SPORTS AND REC STOCK IN THE BASEMENT, CAN IT GO ANY FURTHER?

     Sports and Recreation, Inc., has seen its stock slip to
$7.25, just 1/4 from its 52-week low.  Company execs explain that
expansion of its 72-store chain has drained earnings.  Sports and
Recreation has continued its strategy of opening "cavernous
stores quickly in new markets to stand out from the competition,"
according to Lisa Backman in this morning's TAMPA TRIBUNE.
Analysts believe the company has expanded too fast -- 56 new
stores since '93 -- "at a time when people had other spending
priorities."  Most of Sports and Recreation's new stores are 50-
60,000 square feet, the size of a large supermarket, compared
with competitor Sports Authority, which keeps its stores around
40,000 square feet.  However, Sports and Recreation Chair & CEO
Jim Bradke feels the company's rapid expansion creates a "flip
side" that "drains earnings at first."  Bradke remains confident
that the retailer "will be back" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 10/26).