CBA, PART I: PATTERSON OUT, HUNTER IN, AS LEAGUE'S TOP BOSS

          CBA Commissioner Steve Patterson is "stepping down
     under pressure," according to Lombardo & Gotthelf of the
     SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL.  CBA Deputy Commissioner Gary Hunter
     will "take over as interim commissioner" while Patterson
     remains with the league as a consultant.  Hunter will become
     the sixth CBA commissioner since '90.   Though Patterson
     "officially will resign, sources close to the CBA said he
     was pressured to step down."  Under Patterson's watch, three
     CBA franchises -- Omaha, Florida and Oklahoma City -- have
     ceased operations.  While Patterson was unavailable for
     comment, Hunter "blames the league's instability on loose
     parameters placed on new ownership groups."  Hunter: "We
     have allowed undercapitalized groups to go in with not
     enough help or with inexperienced management.  But we've
     attempted to stabilize the league by strengthening the
     requirements for ownership" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/22).