If you were wondering why the crowd at the free Bon Jovi concert in Central Park was numbered at a measly 48,538 people when previous concerts by entertainers like Garth Brooks reportedly drew 750,000, former city parks administrator Doug Blonsky is here to tell you that those old numbers were totally bogus. “You would get in a room with the producer, with a police official, and a person from parks, and someone would say, ‘What does it look like to you?’ The producer would say, ‘I need it to be higher than the last one.’ That’s the kind of science that went into it.” The Times has more on how they come up with the numbers these days.

Andrew Giuliani, son of former mayor Rudy Giuliani, filed a federal lawsuit against Duke University, claiming he was unfairly dismissed from the golf team. Per the Daily News, the lawsuit contends coach O.D. Vincent suspension over trivial incidents like "driving too fast out of a parking lot, breaking a driver, getting into an confrontation with a teammate" was ill-advised. Also claimed: Vincent made Giuliani's teammates turn against him," comparing his tactics to The Lord of the Flies. When talking to reporters, Andrew Giuliani pointedly thanked his mom and stepdad, but not his dad (who he's not that close to), saying, "I love my father very much. I just decided not to ask him to get involved in the situation." Yeah, 9/11 probably isn't a strong argument for this matter.

Dan Kaufman, the co-owner and manager of Busy Chef in Brooklyn Heights who stands accused of identity theft and credit card forgery, is out on bail thanks to his girlfriend, who put up $50,000 after a judge refused to believe that Kaufman's own bail money was obtained legally. A grand jury convened this week to hear the 19 charges against Kaufman, who allegedly charged a total of $24,978.53 to 19 customers' credit card accounts. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Kaufman also has a notorious reputation in Boston, where the landlord of a wine bar run by Kaufman was forced to sue him for unpaid rent. And a former supplier to Kaufman in Boston says “He screwed people three ways to Sunday. I don’t know how he does it — he can look at you smiling and lie to your face, and not even bat an eyelash.”

With the $500 million renovation of Madison Square Garden scheduled to be complete by the 2011-2012 season, the Knicks are hoping to finally participate in All-Star Game festivities. Not necessarily with a player, which they haven't had since Allan Houston in 2001, but by hosting the actual NBA All-Star Game in 2012. While Garden officials haven't made an official proposal yet, NBA Commish David Stern told The Times that hosting, "is a very live possibility." Given how Major League Baseball took over NYC earlier this month, it's just a matter of time until the NBA has its turn. Perhaps by 2012, the Knicks can get a player into the actual game.

Rapper 50 Cent has filed a federal lawsuit against Taco Bell, claiming the fast food chain used his name without permission in an ad campaign that asks him to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent. The ad is part of their "Why Pay More?" campaign, and a Taco Bell rep addressed the debacle, saying, "We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice." The problem is that 50 never agreed to it, and now Taco Bell may be left paying more than they bargained for as they face a $4 million lawsuit; the rapper wants payback for "diluting the value of his good name."

The NY Times reports that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will give $30 million "to hospitals and clinics that monitor and treat residents, students and other so-called nonresponders who were exposed to dust and smoke at ground zero." The money will come in three installments of $10 million each, and hospitals and clinics can apply for grants. NY lawmakers are glad the money is coming, but think it's long overdue (it's true--it's going to be the seventh anniversary of attacks this year). And this comes a few weeks after President Bush declined to reappoint "World Trade Center health czar" Dr. John Howard to another term, even despite the pleas of NY lawmakers like Governor Paterson and Representative Carolyn Maloney.

According to the Daily News, U.S. diplomatic officials have asked the Serbian government for the return of Miladin Kovacevic by August 1. The 21-year-old is accused of beating a fellow Binghamton University student, Brooklyn resident Bryan Steinhauer, into a coma in May. Though Kovacevic was in custody, the Serbian vice consul general helped him make bail and gave him an emergency passport to flee the country. While the Serbian government has claimed it would work with the U.S. on the matter, Kovacevic has said he will not return to the U.S. and signed a contract to play basketball for a local team in Serbia.