CYBERSPORTS MAYBE ODDS ARE BETTER THAN THE CLEARINGHOUSE.

Byline: - Tom Hoffarth

Some of the more interesting sports-related marketing schemes are executed daily on the Internet disguised as extravagant contests.

There's one for which anyone can apply on MasterCard's Web site (www.mastercard.com/specialoffers/mlb). A baseball fan can bring 11 friends to a ballpark to be determined, put on uniforms and play a game against former major-leaguers. This priceless ``Take Me Out To The Ballgame'' sweepstakes will have a winner picked Sept. 24.

If you're 35 or older and a member of CBS SportsLine.com Rewards Plus club, there's the opportunity to win four days at Caesars Palace and participate in Michael Jordan's Senior Flight School. The prize is valued at more than $15,000, including airfare, hotel, limo service and meals. The promotion ends Aug. 2.

And then there's this catchy one at the U.S. Soccer Federation site (www.us-soccer.com). It is seeking out the first ``official chant'' for the men's and women's national teams. Philips Electronics sponsors the activity through Aug. 15. The winner receives a new Philips home-theater system, with two runners-up getting DVD players.

The chant then will be allowed to debut somehow at the Oct. 7 World Cup qualifier in Boston.

--The surf-culture site Swell.com won the sports category at the fifth annual Webby Awards last week in San Francisco. ESPN.com was picked the best sports site in the People's Voice Award presented at the same ceremony. It's the fourth time in five years it has received the distinction, voted on by Internet users.

--Cool site of the week: BowlingShirt.com, based in St. Louis, with a line of kitschy stuff that looks great in or out of the local Brunswick center.