NHL RUNS DELAY TACTIC IN DECIDING ON SALT LAKE PARTICIPATION

          The NHL is "pushing back its end-of-February deadline"
     to decide whether to participate in the 2002 Winter Olympics
     until "at least this spring or as late as" the Board of
     Governors meeting in June, because "it can't get responses
     to its demands," according to Bloom & Newman of BLOOMBERG
     NEWS.  NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has said that the
     league's participation hinges on "getting NBC to broadcast
     Olympics hockey games during prime time and moving some
     contests to a larger arena."  NBC has yet to formulate its
     schedule and SLOC spokesperson Frank Zang said that "there
     are no current plans" to move any games from the E Center in
     West Valley to the larger Delta Center.  Bloom & Newman also
     report that the NHL "hasn't received" approval from the
     NHLPA to take part in the Games (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/18).