While "no one" disputes the value of international
     hockey, the HOCKEY NEWS' Bob McKenzie asks, "[H]ow much is
     too much?"  McKenzie: "That is the question that will be
     asked in the months to come as the NHL and [NHLPA] formulate
     a long-term international calendar almost certain to
     culminate with NHL participation in the 2002 Winter
     Olympics."  But the "difficulty is that everything the NHL
     and NHLPA have done internationally in the last two years
     has been a raging success, but may be bordering on overkill,
     especially as it pertains to the health and welfare of the
     players."  The NHL's All-Star format pitting North America
     versus the World "was a huge success.  NHL post-event
     consumer polling revealed a virtually unheard-of approval
     rate" of 78%.  What that means is a "variety of formats will
     be considered" for future games "depending upon the time and
     locale of the game."  With the World Cup, the '96 event
     earned $14.7M, shared by the NHL and NHLPA.  While the next
     event is projected for 2000, some players "have voiced
     concerns over the demanding schedule" (HOCKEY NEWS, 3/6).
          TWO-PRONGED PLAN: McKenzie writes the "challenge" for
     NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA Exec Dir Bob
     Goodenow "is to find a way to address the players' concerns
     and keep alive both the World Cup and Olympics."  The league
     "is considering a two-pronged" plan: "First, in World Cup or
     Olympic years, do away with the NHL All-Star Game.  Second,
     move the World Cup from a four- or five-week fall event to a
     two-week mid-season tourney resembling the Olympic format." 
     The "impact of a mid-season World Cup shutdown would be
     minimized by doing away with the All-Star Game and its four-
     or five-day break."  While McKenzie acknowledges that All-
     Star weekend is "valuable" to the league, its TV partner and
     corporate sponsors, the league "won't lock itself into an
     All-Star Game at all if that's what it takes to make the
     international calendar go" (HOCKEY NEWS, 3/6 issue).  

          USA TODAY's Hal Bodley reports that early calculations
     and winter rosters have the Orioles with MLB's highest
     payroll at $71,538,134, followed by the Yankees, at
     $71,255,598; Braves, $60,885,000; Indians, $58,533,499 and
     Rangers, $54,780,095.  Early projections have the Expos with
     the lowest payroll at $6,542,500 and the Pirates at
     $11,904,000.  Payroll totals will change by opening day when
     teams get down to the 25-player limit (USA TODAY, 3/3).
          JACKSON'S VIBE: Bulls Coach Phil Jackson, on whether
     the NBA should test for marijuana: "If it's illegal, I think
     that you've got to deal with it. If it's a law then you have
     to deal with the laws.  And I think that's testing for it." 
     More Jackson: "But the key to this is: What is it going to
     do?  Is it going to curtail personal behavior?  Are you
     going to take people out of the workplace?  Are you going to
     lose some of your best players?  Perhaps, and that's an
     issue that the NBA has to decide.  Are they willing to take
     that kind of a risk?" ("Up Close," ESPN, 3/2).

          "More than any other professional sports league, MLS
     targets ethnic audiences, especially Hispanics, the USA's
     fastest-growing minority population," according to USA
     TODAY's Peter Brewington.  Brewington: "Winning remains the
     top priority, but in the critical game of putting fans in
     seats, assigning international stars to maximize their
     ethnic appeal is a close second."  Analysts say it's a
     reason MLS has had "a successful start-up."  But Brewington
     adds that while "such a strategy ensures teams a front row
     of passionate fans, it also might work against the league in
     perpetuating the image of soccer in the USA as a 'foreign'
     game."  Revolution GM Brian O'Donovan: "We need to
     concentrate our crowd-building effort on the general
     population."  Hispanics account for 23% of MLS fans, and
     while league marketing officials "admit it's hard to tell if
     their player deployments actually are working," analysts say
     the ethnic marketing approach is a "sound" one.  Dean Bonham
     of CO-based The Bonham Group: "The Hispanic market is lower-
     to middle-income right now, but can be described as a
     soccer-educated demographic with spendable income that's
     growing at a very rapid rate" (USA TODAY, 3/3). 
          YOUNG GUNS: Project 40, the joint venture between MLS
     and the U.S. Soccer Federation, "took a major step last week
     toward putting" young U.S. players in a "professional
     environment almost year round."  U.S. Soccer and MLS have
     "arranged for a Project 40 select team to compete" in the A-
     League, the "main breeding ground" for MLS teams and the for
     the U.S. World Cup team (Alex Yannis, N.Y. TIMES, 3/3).