Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Wednesday, September 25
Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Wednesday: - - - - YACHTING America's Cup U.S. boat pulls even in historic America's Cup comeback SAN FRANCISCO - Oracle Team USA won two more races against Emirates Team New Zealand to even the America's Cup finals series on Tuesday, continuing an epic comeback in a regatta looked like a Kiwi cakewalk last week and will now be decided by a single winner-take-all showdown. (SAILING-AMERICASCUP/ moved, by Jonathan Weber and Alden Bentley, 500 words) - - NZ can avoid the choke, says Cup-winning skipper Bertrand MELBOURNE - Oracle Team USA have all the momentum but Emirates Team New Zealand can still dash one of the biggest comebacks in sporting history if they clear their heads and forget about the score-line, says former Cup-winning skipper John Bertrand. (SAILING-AMERICASCUP/BERTRAND (INTERVIEW), expect by 0930 GMT/5:30 AM ET, by Ian Ransom, 500 words) - - - - BASEBALL Postseason race hots up Michael Wacha came within one out of a no-hitter, victimizing the Washington Nationals in a win that put St. Louis another step closer to the National League Central title. (BASEBALL-HIGHLIGHTS/, moved, 300 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (moved, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - GOLF Kuchar assesses 'best year', fatigue and Woods LOS ANGELES - Just like Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar did not play well at the season-ending Tour Championship after succumbing to a hectic schedule but he can still reflect on the "best year" of his career on the PGA Tour. (GOLF-PGA/KUCHAR (INTERVIEW), moved, by Mark Lamport-Stokes, 750 words) - - - - SOCCER English League Cup, third round (1845) Birmingham City v Swansea City Manchester United v Liverpool Newcastle United v Leeds United Tranmere Rovers v Stoke City West Brom Albion v Arsenal (2000) Wounded United face rivals Liverpool in League Cup LONDON - Manchester United have an early chance to bounce back from Sunday's Premier League mauling by rivals Manchester City as they host Liverpool in the League Cup third round, while Swansea City begin their defence of the trophy at Championship (second division) Birmingham City. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/CUP (PIX), expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, by Toby Davis, 400 words) - - La Liga (1800 unless stated) Granada v Valencia Elche v Real Madrid (2000) Sevilla v Rayo Vallecano Real play at promoted Elche without record signing Bale MADRID - Real Madrid have left record signing Gareth Bale out of the squad to visit promoted Elche as a precaution after he tweaked a thigh muscle at the weekend, while Valencia travel to Granada and Sevilla host Rayo Vallecano. (SOCCER-SPAIN/ (PIX), expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, by Iain Rogers, 500 words) - - German Cup (1830 unless stated) Kaiserslautern(II) v Hertha Berlin (1700) Saarbrucken(III) v SC Paderborn(II) (1700) Eintracht Frankfurt v VfL Bochum(II) (1700) FSV Frankfurt(II) v FC Ingolstadt 04(II) (1700) Bayern Munich v Hanover 96 Freiburg v VfB Stuttgart SV Darmstadt 98(III) v Schalke 04 Osnabrueck(III) v Union Berlin (II) Cup holders Bayern host Hanover, Schalke visit Darmstadt BERLIN - Holders Bayern Munich take on Hanover 96 for a place in the German Cup round of 16 while Schalke 04 travel to third tier Darmstadt 98. (SOCCER-GERMANY/CUP (PIX), expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, 400 words) - - Serie A (1845 unless stated) Bologna v AC Milan Chievo Verona v Juventus Lazio v Catania Livorno v Cagliari Napoli v Sassuolo Parma v Atalanta Bergamo Sampdoria v AS Roma Torino v Verona Leaders Napoli and Roma bid to extend perfect records ROME - Napoli should make it five wins out of five when they host Serie A debutants Sassuolo while AS Roma, also with a perfect record, visit Sampdoria and unbeaten champions Juventus travel to Chievo. (SOCCER-ITALY/ (PIX), expect by 2045 GMT/4:45 PM ET, by Terry Daley, 500 words) - - Ligue 1 (1700 unless stated) Ajaccio v Olympique Lyon Girondins Bordeaux v Stade de Reims En Avant Guingamp v Sochaux Nantes v Nice Toulouse v FC Lorient Valenciennes v Paris St Germain Monaco v Bastia (1900) PSG, Monaco take on low-key sides PARIS - Champions Paris St Germain visit second-bottom Valenciennes while leaders Monaco, who are two points ahead, host mid-table Bastia in Ligue 1 action. (SOCCER-FRANCE/ (PIX), expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, 250 words) - - - - CYCLING World road cycling championships (to 29) Wiggins looks to add world crown to Olympic title FLORENCE, Italy - Bradley Wiggins faces competition from German Tony Martin and Swiss Fabian Cancellara in the individual time trial as the Briton aims to add the world crown to his Olympic title. (CYCLING-WORLD/ (PIX), expect by 1530 GMT/11:30 AM ET, by Julien Pretot, 500 words) - - - - TENNIS ATP: Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur (to 29) Thailand Open, Bangkok (to 29) WTA: Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo (to 28) Copy on merit - - - - ATHLETICS Ben Johnson 25-year anniversary package We look back at Ben Johnson's downfall at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 with the second of a two-part multi-media package: Back in Seoul, Johnson hopes for 'new chance' SEOUL - Twenty-five years to the day since he blasted down lane six of Seoul's Olympic Stadium, leaving arch-enemy Carl Lewis wide-eyed in his wake, an "older and wiser" Ben Johnson returned to the South Korean capital with a warning for the next generation of athletes: stay clear of performance-enhancing drugs. (ATHLETICS-JOHNSON/ (INTERVIEW, PIX, TV) moved, by Peter Rutherford, 980 words) - - Disgraced Johnson no longer running from doping past TORONTO - Photographs of Ben Johnson's 100 metres triumph in Seoul bear witness to the pure joy attached to an athletic achievement that pushed the boundaries of human limitations to new frontiers. A quarter of a century later, however, the grim image that lingers is not one of amazement but of crushing, drug-fuelled betrayal, with Johnson a fallen hero. (ATHLETICS-JOHNSON/AFTERMATH, (PIX, TV), moved, by Steve Keating, 900 words) - - Johnson scandal stunted commercial growth of athletics LONDON - Marketing experts fondly recall Seoul 1988 as the Games when the Olympic movement put behind it political boycotts and started to develop its true commercial potential but the Ben Johnson case, and subsequent failure to stamp out doping, has meant that athletics has been left behind by other sports in the wider battle for sponsor dollars. (ATHLETICS-JOHNSON/MARKETING, moved, by Keith Weir, 540 words) - - We have also moved a factbox on doping cases involving sprinters. Graphics are available. - - - - (Duty editor: Peter Rutherford)
