In the wake of the death of wrestler Owen Hart at a pay-per-view match, the World Wrestling Federation is considering putting its plans for an initial public stock offering on the back burner. Only the week before, according to Daily Variety, the WWF had hired Bear Stearns & Co. as lead underwriter and anticipated an IPO with a value of at least $750 million.
SHOT ROUND THE WORLD: The first sports event of the new millennium will be a golf tournament at Christchurch, New Zealand. Golfers will greet the new century by teeing off under floodlights at midnight Dec. 31 at Russley Golf Course, the first course this side of the International Date Line.
WEB SITE FOR SORE EYES: Talk about truth in advertising: The home page on Shaquille O'Neal's Web site (www.shaq.com) heralds his "improvement" at the free-throw line. A supporting bar graph shows that after hitting at 59.2 percent from the charity line in his rookie year, he has followed with 55.4, 53.3, 48.7, 48.4, 52.7 and 54.0 in the seasons that followed. Now that he and his team have been eliminated from the playoffs once again, Shaq has all summer to practice free throws — and look up the word "improvement."
LOVE, MEN'S TENNIS: With a household name like Kafelnikov at the top of the rankings and competition about as exciting to watch as trees forming annual rings, it's no wonder that Hubert Mizell of the St. Petersburg Times writes: "I wouldn't walk across U.S. 19 to watch today's tennis males, but the women's game has mushrooming intrigue and bombast. The guys are right when they shout women do not deserve equal Grand Slam purses. Women should get more."
SAY HUB-la ESPA„OL: Boston Red Sox pitching ace Pedro Martinez has become so popular in Beantown that The Boston Globe runs Bosox stories in Spanish whenever he pitches.
HAVING A DEVIL (RAY) OF A TIME: With attendance averaging 21,032 fans a game, 18th among 30 major league teams, Tampa Bay Devil Rays owner Vince Naimoli has been heard telling people he will move if attendance doesn't pick up. When asked by local media if the thought of moving had crossed his mind, Naimoli wouldn't deny it, answering: "Have I had any thoughts? Is that like asking Jimmy Carter if he ever had lust in his heart?"
JETTING OFF? The front-runners to buy the Jets are the Dolan brothers, runners-up for the Browns franchise. Word has it that if the Dolans buy the team, Bill Parcells will exercise his escape clause and be outta there, especially since the ownership group may include former Dolphins coach Don Shula — as it did in the Dolans' Cleveland bid.
