FRANCHISE NOTES

     The Angels plan to "close the door" today on their
unsuccessful sale to Disney and possibly investigate other
buyers, according to USA TODAY.  Angels Exec VP Jackie Autry was
reportedly angry at reports Seahawks Owner Ken Behring was
interested in buying the Angels and building a "Sportstown
complex" (Hal Bodley, USA TODAY, 3/19).  Autry believes Behring
"is responsible for undermining" the Disney deal and has said "no
way" to Behring's reported interest in buying the Angels ("Sports
View," CNBC, 3/18)....The Rangers have filed tampering charges
against the Blues because of remarks Blues President Jack Quinn
reportedly made to THE SPORTING NEWS after the Gretzky trade.
Quinn detailed the Rangers' offer for Gretzky and noted they had
decided not to re-sign Jeff Beukeboom and would use that money
for Gretzky.  The Rangers contend that remark has affected
contract talks with Beukeboom (Helene Elliott, L.A. TIMES,
3/19)....The city of New Britain, CT, will charge fans of the
Double-A Hardware City Rock Cats $2 per game to park at
Willowbrook Park (Matthew Brown, HARTFORD COURANT, 3/18).