New York Yankees Parade

NEW YORK (AP) - With George Steinbrenner waving a broom from a float, the New York Yankees was honored by a flood of fans in what's become an annual autumn rite: a ticker-tape parade for the pinstriped champions.

Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner, rode in the top of a double-decker bus, waving a broom - the symbol of his team's sweep.

Several players, including Darryl Strawberry, videotaped the wild crowd. Chili Davis smoked a victory cigar. World Series MVP Mariano Rivera, the Yankees' knittable reliever, rode alone on his own special float.

The parade, with the Yankee players riding half-dozen floats, began shortly after noon amid a blizzard of paper.

''Got a TV, hon?'' a police officer asked one woman stuck far from the parade route.

Following the ticker-tape trip through the Canyon of Heroes - the downtown route where Charles Lindbergh, Nelson Mandela and Pope John Paul II have been feted - the team was to assemble at City Hall.

The parade route along the financial district's narrow streets, from the Battery to City Hall, is less than a mile long.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, the city's highest-profile Yankees fan, was to present each player with a key to the city. Deputy Mayor Joseph Lhota said their invitations were rescinded to send a message: Don't vote against the city's interests. Police Commissioner Howard Safir said 3,500 officers were assigned to the parade, with more added if necessary.

Vinny Granuzzo came to Manhattan with his son, Nick. ''Look, there are little kids, adults. Melissa Grimsley, 16, and her friend JoAnna DelVecchio, 16, donned Derek Jeter jerseys and ditched school for the parade.

''I hope he notices us,'' Grimsley said of the Yankees shortstop, who once dated singer Mariah Carey. Five city high schools planned to send their marching bands. Also performing was the All City High School Marching Band, made up of students from throughout the city.