The Celtics threatened to file a $100M lawsuit against the
Wall Street Journal, reporter Ron Suskind and the Journal's
parent company, Dow Jones & Co. over an article in yesterday's
paper which alleged that cocaine use might have caused the death
of Celtics star Reggie Lewis.  Celtics Chair Paul Gaston said he
was "appalled and outraged" at the article, which he called "an
example of gutless journalism, yellow journalism based wholly on
a complete disregard for the truth."  Gaston appeared at a news
conference with Celtics Exec VP Jan Volk, Celtics GM M.L. Carr
and Lewis' widow, Donna Harris-Lewis.  Not present was Celtics
Senior VP Dave Gavitt, who was featured prominently in the
Journal piece as the team's point man during the time Lewis was
diagnosed (Peter May, BOSTON GLOBE, 3/10).  Journal Managing
Editor Paul Steiger:  "We remain confident that the article was
fair and accurate" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/10).
     NEW PROBE?  The MA Chief Medical Examiner's office will
conduct a review of its investigation into Lewis' death (BOSTON
GLOBE, 3/10).  GLOBE columnist Dan Shaughnessy writes that
"gutless, yellow" journalism "isn't consistent with the 106-year
history of the Wall Street Journal.  On the other hand, what was
consistent yesterday was the Celtics' refusal to answer any
questions about their involvement in Lewis' care. ... Gaston had
better be right.  His charges against the Journal will unleash a
new series of investigations.  Ditto for Donna Harris-Lewis, who
said Reggie never did drugs.  Here's a bet the suit is never
filed.  The Celtics and Lewis will want no part of the legal
minefield of discovery and deposition" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/10).
     ANSWERING SPECIFICS:  The Journal article claimed that the
Celtics may have avoided the issue of drug use because of
insurance liability and ongoing business pursuits of the Celtics'
publicly held partnership.  But Celtics Vice Chair Steve Schram
told the GLOBE "that the insurance company was obligated to cover
Lewis' policy regardless of how the player died.  There was, he
said, no stipulation that the policy would be canceled if Lewis
was found to have died from drug abuse" (Peter May, BOSTON GLOBE,
3/10).  Volk said he only learned there is no exclusion for drug
use in the policy "a couple of days ago" after being contacted by
the Journal reporter (Steve Bulpett, BOSTON HERALD, 3/10).
     DID HE REFUSE A TEST?  On her way out of the interview room,
Harris-Lewis was asked if her husband refused to take a drug
test.  Harris-Lewis:  "He didn't refuse.  No.  Reggie did not use
drugs, contrary to public belief.  He was an intelligent and wise
man.  This is the way I will remember him" (Mike Wise, N.Y.
TIMES, 3/10).  But in an interview with the L.A. TIMES, Jerome
Stanley, Lewis' agent and friend, confirmed the JOURNAL's
assertion that Lewis refused a test:  "His denying it wasn't
enough.  Why couldn't they eliminate drugs?  Because they thought
he was a liar.  I think he just rebelled" (Elliott Almond, L.A.
TIMES, 3/10).       NBA'S REACTION:  Deputy Commissioner Russ
Granik released the following statement in reaction to the
article's claim that the NBA's drug policy played a role in the
tragedy:  "It's obvious to any reader that this article is based
entirely on speculation and has no factual basis.  Furthermore,
there is no conceivable way that the NBA's anti-drug program had
anything to do with the issue of whether Reggie Lewis was tested
or could have been tested upon his admission to the hospital"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 3/10).
     OPINION ROUND-UP:  BOSTON HERALD's Michael Gee:  "If the
Journal's allegations are true, the Celtics are sitting on
something worse than the Black Sox scandal, and the paper is in
for a Pulitzer.  If the Journal's allegations are not true, then
the paper is lower than whale manure for maligning the living and
the dead, whether or not it's libel" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/10).  In
Baltimore (Reggie Lewis' hometown), Ken Rosenthal quotes Lewis'
mother, Inez Ritch (herself a reformed cocaine addict):  "It's
not true.  Reggie was not a drug user.  I don't give a damn what
people say.  If anything was being covered up, it was the fact he
had a heart condition" (Baltimore SUN, 3/10).  ESPN's Jackie
MacMullan, who covers the Celtics regularly:  "My feeling is that
[the Celtics] never had anybody tell them, 'I did drugs with
Reggie Lewis' or Reggie Lewis never said to them, 'Yes, I did
drugs.'  So it became one of those things like, 'Well, what we
don't know won't hurt us.  We believe he's a good guy.  We
believe he didn't do drugs and we're going to operate under that
assumption'" ("SportsCenter," 3/9).

     Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen said yesterday that he met
with Devils Owner John McMullen, but that the team's "long term
lease is preventing talks about a move to Nashville," according
to this morning's TENNESSEAN.  The city of Nashville has been
trying to land an NHL team to play in their $120M arena under
construction.  Bredesen said that McMullen has visited Nashville
and has met with him, but Bredesen said the "city is not ready to
talk with any team that is not 'legally, morally, and ethically'
in a position to move" (Mark Ippolito, The TENNESSEAN, 3/10).

     NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will notify all 30 teams
today "that he is recommending a vote against the Rams' proposed
move to St. Louis," according to Bill Plaschke in this morning's
L.A. TIMES.  A league source who spoke to Tagliabue said the
recommendation "was not final and could be changed" during the
owners' meeting that begins Sunday in Phoenix.  If eight owners
follow Tagliabue's recommendation, the move would be blocked.
But the Rams "will be given a chance to sway" owners by promising
to pay a relocation fee and a cut of the $70M raised by the sale
of PSL's (L.A. TIMES, 3/10).  Tagliabue "concedes" that the Rams
haven't shown significant operating losses for over a "sustained
period of time," one of the NFL's guidelines in approving a move
(Gordon Forbes, USA TODAY, 3/10).
     IN THIS CORNER:  Plaschke writes that Tagliabue's
recommendation "sounds much like a bargaining chip."  If he
recommended a yes vote, team owners would lose all leverage in
collecting financial fees from the Rams.  If the team does move,
L.A. would become "the leading candidate for an expansion team in
four of five years" and owners hoping for better stadium deals
will still have "leverage with their local city officials."  One
NFL exec: "While we are losing a big market in the short run, we
are gaining a lucrative expansion market in the long run" (L.A.
TIMES, 3/10).  Another possible factor in the Rams' favor is the
49ers proposal to reduce the number of votes necessary to pass
NFL legislation from 23 to 21, which could be voted on before the
Rams vote.  The Rams and St. Louis officials have also "laid the
groundwork" for suing the league if owners reject the move (Jim
Thomas, ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH, 3/9).
     SAVE THE RAMS: Save the Rams, the civic group trying to keep
the team in the L.A. area, will present their case to NFL owners
early next week.  Possible speakers include CA Gov. Pete Wilson
and perspective team buyers, former Mariners Owner George Argyros
and banking executive William Foley (Gordon Forbes, USA TODAY,
3/10).
     HELLO PETER, THIS IS AL:  The Raiders have been "carrying on
a discreet flirtation with Baltimore" according to USA TODAY's
Gordon Forbes (USA TODAY, 3/10).