FRANCHISE NOTES

          CT Gov. John Rowland said that the "ultimate fate of
     the Whalers could be decided in the next three to four
     weeks."  Rowland: "I want to make a decision within a
     certain period of time that we're either going to build a
     facility that makes economic sense and won't cost taxpayers
     any money or it's not going to work and (allow the team to)
     leave early" (HARTFORD COURANT, 1/15)....Packers GM Ron
     Wolf, on whether his small market team can compete in the
     league: "Economics don't always mean winning.  The
     unfortunate aspect we've seen here, the last two years with
     the introduction of those two free-agent teams (Carolina and
     Jacksonville) was that they got to play in a championship
     game.  That is a clear indication to me that for the first
     time in professional football, money can have an effect on
     the game" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/14)....Chiefs Owner
     Lamar Hunt said team President & GM Carl Peterson received a
     contract extension through 2000 (K.C. STAR, 1/15).