The Arena Football League will return to Southern CA, as its
Board of Governors yesterday approved the sale of the Las Vegas
Sting to a group of Orange County investors.  The team, which
will play at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, will be headed by
President/GM Roy Englebrecht.  Englebrecht is Exec VP and
minority Owner of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes California League
team.  The Sting reportedly lost $1M in each of the last two
seasons in Las Vegas.  The Los Angeles Cobras called the L.A.
Sports Arena home during the '88 AFL season, but folded after one
year (L.A. TIMES, 10/4)....The Major Indoor Lacrosse League has
granted Charlotte a team for the '96 season.  The Cobras will
play at Independence Arena and are the MILL's seventh franchise
(MILL)....In the latest issue of SPORT, Dan Dieffenbach
criticizes Michael Jordan's role in the NBA labor dispute.
Dieffenbach writes that Jordan would have been "better off siding
with players like Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, or even
[NBPA President Buck] Williams, instead of surrounding himself
with controversy and troublemakers like Alonzo Mourning and
Reggie Miller, both taking calls on the 1-800-DECERTIFY party
line" (SPORT, 11/95 issue)....In the current AUTOWEEK, Wes Raynal
doubts the IndyCar-IRL confrontation will go "over the brink" and
lead to an alternate race on May 26, the date of the Indy 500.
While CART President Andrew Craig says there will be no boycott
of the 500, Raynal reports that dissident teams may have a
contingency plan in place if the IRL fails to modify qualifying
rules.  Craig: "I've made it clear that a boycott is not on our
list of things to do.  But we've been locked out.  It's
reasonable for teams to consider other options" (AUTOWEEK, 10/2
issue).

     Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said his second meeting with NFL
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the executive council of NFL
Properties will determine whether or not he files a countersuit,
according to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS.  Jones: "I'm probably going
to be taking the next step no matter what happens. ... It will be
a very productive meeting because it will dictate to a large
degree what I do over the next few days with regard to litigation
with the NFL."  The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at an
undisclosed location (Ed Werder, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/4).
Jones also adds:  "This potentially has more interest than the
labor agreement or anything because it transcends the sports
page" (Dave Sell, WASHINGTON POST, 10/4).
     CALL BILLY PAYNE:  An editorial in AD AGE notes that with
Jerry Jones, the NFL and NFL Properties are "getting a taste" of
a problem that plagues Olympic organizers:  ambush marketing (AD
AGE, 10/2 issue).
     INSTANT REPLAY:  A report in the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER notes
a formal vote on bringing back instant replay "seems inevitable"
next March at the NFL owners meeting in Palm Beach.  Browns Owner
Art Modell:  "The bottom line is it's there for 40 million people
to watch on television.  Right now, they're seeing what we can't
correct, and that's not good for anybody" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER,
10/4).