NBA: Pacers coach Larry Bird, on the Pacers registering
only five sellouts this season, despite having the best
record in the East: "It's a little mind-boggling this team
is off to one of its best starts ever and they can't sell
the building out, because you hear so much about Indiana
basketball. It's a little disappointing" (STAR-NEWS, 1/28).
...In L.A., Randy Harvey reports that Clippers Owner Donald
Sterling said his team has "been asked to join the [NHL]
Kings and Lakers in the new downtown arena" when it opens in
'99. He didn't say whether he will do it, but Harvey notes
"he probably would prefer that to transferring his team to
the Great Western Forum after the Lakers leave." Sterling:
"Their building is as old as ours" (L.A. TIMES, 1/28).
NOTES: Also in L.A., Helene Elliott wrote that the
NHL's "hot rumor" is the Oilers "will be sold and moved to
Nashville and expansion will be postponed a year to create a
team in Houston." Elliott: "Unlikely, but not impossible"
(L.A. TIMES, 1/28)....In NC, prospective Twins buyer Don
Beaver "says he's still confident" of acquiring the team,
but he "knows it's getting late in the game." Beaver, on
any deal: [I]t's getting into a critical point, because we
need something in there by March" (NEWS & OBSERVER, 1/28).
Lobbyists for the Twins and pro-stadium group Minnesota Wins
spent more than $2M last year "unsuccessfully trying to
persuade lawmakers to approve state spending for a new
ballpark" (PIONEER PRESS, 1/28). In MN, Robert Whereatt, on
the ballpark issue: "The silence, the absence of legislation
and of a lobbying force to sell it are hints that in an
election year for House members, legislators may not tackle
the controversial issue this season" (STAR TRIBUNE, 1/28).
