The A's are investing in retail stores called "A's On
     Deck" with plans to open "at least" four outlets in Northern
     CA, according to Steve Ginsberg of the S.F. BUSINESS TIMES. 
     Each of the merchandise stores represents an investment of
     "around" $100,000 and the club "expects them to become
     profitable quickly" (S.F. BUSINESS TIMES, 11/3 issue).

          About 12,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday's
     Evander Holyfield-Michael Moorer fight at the Thomas & Mack
     Center, which is 6,000 fewer than the arena's capacity and
     "about" 5,000 fewer than crammed into the MGM Grand Garden
     to see Holyfield-Tyson II in June, according to Dean Juipe
     of the LAS VEGAS SUN.  Promoters, however, are expecting a
     "decent walk-up crowd" and have already lifted the local
     pay-per-view ban (LAS VEGAS SUN, 11/5).  
          THE SHOW MUST GO ON: Showtime Event TV (SET) Senior
     Marketing Consultant Suzan Couch said the PPV service's
     first major bout since Tyson-Holyfield II is "suffering none
     of the lingering taint" that some predicted, according to
     VARIETY's Ray Richmond.  Couch: "Our research is telling us
     that the (Tyson biting incident) does not seem to have any
     lingering effect on the business."  The first Holyfield-
     Moorer fight drew 650,000 PPV customers. SET predicts the
     coming fight will "eclipse" that, though it declines to
     project a number (VARIETY, 11/9).  In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
     writes that Moorer is not a PPV "star" and that he "barely
     merits free TV exposure" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/7).
          RING NOTES: A-B's Budweiser, which has a standing
     relationship with Las Vegas' Mirage, will supply "part of
     the marketing muscle" for the fight (CABLE WORLD, 11/3).
     ...Showtime's boxing Web site, www.setboxing.com, contains
     seven sections, among them, the rematch; the hit report,
     which features the latest news on the fight; the ticket,
     which lists the bouts on the card; online voting; a "play
     the game" contest partially sponsored by America West
     Airlines; and boxing gear, which advertises showtime boxing
     merchandise.  The site also has a link to Holyfield's Web
     site, www.1888holyfield.com.  Holyfield's site contains five
     sections: one detailing his pre-fight training program; a
     section devoted to Holyfield's foundation; the Fan Club;
     Statistics on Holyfield; and a Holyfield Warrior merchandise
     area.  The site is sponsored by SET Boxing (THE DAILY).
          THE MAN WHO IS KING: Don King is featured in an
     extensive profile by Ron Borges of the BOSTON GLOBE. 
     Borges: "He is under indictment, under siege, under the gun. 
     For Don King, this is not only his life but his lifestyle.
     ... His world, it seems, is after him, and he is old and
     weary, and so his enemies think they see blood in the water
     and believe it is his.  Before this is over, that may be the
     case, but for now, King stands ready to fight -- which, as
     his longtime rivals know, is when he is most dangerous." 
     King: "My government is obsessed with Don King.  They say,
     'He's in the Mob.'  If I got a Mob, it's the sissiest Mob
     there ever was. ... The government is on my case all time. 
     They're no longer prosecuting me, they're persecuting me."  
     More King: "Anybody gets tired.  Anybody gets worn down. 
     But as we get into the evening of our careers, they're going
     to have to go to the statistics, to the achievements of my
     career.  That they cannot deny" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/7).

          MTV is taking the "symbiotic relationship" between
     sports and music "a step further" this weekend with its
     airing of the first "Sports and Music Festival," according
     to USA TODAY's Sal Ruibal.  The event is MTV's "answer" to
     ESPN's X Games, but unlike that "mostly live" event, MTV's
     festival is a "taped version of an event" that took place
     October 17-19 in Austin, TX.  A crowd of "more than" 50,000
     saw aggressive in-line skating, skateboarding, snowboarding
     and stunt-bike jumping "while live bands Wu-Tang Clan,
     Smashmouth and 311 wailed."  Ruibal: "What MTV's festival
     and X Games do share is the hot pursuit of the Holy Grail of
     youth marketing: 18- to 24-year-olds with a bottomless
     appetite for hot cars, soft drinks, fast foods and action
     movies."  The event airs on MTV tonight from 8:00-11:00 ET,
     and Saturday from 12:00pm-7:00 pm ET (USA TODAY, 11/7).