NFL: In Baltimore, Ken Rosenthal writes that although
there was an announced crowd of 69,074 at Sunday's Ravens-
Vikings game at Ravens Stadium, "there were hundreds of
empty seats, particularly in the upper deck." Rosenthal:
"How long will their fans tolerate the team's ineptitude?
How long before they say, enough is enough" (SUN, 12/14). In
Philadelphia, Marcus Hayes reports that the Eagles announced
they had sold 62,176 tickets for yesterday's Cardinals game,
"but it looked like half of that number actually showed up"
(PHILA. DAILY NEWS, 12/14). In Charlotte, the Panthers
attendance of 46,940 Sunday for their game against the
Redskins was their lowest ever (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/14).
...In Pittsburgh, Pirates Owner Kevin McClatchy said last
week on Fox Sports Pittsburgh's "SportsBeat" that if the
team didn't get the new ballpark in 2001, revenues "are
going to be $30 million shy of where we projected them to be
at this point. So our feet are a little bit to the fire"
("SportsBeat," Fox Sports Pittsburgh, 12/10). VA Baseball
Exec VP Michael Scanlon said the Northern VA group is
keeping its eye on the Pirates: "If a team is having
financial difficulties and must be relocated, we stand ready
to rescue the franchise" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 12/13).
