POTENTIAL HOUSTON NHL OWNERS TO WORK TOWARDS NEW ARENA

          Potential NHL expansion team owners Chuck Watson and
     Bob McNair "say they intend to continue working" toward
     building a new arena for basketball and hockey in Houston,
     "with the participation of Rockets owner Leslie Alexander or
     without it," according to Neil Hohlfeld in the HOUSTON
     CHRONICLE.  Watson said "(Alexander) can join in at any
     point in time.  He can be a lessee in the new building, or
     he can have ownership in the building. ... There's a chair
     at the table for him," but "stressed" the process "cannot
     wait" for Alexander's involvement (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/21).
          NICE PARTING GIFT:  Writing on the competition for the
     NHL bid in Houston, CHRONICLE columnist Mickey Herskowitz
     notes Watson "had more to lose," writing "Alexander still
     has the Rockets, not a trifling thing as consolation prizes
     go.  He just doesn't have everything.  Whether this is fair
     may depend on where your sympathies lie, but it does seem
     the best for the city" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/21).