STERN LIGHTENS UP ON POSSIBLE LEAFS/RAPTORS PARTNERSHIP

          NBA Commissioner David Stern said yesterday that the
     NBA "would do a lot to make it happen" if the Maple Leafs
     decide to move into the Air Canada Centre with the Raptors,
     according to Bill Harris of the TORONTO SUN.  Stern: "In
     principle, if it's better for the city to have two
     franchises in one building, we're all for it."   Harris:
     "This is a far cry from the combative Stern who attacked the
     Leafs a little more than a year ago."  Now Stern said any
     possible deal is "not an issue for us.  We made a commitment
     to have a building in Toronto" (TORONTO SUN, 11/20).