ROBERT EDWARDS IS INSURED: In Boston, Will McDonough
reports that Patriots RB Robert Edwards "has an insurance
policy that apparently would cover what is owed to him on
his contract." Ted Dipple, CEO of American Specialty, who
underwrote Edwards' policy: "There is a policy on Edwards,
but I can't reveal how much it is for. ... I will say the
NFL should have insured [the HI beach game] that Edwards
played in and they wouldn't have had to worry about any of
these problems" (Will McDonough, BOSTON GLOBE, 2/17).
HOCKEY: The AHL will use four skaters per side in
overtime, beginning with Friday's games and continuing
through the regular season. The NHL Hockey Ops Department
will evaluate the impact of this format on tie games before
determining whether to present it to the Board of Governors
for consideration (NHL)....Liberal MP Dennis Mills "vowed"
yesterday to continue to seek tax relief for Canada's
professional sports franchises (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 2/17).
WCHL: The WCHL states that it has seen the greatest
increase in '98-99 average attendance over last year among
the seven North American minor pro hockey leagues. They
issued a release showing the following numbers. See (#33):
'98-'99 '97-'98
LEAGUE AVG. AVG. % +/-
IHL 6,626 7,241 - 8.5%
AHL 5,250 5,649 - 7.6%
ECHL 4,836 5,013 - 3.7%
CHL 4,307 4,343 - 0.8%
WCHL 4,116 3,663 +12.4%
WPHL 3,470 3,933 -11.8%
UHL 3,162 3,054 + 3.4%
