In S.F., Tony Cooper writes on the NHL under the
header, "The NHL Is The 'Need Help League!'" Cooper:
"[C]ommissioner Gary Bettman and his people have to realize
they've got a big problem on their hands. The alleged
'Coolest Game on Earth' is getting more lukewarm by the day.
... Players all over the league are wondering what happened
to the crusade to give the game more flow" (S.F. CHRONICLE,
12/17). In Detroit, Viv Bernstein writes on NHL expansion
and realignment: "The real fun will start when the league
realigns. Now that's going to be a nasty battle. We're
talking 28 to 30 agendas" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/17).
Penguins star Jaromir Jagr is threatening to boycott next
month's NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, saying he doesn't
like the way games have been officiated: "I don't know if
I'm going to go this season ... sometimes I feel like I'm
going to get killed out there" (TORONTO SUN, 12/17)....In
Chicago, Don Pierson writes on NFL no-shows under the
sidebar, "The No Fan League." Pierson: "Want to avoid the
Christmas crowds? Go to an NFL game. ... Just when interest
is supposed to heat up as the weather turns cold, fans have
found something else to do" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/17).
...Public companies with ties to NASCAR are profiled in a
front-page piece by J. Taylor Buckley of USA TODAY.
Buckley: "As more motor-sports companies sell stock to
finance expansion, they chart the emergence of yet another
entertainment-oriented investment category" (USA TODAY,
12/17). ...White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf is featured in a
Q&A on ESPNET's SportsZone. Reinsdorf, on the owners
meeting that approved the CBA: "One of the stories that's
been running around the country is that at the meeting I was
blasted by [Padres President] Larry Lucchino ... none of
that ever took place. I was never blasted" (ESPNET, 12/17).
