Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday, Oct 31
Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday: - - - - BASEBALL Red Sox clinch World Series title in Boston BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox completed a rousing run from a last-place finish to top of the baseball universe by routing the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Wednesday to win the World Series. (BASEBALL-WORLDSERIES/ (PIX), moved, by Larry Fine and Julian Linden, 500 words) - - - - NBA Toronto send opening night crowd home happy TORONTO - The Toronto Raptors finally sent an opening night crowd home with a smile and a win when they held on to beat the Boston Celtics 93-87 to raise the curtain on a new National Basketball Association season on Wednesday. (NBA-RAPTORS/ (PIX), moved, by Steve Keating, 400 words) - - - Thunder start NBA quest with win over Jazz Kevin Durant scored 42 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the Utah Jazz in the teams' 2013-14 season-opener. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), moved, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - Coach Rivers gives Clippers a championship pedigree LOS ANGELES - Widely viewed as the best team in the West, the Los Angeles Clippers harbor realistic hopes of winning their first NBA title this season under the championship pedigree of coach Doc Rivers. (NBA-CLIPPERS/RIVERS/, expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, by Mark Lamport-Stokes, 600 words) - - - - NHL Red Wings halt Canucks streak Tomas Tatar's goal at 18:58 of the second period gave the Detroit Red Wings a victory over the Vancouver Canucks. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, moving shortly, by The Sports Xchange, 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 WGC-HSBC Champions Tournament, Shanghai (to Nov. 3) No Woods but 40 of the world's top 50 tee it up in Shanghai SHANGHAI - The absence of Tiger Woods will not go unnoticed at this week's Champions Tournament but the attendance of 40 of the world's top 50 players suggests the event is living up to its billing as a WGC event. (GOLF-PGA/, expect by 0900/5 AM ET, by Andrew Both, 500 words) - - - - SOCCER La Liga Granada v Atletico Madrid (1900) Villarreal v Getafe (1900) Athletic Bilbao v Elche (2100) Real Betis v Levante (2100) Atletico look to keep pace with Barca with win at Granada MADRID - Second-placed Atletico Madrid can trim the gap to unbeaten leaders Barcelona, 3-0 winners at Celta Vigo on Tuesday, back to one point with victory at Granada. (SOCCER-SPAIN/ (PIX) expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, by Iain Rogers, 500 words) - - Barca host Espanyol, Atletico play at home to Bilbao MADRID - Leaders Barcelona look to maintain their unbeaten record with a win at home to city rivals Espanyol on Friday, second-placed Atletico Madrid host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday and Real Madrid, in third, play at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. (SOCCER-SPAIN/ (PREVIEW) expect by 1100 GMT/7 AM ET, by Iain Rogers, 500 words) - - Serie A AS Roma v Chievo Verona (1945) Ten wins in a row is Roma aim Roma aim for a 10th straight league victory of an astonishing start to the season when they host Chievo. (SOCCER-ITALY/, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, 300 words) - - Arsenal and Liverpool relish test of title credentials LONDON - The title credentials of leaders Arsenal and third-placed Liverpool will come under scrutiny when they meet in a heavyweight Premier League clash on Saturday. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PREVIEW), moved, by Josh Reich, 600 words) - - Welsh pride at stake in Premier League's new local derby The Welsh cities of Cardiff and Swansea will bring their fierce rivalry to the top flight of English soccer for the first time on Sunday in an occasion that will capture the imagination of fans far beyond the borders of Wales. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/WALES, moved, by Mike Collett, 700 words) - - - - TENNIS ATP: Paris Masters (to Nov 3) World Tour Finals scramble is hotting up PARIS - Stanislas Wawrinka, Richard Gasquet and Milos Raonic continue their fight to clinch the two remaining spots in next week's season-ending World Tour Finals. (TENNIS-MEN/MASTERS, (PIX), expect by 1300 GMT/9 AM ET, by Julien Pretot, 600 words) - - WTA: Tournament of Champions, Sofia (to Nov. 3) Copy on merit - - - - MOTOR RACING Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix Vettel set to match Schumacher's run of seven straight wins ABU DHABI - Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel can move on from winning his fourth successive world title last weekend by chalking up a seventh consecutive race victory on Sunday and equalling the longest winning streak in the modern era. (MOTOR RACING-PRIX/PREVIEW (PIX), moved, by Alan Baldwin, 500 words) We have also moved a drivers' form sheet and statistics for the race at Yas Marina. - - - - RUGBY England and Australia name lineups The November rugby internationals get underway on Saturday, with England v Australia at Twickenham the highlight. Both name their teams on Thursday. (RUGBY-ENGLAND/, expect from 1000 GMT/6 AM ET, by Mitch Phillips, 400 words), (RUGBY-AUSTRALIA/, expect from 1130 GMT/7:30 AM ET, by Mitch Phillips, 400 words) - - Japan prepare to face world champions New Zealand TOKYO - Japan have been staying positive ahead of this weekend's test against New Zealand in Tokyo but given previous encounters between the two, the 2019 World Cup hosts face a massive task just keeping the score respectable. (RUGBY-JAPAN/ZEALAND (PREVIEW), expect by 0800 GMT/4 AM ET, by Peter Rutherford, 400 words) - - - - CRICKET Bangladesh v New Zealand, second ODI, Dhaka Copy on merit - - - - (Duty editor: Nick Mulvenney)
