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NHL OPENING WEEKEND: SKITTISH KITTY IN MIAMI; THE WILD SELL

          The NHL Panthers' season opener drew 17,535 against the
     Canucks Friday during "one of South Florida's biggest sports
     weekends of the year," with college football and the
     Dolphins playing a divisional game at home, according to
     Stephen Holder of the MIAMI HERALD.  Holder: "The lack of
     anticipation for a season opener of a team that finished 6-
     2-1 during preseason was disappointing to some Panthers
     players" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/7).  Also in Miami, Greg Cote
     wrote that National Car Rental Center looked "about one-
     quarter empty" during Friday's game.  Cote: "For a while,
     you got the sense the NHL had wormed fully into South
     Florida's sporting consciousness.  Now it's as if the team
     has reverted to being a cult fascination, adored by
     worshippers, but only of mild interest to others" (MIAMI
     HERALD, 10/7).  Meanwhile, David Neal called the Panthers'
     opening-night pregame promos "too elaborate."  A 15-minute
     film -- featuring "a pair of glowing glasses that, when
     donned, allowed a child to see different Panthers as wearing
     outfits that resembled Laser Tag" uniforms -- was greeted
     with "seemingly confused silence."  Meanwhile, national
     anthem singer Jill Minor "was to be accompanied by a live
     panther, which suddenly had second thoughts about her role
     in the show," as the panther "got spooked by the fireworks"
     that went off during the anthem.  The panther "writhed and
     leaped about so frantically, she had to be taken off the ice
     as Minor finished the tune" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/7).  
          DAVIDSON TO BE MORE FOCUSED ON LIGHTNING: In St.
     Petersburg, Kevin Kelly wrote that "for the first time,"
     Palace Sports & Entertainment Owner William Davidson watched
     a regular-season Lightning game when he attended Friday's
     opener against the Islanders.  Davidson: "Last year, from my
     point of view, was a write-off year.  This year will not be
     a write-off year" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 10/7)
          WHERE THE WILD THINGS SCALP: USA TODAY's Kevin Allen
     writes that Wild execs are "anticipating a sellout" for the
     "entire season."  Wild VP/Communications Bill Robertson said
     that "fewer than 1,000 tickets remain for any Wild game" in
     18,064-seat Xcel Energy Center.  The team sold 15,300 season
     tickets and "purposely kept back about" 1,000 tickets to
     sell for $10 on a game-by-game basis (USA TODAY, 10/10).  In
     St. Paul, Leslie Brooks Suzukamo writes that some Wild
     ticket holders are using Internet auction sites like eBay
     and Yahoo! Auction "to scalp their tickets before" the Wild
     play their sold-out home opener on Wednesday.  Wild
     management "isn't wild about cyberspace sales but is almost
     hapless to prevent it" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 10/10).     
          NOTES: In Columbus, 18,136 attended the Blue Jackets
     home opener Saturday against the Blackhawks, and the
     DISPATCH's Myers & Mayhood wrote that "even at the end of a
     5-3 loss, [fans] stood -- and gave the home team a rousing
     ovation."  Before the game, "applause was huge" for the Blue
     Jackets Principal Owner John McConnell (COLUMBUS DISPATCH,
     10/8)....In L.A., Elliott Teaford wrote that for Sunday's
     loss to the Blues, the Mighty Ducks' announced attendance of
     11,134 was a franchise low "that might have been closer to
     8,500" (L.A. TIMES, 10/9).  

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