Canadian Industry Minister John Manley said the summit
conference to discuss tax relief for Canadian teams will be
held in Toronto June 28 (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/11).
BASKETBALL START-UPS: The IBL officially named its San
Diego franchise the Stingrays and the team's local investor
was identified as Roxanne Turquato. IBL CEO Arthur
Cipriani, on the IBL's markets: "We're not bringing Yakima
to town. Our teams represent major cities" (SAN DIEGO UNION-
TRIBUNE, 6/10)....WIRED's Craig Bicknell profiled the CPBL
and its Founder Paul McMann. McMann, on his league, which is
set for a November 2000 start-up: "If the kid is motivated
by money, we've got it. If he's motivated by education, we
can guarantee him the opportunity. If he wants to be in the
NBA, we'll provide him the best vehicle for that." McMann
expects to have "five more" team sponsors by the end of this
summer. McMann: "The NBA is the Mercedes of basketball --
nice but pricey. We aim to offer quality at a lower price.
You know, Ford sells a lot of Tauruses. We think we can be
the Ford Taurus of basketball" (WIRED, 6/10).
