NFL: Yesterday's Packers-Bucs game attracted a Houlihan
     Stadium record crowd of 73,523, with an estimated 30,000
     Green Bay fans on hand (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 12/8)....The crowd of
     73,446 at yesterday's Patriots-Jaguars game set an Alltell
     Stadium attendance record (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 12/8)....There
     were 27,160 no-shows yesterday in Chicago for the Bills-Bears
     game (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/8)....On "Fox NFL Sunday," James Brown
     reported, "At last week's NFL labor negotiation meetings, the
     Seattle Seahawks were not represented, the first public signs
     that organizational changes will be made by new owner Paul
     Allen" ("Fox NFL Sunday," 12/7).
          NHL: Devils Owner John McMullen, on Devils F Bill
     Guerin's claim that he ended his holdout to play in the
     Olympics: "The reason he signed was not the Olympic team.  It
     was money.  Everybody is trying to credit him with a noble
     deed.  But he overestimated his value.  And he overestimated
     his ability to embarrass us" (N.Y. POST, 12/6)....A group of
     Edmontonians interested in buying the Oilers met with Gary
     Bettman on Friday (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 12/6).

          The Hurricanes' move from Hartford to NC so far "has
     been a struggle," according to Bryan Gruley of the WALL
     STREET JOURNAL, who examines the team's move in a front-page
     feature.  Gruley: "To claim its place among America's great
     metropolises, upstart Raleigh is out to prove it can support
     a major professional sports franchise."  But with the team
     playing in Greensboro while their Raleigh arena is completed,
     the 'Canes average attendance of 8,500 is "the lowest" in the
     NHL, as "Raleighites haven't proven eager" to make the 150
     mile round-trip drive to Greensboro, "nor to pay $50 to $100
     for a decent seat."  Team Dir of Ticket Ops James Baldwin
     also said, "There's a lot of jealousy, which we didn't
     realize, between Greensboro and Charlotte and Raleigh."  But
     Gruley writes that 'Canes Owner Peter Karmanos and area
     leaders are unfazed.  Karmanos: "This is a tremendous
     opportunity.  When we move to Raleigh, everything will be
     fine."  With the team "prepared to lose more than" $20M in
     its first two seasons in NC, and having signed a 20-year
     arena lease, "divorce is almost unthinkable in this marriage
     of North and South."  The team is "counting on three core
     audiences to help" it succeed in Raleigh, "companies from all
     over the world, people from the South and people originally
     from the North."  Sims Hinds, VP/Raleigh Arena Management,
     said that the team has leased 49 of its 72 luxury boxes at a
     price of $110,000-140,000 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/8).

          The "bitter fight" over the estate of Colts Owner Robert
     Irsay ended Friday, according to Welton Harris of the
     INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS.  Under terms of the settlement,
     Irsay's son, Jim, will keep the team, and his widow, Nancy
     Irsay, "will have no stake" in the Colts.  Daniel Luther,
     attorney for Jim Irsay, said the settlement makes him "one of
     the very few owners in the NFL who has a 100 percent
     ownership of his team."  Although settlement details were not
     made public, Harris wrote that those "familiar with the
     agreement" say it "could be worth close to" $12M to Nancy
     Irsay (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 12/8).

          The Mets raised ticket prices for the '98 season, with a
     new scale ranging from $9-35 per seat, according to Buster
     Olney of the N.Y. TIMES.  The increases "range from" 40% for
     the most expensive seats, to 15%.  Mets Senior VP/Business
     Affairs Dave Howard: "These increases are dictated by the
     significant increase in player payroll.  And that's before we
     look to improve the team."  Prices for the "Metropolitan
     Club" seats will be $35, up from $25 last season.  The least
     expensive seats move from $7 to $9 (N.Y. TIMES, 12/6).

          The Devil Rays put on sale single-day tickets for its
     inaugural season over the weekend, and when the stadium box
     office closed Saturday evening, team officials "estimated
     5,000 fans had been by and approximately 100,000 tickets had
     been sold," according to John Romano of the ST. PETERSBURG
     TIMES.  With those tickets added to the 23,000 season tickets
     the team has sold an advance attendance of "nearly" 2 million
     for the '98 season.  Romano added that the Devil Rays "were
     not just selling tickets, they were selling themselves," as
     manager Larry Rothschild and more than a dozen players and
     coaches were on hand  (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 12/7).  Opening
     Day tickets for Tropicana Field sold out in 17 minutes (TAMPA
     TRIBUNE, 12/7).