1.   An expansion franchise will be awarded next week, probably to Tampa, Fla., or Nashville, Tenn.

2.   And Cleveland Browns president Carmen Policy pushed the button anyway Thursday, firing head coach Chris Palmer after just two seasons with an expansion franchise.

3.   And in Houston, businessman Robert McNair indicated he would pull out of the running for an expansion franchise if Los Angeles is given more time.

4.   And then all it got was stiffed when expansion franchises were handed out.

5.   Apparently Davis is attempting to position himself as an alternative to Michael Ovitz and Eli Broad, both of whom will bid for the expansion franchise in Los Angeles.

6.   As in the sports world itself, expansion franchises rarely win a championship the first time out.

7.   Before long, the NHL awarded expansion franchises to Anaheim and San Jose, and existing clubs moved to Dallas, Denver and Phoenix.

8.   Before the NBA granted expansion franchises to Toronto and Vancouver next season, he demanded that NBA games be withdrawn from the provincial sports-betting lottery cards.

9.   Besides, expansion franchises usually suffer through many frustrating years as bumblers before they turn respectable.

10.   Besides, the UW will have to pay it only until Neuheisel is named head coach of the expansion franchise the NFL puts in Los Angeles.