XFL NEWS & NOTES: CFL Commissioner Michael Lysko, on
any partnership with the XFL: "I know the XFL would welcome
it and I know it was discussed at the CFL's board level
prior to my arrival, but we have people in this league who
don't want to undermine the integrity of what we have by
becoming involved with a league that's selling T and A. We
have a credible, long-standing product. They don't. We
also have a strategic alliance already with the [NFL]. The
XFL is challenging the NFL" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 12/19).
...In Hartford, Dom Amore reported that N.Y./NJ Hitmen GM
Drew Pearson, who markets a line of headwear, "did not lose"
his NFL licensing rights when he accepted the XFL post.
Pearson: "The NFL is respectful of what we're doing. We're
not competing with the NFL in any way, shape or form. After
the Super Bowl, football fans are still suffering from
withdrawal. We're going to ... keep it going" (HARTFORD
COURANT, 12/17).
NBA: Raptors F Charles Oakley, on the state of the NBA:
"The league is garbage. ... People are probably going to
stay home and watch regular TV because the talent (in the
NBA) is not there. ... I don't think the fans are getting
their money's worth because the talent level is not there
and the ticket prices are high" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
12/19)....The NATIONAL POST's Dave Feschuk writes, "The
NBA's generation gap is gaping these days: You can scarcely
walk into a locker room without hearing some veteran ....
bemoan both the selfishness of the NBA's young stars and the
shoddiness of the present-day game. ... All around the
league, there are voices of discontent rueing the gamut of
present-day trends" (NATIONAL POST, 12/19).
MLS: In Hartford, Jerry Trecker wrote that MLS "must
show progress in three specific areas if the league is to be
taken seriously by the American sporting public." First,
MLS "must find" new investor/operators for at least three
teams, "possibly a fourth." Second, the league "must begin
to put significant numbers in the seats," and "must find the
marketing dollars to attract fans." Third, and "perhaps
most important, the league must make "a true attempt to keep
top American players at home while securing good youngsters
from abroad" (HARTFORD COURANT, 12/18).
