WORKERS COMP BILL IN CA ON HOLD; WAS IT MONTANA'S ROLE?

          On Tuesday, Joe Montana "set out to kill a bill
     sponsored by the NFL owners" that would "restrict or
     eliminate workers' compensation to injured pro players,"
     according to Carl Ingram of the L.A. TIMES.  Soon after
     Montana and others "denounced" the bill at a news conference
     in the CA Capitol, State Sen. Quentin Kopp, who introduced
     the bill, announced that he would "abandon" it temporarily
     and return with an amended bill possibly on January 5, the
     start of the second half of the legislative session.  Kopp,
     a potential candidate for CA's attorney general:
     "Celebrities usually have an effect ... on legislators and
     the public."  Kopp's bill, which would apply to "virtually
     all" pro athletes in CA, would make injured team members
     from other states ineligible for CA benefits.  It would also
     make CA players ineligible for "cumulative injury" benefits. 
     Montana said he has not received the workers' compensation
     he filed for "shortly after" he retired (L.A. TIMES, 5/14).