antonegb

The Jets have myriad positional needs entering the NFL Draft.

CineSport's Noah Coslov and the New York Post's Bart Hubbuch discuss which take priority and how Tim Tebow may have an impact.

Noah Coslov, Bart Hubbuch, New York Post, The Jets, Tim Tebow

Nypost.com

WASHINGTON -- Sales of existing homes in the US fell 2.6 percent in March, the second monthly drop, though the sales pace in the first quarter was the best in five years, according to data released Thursday.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said sales ran a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million, compared to 4.60 million in February.

A MarketWatch poll of economists expected sales of 4.63 million. The NAR previously estimated sales of 4.59 million in February.

Annually, sales were up 5.2 percent, the ninth straight month of year-on-year gains.

Median prices rose 2.5 percent to $163,800, which NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun attributed to a larger number of upper-end homes being sold. Inventories fell 1.3 percent to 2.37 million homes, or a 6.3 month supply at current sales prices.

To read more, go to MarketWatch

National Association of Realtors, NAR, MarketWatch, seasonally adjusted annual rate

Nypost.com

Steve Serby

One by one, the proud father of Rangers hero Brian Boyle runs down the names and ages of his 13 children. Artie Boyle is a man who used an undying faith to score a miracle goal against terminal cancer, a man with 15 grandchildren now, a father who lost one of those 13 children to SIDS at the age of two months.

So this is a family that knows life is no breakaway, and that if you are lucky enough, if you believe enough, triumph sometimes has a chance to overcome tragedy, and maybe you can even get to cheer your son as he chases a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers.

AP

BOY, OH BOY-LE: Brian Boyle had never scored a goal in the playoffs entering this season, but has scored in the first three games against the Senators.

“Brian’s always played well in big-game situations and pressure situations his whole life, it doesn’t matter what the sport was,” Artie Boyle said last night from Hingham, Mass.

It was Artie Boyle who three years ago asked Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi at Boston’s Hilton Logan Airport if he would consider trading Brian to the East Coast.

“Any place but Boston,” Artie Boyle said, and chuckled, “but get him back to the East Coast. The pressure of coming to play in our hometown is ridiculous. Especially this town. The fans are crazy!”

Boyle paused and added: “And I could never afford to buy all the tickets!”

There would be no need. “Within two weeks, he [Lombardi] traded him to the best possible city he could have traded him,” Boyle said. “It was like a dream come true.”

It was more like a nightmare in the beginning. Brian Boyle struggled mightily with the Rangers. That’s when his mother Judy implored him to say a novena.

“He just prayed for nine days,” Judy Boyle said. “Pray to St. Jude and ask him to calm you down and give you insight and to bless you.”

At the end of those nine days, Boyle was a different player. “We’re a family of believers,” Judy Boyle said, “and he’s very much a part of that.”

Only years later did Brian learn the extent of his father’s battle with cancer, this one starting in a kidney that would be surgically removed, and then lodging in his lungs. This was in 2000.

“They gave me a five percent chance to live,” Artie Boyle said.

At the urging of his brother-in-law, Kevin Gill, and dear friend Rob Griffin, Boyle traveled to a Marian apparition site in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he spent 10 days engaged in a state of meditation through prayer, even praying on top of a mountain.

“They knew I was sick,” Artie Boyle said. “They didn’t know it was that desperate.”

The Miracle on Ice you know. Here was The Miracle Off Ice. The cancer disappeared.

“I came back, surgery was canceled, and I was healed,” Boyle said.

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Brian Boyle, Artie Boyle, Artie Boyle, Rangers hero Brian Boyle, Boston’s Hilton Logan Airport, Judy Boyle, Dean Lombardi

Nypost.com

During the preseason, Martin Brodeur criticized NHL disciplinary czar Brendan Shanahan for giving the league a black eye. Now the Devils’ goalie is backing Shanahan’s efforts to keep a lid on these boiling-over playoffs.

Brodeur said he’s surprised at partisan criticism of Shanahan’s verdicts, such as the veiled slap by the Rangers over Carl Hagelin’s suspension.

“It has to be done, regardless of whether it’s good [for the game] or not. It has to be done,” said Brodeur, who was pulled after allowing three goals in the Devils’ 4-3 loss to the Panthers in Game 3 Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. “You have to clean up some of the hits and some of the actions. They’re dangerous. It’s not a good thing. I think he’s doing a good job, considering.

“But I’m surprised at the media. Look at the Rangers’ statement. ‘We accept everything, but...’ ”

Brodeur referred to the Rangers’ reaction to Hagelin’s three-game suspension for elbowing Daniel Alfredsson out of the Senators’ lineup.

“When you get to this point and you see what’s going on, [Shanahan] has got to stick to his guns and do what’s right, what he or the league believes has to be done,” Brodeur said. “People are really tough on him as far as comments. Every team has their own people talking about it. On national TV, one guy supports him, another doesn’t. For the fan watching, which at the end of the day is what I am, it’s weird to hear that.

“You’re getting ‘Why this guy who never did anything, and what’s the reasoning behind it?’ ”

Brodeur said crossing the line is part of the playoffs and has to be patrolled.

“There’s a lot at stake,” he said. “With the regular season we had and all the incidents we had, I thought we wouldn’t have to deal with this as quickly as we have. But you see it all over, guys getting hurt, guys getting suspensions, all over the place, from instigating, coaches getting fined. It’s pretty chaotic.”

mark.everson@nypost.com

Brendan Shanahan, Martin Brodeur, Daniel Alfredsson, Rangers, Prudential Center, Carl Hagelin, NHL

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Retired NBA star Jayson Williams was freed from jail Friday after serving eight months for drunken driving in New York and 18 months before that in New Jersey on charges stemming from a limo driver’s shooting death.

“I am eager to see my daughters, my mother and siblings and make amends for what they’ve been through, the former New Jersey Nets star said through his manager. “Start my life over with God being first and in the center of everything I do.”

Williams drove his SUV into a tree in lower Manhattan in 2010, a week after he accepted a plea deal stemming from the 2002 shotgun death of a chauffeur in his New Jersey mansion. His manager and attorneys have said he has since attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, gone through counseling and taught Bible study.

Williams had a six-year, $86 million contract with the Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000. Two years after he left the sport, he killed driver Costas Christofi with a 12-gauge shotgun while showing it to friends, having failed to check the weapon’s safety mechanism before snapping the gun closed.

Williams then wiped down the weapon and placed it in the chauffeur’s hands, stripped off his own clothes, handed them to a friend and jumped into his pool, according to testimony. Williams’ lawyers maintained that the shooting was an accident and that his actions were driven by panic.

The shooting marked the start of a cascade of troubles for Williams, who was promptly suspended from his post-basketball job as an NBA analyst for NBC.

While the case surrounding the shooting lingered after a 2004 mistrial on a top count, his wife filed for divorce, and police used a stun gun on him in a New York hotel after a female friend said he was acting suicidal. He was charged with assault in May 2009 after police say he punched a man in the face outside a North Carolina bar, but charges were dropped. His father also died.

Williams pleaded guilty in January 2010 to a lesser aggravated assault count in the shooting case while awaiting a retrial. Under his plea agreement, he had to serve at least 18 months in state prison because a gun was involved and up to five years for a prior conviction of trying to cover up the crime. The sentences were to run concurrent and he became eligible for parole after serving 18 months.

He was paroled from a facility in Wrightstown, N.J. in August, and was transferred to Rikers to serve up to a year after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated. He was released Friday after eight months.

A first-round NBA draft pick in 1990, Williams played nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Nets. He averaged 10 or more rebounds a game in his final four NBA seasons and was named to an All-Star team.

New Jersey Nets, Retired NBA star Jayson Williams, New Jersey, Alcoholics Anonymous, New York, Costas Christofi, NBA, Williams

Nypost.com

The defining moment last night was more like two minutes, the embodiment of the Rangers’ mentality in the form of a penalty kill.

Barely holding on to a 1-0 lead with seven minutes remaining in the second period, the gritty Rangers stifled the Senators’ electric power play and swung momentum in their direction, resulting in two quick goals en route to a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of their opening-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

“They’ve got a talented group and I thought our penalty kill was good tonight,” said Marc Staal, who played a major role in keeping the Senators scoreless in three man-advantages totaling 6:00. “They’ve got a good group and it’s something we knew we needed to be on and we were solid.”

Anthony J. Causi

HOT START: Brian Boyle fights with Ottawa’s Kyle Turris for the puck in the second period, in which the Rangers killed three Senators power plays and scored twice.

Although the Rangers ended the first period up 1-0, they were outshot 13-8 and it seemed like the Senators were doing most of the puck possession. Almost 13 minutes in the second, Ryan McDonagh went down to block a shot and ended up sliding into the legs of shifting Erik Karlsson.

McDonagh was called for a trip — much to the chagrin of the 18,200 in attendance, because they knew what a turning point it could be if the Senators scored and tied the game.

“They’ve got guys that can move the puck around,” Staal said. “Reading off each other is the biggest thing and not really paying attention to what they’re doing, just making sure we’re doing the right thing.”

The right thing is exactly what they did.

Brian Boyle won a defensive faceoff. Quick sticks caused Karlsson, the Senators’ sniper, to miss the net. Then when Karlsson got the puck back, Ryan Callahan stepped in front of a shot and blocked it.

By the time Staal put a hard hit on Milan Michalek, the man-advantage was over, the crowd was on their feet, and within five minutes Marian Gaborik and Brian Boyle both scored to make it 3-0.

“They’re going to try and make adjustments,” Boyle said. “That was big. We need to kill them off.”

The Senators’ regular-season power play was ranked 11th in the league (18.2 percent), while the Rangers matched that with a penalty kill ranked fifth (86.2 percent), built mostly on a blue-collar mindset that permeates their whole game.

“I thought we killed penalties very well tonight,” coach John Tortorella said. “It’s going to have to maintain. They have a really good power play so we’re going to have to keep on working on it.”

bcyrgalis@nypost.com

Brian Boyle, Brian Boyle, Marc Staal, Rangers, Senators, electric power play, Rangers, penalty kill, power play, Kyle Turris

Nypost.com

Veteran scouts who have watched Derek Jeter since 1996 believe he has gotten quicker at 37 than in previous seasons.

“His legs look quicker,’’ said a scout who watched Jeter play for the Yankees against Baltimore this week. “The first step out of the box is quicker. It doesn’t seem to show up in his range in the field, but the first step from the plate is quicker.’’

The scout timed Jeter in 4.24 and 4.25 seconds from home to first. The major league average from the right-handed batter’s box to first is 4.3.

Scouts who watched Jeter play against the Rays on Tropicana Field’s turf said Jeter was faster.

DEREK JETER
Off to a quick start.

“He was 4.20 in Baltimore and the watches had him at 4.16 on the turf,’’ a scout said. “He looks great. He has found a natural fountain of youth.’’

Jeter, who has 10 hits in 27 at-bats and is batting. 370, has hit in five of the six Yankees games and went 4-for-4 Monday night in Baltimore.

* Yesterday’s off day gave manager Joe Girardi a chance to re-charge a bullpen he was forced to lean heavily on Tuesday and Wednesday in Baltimore because of a pair of extra-inning games and Freddy Garcia leaving Tuesday’s game after 4 2/3 innings.

In the last 15 1/3 innings worked by the bullpen, the other team hasn’t scored and has collected six hits. The last Yankees reliever to give up a run was Boone Logan. He surrendered a homer to the Rays’ Jeff Keppinger Sunday in the sixth inning.

* Though there is some hand-wringing about the Yankees’ .222 (14-for-63) average with runners in scoring position, the pitchers are holding opposing hitters to .210 (13-for-62) in the clutch.

* Jorge Posada will throw out the first pitch in the Yankees’ home opener today. ... The Yankees have won 13 of the last 14 home openers and 18 of the previous 20.

* Jeter has been part of home openers since 1996 and never changes his thoughts about it.

“It never seems like the season officially gets underway until you have the home opener,’’ Jeter said.

Derek Jeter, the Yankees, the Yankees, Baltimore, Jorge Posada, the Rays, Joe Girardi

Nypost.com

FIRST-6f; $19,000; mdn cl($30,000); 3up

2

Mainstay (Guidry)

6.60

3.80

3.00

10

Affrmed Wrror (Leproux)

9.20

7.20

5

Proponet (Lanerie)

15.60

* Exacta (2-10) $71.20 * Superfecta (2-10-5-3) $20,635.20 * Trifecta (2-10-5) $1,904.60

SECOND-1 1/16m; $17,000; cl($10,0); 4up; (f&m)

5

Quck Splt (Lproux)

4.40

2.80

2.60

9

Tribecky (Homeister,Jr.)

5.00

4.40

6

Finest Vision (Arguello,Jr.)

22.00

* Double (2-5) $14.80 * Exacta (5-9) $25.60 * Superfecta (5-9-6-4) $6,320.20 * Trifecta (5-9-6) $793.00

THIRD-6f; $26,000; str alw; 4up

3

Mr. Fzzybttm (Lnr)

25.40

7.80

3.80

4

New Believer (Sanchez)

2.80

2.40

9

Beatnik (Velazquez)

3.00

Scr: Murphys Covert, Scored.

* Pick 3 (2-5-3) $204.80 * Double (5-3) $53.60 * Exacta (3-4) $70.20 * Superfecta (3-4-9-6) $784.20 * Trifecta (3-4-9) $248.80

FOURTH-1 1/2m(T); $58,000; alw; 4up; (f&m)

3

Hasay (Velazquez)

3.20

2.40

2.20

7

Turns My Hed (Leproux)

3.80

3.00

6

Revelstoke (Hernandez,Jr.)

4.60

Scr: Starformer.

* Pick 3 (5-3-3) $100.20 * Double (3-3) $51.20 * Exacta (3-7) $11.00 * Superfecta (3-7-6-5) $115.20 * Trifecta (3-7-6) $59.00

Exacta picked by DaSIlva

FIFTH-1 1/16m; $50,000; mdn spcl wt; 4up

1

Sr McIntyre (Saez)

6.60

3.40

2.80

2

Thunderous G (Cruz)

4.40

3.40

4

Silver Dib (Stephen)

6.20

* $0.5 Pick 4 (5-3-2/3-1) $102.05 * Pick 3 (3-3-1) 3 Correct $207.40 * Double (3-1) $19.20 * Exacta (1-2) $36.80 * Superfecta (1-2-4-7) $1,372.60 * Trifecta (1-2-4) $301.80

SIXTH-7f; $54,000; alw; 4up

7

Notoriety (Cruz)

24.00

8.00

6.00

12

The Paddyman (Bejarno)

6.60

5.20

3

Flashy Green (McKee)

16.80

Scr: Appealing Image.. dh_Duke of Del Rey, Voodoo Doctor6

* Pick 3 (3-1-7) $218.00 * Double (1-7) $111.60 * Exacta (7-12) $153.00 * Superfecta (7-12-3-1) $22,243.40 * Tri (7-12-3) $4,322.40

SEVENTH-1m(T); $67,000; alw; 4up; (f&m)

11

Mrktng Mx (Lprx)

5.20

3.40

2.80

2

Inglorious (Contreras)

5.20

4.20

7

Hungry Island (Velazquez)

3.40

Scr: Lunar Mist.

* Pick 3 (1-7-11) $481.20 * Double (7-11) $81.00 * Exacta (11-2) $35.80 * Superfecta (11-2-7-5) $486.00 * Trifecta (11-2-7) $111.60

EIGHTH-7f; $20,000; str alw; 4up; (f&m)

5

On Lst Ntmr (Lprx)

8.40

4.40

3.40

6

Clss of Ffty Two (Pedroz)

35.00

12.60

1

Awesome and Wild (Straight)

6.00

Scr: Hurricane Barb.

* $0.5 Pick 5 (2/3-1-7-6/11-5) $697.05, $8.50 * $0.5 Pick 4 (1-7-6/11-5) $383.40 * Pick 3 (7-11-5) $410.00 * Trifecta (5-6-1) $3,039.00 * Double (11-5) $23.40 * Exacta (5-6) $490.40 * Superfecta (5-6-1-7) $10,470.80

Attendance unavailable.

Homeister,Jr., Trifecta, Superfecta, 4.403.404Silver Dib

Nypost.com

MLB: Hellickson out of hospital

Rays right-hander Jeremy Hellickson has been released from the hospital after he was hit in the head by a ball during batting practice before yesterday’s 4-2 Rays’ win in Detroit. Ben Zobrist hit a tiebreaking two-run single during a four-run ninth that beat Justin Verlander who took a one-hitter into the inning.

Ian Kinsler and the Rangers finalized a $75 million, five-year contract through 2017.

In Toronto, Yunel Escobar drove in two runs and the Blue Jays won 3-1 to drop the Red Sox (1-5).

Roy Halladay pitched seven innings and the Phillies beat the Marlins 7-1 in Miami’s first game without suspended manager Ozzie Guillen.

Hoops: Isiah’s players seek transfers

Some of Isiah Thomas’ former players at Florida International said they want to play elsewhere because of his firing, and that the school is refusing to release them from their scholarships.

Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 30 rebounds, the most in an NBA game this season, and the Lakers didn’t need Kobe Bryant, who sat out his third consecutive game with a sore shin, to blow out the Spurs, 98-84, in San Antonio.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love was hospitalized after sustaining a mild concussion and neck strain after a hit to the head during last night’s 113-107 loss in Denver.

The NCAA put Baylor on three years of probation after an investigation turned up hundreds of impermissible telephone calls and text messages sent to recruits by coaches and assistants on both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Isaiah Cousins of Mount Vernon HS signed a national letter of intent to play for Oklahoma next season while top prospects Nerlens Noel selected Kentucky and Shabazz Muhammad chose UCLA.

NFL: Parcells happy on outside

Bill Parcells said his initial concern for Sean Payton couldn’t override the fact he “didn’t really feel an inclination” to coach the Saints.During an interview with ESPN, Parcells explained his reasoning for turning down the New Orleans’ offer to replace Payton, on an interim basis, while Payton serves a one-year suspension for his role in the bounty program. “I’ve been out quite a while now. I have another life. I’m very happy with that,” he said.

The Bears agreed to a one-year contract extension with Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs.

NHL: Flyers rally tops Penguins in OT

In Pittsburgh, Jakub Voracek beat Marc-Andre Fleury 2:23 into OT to give the visiting Flyers a 4-3 comeback victory over the Penguins in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series. Fleury stopped Matt Read’s shot from the corner, but Voracek pounced on the rebound to cap a furious rally from a 3-0 deficit.

In Vancouver, Dustin Penner scored with 3:14 left in the third period to help the Kings beat the Canucks 4-2 in the opener of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. . . .In Nashville, Gabriel Bourque scored two goals and the Predators beat the Red Wings in Game 1 of their Western Conference series.

Bruins first-line forward Nathan Horton (concussion) will miss the playoffs.

Golf: Woods to play Wells Fargo, TPC

Tiger Woods will next compete at the Wells Fargo Championship May 3-6 at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. He also committed to The Players Championship the following week . . . Joe Steranka, 53, will retire at the end of the year as chief executive of the PGA of America.

Justin Verlander, Jeremy Hellickson, Sean Payton, Yunel Escobar, Red Sox, Western Conference, Ben Zobrist, Wells Fargo, Kobe Bryant

Nypost.com

The stock market extended its longest and deepest slump of the year Tuesday, caught between a recurring nightmare of European debt and the beginning of uncertain corporate earnings reports at home.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 213.66 points, its biggest decline of the year and third triple-digit loss in four days. It closed at 12,715.93, its lowest since Feb. 2.

A five-day losing streak has shaved about 550 points off the Dow, about half what it gained from January through March.

In Europe, concern about the financial health of Spain intensified, and borrowing costs for both Spain and Italy rose considerably. Spain's borrowing costs crept closer to levels that forced other countries to seek bailouts.

European markets sold off while Wall Street was still sleeping. The main stock indexes in Spain and France closed down about 3 percent, the equivalent of a 400-point drop in the Dow. Stocks dropped 2.5 percent in Germany and 2.2 percent in Britain.

"They've managed to put a Band-Aid on the debt crisis, but there's really no solution," said Colleen Supran, a principal at the investment adviser Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough. "And Spain is a much bigger problem than Greece."

The yield on 10-year Spanish bonds rose to almost 6 percent. The point at which governments can no longer afford to raise money on the international bond markets and must seek bailouts is generally considered to be 7 percent.

The 7 percent level forced Greece, the last focal point of the European debt crisis, to seek rescue loans. But Spain's economy is more than five times as large as Greece's.

In the United States, investors waited for an earnings report from Alcoa, the aluminum maker, scheduled for just after the closing bell. Alcoa is the first of the 30 stocks in the Dow to report its quarterly results.

After nine consecutive quarters of earnings growth, analysts think earnings will be flat this time. Better performance than that could stop the market's decline, but a weaker showing could accelerate the selling.

Alcoa stock fell 2.9 percent ahead of the report, compared with a 1.7 percent decline for the broader Standard & Poor's 500.

"Whatever qualifications you want to give it — it's because of cost-cutting, they've laid off a lot of people — earnings have been one bright spot," said Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management in Annapolis, Md. "If that were to turn, that would be sort of the last leg on the stool being knocked away."

After the strongest first three months for stocks since 1998, investors have found plenty to fret about.

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Spain, Dow Jones industrial average, Dow, stock market, corporate earnings reports, Colleen Supran, Adrian Day Asset Management

Nypost.com