JETS MAY BE HEADED FURTHER SOUTH THAN MINNEAPOLIS

     If Manitoba Entertainment Complex, the group trying to buy
the Winnipeg Jets, cannot come up with a deal by their May 1
deadline, the team may not be headed to Minneapolis, but further
south to Atlanta, according to this morning's WINNIPEG FREE
PRESS.  Kelly Taylor reports, "This past weekend it became
apparent that Minneapolis is no longer in the race."  Taylor
reports that the MN Commissioner of Trade & Commerce took a poll
of state legislators late last week and found that "there isn't a
lot of public support for the purchase of a hockey team."  Target
Center Manager Dana Warg, who has met with NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman about attracting a team, has "made it clear" that to get
the $65M-$75M needed to buy the Jets, public support is needed.
Taylor writes that likely Atlanta owner Ted Turner would rather
have an existing franchise than pay for an expansion franchise
(WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 4/24).