GARLAND THROWS ITS 10-GALLON HAT INTO MAVS' ARENA RING

          The City of Garland, TX, yesterday "made a formal
     offer" to pay "half the cost" of a new arena for the
     Mavericks, according to Gillman & Ornstein of the DALLAS
     MORNING NEWS.  A source told Gillman & Ornstein that the
     Garland offer calls for the city to pay 50% of the cost to
     build the arena north of the city.  The source: "It would
     not be a loan to the Mavericks."  The proposal "does not
     ask" for a share of naming rights fees, "nor does it ask
     for" a share of concession and souvenir sales.  Garland
     joins Dallas and Grand Prairie in submitting "a firm offer"
     to the Mavs for the new arena (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/24).