Setting Chicago on fire

The Mets offense exploded yesterday against the Cubs with a season-high 17 runs. Here’s a look at the hitting highlights:

l Daniel Murphy, who had not homered since July 16, 2011, hit two home runs. He hit a 2-run shot in the fourth inning and a solo blast in the fifth.

l David Wright, whose 15-game hitting streak was snapped Tuesday, drove in a season-high five runs, the most RBIs he has had in a game since Sept. 16 last year.

l Ike Davis went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs, bringing his average to .201, the first time all season it’s been higher than .200.

EPA

Scott Hairston

l Scott Hairston’s sixth-inning grand slam was the second of his career.

l Those four Mets combined drove in all 17 runs.

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Big power player: Music rivals rip Universal move

EXCLUSIVE

Universal Music Group’s attempt to put its own spin on an influential report on the music business has competitors fuming, The Post has learned.

Universal, the industry’s top player, is being blamed for delaying the release of the market-share report while it tries to gain regulatory approval for its proposed $1.9 billion takeover of EMI’s recorded music business.

Yesterday, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry was slated to hold a press briefing with top music executives in London to unveil its latest report, “Investing in Music.”

The event was canceled, however, when fighting broke out over the report.

According to two sources, Universal, run by CEO Lucian Grainge, wanted to downplay the role of the major record labels in launching and shaping new artists.

At the same time, the record giant wanted to add new wording on growing competition in digital music distribution from new services such as TuneCore and The Orchard, which works with independent labels to gain distribution.

Sources said that Universal wouldn’t sign off on the report unless the changes were made, while rivals refused to OK it if the IFPI bowed to Universal’s demands.

“This report suddenly doesn’t make sense,” said one music source. “It’s really unfair.”

Universal insiders denied trying to hold up the report, saying they simply want it to reflect the realities of today’s marketplace.

All four labels have to agree on the wording of the report before it can be distributed.

Frustrated by the back and forth, IFPI head Frances Moore e-mailed the labels last week, saying that if they couldn’t agree, the industry group didn’t want to play referee. Moore told parties the report would be delayed until fall.

London-based IFPI couldn’t be reached by press time.

Universal’s bid for EMI is the music industry’s biggest deal in years, and will reduce the number of major labels from four to three. With the purchase of EMI, Universal’s share of the global music market would jump from 30 percent to about 40 percent.

Last week, Universal’s Grainge and other top music execs testified before a Senate subcommittee on antitrust issues over the EMI deal, which needs approval from US and European regulators.

“I have no doubt labels add value, but you just don’t have to have one in a world where an artist can deliver an album to fans themselves,” said Live Nation boss Irving Azoff, who testified in support of Universal.

The delay in the IFPI report means it likely won’t be released until after the European Union rules on Universal’s EMI acquisition by September.

Universal is expected to receive details of the EU’s “Statement of Objections” toward the end of this week. The Vivendi-owned company then has 30 days to respond to the letter with its remedies.

Separately, the Federal Trade Commission is expected to rule in favor of Sony’s deal to acquire EMI’s music publishing assets as early as next week. Sony’s deal, in partnership with a host of investors, will see EMI Publishing run as a separate venture alongside Sony/ATV.

Universal, Sony and Warner Music Group declined to comment.

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Liberty lose to Dream

The Atlanta Dream didn’t panic when the Liberty made a run late in the first half to take a lead at the break. They just regrouped and took control of the game in the third quarter.

Angel McCoughtry scored 23 points and Sancho Lyttle added 19 to lead the Dream to a 74-64 victory Sunday.

“We just can’t let outside things get in our head,” McCoughtry said when asked what the team discussed after giving up a 10-point lead and trailing by two at halftime. “We were a little frustrated with some calls, a little frustrated with the way we were playing, and how they were making their run. It’s called adversity, it happens. It’s the game.”

McCoughtry was 7 for 20 from the field and 8 for 10 on free throws in her return after missing two games due to a knee injury, helping the Dream (5-7) snap a two-game skid.

Lyttle scored nine points, Armintie Price had five and McCoughtry added five points and four rebounds as Atlanta outscored New York 25-10 in the third quarter to take a 13-point lead.

“It’s not because of me. It’s a team effort and everybody coming together, regrouping after a loss,” McCoughtry said. “(Lyttle) hit a couple of 3s ... she has the highest 3-point percentage shooting on the team and she’s a post player. Armintie got some great rebounds, got fouled. Lindsey (Harding) is coming back slowly.”

Leilani Mitchell scored 16 points, Kara Braxton had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Cappie Pondexter and DeMya Walker added 12 points each as the Liberty (4-9) lost for the fourth time in five games. New York’s lone win during that stretch came at Atlanta last Tuesday in a game McCoughtry missed.

Pondexter fouled out of the game late in the fourth quarter as the Liberty were trying to make a surge. She finished 4 for 17 from the field with seven turnovers.

“We couldn’t make shots tonight,” Pondexter said. “They did a great job of adjusting. We were the last game they played and obviously they made a lot of adjustments. ... We just got to learn to be consistent. It’s kind of up and down, it’s kind of hard for us to get it together.”

The Liberty had 26 turnovers, which led to 31 points for the Dream. Atlanta had 16 turnovers, leading to nine points for New York.

“Those are lost opportunities,” Mitchell said of the Liberty’s turnovers. “At least when we’re getting shots there’s a chance we’re going to get it in. We have to take better care of the ball and they’re capitalizing on those turnovers. ... They got 31 points off those turnovers. It’s just too much.”

After Walker’s layup gave New York a 42-38 lead 13 seconds into the third quarter, Atlanta took control of the game with a 20-2 run. The Liberty got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

McCoughtry started it off with a 3 and Aneika Henry’s layup put the Dream ahead for good with 9:12 remaining in the third. McCoughtry’s layup with 7 1/2 to go in the period put Atlanta ahead 49-42.

Kia Vaughn’s jumper ended the Liberty’s scoring drought 13 seconds later, but the Dream scored the next nine points to stretch their lead to 58-44 on Harding’s jumper with 3:16 left in the third.

Yelena Leuchanka’s jumper with just under 7 minutes remaining in the fourth put Atlanta ahead 70-52, the Dream’s biggest advantage of the game.

Pondexter and Braxton each had two baskets as New York scored the next eight points to pull within 10 with 3:07 to go. Pondexter fouled out 15 seconds later and McCoughtry made two free throws to push Atlanta’s lead back to 12.

“I didn’t know I had five fouls,” Pondexter said. “I thought the last charge gave me four. Obviously I would have been more smart about fouling Angel that possession. We were actually on a run, we had the momentum on our side and that foul changed things.”

Walker had a layup with 2:37 to go and then hit 2 of 4 from the line to pull New York to 72-64 in the final minute. McCoughtry closed the scoring with two free throws with about 17 seconds to go.

New York was without forward Plenette Pierson, second on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (4.9), for a third straight game due to a strained calf. She could miss four to six weeks and Whisenant doesn’t expect her to return before the monthlong Olympic break, which begins July 14.

Trailing by 10 after one quarter, the Liberty slowly cut into the Dream’s lead. Mitchell’s 3 cut the deficit to seven less than 2 minutes into the second. Then, Vaughn had six points during a 9-1 run that pulled New York to 33-31 with 4:08 left in the first half.

Mitchell’s fifth 3 of the game gave New York a 40-38 lead at the break.

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More citizens vote with their feet, and leave

America’s rich are renouncing their citizenship at record levels — just to get richer.

Startling new data from Uncle Sam show that defections by Americans are expected to double this year, largely to avoid any stiff tax bills resulting from the proposed 55 percent hike on the rich — as well as the likely expiration on Dec. 31 of the Bush era tax cuts.

As many as 8,000 US citizens are projected by immigration officials to renounce in 2012, or about 154 a week, versus 3,805 in 2011, or about 73 per week.

“High-net-worth individuals are making decisions that having a US passport just isn’t worth the cost anymore,” said Jim Duggan, a lawyer at Duggan Bertsch, which specializes in protecting assets of the wealthy.

HASTA LA VISTA Renouncing citizenship.

“They’re able to do what they do from any place in the world, and they’re choosing to do it from places with much lower tax rates,” he said.

“Some are philosophically disgusted at the course our country is taking in all kinds of ways. They’re making a strong protest of, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” said Duggan. “But largely it’s an economic decision.”

There’s a catch to reaching tax nirvana. To renounce citizenship — and thus escape any future US taxes forever — a citizen must buy that unique freedom with a a one-time exit tax of 15 percent on the fair-market value of all assets — including real estate, securities, businesses and personal belongings — less their basis price.

“Many see it as a cheaper way to get out from under any tax liabilities on future wealth, while their assets have lower values during the weak economy,” he said.

The step before dumping citizenship is, of course, finding a new homeland and getting citizenship there.

Duggan said scores of tax-haven nations and island regimes around the world eagerly welcome disenchanted rich Yanks with quick citizenship, business deals and protections from the US Justice Department and the IRS.

Among the popular spots: Australia, Norway, Singapore, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Guernsey and Antigua.

There is one way to have your cake and eat it, too, Duggan said.

The US possessions in the Caribbean — St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix — give a 90 percent tax credit to US citizens living there at least 183 days a year, resulting in an effective tax rate of just 3.5 percent, he said.

Jim Duggan, Duggan Bertsch ebook download, citizenship, citizenship

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Wells’ risky business

One out of every three home loans in the US is now funded by Wells Fargo.

The company scaled back its subprime lending in 2004, well before the housing crash. That move, and the bank’s lack of exposure to investment banking and Europe, is why Wells Fargo was the one major US bank to escape a ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service this week.

But former regulators and banking experts are worried that the fourth-largest US bank may be becoming over-exposed to the housing market.

It is adding mortgages to its books when the economy is sluggish and interest rates are near record lows, and this could be the best scenario.

If the economy strengthens and rates suddenly rise, mortgages will suffer more than most other loans and the bank’s income could be clobbered. Another recession would also hurt the bank, because defaults would rise.

Wells Fargo says it can manage the risk and sees no reason to stop expanding.

It is hiring thousands of loan processors, underwriters and call center employees, and investing billions of dollars in new loans and tens of millions in the infrastructure to manage them.

Investors have long praised Wells Fargo for sticking to traditional commercial and consumer banking while de-emphasizing riskier undertakings like credit derivatives trading.

But old-fashioned banking can be risky too. By expanding so much in the mortgage industry, Wells Fargo is building a potentially dangerous concentration in one type of loan, said Mark Williams, a former US Federal Reserve bank examiner.

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Greece set to ‘fight’ Germany

Gdansk, Poland — Germany’s most prominent fan will be in the stands for today’s quarterfinal against Greece at the European Championship.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, wins no popularity contests among the Greek contingent. So the political dimension of today’s game only heightens what is already an intriguing match in strictly soccer terms.

Germany is a three-time champion. Greece is the surprise winner of the 2004 Euro title, and the Greeks are still standing again, with an unexpected place in the knockout stages.

“It was always our main aim to reach the quarterfinals. So now we have nothing to lose,” said defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos, one of the many Greece players with Bundesliga experience. “We are playing against one of the best teams here. All I can say is that we’ll fight. If we get the win, that would be a huge result.”

Greece has plenty of reason to be thankful to Germany — the 2004 championship team was coached by a German, Otto Rehhagel.

German and Greek officials are trying to play down the politics. Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has been a major contributor to international bailouts for Greece and was instrumental in demanding structural reforms and hugely unpopular spending cuts in return. Greek fans are unlikely to take kindly to Merkel’s presence at Gdansk Arena.

“We are playing for our shirt, our flag and for the people back home,” midfielder Costas Katsouranis said.

Added Greek forward Dimitris Salpigidis: “I don’t think anyone on the team believes this will be our last game at this tournament. People have so many problems in their everyday lives. We’re really hoping that we can put a smile on their face.”

Gdansk also was also the scene of the first battle of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. A German soccer federation delegation laid a wreath Wednesday at a memorial for Poles at the Westerplatte peninsula on the outskirts of the Baltic city.

Germany has two Poland-born players in its squad, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, and Polish fans could throw their support behind the Germans. By winning its group, Germany got to stay in Gdansk and was spared having to travel. — AP

Merkel attended Germany’s 4-0 rout of Argentina at the 2010 World Cup and saw Germany beat Turkey in Berlin in the most important Euro 2012 qualifier for her team. She has visited the German locker room and briefly spent time with the team in Gdansk before the tournament.

“She seems to bring us luck,” midfielder Sami Khedira said.

Germany is the only team to have won all three group games and goes into the quarterfinal as the overwhelming favorite. But the Germans understand the ability of the Greeks.

“They are a very good team, underestimated by many. They create few chances but score from them. Technically, they are strong and play well one-on-one,” Khedira said.

“It will be tough to crack their defense, but we have the means. We have to be patient, but we also have to be constantly on the move. They will try to disrupt our game and beat us, but they will not succeed.”

Added midfielder Thomas Mueller: “We know what we have to do, but it’s not going to be a piece of cake.”

Greece will be missing playmaker and captain Giorgos Karagounis because of suspension.

There is speculation Germany coach Joachim Loew will return Klose to the starting lineup, although Mario Gomez scored three goals that won matches against Portugal and the Netherlands. Klose, a 34-year-old striker, scored the last time these teams played each other, a World Cup qualifier in 2001.

Six Greece players have either played or still play in the Bundesliga. Greece has five defeats and three draws in the eight games it has played Germany or the former West Germany.

“We are not too bothered about statistics. ... That doesn’t really matter,” Salpigidis said. — AP

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Amazin’ performances harken back to epic ’68 season

Tim McCarver gladly brings it up, unprovoked, and the joy in his laugh is palpable as he speaks of that seminal year, 1968, when he squatted behind home plates all over the country in a Cardinals’ uniform and watched the game of baseball change forever.

“It’s always mentioned, with Bob Gibson and Luis Tiant and the rest,” McCarver said this week, speaking of the Cardinals’ and Indians’ all-time great pitchers who had 1.12 and 1.60 ERAs, respectively, that season. “But I think pitching has been as dominant this year as in 1968.”

That is an extreme statement for someone who was closer to the game than most in pitching’s greatest season, catching most of Gibson’s 34 starts, 28 of them complete games, 13 of those shutouts.

the Yankees at Citi FIeld." title="TRICKY DICKEY:R.A. Dickey has thrown consecutive 1-hitters heading into his Sunday start against the Yankees at Citi FIeld." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/06/22/sports/web_photos/22.1sxxx.tvcover.C.TA--300x300.jpg" />

TRICKY DICKEY:R.A. Dickey has thrown consecutive 1-hitters heading into his Sunday start against the Yankees at Citi FIeld.

“What a story pitching has been in baseball,” McCarver said of this season. “It’s as dominant now as it was then.”

Forty-four years ago, Gibson’s and Tiant’s ERAs were two of the four best regular-season marks of the modern era, and the Red Sox’s Carl Yastrzemski won the American League batting title with the lowest batting average (.301) ever to lead the league. The result was Major League Baseball’s decision lowering the height of the pitcher’s mound from 15 inches to 10.

This season, there have been five no-hitters thrown through mid-June (six Mariners pitchers combined to throw one), the most in that time frame since 1917.

“I don’t think they can lower the mound any more,” McCarver joked, “or they’d be pitching in a hole.”

One of those no-hitters came on June 1 when Johan Santana threw the first in the Mets’ 50-year history. Adding to the Mets’ pitching success (starting pitching, at least) have been the two consecutive one-hitters thrown by knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

It has all led up to tomorrow night at Citi Field, where McCarver will be in the Fox television booth with partner Joe Buck, calling the middle game of the season’s second installment of the Subway Series — and all eyes will be on the pitching.

The nationally televised matchup will feature the Yankees’ young right-hander Ivan Nova — of whom McCarver said, “You could make a case that Nova is one of the best in the AL” — and Mets veteran Chris Young.

Young is one of the pieces the Mets hope they can use to build on the success of Santana and Dickey to establish a deep and formidable rotation, something McCarver has seen happen before.

“I think when you have starting pitching like [the Mets] have had, it becomes competitive after a while,” he said. “We had a competitive situation with the Cardinals. Everybody saw how Gibson performed and they didn’t want to give up a run, either. We had 31 shutouts that year, second all-time from a team standpoint. That’s a type of contagious component.”

Matched with the Yankees’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position this season and the size of Citi Field possibly limiting their home-run power, McCarver seems to be expecting a game echoing a time with faded colors.

“I’ve been around the game a long time,” he said, “and it seems to me at some point in time you have to start giving pitchers credit.”

bcyrgalis@nypost.com

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Hondo: Phil fills the bill

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

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

-$

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

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Youngsters rush to become ‘next’ Tiger

SAN FRANCISCO — The seeds to Webb Simpson’s U.S. Open triumph on Sunday at The Olympic Club were sown more than a decade ago, and can be traced directly to Tiger Woods.

Woods, who has enough self-culpability for numerous transgressions to last him a lifetime, has only himself to blame for the influx of talented young players like Simpson taking over the game he once dominated.

Woods and Simpson don’t know each other very well, other than to acknowledge each other with a friendly nod while passing in the locker room or practice range.

But Woods and Simpson, along with the growing list of emerging young players in the game who are now winning golf tournaments, will forever be linked, because it was Woods who unwittingly inspired them and helped them believe they, too, can excel at the highest level.

While the likes of Simpson, reigning PGA champion Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner and others are winning golf tournaments, virtually all of them point to Woods as an influence.

“I think it’s been the Tiger effect of inspiring people to play at a younger age,’’ Simpson said.

That Tiger Effect has created a chain reaction.

Now, as the younger players emerge to win big tournaments, they show their age-group peers it can be done. Case in point: Bradley’s victory at the PGA Championship last August in Atlanta spurred Simpson to ask himself, “Why can’t I win a major, too?’’

“I think the prime age of golf 10, 15 years ago was mid-30s; now it’s moving closer to the mid-20s or late 20s,’’ Simpson said. “If I see Keegan Bradley win a major, I respect his game a ton, but I feel like, ‘Keegan Bradley won one, I want to go win one.’

“All these guys that won before me, I thought, ‘I played with these guys all my life. I want to win a tournament. They’re great players, but I want to do what they’re doing.’

“Everybody is so competitive in this world that we just kind of feed off of each other.’’

The catalyst to that feeding frenzy was Woods, who in 1997 began winning major championships at an ungodly young age.

“The game’s changing,’’ Simpson said. “My caddie and I were talking this week, the 14-year-old kid [Andy Zhang] was here. Beau Hossler [age 17] was playing so well. I couldn’t imagine playing in even a qualifier for this tournament when I was in high school. Even in college, I would have been scared to death to play in a U.S. Open.

“And these guys are playing like they’re trying to win the tournament. I think the game will continue to evolve like that. I’m lucky because I feel like we’re playing at a time where golf is at its best.

Simpson’s victory marked the ninth consecutive major championship to be won by a first-time major winner. In the last 15 majors, no player has one more than one of them.

“If I was honest with you I believed in myself I could win a major, but maybe not so soon,’’ Simpson said.

As Simpson was doing his best to draw deep breaths while trying to hit shots in the crucible of major championship Sunday pressure, he thought of Woods.

“One of my thoughts on the back nine was, ‘I don’t know how Tiger has won 14 of these things,’ because of the pressure,’’ Simpson said. “I couldn’t feel my legs most of the back nine. I grew my respect for Tiger all the more.’’

Maybe someday Woods will appreciate being a difference-maker like that. But as his window of opportunity to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships slowly closes as it did Sunday at Olympic, it cannot provide him much consolation.

mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com

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Rosario heads to NY

Jockey Joel Rosario will be moving his tack east to Belmont Park beginning June 27, a move he and his agent Ron Ebanks had been planning for some time.

The move became official after John Velazquez suffered a broken collarbone in a spill at Churchill Downs Saturday night forcing Velazquez to be grounded for up to two months. Rosario, 24, ranks seventh among jockeys in the country with 116 wins and $6,169,966 in purse money won and has 1,354 career wins since emigrating from the Dominican Republic in 2006.

Rosario currently ranks third at the Betfair Hollywood Park meet with 24 wins, and was the leading rider at the Santa Anita meet with 89. victories. Rosario will return to action at Hollywood Park next Saturday after serving a suspension and has mounts in the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks and Sunday’s Grade 3 Beverly Hills Handicap before leaving for New York.

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The new politics of family finances

Terry Keenan

Are you better off today than you were 20 years ago? It’s a one-liner that Mitt Romney might want to try out on the campaign trail in the coming days.

Last week featured one of the most comprehensive and troubling snapshots of how little the finances of most of us here in New York and around the nation have recovered from the Great Recession.

In its Survey of Consumer Finances, an 80-page in-depth report put out every three years, the Federal Reserve detailed the damage. The median net worth of the American family — those truly in the middle — fell by 39 percent between 2007 and 2011. That means household wealth is likely no higher now than it was two decades ago, in 1992.

And there were other zingers in the report. While incomes fell 7.7 percent for those in the middle — an unprecedented post-war decline — the Fed notes that median incomes for retirees and non-working adults were the only group to see their incomes rise since 2007. In other words, those not working are relatively better off today, income-wise, than those who are.

By any statistical measure in this exhaustive report, the Americans who have been hurt the most by the credit bust are truly in the middle in terms of age, income and wealth — the Generation Xers who came into the work force during and right after the Bush recession of 1991. It turns out that almost 55 percent of the median worth of Gen Xers has been wiped out since ’07 — and they will likely decide the election this fall.

That’s on top of the incredible escalation in the federal debt burden per US household since 2009, money that families in America will have to eventually pay back in taxes. Indeed, the size of the federal debt load per US household has risen 50 percent, to $190,000, since President Obama took office. That’s $190,000 in borrowed money per family from families with median incomes that have dwindled to $45,000, less than one-fourth of that $190,000.

Explaining that miserable math while providing a convincing plan to fix it is the task before Mitt Romney. Americans want solutions, not more parsing of the pathetic numbers.

terrykkeenan@gmail.com

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Through The Binocs

In the second race, Master Cip veered in at the start and actually was in the gap of the clubhouse turn. Jockey Kent Desormeaux was then able to get Master Cip back to the course and then rushed up to challenge the early pace. But the horse had nothing left on the far turn and dropped back to be last. Favored Zivo was able to come off the pace to gain the lead at the top of the stretch and draw away for the victory.

THIRD RACE:Holiday’s Jewel broke slowly and was last out of the gate but then quickly rushed up to set the pace. She was soon challenged by favored Scampering and in the stretch, Scampering had plenty left and drew away for the victory.

SIXTH RACE: Volcano Run was able to stalk the pace while saving ground under Ramon Dominguez. In the stretch drive, Dominguez was able to angle Volcano Run outside to find a clear running lane and once asked, he finished well to gain the lead and the victory. Superestrella saved ground early but had to go wide around the turn to build up momentum for the stretch drive. But he was too far back and could only get up to be fourth.

EIGHTH RACE: When the gates opened up, Bid a Moon broke slowly and favored Ullapool was hustled out to the lead. After a quarter mile she was on cruise control and started to widen her lead against the rest of the field. By the sixteenth pole, Javier Castellano threw out the anchor and started pulling up Ullapool who was comfortably in front and was in no danger of being caught.

The final time of 1:23.27 and winning margin of 9 1/2 lengths does not indicate how dominant the victory was.

PICK SIX

Winning numbers

3-7-5-4-6-4

29 winners (6 of 6)

Each paid $971

Consolation (5 of 6)

Each paid $19.60

No carryover

Jockey Kent Desormeaux, Master Cip, Ramon Dominguez, Favored Zivo, Javier Castellano, Scampering

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Nasdaq: Catch us if you can

Nasdaq is sending a message to firms weighing lawsuits related to trading losses in Facebook’s initial public offering: winning won’t be easy.

The exchange operator believes it is protected by its contracts with members and by its unusual legal status, which is rooted in its dual role as a regulatory body as well as a business that makes money running markets.

Exchange officials in recent weeks have pointed out to analysts that Nasdaq has never been successfully sued over a trading error.

“When you look at member agreements that people sign, it’s quite explicit that they’re bound by that accommodation policy,” Robert Greifeld, Nasdaq’s CEO, said last week, referring to legal agreements capping the exchange’s payouts linked to system problems.

Reuters

Robert Greifeld

Legal experts agree that the exchange has a strong defense, but note that it isn’t ironclad.

Banks and brokers have estimated they lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to technical problems during Facebook’s May 18 debut.

Last week, Nasdaq proposed a $40 million compensation plan involving cash payments and discounted trading fees, but several brokers said the offer didn’t go far enough.

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Lewis' Bedoya surprised to win Wingate Award

It was Danny Bedoya in a nutshell.

Despite a remarkable career at Francis Lewis, landing a scholarship to St. John’s, basically embodying everything the PSAL Wingate Award stands for, the Francis Lewis star expected it to go to someone else.

“I thought it would be Ibrahim [Diaby] of MLK,” he said, referring to the Martin Luther King Jr. star who vanquished the Patriots in the PSAL Class A finals with a late goal. “I didn’t even expect it.”

It was typical Bedoya – humble, unselfish and ready to cede the spotlight to others – only the PSAL powers-that-be felt differently. They chose the central midfielder, known for his deft touch, on-ball skills and brilliant accuracy on set pieces.

Denis Gostev

Francis Lewis soccer star Danny Bedoya won the Wingate Award on Monday night.

“It feels really good winning it, it’s a big award for the PSAL,” said Bedoya, The Post’s All-Queens boys soccer Player of the Year and an All-City first team selection, of accepting the award Monday night at the Brooklyn Marriott. “I felt honored being around all of [the winners]. It was a great experience.”

An East Elmhurst native, Bedoya fell short of leading Lewis to an elusive city title, guiding the Patriots to back-to-back finals berths, but he did everything else. He waited his turn and took advantage of his opportunities, emerging as one of the top talents in the city last fall. His senior year Bedoya scored 16 goals and added 14 assists, helping to extend the Patriots’ unbeaten streak in Queens to a hard-to-fathom 57 matches (50-0-7).

“He knows what to do with the ball, even before he gets the ball,” teammate Daniel Castro said previously. “Your job is just to finish the play.”

St. John’s took notice and made him the first high Division I player in coach Roger Sarmuksnis’ hugely successful tenure. The Colombian-born Bedoya heard from Clemson, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Bucknell, but he wanted to stay local, to be near his brother Santiago, who plays for Queens College, and parents Olga and Freddie. St. John’s, Iona and Adelphi were the options.

“It couldn’t happen to a better kid,” Sarmuksnis said. “He really earned it. He practiced hard, did well with his grades. I was happier for him than I think any other player to come out of Francis Lewis.”

He capped off his high school career in style, by winning the award given to the top senior in each sport.

“It’s a good way to go out,” he said.”I feel like I was able to represent the school well by winning this award. Anybody could’ve won it, I guess I was able to show myself more on the field.”

zbraziller@nypost.com

Danny Bedoya, Francis Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., PSAL, the Patriots, Bedoya, Queens College, Daniel Castro

Nypost.com

Inside Jamie Dimon's Senate hearing

Winners:

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) visibly rattles Dimon’s confidence by asking why his bank held back $168 million of MF Global’s cash as it melted down. The stumble sends JPMorgan shares diving for an hour.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) makes Dimon lose his cool by saying “big dumb banks” in jams should fail. He then cuts off Dimon’s protest, saying, “Sir, this is not your hearing.”

Losers:

Ousted investment chief Ina Drew gets blamed by Dimon for causing the bank’s $2 billion loss and is warned that some of her $14 million pay might be clawed back for her errors.

Ron Sachs - CNP

Jon Tester

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) rips into Dimon for taking $20 billion bailout money in 2008 but it backfires as Dimon shoots back he was forced by Uncle Sam to take it, or else.

Quotes:

“You appear to be in much better fiscal shape than we are as a country.”

— Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to Dimon

“We do believe this to be an isolated event.”

— Dimon to senators

“Jamie Dimon’s a crook.”

—Demonstrators chant in chambers before being booted

Jamie Dimon, Jon Tester, Jeff Merkley, Robert Menendez

Nypost.com

Slow going for docs in Gardner elbow diagnosis

ATLANTA -- According to Brian Cashman, the Yankees won’t know the extent of Brett Gardner’s right elbow injury until the left fielder is examined Thursday by Dr. Tim Kremchek.

Gardner was seen by Dr. James Andrews yesterday and will visit Kremchek in two days at the request of his agent, Joe Bick.

BOX SCORE

Though Andrews may have talked to the Yankees about Gardner’s problem, the club is waiting for the second opinion before going public.

“Other than that I don’t have anything,’’ manager Joe Girardi said of Gardner, who has not played in a big league game since April 17 and has suffered two setbacks in minor league rehab games.

Even if there is nothing structurally wrong with Gardner’s elbow, it’s likely he won’t return until following the All-Star break (July 9-12) at the earliest. The fact that he has suffered two setbacks raises concern that the injury could be season-ending.

***David Robertson is slated to throw an inning tomorrow night for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It will be the right-handed reliever’s second outing in three days. If Robertson doesn’t feel any flareup of his left rib cage injury, Girardi said Robertson will “probably join us after that.’’

Robertson, who has not faced big league hitters since May 11, worked an inning Sunday. He threw 11 pitches and reported no problems.

When Robertson returns, he will be the eighth-inning reliever and Rafael Soriano, who was unavailable last night because of a blister on his right index finger, will continue to close.

Robertson took the first two save chances after Mariano Rivera was hurt in early May and went 1-for-2. Soriano took over for Robertson and had a string of nine straight saves stopped Sunday by the Mets.

***Considering the awful news the Yankees have received about injured pitchers such as Rivera and Michael Pineda this season, they were due to get positive words at some point.

It appears that the positive has replaced the negative with Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda.

The veteran pitchers said yesterday they expect to make their next starts after suffering injuries this weekend that forced them out of Subway Series games against the Mets at Yankee Stadium.

Kuroda is slated to start tomorrow night against the Braves at Turner Field, and Pettitte’s next scheduled start is Saturday against the Nationals in Washington.

“As far as I am concerned, I will make my next start,’’ said Kuroda, who left Friday night’s game against the Mets after taking a line drive off his left foot.

Kuroda threw a bullpen session Sunday and played catch yesterday. He has yet to test the foot by fielding ground balls or covering first base.

Pettitte, who caught a softer-than-it-looked chopper with his throwing hand Sunday, displayed a small bruise in the palm but explained everything is fine with the hand.

“I will throw a bullpen [tomorrow], and I feel great,’’ Pettitte said.

Pettitte never was worried something worse than a bruise was in play.

“I knew it wasn’t broken, I knew I was going to make my next start,’’ said Pettitte, who credited a compression wrap applied Sunday for vastly reducing the swelling.

***Robinson Cano’s two hits stretched his hitting streak to nine straight games. He is batting .382 (13-for-34) during the stretch.

***While pitchers — especially CC Sabathia, who starts tonight — look forward to hitting, Girardi isn’t a fan of watching his valuable starters try to handle a bat or run the bases.

“I hold my breath,’’ Girardi said of his pitchers turning into hitters and runners during interleague games played in NL parks, where the designated hitter is not used. “In 2008, Chien-Ming Wang broke his foot [running the bases], and in 2010, Javier Vazquez hurt his finger [bunting]. The track record hasn’t been good. We tell them, ‘Try and be smart, don’t go first to third on a bang-bang play.’ ’’

The Yankees started a string of six straight games in NL parks last night (Washington is next) and nine of their next 12 will be with no DH.

Sabathia has far and away the best average (.250) of any Yankee pitcher. He is 25-for-100 with three homers and 14 RBIs. The lefty swinger will be challenged tonight when the Braves start lefty Mike Minor.

Kuroda, a former Dodger, has the worst average at .106. In 198 at-bats, he has 68 strikeouts and 21 hits. Pettitte is also bad, batting .137 (26-for-190) with 63 Ks.

“It’s something I am not really good at,’’ Kuroda said. “If someone hits for me we will have better results.’’

Ivan Nova had a second-inning single for his first big league hit. Play was stopped and the ball tossed into the Yankees’ dugout. He was hitless in four big league at-bats coming into the game.

george.king@nypost.com

Joe Girardi, Andy Pettitte, Brett Gardner’s, the Yankees, Rafael Soriano, Mariano Rivera, Robertson, Michael Pineda

Nypost.com

Home Team Lineups

TODAY
June 11

TUE
June 12

WED
June 13

THU
June 14

FRI
June 15

SAT
June 16

SUN
June 17

Yankees

Atlanta
7:10
YES Network
WCBS 880 AM

Atl. 7:10 YES WCBS

Atl.
7:10
YES WCBS

NO GAME

Wash. 7:05 WWOR WCBS

Wash. 1:05 YES WCBS

Wash. 1:35 YES WCBS

Mets

NO
GAME

T.B.
7:10
SNY WFAN

T.B. 7:10 SNY WFAN

T.B.
1:10
SNY
WFAN

Cin. 7:10 WPIX WFAN

Cin. 7:15 FOX WFAN

Cin. 1:10 WPIX WFAN

Devils

Los Angeles
8:00
NBC
WFAN 660 AM

NO GAME

^L.A. 8:00 NBC WBBR

End of Finals

Liberty

NO
GAME

NO GAME

NO GAME

NO GAME

Conn. 7:00
No TV

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

Red Bulls

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

Chi.
5:00
MSG+
WLIB

^ - if necessary

HOME

AWAY

WPIX, FOX WFANCin, online

Nypost.com

Belmont Charts

June 9th, 2012 Clear and Fast Turf Firm

©2012 Equibase. All Rights Reserved

FIRST-1 1/16m(T); $36,000; clm($25,000); 3up(f)

Off: 11:36. Good. bump start,3w ang 1/4

Time: 23.64, 46.63, 1:1.09, 1:34.79, 1:4.8.

Trainer: Steven Asmussen

Winner: CH M, 5, by Western Expression-Seeyouinmydreams

Scr: Rum Till I Die, World Premier.

Horse

Wt.

PP

1/4

1/2

Str.

Fin

Jockey

Odds

I Dreamt I Was

121

3

9

9

5 1

1 2

Domngez

2.25

Market Princess

117

12

6

6

4 1 1/2

2 3/4

Lezcano

7.40

Wet One

121

10

8

8

6 1

3 1

Leparoux

3.80

Forever Vow

121

6

1

1

1 3

4 1 1/2

Prado

8.00

Night Brigade

121

7

4

4

2 1/2

5 1 3/4

Castellan

5.40

Luck in the City

114

4

11

11

9 1

6 1

Garcia

36.75

Silent Joy

121

2

3

3

3 1

7 1/2

Nakatan

12.10

St. Lucy

121

8

7

7

7 1/2

8 1/2

Ortiz, Jr.

36.75

Uptown Girl

121

9

2

2

8 2

9 1 3/4

Naprvnk

12.00

Tropical Jetset

121

11

10

10

10 4

10 5

Velsqez

49.50

Some Legend

121

5

12

12

12

11 4 1/4

Lezcano

39.25

Alex's Buck

121

1

5

5

11 1

12

Castro

22.90

4-I Dreamt I Was

6.50

3.90

2.70

13-Market Princess

6.70

4.10

11-Wet One

3.00

* Exacta (4-13) $58.50 * Superfecta (4-13-11-6) $1,053.00 * Trifecta (4-13-11) $165.50 *

Winner picked by DaSilva, Fountaine, Debbie L. (Best Bet), Consensus

SECOND-1 mile; $75,000; mdn; 3up

Off: 12:06. Good. prompted,bid 1/4, up

Time: 23.78, 47.67, 1:12.71, 1:36.96.

Trainer: John Kimmel

Winner: B C, 3, by Pulpit-I Love America

Scr: Won Kool Kid.

Horse

Wt.

PP

1/4

1/2

Str.

Fin

Jockey

Odds

Love to Run

118

3

2

2

2 1/2

1 1/2

Alvarado

3.45

Tiz Yankee

118

2

1

1

1 1

2 1 3/4

Nakatani

5.40

Wild Target

118

1

3

3

3 4

3 4 1/2

Castellan

2.45

Escape Artist

118

5

8

8

5 2

4 3

Domngez

2.50

Distorted Dream

118

7

4

4

4 hd

5 3 1/2

Maragh

8.80

Reflecting

118

8

6

5

6 5 1/2

6 8

Garcia

13.50

Mr. Beer Goggles

118

6

7

7

7 10

7 28

Ortiz, Jr.

29.25

Last Cat

123

4

5

6

8

8

Gterrez

26.00

4-Love to Run

8.90

4.90

3.30

3-Tiz Yankee

6.20

4.10

2-Wild Target

3.00

* Daily Double (4-4) $44.40 * Exacta (4-3) $46.60 * Quinella (3-4) $22.80 * Superfecta (4-3-2-6) $249.00 * Trifecta (4-3-2) $117.00 *

THIRD-1 mile; $62,000; alw; 3up

Off: 12:36. Good. 3w pursuit, edged away

Time: 22.89, 45.99, 1:1.49, 1:36.59.

Trainer: Rudy Rodriguez

Winner: DK B/ H, 5, by Mineshaft-Comeon Dixie

Scr: Ruffino.

Horse

Wt.

PP

1/4

1/2

Str.

Fin

Jockey

Odds

Mineswept

114

8

3

3

1 3

1 2

Ortiz

2.35

Live for Today

117

4

7

6

4 1/2

2 1 1/4

Alvarad

14.90

Overextended

121

6

8

8

5 1 1/2

3 3

Cohen

18.70

Good Law

121

2

1

1

2 1/2

4 3/4

Ortiz, Jr.

12.20

Jeter

117

7

2

2

3 1

5 2

Domngez

1.35

Diamond District

123

1

4

4

6 7

6 9

Velasqez

7.50

Six Flings

121

3

5

7

7 5

7

Naprvnk

15.40

Coalition

117

5

6

5

8

_

Lezcano

8.20

Next >

1

2

3

4
Nypost.com

Ellis illness makes joining ’72 Lakers bittersweet experience

Peter Vecsey
Follow Peter on Twitter

HOOP DU JOUR

On April 5, privileged life that I lead, at the invitation of Bill and Joyce Sharman, I attended the 40th reunion of the Lakers’ 1972 championship team, which practically paled compared to the 33 games in a row they won that season, an NBA record that’s as likely to be broken as Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.

Preceding the formal tribute at the Manhattan Beach Marriott, I joined the team for dinner. It took me a while before it finally dawned on me that the worldly woman on my right was Wilt Chamberlain’s year -ounger sister, Barbara Lewis.

AP

HOLDING COURT: Former St. John’s and NBA star LeRoy Ellis (right, battling with Kevin Kunnert of the Rockets while playing for the Sixers in 1976) died on June 2 at the age of 72.

Also at the table were Jerry West, Flynn Robinson, LeRoy Ellis, who had been at war with prostate cancer for several years after continuing to play at a high level in Master’s Tournaments throughout the country into his late 60s, and their spouses.

Despite Ellis’ debilitation, the former Thomas Jefferson High School and St. John’s all-time leading rebounder (16.5 average) was resolved to make the trip from his home in Portland, Ore., to Los Angeles, where his pro career began as the No. 6 pick of the 1962 draft.

Ellis shot me a look of disbelief when I said I’d begun following him in the late 1950s when he teamed with the fabled Tony Jackson. I never stopped, actually. Throughout his 14 years (9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds) with four NBA teams, I always checked the box scores to see what he did.

I proceeded to rattle off the names of that St. John’s 1959 undefeated freshman squad: Willie Hall, Ivan Kovacs, Fred Edelman. That’s when I really got Ellis’ attention.

That crew was Lou Carnesecca’s first recruiting class. He had left unblemished CHSAA champion Archbishop Molloy to assist former Knicks coach Joe Lapchick and had taken the 6-foot-4 Hall with him. Or maybe it was the other way around; I’m unsure how those deals work.

Ellis’ motive for choosing St. John’s was unadulterated. He purely wanted to play again alongside the simonized-shooting Jackson, whom he idolized. Didn’t we all! Jackson wore No. 24.

“I looked up to him so I took No. 25, because I was a year behind,” he said. “When I got to L.A. the second time, Goodrich had No. 25 and he wouldn’t give it up.”

As happy as the survivors of the 1972 Lakers (69-13) were to be in each other’s company, laughing loudly at threadbare stories as if hearing them for the first time, this was no fantasy camp get-together.

Moods switched from smiling to somber in mid-sentence. Everyone was aware (West and Keith Erickson even verbalized it, their voices cracking and eyes watering) this would be the last time this group — Sharman, scout Bill Bertka, West, Elgin Baylor, Gail Goodrich, Jim McMillian, Erickson, Pat Riley, Ellis, Jim Cleamons and Robinson, who, too, was suffering from (incurable) cancer — would reassemble intact.

Chamberlain, Happy Hairston and John Q. Trapp already were long gone.

Later that night, when it was Ellis’ turn to be introduced to a select audience of 1,000 or more upstairs, he whispered to Joyce Sharman, who conceived and directed the emotive event as well as the making of a documentary on the Lakers’ unassailable accomplishment, his desire to walk the 50 feet to the stage.

So, with a young woman on each side for support, Ellis lifted himself from his wheelchair to his height of 6-foot-10 and, as the crowd stood and applauded, slowly made his way down the aisle. Soon the gentle man had the people in the aisle laughing hysterically.

Each honoree was asked to share a memory about the win streak and the Lakers’ Hall of Fame coach. After corroborating Sharman’s inventiveness, motivational skills, positive treatment of players and cagey strategy, Ellis made some simple deductions regarding the defending champion Bucks’ 120-104 streak-snapping victory.

“I played in all 33 wins. But because Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] was out there and he’s always tough we had to put our toughest on him, which was Wilt [Chamberlain],” he said before directing his next statement at Sharman. “Bill, I just wanted to let you know that I didn’t get to play in the 34th game. I played in all 33, but the 34th one that we lost, I didn’t get to play.”

Ellis, 72, was supposed to have another six months to live. He died June 2, almost two months to the day of the reunion.

peter.vecsey@nypost.com

Joyce Sharman, Joyce Sharman, Lakers, Wilt Chamberlain, LeRoy Ellis, NBA, NBA star LeRoy Ellis, Lakers, Manhattan Beach Marriott, Joe DiMaggio’s, Gail Goodrich, Flynn Robinson, Thomas Jefferson High School, Sharman, Tony Jackson, Jerry West

Nypost.com

Early bettors entitled to ‘Another’ refund

Since the announcement of I’ll Have Another’s scratch was not made by track announcer Tom Durkin until 1:14 p.m., shortly after the press conference began that made his retirement official, some advance bets on I’ll Have Another were made at Belmont yesterday.

All of those wagers are available for cancellation at any Belmont Park mutuel window with a live teller. When the Belmont Stakes is declared official, most tickets that were not canceled in advance become refundable.

Online and phone wagers on I’ll Have Another made through NYRA Rewards, except for the pick 6 and pick 4, will be automatically refunded into customers’ accounts after the race is official.

If you used I’ll Have Another in the pick 6 and pick 4, you must cancel those bets in advance — before the sixth race for the pick 6, before the eighth race for the all-graded stakes pick 4 and before the 10th race for the late pick 4. Otherwise, you will automatically be assigned the post-time favorite for the Belmont in I’ll Have Another’s place.

* I’ll Have Another was supposed to lead the post parade for today’s Belmont, but that decision was scuttled late yesterday after much skepticism. But Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian for the Belmont Stakes, said participating in the parade would not have harmed the horse.

“I’ll Have Another’s ability to lead the post parade for [the] Belmont Stakes is an illustration of the character of his injury,” Bramlage said. “It is absolutely of no concern for sub-maximal exercise, but would be a concern at a mile-and-a-half at full speed. Therefore, I have no concern for his appearance on the racetrack at the head of the Belmont field.”

ed.fountaine@nypost.com

Belmont Stakes, Belmont, Larry Bramlage, Belmont Park, ebook download

Nypost.com

Virgin offers $649 iPhone

Sprint Nextel said its Virgin Mobile prepaid business would start selling Apple’s iPhone June 22, pitching it against smaller prepaid rival Leap Wireless. Virgin will sell the iPhone 4S for $649, vs. Leap’s $500 iPhone.

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click For Restrictions

Virgin Mobile, Sprint Nextel, Leap Wireless, iPhone, Thomson Reuters

Nypost.com

Snapshot: Super-Sizing 'The Wall'

View Slideshow

Roger Waters Music Overseas Limited

Roger Waters

1,000

Number of "bricks" in this Wall; they're cardboard boxes measuring 5 feet by 2½ feet.

380 tons

Weight of the stage, roof and sound and projection towers. In all, it weighs 70% more than U2's 360-degree stage and is the largest roof structure built by the Belgian-based contractor StageCo.

9

Number of giant inflatable pigs created for the tour, one for each performance. The pigs are usually ripped to shreds by the audience.

Enlarge Image

Close

Roger Waters Music Overseas Limited

Giant inflatable pigs created for the tour

$254.50

Top "Wall" ticket price at Yankee Stadium, not including fees. At Chicago's Wrigley Field, it's $250.

1

Replica of a World War II-era Stuka warplane sent careening into the wall in a fiery crash in the opening number.

A version of this article appeared June 8, 2012, on page D5 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Snapshot.

roof structure, Waters Music Overseas LimitedGiant, cardboard boxes

Online.wsj.com

Home Team Lineups

TODAY
June 4

TUE
June 5

WED
June 6

THU
June 7

FRI
June 8

SAT
June 9

SUN
June 10

Yankees

NO GAME

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

Mets
7:05
WWOR
WCBS

Mets
7:15
FOX
WCBS

Mets
1:05
YES
WCBS

Mets

St. Louis
1:10
SportsNet NY
WFAN 660 AM

Wash.
7:05
SNY
WFAN

Wash.
7:05
SNY
WFAN

Wash.
1:05
SNY
WFAN

Yankees
7:05
SNY
WFAN

Yankees
7:15
FOX
WFAN

Yankees
1:05
WPIX
WFAN

Devils

Los Angeles
8:00
NBC Sports
WFAN 660 AM

NO GAME

L.A.
8:00
NBCSN
WBBR

NO GAME

NO GAME

$L.A.
8:00
NBC
WBBR

NO GAME

Liberty

NO
GAME

Atl.
7:00
No TV

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

Red Bulls

NO
GAME

^Harr.
7:30
No TV

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

NO
GAME

^ - Open Cup at Harrisburg; $ - if necessary

HOME

AWAY
Nypost.com

It’s same old song for RISP flops

Ken Davidoff
Follow Ken on Twitter
Blog: Baseball Insider

DETROIT — The Four Tops performed the national anthem last night at Comerica Park, which was fitting because we are in Motown, and apropos, too, because the Yankees proceeded to pay homage to one of the group’s greatest hits.

Yes, it was the same old song for baseball’s highest-paid team.

Sometimes, these 2012 Yankees lose close in a blowout. Other times, they lose close in a pitcher’s duel. Always, it seems, they lose because they fail to hit with runners in scoring position.

A 4-3 loss to the slumping Tigers wasted a strong outing by Hiroki Kuroda, and it highlighted — yet again — the Yankees’ startling inability to come through in the clutch.

AP

HIRO ON THE MOUND: Hiroki Kuroda pitched well for the Yankees last night for a second straight start, but came away empty because their bats once again failed.

“We couldn’t get the hit,” manager Joe Girardi said, after the rain-delayed, roller coaster of a ballgame. “And that was the story of the whole night.”

If you think the frustration is only external, you didn’t see Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long earn simultaneous ejections during Curtis Granderson’s seventh-inning at-bat, with Girardi throwing his cap and screaming at lousy home-plate umpire Bob Davidson. Girardi lobbed some accusations at Davidson, who already has been suspended once this year for poor conduct in these situations, so stay tuned on that front.

The Yankees actually came to tie the game one inning after the outburst, with Nick Swisher delivering the team’s only clutch hit of the night — an eighth-inning, two-out single off Joaquin Benoit that drove home Mark Teixeira from second base to knot the contest at 2-2 — and they capitalized on extremely wild closer Jose Valverde to lock it up again in the ninth at 3-3, thanks to two hit batters and two walks.

Neverthless, with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Raul Ibanez grounded out to first base to get Valverde off the hook, and the Tigers rallied in the bottom of the ninth against rookie David Phelps, prevailing on a sacrifice fly by former Met Omir Santos that scored Brennan Boesch from third.

In all, the Yankees went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, teasing their faithful and themselves with constant opportunities. For the season, the Yankees are now hitting a paltry .222 (97-for-437) with runners in scoring position, with a .327 on-base percentage and .400 slugging percentage

Now, perspective: At a modest 28-24, the Yankees are still very much in the thick of the race for both the American League East and the AL wild cards. If the season ended today, they would be tied with the Indians for the second wild card. You naturally expect more of this club, yet there’s no reason to call for anyone’s firing or anything.

Shoot, if you wanted to strap on your rose-colored glasses, you could even point out that Kuroda, who has been remarkably inconsistent this season, put together his second strong start on this three-city road trip.

Let’s not get carried away; the Tigers are underachieving offensively, and Kuroda’s previous opponent was the Athletics. But let’s recognize, as we have for most of this odd season, that a primary Yankees ailment is a skill that seems to sway from good to bad for all teams without much rational explanation.

They need to sway positively if they want to prevail in the AL East, a title more meaningful with the initiation of the new playoff system. And we still need to see more data on this Yankees starting rotation, knowing that trade talks will begin in earnest following this week’s amateur draft. If Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova or Kuroda can’t produce more regularly, than pitchers such as the Cubs’ Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster will be in play.

That’s a longer-term proposition, though. It’s rare for a deal to get done as soon as mid-June. Sooner than that, the Yankees have to solve their problems in the clutch so, at the least, they can stop reminding us of tunes from 1965.

kdavidoff@nypost.com

Hiroki Kuroda, Joe Girardi, Yankees, the Yankees, the Yankees, Tigers, Ken DavidoffFollow Ken

Nypost.com

Home Team Lineups

TODAY
June 1

SAT
June 2

SUN
June 3

MON
June 4

TUE
June 5

WED
June 6

THU
June 7

Yankees

Detroit
7:05
YES Network WCBS 880 AM

Det. 7:15 FOX
WCBS

Det. 1:05 YES
WCBS

NO GAME

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

T.B.
7:05
YES
WCBS

Mets

St. Louis
7:10
SportsNet NY WFAN 660 AM

St.L. 4:10 WPIX
WFAN

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7:05
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6:00
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7:00
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GAME

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GAME

Red Bulls

NO
GAME

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GAME

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Nypost.com

PSAL Class B baseball quarterfinals roundup: Washington Irving returns to semis

Washington Irving is headed back to the PSAL Class B semifinals.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs blanked No. 13 Law, Government & Justice, 3-0, in the quarterfinals as Melvin Ali and Miguel Rivera Sanchez combined on a one-hit shutout with Ali striking out eight in four innings.

Mike Flores had an RBI and scored a run and Ali had a hit and scored once for Irving (16-3), which fell to John Bowne in last year’s semis and will meet No. 1 South Bronx Sunday at Newtown at 2 p.m. Law, Government & Justice finishes 14-5.

No. 1 South Bronx 9, No. 8 Lab Museum 2: Kevin Victoriano homered, doubled and drove in four runs, he also struck out eight in six shutout innings, Ramon Rodriguez had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run and Mothaury Guzman added three hits, an RBI and scored twice for undefeated South Bronx (19-0), which scored six runs in the second inning. The Phoenix meets No. 5 Washington Irving in the semifinals Sunday at Newtown at 2 p.m. Basil Lyons had an RBI and Stephen Johnson scored a run for Lab (14-3).

No. 3 Queens Vocational Tech 10, No. 22 Cleveland 0: The Tigers (18-1), who won Queens B North, will face No. 15 Transit Tech in the semifinals Sunday at Newtown at 11 a.m. Cleveland finishes 13-6.

No. 15 Transit Tech 4, No. 7 Construction 2: The Cinderella Express (16-3) pulled their second straight upset and will meet No. 3 Queens Vocational Tech in the semifinals Sunday at Newtown at 11 a.m. Construction, the Queens B Central winner, ends the year at 16-3.

zbraziller@nypost.com

Washington Irving, Melvin Ali, Government & Justice, South Bronx, Miguel Rivera Sanchez, Ali, shutout innings, Kevin Victoriano, Newtown, Queens Vocational Tech, Transit Tech, Mothaury Guzman, John Bowne, Ramon Rodriguez, 10, No. 22 Cleveland

Nypost.com

Lab Museum United earns redemption, tops Morris for first PSAL 'B' softball crown

Lab Museum United has a special cheer before every game, “One team. Two schools. Go Gators.”

They now have one title to share.

The Manhattan squad, made up of Lab and Museum High Schools, topped Morris 14-2 in the PSAL Class B softball title game Wednesday afternoon at St. John’s University . It’s the second-seeded Gators' first-ever crown and earns them a bit of redemption after losing in the final two years ago and in the semifinals last season.

While the two schools are on different floors, there is a special bound that has formed between this group.

Denis Gostev

Lab Museum celebrates its victory over Morris for the PSAL Class B softball title.

Photos: Lab Museum-Morris

Denis Gostev

Lab Museum celebrates its victory over Morris.

Photos: Lab Museum-Morris

“We have been trying to get back here ever since,” Gators senior ace Sarah D’Amico said. …“We really, really wanted it.”

D’Amico was in the circle when her team lost to LaGuardia in 2010. She and starting classmates Jenny Ramirez and Ashanti Plummer were bent on making this year’s outcome very different. D’Amico tossed an absolute gem. She struck out 15 batters, including a four-strikeout inning because of a throwing error in the first, gave up three hits and allowed just one earned run.

“She did amazing,” second baseman Lindsey Bernstein said. “She always does amazing.”

The Lab Museum bats were special as well. Head coach Charles Jessup had his team face lob pitching in practice in preparation for facing Morris’ Chasity Quinones. The Gators (19-0) were attacking pitches early, leading to a nine-run first inning. They tacked on five more in the fifth. Bernstein was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Kaylee Cimino had three RBIs. including a two-run triple. and Plummer had two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Ramirez walked three times and scored three runs.

“We had to focus on slow pitch,” Jessup said. “We knew that they were a strong defensive team.”

No. 9 Morris (18-3) finally showed why it made a run to the final, knocking off top-seeded Frank Sinatra in the quarters and a red-hot No. 12 Brooklyn Tech team in the semifinals. The Bulldogs made some sparkling plays in the field, especially athletic shortstop Tiara Brown. The senior turned a 6-6-3 double play to end the second and made a barehanded stop in the fifth leading to an out. Jennifer Bronson delivered an RBI single in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a rough first inning.

The nerves, the family, girls were very hyped,” Morris coach Christopher O'Mara. “It was our first time being in the championship and I think the girls got a little tight.”

For the Gators, this was where they expected to be.

“I’m so proud of them,” D’Amico said. “I’m so proud of myself. I’m so excited that we did it. We finally got it.”

jstaszewski@nypost.com

Lab and Museum High Schools, Gators, Gators, Lab Museum-MorrisDenis GostevLab Museum, Lab Museum United, St. John’s University, Ashanti Plummer, Morris, Morris coach Christopher O'Mara, Jenny Ramirez, Charles Jessup

Nypost.com

Ewing told by Jordan he won’t get Bobcats job: report

It looks like another year will pass without Knicks great Patrick Ewing landing a head-coaching job.

Yahoo.com reports that Bobcats owner Michael Jordan informed Ewing that he will not get the vacant head-coaching job he interviewed for two weeks ago. Ewing faced competition for the position from former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, former Blazers coach Nate McMillan and Warriors assistant Mike Malone. A handful of other candidates had also interviewed with Charlotte.

Ewing has served as an assistant coach for the Magic the past five season, but with Stan Van Gundy’s recent firing he will now look for another assistant’s position.

Despite their rivalry on the court, Ewing and Jordan were close friends off it.

Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Jordan, assistant coach online, Mike Malone, Nate McMillan, Knicks, Bobcats, Blazers, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan

Nypost.com

Menlo Park approves expansion of Facebook headquarters

Menlo Park, Calif. — A Silicon Valley city where Facebook has opened its new headquarters voted Tuesday to support an environmental impact report and development agreement for a project that will allow the social media giant to employ thousands more people at the campus.

Under the deal, Facebook could base about 6,600 workers at the sprawling headquarters in Menlo Park, up from the current limit of 3,600 employees that was placed on the campus' previous occupant, Sun Microsystems. Facebook moved its headquarters to the campus from Palo Alto last year and now has about 2,200 employees at the site.

In exchange, Facebook will pay the city an average of $850,000 a year over 10 years to cover the impact of the additional workers on city infrastructure. Facebook also will make a one-time payment of more than $1 million for capital improvements, establish a $500,000 community improvement fund and set up high school internship and job training programs.

Facebook eventually wants to expand to another campus across the street that would allow it to employ a total of 9,400 people. The company plans to construct five new buildings totaling approximately 440,000 square feet as part of that project, which was included in the environmental impact report approved Tuesday.

All five members of the Menlo Park City Council voted yes at the lengthy meeting Tuesday night.

"Welcome to Menlo Park and we're happy to have you here," Mayor Kirsten Keith told company representatives.

Facebook's plans have raised concerns about traffic among some residents who live in the company's shadow. The neighboring city of Atherton has threatened a lawsuit, saying the environmental impact report doesn't adequately address an expected increase in traffic at one particular intersection.

Menlo Park City Manager Alex McIntyre said the two cities are continuing to discuss the issue. Facebook has said it will encourage employees to carpool, take public transit or walk or bike to work.

Tuesday's vote will have to be seconded by the city council next week before it could go into effect, McIntyre said.

Facebook, environmental impact report, MENLO PARK, Calif., Menlo Park, headquarters, Silicon Valley city, Menlo Park City Council, Sun Microsystems, employees, city infrastructure, Mayor Kirsten Keith

Nypost.com

NYPost.com Poll: Who is the city's top pure baseball hitter?

Pitchers draw most of the headlines this time of year and New York City has plenty of good ones. But the five borough has plenty of pure hitters, too, guys who can turn around a game with one swing of the bat, who can roll out of bed and lace line drives to all fields.

There are plenty of options, from Xaverian’s Eric Kalman to Grand Street Campus’ Ernesto Lopez and Archbishop Molloy’s Jonathan Ramon to name a few. We’re asking you, who is the best pure hitter in the city?

Vote early often below until 11:59 p.m. Monday for your choice.

Who is the city's best pure baseball hitter?online surveys

Eric Kalman, New York City, Ernesto Lopez, Jonathan Ramon, hitter, hitters, Grand Street Campus

Nypost.com

Pitching Form

(Game time)

2012

'12 vs OPP

CAREER

LAST 3 STARTS

LINE

W-L

ERA

*REC

W-L

ERA

vs OPP

W-L

IP

ERA

*AHW

Yankees

Hughes (R)

(9:05pm)

4-5

4.94

4-5

—

—

3-2

2-1

19.0

2.37

10.9

Angels

Weaver (R)

7-8

6-1

2.61

7-3

1-0

1.80

5-2

1-1

18.1

5.40

10.8

Phillies

Hamels (L)

6-7

7-1

2.17

8-1

1-2

6.86

4-10

3-0

22.0

1.64

9.0

Mets

Niese (L)

(1:10pm)

3-2

4.29

5-4

2-3

5.53

4-4

1-1

16.2

4.86

13.5

Nationals

Zmmermann (R)

(1:10pm)

3-4

2.47

5-4

0-1

5.68

0-2

2-1

19.0

2.84

10.9

Marlins

Zambrano (R)

6-7

2-3

2.85

4-5

—

—

8-4

1-1

19.0

4.74

11.8

Cardinals

Lynn (R)

(1:10pm)

7-1

2.54

7-2

—

—

0-1

1-1

18.0

5.00

14.5

Braves

Hanson (R)

Even-6

5-3

3.12

6-4

—

—

1-0

2-0

18.0

2.00

11.0

Reds

Arroyo (R)

(1:35pm)

2-2

3.22

6-3

0-2

8.18

6-6

0-1

19.1

4.19

13.0

Pirates

McDonald (R)

Even-6

3-2

2.51

5-4

2-1

3.49

4-1

1-1

20.2

2.18

7.4

Padres

Suppan (R)

(2:20pm)

2-3

4.21

2-3

—

—

6-11

0-3

15.2

6.32

16.7

Cubs

Wood (L)

5 1/2-6 1/2

0-1

3.86

1-1

0-0

1.17

0-0

0-1

11.2

3.86

7.7

Astros

Rodriguez (L)

(3:10pm)

4-4

2.14

4-6

0-0

6.00

4-3

1-1

21.0

2.14

10.3

Rockies

Nicasio (R)

6-7

2-2

4.83

4-5

—

—

0-0

0-1

16.2

3.78

13.0

D'Backs

Cahill (R)

(5:05pm)

2-4

3.74

4-5

1-0

1.29

3-1

0-1

16.2

4.86

14.0

Giants

Zito (L)

Even-6

3-2

3.53

5-4

0-0

13.50

4-8

2-1

14.1

6.91

14.4

Brewers

Marcum (R)

Even-6

2-3

3.93

2-7

1-0

1.29

2-0

1-2

18.0

5.00

11.0

Dodgers

Harang (R)

(8:10pm)

3-2

4.36

5-4

0-0

0.00

6-5

2-0

19.1

2.79

8.8

Astros

Lyles (R)

(8:10pm)

0-1

5.29

0-3

0-1

13.50

0-1

0-1

17.0

5.29

13.8

Rockies

White (R)

7 1/2-8 1/2

1-3

5.32

1-3

0-1

8.44

0-1

1-2

17.1

6.23

12.5

Tigers

Fister (R)

(1:35pm)

0-2

1.84

1-4

1-0

0.00

1-2

0-2

18.2

2.89

12.1

Red Sox

Doubront (L)

Even-6

4-2

3.96

6-3

—

—

0-0

2-1

17.2

2.04

10.7

Athletics

Blackley (L)

(2:10pm)

0-0

4.09

0-0

—

—

0-0

---

----

----

----

Twins

Diamond (L)

6 1/2-7 1/2

3-1

1.78

3-1

—

—

0-0

2-1

18.1

2.45

11.8

White Sox

Sale (L)

(3:10pm)

5-2

2.50

5-3

0-0

3.86

0-0

2-1

17.1

2.08

9.9

Rays

Moore (L)

Even-6

1-4

5.07

3-6

—

—

0-0

0-2

15.0

3.60

12.6

Royals

Adcock (R)

(4:05pm)

0-2

2.33

0-1

0-0

1.93

0-0

0-1

5.0

1.80

10.8

Indians

Tomlin (R)

6 1/2-7 1/2

1-2

4.67

3-2

2-0

1.86

4-2

0-1

18.0

4.50

12.0

Orioles

Hunter (R)

(7:07pm)

2-2

5.07

6-3

0-2

5.57

2-3

0-1

19.0

5.21

10.9

Blue Jays

Hutchison (R)

6 1/2-7 1/2

3-2

5.73

4-3

—

—

0-0

2-1

16.0

4.50

12.9

Mariners

Millwood (R)

(8:05pm)

3-4

3.72

4-5

—

—

1-2

3-0

22.0

0.41

5.7

Rangers

Harrison (L)

8 1/2-10

5-3

4.72

5-4

4-0

1.98

7-1

1-1

18.1

3.93

13.3

* 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

Torts’ shot-blocking edict could hamper Rangers’ growth

Larry Brooks
Follow Larry on Twitter
Blog: Slap Shots

SLAP SHOTS

If you’re a Rangers fan, the last thing you want to see the first month of next season is Chris Kreider flinging himself in front of shots from the blue line.

Check that: If you’re a Rangers fan, the last thing you want to see the first month of next season is Kreider in street clothes, scratched from a game because he hadn’t flung himself in front of shots from the blue line.

Personnel questions await the Blueshirts following their run through the regular season and their stop-and-go trek to the Eastern Conference finals, but the larger question concerns the team’s style of play going forward under coach John Tortorella, who has cast himself as a true believer that shot-blocking is at the very foundation of an NHL team’s pyramid of success.

Neil Miller (2)

TAKING A SHOT: Stu Bickel (pictured) throws himself in front of a shot as Henrik Lundqvist looks on earlier this season, a perfect example of the game coach John Tortorella wants the team to play, which Larry Brooks says could hurt the team’s opportunities to improve in the offseason.

John Tortorella

VOTE: WHICH RANGERS TO KEEP?

Actually, the two questions are interlocked just like the letters on the hats worn by the Yankees, because if the Rangers are going to insist every player in the organization fit into the same round hole and there’s no room for diverse styles under this coach, then that is severely going to limit the options available to general manager Glen Sather as he seeks to upgrade the team’s talent level.

Tortorella insisted during the conference finals that his current philosophy is essentially unchanged from the one he had at Tampa Bay in 2004, when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup. The coach said he had emphasized shot-blocking as much then as he does now.

No one is in position to know better what they did than Tortorella, as he once said in 2007, but I have to tell you, not only do I have no memory of Marty St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Dan Boyle flinging themselves in front of shots during the seven-game finals against Calgary that I covered, there isn’t a single reference to shot-blocking from the coach in my notebook.

Instead, there is this from the Game 1 morning skate on May 25, 2004: “We play one style — that’s attack.”

There is, however, also this: “I think every coaching staff and organization looks at the team and [determines] which is the best style to be successful. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong system.”

So bringing it forward, do the Rangers play the way they do, where blocking shots is mandatory and the team packs the defensive zone, because Tortorella believes that’s the style that gives the club its best shot at winning, or do the Blueshirts play that way because the coach has become a zealot in the manner of a reformed sinner?

The Rangers provided the evidence a team can be enormously successful during the regular season by giving playoff-caliber effort 82 nights a year because the fact of the matter is few teams are willing to pay that enormous price through a six-month grind.

The Black-and-Blueshirts proved they could thrive by spending shift after shift in their own end during the regular season, frustrating opponents by diving in front of shots, allowing foes to keep the puck on the outside, as long as the effort was supported by world-class goaltending.

But not so much in the playoffs, when every team is willing to pay the ultimate price, and not so much in the playoffs when the more talented teams and more adroit coaches can adjust to that style of play, as the Devils did under Pete DeBoer once Martin Brodeur rang an alarm bell following Game 1 of the Battle of the Hudson.

It is incontrovertible that the damage players incur by recklessly throwing their bodies in harm’s way takes a considerable toll once six months and 82 games become eight months and up to 110 games.

Nobody is suggesting the Rangers haven’t built a work ethic and cornerstone of sacrifice worthy of envy and admiration. They have. And for whatever role Tortorella has had in instilling that, the coach is worthy of praise.

But the Rangers are going to have to be a more diversified team with a more diversified look in order to get from Game 6 of the conference finals to the Canyon of Heroes.

That means adding talent, but there’s no use in adding talent if Tortorella won’t exploit it. For instance, if the answer to the question, “Could Alexander Radulov help the Rangers?” is “He’d never be able to play for Tortorella,” then something is askew because that’s pretty much what everyone was saying about Ilya Kovalchuk two years ago.

Do the Rangers play this way because they have to or because Tortorella wants them to or is it a combination of both through a growth process from which the Blueshirts went from 18th overall to second overall this year?

It’s impossible to know for sure, because while there is what Tortorella said in Tampa on May 25, 2004, there is also what the coach said in Pittsburgh on the morning of Feb. 21, this year:

“If you’re not blocking shots, you’re not playing.”

larry.brooks@nypost.com

John Tortorella, Rangers fan, Blueshirts, Blueshirts, Blueshirts, Chris Kreider, Tortorella, Tortorella, Rangers, Rangers, Rangers, Eastern Conference finals, Larry BrooksFollow Larry, Larry Brooks, conference finals, conference finals

Nypost.com

Hondo still a Cain man

Hondo’s prayers were answered last night when the Angels preyed on King Felix to reduce the accounts payable to 1,675 lumpes.

Today, Mr. Aitch will give the ball to his ace — 10 units on Cain to gut the Fish. Also, he’ll put another 10 on Old Man Moyer to get smacked around by the Reds.

-$

House ’Crats will hold a fundraiser this week to honor the 25th anniversary of Barney Frank coming out of the closet. If that’s worthy of a donation, wait till they find out it’s also the 23-year anniversary of when a gay brothel was being run of Barney’s basement — the cash will be pouring in . . . Obama, aka Puff The Magic President, reportedly made a reference in a Colorado campaign speech about Jesse Owens’ success in the 1938 Olympics. So big deal, he made a mistake (it was the ’36 Olympics) -- Democrats in all 57 states couldn’t care less.

hondo@nypost.com

Barney Frank, accounts payable

Nypost.com

NFL union hits owners on collusion

The players union claimed yesterday that the NFL imposed a secret salary cap during the uncapped 2010 season that cost the players at least $1 billion.

The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, which oversees the Reggie White settlement covering NFL labor matters. But the league says the union has no grounds for the action and is prohibited from filing it by the collective bargaining agreement.

The complaint claims a “conspiracy” to set a $123 million salary cap for the 2010 season, when owners did not have the authority to do so. The Cowboys and Redskins have had their future salary caps lowered for overspending in 2010, Dallas by $10 million over two seasons, Washington by a whopping $36 million.

Both teams lost a grievance against those reductions on Tuesday.

“When the rules are broken in a way that hurts the game, we have an obligation to act. We cannot stand by when we now know that the owners conspired to collude,” union chief DeMaurice Smith said yesterday.

In response to the reopening of the Reggie White lawsuit, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, “There was no collusion. There was no agreement. These claims are totally unfounded.”

The NFL has considered the 2010 uncapped season a closed matter ever since the new labor deal was signed last summer. Clearly, the players do not, and now are seeking compensation for lost wages caused by collusion among the teams.

“Our union recently learned that there was a secret salary cap agreement in an uncapped year,” NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth said. “The complaint is our effort to fulfill our duty to every NFL player. They deserve to know, above all, the facts and the truth about this conspiracy.”

Reggie White, NFL, NFL player, U.S. District Court, salary cap, salary caps, The Cowboys, NFL Players Association President Domonique Foxworth

Nypost.com