CYBERSPORTS HERE'S THE CLOCKWISE LINK TO THE COUNTER-CLOCKWISE CULTURE.

Byline: - Tom Hoffarth

The time change gets funky, so maybe the best place to keep track up-to- the-real-day at the Australian Open tennis tournament for the next couple of weeks is at the outstanding IBM-powered official Web site (www.ausopen.org), which has been in operation since 1996.

A clock giving the exact time in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York might come in handy. Here's a hint: There's a 19-hour difference between here and there. So when the big hand's on the ...

Access to the SlamCam link gives everyone a look through a robotic camera on one of the four main courts.

And the hot item at the A.O. store is a plush toy wombat or platypus ($5). Although the $6 Stubby Holder is tough to pass on, too.

--The seven-team American Basketball Association remains alive, albeit at a Web site - www.aba2000.com - that makes it sound a bit behind the times.

The Southern California Surf, which last year was known as the Stars, continues to play its games at the Anaheim Convention Center, but many of the bigger names associated with the front office have changed.

Instead of Paul Westhead, Jamaal Wilkes and John Wooden making the player decisions, it's former Laker A.C. Green who serves as director of player personnel for coach Scott Brooks, according to information on the official team site (www.surf.aba2000.com).

The Surf, 3-1 heading into Sunday's game at Kentucky, doesn't return to Anaheim until Jan. 23. Tickets (available on ticketmaster.com) run from $4 to $20.

The Indianapolis-based league's mission statement continues to emphasize the Internet as a ``fundamental component'' of its marketing plan. The Surf's logo, by the way, was voted the coolest during a Web poll which drew more than 80,000 respondents.