MLB HALTS INTERNET BROADCASTS UNTIL IT "SORTS OUT" A POLICY

          MLB has issued "a ban" of live audio broadcasts via the
     Internet while it "sorts out policies governing the matter,"
     according to Peter Lewis of the SEATTLE TIMES.  The ban,
     which is "generally believed to be a temporary prohibition,"
     went into effect Tuesday -- "though not universally" --
     after MLBP asked all teams to refrain from broadcasting over
     the Internet until MLB owners "consider a proposal to set
     guidelines for such broadcasts."  The decree prompted
     Seattle's KIRO-AM to "pull the plug" on Tuesday's Mariners-
     Indians cybercast, "which was met with virtually instant
     online agitation."  An MLB spokesperson could not be reached
     for comment, but Mariners Dir of PR Dave Aust said draft
     guidelines proposed to MLB owners "would enable clubs to
     broadcast games over the Internet either at the club's own
     Web site or through a radio-station site."  Aust noted those
     rules "haven't been approved yet" (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/16).