WNBA: In Indianapolis, Sean Horgan reports that the
WNBA will not expand beyond its current 16 teams until 2002
at the earliest. WNBA President Val Ackerman: "The long-
term vision that we have is to keep adding teams at the
right pace, and I don't see expansion in the cards for
(2001)." Ackerman said the league has seen a consistent
increase in league-wide season-ticket sales from about 2,500
per team in '97 to 4,300 in '99. Ackerman: "I would say the
renewal rate is about 75-to-80 percent" (INDY STAR, 2/22).
NHL: In Toronto, David Shoalts reported that the NHL
has "threatened to pull out of the world hockey
championships thanks to a dispute" with the IIHF regarding
the league's participation in the 2002 Olympic Games. IIHF
President Rene Fasel said that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
"raised the possibility" on Friday during a meeting in N.Y.,
but he "was not issuing an ultimatum" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
2/19)....On CNNSI.com, Jim Kelley examined Bettman's
leadership under the header, "While Profitable, Bettman's
Reign Not Without Bumps." He wrote that the NHL's Olympic
participation and a CBA that "has done little to reign in
the soaring" salaries have "become the focal point of the
complaints" about Bettman. Kelley: "How Bettman chooses to
deal with [such issues] will define both his professionalism
and his time in office" (CNNSI.com, 2/21).
