ST. LOUIS CASE TO BEGIN AS JURY SELECTION COMPLETED

          The antitrust suit by the St. Louis Convention and
     Visitors Commission against the NFL is "set to begin today
     after 12 jurors were quickly picked Monday from a block of
     116," according to William Lhotka of the ST. LOUIS POST-
     DISPATCH.  NFL Senior VP/Communications Joe Browne: "Do we
     have concerns?  Some of the prospective jurors said they
     didn't think we could get a fair trial.  But the ones who
     were picked said they could be fair and impartial."  Lhotka
     reports that "most of the jurors said they had heard news
     reports" that the Rams paid a $29M relocation fee to the NFL
     when they moved to St. Louis, "one of the major issues in
     the case" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/7).  The Convention
     and Visitors Commission offered to drop its lawsuit in
     exchange for a Super Bowl and $50-100M, according to sources
     of both sides cited by Josh Gotthelf of the ST. LOUIS
     BUSINESS JOURNAL.  The offer was made about three weeks ago
     and the NFL refused to offer a Super Bowl as settlement. 
     Gotthelf adds that while the relocation fee was the "last
     straw," the "main allegation in the suit is that the NFL
     didn't allow St. Louis to court" a football team in "a free
     market system" (BUSINESS JOURNAL, 10/6).
          GET SHORTY: USA TODAY's Gordon Forbes reports that NFL
     owners will discuss shortening the preseason at its fall
     meetings in Washington, DC, next week.  One plan advocates
     shortening the preseason to four weeks, instead of the
     current five, and has the league considering "booking its
     own schedule," not the teams, "to equalize preseason
     revenues" (USA TODAY, 10/7).