THE WIZARDS ARE OFF TO SEE THE MCI CENTER

          The MCI Center will open tonight with the Sonics-
     Wizards game, to be seen live on TNT.  The game sold out
     "late yesterday" and will be televised locally on WUSA-TV. 
     President Clinton will attend (WASHINGTON POST, 12/2).  An
     editorial in today's WASHINGTON POST states that Washington
     Sports Chair Abe Pollin, "an old Washingtonian who no doubt
     remembers downtown when it was the place to be, has made a
     good investment in the city's future based on respect for
     and understanding of its past."  In addition, DC columnist
     Thomas Boswell: "As everyone will soon see, MCI Center is an
     unpretentious jewel that maximizes everything about its
     fabulously energized location. ... As a sports facility, MCI
     Center is clean, simple, pretty and, perhaps, the coziest
     20,000-seat building in the country" (WASHINGTON POST 12/2).