Bobcats finally get rights to preferred Web address from breeder

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Fans of the Charlotte Bobcats now can find the team's Web site a lot more easily.

For its first three years, the team used the domain name www.bobcatsbasketball.com because the rights to www.bobcats.com belonged to a bobcat breeder in Montana.

Barbara Roe owns Bitterroot Bobcat and Lynx in Stevensville, Mont., and had the rights to the Web site name for 10 years. She says team officials began asking her in 2004 about buying the rights, but the early offer of a couple thousand dollars wasn't enough.

Roe says the team earlier this year met her price of about $50,000.

The newly named Web site and an upcoming redesign are part of a marketing campaign that will feature star forward Gerald Wallace and newly acquired Jason Richardson.

Bobcats president Fred Whitfield isn't saying how much is being spent on the campaign, which also includes the slogan "Elevate," new uniforms and a new secondary logo.