Havana, March 8 (RHC) – Japan’s “Samurai” secured a narrow 4-3 victory over Australia today and remained the leader and only undefeated team in Group C of the World Baseball Classic, which is being played at the Tokyo Dome in the capital.

The first five innings ended in a scoreless tie, until the sixth when the Oceanic team took the lead thanks to left fielder Aaron Whitefield, who doubled, stole third base, and scored on a throwing error by Japanese catcher Kenya Wakatsuki.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning, the so-called “lucky inning,” that the home team was able to take the lead with a two-run homer by outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

The three-time defending World Baseball Classic (WBC) champions rallied in the eighth, combining four walks and a double by pinch hitter Teruaki Sato to add two more runs to the scoreboard.

Refusing to give up, the Australians seriously threatened to tie the game in the ninth inning. With one out, designated hitter and cleanup hitter Alex Hall hit a home run, and just minutes later, first baseman Rixon Wimgrove followed suit, sealing the final score.

Of the four pitchers used by Japan on Sunday, Chihiro Sumida earned the win, while Taisei Ota recorded the save. Australia, on the other hand, used eight pitchers, with Jon Kennedy taking the loss.

Japan now leads Group C after successively defeating Chinese Taipei (13-0), South Korea (8-6), and Australia (4-3), thus securing their place in the quarterfinals. Furthermore, their final game, next Tuesday, will be against the only team yet to register a victory, the Czech Republic.

Tomorrow, Monday, only one game will be played in Group C, featuring South Korea and Australia, two of the teams with aspirations of advancing to the next round.

The South Koreans began their campaign by defeating the Czech Republic 11-4, but then fell to Japan (6-8) and Chinese Taipei (4-5), while the Australians defeated Taipei (3-0) and the Czech Republic (5-1) before succumbing today to the hosts.

The 2026 WBC tournament brings together twenty teams divided into four groups, who will play an initial round-robin stage.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals (March 13 and 14), and in the case of Group C, the qualifiers will travel to Miami, Florida, which will also host the semifinals (March 15 and 16) and the final (March 17).

Havana, March 8 (RHC) – After two losses in as many outings, one against Cuba (1-3) and another against Puerto Rico (3-4), Panama will go out today for its third meeting against Canada in the World Baseball Classic.

At Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, José Mayorga’s team will try to salvage some pride against another favorite, clinging to the adage that “third time’s the charm.”

Canada, managed for the sixth time by Ernie Whitt, arrives with a squad featuring 21 Major League Baseball players or players with Major League experience, and 14 who played in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Some of the standouts include Josh Naylor of the Seattle Mariners; Tyler O’Neill of the Baltimore Orioles; two-time Gold Glove winner Michael Soroka of the Arizona Diamondbacks; and Jameson Taillon of the Chicago Cubs.

The Canadian roster, however, will be without star first baseman Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a significant loss for his team.

Panama, in turn, will rely on players like José ‘Chema’ Caballero and Edmundo Sosa, who play infield for the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, respectively.

The Panamanians also suffered two significant losses: St. Louis Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera, who in 2015 hit 19 home runs, drove in 66 runs, and posted a .284 batting average; and pitcher Justin Lawrence of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The day before, the Panamanians fell 4-3 to Puerto Rico in their second game.

A pitching duel unfolded in the early innings, with Ariel Jurado for Panama and Puerto Rico’s Eduardo Rivera both shining on the mound.

But a solo home run by Darell Hernaiz in the tenth inning propelled the hosts to a dramatic 4-3 victory.

With the win, the home team improved their record to 2-0 in Group A, while Panama let slip a historic victory that seemed within their grasp.

Havana, March 8 (RHC) – Briton George Russell (Mercedes) took the lead today in the 2026 Formula One World Championship, winning the Australian Grand Prix, followed by his teammate, Italian Kimi Antonelli.

Russell lived up to expectations and won the season opener with a time of 1:23:06.801, followed by Antonelli and Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 2.974 and 15.519 seconds behind, respectively.

“I really loved crossing the finish line, but honestly, thanks to the whole team, because it’s taken a long time to get this car ready. And yes, I’m going to start off on a much better footing,” the Briton stated.

The German Mercedes team achieved a one-two finish, the 61st time in F1 history that a team has accomplished this feat, the last time being in Las Vegas in 2014.

Leclerc also secured his first podium with Ferrari since the Mexican Grand Prix last year.

After the race, the Monegasque driver admitted his frustration at letting a potential victory slip away after Ferrari erred by not following Mercedes’ quick decision to make a timely pit stop under the virtual safety car, while the rest of the field slowed down.

On lap 12, the safety car was deployed at the Albert Park circuit to cover the stopped Red Bull of Algerian-born Frenchman Isack Hadjar, at which point both Mercedes cars entered the pits.

Representing Latin America, the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto was one of the pleasant surprises of the day with his Audi, finishing ninth, while Argentinian Franco Colapinto (Alpine) crossed the finish line in 14th place and Mexican Sergio “Checo” Pérez (Cadillac) finished 16th.

Australian Oscar Piastri of McLaren, who crashed on his way to the starting grid at Turn 4 due to a power unit surge, was forced to retire from the race in his home country before the start.

Havana, March 8 (RHC) – The Dominican Republic team will face the Netherlands today in their second game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

The game will be played at IonDepot Park in Miami, the venue for the Group D games, in which the Dominican Republic team is competing against Nicaragua, Israel, Venezuela, and the Netherlands.

The World Baseball Classic brings together some of the world’s top teams and numerous Major League Baseball stars, making it one of the most important events on the international baseball calendar.

The Dominican team takes the field this Sunday after defeating Nicaragua 12-3 in their debut last Friday, a game marked by four home runs and six runs in the eighth inning, which ended any hopes of a comeback for the Central American team.

The Dominican squad is usually considered one of the favorites due to the large number of Major League Baseball players on its roster.

Furthermore, the country already won the championship in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, when they went undefeated, which reinforces their goal of winning the trophy again.

Meanwhile, with two outs in the ninth inning, the Netherlands reacted surprisingly and left Nicaragua on the field with a 4-3 victory on Saturday at LoanDepot Park.

Havana, March 8 (RHC) – American basketball player LeBron James displays another record in his career, after becoming the player with the most baskets in the NBA.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who also holds the NBA’s all-time scoring record, has amassed 15,838 career points, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

He reached this milestone on Thursday with a spin jumper from the baseline against the Denver Nuggets, who ultimately won 120-113.

This season, James surpassed Michael Cooper for fifth place on the Lakers’ all-time assists list and also reached 1,000 three-pointers.

The media spotlight now awaits James’s potential to break Robert Parish’s record of 1,611 games played, a feat he needs just six more games to achieve, potentially as early as this month.