Urban News

(INDIANAPOLIS) -- Fans of the Indianapolis Colts have been in an enviable position for some time. Just like Redskins fans in the nation's capitol, they have usually been able to see local games of their team on local television because the games are a sell-out -- at least for the past 25 consecutive contests. But interest in the Colts in Indianapolis is waning and the Indianapolis Star says that unless the team quickly sells about 2,500 more tickets, this coming weekend's encounter against the winless Cincinnati Bengals will be blacked out locally.

According to NFL rules, the stadium must be totally sold-out at least 72 hours prior to game time for the local TV ban to be lifted.

Ironically, the RCA Dome in the Indiana capital is currently the "smallest house" in the NFL. There are 56,127 seats.

The current 25-game sell-out streak is the longest for the Colts since they moved to Indiana from Baltimore in 1984.

(MINNEAPOLIS) -- The status of Minnesota Vikings player Randy Moss remains up in the air. And his most recent run-in with the law is the talk of the Twin Cities. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune says that Moss was charged Tuesday with possession of a small amount of marijuana. The charge was added to an earlier one that claims he assaulted a police officer with his car.

Police tell local media that they found a "pot cigarette" in Moss's car after he was arrested in downtown Minneapolis on the Sept. 24. He was charged the next day with "careless driving" and failure to obey an officer's orders -- misdemeanors under Minnesota law.

Several days ago ESPN had reported that Moss had been in an NFL drug rehabilitation program for some time. A spokesman for the league says that Moss's status remains under investigation.

(ATLANTA) -- In spite of the euphoria exhibited by many parents over former President Clinton's suggestion that all students in public schools wear uniforms, it would appear that interest in the concept is dropping and some parents are becoming disenchanted with the idea.

The Atlanta Journal and Constitution is reporting that an increasing number of parents in the Atlanta suburbs want the rules rethought. Several tell the publication that while the use of uniforms is being re-debated, their children will no longer conform to the dress codes.

Additionally, many Atlanta school districts have simply let the trend quietly die.

There are still those who support uniforms, long a standard in parochial and private schools. They claim that children have enough peer group pressure that they don't need the extra layer of "who can dress the best" added to their burdens.

(SEATTLE) -- Maritime officials in Seattle say it's strangely quiet at the ports in and around that city, now that longshoremen have been locked out in a labor dispute. The disagreement between the union and the ports has left all West Coast entry points for cargo sitting in low gear, with nothing moving in or out. ABC's Paul Harvey estimates that the stoppage is costing the country billions a week.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association are still deadlocked in trying to reach any kind of quick settlement.

Because of the closure of the ports, the infrastructure in all port cities is suffering, from local trucking and rail firms to import-export businesses to the local restaurants serving the port communities.

The lockout was ordered by port owners after a work slowdown last week by longshoremen.