ONLINE NEWS & NOTES: REUTERS & YAHOO ENTER SPORTS WEB SCENE

          Reuters Holdings PLC has launched SportsWeb, a free
     Internet site providing international sports news and
     pictures, according to Mary Huhn of the N.Y. POST.  The
     site, at www.sportsweb.com, is a joint alliance between
     Reuters and Digital Equipment Corp.  It "will garner revenue
     from sponsorships, advertising and merchandising."  The site
     is also "an effort" to build the Reuters brand name.  The
     first "major event" covered by SportsWeb will be the '98
     World Cup soccer draw on Thursday (N.Y. POST, 12/2).  CA-
     based Yahoo launched Yahoo Sports, marking its first
     "official sports news offering."  The Sporting News will be
     the site's "primary source" of news (BRANDWEEK, 12/1 issue).
          LEAGUES A HIT: In Ft. Lauderdale, Sharon Robb reported
     that NFL.com "has had a record number of users" since its
     relaunch in August.  The average number of users per day is
     150,000, with the average number of pages viewed per day at
     1.4 million (SUN-SENTINEL, 11/30).  NBA.com recorded nearly
     14 million page views the week of November 17, a 200%
     increase over the same week last year.  The "Virtual GM"
     fantasy basketball game has signed up more than 65,000
     players in the first three weeks (NBA.com).