North America

Callaway Golf Company has settled a law suit brought after its internet monitoring programme unearthed sales of counterfeit clubs on a website run by Taylor Golf Supply, of Detroit, Michigan.

The trial of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has taken a dramatic turn with prosecutors dropping murder and assault charges against the football star in exchange for his testimony against two co-defendants.

The official website of Euro2000 is preparing for almost inevitable 'denial of service' attacks by hackers during the course of the upcoming Tournament according to project's engineers.

Internet media giant America Online has formed a multiyear alliance with the National Basketball Association and the Women's National Basketball Association with the intention of increasing traffic to its Web sites NBA.com and WNBA.com.

Golf.com has launched its second joint venture based on fantasy games with Smallworld.com, an independent developer of online fantasy sports games.

Andre Agassi is to feature in a $25 million advertising campaign for the Twinlab line of products, which include vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Forbes magazine has completed its annual audit of baseball and revealed last season?s most valuable franchise.

The International Football Channel (TIFC), the world's only 24-hour soccer channel, has launched its signal on WEYS-TV, a move that immediately guarantees the channel 17 hours of daily broadcasts to more than one million South Florida homes. As of June 1, the broadcasts will take place around the clock.

The New York Yankees, the club with the highest pay-roll in US baseball, is seeking to double the value of its local cable television broadcast rights, reports Financial Times sources.

The Washington Redskins are to go ahead with plans to quit their summer training camp at Frostburg State University in Maryland.

The NFL has chosen the city of Atlanta, host for the 2000 Super Bowl, as one of four finalists to host Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. The other finalists are Jacksonville, Oakland and Miami.

A House of Representative speaker has increased the pressure on the Boston Red Sox over potential revenues to be gained by the team from the public funding of Fenway Park.

Loran R. Fite, senior vice president and chief information officer for News Corporation, has joined the executive advisory board of an online sports store operator.

Court TV and ESPN will team up to cover the murder trial of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, according to a report in Variety.

The baseball umpires union, the World Umpires Association, is close to agreeing a new labour contract.

YankeeNets is looking to further consolidate the marketing of its major league sports properties ? the NBA?s New Jersey Nets, the MLB?s New York Yankees and the NHL?s New Jersey Devils.