STILL NO IRS APPROVAL FOR THE KAUFFMAN ESTATE PLAN ON ROYALS

     The plan set up by the late Ewing Kauffman to give proceeds
from the sale of the Royals to local charities is yet to get
approval from the IRS, according to AP's Doug Tucker.
Furthermore, it is the "worst possible time" for the team,
averaging around 16,000 thus far, to take a "big attendance hit."
Assuming the IRS and the AL approve Kauffman's plan, "who'd want
to buy a small-market team in a town that draws only about
16,000, and in a climate of general deterioration of baseball
interest nationwide?"  On the other hand, if the IRS does not
approve the plan, the team would "probably be put on the market
and go to the highest bidder."  WRites Tucker, "If that happens,
baseball in Kansas City could be in greater peril than any time
since [Charlie] Finley first started packing for Oakland."
Either way, Tucker notes the team and the city need a local
benefactor to step up soon (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/2).