NFL NEWS & NOTES: GIANTS COULD FACE EARLY-SEASON EMPTY SEATS

          There is a "good chance" the NFL Giants will have their
     smallest September crowd since the team moved to the
     Meadowlands 21 years ago this Sunday against the Saints,
     which could mean "about 10,000 no-shows, if not more,"  
     according to Bill Pennington of the N.Y. TIMES.  Giants co-
     Owner Wellington Mara: "Nothing sends a more powerful
     message than empty seats.  It's a message that we're not
     pleasing our patrons" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/26).
          OTHER NOTES: In Tampa, Bucs officials said "only 57,000
     are expected for Sunday's game against Arizona," leading to
     a local blackout (ST. PETE TIMES, 9/25)....As of late
     yesterday, "about" 12,000 tickets remained for Sunday's
     Eagles-Vikings game, which will be blacked out in the Twin
     Cities area (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 9/26).....In San
     Diego, Mayor Susan Golding sent a letter to NFL Commissioner
     Paul Tagliabue in "an attempt to have the league lift" the
     Chargers blackout this Sunday.  Golding said in a statement:
     "The NFL created the blackout to encourage people to
     purchase tickets to sell out home games.  However, through
     the rent credit, the Charges will not lose ticket revenue
     for unsold general admission tickets.  Therefore, the
     financial requirement needed to lift the blackout has in
     essence been met."  According to an NFL source, Tagliabue
     said he would review the request (UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/26).