NO CHAMPIONSHIP BANNERS FOR ROCKETS FRONT-OFFICE

     The marketing department of the NBA Champion Rockets has
only sold a season ticket base of 8,600 and the team faces a
crowd of only 9,200 for its second home game.  Fran Blinebury
writes, "There are so many franchises in the NBA and in other
sports that are doing a booming business.  It must be left open
for consideration that Rockets management simply didn't do the
job over the summer that should have been spent cashing in on the
championship. ... They blew it.  There is an inclination to blame
the whopping price hikes in tickets.  Yet the highest-priced
tickets are the ones that have all been sold to season-ticket
holders, a base that numbers roughly 8,600 paid.  It is the
consumers of the cheaper seats who must be brought on board.  The
Rockets don't have a business operation of which the team can be
proud" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 11/2).