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Sports Industrialists

COULD FOX HIT RECORD RATING FOR GRETZKY'S FAREWELL?

          The Rangers have confirmed a press conference for
     4:00pm ET today during which WAYNE GRETZKY will likely
     announce his retirement.  Gretzky was to meet with
     Cablevision President James Dolan this morning to discuss
     his future, but he said yesterday, "I just think it's going
     to take a miracle [this] morning" (Bergen RECORD, 4/16). 
     Gretzky said that the 2000 All-Star Game in Toronto would be
     the one thing that would have him return for another season:
     Gretzky: "I want to play in that game" (TORONTO SUN, 4/16).
          WAYNE'S WORLD: Gretzky, on possible future team
     ownership: "Obviously, I'd look at some kind of deal in the
     right ownership situation" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 4/16).  
          HIS LEGACY: Canadian hockey writer Roy MacGregor, on
     Gretzky: "He is courteous, valiant, humble, shy, polite,
     deferential, a team player.  And he beats Americans -- let's
     not forget that.  There is nobody who makes Canadians feel
     as good about who they are than Gretzky" (WASHINGTON POST,
     4/16).  NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: "Obviously he is the
     greatest spokesman hockey, or frankly any professional
     sports, has ever had.  He represents everything that's right
     about professional sports, about being a professional
     athlete. ... His impact, both him as an ambassador of the
     game and what he's done on the ice, you can't quantify it"
     (CANADIAN PRESS, 4/16).  USA TODAY's Kevin Allen writes "an
     argument can be made that Gretzky's retirement will effect
     the NHL more adversely than [Michael] Jordan's retirement
     affected the NBA.  The NHL is fighting an uphill battle for
     television ratings and a national perspective," and now the
     league will "be looking for players like" Paul Kariya, Eric
     Lindros, Jaromir Jagr and others to "combine to make up for
     his loss" (Kevin Allen, USA TODAY, 4/16).
          POWER OF THE PINSTRIPES: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
     writes that in N.Y., WNYW-Fox will carry the Yankees game,
     "forcing at least part of what appears to be Gretzky's final
     game" to the MSG Network, which is available in 3.7 million
     local homes compared with WNYW's 6.8 million.  Sandomir
     notes that with the Yankees averaging a 7.1 local Nielsen
     rating for their first six games this season, Fox "has not
     insisted that the station" leave the 1:00pm ET game when the
     Rangers 3:00pm ET game begins.  WNYW GM Michael Wach: "They
     realize the importance of the Yankees to Fox [WNYW]. ...
     They mandated nothing."  Sandomir writes that "something of
     a solution" has WNYW showing Gretzky-related highlights from
     the farewell during the Yankees game and then joining the
     Rangers game in progress after the Yankees game ends (N.Y.
     TIMES, 4/16).  Meanwhile, in Canada, CBC's "HNIC" plans to
     add Sunday's farewell from MSG, but the "trouble for CBC is
     it has" the Blue Jays game scheduled for 1:00pm, and "a
     request with the team to have the start time switch to noon
     was denied."  CBC hasn't "announced how the conflict will be
     resolved" (TORONTO SUN, 4/16).  The NATIONAL POST's Chris
     Cobb reports that Sunday's game "conceivably could attract
     the largest Canadian audience ever in a regular season" game
     or even the "highest-rated hockey game of all time."  "HNIC"
     Exec Producer John Shannon: "We have to be there for Wayne. 
     The country expects it" (NATIONAL POST, 4/16).

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