RACING NEWS: NASCAR's Busch Series, Grand National
Division will expand to 31 events in '98 as part of NASCAR's
50th Anniversary (NASCAR)....FL-based Professional Sports
Car Racing, Inc. announced that it will continue to operate
from its offices in Tampa, FL, but that it will reduce its
staff from 38 to 25 employees in '98 (Sports Car).
NOTES: Akron, OH, could become home to a Regional
Football League team, the MA-based league which is looking
to start an eight-team league in the spring of '99 (AKRON
BEACON JOURNAL, 11/10)...The Toronto Argonauts beat the
Montreal Alouettes 37-30 in the CFL's East Final on Sunday
before 32,085 at SkyDome, the largest CFL crowd in Toronto
in the past two seasons (TORONTO SUN, 11/10)....Bowling's
'98 U.S. Open, April 3-11 in Milford, CT, will feature a new
presenting sponsor, AMF Bowling; a revised format, featuring
a single elimination, seeded bracket system; an expanded
national marketing team; its second largest prize fund in
history at $375,000; and a new logo (Strike Ten)....The
National Lacrosse League and the Professional Lacrosse
Players Association, reached agreement on a three-year CBA
which includes a salary increase of 63% over last season's
highest paid player; revenue sharing from TV, sponsorships
and merchandise; a first-ever All-Star Game; performance-
related bonuses; free agency; and an expanded season/playoff
format (NLL)....Despite the resignation last week Women's
Professional Fastpitch (WPF) league CEO Mitzi Swentzell, the
WPF is "exploring expansion" in '99 to teams on the West
Coast, the Midwest and within the Southeast. The WPF
currently has six Southeast-based teams (USA TODAY, 11/11).
