The Bronx Bombers have slapped a Queens fans with a lawsuit to win rights to the domain name www.NewYorkYankees.com.

<P> Brian McKiernan, a 40-year-old Yankees fan who runs an answering service for nurses, was hit with a 23-page complaint by the Yanks and Major League Baseball Properties filed in Federal Court -- on Christmas Eve. The suit states he is in violation of a three-week-old Anti-Cyber Piracy Act.

<P> McKiernan faces tens of thousands of dollars in fines, as well as legal fees, according to his lawyer, Bill Kyros.

<P> "It's Merry Christmas, George Steinbrenner-style," said Kyros, who specializes in such Internet cases. "It's the first high-profile [complaint] filed under this act."

<P> The official site of the Yankees is www.yankees.com.

<P> McKiernan, who lives in Queens' Floral Park, registered the name two years ago with the intention of building a fans' web site. His favorite Yankee is shortstop Derek Jeter.

<P> "He never offered to sell the name. They approached him," said Kyros. In September, McKiernan received a settlement package with a $450 check. That's when he contacted Kyros.

<P> "They withdrew the offer of $450 as soon as I became involved," said Kyros. "The irony is they spent at least $25,000 to file this complaint."

<P> The Yankees contacted Kyros on Dec. 23 to say he and McKiernan had one hour to give them the name or they'd file suit.

<P> "They have a lot more resources than he does. He's just an individual living in Queens," said Kyros. "They got their team of lawyers."

<P> Yankee officials referred calls to Major League Baseball Properties, which wasn't available to return calls.