THREE LEAGUE NOTES, TWO TURTLE DOVES...

          MLB Senior VP/Ops Sandy Alderson, interviewed in
     BASEBALL AMERICA, on competitive balance as not just an
     economic issue: "We have to deal with it from an operational
     standpoint and see how we can create some better opportunity
     for success through changes in rules and operations, as
     opposed to redistributing money or putting a cap on salaries
     or what have you" (BASEBALL AMERICA, 12/21)....The USTA "is
     offering free tennis lessons to locked-out NBA players."  In
     Dallas, Bill Campbell: "It was a grandstand move by the
     USTA, looking to gain some PR at the NBA's expense" (MORNING
     NEWS, 12/22).....Wives and mothers of NHL players will
     donate more than $15,000 in NHL products to the '98 NHL
     Coolest Gifts for the Holidays Charity Program (NMG).