LEAGUE NOTES

          NBA Commissioner David Stern denied the Knicks' protest
     of last Sunday's game against the Heat, although he "agreed
     that the call by the official Bob Delaney that disallowed
     Allan Houston's game-winning shot ... was wrong."  Stern
     ruled that the error was "one of judgement, not a
     misapplication of the rules" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/15)....USA
     Hockey Exec Dir Dave Ogrean said it is "too early to tell
     what impact there might be from sponsors or donors" as a
     result of the U.S. men's hockey team's actions in Nagano. 
     Ogrean added that all sponsors were signed up for deals of
     2-7 years and "[n]o one has tried to bail out," but admitted
     that the team's actions "might affect" how sponsors evaluate
     future relationships (USA TODAY, 4/15)....Acting MLB
     Commissioner Bud Selig is profiled by Jim Souhan of the
     Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE.  Selig, on the state of MLB: "We
     have a great chance at an all-time attendance record, and
     that's without the expansion teams" (STAR TRIBUNE, 4/15).