BASEBALL IN APRIL: FASTBALL, CURVEBALL, SNOWBALL

     Yesterday's home opener in New York, played amid snow and 40
degree temperatures, fueled another day of criticism for MLB's
early start this season.  NEWSDAY's Steve Zipay --who recommends
"Welcome to the Snow" as a '96 slogan -- offers the oft-mentioned
idea of scheduling early games in warm-weather cities (NEWSDAY,
4/10).  The N.Y. TIMES' Harvey Araton, noting that yesterday will
be the last Yankee sellout for months:  "All the baseball owners
are getting the picture that their window of dominance is smaller
than ever now.  They can start the season on March 31 or April
15.  Their biggest problem -- the crowded market for the fan's
sports dollars -- won't disappear" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/10).  ESPN's
Keith Olbermann, questioning early games in cold-weather cities
where it looked like the teams "were playing inside one of those
Christmas-scene paperweights":  "Why do the Dodgers have seven
home games in the first three weeks while the Cubs have 15?"
("SportsCenter," 4/9).