FRANCHISE NOTES

          Bulls/White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf was the guest on
     ESPN's "Up Close" and said he would not sell the Bulls to
     concentrate on the White Sox: "I think they're a tandem. 
     There are a lot of off the field and off the court reasons
     why the two teams really can do better if they're owned in a
     common way" ("Up Close," ESPN, 7/15)....Attendance for
     Tuesday's Cardinals game, with Mark McGwire taking a
     previously announced day off, dropped "about" 6,000 from
     Monday's date.  USA TODAY figures that with the team's
     average ticket price of $12.50 and the team's $4.50 "take on
     concessions," the "night off cost the Cardinals $100,000"
     (USA TODAY, 7/16)....The MLS Chicago Fire drew 28,716 for
     its match against Mexican club UNAM Pumas last night.  It
     was MLS's third-largest crowd in history for an
     international match.  The Fire did lose "its main radio
     outlet" as WTAQ-AM "carried its last Spanish broadcast." 
     WTAQ is changing its format after an acquisition, and the
     team is in talks with other stations (SUN-TIMES, 7/16).