Photo of Dutch fans in Basel, Switzerland, by Matt Dunham, AP The European Cup soccer tournament heads into the quarterfinals this weekend and it's shaping up to be one of the most exciting and highest-rated international tournaments in some time. For those who contend that soccer is too boring to watch, one should try watching it surrounded by football fanatics who can not only clue you in on the finer parts of the game,......

The Sex and the City movie is causing more trouble today, officially making it as controversial as "a Taliban recruitment video," at least according to Jeffrey Wells's scathing review. Following the premiere's overbooking incident, both New Line Cinema and Radio City Music Hall are pointing the finger of blame at each other. With thousands of ticket-holders turned away, The NY Post wants to know who's got the blood, sweat and tears of Sex fanatics on......

Though the trailer echoed the sentiment that "Brooklyn is the new Manhattan," and SJP herself called the outer boroughs "desirable," last night the Sex and the City movie premiere took place smack dab in the middle of town at Radio City Music Hall. The NY Post reported back with bold face names and pull quotes from the Swarovski crystal-adorned pink carpet (yes, it was pink), where Carrie & Co. assured us all that the best......

With the Sex and the City movie just 10 days away from release, the film is finally getting some press. While early reviews are panning Parker & Co's big screen effort, there's still, apparently, a lot of interest and a lot to talk about. The NY Times likens the fandom of the stiletto set to that of the light sabers crowd. Advanced tickets are being bought in bulk for opening night, flights are being booked......

Last month the New Kids on the Block (or if you prefer, NKOTB) reunited on the Today Show to announce they were...reuniting. This morning they returned to play some tunes at a rainy Rockefeller Plaza (at press time a nostalgia-packed medley is going down), and fans lined the streets to get in. Guest of a Guest reports from the frontlines, saying, "we almost tripped over NKOTB votaries camping on 48th Street as we were en......

Madonna, who recently stated that NYC gives her the zzz's, was stirring things up in town for an intimate performance last night. Her Madgesty took the Roseland Ballroom stage in front of 2,200 fans, for a show which demanded die-hards wait in line for what turned out to be 60 hours, just for a chance to get into. Fanatics? No. One of them, a Brooklynite, swears, “I’m not fanatical. But I do collect Madonna magazine......

New York Comic Con took place at the Javits Center this weekend and drew thousands of fans to meet authors, artists, actors, and characters of pop culture. It's also an opportunity for professionals in the industry to mingle and do business. This is the third year that the event has been held in New York.......

Fans of Ditmas Park favorite the Farm on Adderley, get ready: The newest venture from co-owners Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell, a French bistro dubbed Pomme de Terre, is on the verge of opening. Apparently the regular customers at the Farm are jonesing for another mid-range restaurant in the neighborhood, and it's unlikely a recent shooting on the very same corner will deter them. Jonas and McDowell have teamed up with restaurateur Jimmy Mamary,......

Rangers 5, Canadiens 3: Fans who tired of FOX's marathon Super Bowl pregame show may have migrated to NBC to catch this inspired effort by the Rangers. Playing in Montreal -- did any of them get to watch the Super Bowl, or even want to watch? -- the Blueshirts scored five unanswered goals after trailing, 3-0, early in the second period. Chris Drury had the go-ahead goal, and Scott Gomez, Michal Rozsival, Martin Straka and......

While Plaxico Burress hasn't practiced much all year because of an ankle injury, now another injury seems to be hampering the Giants receiver. Burress is listed as "questionable" because of a left-knee injury that has bothered him on and off this season. The injury prevented him from practicing on Wednesday or Thursday. Yesterday, he was limited to a few individual drills. Joining Burress on the injury report is defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who has an......

Knicks 89, Pistons 65: Fans leaving Madison Square Garden on Sunday night had to be asking each other, "Where are the Knicks and what have they done with them?" Normally New York outscores its opponents by 18 in a quarter only when it is down by 25 or so. But the Knicks' 28-10 advantage in the third period helped them put this game out of reach from one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams. Zach......

Ever since we read about osechi-ryori in the Times last week we’ve become a tad obsessed with this traditional cuisine that the Japanese whip up for the New Year. Stacked jubako, a more elegant take on the bento box, are filled with delicacies deriving from an age-old taboo forbidding women from cooking during the first three days of the New Year. In addition to sweet potato and burdock root and bits of grilled meat or......

A Historic Collapse: The Mets held a seven-game lead with 17 to play and were caught looking ahead to the playoffs. What followed was among the worst collapses in history and one that revealed the weaknesses of the players, the manager and the general manager. Jose Reyes and his questionable -- and downright poor -- play summed up the the performance on the field. Manager Willie Randolph's mismanagement of the bullpen came to light......

EVENT: Into anime? It's your lucky weekend, the New York Anime Festival is in town! There will be previews, screenings and panels galore. Check out their website for more details. All Weekend // Jacob Javits Convention Center [655 W 34th St] // $30 day pass, $55 weekend pass SHOP: FIT and the Design Mavens come together for a 3 day shopstravaganza. Tons of designers we're not cool enough to have ever heard of will be......

Fans of the neo-Gilded Age New York fantasy show Gossip Girl are so going to love this news: the fictional grilled fontina cheese sandwich with truffle oil ordered by Serena van der Woodsen in the show’s pilot is now a real sandwich! Zagat’s website reports that the item is now permanently part of the bar menu at Gilt – the very location where cameras filmed actress Blake Lively being served the sandwich. Once just a......

D is for drunk and disorderly, not boobs and breasts. At least according to New Jersey State Senator Richard Codey. The Times first reported yesterday on the halftime events at Gate D at Giants Stadium during Jets games. Hundreds of fans gather on the exit ramp, chanting at women and encouraging them to expose their breasts. If they don't lift their shirts, the women are met with boos and sometimes are spit at or have......

New York native Josh Hamilton has long been one of the most fun-to-watch actors working in independent film and downtown theater. Fans of Noah Baumbach’s 1995 film Kicking and Screaming remember him for his iconic performance as the anxiously intelligent Grover; he also created the role of Dennis in Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth and excelled as the coolly detached Mickey in the 2005 stage production of Hurlyburly. Hamilton can currently be seen starring......

A confession. In general, we’re not big Food Network Fans. We do make an exception for Iron Chef (it always sucks us in), and we love it’s latest incarnation. Last week on the premiere of The Next Iron Chef (9pm on the Food Network, Chef Traci Des Jardins got the ax, brought down by her salmon roe dessert (ick). Read the Amateur Gourmet's unique and often hilarious take on things on his blog on the......

Jonathan Lethem Selects BAM Cinématek Starting next Monday and running through the middle of November, Brooklyn author and Friends of BAM chairperson Jonathan Lethem will be programming the cinématek with some of his favorite movies. Fans of his writing know that Lethem loves pop culture but this series doesn't really have more of an over arching theme than that it features some of the author's most beloved films and plain ol' good movies. There are......

Anucha Browne Sanders gets the cover treatment from the Post and Daily News after a jury believed that Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas and that Madison Square Garden (the owner of the Knicks) were liable for sexual harassment. amNY, though, chose to put Isiah Thomas on its cover, with an inset of Knicks owner James Dolan, next to the headline "Rotten to the Court" - oh snap! Browne Sanders was also awarded $11.6......

Fans and some in the media may have called for his head, but yesterday the Mets ended any speculation on Willie Randolph's future with the Mets. General manager Omar Minaya said that Randolph would return as the manager of the Mets next season. Randolph, who has two years and $4.25 million remaining on his contract, was blamed by some for the end-of-season collapse by the Mets, but not by Minaya. At one point during......

Orioles 4, Yankees 0: Roger Clemens had struck out a batter in 200 straight starts until he lost to the Orioles on Wednesday. Maybe it was the heat -- it was 97 at the first pitch -- but when Clemens last went without a strikeout, he only pitched an inning before leaving with an injury. The Yankees have now lost four straight games and have not looked good doing it. They have managed four runs......

Pitcher Roger Clemens, who was coaxed out of retirement with a deal worth $28 million, was supposed to be the savior of the floundering Yankees. The Bronx team's pitching staff has been plagued with injuries and Joe Torre and Ron Guidry have been forced to call up ever-younger prospects from the organization's farm system. Fans were momentarily relieved and distracted from the Yankees' on-field woes during the 7th inning stretch of a game in early......

The first release numbers for All-Star Game balloting was released yesterday for the National League and four Mets are leading in the yearly popularity contest. Jose Reyes, David Wright, Paul Lo Duca, and Carlos Beltran lead at their respective positions, with Beltran as the leading vote-getter in the National League across all positions. Reyes and Wright made their first appearances at the "Midsummer Classic" last season, while Lo Duca is a four-time All Star and......

Mets 6, Cubs 5: Manager Willie Randolph appeared to give up on this game before it started. With Jason Vargas fresh up from Triple-A to take the mound and the Mets coming off a game that ended past 1 a.m. Thursday morning, the Mets rested Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Damion Easley. Paul LoDuca also rode the pine, but that was an expected move for a catcher and a day game following a......

Windows of opportunity in baseball often come in small sizes. After coming within a run of the National League pennant last season, the Mets hope their chance hasn't run out yet. Make no mistake, the Mets remain a force to be reckoned with and could end up finishing with a better result than they did last season. But they shouldn't expect the regular-season cakewalk they had last season, and they can't hope to be......

MUSEUM: UnCoolkids point us uptown for a journey in to the deep blue sea. "Two-thirds of our planet is covered by water, and home to both salt and fresh water giants. Learn about the apex predators of the sea, massive sharks (past and present), as well as the largest bluefin tuna ever caught (1,496 pounds), and extinct giant fishes.” Author and Research Associate at the Museum, Richard Ellis, will be on hand to "discuss what......

Fans of Late Night with Conan O'Brien are familiar with the hilarious Pale Force cartoons that feature comedian Jim Gaffigan and O'Brien as very pasty crime fighters. But recently, the series hit a new high with the Law & Order: Pale Face story arc. While Jim and Conan investigate tanning bed murders, they go to Dick Wolf's barbecue restaurant (picture, top right) to canvas witnesses. Later, we see Lieutenant Van Buren, Detective Lenny Briscoe,......

Right on the tail of the groundbreaking "bloggers drink in the LES" article in The Observer, The New York Times will not be outdone! Their article, Truly Indie Fans, is about black people listening to rock music, and it has caused quite a stir, with good reason. The article uses the term "blipsters" to describe black indie rock fans, as if another form of the already overused word "hipster" needs to exist - nevermind one......

Baby, it's cold outside—go see a movie, why dontcha? Werewolves, comic books and hot girls who prowl the streets of Bucharest in high heel boots should be the stuff of great geek cinema. Unfortunately, Blood and Chocolate, a new movie starring Agnes Bruckner as a werewolf girl trying to get along with the pack is utterly laughable. And not even in a good, kitchy, throw popcorn at the screen and giggle with your friends sort......