YANKEES, NETS COMPLETE DEAL TO MERGE BUSINESS OPERATIONS

          The Yankees and Nets have "completed an agreement to
     merge their business operations" into a closely held company
     called YankeeNets, a source familiar with the negotiations
     told Bloom & Soshnick of BLOOMBERG NEWS.  The partnership is
     on the agenda to be presented to the NBA Board of Governors
     for their review at their regularly scheduled meeting on May
     7 in N.Y.  It will then be presented to MLB owners.  In the
     agreement, Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner will "continue
     running" the Yankees while Nets co-Owner Lewis Katz will
     "operate" the Nets.  YankeeNets will hire a CEO, and "major
     decisions" will be made by a Board of Directors.  The source
     also said that ownership of YankeeNets will be evenly shared
     by the two teams, and YankeeNets will donate an undisclosed
     portion of its earnings to charity (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/28).