Sweed is hoping for a fresh start here, although Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride didn’t exactly seem optimistic about his chances after the first practice.

“He looks like he’s a little bit rusty,” Gilbride said. “He’s got a ways to go in terms of sharpening some of the things he was doing in the expression of his routes, but he’s a big guy that looks like he can catch it.”

Whether the Giants give Sweed a second chance to prove he can do that remains to be seen.

bhubbuch@nypost.com

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Avon deal spiel

Long-troubled Avon Products jumped 9.3 percent to $21.60 after the company that controls Coty Inc. said it plans to sell $2 billion of Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc shares to fund deals, including Coty’s proposed bid for Avon.

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St. John's reveals recruiting class

The engine and transmission are in place, although St. John’s lost an extra gear when Moe Harkless made himself eligible for the NBA Draft.

St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, adding some bells and whistles that could help the team make noise in March, announced his 2012 recruiting class Tuesday, highlighted by the additions of point guard Jamal Branch, a Top 100 recruit who transferred from Texas A&M, and 6-foot-8 power forward JaKarr Sampson, who committed to the Red Storm last year but was ineligible.

Sampson, at 6-foot-8 and 209 pounds, played at St. Vincent-St. Mary (LeBron James’ high school) and helped Brewster Academy post a 33-1 record.

Also in the fold are Orlando Sanchez, a 6-foot-9 shot-blocker from Monroe (N.Y.) Junior College, who will allow Lavin to use God’sgift Achiuwa at his more natural power forward spot; Marco Bourgault, a 6-foot-6 swingman from France by way of Monroe who hit 42 percent of his 3s (the Red Storm were one of the nation’s worst shooting teams from behind the arc); 6-foot-4 guard Felix Balamou of Guinea, by way of Our Savior New American on Long Island; and Max Hooper, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Harvard, who must sit out a season due to NCAA rules.

The Red Storm have two scholarships left.

lenn.robbins@nypost.com

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CHSAA softball roundup: Rondon pitches, hits Spellman to upset of rival Preston

Tiffany Rondon never experienced what a win over rival Preston felt like. The Cardinal Spellman ace hadn’t beaten the Panthers and she vowed to do it before she graduated.

“As a freshman pitching on varsity I always wanted to win it for my seniors,” she said. “My senior year came and I finally did it.”

Rondon contributed in a big way in the circle and at the plate in a 4-1 win over host Preston in CHSAA Bronx/Westchester softball Tuesday. She allowed just three hits, struck out two and walked four and went 2-for-3 with two runs batted in, including an RBI triple that drove in a run during a three-run first inning.

“That was amazing,” Rondon said. “It felt so good.”

First-year Pilots coach Brendan McCarrick called it the best game he has seen Rondon pitch. He knew jumping ahead of Preston, which easily won the first two meetings, was important to the win. McCarrick also praised Rondon’s poise.

Angie Arroyo went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a stolen base. She has bolstered the infield defense since moving from catcher to first since returning from injury. Spellman added a run in the fifth to make it 4-1.

“This whole entire season we have been scoring late.” McCarrick said. “Scoring right off the bat felt very strange especially against Preston.”

Bianca Richards went 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and Christine Quinones was 1-for-4 with and RBI and a run scored. The win puts the Pilots in position to finish second in the division and Preston (10-1), ranked No. 5 in the city by The Post, still needs a win to clinch the division. It also gives Spellman (7-3) some major confidence heading into the postseason.

“It’s going to boost it big time,” McCarrick said. “They know Preston competes with the Staten Island teams. The fact that we beat Preston makes them believe we can go over there in the playoffs against these Staten Island teams.”

CHSAA STATEN ISLAND

St. John Villa 15, Notre Dame 7: The Bears scored three times in the opening inning thanks to a three-run homer from Serena Zinslie and a solo shot from Nicole Burt, who was 4-for-4. Sevdiana Liharevic had a two run single and Dorothy O’Neil drove in a run for Villa (4-5). Notre Dame is 3-9.

St. Joseph by the Sea 8, St. Joseph Hill 0: Alannah Dawson had two doubles and two RBIs and Christina Tufano collected two singles and two RBI’s for Sea (10-0). Lianna Jordan tossed a one-hitter. Hill is 1-9.

CHSAA BROOKLYN/QUEENS

St. Francis Prep 9, Christ the King 0: Nicole Lomangino scattered five hits, struck out six and walked just one for St. Francis Prep (7-4). Tara O’Rourke had two hits, including a triple and drove in a run. Kelly Lucil and Danielle Cervasio both provided RBI doubles. Christ the King is 0-12.

jstaszewski@nypost.com

Tiffany Rondon, The Cardinal Spellman, Preston online, Pilots coach Brendan McCarrick, McCarrick, Francis Prep, Spellman, Rondon

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Eurozone nations in talks to delay bailout aid to Greece

BRUSSELS -- eurozone officials are considering delaying a €5.2-billion ($6.7-billion) payment to Greece as the political backlash grows in Athens against a bailout program negotiated with international creditors, officials familiar with the discussion said Wednesday.

The European Commission said earlier this week that Greece is due to receive the funds Thursday, part of a previously approved disbursement from the €130 billion bailout sealed in March with the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. But Germany, Finland and others are wary of making the payment because of comments from Greek politicians following Sunday's elections calling for the bailout to be renegotiated.

Senior eurozone finance officials will discuss the issue in conference calls over the next day, an official said.

Greece needs the funds mainly to repay €3.3 billion in Greek bonds maturing May 18 that are held by the European Central Bank and national eurozone central banks.

Some governments want to delay the payment, but the eurozone's previous approval of the tranche may leave them little wiggle room.

"The problem is, how much freedom do you have, legally speaking?" the official said.

The Greek elections saw the main parties of the previous governing coalition, the Socialist Pasok party and conservative New Democracy, lose their parliamentary majority. Those two parties in February pushed a bruising austerity program -- the price for securing more international aid -- through parliament, defying mass public protests.

To read more, go to The Wall Street Journal

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NYPost.com Poll: Who is the top boys volleyball player in New York City?

The PSAL boys volleyball playoffs begin this week and the CHSAA wraps up its regular season.

By Saturday night, there will just be a handful of the top teams in the city left. Which begs the question: who has been this year’s top player? There are plenty of options to choose, from Michal Kasza of Academy of American Studies to Cardozo’s Tyler Gaugler to Tom McLaughlin of Regis.

So who is it? We’ll let you decide. Keep those votes coming below until 11:59 p.m. Monday night.

Who is the top boys volleyball player in the city?online surveys

Michal Kasza of Academy of American Studies, Tyler Gaugler, volleyball player, Tom McLaughlin, PSAL, CHSAA, volleyball playoffs

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Hollywood Results

FIRST-1 1/16m; $37,000; alw; 3up

1

Mk Us Proud (Tlm)

7.00

2.80

2.40

4

Confucius Junor (Gomez)

2.60

2.20

6

Panther's Claw (Valdivia,Jr.)

3.40

* $1 Exacta (1-4) $7.70 * Quinella (1-4) $7.20 * $1 Super (1-4-6-2) $96.60 * $1 Trifecta (1-4-6) $24.70

Exacta picked by Vic C.

SECOND-4 1/2 fur; $52,000; mdn; 2YO

7

Just Cll M Al (Bjrn)

22.00

9.40

5.00

2

Confederte Recon (Flors)

4.80

3.40

3

R S Watson (Valdivia,Jr.)

3.80

Scr: Karen's Good Boy.. T., No Rachmones, Midway Surf, Dancin Upside Down

* Daily Double (1-7) $86.40 * $1 Exacta (7-2) $50.90 * Quinella (2-7) $48.60 * $1 Superfecta (7-2-3-8) $846.70 * $1 Trifecta (7-2-3) $357.20

THIRD-1 1/16m; $33,000; clm($25,000); 3up

1

Sky Cape (Flores)

9.40

4.60

3.20

6

Ultmte Decson (Delgdllo)

4.40

3.40

4

E Z Led (Bejarano)

3.60

* $1 Pick 3 (1-7-1) 3 Correct $227.20 * Daily Double (7-1) $105.40 * $1 Exacta (1-6) $22.70 * Quinella (1-6) $18.40 * $1 Superfecta (1-6-4-3) $323.00 * $1 Trifecta (1-6-4) $93.90

Winner picked by Vic C.

FOURTH-7 fur; $37,000; alw; 3up(f)

4

Rcsprtntsgl (Krggr)

8.60

4.20

2.60

2

My Diane (Rosario)

3.00

2.40

6

Always a Chance (Talamo)

2.40

* $1 Pick 3 (7-1-4) 3 Correct $266.80 * Daily Double (1-4) $42.40 * $1 Exacta (4-2) $12.90 * Quinella (2-4) $12.60 * $1 Superfecta (4-2-6-7) $175.60 * $1 Trifecta (4-2-6) $35.90

FIFTH-6 fur; $30,000; clm($20,000); 3up

5

Hunch (Quinonez)

7.00

4.20

3.00

2

Position A (Flores)

4.40

3.00

6

Master Chef (Krigger)

3.80

Scr: Hidden Blessing, Spartan Jet.

* $0.5 Pick 5 (1-7-1-4-5) 5 Correct $2,618.15 * $0.5 Pick 4 (7-1-4-5) 4 Correct $600.55 * $1 Pick 3 (1-4-5) 3 Correct $76.60 * $1 Superfecta (5-2-6-3) $96.10 * $1 Trifecta (5-2-6) $47.90 * Daily Double (4-5) $36.80 * $1 Exacta (5-2) $12.00 * Quinella (2-5) $14.40
SIXTH-6f; $54,000; alw; 3up

5

Tru Wy f Grc (Tlm)

44.00

16.60

5.80

3

Melissa Rose (Rosario)

4.40

2.80

9

Endless Fancy (Garcia)

2.10

* $1 Pick 3 (4-5-5) 3 Correct $368.10 * $1 Exacta (5-3) $113.30 * Quinella (3-5) $82.60 * $1 Superfecta (5-3-4-9) $859.60 * $1 Superfecta (5-3-9-4) $874.60 * $1 Trifecta (5-3-4) $236.60 * $1 Trifecta (5-3-9) $217.20 * Daily Double (5-5) $117.60

SEVENTH-mile; $54,000; alw; 3YO

6

Mdnght Crnr (Bjrn)

3.40

2.80

2.10

1

Old Tme Hockey (Flores)

7.00

4.00

7

Desormais (Gomez)

4.20

Scr: War Politics, Risky Reward.

* $1 Pick 3 (5-5-6) 3 Correct $151.30 * Daily Double (5-6) $66.40 * $1 Exacta (6-1) $10.40 * Quinella (1-6) $15.00 * $1 Superfecta (6-1-7-3) $114.20 * $1 Trifecta (6-1-7) $58.90

EIGHTH-5f; $70,000; 3up

Time To Leave Stakes

1

Tddy's Prms (Espnz)

7.80

3.60

3.00

6

Rumor (Gomez)

3.60

3.00

2

Pink Lollipops (Talamo)

3.40

Scr: Excellent News.

* $1 Pick 3 (5-6-1) 3 Correct $167.20 * Daily Double (6-1) $14.20 * $1 Exacta (1-6) $11.50 * Quinella (1-6) $10.80 * $1 Superfecta (1-6-2-7) $122.00 * $1 Trifecta (1-6-2) $39.60

NINTH-mile; $52,000; mdn; 3up

10

Mss Spd Dtng (Gmz)

10.00

4.80

3.80

3

Zanbo (Flores)

4.40

3.40

6

Vonn Nez (Flores)

6.40

Scr: Freckles Galore, Silic's Valley * Pick 6 (4-5-5-4/5/6-1-10) 6 Correct $68,286.80, 5 Correct $323.40 * $0.5 Pick 4 (5-4/5/6-1-10) 4 Correct $683.15 * $1 Pick 3 (6-1-10) 3 Correct $46.80 * $1 Place Pick All (9-OF-9) 9 Correct $769.30 * $1 Trifecta (10-3-6) $218.70 * Daily Double (1-10) $45.00 * $1 Exacta (10-3) $30.20 * Quinella (3-10) $33.00 * $1 Super (10-3-6-8) $1,135.20

Attendance: 3,781; Handle: $1,043,614

Total Handle: $9,179,791

Trifecta, Valdivia,Jr., Daily Double

Nypost.com

Meadowlands Results

FIRST-mile; pace; $9,500; cond.

4

LongLveRock(TTtrck)

6.00

3.00

2.40

10

Rockweiller (Y Gingras)

3.40

3.20

3

Hang Ten (J Campbell)

6.60

* Ext. (4-10) $23.60 * Trifecta (4-10-3) $419.80

Exacta picked by Smith

SECOND-mile; pace; $10,625; cl.

5

MostHppyKeen(BSrs)

6.20

3.20

2.80

3

Intheblinkofaneye (AMiller)

3.20

2.60

6

Cullens Blue Jean (J Campbell)

8.40

* Exacta (5-3) $29.00 * Trifecta (5-3-6) $410.80 * Daily double (4-5) $28.20Scr: Three Ten.
Exacta picked by Smith

THIRD-mile; pace; $10,625; cond.

6

Keep Going (B Sears)

4.20

2.20

2.20

3

Artist's View (J Campbell)

2.80

2.40

9

Noble Falcon (T Tetrick)

3.40

* Exacta (6-3) $10.20 * Trifecta (6-3-9) $41.20 * 10 Cent superfecta (6-3-9-2) $9.50

FOURTH-mile; pace; $14,000; cond.

2

Mortal Zin (YGingras)

6.80

4.00

3.40

3

Bullet Bob (A Miller)

3.80

2.80

1

Bettors Glass (T Tetrick)

3.00

* Exacta (2-3) $27.00 * Trifecta (2-3-1) $63.20 * Pick 3 (5-6-2) $42.20

FIFTH-mile; pace; $49,584; Simpson

5

BoltThDur(MMcDnld)

3.80

2.80

2.20

3

Mel Mara (Y Gingras)

3.60

2.60

1

Social Network (B Sears)

2.10

* Exacta (5-3) $9.20 * Trifecta (5-3-1) $12.80 * 10 Cent superfecta (5-3-1-7) $4.83 * 50 Cent pick 5 (4-5-6-2-5 4 of 5) $3.10 * 50 Cent pick 5 (4-5-6-2-5 5 of 5) $114.20

SIXTH-mile; pace; $50,000; Gratitude

1

Rockincam (D Miller)

7.00

3.00

2.40

8

Golden Receiver (B Sears)

2.60

2.20

9

Foiled Again (Y Gingras)

2.80

* Exacta (1-8) $24.80 * Trifecta (1-8-9) $76.00Scr: Touch The Rock.

SEVENTH-mile; pace; $20,000; cond.

6

Big BamRay(TTetrick)

8.00

4.20

3.00

9

Oscar Oscar (A Miller)

3.40

2.60

4

Southwestern Dream (JCampbell)

2.20

* Exacta (6-9) $28.00 * Trifecta (6-9-4) $90.60 * 10 Cent superfecta (6-9-4-2) $13.83 * Pick 3 (5-1-6) $60.10Scr: Mega Lightning.

EIGHTH-mile; pace; $15,000;

4

Tkeshgemch(AMllr)

135.40

30.20

9.80

8

Giddy Up Delight (D Miller)

2.80

2.40

7

Keystone Raptor (B Sears)

3.40

* Ext. (4-8) $398.20 * Tri. (4-8-7) $1,910.80Scr: The Admiral.

NINTH-mile pace; $9,375; cond.

7

BushwodZTm(TTtrck)

8.40

5.00

3.20

1

MustBeTheBunny(CCallhn)

7.80

3.60

3

Blue Claw (D Dube)

2.40

* Exacta (7-1) $82.80 * Trifecta (7-1-3) $261.00 * 10 Cent superfecta (7-1-3-4) $35.68 * Pick 4 (1-6-4-7) $7,083.30 * Pick 6 (2-5-1-6-4-7 5 of 6) $133.60 * Carryover $9,493.37Scr: Sky Tantrum.

TENTH-mile; pace; $24,000; cond.

3

A J Corbelli (R Pierce)

4.00

2.80

2.40

5

FreddyDayHanover(AMller)

6.60

4.60

6

Versado (D Miller)

3.20

* Exacta (3-5) $35.60 * Trifecta (3-5-6) $148.80 * 10 Cent superfecta (3-5-6-4) $40.88 * Pick 3 (4-7-3) $1,504.80

Winner picked by Smith

ELEVENTH-mile pace; $9,375; cond.

3

Lvefreordhrd(TTtrck)

3.60

2.60

2.20

9

Joe De Fino (J Campbell)

4.40

3.80

4

Blue Boy (R Pierce)

2.60

* Exacta (3-9) $20.00 * Trifecta (3-9-4) $71.20 * 10 Cent superfecta (3-9-4-6) $27.77 * Late double (3-3) $9.80 * Pick 3 (7-3-3) $40.10

Winner picked by Smith
Attendance: 4632
Total Handle: $2,493,950

Trifecta, J Campbell, J Campbell, Y Gingras, Y Gingras, B Sears, T Tetrick, cond.2Mortal Zin

Nypost.com

All Hallows stays hot, comes back on previously undefeated Fordham

It’s only fitting that All Hallows’ rally cry is “we fight, we fight, we fight.”

The Gaels did just that on Saturday, clawing back from a five-run deficit en route to an impressive 6-5, come-from-behind victory over Fordham Prep in CHSAA Class AA baseball at Bronxchester Little League in The Bronx. It was the fourth straight victory for All Hallows and the first loss that Fordham suffered this season.

“Until the end of the seventh inning, nothing is over,” said centerfielder Phoenix Deschamps. “Our team motto is that we fight. In baseball anything can happen.”

After the Gaels batted around in a five-run fourth inning to tie the game and Deschamps crushed a solo home run to right field off Fordham Prep ace Sean McNamara in the fifth to give All Hallows a 6-5 edge.

“I was thinking he’d give me a good pitch to hit,” Deschamps said. “He gave me a perfect pitch and I was able to turn and get a good rip. We’re the type of team that always has energy.”

The solo shot proved to be the game-winner and Deschamps finished 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, two runs and two RBIs.

Fordham Prep (8-1) took an early 5-0 edge, but All Hallows (6-3) refused to quit. In the fourth inning, the Gaels sent 10 batters to the plate against McNamara and scored five runs on five hits, four of the hits coming consecutively.

With his team in need of a spark, Jason Reyes dropped down a bunt single to start off the fourth. Lance Montano then knocked Reyes in with a double and starting pitcher Joe Morel followed suit with a base hit that moved Montano to third. Montano then scored on a wild pitch and Deschamps hit a double that plated Morel. Deshamps scored on a single by Jonathan Aponte and Aponte came in with the tying run a few batters later when Justin Soto hit into a fielder’s choice.

“I told my coach the third baseman was playing me back and I was gonna drop down a bunt,” Reyes said. “I think it sparked us because any little thing can get us going.”

McNamara pitched five innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits while striking out four. Pat O’Shea pitched one scoreless inning of relief for the Rams. Meanwhile, the day started off rough for Morel. He ended up with a no decision and gave up five runs in four innings while allowing eight hits and striking out three. Reyes took over and pitched two scoreless innings earning the win before Tulane-bound shortstop/closer Stephen Alemais sealed it in the seventh.

Fordham Prep attacked Morel early as Andrew Velazquez hit a double to lead off the game and scored two batters later on a single by Vinny Capone to give Fordham a 1-0 advantage. In the second inning, Velazquez struck again as he hit his second consecutive double which scored Steven Fondu and Paul Pache. Ryan Mahoney then knocked Velazquez in with a double to give the Rams a 4-0 lead. Fordham Prep tacked on another run in the fourth when Capone scored on an RBI double by Jack Sexton.

Despite the early lead, Fordham Prep couldn’t hang on and instead took its first loss of the season.

“It’s a tough one,” Fordham Prep coach Paul Deane said. “We had a 5-0 lead and couldn’t pack it in. It’s hard to go undefeated. We let one slip away.”

It was a big win for All Hallows as it attempts to keep pace with St. Raymond’s. All Hallows is a confident bunch and proved Saturday that it has a lot of fight.

“This was a big game for us,” All Hallows coach Ed Gutierrez said. “We needed this game and they came through big time.”

Fordham Prep, Fordham, Fordham Prep, All Hallows, All Hallows, Phoenix Deschamps, Gaels, Deschamps, Bronxchester Little League, Jason Reyes, Lance Montano

Nypost.com

Heat cut Knicks lead before halftime

No, you don’t win games in the first half (the Heat didn’t pull away from the Knicks in Game 3 of their first-round playoff game last night until the fourth quarter), but sometimes, you can really lay the groundwork early. Just as the Heat did right before halftime of their 87-70 victory.

The sold out Garden crowd of 19,763 was rocking as if it were Ewing and Oakley and friends on the court. Loud, louder, splintered eardrum noise. With the bench doing a magnificent job, the Knicks led by 11 with under 2:00 remaining in the first half. Yeah, this series is going back to Miami.

Chris Bosh completes a monster dunk over the Knicks’ Baron Davis late in the first half of Game 3 of their playoff series last night. The shot sparked a mini run by Miami that cut the Knicks’ lead to four and sent the Heat to an 87-70 win and a 3-0 series lead." title="BOSH BOMB: The Heat’s Chris Bosh completes a monster dunk over the Knicks’ Baron Davis late in the first half of Game 3 of their playoff series last night. The shot sparked a mini run by Miami that cut the Knicks’ lead to four and sent the Heat to an 87-70 win and a 3-0 series lead." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/05/04/sports/web_photos/04.3s081.kerber.c--300x300.jpg" />

Getty Images

BOSH BOMB: The Heat’s Chris Bosh completes a monster dunk over the Knicks’ Baron Davis late in the first half of Game 3 of their playoff series last night. The shot sparked a mini run by Miami that cut the Knicks’ lead to four and sent the Heat to an 87-70 win and a 3-0 series lead.

But then Dwyane Wade found Chris Bosh for a dunk ...

And from, there, the Knicks undid much of what they had done to that point. Bosh’s score came with 1:22 left in the second quarter, but in the last 39 seconds of the half, Miami shaved five additional points off the Knicks’ lead and the home team crawled into halftime leading by only four.

Eventually, the Heat’s defense rose to Olympian stature and hammered the undermanned Knicks into 31.9 percent shooting and 30 second-half points. So Miami took a 3-0 lead in the series they hope to close out on Sunday.

“Especially in the playoffs, end of quarter situations are so important,” said Shane Battier, who LeBron James called "our player of the game," after his defense turned Carmelo Anthony inside out.

"And it can really give a team momentum and it can be deflating at the same time," Battier continued. "We always talk in a timeout, ‘Let’s bear down and really focus and get a little run.’ ”

Check. Check. Check.

“We did a great job of just chipping back,” said Dwyane Wade, who scored 20 points.

Anthony, who committed a dreadful judgment turnover, was called for a technical with 39 seconds left, James converting. James next scored with 27.7 left. Anthony then pounded the ball forever before passing to the corner — too late as a 24-second violation arose. And with 3.7 seconds left on the clock, Wade drove uncontested and converted at :0.06. Presto! An impressive 11-point Knicks lead became a very catchable four-point advantage at 40-36.

“ That minute and a half, right before the half,” interim coach Mike Woodson said with a sigh after the Knicks lost their NBA-record 13th straight playoff game, “gave them the momentum going into the half.”

Eventually, it gave them the game.

“That was an important period in the game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It started to get away from us. They got it to a double-digit lead and we were able to put together some stops and finish the half without throwing the ball to them.”

fred.kerber@nypost.com

Knicks, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, the Heat, Carmelo Anthony, Knicks’ Baron Davis, playoff game, playoff game, LeBron James, Shane Battier

Nypost.com

Slow starts for Yankees prospects Banuelos and Betances

Tim Bontemps
Follow Tim on Twitter
Blog: Minor Leagues
Blog: College Sports

BEATING THE BUSHES

With the spate of injuries and ineffectiveness currently plaguing the Yankees’ starting rotation, it would be the perfect time for the team’s top pitching prospects — right-hander Dellin Betances and left-hander Manny Banuelos — to prove themselves worthy of a shot at a rotation spot.

Instead, as former Triple-A teammate David Phelps made his first major league start earlier this week, both Betances and Banuelos remain with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as they have begun the year dealing with bouts of injury and ineffectiveness themselves.

Betances, the 6-foot-8 New York native who the Yankees drafted in the eighth round of the 2006 draft, has dealt with control issues throughout his minor league career, mainly because of struggles keeping his delivery under control, because of his massive frame. But this year — his first beginning the season in Triple-A — those control problems have cropped up again, derailing the opening month of his season.

YANKEES BOX SCORE

Across six starts with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Betances has walked 27 batters in 28¹/ innings. Though those numbers are bad enough, they get worse when you take into account the fact he walked one batter in five innings in his first start.

Betances has walked at least four batters in each of his last five starts, including walking six three separate times, and has walked at least as many as he has struck out in each of those five starts, as well. In those five starts, in which he has allowed 22 runs (18 earned) on 24 hits in 23¹/ innings, he has thrown just 49 percent of his pitches for strikes.

In his latest start, Betances allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings Thursday against Rochester, striking out two, walking six and throwing 55 of his 108 pitches for strikes.

While Betances has spent much of his minor league career battling control problems, the biggest thing holding Banuelos back has been an inability to stay off the disabled list. A variety of injuries have kept the left-hander from ever throwing more than the 129²/ innings he finished last season with.

It took just two starts in 2012 for Banuelos to head back to the disabled list again, as he missed three weeks with a back injury after walking six batters in two innings in Buffalo on April 12.

Banuelos finally made his return to the mound on Wednesday, when he threw 3²/ scoreless innings against Rochester, giving up two hits while striking out five and walking none.

tbontemps@nypost.com

Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos, Tim BontempsFollow Tim, David Phelps, Banuelos, Banuelos, Betances, minor league, control problems, ineffectiveness

Nypost.com

The Post Line

NBA Playoffs

Favorite

Line

Underdog

CELTICS

8

Hawks

76ERS

2

Bulls

NUGGETS

4

Lakers

NHL Playoffs

Favorite

Line

Underdog

PREDATORS

$140-160

Coyotes

Home team in CAPS
Nypost.com

Today's Sports on the Air

Baseball

8 p.m.

Yankees at Royals YES, WCBS (880 AM)

8 p.m.

Indians at White Sox

NBA Playoffs Conf. Qtrs.

7 p.m.

Heat at Knicks, Game 3 MSG, TNT,
ESPN (98.7 FM)

9:30 p.m.

Thunder at Mavericks, Game 3

Golf

9 a.m.

European Golf Tour Reale Seguros Open de Espana: First Round GOLF

3 p.m.

Wells Fargo Championship: First Round GOLF

NHL Playoffs Conf. Semis

7:30 p.m.

Flyers at Devils, Game 3 NBCSN,
WFAN (660 AM)

10 p.m.

Blues at Kings, Game 3 NBCSN

Horse Racing

12:45 p.m.

Churchill Ch. 71

1 p.m.

Belmont Ch. 71

4 p.m.

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7:10 p.m.

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Knicks, Mavericks, WCBS, FM

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Lin will discuss possible Game 4 return to Knicks

Jeremy Lin participated in a 3-on-3 scrimmage yesterday and will sit down with Knicks coach Mike Woodson today to see if he feels ready to join the series Sunday.

Lin hasn’t played since tearing the meniscus in his left knee March 24 and having surgery days later. If he plays Sunday, he would beat the six-week timetable. Conditioning and quickness on defense are issues to Woodson.

“This the first time he’s been able to run up and down,’’ Woodson said. “He’s gone through a lot of drills. ... The rest will come if he can cut and guard people and be able to handle the ball and make plays off the dribble.

Mike Woodson will decide today if Lin will return Sunday." title="HURRY BACK! Jeremy Lin and coach Mike Woodson will decide today if Lin will return Sunday." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/05/03/sports/web_photos/03.1s063.Knicks.Lin.1.C.TA--300x300.jpg" />

Anthony J. Causi

HURRY BACK! Jeremy Lin and coach Mike Woodson will decide today if Lin will return Sunday.

“I’ll sit down with him [today] along with the doctors and see how he feels from running up and down in this stretch.”

marc.berman@nypost.com

Jeremy Lin, coach Mike Woodson, Mike Woodson, Woodson

Nypost.com

Morgan Stanley backs $300M US rooftop solar investment fund

Morgan Stanley said Thursday that it put together a $300 million fund to invest in rooftop solar-power systems to be installed on US homes in a deal with two clean-energy firms and Zions Bancorp.

The fund will support about 8,000 residential rooftop solar systems, which will be installed by various solar-panel installers through contracts arranged by Clean Power Finance, a solar-power financing firm backed by Google.

Zions Bancorp will provide debt financing for the fund.

Developing and owning solar-panel systems has become far more profitable than making the equipment. Investors can take advantage of federal and state subsidies, such as tax credits, while prices for solar panels have plunged over the last two years.

In California, Arizona, New Jersey and other states that have solar incentives, rooftop solar projects can have an advantage over large solar farms because they compete against retail electricity prices. Those prices tend to be much higher than wholesale power prices that utilities pay for electricity from solar farms and other power plants.

Manufacturers of solar panels have seen their profits and stock prices decline, as panel prices have fallen amid a global supply glut.

Those who build and buy solar-panel systems, however, enjoy lower prices for panels and other components, while taking advantage of government subsidies, including a federal tax credit equal to 30 percent of the cost of each system and fees that utilities in several states are required to pay for rooftop solar power through net-metering programs.

"Companies in the downstream part of the [solar industry] are seeing their businesses flourish," according to Kristian Hanelt, a senior vice president at Clean Power Finance in San Francisco.

Solar-panel installers and developers also sign long-term contracts with homeowners to have solar-panel generators installed on their roofs. The homeowners then pay a set amount per month in lieu of their utility bill, which is usually less than what they would pay their utility. The solar systems are then bundled together and sold to investors.

In the deal with Morgan Stanley, Clean Power Finance and solar developer Main Street Power will market the homeowner contracts, handle the net-metering agreements with utilities and manage the rooftop solar systems.

The solar systems will be installed on homes in California and Arizona initially, with homes in others states to be added later, said Hanelt.

Clean Power Finance, solar panels, Zions Bancorp., Morgan Stanley online, Morgan Stanley, solar systems, solar systems, solar power, panel prices, solar farms, Kristian Hanelt

Nypost.com

U.K. Report Condemns News Corp.

LONDON—The U.K. parliamentary committee probing illicit voice mail interception by News Corp.'s shuttered News of the World tabloid released a final report Tuesday concluding that News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is "not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company" and accusing several former company executives of misleading parliament.

A U.K. parliamentary committee probing phone-hacking released a final report condemning News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch and accused several former company executives of misleading parliament. WSJ's Bruce Orwall reports. Photo: Getty Images

The report says Mr. Murdoch and his son, News Corp. Deputy Chief Operating Officer James Murdoch, presided over a culture of "willful blindness" at News Corp. It also singles out James Murdoch for displaying a "lack of curiosity," even "willful ignorance," when handling fallout from the phone-hacking scandal as the manager overseeing News Corp.'s British newspaper unit, News International, from late 2007 to 2012.

The report also says three former executives of News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit misled parliament in 2009: Les Hinton, a top Murdoch lieutenant who was the unit's executive chairman from 1995 until late 2007, when he became chief executive of News Corp. unit Dow Jones & Co.; Colin Myler, the News of the World's editor from 2007 until its closure last year; and Tom Crone, the tabloid's top lawyer.

Web of Connections

Learn more about who's who and how they're all connected in the scandal over allegations of voice-mail interceptions and corrupt payments to police.

View Interactive

More photos and interactive graphics

News Corp. issued a statement saying it is "carefully reviewing" the report and will respond shortly. It added that the company "fully acknowledges significant wrongdoing at News of the World and apologizes to everyone whose privacy was invaded."

Mr. Hinton issued a statement Tuesday saying he is "shocked and disappointed" by the report's conclusion. "I refute these accusastions utterly," Mr. Hinton said. "I have always been truthful in my dealings with the committee and its findings are unfounded, unfair and erroneous." Mr. Hinton said he planned to write to the committee's chair "to object formally."

Messers. Crone and Myler couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Messrs. Crone, Myler and Hinton have all left the company. News Corp. owns Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

More

Read the U.K. parliamentary report

The committee says a number of assertions the former executives made in 2009 were untrue, including the claim that illegal voice mail interception was limited to one reporter and the assertion that phone hacking had been investigated thoroughly by the company. The report says News Corp.'s instinct throughout the affair was to "cover up rather than seek out wrongdoing and discipline the perpetrators."

In a news conference Tuesday, the U.K. Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee said all of its 10 members supported the report's conclusions about Les Hinton, Tom Crone and Colin Myler. But Conservative Member of Parliament Louise Mensch said the Conservative MPs on the committee voted against the final report largely because of the line saying Rupert Murdoch isn't a "fit person" to run a global company. Ms. Mensch said the report should therefore be seen as "partisan." It passed with the support of six Labour and Liberal Democrat legislators. Four Conservatives opposed it.

The report's denunciation of Rupert Murdoch as an "unfit" steward for an international company could play into the deliberations of Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, which is evaluating whether the owners of British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC are "fit and proper" to hold a British broadcasting license in light of the phone-hacking scandal.

News Corp. owns 39.1% of BSkyB and holds a number of the pay-TV giant's board seats. The possibility of losing BSkyB's broadcasting license is perhaps the biggest remaining risk to News Corp., because a revocation of the license would throw into jeopardy one of the media conglomerate's most lucrative properties.

A spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said the government will "consider the report." Regarding the committee's finding that Rupert Murdoch isn't a "fit person" to run a global company, the spokesman added: "That is a matter for the regulatory authority, not the government, to decide."

The report looked specifically at whether executives from News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit, News International, misled the committee during hearings on phone hacking in 2009.

"The behaviour of News International and certain witnesses in this affair demonstrated contempt for [the parliamentary] system in the most blatant fashion," the report concludes.

The committee plans to ask the House of Commons, the U.K. Parliament's primary lawmaking chamber, to make a final decision on "whether a contempt has been committed and, if so, what punishment should be imposed." It isn't a given that the House of Commons will vote on the matter.

Misleading a parliamentary committee isn't a criminal offense—witnesses generally don't testify under oath—but it can constitute contempt of parliament, a noncriminal sanction levied against people who impede parliament's work. The report didn't say what the punishment would be other than "reputational damage and public opprobrium."

The report didn't accuse Rupert or James Murdoch of misleading parliament but said the pair presided over an affair that "demonstrates huge failings of corporate governance."

The committee said the arrest last July of former News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks made it difficult to make a pronouncement on her role in the affair. Ms. Brooks resigned from her post last July and was subsequently arrested twice. She has not been charged.

The report released Tuesday is the latest debacle for News Corp. in a long-running scandal, which first began six years ago but then exploded more prominently last July when it was revealed that the News of the World hacked the phone of a missing 13-year-old girl who turned out to be murdered.

The scandal has already exacted a large toll. Since last summer, the furor has resulted in the News of the World's closure; the resignation of top News Corp. executives; and the collapse of the U.S. media conglomerate's bid to take full control of BSkyB.

News Corp. appointed Mr. Murdoch deputy chief operating officer in March of last year, just as the phone-hacking scandal began to reignite in Britain, and said he would be relocating from London to New York.

Once considered an heir apparent to his father, James Murdoch has seen his future clouded at the company by his handling of the hacking scandal.

The phone-hacking matter first shot to attention in 2006, when a British court convicted the News of the World's royal correspondent and a private investigator on the tabloid's payroll for intercepting the voice mails of aides to the British royal family. The following year, the court sentenced the correspondent and private investigator to four and six months, respectively. News Corp. long said the wrongdoing at the News of the World was isolated to those two individuals—a claim that later proved false, and which the company admitted.

Last July, the matter erupted into a scandal for News Corp. The ensuing public outcry led the committee to reconvene its investigation of British press standards and phone hacking, with a particular focus on looking at whether and how News Corp. executives misled the committee in prior testimonies.

Today, News Corp.'s British newspapers are at the center of several continuing British criminal probes looking at voice mail interception and allegations of bribery, obstruction of justice and computer hacking. Some 43 people have been arrested, including current and former News International employees. None has been charged. News International says it is cooperating with all the probes.

—Ainsley Thomson and Bruce Orwall contributed to this article.

Write to Paul Sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com and Jeanne Whalen at jeanne.whalen@wsj.com

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Devils star Kovalchuk might be playing hurt vs. Flyers

PHILADELPHIA — The “therapy” that kept Ilya Kovalchuk out of the press’ witness box and off the team bus yesterday assuredly wasn’t the psychological sort. The oft-denied suspicion the Devils’ $100 Million Man is playing hurt has grown legs, which is what the speedster hasn’t shown much of lately.

Whether it’s a groin injury, a bruised foot, a back strain or a hip ailment, the Devils can only hope the treatment he received yesterday helps them avoid falling into an 0-2 series hole against the Flyers tonight.

Kovalchuk went without a shot in Sunday’s 4-3 overtime loss, his first shotless game of these playoffs. He did notch an assist, and stands 3-3-6, but minus-5 in the playoffs, minus-2 Sunday.

Devils coach Pete DeBoer was asked how Kovalchuk played Sunday.

“The answer to that is pretty clear, pretty obvious,” DeBoer said.

“It’s never for lack of effort with Kovy, Great players go through stretches where things aren’t working for them, then everything’s working for them. You have to work your way through it.”

Kovalchuk was separated from Zach Parise in the series opener. Kovalchuk’s apparent injury perhaps sheds a different light on that move.

The odd thing is that after the question of Kovalchuk’s health first arose in the last series, there he were on days off the ice, riding the stationary bike as if he was in the Tour de France, long, heavy workouts.

Healthy or not, Kovalchuk almost certainly will play tonight when the Devils try to avoid the 0-2 hole that has killed them 4-of-5 times. Their only such survival came in 1994, when Chris Terreri took over for Martin Brodeur, who dropped the first pair, won Game 6, and watched as Terreri won Game 7 of the second-round series against the Bruins.

That was the last time anyone other than Brodeur started a Devils playoff game, an NHL record streak that runs to 179 straight tonight.

This series opened the same way the Devils’ last two showdowns with the Flyers started — with losses that led to five-game eliminations, the Devils winning Game 2 in 2010, winning Game 3 in 2004.

That history is gloomy for the Devils, who will be desperate to avoid going down two.

“We want to show that we can win there,” defenseman Mark Fayne said. “Even the series out.

“You never want to be down 2-0. It’s a pretty big hole to dig yourself out,” Fayne said.

The Devils caught the Flyers rusty after a week off, scoring the opening goal, but they were outshot 23-7 over the second and third periods, and 7-4 in overtime.

Halting the orange onslaught is job one for New Jersey.

“When we get the puck in their zone, we have to find a way to hold on to it, take their skates away from them,” Ryan Carter said. “If they’re in their own end, they’re not running up and down the ice.

“It’s less of a track meet that way, and that’s to our advantage.”

The Devils have come quickly to the conclusion that the Flyers are the faster team. An injury to Kovalchuk doesn’t help that balance sheet.

* The Devils have lost the last four times they lost a series opener. They have lost their last three of those that opened on the road with losses. ... New Jersey stands 8-4 in Game 2s after losing the opener on the road, but is 6-7 in those series. The Devils have lost 5-of-6 road series from an 0-1 hole, despite going 3-3 in those Game 2s.

mark.everson@nypost.com

Ilya Kovalchuk online, the Devils, the Flyers

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