WINGS FANS WILL HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WAY TO CELEBRATE GOALS

          Although the Red Wings will continue to use the "Al the
     Octopus" character as a marketing mascot, the team is
     "discouraging fans from flinging seafood on the ice" during
     the Stanley Cup playoffs, according to Steve Schrader of the
     DETROIT FREE PRESS.  The NHL has decreed that "any concerted
     or widespread conduct by the fans which results in the
     littering of the ice ... will not be tolerated" and may
     result in a delay of game penalty.  Ted Speers, Wings Dir of
     Marketing: "We're going to work with fans to keep the
     octopus as a symbol, not an action."  Kevin Dean, owner of a
     Detroit-area fish market: "As the rounds progress, we'll see
     our octopus sales increase" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/16).