North America

Canada ?based Rogers Communications Inc. has taken its fight to gain control of Sportsnet, an all-sports specialty television channel, to the federal broadcast regulator.

All finalists at both world outdoor and indoor athletics championships will receive prize money from next year.

Olympic 400 metres champion Michael Johnson has said he would not take part in the world athletics championships next year in Edmonton, Canada.

China is contemplating throwing Tiananmen Square - mostly known to the outside world for the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators - into its 2008 Olympic bid as the venue for beach volleyball.

Despite losing the duMaurier Open ? one of the LPGA?s major championships - Canada will still host an LPGA tournament in 2001.

Eurosport has won a bronze trophy at the `Olympic Golden Ring? Awards, organised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee).

Players? agent Jeff Moorad has faxed a $200m proposal to the Cleveland Indians offering the services of free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez .

The Women's United Soccer Association, which plans to kick off next April, unveiled its nicknames, logos and venues.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will visit Beijing in February next year ahead of the vote in July to decide the host city of the 2008 Games, a Chinese Olympic bid official said on Tuesday.

Attendance at North American sports events reached a booming 422 million last year with the four major sports accounting for nearly three-quarters of the total, according to a new study.

Toronto's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games picked up momentum this week with a timely convergence of enthusiastic public support and a C$1.5-billion ($1 billion) pledge by government to redevelop Toronto's waterfront - the centrepiece of Toronto's Olympic vision.

The Arena Football League (AFL) board of directors has approved the relocation of the Albany Firebirds from Albany, N.Y., to Indianapolis.

To coincide with the launch of the Extreme Sports Channel in the UK this month, a series of new programmes have been added to the channel's schedule on a pan-European basis.

The disappointing ratings for Olympic coverage on NBC in the US have been offset by more encouraging figures around the world.

The Women's British Open has replaced Canada?s now-defunct du Maurier Classic as the fourth ?major? championship on the LPGA Tour.

Final arguments in the criminal trial of hockey player Marty McSorley for a brutal on-ice slashing incident were set for Friday with debate over his actions were intentional or reckless at the forefront.