NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and HI Gov. Ben
Cayetano began talks to discuss extending Honolulu's five-
year deal to stage the Pro Bowl, according to the HONOLULU
STAR BULLETIN. The Pro Bowl has been held in Hawaii since
'80 and Honolulu offers the NFL a rent-free stadium and "a
yearly $1 million payoff." The current deal ends in '98,
but Honolulu has competition from Orlando and "possibly"
Phoenix or Scottsdale (HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN, 2/1). The AP
writes the "pitch for moving the game to Orlando is that
European visitors to Walt Disney World would get to better
understand American football" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/3).
NFL NEWS: Ravens Owner Art Modell, on Tagliabue's
intention to expand to 32 teams: "It startled a lot of
owners. It came out of the blue. I don't want to disparage
Tagliabue, but he doesn't have a vote on expansion. He can
recommend and suggest, but the owners vote" (Vito Stellino,
Baltimore SUN, 2/2)....Ex-NFL lineman Walt Sweeney, who
recently was awarded $1.8M in benefits from the NFL Players
pension fund after a judge ruled that drugs given to Sweeney
by his team's staff led to a "lifelong habit that has left
him 'unemployable' and 'totally and permanently disabled,'"
is featured in the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Sweeney: "Oliver Stone
came out last Friday and talked with us. He's interested in
doing a movie about the drug problems in the NFL" (Luke
Cyphers, N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/3).
