Media

An all-party group of 46 members of parliament on Thursday urged the government to ask Britain's monopolies watchdog to examine a bid for soccer club Manchester United Plc by pay television company BSkyB.

Michael Jordan confirmed yesterday that the NBA Player's union is unified and will never accept a hard salary cap.

Real Madrid and AC Milan have thrown their support behind UEFA's plans for a revamped Champions' League after another meeting between 12 of Europe's top clubs and their governing body.

Franz Beckenbauer has been elected vice-president of the German Soccer Federation (DFB) and has immediately pressed for reforms.

Olympic officials have said they were optimistic the Australian government would help to ensure the Sydney 2000 Games budget was not hit hard by a new goods and services tax (GST).

A senior Pakistani cricket official has said that accusations of gambling and match-fixing were part of a conspiracy aimed at ruining the reputations of some of the country's international players.

The BBC has won broadcasting rights to United Kingdom athletics from Channel Four, in a move that will consolidate its position as the sports broadcaster with the broadest range of top events.

The New York Mets and Mike Piazza are close to a long-term contract agreement that could make the All-Star catcher the highest paid player in baseball, according to broadcast reports.

The owners of the Oakland Athletics baseball team have put the team up for sale amid a legal dispute with local government officials over the team's lease at the Oakland Coliseum.

European Union competition chief Karel Van Miert said he felt there was a problem in the bid by Rupert Murdoch's television group BSkyB for English premier league Manchester United.

International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) head Primo Nebiolo has rebuked the international media for "irresponsible" reports about the death of Florence Griffith Joyner.

In a move to keep cable TV on the bench during this spring's NCAA men's college basketball tournament, broadcast network CBS and satellite TV company DirecTV has unveiled plans for joint coverage of the event.

A Chinese domestic soccer match is to be transmitted live on the internet for the first time, an official of Shanghai Webtv Co Ltd said on Wednesday.

The bid by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB for famed English soccer club Manchester United was booted into extra time on Thursday after the British Government passed the deal to an anti-monopoly referee.

Italian soccer clubs want to avoid a showdown over television rights that could end with the big clubs creaming off most of the money, the chairman of Italy's Football League said on Thursday.

Bangkok Asian Games Organising Committee (Bagoc) chairman and deputy prime minister Bhichai Rattakul has requested chefs de mission from 43 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) not to withdraw their teams from the Bangkok Asiad.