In Charlotte, Tommy Tomlinson writes that "right now,"
a new arena for the Hornets "has about as much chance of
approval as a bill to make 'The Thong Song' the new national
anthem." Tomlinson, on Hornets co-Owner Ray Wooldridge:
"[He] is doing a pretty sorry job of persuasion. He seems
incapable of meeting the city's deadlines for details about
how he plans to finance the arena, or how much he thinks
it'll cost, or even what it'll look like" (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 6/14). In Atlanta, Chris Burritt writes that "one
question keeps popping up" during talks on a new Hornets
arena: "Where is Ray Wooldridge?" Wooldridge, on an arena
deal: "We are making progress; we are going to get it done"
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/14)....In DC, Steven Goff writes
that after the Wizards-United game was discontinued at
halftime Saturday because of a power outage at RFK Stadium,
MLS denied the United's request to have the shortened game
replayed, saying that "it couldn't fit a rescheduled match
into the team's busy schedules" and the scoreless tie "would
stand." MLS Exec VP Ivan Gazidis said that the league
"would further investigate the situation" in an effort to
recoup United's losses, which club President & GM Kevin
Payne estimated "will be about" $300,000 (WASHINGTON POST,
6/14). Also in DC, Eric Fisher cites Payne as saying that
the procedure of "how to distribute" the tickets to a future
United game and "who will absorb the cost has not yet been
determined" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 6/14).
