Fanfare 11/17

Baseball

Behind the hitting of Bernie Williams and Barry Bonds, the major leaguers beat Japan 12-7 Saturday for their third straight victory to even the exhibition series entering a final Game 7.

Williams had a solo homer and drove in three runs while Bonds went 2-for-4 with an RBI to highlight an 18-hit attack, offsetting four errors by the major leaguers. Jacque Jones and Jimmy Rollins had three hits apiece.

The major league stars haven't lost an all-star tour of Japan since 1990. They will try for their fifth straight series victory Sunday when Bartolo Colon of the Montreal Expos is scheduled to start against Game 1 winner Koji Uehara.

Japan's all-stars won the first three games but are winless since Bonds hit a grand slam in a 6-5 victory in Game 4 at Sapporo.

The New York Yankees signed an agreement Saturday that will establish scouting and marketing ties with the Yomiuri Giants, Japan's most popular and successful baseball team.

Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui became a free agent after 10 seasons with Yomiuri and could be on the wish list of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman denied any link between the agreement and the possible signing of Matsui.

"The sole purpose of this agreement is to form a working relationship," Cashman said. "We're both smart enough to recognize we can learn a great deal from each other."

Hockey

Defenseman Jason Woolley agreed to take a $125,000 pay cut, allowing the Buffalo Sabres to trade him to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

The cost-conscious Sabres received a conditional pick in next year's draft, while freeing themselves of Woolley's $1,425,000 salary. The Sabres are looking for a new owner and are operating on a fixed budget overseen by the NHL.

Tennis

Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt beat Switzerland's Roger Federer 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 Saturday to reach the final of the season-ending Masters Cup.

Hewitt will face French Open runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero in today's final. Ferrero beat fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4.

Hewitt, who clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking on Thursday, qualified for the semifinals when Moya beat Albert Costa on Friday.

-- From wire reports