Venues announced for Baseball Classic openers

Mexico City, San Juan, Tokyo and Toronto were selected Monday to host first-round games at the second World Baseball Classic in 2009. The 16-nation tournament will switch from a round-robin to a double-elimination format during the first two rounds. Japan won the inaugural WBC in 2006, defeating Cuba 10-6 in the final at San Diego. Sites for the later rounds have not been announced. Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles is the leading candidate to host the semifinals and final. [link]