Ericsson

1 p.m. [Comcast SportsNet] This is a sort-of Slam, but it has the big names. That includes Rafael Nadal, who plays in the men's quarterfinals. (Sorry, the Serena-Venus match is at night.)

Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson has been sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury. The Red Wings on Tuesday recalled defenseman Doug Janik from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to replace Ericsson, who sustained a bone bruise to his left knee in a collision with Phoenix forward Shane Doan during Monday night's 3-2 win. Further tests showed no damage to the major ligaments within Ericsson's knee. In 31 games this season, Ericsson has three goals and seven assists and a minus-7 rating.

Yurie Systems Inc., a Landover provider of high-speed network-access equipment, yesterday announced a resale agreement with Ericsson Inc.Under the three-year deal, Ericsson will market Yurie products worldwide under its own name. Ericsson Inc. is the Richardson, Texas-based American subsidiary of Sweden's LM Ericsson.The agreement, which goes into effect immediately, does not compel Ericsson to purchase any specific quantity of Yurie products.Kwok Li, Yurie vice chairman and chief technical officer, said, "We need a way to leverage our growth and part of the way to do that is to partner with global players.

1 p.m. [Comcast SportsNet] This is a sort-of Slam, but it has the big names. That includes Rafael Nadal, who plays in the men's quarterfinals. (Sorry, the Serena-Venus match is at night.)

The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race has its first entry. Ericsson Racing Team, which finished fifth in the seven-boat competition that ended in June, announced yesterday that it will be at the starting line in Alicante, Spain, in the fall of 2008. Race organizers have decided to shorten the down time between the around-the-world competition from four years to three years. The Ericsson venture will again be managed by Atlant Ocean Racing, which managed the Disney-backed boat Pirates of the Caribbean in the last race.

In a crowded field of cell phone makers, Ericsson has yet to distinguish itself (in the United States, anyway). But Ericsson is worth a second look; the company makes some great phones, with more on the horizon.The CF788 I tested ($140) was packed with features, including a phone book, caller ID, last-10-call retrieval, programmable ring tones, voice mail, Short Message Service (SMS) and lots more. It's available in red, green, blue, gray or black.The CF788 offers several key features. First, its size makes it a winner, fitting neatly in the palm of your hand.

LONDON -- Ericsson, the world's largest maker of mobile-phone networks, agreed yesterday to buy Redback Networks Inc. for $2.1 billion in cash to gain expertise in Internet protocol-routing technology and more directly challenge Cisco Systems Inc. Redback makes so-called "edge" routers that connect computers to the Internet and allow operators to simultaneously deliver broadband, television and telephone services over networks using standard Internet infrastructure....

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - LM Ericsson, the largest supplier of wireless networks, announced yesterday that it will eliminate as many as another 10,000 jobs and may lose more money in the second quarter than in the first because of slowing demand. The Swedish company forecast a pretax loss of at least 4.9 billion kronor ($485 million) this quarter. The cuts bring reductions this year to 14,000, or 13 percent of Ericsson's staff. The company posted a first-quarter loss from operations - the first in nine years.

STOCKHOLM -- Ericsson AB, the world's No. 3 cellular-phone maker, and rival Qualcomm Inc. agreed yesterday to share technology for wireless phones and equipment, ending a 2 1/2-year patent dispute.Ericsson will buy an unprofitable Qualcomm unit that makes cellular-network equipment, and the companies will jointly support one standard for next-generation gear that lets users send and receive e-mail, hold video conferences and browse the Internet. Analysts predict 700 million new cellular phone users in the next five years.

Brand name didn't matter when John Carruth bought his latest mobile phone in early November.Features? Also unimportant. Twenty-four hours into owning his new Nokia phone, this Dallas telecom engineer saw little or no fundamental difference from his old Ericsson. Just one thing counted, Carruth said. "It was the phone that came with the special deal."Ahhh, that special deal.AT&T Wireless' flagship Digital One Rate plan, which set a new standard for how mobile phone calls are priced, has also made Finland's Nokia the hottest mobile phone manufacturer in the United States.

1 Want fries: with that dunk?: Maybe he'll be a Terp, so watch Lance Stephenson in the McDonald's All-American Game (8 p.m., ESPN). 2 World view: The U.S., leading its group, faces Trinidad and Tobago in the final round of World Cup qualifying, in Nashville, Tenn. (7:30 p.m., ESPN2). 3 Quotatious: Maybe Shaquille O'Neal (left) will get a technical for dissing a ref via Twitter during the Suns-Rockets game (10 p.m., ESPN). 4 Ace place: It's like tennis' fifth Grand Slam, and the Sony Ericsson Open from Key Biscayne, Fla., is in the quarterfinals (1 p.m., Comcast SportsNet)

Pettitte files for free agency baseball New York Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte filed for free agency yesterday after repeatedly saying he hopes to return to the club next year. Pettitte went 14-14 last season with a 4.54 ERA - his highest ERA since 1999. General manager Brian Cashman said last week that he wants Pettitte to return next season, but the 36-year-old veteran said Friday night that he hadn't heard from the team. Pettitte likely would have to agree to a cut from his $16 million salary last season, when he was 2-7 with a 6.23 ERA in his final 11 starts, and missed his last turn because of a sore pitching shoulder.

What more could you want if you're a sports fan in South Florida? The two most dominant athletes in professional sports both were in the Miami area over the weekend for major events. Tiger Woods quickly took control of the World Golf Championships at Doral, and Roger Federer cruised to victory in his first match Saturday in the two-week Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne. If you were looking for a giant-killer, you were better off going to Jupiter, where the Orioles defeated the defending world champion St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5, yesterday.

The coolest sporting event in South Florida this week is the Sony Ericsson Open, the popular pro tennis event in Key Biscayne. The tournament has been spiced up this year with something called Night Tennis, which is basically a glitzy downtown exhibition that features players in glow-in-the-dark clothing competing under black lights on a court that will open up to an all-night party that is free to the public tonight and tomorrow. The tournament is no slouch either, featuring just about every big name in professional tennis.

LONDON -- Ericsson, the world's largest maker of mobile-phone networks, agreed yesterday to buy Redback Networks Inc. for $2.1 billion in cash to gain expertise in Internet protocol-routing technology and more directly challenge Cisco Systems Inc. Redback makes so-called "edge" routers that connect computers to the Internet and allow operators to simultaneously deliver broadband, television and telephone services over networks using standard Internet infrastructure....

The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race has its first entry. Ericsson Racing Team, which finished fifth in the seven-boat competition that ended in June, announced yesterday that it will be at the starting line in Alicante, Spain, in the fall of 2008. Race organizers have decided to shorten the down time between the around-the-world competition from four years to three years. The Ericsson venture will again be managed by Atlant Ocean Racing, which managed the Disney-backed boat Pirates of the Caribbean in the last race.

Like a hired gunslinger brought in to tame the town, the winner of the previous Volvo Ocean Race will be back for this year's competition to handle the newest challenge in the around-the-world race. John Kostecki, who skippered illbruck Challenge to victory in 2001-02, will be tactician aboard Ericsson Racing Team for the seven in-port races, which count toward each boat's total score. In-port races require sailors to take muscular sloops built to plow through the heavy seas of the Southern Ocean and turn them into highly maneuverable racing machines able to negotiate such narrow, shallow waters as the Chesapeake Bay. "It's a pretty big difference," Kostecki said of the addition of in-port races.

A Swedish communications company has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to test a new, all-digital phone system for office buildings that will replace conventional desk phones with cordless models.Ericsson Paging Systems Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of LM Ericsson of Stockholm, said this new cordless phone system will give business users in the United States, for the first time, "true mobility within the confines of an office building.""A businessman or woman will be able to travel throughout a building and be contacted without having to tell his or her secretary where he orshe is going," the company stated in comments submitted to the FCC this week.

The last of the Volvo Ocean Race yachts under sail arrived yesterday morning after a grueling slog up the Chesapeake Bay. ABN Amro Two, the sister of the winner of the 5,000-mile Rio de Janeiro-to-Baltimore leg, crossed the finish line at Baltimore Light at 10:41, for an elapsed time of 15 days, 22 hours, 31 minutes and 59 seconds. The crew of young sailors overcame a major equipment malfunction late in the race to finish under wind power. But by bringing up the rear, the second Dutch boat was pushed out of second place overall to third place.

After a dismal showing and several days of vague finger-pointing, the Ericsson Racing Team has replaced its skipper with American racing star John Kostecki for the next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Kostecki, who won the 2001-02 Volvo race, replaces Neal McDonald, another Volvo veteran, who will remain on board as watch captain and co-skipper on the leg from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore. The Ericsson boat, built from the same mold as the Pirates of the Caribbean, has not enjoyed the same level of success as its sister.