ABL GOES TO OPRYLAND; ARE PLAYERS DIRECTING LEAGUE MOVES?

          The ABL completed its '97-98 expansion plans by naming
     Nashville as its tenth franchise.  The team will play its
     home games in the Municipal Auditorium, an 8,700-seat arena
     located in downtown Nashville (ABL).  Nashville joins
     Chicago as the league's newest markets, and in Chicago,
     Michael Rosenberg examined the ABL's "wish list" for the
     next few years, including broadcast network exposure and 
     expansion into the New York market (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/13).
          PLAYERS TAKING CONTROL? In Portland, Abby Haight
     criticized the league for trading "star" Natalie Williams
     from Portland to Long Beach, where she has family and
     friends, and not returning a player of like talent to the
     Power.  Haight wrote that the ABL "has put the likes and
     dislikes of players ahead of building the fan support and
     team stability necessary for a future" (OREGONIAN, 4/12).