Niese fills void as Mets’ No. 1 starter

This is a new age for the Mets, and yesterday they showed a new ace.

Jon Niese earned his No. 1 status in the Mets' 11-2 thumping of the Padres on Opening Day at Citi Field. It wasn't just the 6 2/3 innings the lefty pitched, allowing four hits and two runs. It wasn't the way he insisted on going back out for the seventh inning and it wasn't the way he accepted his role of replacing Johan Santana.

It was this: Jon Niese set the tone that the Mets can grow their own when it comes to starting pitchers and now the torch will be passed to Matt Harvey for Game 2 tomorrow night.

Paul J. Bereswill

Jonathon Niese

Bill Kostroun

THE NEW GUY: Jon Niese, walking off the mound after exiting in the seventh inning, allowed two runs and four hits as the left-hander stepped in for an injured Johan Santana to lead the Mets to an Opening Day victory.

The Mets are trying to establish that they can build their own starting staff and in so many ways that is what this 2013 season is all about. Niese is playing the role of Andy Pettitte for the Mets and he did exactly what was needed yesterday.

"He has stepped into a role where he kind of leads that rotation,'' manager Terry Collins said.

Coming through the Mets system makes a difference.

"At least in my situation, you come through this system and you have a great deal of pride of putting that uniform on,'' noted David Wright, who has embraced his role as captain. "That is what we are trying to do here.''

Catcher John Buck, who is going to make a big difference for this pitching staff, said Niese lived up to the billing.

"He showed today why he is our No. 1,'' Buck said. "I've said all along he could be a No. 1 on a lot of teams and he showed that. He had a lot of pressure coming in, being moved into that role with Santana being out. His first home opener, he stepped up and did what No. 1 should do. He's been compared to Pettitte and he didn't change who he was, he has the guts to stick to who he is. That says a lot for his character and his makeup.''

Dillon Gee echoed those sentiments.

"He went out there and pounded the strike zone, stayed in control,'' Gee said. "He didn't let Opening Day get him out of his game, that's Niese. He doesn't care. But that is the kind of attitude you have to have. The thing we learn from him is to pitch your game.

"You can call him Pettitte all you want, but he is Jon Niese.''

That is good enough.

When Collins told Niese three weeks ago he would fill the No. 1 starting role for the Mets, replacing Santana, Niese's reaction said it all: "All right!''

When Collins heard that he smiled: "That means he wanted it bad,'' the manager explained. "He pitched a great game.''

"I'm not going to lie, the adrenaline was pumping, but I prepared as if it were any other game,'' Niese said of his first Opening Day start.

Niese, 26, also wanted to establish he could do more than expected.

"Last year was a year when I hit that sixth inning and I had 95 pitches and they kind of shut me down,'' Niese said of why he talked Collins into letting him go out to get the first two outs in the seventh. "I want to be that guy that goes back out and finishes my starts. I just told [Collins] that I wanted to go back out and that I felt like I had a lot left.''

Niese also picked up two hits, worked a walk, produced an RBI and scored a run.

You have to have the talent to succeed in the majors. But you also have to have that competitive edge and that is what Niese brings to the party.

"I'm never satisfied with what I have,'' Niese said of his desire to improve.

This was only the first of 162 and the win came against the pitiful Padres, but you have to start somewhere. On this Opening Day, the Mets found a No. 1 homegrown starter.

kevin.kernan@nypost.com

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Davis’ four strikeouts continue Opening Day pains

Ike Davis received zero bang for his buck yesterday.

After spending $1,470 on six tickets for family members, the Mets first baseman struck out four times and finished 0-for-5 in his team's 11-2 victory over the Padres at Citi Field.

In three career Opening Day appearances, Davis is 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts.

"The streak continues," Davis said. "Maybe I'm nervous or jitters or swinging too hard. I still have never gotten a hit on Opening Day."

Davis grounded out in the third inning and whiffed in the first, fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

"Honestly, it's not a bad day to do it, because they didn't need my help at all," Davis said. "But I can help out the next game and actually do something at the plate."

Davis said the Padres bombarded him with offspeed pitches, none of which were over the middle of the plate.

* Johan Santana, Frank Francisco, Jenrry Mejia and Shaun Marcum were all placed on the 15-day disabled list to create roster space. Marcum's placement was retroactive to March 22, which would allow him to start Sunday against the Marlins at Citi Field.

Marcum, who is recovering from neck stiffness, is scheduled to throw five 15-pitch innings today at the Mets' complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

* Manager Terry Collins said he does not have one reliever in mind for the eighth inning to set up Bobby Parnell.

"It's going to be a mix and match for awhile, until we get a feel for one or two guys," Collins said. "That's part of the game where it would be nice to have one guy."

LaTroy Hawkins, Brandon Lyon and Scott Atchison are the main candidates for the role, but Collins acknowledged he will likely need lefties Josh Edgin and Scott Rice at times in the eighth inning.

* David Wright stole second base in both the first and third innings. He was later asked if he plans to become a stolen-base threat this season.

"I'm on pace for 400 or something," Wright said. "So that is my goal this year."

* In what has become a Citi Field tradition to voice displeasure about the team's injuries, some of the loudest boos during Opening Day introductions were reserved for trainer Ray Ramirez.

mpuma@nypost.com

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Callahan sparks Rangers in win over Jets

Ryan Callahan smiled so wide, it looked like it was going to rip his face in two.

Under the bright lights of the Garden, the Rangers' captain sparkled the brightest last night, scoring a shorthanded goal early in the second period that changed the momentum of the game and gave his team a much-needed 4-2 triumph over the Jets.

"It was a smile of relief," said Callahan, who also had three assists and played 4:27 of his 23:45 on the penalty kill, perfect in going 5-for-5. "When you're not contributing, it weighs on you. I look at myself as a guy who needs to put the puck in the net to get points."

Neil Miller

GARDEN PARTY: Derek Stepan (left) is glad-handed by teammates Rick Nash (center) and Ryan Callahan after his third-period goal in the Rangers' 4-2 victory over the Jets last night.

Callahan had not had a goal in eight games, and his team was coming off a 10-game stretch when it went 3-6-1, including two consecutive 3-0 shutouts coming into this matchup against the Southeast-leading Jets (18-17-2).

And it was Callahan who on Easter Sunday issued a statement addressing the tweet from former Blueshirt antagonist Sean Avery, the captain publicly supporting his coach, John Tortorella, and thus galvanizing his locker room.

Because make no mistake, as the 17-15-3 Rangers barely hold on to eighth place in the conference, this is Ryan Callahan's locker room.

"It's no surprise that he stepped up in a big way," said Derek Stepan, who put a halt to the team's scoreless streak at 128:06 by giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds in. "That's why he wears the 'C' on his chest. He just seems to get the job done when we need it most."

Although Stepan gave the Rangers a quick lead, it was just as quickly given back with Nik Antropov scoring 56 seconds later, followed just over 11 minutes after that by Zach Bogosian giving Winnipeg a 2-1 advantage.

But then came Callahan's remarkable shorthanded goal: streaking down the right side of a 2-on-1 with Norwegian sparkplug Mats Zuccarello ... toe-dragging around sprawled out defenseman Tobias Enstrom ... waiting out goaltender Ondrej Pavelec as he helplessly reached out ... and lifting a backhander up into the net to tie it 2-2, raising the sellout Garden crowd from its slumber to a high pitch that hasn't been heard in weeks.

"It's a huge play in the game," Tortorella said. "I thought we took off from there. I thought we took over the game from there."

It also helped that throughout the second, as the Rangers took four minor penalties — three on Zuccarello — Henrik Lundqvst (26 saves) was able to stand tall. He made one of his best saves of the year late in the period on Bryan Little, getting his left pad over to stop the wide-open doorstep chance.

"We talked about today being the biggest game of the year for us," said Lundqvist, who tied Rangers great Ed Giacomin for second on the team's all-time wins list with 267. "We feel good about the game. And we should."

Then early in the third, it was Callahan taking a slap shot that nailed Bogosian in the left foot, hobbling the Jets defenseman at least somewhat and enabling Stepan to chip in an Anton Stralman rebound, making it 3-2. And guess who streaked to the net as Rick Nash fired a wrist shot over Pavelec's shoulder with 13:07 remaining to finish the scoring?

"We just have to bring the same energy the next night," said Callahan, whose team now has a home-and-home with the conference-leading Penguins, possibly showing up in the Garden tomorrow night with a chance to break the NHL-record winning streak. "After a win, we have to use this as momentum and bring it in the following night."

bcyrgalis@nypost.com

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‘Madness’ hits 20-year high

The NCAA Tournament is netting its best viewership in 20 years.

CBS and Turner Sports averaged a combined 9.4 million viewers through the Sweet Sixteen round — the most-watched Sweet Sixteen since 1993, when 10.5 million viewers, on average, tuned in, according to a report yesterday in Sports Business Daily.

It's also the highest-rated Sweet Sixteen since 1998.

This year's Sweet Sixteen featured several long-shot teams, including Florida Gulf Coast and La Salle.

PASSING GAME: Louisville's Peyton Siva in action on Sunday.

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Chillin' with Gillen: Pitino’s gang will knock out Syracuse in Atlanta to bring home NCAA championship

Former Xavier and Virginia coach Pete Gillen, a New York native and CBS Sports Network college basketball analyst, shares some of his March Madness thoughts and predictions with The Post. As told to Steve Serby.

I just finished studying, so I'm wired now for the Final Four.

SEMIFINALS

SYRACUSE-MICHIGAN:

Syracuse beware.

Michigan can win because they have the best player in the United States (Trey Burke) at the most important position. He's like Bobby Hurley except he's a better shooter. They play a lot of freshmen, sometimes ignorance is bliss, maybe they don't know they're supposed to be nervous. And they've got some momentum after beating Kansas the way they did.

Getty Images

C.J. Fair

It's a matchup of contrasting styles —Michigan's perimeter shooting against Syracuse's active 2-3 zone. Teams have been so worried about Burke that they leave Mitch McGary rolling . . . I think the zone will negate the pick and roll for McGary little bit.

Michael Carter-Williams is playing like a man possessed, and I don't think Michigan can guard C.J. Fair.

John Beilein is kinda like a scientist from New England. Very intelligent. Shooting is his thing. He was at Richmond when I was at Virginia. Terrific gameday coach, he's got a good feel. He recruits shooters for his system. It's a little like the Princeton offense, a little more high octane, a lot of backdoors, a lot of pick and rolls.

It's a coin toss. I think Syracuse can slow down Michigan a little bit. Syracuse is a better defensive team, in a nutshell.

SYRACUSE 70, MICHIGAN 68

LOUISVILLE-WICHITA STATE:

There's no pressure on Wichita State, they're a bunch of junkyard dogs. Malcolm Armstead, the point guard, is the heart and soul of that team. They're a streaky 3-point shooting team.

Gregg Marshall ought to be in the mix for National Coach of the Year. I don't know if he has it in his arsenal, but I would play a triangle and two on Peyton Siva and Russ Smith and pack it in. When Luke Hancock comes in, play a triangle and two on him and Smith. To beat Louisville, you've gotta change Ds. You don't press 'em, you don't want to open the court up for those quick guards. Louisville doesn't shoot great from the perimeter. Wichita State is a terrific offensive rebounding team, and it must get out in transition before Louisville's defense gets set.

Playing for the injured Kevin Ware gives Louisville an emotional edge. Anything is possible, but Wichita State almost has to play a perfect game.

LOUISVILLE 72, WICHITA STATE 62

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

SYRACUSE-LOUISVILLE:

Rick Pitino and I were assistants together at the University of Hawaii. We used to play one-on-one at 7:00 in the morning on a playground by the beach. He used to beat me like a rented rug. I was like the 15th-and-a-half man on our college team, I only got half a uniform when I was there (Fairfield) — I had the sweatpants. After getting my bell rung 15-2, 14-1, I made believe I had a bad hamstring . . . I faked a hamstring injury. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer — I'm not even in the drawer — but I had enough of that.

It's gonna be a low-scoring game because neither team shoots well from the perimeter. It's gonna be a physical, knock 'em down, drag 'em out game. Gorgui Dieng will control the paint, but he can't get in foul trouble. I saw Rick at St. Elmo's Steakhouse Sunday night in Indy — he was eating ribeye, I was eating peanut butter with some Ritz crackers, my budget's a little different than his. He likes Hancock's courage — He's the X-factor because he can shoot the 3.

The fact that Louisville is playing for Ware is a plus, but in this game, not having him there on the court for Rick's full-court press negates it.

But coming back the way they did in the Big East Tournament championship game will give Louisville a psychological edge. Syracuse's collapse could have left a mental scar. And Carter-Williams hates when these little Roadrunner guys get under him.

If Rick doesn't get in the Hall of Fame this time, it's a miscarriage of justice.

I was at the Meadowlands with my son when Rick and Kentucky beat his pal Jim Boeheim. I coached against friends — Rollie Massimino, Skip Prosser, Dino Gaudio — and it's no fun. You want to win, of course, but you don't feel better when you beat somebody like that. You know how much he's hurting, or you're hurting after the game. It's harder in a lot of ways.

I have no life after basketball season is over. I judge chili cook-offs in Virginia, take my wife's cats, who hate me, to the vet to get their nails clipped, and clip dandruff coupons out of the paper — I have a big head, I gotta get a lot of coupons. I'll be hanging on to this last week for dear life.

LOUISVILLE 60, SYRACUSE 57

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Fear stalks Texas DAs

Officials are investigating a link to the white-supremacist Aryan Brotherhood in Saturday's murder of a Texas DA and his wife, who were killed just months after his deputy was murdered while investigating the hate group.

The murders have gripped rural Kaufman County with fear, and a massive manhunt was under way for what local authorities believe is the two prosecutors' common killer.

"In my view, it appears that it was not random," Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said. "It was a targeted attack."

The bodies of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, 63, and his wife, Cynthia, 65, were discovered after a report of a shooting at their home about 35 miles outside of Dallas.

AP

ALL DEAD: DA Mike McLelland (above) was shot dead with wife Cynthia two months after ADA Mark Hasse's murder.

AP

Mark Hasse

ALL DEAD: DA Mike McLelland was shot dead with wife Cynthia (above) two months after ADA Mark Hasse's murder.

The door appeared to have been kicked in, the Dallas Morning News said, and the killer is believed to have used an assault rifle.

DA McLelland was shot multiple times, his wife once.

The gruesome discovery came two months after McLelland's assistant prosecutor was assassinated amid an investigation of the Aryan Brotherhood.

Assistant DA Mark Hasse, 57, was gunned down Jan. 31 as he walked from the courthouse to his car.

After his slaying, his boss, McLelland, vowed to hunt down the killers.

"I hope that the people that did this are watching, because we're very confident that we're going to find you," McLelland said.

McLelland also speculated on whether the Aryan Brotherhood was behind his deputy's murder.

"We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year," he said.

The three murders over such a short time span have unnerved the Texas town.

"Everyone is a little on edge and shocked," Mayor Rozell said.

Sheriff David Byrnes, in fact, said his office is considering that there might be more attacks on elected officials to come.

Kaufman County Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh said recently that the FBI was looking into whether the Hasse murder was related to the March 19 slaying of Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements, who, like the McLellands, was shot and killed at his home.

The primary suspect in that case, Evan Spencer Ebel, was killed in a shootout with Texas deputies two days later.

McLelland, had served 23 years as an infantry officer in the US Army before attending law school and launching his legal career.

In an interview recently, the district attorney had said he told all his employees to remain on alert.

"I'm ahead of everybody else because, basically, I'm a soldier," he said.

He also noted that he carried a gun wherever he went, even when he walked his dog.

With

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Two critical after Queens house fire

Two people were in critical condition this morning after a fire tore through the second floor of a two-family home in Queens.

Fire fighters responded to the Fresh Meadows home at around 2:00 a.m. where 10 people were trapped on the top floor.

"One little girl was knocked out unconscious," said Phillip Segobia, 17, a neighbor.

"They were running her to the ambulance."

Another neighbor said fire fighters were rescuing both adults and children from the fire.

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Three dead, 25 injured in 95-car pileup in Virginia

AP

The scene of the pileup that killed three on Interstate 77 near the Virginia-North Carolina border in Galax, Va.

Three people died and 25 were injured in a nearly 100-car pileup yesterday on a foggy mountain highway in Virginia near the North Carolina border.

The series of crashes began at around 1:15 p.m. on I-77 at the base of Fancy Gap Mountain.

"This mountain is notorious for fog banks," said Glen Sage of the American Red Cross office in Virginia."They have advance signs warning people. But the problem is, people are seeing well and suddenly they're in a fog bank."

Virginia police said there were a total of 17 crashes involving 95 vehicles.

Multiple cars were on fire at the epicenter — where southbound lanes were backed up for eight miles and school buses took stranded people to hotels.

There have been at least six such pileups on the mountain since 1997, according to The Roanoke Times. ,

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Mother in coma doesn’t know son is brain-dead after traffic accident in Brooklyn

A 2-year-old boy hurt when a car jumped a Brooklyn sidewalk is likely brain-dead — and his mother doesn't even know, relatives said yesterday.

Wendy McLein, 37, was in a semicoma at Kings County Hospital, according to family members, who said her son, Denim, was brain-dead.

They were injured with 10 others when a car wiped them out at an East Flatbush bus stop Saturday evening.

Cops said the driver passed a breath-alcohol test and would not be charged.

She told investigators that her brakes failed before she plowed through a red light and jumped the sidewalk at Church and Utica avenues at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Little Denim's aunt, Dierdra McCorkle, 51, wailed and fell to the floor when she got the news about her nephew.

"I'm devastated," she said yesterday. "Why couldn't God take me and let him live his life longer?"

McCorkle described Denim as a "bright kid" who learned quickly and loved to eat. She said the mom will be devastated when she learns the news.

"This is going to kill her," McCorkle said. "Oh, my God."

Doctors tried to reassure the family that the boy was not suffering.

"This is not a painful thing for him," one doctor told relatives. "He's out. He's not conscious."

Doctors said the mother was expected to recover, but has a difficult road ahead.

"She's not completely out of the woods," a doctor said. "We're watching her very carefully. We just need to focus our prayers on her."

McLein's Facebook page is filled with pictures of her smiling little boy.

She owns a nightclub in Bedford-Stuyvesant — and it's called Denim's Cafe

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Yankees great Turley dead at 82

Bob Turley, who spent eight seasons pitching for the Yankees and won the Cy Young Award in 1958, died yesterday in Atlanta. He was 82 and suffered from liver cancer.

Ironically, Turley died two days after the death of longtime major league catcher Gus Triandos. The two were part of a 17-player trade — still the largest trade in professional sports history — between the Yankees and the Orioles in November 1954.

Turley had pitched one season for the Orioles in 1954, their first in Baltimore after the franchise relocated from St. Louis, while Triandos began his career with the Yankees before spending the next eight seasons in Baltimore.

"I'd have crawled to New York," Turley, who went 14-15 for an awful Orioles team, told the Baltimore Sun years later. "What did I learn from that '54 season? That I never wanted to be on a loser for the rest of my life."

He did his best to make sure that didn't happen.

Joining a staff that already included Whitey Ford, Turley — the hard-throwing right-hander known as Bullet Bob — was with the Yankees from 1955 to 1962, compiling an 82-52 record and a 3.64 ERA and helping the team win three World Series.

His finest season came in 1958 when he went 21-7, throwing 19 complete games and six shutouts. Turley followed that up by helping the Yankees battle their way back from a 3 games to 1 deficit against the Milwaukee Braves in the World Series. He threw a shutout in Game 5, recorded a save in Game 6 and won his second game in three days pitching in relief in Game 7. In the clincher he allowed two hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings.

Turley, who also pitched for the St. Louis Browns, Los Angeles Angels, and Red Sox, had a 101-85 record in 12 major league seasons.

dburke@nypost.com

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