March 7, 2005

Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column discusses Tiger Woods's Doral Open win, which put him back at top in golf's world rankings (M)

Culture in New York Yankees' clubhouse seems to put team first, by presuming that front-line players can handle their own problems, and that they will protect team from controversy, rather than other way around; Yankees do not exhibit kind of passionate team cohesiveness that analysts and many sports psychologists consider critical to success; but social scientists who have studied group performance under pressure say often it is decentalized groups, like Yankees, that prove more resilient than strongly connected ones; say they are better able to weather outside criticism and internal quarrels; informal look at how Yankee players group and interact in locker room of clubhouse in Tampa, Fla; photos; diagram (M)

Rich are becoming own niche in ever more fragmented media world, with some five percent of 6,200 magazine titles published for general public in United States aimed at wealthy and more entering field; Sidney Frank, who recently entered luxury magazine business by buying Travel Savvy magazine, comments, phone interview; photos (M)

Some prominent cardiologists object to Pfizer's plan to sell its promising new heart drug torcetrapib only in combination with its cholesterol drug Lipitor; say torcetrapib should be offered as stand-alone pill, so patients can decide whether to take it with Lipitor or with similar drugs not from Pfizer that may work better for them; torcetrapib could be one of most promising new heart treatments in decade; it still must clear many hurdles before it is approved; it would not reach market before 2007, at earliest, but already Pfizer's plan is generating controversy; authorities on drug development say Food and Drug Adm may have no choice but to approve combination treatment if it proves more effective at preventing heart disease than Lipitor by itself; say agency has little authority over cost of new drugs or ability to encourage competition among drug companies (M)

Ohio State University men's basketball team defeats Illinois University, 65-64, to end Illinois' undefeated season; photos (M)

Issue of trash burning has those in some New York State towns in Adirondacks divided; one contingent is arguing for ban on burn barrels, contending that they release dangerous dioxins that contaminate air and food production, while other local residents argue that it saves them bag fees for garbage disposal and is less harmful than other toxins resulting from modern technology; photos (M)

Alessandra Stanley reviews NBC's boxing reality show The Contender, in which boxers compete for $1 million prize; photos (M)

Janet Maslin reviews book Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art by Gene Wilder; photo (M)

China Doubts U.S. Data On North Korean Arms The Chinese foreign minister, Li Zhaoxing, expressed doubt about the quality of American intelligence on North Korea's nuclear program and said the United States would have to talk to North Korea one-on-one to resolve the standoff. His assessment amounted to a double slap at the United States because Washington has repeatedly sounded the alarm about North Korea's nuclear efforts and has pressed China to be more active in seeking a solution. PAGE A7 Hezbollah Supports Syria The Lebanese faction Hezbollah declared its full support for Syria, directly challenging opposition groups a day after Syria promised to withdraw troops gradually from Lebanon. Hezbollah called for Lebanese to ''express their gratitude'' to Syria by joining a demonstration on Tuesday against Syria's withdrawal and Hezbollah's disarmament. PAGE A3 Schwarzenegger and Donors As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger aggressively raises money to pass ballot measures in California, some critics are questioning the access that that money could buy. PAGE A12 Woods Is on Top Again Tiger Woods overcame a two-stroke deficit to defeat Phil Mickelson by a shot and regain his No. 1 ranking in a showdown of premier golfers. SPORTSMONDAY, PAGE D1 I.R.A. Put on the Defensive The sisters of a man killed in January in Belfast have accused members of the Irish Republican Army of carrying out the attack and then threatening witnesses. PAGE A6 The Novelists of 9/11 A spate of new novels this year use the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as either the central element or the backdrop, with writers in a variety of genres concluding that enough time has passed to allow for fictional treatments of the event. THE ARTS, PAGE E1 Deal for Military Contractor The British company BAE Systems reached a deal to acquire United Defense Industries, which makes the Bradley fighting vehicle, executives said. PAGE A14

Profile of Lions Gate Enterainment, largest surviving distribution and production company not owned by Hollywood studio; chief executive Jon Feltheimer and vice chairman Michael Burns have forged largest vertically integrated competitor to major studios, with production facility, television unit, foreign sales arm and 8,000-title library; run studio with cost disciple that sets it apart from major studios and other independents; seek out audidences other film companies do not often reach, grossing $302 million in nation's theaters in 2004 without any award nominees; studio's recent success has come as unwelcome surprise to many in Hollywood; revenue graph; photos (M)

Joyce Purnick Metro Matters column contends that New York City Mayor Michael R Bloomberg's main focus right now is winning fight to build West Side (NYC) stadium, which he has put at forefront of re-election campaign (M)

Tiger Woods wins Doral Open; photos (M)