NASCAR: In Orlando, Ed Hinton writes that while NASCAR
President Bill France is battling cancer, some wonder, "Who
is making the rock-and-hard-place calls?" NASCAR Senior
VP/Marketing Brian France: "Bill's still making those. As
of right now, we're confident he's going to remain where he
is, but he's also said he's not going to do what he's doing
forever." Hinton writes that many "wonder what path NASCAR
would take should" Bill France "be incapacitated or die,"
and NASCAR COO Mike Helton and Brian France "go into
conflict." Hinton: "The real insiders feel certain that in
a crisis, the long-enigmatic 'other' France -- Jim ... would
come from the shadows and take charge" (ORLANDO SENTINEL,
2/15). Hinton adds that Bill France "is responding well to
cancer treatment" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/15)...In Seattle,
Holly Cain wonders why the Northwest region of the U.S. is
"conspicuously absent from the Winston Cup map." Helton:
"The biggest element is a lack of a facility to hold a
Winston Cup race" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 2/15).
NHL: In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz wrote that it "doesn't
make sense" for NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to "take the
heat" for the lack of assistance for Canada's six NHL
franchises. Schultz: "It's not the responsibility of any
sports league to keep individual businesses afloat" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 2/13)....In Toronto, Damien Cox, on the NHL
possibly participating in the 2002 Olympics: "The NHL's
philosophy with respect to the Olympics has been misguided
from the beginning. It wasn't about being part of the
Olympics. It was about using the Olympics to serve the
league's selfish motives" (TORONTO STAR, 2/13).
NOTES: In ID, Derek Samson wrote that a recent SI
article on the CBA which stated that attendance is up 10%
under the ownership of Isiah Thomas "is false." Actual
average attendance is "down" for all nine teams and the
league "was down 20.6 percent overall at the beginning of
this month" (IDAHO STATESMAN, 2/15)....ENTERTAINMENT
WEEKLY's Jim Mullen ranks the XFL fourth out of 15 on "Hot
Sheet" of "what the country is talking about." Mullen: "The
WWF is starting an 'extreme' football league. For people
who find regular football too cerebral" (EW, 2/18 issue).
