TENNIS: In TENNIS WEEK, Richard Evans authors his
personal view on the state of the ATP Tour under the header,
"ATP Atrophy." Evans: "[I]n the opinion of many of the
game's insiders, Mark Miles and his ATP Tour leadership will
be serving to stay in the match when more Board and Council
meetings take place in Melbourne during the Australian Open.
For one thing is certain -- the ATP Tour cannot stagnate
through another year of zero achievement like the one that
has just passed" (TENNIS WEEK, 1/15 issue)....The USTA is
interviewing for the job of in-house legal counsel, a
position witch carries a salary estimated at over $175,000
per year (TENNIS WEEK, 1/15 issue).
ABL: ABL CEO Gary Cavalli said that the league's
commitment to Long Beach is "multi-seasonal," but that the
StingRays could play three to six games next year at The
Pond of Anaheim. He added that there has been no talks of
moving the team to Dallas, Long Island or Nashville. In
related news, the L.A. TIMES' Earl Gustkey notes that ABL
teams have been drawing better crowds when playing at larger
venues, and he cites the StingRays' turnout at The Pond and
the Philadelphia Rage's crowd of more than 6,000 at Temple
University's new Apollo Arena (L.A. TIMES, 1/13)....In San
Jose, 4,228 attended Sunday's ABL Blizzard-Lasers game, the
"largest gathering to attend a Lasers game at the Event
Center this season" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/12).
