DATE: Monday, September 15, 1997            TAG: 9709130293

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARK EDELEN, PILOT ONLINE STAFF 

                                            LENGTH:   62 lines

ALL THE FACTS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE NFL TEAM ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEB

It was a big weekend for the Washington Redskins - 80,000 seats, $170 million, to be exact - as Washington's NFL team christened Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. If you didn't make the game, or if you're planning a visit later this season, swing by the Washington Redskins Web site, too.

Redskins president John Kent Cooke joined the site for a live chat last week. The transcript is still available. Perhaps not this season but ``down the road,'' Cooke said, the stadium will be open for tours for the general public year-round.

The Redskins site also offers game stories and previews, stats, the roster and coach profiles, a ``Theater'' section with videos of game highlights (warning: these are large files not for the modem-impaired), and an e-mail link to Ask Coach Turner. Click ``Team Info'' on any official NFL site for ticket details.

The site is part of the umbrella site for the National Football League, where you'll find links to official sites for all NFL teams - from the Pittsburg Steelers to the Dallas Cowboys. (Dallas also runs its own official Cowboys site, including a 360-degree QuickTimeVR tour of Texas Stadium, separate from the NFL site.)

Of regional interest, the Carolina Panthers of Charlotte add a Panthers Poll. Results are tabulated and displayed automatically after you vote.

The Baltimore Ravens, in addition to the basic features, offer a fan's guide to Memorial Stadium and a letter from owner and president Art Modell remembering the stadium's history before its last season.

Fans also will want to visit local newspapers' Web sites, most of which run special sites on their home teams. The Washington Post online has a special report on Cooke Stadium, including details on parking, directions, tickets (sorry, they're still hard to get) and design critiques from a reporter (``Everywhere is white'') and fans (``this is like a palace'').

The Charlotte Observer's section for Panthers News and Analysis has story archives, breaking news, a review of the surprisingly strong 1996 season, and a special look at Ericsson Stadium, including a seating chart.

The Baltimore Sun's SunSpot site has a Ravens Extra section, including a look at construction on the new Camden Yards stadium (listed under Ravens Nest) and a Ravens version of CyberCoach, in which fans try to predict which player will perform best in the coming game.

On Pilot Online: You can share your thoughts on your favorite team, and a countless other topics, on the new Hampton Roads TalkNet. The discussion boards let users post messages and read others' opinions on news, sports, movies, military, home and hobbies and more.

Under Sports, a section already has been set up to discuss the Redskins' prospects. A user has created an area for the Steelers. Join those topics or name your own team.

Going to the air show? Closer to home, a more extreme kind of sport, aerobatics, will be in the spotlight next weekend, Sept. 19-21, at the Neptune Festival Air Show in Virginia Beach.

The festival's Web site has the full schedule, profiles of performers (including the Blue Angels, which have their own Web site), and details on aircraft that will be on display. The festival, and its Web site, are hosted by Oceana Naval Air Station. MEMO: Send column ideas or announcements about Web sites of interest to

Hampton Roads surfers to pilot(AT)pilotonline.com; specify ``online

column'' as the subject.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu