COLUMNISTS WEIGH IN ON HBO'S DECISION ON LARRY MERCHANT

          HBO "took the practical -- and unexpected -- route
     yesterday by benching" analyst Larry Merchant for the Oscar
     De La Hoya-David Kamau fight from San Antonio, according to
     NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay.  Merchant "has been the target of
     protests from Mexican and Mexican-American groups" since his
     on-air comments prior to the De La Hoya-Pernell Whitaker
     fight in April.  Zipay: "Although it seems contradictory for
     HBO -- which has prided itself on not bowing to outside
     pressures in the past -- by defusing the situation, the
     company is showing that it is listening to the outcry. ...
     In the end, it's a sensible move" (NEWSDAY, 5/30).  Time
     Warner Sports Chair Seth Abraham: "I don't believe HBO is
     caving at all.  I think this is a responsible decision to
     make based on the circumstances that this issue is still
     alive" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/30).  In N.Y., Phil Mushnick:
     "HBO was stuck.  It feels it made a prudent decision as
     opposed to the right one; a decision that could defuse a
     potentially ugly and disruptive scene" (N.Y. POST, 5/30).