PORT ST. LUCIE - Jerry Manuel apparently is quite the motivational speaker. The Mets raved about the closed-door, roughly 40-minute speech their manager gave yesterday before the team's first full-squad workout. Manuel wouldn't reveal exact...

ATLANTA - The Thrashers' power play provided excellent scoring opportunities for the Devils. Kevin Weekes made 31 saves, the Devils scored three goals in the first 12 minutes and recovered from their only loss in three weeks to beat the Thrashers...

Coming off a loss for the first time in more than three weeks, the Devils coach yesterday huddled up his skład - which he calls "better" than last year - on the practice rink for 10 minutes. "Don't let this turn into any more than it was last night...

Vince Carter left the Meadowlands last night without comment. Or a field goal. This was a Toronto fan's wildest dream. Carter suffered through his worst shooting game as a pro: 0-of-13, the first time he ever played more than 10 minutes without a...

It was another night on which the Rangers appeared dozy through the first 30 minutes, another match in which they allowed the opposition to dictate terms for far too long. Oh, and this too: It was another game the Rangers won. The Blueshirts...

PITTSBURGH - A left wing and a prayer - or more precisely, a Hail Mary - and the Devils are 2-0 for the first time since they won their last Stanley Cup in 2002-03. They turned 57 minutes of utter frustration into dramatic triumph here last night...

When kicker Mike Nugent suffered a strained right thigh muscle on a kickoff in the first quarter of the Jets' 20-14 victory over the Dolphins Sunday, Jay Feely sat at his home in South Florida, roughly 20 minutes away from Dolphin Stadium, with one...

Ana Ivanovic is the No. 1 seed in name only during this Flushing fortnight. She even realizes she's a longshot to bag her first U.S. Open title as she returns from a thumb injury that forced a last-minute Olympic withdrawal and a subsequent...

Ana Ivanovic is the No. 1 seed in name only during this Flushing fortnight. She even realizes she's a longshot to bag her first U.S. Open title as she returns from a thumb injury that forced a last-minute Olympic withdrawal and a subsequent...

Well, so much for fighting for his job. Point guard Marcus Williams , who recently vowed to fight for his minutes after the Nets acquired Keyon Dooling, is headed to Golden State for a future first-round pick. The trade will be announced later...

KANSAS CITY - Juan Pablo Angel's return wasn't enough to keep the Red Bulls from dropping a 2-1 decision to the Wizards last night. Angel, making his first początek since June 5, scored in the 68th minute as the Red Bulls tried to overcome an early...

More than ever this season, the Liberty need their starting point guard back in the lineup. And barring a last-minute setback, Loree Moore is expected to play for the first time in almost three weeks when the Liberty play host to Phoenix in the...

HOUSTON - Brian Ching scored in the 68th minute and Tony Caig made three saves to earn his first career MLS shutout as the Houston Dynamo beat the Red Bulls 1-0 last night in an MLS match. The Red Bulls (3-3-3, 9 points) have lost two in a row...

INDIANAPOLIS - An exhausted Danica Patrick spent nearly 50 minutes yesterday smiling, joking and explaining everything from her future plans to her new image. The 26-year-old never even yawned. Yes, the first woman to reach Victory Lane in a...

CARSON, Calif. - Juan Pablo Angel scored in the 78th minute to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy last night. Danleigh Borman added his first goal for the Red Bulls (3-1-2), who extended their unbeaten steak to four games...

PORT ST. LUCIE - Jerry Manuel apparently is quite the motivational speaker. The Mets raved about the closed-door, roughly 40-minute speech their manager gave yesterday before the team's first full-squad workout. Manuel wouldn't reveal exact...

That's one small preria for the Rangers and one giant leap of faith to believe it's much more than that. They won their first game in the past four and second in the past 10 (2-6-2), outscoring the Islanders 3-1 at the Garden. That is paramount...

TAMPA - Following the first full-squad workout yesterday, manager Joe Girardi announced switch-hitter Mark Teixeira will bat third and Alex Rodriguez fourth in the Yankees' lineup. "It's just left, right, left, right," said Girardi, who will lead...

TAMPA - The first day of the rest of Alex Rodriguez's Yankee life went a lot better than the previous day, and it is no coincidence that he said nothing publicly. "I'm not going to talk today," Rodriguez said following the Yankees' first...

After beating the Penguins on Monday in Pittsburgh's first game since coach Michel Therrien's firing, the Islanders visit the Rangers tonight. And once again, the Isles will play a załoga facing coaching questions, as Tom Renney's job security...

Here is the transcript from today's press conference given by Alex Rodriguez in Tampa, Fla.: Opening statement: "First, bear with me I'm a little nervous or a lot nervous. So bear with me. Let me początek by thanking the Yankees, my teammates, our...

Coming off a koniec tygodnia that saw them sweep Boston and San Jose, the NHL's top two teams, the Devils look to extend their seven-game road winning streak tonight with the first of two games in Florida, starting with the Panthers. But as hot as the...

Garth Snow and Scott Gordon aren't the only ones who are curious to see how the Islanders finish up this disastrous season, where the only real dramat left is to see if they get the first pick in the draft. Mark Streit signed a five-year deal with...

TAMPA - From left to right yesterday in a George M. Steinbrenner Field bullpen, it was Joba Chamberlain, A.J. Burnett, Ian Kennedy and CC Sabathia on the mounds during the first official day of spring training. For Sabathia and Burnett, it was...

TAMPA - While CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett threw off bullpen mounds dressed in pinstriped pants for the first time yesterday and the Yankees continued to brace for Alex Rodriguez's arrival next week, the most important pitcher didn't go near a...

* I have had the ill-fated distinction of purchasing four Yankees jerseys as gifts for my nephew over the past five years or so. The first one was a Jason Giambi jersey. The second one, a year later, was a Roger Clemens jersey. A few months later...

PHILADELPHIA - The Islanders aren't looking forward to returning to Philadelphia anytime soon. Martin Biron stopped 38 shots and won his first game in more than a month as the Flyers defeated the Islanders 5-1 yesterday afternoon. The Flyers have...

PHOENIX - LeBron James said the NBA statisticians blew it by taking away his historic triple-double at the Garden 10 days ago. King James recorded the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul Jabbar in 1975. And then he didn't. Two days...

The Falcons yesterday acknowledged publicly for the first time that they want to trade the rights to suspended quarterback Michael Vick. Don't expect the Jets, who are quarterback-challenged after the retirement of Brett Favre this week, to be...

Quick, who's the best center in the NBA? If your first thought is Rockets big man Yao Ming, try again. Despite being 7-foot-6 and more than 300 pounds, Yao hasn't carried his skład to new heights, which means he has fallen short of his reputation, Mike Freeman says.

PORT ST. LUCIE - Right-hander Brad Holt doesn't have an invitation to the Mets' major-league camp this spring, but get used to hearing the name. The 6-foot-4 prospect, a first-round pick last season out of UNC-Wilmington, put his mid-90-mph...

Michael Vick may be considered be an extreme longshot for the Jets - then again, anything's possible - but it's important to point out that he soon will be free, the public-relations disaster that he is. Vick, the former first-round pick of the...

Although he's still technically a Dallas Star and yesterday was 91 miles away practicing with the Hartford Wolf Pack in Cromwell, Conn., Sean Avery's presence was very much felt at the Rangers' practice facility in Greenburgh. It was the first...

I WONDER if Alex Rodriguez fully understands that was not a Mariano Rivera close the other day on ESPN. We remain, in reality, pretty close to the first inning when it komes grodowy to where A-Rod is in his steroid revelation phase. Rodriguez opened...

Vince Carter was in one of those scoring zones, the kind that had him headed for the 30-point plateau for the first time since Dec. 29. Behind Carter, the Nets were throwing another scare into the powerful Spurs. So the Spurs unleashed their...

It's just a matter of time before Martin Brodeur returns to the Devils from his elbow injury and yesterday was another positive step, as the goalie was on the ice and faced shots for about 45 minutes. He still hasn't practiced with the team...

PORT ST. LUCIE - Johan Santana will throw off the mound here today for the first time since having off-season knee surgery, but he won't be following that up with a stint in the World Baseball Classic. Santana yesterday told The Post he plans to...

FOR a guy sitting on a positive drug test, Alex Rodriguez's interview yesterday with ESPN's Peter Gammons was a positive first preria in the rebuilding process of a superstar caught with his hands in the steroid jar. The fact that A-Rod admitted...

Alex Rodriguez's emotional apology yesterday for knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs was another strikeout in the clutch, according to local fans. Rodriguez was first implicated in a report Saturday by "Sports Illustrated," which said he...

PORTLAND, Ore. - The development of rookie Danilo Gallinari took what could be a landmark sawanna last night as he made his first career NBA start, but you'd never know it. Gallinari played just 13:42, scoring two early 3-pointers, finishing with six...

TAMPA, Fla. - Mike McKenna raised both his arms into air when teammate Gary Roberts broke a scoreless tie. The Tampa Bay rookie goalie then made sure the one-goal lead stood up. McKenna made 28 saves for his first NHL shutout, and Roberts scored...

THEY were out. That is what the Yankees will always regret. Fifteen months ago, they were out from Alex Rodriguez. He had famously - and crudely, of course - opted out of the final three years of his first 10-year contract. He did so during the...

KOBE Bryant started Dream Week with a Garden-record 61, a one-man show beaten two nights later when LeBron James fell just one rebound short of becoming the first player since 1975 to record a 50-point triple-double. "Pretty amazing to watch,"...

Validation came before one practice was complete. There really wasn't any question in the minds of the Nuggets' brass that they had someone very special in Carmelo Anthony. "The first time he practiced, he came and worked out with everybody and we...

ATLANTA - The Thrashers' power play provided excellent scoring opportunities for the Devils. Kevin Weekes made 31 saves, the Devils scored three goals in the first 12 minutes and recovered from their only loss in three weeks to beat the Thrashers...

Derek Jeter has to hope there won't be a bench-clearing brawl during the March 3 exhibition game in which the Yankees will participate. In that case, which żupan first for the Yankee captain, country or pinstripes? Jeter will be wearing a Team...

The Rangers have conducted thorough internal discussions regarding the feasibility of bringing Sean Avery back to Broadway and appear to be on the verge of allowing Dallas to send Hockey's Public Enemy No. 1 to Hartford in what would be the first...

First in the Atlantic in points, last in the entire NHL - by a lot - in power play chances. The Devils say they are paying for playing like men. "We don't dive," Colin White said. "Our forwards try to battle through everything." The Devils...

Coming off a loss for the first time in more than three weeks, the Devils coach yesterday huddled up his skład - which he calls "better" than last year - on the practice rink for 10 minutes. "Don't let this turn into any more than it was last night...

IF the Rangers are not exactly in a mid-life crisis, they are at a mid-season crossroads, that's for sure. And so is Tom Renney, who yesterday put his players through 30 minutes of grueling sprints, crossover skating drills and rink-width laps to...

A half hour of slothful practice this afternoon accounted for 30 minutes more than Tom Renney could bear. So the head coach of the Rangers stopped the workout and proceeded to punish his players with a final half-hour of sprints, crossover skating...

If baseball truly has a code about clubhouse secrets, Joe Torre insists his new book doesn't break it. "I really don't think I violated anything," Torre said yesterday during his first New York appearance since the release of "The Yankee Years."...

First came the DUI, then the photo of some apparently serious bong-age. Many people seem to want to give Olympic hero Michael Phelps a pass. Mike Freeman isn't one of them.

Scoring is not what made Jamie Langenbrunner the Devils captain. But he figures it's what made him the NHL's First Star of the Month. More of a grinder, digger, jammer and hitter than a Fancy Dan, Langenbrunner says players don't win those NHL...

Scorned former Yankees skipper Joe Torre faced pinstripe fans at a Midtown bookstore for the first time today since writing his bombshell tell-all book - insisting that his legacy hasn't been tarnished and that he didn't ruin anything by...

Nets fans will get their first glimpse of Richard Jefferson in the Meadowlands as a member of the Bucks tonight. But after going up against his former player in Milwaukee Jan. 9, Nets coach Lawrence Frank is looking at it like it's just another...

MELBOURNE, Australia - Roger Federer had nowhere to hide. Rod Laver was about to present the cup to Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal. Federer stood on the court, having just missed his first chance to equal Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam...

Trenton Hassell was a big reason why the Nets broke their three-game losing streak Saturday with an 85-83 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia. The backup forward, averaging 15.8 minutes, played 31 big minutes and was a defensive catalyst...

For the first time in a long time, the Devils have three scoring lines. So they don't read between the lines when the coach who has led them to eight consecutive victories won't confirm whether he wants to return next season. "I think the zespół is...

Rafael Nadal held off Roger Federer in another five-set Grand Slam final, keeping Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles intact for now. Nadal became the first Spanish man to win the Australian Open, beating Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2...

If the Islanders aren't careful, they might play themselves out of a chance for the first pick in the draft and miss out on the John Tavares sweepstakes. They won their third straight last night, the second time this season they've accomplished...

PHILADELPHIA - Vince Carter and Derrick Stafford met again last night. Stafford officiated a Nets game for the first time since the New Year's Eve game in Detroit in which Carter was ejected amid a wave of controversy. Carter charged that...

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask stopped 35 shots for his first NHL shutout in his fourth początek and Marc Savard scored to give Boston a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday. Rask was playing in his first NHL game since Dec. 6, 2007, because...

Laurel D'Antoni, wife of the Knicks' first-year coach, has another moniker - "Queen of the Cuss Jar." In the D'Antoni household, Laurel slaps a $10 fine for anyone caught uttering a bad word. Mike D'Antoni is the biggest contributor - most of the...

The hermetically sealed roster has been penetrated. The Rangers have come to the conclusion that the personnel that has produced a 29-17-4 record isn't sufficient to go as deep into the postseason as required. Hence, the first trade of the year...

You may excuse Calvin Pace if he's feeling a bit left out this week. The Jets linebacker, signed as a free szpicel before this season, spent the first five years of his career playing for the Cardinals without getting so much as a sniff of...

Isiah Thomas did a lot wrong during his 4½ years, but he can take pride in the Knicks' current success and feel a part of it. No one can argue he drafted exceedingly well. Thomas' key late-first-round pieces - David Lee, Nate Robinson and...

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - Yankees captain Derek Jeter knew it was coming. His reaction to Joe Torre's new book? "I thought that was going to be the first question," Jeter said last night at his Turn 2 Foundation dinner. "To be quite honest with...

It's one thing for a zespół not to be able to identify its first line when, say, one unit is centered by Sergei Fedorov and another by Steve Yzerman. It's quite another thing, however, when a zespół can't identify its first line because no unit proves...

Just 1 to 2 percent of people who placed deposits for season tickets at Citi Field failed to follow through with their purchase, and the Mets have sold about 25,000 seats per game for the first season in the ballpark. Many people committed to...

IT'S rarely about the start, of course, always about the finish - even if Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, tired of watching his ekipa fall behind by 15 points in the first quarter of three consecutive games, put Al Harrington back in the starting...

Off the court, the Knicks are a circus. On the court, they are hanging in as a legitimate basketball team. In their season's first victory trailing after three quarters, the Knicks put together a raging fourth quarter, rallied from nine points...

The banished Stephon Marbury acknowledged for the first time yesterday he has a verbal commitment from the Celtics - and accused the Knicks of not accepting his latest buyout offer because they don't want him winning a championship in Boston. A...

MONTREAL - Henrik Lundqvist was under no illusions going into last night's All-Star game. Which is a very good thing, considering that the King surrendered six goals on 21 shots in his 20 minutes of work in the East's 12-11 shootout victory. "It...

Mark Streit returns to Montreal this koniec tygodnia to play in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time. And though the Islanders defenseman, in the midst of his best year, is returning to the city where he played his previous three seasons, he also will...

Rex Ryan is not going to tackle the Vernon Gholston project alone. The Jets' first-round draft pick also will have to deal with new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Pettine scouted Gholston before last year's draft, when the Jets took him...

REX RYAN is Joe Namath in a suit and tie, a refreshing gale-force wind of swagger and bravado, fearlessly roaring a guarantee - that long-suffering Jets fans won't have to wait four years for a second Super Bowl championship, much less 40. "First...

About a minute into Rex Ryan's introductory press conference - right after he guaranteed a Jets Super Bowl win during President Obama's stay in office - he called getting the Gang Green head-coaching job a dream come true. He also said he couldn't...

No matter how many times Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire dunked last night in the first half against the Knicks' undersized frontline last night, it never demoralized coach Mike D'Antoni's team. The Knicks kept fighting back, fighting back...

Without Martin Brodeur, the Devils last night secured the Atlantic Division lead for the All-Star break. Without the Devils, Brodeur began skating yesterday for the first time in the 2½ months since he underwent mięsień dwugłowy ramienia tendon reattachment...

It sounds as though Danilo Gallinari's playing time could increase at least a little bit, but Mike D'Antoni doesn't want to go overboard with Gallinari's minutes just yet. In the two games since he returned from a back injury, the rookie has...

THE Rex Ryan inauguration is tomorrow, and the Jets need him to be a difference-maker as much as this country needs Barack Obama to be one. Here's hoping Ryan doesn't think he can make a difference with a 40-year-old Brett Favre. Here's hoping...

First game back, first goal, first place. More than 17 years later, it was quite a return to the Devils for Brendan Shanahan. Lou Lamoriello's free and cheap acquisition - nobody else must have needed the NHL's leading active goal-scorer -...

PHOENIX - On the morning odbiornik radiowy shows, it was difficult to discern if Ken Whisenhunt had just led the Arizona Cardinals to a stunning berth in Super Bowl XLIII the night before, wearing the headset and oversized play chart all head coaches sport as...

Lawrence Frank may be playing the most dangerous game with the Nets. Frank benched stars Vince Carter and Devin Harris after an atrocious drużyna first half Saturday against the Celtics. Carter publicly said he understood the move. Harris pretty...

The Islanders have already endured one 10-game losing streak this season and could be closing in on another, having dropped seven in a row. And today, they get to host Alex Ovechkin and the first-place Capitals at the Coliseum and may be without...

Brendan Shanahan could make his season debut with the Devils tonight in Nashville, when the ekipa tries for its fourth straight win - all on the road. And thanks to the Rangers' 3-0 loss in Pittsburgh yesterday, the Devils have a shot at first place...

MELBOURNE - Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a slow początek and reeled off seven wins in the last eight games in his first-round win today at the Australian Open. With temperatures topping 95 degrees on a bright, sunny day at Melbourne...

DANILO Gallinari doesn't have to be a star in the NBA - at least not yet. But he has to show enough this season to prove the Knicks didn't waste their first-round pick when they selected him sixth overall in the 2008 draft. Perhaps that process...

This wasn't just 15 minutes of fame. This was the real początek of the Knicks' Danilo Gallinari Era. It didn't początek with a win, but with evidence the 6-foot-10 Italian Stallion makes them better. There he was back on the Garden court for the...

PITTSBURGH - There was a line of demarcation in Brandon Dubinsky's season. Going into the Oct. 27 match against the Islanders at the Coliseum, Dubinsky had recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the first 11 games. But that night...

In some circles of the Italian media, there has been questions surrounding the Knicks' handling of Danilo Gallinari's bulging disc, which has limited him to just two games. Last night in Washington, he dressed for the first time since October...

WASHINGTON - Eddy Curry's fall into oblivion continued, as Knicks rookie Danilo Gallinari returned from his long hiatus. Gallinari dressed for the first time since the season's second game, though he didn't play in last night's 96-89 loss to the...

Brendan Shanahan skated with his new Devils teammates for the first time yesterday in Columbus and came away impressed. "I like what I saw," Shanahan said after officially signing with the załoga he came up with over two decades ago. He agreed in...

Eric Mangini must have something Jim Fassel doesn't. Mangini coached the Jets for three seasons; Gang Green went to the playoffs in his first season; went 4-12 in 2007; then he presided over a collapse this season that saw the Jets go from 8-3...

Mike D'Antoni thinks the Knicks need to win more games first, but the coach said he believes David Lee just might merit a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Lee put together a brilliant all-around effort last night at the Garden...

The Rangers no longer have a bad first power-play unit. They no longer have a bad second unit. The fact is that more than halfway through the season, they have no power-play units at all. Over the past three games, coach Tom Renney has pretty...

YES, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but Rickey Henderson is not done. If some major league drużyna calls, Rickey still wants to play, be it with the A's or anybody, one day, one week, one season, whatever; his door is wide open. Rickey is still...

NOW that former Yankee Rickey Henderson is in the Hall of Fame in a leadoff role, and Red Sox slugger Jim Rice made it in his final at-bat against the baseball writers, I can't wait for Rickey's Cooperstown speech come July. "I haven't thought...

When Ryan Anderson was dropped from the Nets' rotation before New Year's, coach Lawrence Frank's reasoning was sound. Anderson's back was aching, his shooting was wanting as a backup to Yi Jianlian, who also was scuffling with his shot. Say what...

MARK Teixeira made it clear this week how much of a Don Mattingly fan he was growing up, with everything from having a Mattingly poster in his bedroom to wearing a Yankees cap to Camden Yards when the Yankees would come to play the Orioles...

Josh Bailey recently scored his first NHL goal. Bill Guerin notched his 400th just before that. Kyle Okposo has yet to play in a full NHL season. Mike Sillinger and Doug Weight have each been playing there since the early 1990s. The experience of...

MILWAUKEE - This wasn't exactly what Richard Jefferson envisioned when he first saw the NBA schedule. And it certainly wasn't how the Nets, already without Devin Harris, saw it going down as they lost the key player, Yi Jianlian, they acquired...

The high-flying Eagles could be the perfect playoff opponent for the Giants on Sunday. At first glance, that would not appear to be the case. The Eagles, winners of five of their last six games, were the only drużyna to beat the Giants at the...

PHILADELPHIA - First, Donovan McNabb didn't know that NFL games can end in a tie, then he forgot how to win. As a November deadlock in Cincinnati morphed into a miserable 36-7 loss at Baltimore, this appeared to leave losing as the only...

If Monday's 4-0 victory over the Penguins represented a preria back to the identity the Rangers had created for themselves the first six weeks of the season, then last night's 6-3 Garden defeat to the Canadiens represented a preria back, period. Yes...

The Nets sought their first win of the season without Devin Harris. And they were going for their first three-game home winning streak of the season, which the way they've played in the Meadowlands seemed improbable, if not impossible, just a week...

All parties involved saw green, leading to Mark Teixeira's introduction yesterday as the Yankees' new first baseman. Teixeira wore pinstriped mundur No. 25 (no, it won't be retired in chwała of Jason Giambi) at a packed Old Stadium news...

A day later, Tom Renney was still highly complimentary of his team's effort in Monday's 4-0 win over Pittsburgh and pleased that Henrik Lundqvist had earned his first shutout of the season. But that doesn't mean he can't find things for the team...

Phillies reliever J.C. Romero and Yankees minor league pitcher Sergio Mitre were suspended for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for a banned substance. The suspensions were announced Tuesday by Major League Baseball. Romero...

On the day the Yankees are introducing Mark Teixeira as their new first baseman, the man he is replacing has found a new home. Jason Giambi has agreed to a one-year deal with the Athletics worth $4.5 million. Oakland has a zespół option for 2010...

It was as if the Nets tried to play "Can you top this?" only with bad news. Devin Harris came back from a one-game, sore hamstring-induced absence, played 19 minutes and said "enough" at halftime. That's bad, considering the Nets are 0-4 without...

In the first place, that's exactly where the Rangers stand halfway through their season and who on earth would have expected that? They're on top of the Atlantic by one point over the Flyers and by two points over the Devils after last night's...

The final hit in the old Yankee Stadium will be delivered this afternoon when Mark Teixeira dons his new pinstriped jersey for the first time. Then again, many figured the nowość conference last month that introduced CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett as...

Brent Sutter played against his own brothers in the NHL, but tonight will be the first time he coaches a game against his son. "It's different," Sutter said after his team, the Devils, practiced in Newark yesterday before leaving for Carolina...