FIRST MEETING IN TWO WEEKS ON SAVING THE WHALE

          CT and Whalers officials met yesterday in an effort to
     keep the team in CT, according to Greg Garber in the
     HARTFORD COURANT.  Garber: "It could be all over -- one way
     or another -- in two weeks."  A new arena was "at the heart
     of" the first face-to-face meeting between the team and the
     state in more than two weeks, which included Whalers
     Consultant Lou Beer and CT Gov. John Rowland's Chief of
     Staff, Brendan Fox.  Rowland: "I know everybody's very
     anxious, but it's a very big deal and there are a lot of
     technicalities and issues and a lot of specific details that
     have to be worked out."  Beer, on the perception the team
     seeks a "guaranteed bottom line" in the event the market
     does not support the team:  "We have never asked that (the
     state) guarantee us a profit, and I would not expect anyone
     to guarantee us a profit.  We don't expect to be in a risk-
     free situation" (HARTFORD COURANT, 2/28).