Puerto Rico

The mercy rule is designed to spare Little Leaguers from humiliation, not a bunch of big league All-Stars. But it was Jimmy Rollins, David Wright and their United States teammates who found themselves shuffling off the field in the seventh inning Saturday night at Dolphin Stadium. Puerto Rico scored four times in the seventh to complete an 11-1 victory that left Team USA on the ropes in Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic. "Everybody is embarrassed," shortstop Derek Jeter said.

Missing an injured Alex Rodriguez and several other stars, the Dominican Republic was punchless at the plate. Sidney Ponson helped to hold the Dominican lineup in check, and the Netherlands pulled off a huge upset in their World Baseball Classic opener with a 3-2 victory Saturday at San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was a startling loss for the heavily favored Dominicans, considered contenders to win the 16-team tournament. Now, they are one defeat from elimination in Group D pool play.

Catcher Yadier Molina's go-ahead double keyed a three-run rally in the eighth inning, and host Puerto Rico defeated the Netherlands, 3-1, Monday night to advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic. The Netherlands protected a 1-0 lead until the eighth inning of the Pool D game in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,479 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan. Carlos Delgado and Alex Rios opened the inning with walks.

Catcher Henry Blanco hit a home run and made a key throw in the ninth inning, and Venezuela defeated the United States, 5-3, Wednesday in Toronto to win Pool C at the World Baseball Classic. U.S. catcher Chris Iannetta hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Center fielder Gregor Blanco had three hits for Venezuela. Both teams are headed to the second round of the tournament in Miami, where the U.S. will open against Puerto Rico on Saturday night.

Baseball looked more like America's national pastime Sunday night. The United States avoided elimination from the World Baseball Classic, beating the Netherlands, 9-3, in front of 11,059 at Dolphin Stadium to ease the sting of a drubbing against Puerto Rico the night before. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins drove in four runs with a home run, triple and sacrifice fly, and second baseman Brian Roberts was three for three with two walks, two runs and two runs batted in.

Ramon Hernandez and his Venezuela teammates are headed to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic. Hernandez was awarded a home run Monday night after a bungled replay review and Venezuela defeated Puerto Rico, 2-0, in front of 25,599 in Miami to secure a spot in the final four at Dodger Stadium. Cuba and Mexico played an elimination game in Pool 1 late Monday night in San Diego.

After Puerto Rico mercy-ruled Team USA in the second-round opener Saturday, Manager Davey Johnson said he felt sorry for whomever had to play his club in Tuesday's elimination game. Johnson indeed left Dolphin Stadium feeling sorry for an opponent, but the overwhelming emotions were pride and elation after his club overcame a two-run, ninth-inning deficit.

The thriller "A Perfect Getaway" may have been set on the lush Hawaiian island of Kauai but most of it was shot in Puerto Rico. "Everything within the first 50 feet of the camera looked great," visual effects supervisor Tim Carras said. "But the difference was the terrain that exists in the background. Kauai has really tall, cathedral-like mountains with rain in the middle." Puerto Rico is much flatter. To fix this, Carras and Josh Comen of Comen FX added 200 visual effects to create mountains and backgrounds.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. With little fanfare, a deal is moving forward to provide billions in tax dollars and tax breaks to an unlikely beneficiary -- the giant British liquor producer that makes Captain Morgan rum. Under the agreement, Diageo in London will receive tax credits and other benefits worth $2.7 billion over 30 years, including the $165-million cost of building a state-of-the-art distillery on the island of St. Croix in...

Alberto Rodriguez is either a patriot or a terrorist, depending on whom you ask. Imprisoned 16 years for his membership in a radical Puerto Rican coalition that was tied to a series of bombings, he now is a full-time father, taking one of his children to school for the first time. "I don't regret anything. I can't even imagine me, who I am, without those experiences," said Rodriguez, 56. "But I did miss a lot because of the choices I made." Ten years ago this month, 11 members of the groups known collectively as the FALN, which advocated for Puerto Rican independence by terrorizing New York and Chicago, were freed under a controversial clemency deal offered by President Clinton.