COCHRAN LOOSES HIS COOL

A day after Judge Ito decided not to allow the jury to hear most of the Mark Fuhrman tapes, Johnnie Cochran let his frustrations out. In a tense exchange, the lawyer angrily asked that Ito clarify and reconsider his ruling. "With all due respect, there are some parts that are incoherent," the Simpson defense attorney said. Huh? "Cochran is really on the edge of contempt," reports James Willwerth from the trial. "Ito's decision really angered him -- he has lost his normal sweet-talking, mildly blustery salesman's pose. But you don't call a sitting judge's writing's incoherent." Testimony in the trial was canceled for another day as defense lawyers tried to find other ways to get evidence about Fuhrman's alleged past misconduct on the job into court. The restless jurors, who haven't heard any testimony since Tuesday, won't be back in court until after Labor Day.