Using the * for dynamic height

I have a page that is using tables (please no comments about this - I
understand it should be css but fireworks created this template) I have
a menu down the left side and the bottom is supposed to be as tall as
needed to fill the page. This works fine in firefox but not in ie.
Here is a link to the page if you would like to see it

http://creativeness.com/temptest/storetemplate2.htm

I think the problem has to do with the <tr height="*"> - I was told that
the * means make it as big as it needs to be. How big it needs to be
then gets calculated from the main content. Any ideas how I can fix
this in IE, I really appreciate your help.

Also I have tried removing the height attribute from the <tr> and it works the same way (works in firefox but not ie).

Thanks,
Randy