JOCK SLAP Stern

Howard Stern's words may not carry the same weight now that he's on satellite radio, but he's still got enough juice to get a pesky critic fired. John Mainelli, the New York Post writer who irked Stern by reporting a rumor Tuesday that he would return to terrestrial radio with his tail between his legs, has left the paper after receiving an ultimatum from editor in chief Col Allan.

Allan told Mainelli Wednesday that he had to choose between his freelance job covering the radio industry for the Post and his lucrative sideline consulting for radio stations and owners. "I consider myself fired," Mainelli tells Radar. "I can't live on what I earn from the Post."

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