BASEBALL: Last night's Reds-Astros game drew 54,037,
the "largest crowd ever to watch" a game at the Astrodome
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/29)....New Mariners Chair Howard
Lincoln, on rumors that Blazers/Seahawks Owner Paul Allen
may buy into the Mariners: "We have had no discussions with
Paul Allen. We have no desire to sell the team. This is a
stable ownership group" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/28)....CRAIN'S
N.Y.'s Steve Malanga, on Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner
possibly taking YankeeNets public: "One of the biggest
obstacles Steinbrenner may face is the legacy of the
Indians, whose failure as a public company has hurt the
chances for future sports IPOs" (CRAIN'S N.Y., 9/27)....In
St. Paul, Jim Caple reports that Northern League St. Paul
Saints co-Owner Mike Veeck will "visit" Washington, DC's RFK
Stadium today to "see whether it is suitable" for the
Northern League. Veeck "hinted" that a Northern League East
Division team "might shift" to DC and "take over the
Senators name" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 9/29).
NBA: On the "NBA Today," ESPN's David Aldridge
reported, "The interesting thing about Bill Laurie is he has
not looked at the books for the Vancouver Grizzlies yet. He
has bought this team, sight unseen, for $200 million" ("NBA
Today," ESPN, 9/28)....The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Daniel
Kaplan reports that the Celtics' annual report "discloses"
that Celtics Chair Paul Gaston "declined" his $1M annual
salary in FY '99 to "help stanch the team's large financial
losses caused" by the lockout last season (SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL, 9/27 issue)....BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton reports
that the Nets' sleeveless, V-neck jerseys introduced last
year, called "U-2K," will "be emulated" this season by the
76ers and Sonics for "use as second road uniforms." They
must be worn a "minimum" of 12 times (BRANDWEEK, 9/27).
NOTES: The AHL has approved a conditional transfer of
the location of the AHL franchise owned by Howard Baldwin to
Manchester, NH. The team, which had been dormant, is
scheduled to operate in a new arena in Manchester for the
2001-02 season (AHL)....In St. Petersburg, Gary Shelton
criticizes the Bucs for not taking action preventing the
Tampa Sports Authority from pursuing a case against fan
Richard Schweitzer, who was arrested and charged with
disorderly conduct for standing on his seat at Raymond James
Stadium during a preseason game: "There is a tendency to
suggest they [owners] have lost touch with their fans, but
such a statement would be wrong. They never had touch.
They never made contact" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 9/29)....In
Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom calls Blackhawks President Bill
Wirtz's challenge to members of the Capitals to "go into a
room and turn out the lights and settle" their dispute
"inflammatory, thuggish and stupid." Rosenbloom: "Wirtz is
displaying just that type of moronic leadership that
explains why this organ-I-zation has gone without a Stanley
Cup longer than any active team" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/29).