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■Soccer
England fans praised
England's much criticized soccer fans gained some rare praise after the team's 2-1 defeat of Serbia-Montenegro on Tuesday for responding to an appeal by captain David Beckham and behaving impeccably. UEFA has threatened England with suspension from next summer's European Championship if the fans repeat the racist abuse and violent conduct that marred a 2-0 qualifying victory over Turkey at Sunderland in April. Beckham, unable to face Serbia because of a broken wrist, made a televised plea for them not to put the team's title chances at risk. Instead of jeering the national anthem of a visiting team and hurling racist abuse at their players, the 31,000 fans inside the Walkers Stadium did little wrong.

■ Olympics
US$2bn TV revenues sought
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes to earn almost US$2 billion when four networks submit their bid for the US television rights of the 2010 Winter and 2012 Summer Olympics today and tomorrow. NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox will each hold two-hour presentations at the IOC headquarters in Switzerland before simultaneously handing over their bid in an envelope. "We want a transparent process in which not necessarily the highest bidder gets the rights. The whole package is important," said IOC President Jacques Rogge, who is also head of the Olympic TV commission. The decision is expected for Saturday via a conference call of the IOC executive board. "We will make a deal in June if we can get a good price," said IOC Vice President Thomas Bach.

■ Soccer
Ronaldo agents arrested
Two Brazilian business representatives of Ronaldo have been linked to an alleged extortion of US$33 million deposited in Swiss bank accounts, Brazilian newspapers reported Tuesday. Alexandre Martins and Reinaldo Pitta were arrested and jailed Monday on suspicion of money laundering and accounting fraud in connection with the case involving eight Brazilian federal and state tax inspectors. Martins, Ronaldo's agent, and Pitta were among the lead dealmakers for Ronaldo during last year's lengthy round of negotiations that moved the striker to Real Madrid from Italy's Internazionale for US$44 million. A lawyer for Martins and Pitta denied accusations they helped transfer the money to Switzerland for the tax inspectors. "This is a lynching," attorney Alexandre Dumans told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper after his clients were arrested.

■ Cricket
Woman to keep score
A woman will keep official score of an international match in England for the first time next month, further eroding the male domination of cricket's establishment. Cathy Rawson, 55, is to score the final of the one-day triangular tournament involving England, South Africa and Zimbabwe at Lord's, the home of cricket, on July 12, The Times newspaper reported yesterday. "It is a wonderful privilege," Rawson was quoted as saying. "It all had to go before the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) board first but I am absolutely delighted." Rawson, a nurse, taught herself scoring 33 years ago when she became bored watching her husband play local cricket, the newspaper reported. The MCC, the prestigious cricket club still responsible for the laws of the game, broke with 212 years of tradition in 1999 when it announced its first women members.

Agencies
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