More than 10,000 spectators are expected to pack the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung this afternoon to witness the 2010 Taiwan Series showdown between the Brother Elephants and the Sinon Bulls.
This year’s annual Fall Classic, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:07pm, will feature a pair of foreign starters — the Elephants’ Jim Magrane of the US, and the Bulls’ Japanese lefty ace Shoda Itsuki, both of whom have played an important role in guiding their teams into the post-season.
The Bulls won five of their last seven to close out the regular season on a high note, while the Elephants dropped their final three contests of the regular season, including a 5-1 loss in their last meeting with the Bulls on Oct. 4, with Magrane charged with the loss.
However, the Elephants’ rookie skipper Chen Rei-chen told the Taipei Times in a recent interview that he was not concerned by the slump.
“He’ll [Magrane] be fine for the opener; he is throwing the ball very well and he knows that the defense will be there for him,” Chen said.
Chen and his troops will need to keep the series a low-scoring affair as his offense is unlikely to be able to keep up with the potent Sinon bats, led by Chang “OEO” Tai-shan and Lin Yi-chuan, whose .310-plus batting averages with 133 combined RBIs will pose a serious threat to the Elephants pitching staff.
Offensively for the Elephants, lefty bats Chou Si-chi and Chen Guan-ren will need to have a good series against Sinon lefties Lin Ying-jeh (projected Game 3 starter) and Shen Yu-jeh, manager Hsu Sheng-ming’s top setup man.
“The pressure to win is definitely on us as we are slight favorites,” Hsu, who also made it to the Taiwan Series in his rookie managerial season with the former Wei Chuan Dragons, said in a press conference in Taipei on Thursday.
He and Chen Rei-chen are both graduates of Pingtung’s Meiho Senior High School, a perennial baseball powerhouse.
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
RSS