RICHARDSON SAYS HOUSTON CLOSER TO LANDING NFL THAN L.A.

          NFL Panthers Owner and league Stadium Committee Chair
     Jerry Richardson said yesterday at a conference in L.A. that
     ownership groups looking to bring a team to that city are
     "not quite as far along" as a Houston group, which he said
     is "95% of the way to having a proposal" that could receive
     the required 23 votes from owners, according to Carl DiOrio
     of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.  DiOrio writes that while a
     Michael Ovitz-backed group was "notable by its absence" at
     yesterday's event, an Ovitz spokesperson said its reps would
     meet separately with visiting NFL execs (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER,
     7/31).  In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes that the "future of
     NFL football in [L.A.] can't be too great when they choose
     to debate it in a hotel in Santa Monica" (L.A. TIMES, 7/31).