An hour-long commercial designed to sell Seahawks season
tickets will air on Seattle's KING-TV during this weekend's
Olympics coverage (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/16)...The Canucks are set to
offer Wayne Gretzky a two-year deal with an offer for a front
office job after he retires (L.A. TIMES, 7/16)....The Twins will
have paid premiums of $629,306 to Chubb Insurance for coverage on
Kirby Puckett, who was forced to retire. Overall, the Twins will
get back $6.68M, minus premiums, on Puckett's salary of
approximately $6.2M for '96 and $7.2M in '97 (Minneapolis STAR
TRIBUNE, 7/16)....MLS Commissioner Doug Logan is trying to sell
the AFL Minnesota Fighting Pike, which he owns, to Tom Scallen,
for $800,000. Scallen has been operating the team on a rental
basis (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/16)....ESPN's David Aldridge
said the Knicks wooed Allan Houston away from the Pistons by
bringing him on the ITT jet from Houston to New York, with
Patrick Ewing and MSG President Dave Checketts aboard. Houston
was shown a video with Spike Lee, Robin Leech and Peter Falk
urging him to come to New York. Aldridge: "It's recruiting, and
that's what the successful teams have done so far" ("NBA Today,"
7/16)....The RHI Long Island Jawz will cease operations at the
end of the season due to a legal battle with Spectacor Management
over advertising at the Nassau Coliseum (NEWSDAY, 7/17).
