On Tuesday, Raiders Senior Assistant Bruce Allen
     announced that the team had fired head coach Joe Bugel,
     their forth coach in five years.  The move prompted several
     columnists to weigh in on the state of the team and Owner Al
     Davis' administration.  In S.F., Ray Ratto wrote that
     Raiders fans "aren't buying tickets.  They aren't worrying
     about the week-to-week blackouts.  They aren't buying the
     shirts and hats and jackets, and most of all they aren't
     buying Bruce Allen's explanations of the company line.  They
     shouldn't have to.  They deserve to have Al Davis sitting
     before them, explaining why the hell it went so bad, and how
     it's going to get better" (S.F. EXAMINER, 1/7). In San Jose,
     Ann Killion: "We don't know what Davis is going to do. 
     Except one thing: He's not going to step aside.  And that,
     of course, appears to be the problem" (MERCURY NEWS, 1/7). 
     From Boston, Bob Ryan: "It is very, very difficult to go
     from unchallenged genius to pathetic buffoon, but Al Davis
     has managed to do it" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/8).  In N.Y., Shaun
     Powell: "As long as Davis is lurking behind the scenes,
     controlling the direction of a franchise that's now among
     the worst-run in football, the Raiders will remain in
     dubious hands no matter who's coaching" (NEWSDAY, 1/8).  

          Don Beaver completed his purchase of the AAA Charlotte
     Knights from Hornets Owner George Shinn yesterday, but "his
     major-league bid faces significant hurdles," according to
     Dane Huffman of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER.  Beaver did
     sign a letter-of-intent to buy the Twins from Carl Pohlad if
     funding for a new stadium was not completed by November 30,
     '97, and while the deadline has passed, the issue "could
     resurface" when the MN legislature reconvenes in a few
     weeks.  Beaver: "According to our agreement and our letter
     of intent, those situations are over with.  Of course,
     baseball has the final say-so and can overrule or decide
     different.  So in one sense you've got a contract, and in
     another sense, you don't" (NEWS & OBSERVER, 1/8).  Beaver
     said he hoped to be able to present a deal to MLB owners in
     March.  He also "insisted" that his organization is "totally
     focused on the Triad," but added that if a May ballpark
     referendum failed, Charlotte would be the "only next
     choice."  Beaver: "Raleigh, with its college sports teams
     and everything going on up there with hockey, seems to be
     pretty saturated" (Stan Olson, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/8). 

          While the Capitals have announced that they are
     averaging 15,688 fans in 10 games played at the MCI Center,
     reporters covering the team "are skeptical about those
     figures," according to David Shoalts of the Toronto GLOBE &
     MAIL.  Published reports have said there are usually
     thousands of no-shows at each game, with actual crowds often
     estimated to be below 10,000.  Shoalts writes one reason is
     that the "majority" of the Caps' market "is made up of white
     fans" who live in the suburbs and "have resisted a long
     drive downtown to an area where many believe their safety is
     at risk."  Caps GM George McPhee: "This hasn't been as bad
     as everybody says.  The problem is we've had nine of 10
     games scheduled at home during the Christmas break, which is
     a byproduct of getting as many games as we can scheduled in
     the new building.  But I don't think people want to go to
     four hockey games a week on weekdays" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/8).
          TREND TO WATCH?  Shoalts writes that Caps attendance
     "follows a depressing trend of NHL owners," as sellouts
     "have proved hard to come by in Boston, Buffalo and Ottawa,
     all cities that had new arenas open in the past two years." 
     McPhee: "The bottom line is that except for a few markets
     like Toronto and San Jose, you have to win to sell tickets." 
     While Shoalts writes that the Caps may be faced with a
     "mostly urban market if most of their old fans resist
     driving into the city," a look around the arena during
     Tuesday's Maple Leafs game "showed far more black fans
     [than] are generally seen at NHL games" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/8).

          A Houston TV station reported that IHL Aeros Owner
     Chuck Watson offered to lend a group of Edmonton investors
     $35M to buy the NHL Oilers.  Watson: "Our motivation is to
     assist ... in keeping the NHL in Edmonton.  In turn, the NHL
     would look favourably on a franchise for me in Houston"
     (AP/EDMONTON JOURNAL, 1/8)....Lease talks between the Nets
     and the NJ Sports & Exposition Authority (NJSEA) "will
     finally commence next week."  NJSEA Chair Ray Bateman: "We
     have been very anxious to get the ball rolling on these
     talks.  The time has come for us to proceed" (STAR-LEDGER,
     1/8)....The Chargers sent out letters to 1,400 season-ticket
     holders "inviting them to purchase two tickets each" for
     Super Bowl XXXII.  The 1,400 were chosen "at random" from
     the 17,000 season-ticket holders.  The 2,800 tickets used to
     satisfy the drawing's winners represent "nearly half" of the
     team's allotment of 5,650 tickets for the game (S.D. UNION-
     TRIBUNE, 1/8)....With less than three months until their
     home opener, the MLS Rapids have surpassed their entire
     season-ticket sales total for '97.  The number of new full-
     season equivalents (FSEs) sold through December 22 is
     already 50% ahead of the total new FSEs in '97 (Rapids).

          Clark Enterprises Inc., which owns the Blues and Kiel
     Center, "will pump" $20M more into those entities, according
     to Dave Luecking of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH.  The money
     will be used to cover the debt service on Kiel Center and to
     help pay for $18.9M in player contracts and "buyouts for the
     Blues."  Luecking reports this "new cash comes on top" of a
     $16.6M cash call in '96 and a $16M bailout last season. 
     Blues President Mark Sauer said $8M would be paid this
     month, another $8M in February and the remaining $4M
     "shortly thereafter."  Of the team's $18.9M in contract and
     buyouts, more than half, or $9.6M, will be paid to 14
     players no longer on the team.   Sauer: "This is the high-
     water mark, mostly because of all the deferments and
     buyouts.  It's a full accounting of all that's happened in
     the last year."  The team is also paying contract buyouts to
     former coach/GM Mike Keenan and former President Jack Quinn. 
     The 19 companies that make up Clark Enterprises -- "formerly
     known as Kiel Center Partners -- will inject cash into the
     operation on a percentage basis equal to their share of the
     team."  Sauer said that the Blues owners owe "some" $90M on
     Kiel Center.  Debt service on the arena is about $7-9M per
     year and Sauer added that it will take 5 to 10 years to pay
     off the debt (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/8).

          The MLB Rangers yesterday formally announced the sale
     of the team to Stars Owner Tom Hicks for $250M, the second-
     highest franchise fee in MLB history, according to Gerry
     Fraley of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS.  For $250M, Hicks gets
     the team, the lease "with an option to buy The Ballpark in
     Arlington, its center-field office building and restaurant,
     and options on 270 acres of undeveloped real estate in the
     area."  Hicks said yesterday that he won't turn the Rangers
     into "wild spenders," and "he remains committed to a
     downtown Dallas arena for the Stars" (MORNING NEWS, 1/8). 
          WHY THE DEAL: Rangers President Tom Schieffer, on the
     sale: "To get better, we had to get bigger.  To get bigger,
     we had to get more revenue.  Tom gives us access to capital
     that we haven't had before."  Hicks expects to hold about
     80% of the team, and he will keep the current management
     structure.  Hicks added that the market "will determine how
     the land is used, if he picks up the option.  He did not
     threaten to build an arena on the land should" the Dallas
     referendum on the facility fail next week (DALLAS MORNING
     NEWS, 1/8).  Hicks: "Reports of the size of my net worth
     have been greatly exaggerated" (Ken Daley, DALLAS MORNING
     NEWS, 1/8).  In Dallas, Slater & Oppel report that TX Gov.
     George W. Bush turned his original $600,000 investment in
     the team "into as much as $10 million" (MORNING NEWS, 1/8). 
     ESPN's Gary Miller reported that the team itself consists of
     about $150M of the sale price ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 1/7).