NFL HOPES FOR SMOOTH P.R. WEEK IN MIAMI

     "It's probably a good sign that one of the NFL's most
pressing concerns early in this Super Bowl week is a cruise
sponsored by a local 'gentlemen's club' that bills itself as
'hedonism on the high seas,'" writes Kent Somers in this
morning's ARIZONA REPUBLIC.  "Things could be much worse, as the
NFL and the world found out six years ago," the last time the
Super Bowl was in Miami.  During the week preceding the game,
Miami was "torn apart" by rioting after a racial incident
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/24).  In New York, Wallace Matthews
criticizes the NFL for not helping out the riot-torn part of
Miami back in '89, but he does note that the NFL will donate $1M
to start a youth center in an area near Liberty City, about five
miles from where the rioting occurred.  "Compared with the
revenue generated by the Super Bowl, it doesn't seem like much"
(N.Y. POST, 1/24).  As for the controversial gambling cruise, the
NFL "is scurrying to discourage active and retired players from
attending, although the league has limited clout with former
players."  NFLP VP Don Garber re-emphasized that the cruise was
not a league-sanctioned event.  Garber:  "We'll be watching how
they promote and advertise this thing very closely" (Conrad &
Richey, Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 1/24).