FINNERAN MAKES OFFER, BUT KRAFT REJECTS STADIUM PROPOSAL

          The Patriots yesterday rejected a proposal by MA House
     Speaker Thomas Finneran under which the state would spend
     $57M for infrastructure improvements in Foxboro in exchange
     for the team building a $200M stadium, according to Tina
     Cassidy of the BOSTON GLOBE.  Finneran cast the proposal as
     a "compromise" between the House's version of a stadium bill
     and a "more generous" version approved by the Senate. 
     Finneran made public his proposal before presenting it to
     Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, "raising criticism that he was
     less interested in finding an acceptable deal than in
     fending off blame" if the stadium efforts fail.  Finneran:
     "We've done about the best we can do."  Cassidy writes that
     because the new plan would have the state spend another 10%
     over the House bill while requiring the team to increase its
     investment by 100%, "few believe the idea will be seriously
     considered by the team or the Senate" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/28).