SI CLIPS RED WINGS COVER OVER LIGHTING ISSUE

     Photographers at Sunday's Red Wings playoff opener at Joe
Louis Arena "had the plug pulled" on their strobe lights, with
one result being that a Sports Illustrated photographer was not
able to get a quality color shot of Red Wings star Paul Coffey
for the magazine's cover.  Without the photos, SI Managing Editor
Mark Mulvoy not only took Coffey off the cover, he pulled the
whole story.  Mulvoy, who sent a "pointed letter" to NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman, told the AP:  "This was the perfect
time for a hockey cover.  This is the type of shortsighted
thinking that pervaded the league during the John Ziegler years.
I'm sure Bettman will fix it.  But for now, it's unfortunate."  A
league source said the problem will be fixed and that the league
was "not happy" to hear that it caused them to lose the SI cover
(Viv Bernstein, DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/9).