Korea and Cuba finished first and second in the preliminary round of the Olympic Baseball tournament. Thanks to victories today in their respective semi-finals, they will finish in the top two medal positions as well, although it’s anyone’s guess which one will end up with the gold medal.Â
British baseball fans can finally get to catch some of the Olympic Baseball tournament today.Â
The first semi-final between Korea and Japan is being broadcast live via the ‘red button’ (Freeview 3 or Satellite/Cable 4) and on the BBC website (for U.K. residents)Â from 03.30 am.
The second semi-final between Cuba and the United States is being shown off tape in the afternoon at 15.30 via the ‘red button’ (Satellite/Cable 6 – it’s not available via Freeview) and on the BBC website.
A bit off topic, but the Olympics Softball final between Japan and the United States takes place today at 11.30 BST. Although it isn’t being broadcast live, the BBC are showing the game at 17.00 on the Satellite/Cable 5 digital ‘red button’ channel. Perhaps of more use to many people, it will also be broadcast on the BBC website at the same time. Just go to the main Olympics page on their site at the correct time and you should be able to choose it as one of the options from the ‘Live Olympic video’ box.  I believe this is only available to residents of the U.K. though.
We already knew which four teams would be heading into the semi-finals, but the final day of the Olympics Baseball tournament preliminary round provided plenty of action. There were two games decided by the new ‘extra innings’ rule, including a pitching classic between Japan and the U.S., while the top two teams Cuba and Korea showed their dominance over the rest of the field with convincing victories. Continue reading
Any doubts on the semi-final lineup for the 2008 Olympic Baseball tournament were put to rest today, as the United States and Japan booked their places alongside Korea and Cuba. The four pre-tournament favourites have all made it through the preliminary round with a day of action to spare, but that certainly doesn’t mean the event has been predictable. Continue reading
The fifth full day of baseball action (after yesterday’s half a game showing) was the most eagerly anticipated day of the Olympic Baseball tournament so far. The schedule had thrown together a compelling group of fixtures, in which all of the four teams currently occupying the four semi-final qualification spots had to play one of the teams looking to claw their way back into contention. It was set up as a day that could either see the preliminary round being turned on its head, or move closer to a conclusion. After the fourth game had been completed, the latter scenario had come true.Â
China and Korea took to the Wukesong Baseball Field for an abbreviated contest today as they completed their game from day two, which was suspended due to rain. The crowd got more action than they had bargained for as the two teams battled until the eleventh inning, when Korea took advantage of the ‘extra innings rule’ to finally break the deadlock and walk off with a 1-0 victory. Continue reading
The Netherlands finally got their first runs and their first win on day four of the Olympic Baseball tournament. Europe’s representatives got the better of the home nation, while there were also wins for Cuba, the U.S. and Korea.Â
It was a historic day in the Olympic Baseball tournament, as the new ‘extra innings’ rule was implemented for the first time in a major international event in two of the four games. The rule worked as intended, bringing swift but still exciting finishes to both games.  Continue reading
Day two of the Olympic baseball tournament saw the United States and Japan put their first wins on the board, while Cuba made it two wins out of two and the rain was the victor in the other game between Korea and China. However, the day was blotted somewhat by a controversial decision to bring an early end to the game between the U.S. and the Netherlands. Continue reading