FLYERS SHOW LINDROS SOME MONEY, BUT "NEITHER SIDE IS HAPPY"

          Flyers C Eric Lindros signed a contract extension
     Wednesday, "further setting $8.5 million and shorter-term
     contracts as benchmarks for elite NHL players," according to
     USA TODAY's Mike Brehm.  Lindros' pay will rise from $3.75M
     to $7.5M this season, and he'll make $8.5M next season, the
     figure the Mighty Ducks' Paul Kariya agreed to last week for
     '98-99.  Agent Tom Laidlaw: "Not only were the numbers
     pretty high, but the short term shocked a lot of people"
     (USA TODAY, 12/18).  In Philadelphia, columnist Bill Lyon:
     "This is the sad and pathetic state of sports at the moment:
     Almost $13 million changed hands in Philadelphia yesterday
     and neither side is happy.  The Flyers signed the player
     they believe to be the very best in his sport for another
     season, and yet his team's owner confessed to emotional
     emptiness."  Flyers Chair Ed Snider: "There is no
     exhilaration" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/18).