Cheetahs, Prambors to clash in final
JAKARTA (JP): Top two baseball teams Cheetahs and Prambors are set for a finals rematch in the 3rd Cheetahs Cup at the Bung Karno Baseball Stadium here on Saturday.
Both teams will be vying for the championship trophy, a repeat of last year's final which was won by the Cheetahs after both teams won their semifinal matches on Friday. Two-time champion Cheetahs pounded Teladan 25-6 while Prambors needed ten innings to edge out Pejabat, 5-4.
The tournament also has a women's softball competition, which saw Gorgeous against Doberman, both from Bandung, qualify for the final.
Gorgeous outwitted defending champion Prambors 13-1 and Doberman proved too strong for SMANDA of Lampung, winning the semifinal tie on 14-4. Saturday's matches will start at 2 p.m. (01)
;REUTERS; ANPAs..r.. PutBriefs-Tennis-Rafter Rafter's dad named Australian "Father of the Year" JP/6/TENNIS
Rafter's dad named 'Father of the Year'
SYDNEY (Reuters): The dad of tennis ace Patrick Rafter has been named as Australian "Father of the Year".
Jim Rafter received the award from the Australian Father's Day Council on Friday in recognition for raising nine children with his wife of 40 years, Jocelyn, on their family farm.
"We dedicated our lives to our children and to raise them as good citizens of the country," Jim Rafter said.
Patrick Rafter, a dual U.S. Open champion and two-time Wimbledon finalist, is one of Australia's most popular and humble sportsmen and credits his laid-back approach to his upbringing.
;AFP; ANPAs..r.. PutBriefs-Rally-Makinen Makinen out of Rally of Finland JP/6/AUTO
Makinen out of Rally of Finland
JYVASKYLA, Finland (AFP): Tommi Makinen was forced to drop out of the Rally of Finland during the first special stage on Friday, ruining his hopes of extending his lead in the overall World Rally Championships standings.
The Finn's Mitsubishi team said Makinen's car had left the course and driven into a ditch, wrenching off a wheel.
His fellow Finns Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera, both in Peugeot 206 WRCs, made a brilliant start to the rally, recording the fastest times of the first special in this, the ninth round of the World Rally Championships.
;AFP; ANPAs..r.. PutBriefs-Cricket-Sri Lanka West Indies to play three Tests, one-day triangular in Sri Lanka JP/6/CRICKET
West Indies to play three Tests
KANDY, Sri Lanka (AFP): The West Indies will play three Test matches and a one-day triangular series also featuring Zimbabwe on its tour of Sri Lanka in November, officials said on Friday.
The seven-week tour will begin with two three-day matches in Colombo and Matara, followed by the first Test in Galle from Nov. 14 to 18.
The second Test will be played in Kandy from Nov. 23 to 27, followed by the third in Colombo from Dec. 1 to 5.
;REUTERS; ANPAs..r.. PutBriefs-Golf-Tiger Want to golf with Tiger in China? US$80,000 a hole JP/6/TIGER
Want to golf with Tiger in China?
HONG KONG (Reuters): Fancy playing one hole with Tiger Woods in China? That'll cost US$80,000.
Mission Hills, a golf club in southern China, is offering a rare chance for duffers and experts alike to pit their skills against the 25-year-old golfing sensation during his two-day visit in November, if they have the cash.
The $80,000 price tag includes a membership at the golf club, Asia's largest, which can be sold within six months without transfer fees, a spokeswoman for the club said on Friday.
World number one Woods will take on three top Asian golfers on Nov. 10, and 72 other people at a professional-amateur meet the following day.
;REUTERS; ANPAs..r.. Putbrief-motoracing-Biaggi Biaggi fastest in Czech Grand Prix practice JP/6/BRIEF
Biaggi fastest in Czech GP practice
BRNO, Czech Republic (Reuters): Italy's Max Biaggi snatched provisional pole for Sunday's Czech 500cc motorcycling Grand Prix in the last minutes of the first qualifier on Friday, clocking two minutes 00.347 seconds.
The Yamaha-riding Italian loves the Brno circuit, and his performance, a new lap record, shows he has a good chance of stealing the championship lead from compatriot Valentino Rossi this weekend.
Biaggi won the 500cc race at Brno's 5.403-kilometer (3.357 mile) circuit last year and in 1998, for a total of six victories on this track.
Rossi only managed to finish seventh, 1.489 seconds behind Biaggi. The Honda rider has 170 points in the overall standings and leads Biaggi by 10 points after nine of the season's 16 races.