a player has made a break higher than the nominal maximum of 147 in a professional match. (BBC) October 15, 2004 (Friday) NBA pre-season: In the first NBA game ever played in China, the Houston Rockets defeat the Sacramento Kings, 88–86, despite a half court shot made by the Kings' Chris Webber at the end of the third quarter. Baseball: Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox is postponed due to rain at Fenway Park. Games on Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 will be played as scheduled, and a make-up game will be played if necessary on Monday, October 18. The Yankees lead the series 2 games to 0. October 14, 2004 (Thursday) Baseball: National League Championship Series, Game 2: The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 6–4 and take a 2–0 lead in the series. The Cardinals break a 4–4 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with back-to-back home runs from Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen; Rolen also hit a game-tying homer in the fifth inning. (ESPN) Football: FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Chinese Taipei 0 – 1 Palestine FIFA World Cup South American Qualifying Venezuela 3 – 1 Ecuador (FIFAWorldCup.Yahoo.com). Next matchday: 17 November. NBA pre-season: The Washington Wizards defeat the Charlotte Bobcats, 128–126 in double overtime, despite Jason Hart's game tying three-point shot with one second to go in the first overtime. October 13, 2004 (Wednesday) Baseball: American League Championship Series, Game 2: The New York Yankees take a 2–0 lead over the Boston Red Sox. In a 3–1 win, Jon Lieber outpitches Red Sox star Pedro Martínez. John Olerud hits a two-run homer for the Yankees. (ESPN) National League Championship Series, Game 1: In the series opener, the St. Louis Cardinals break open a 4–4 game with six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and hold on for a 10–7 win over the Houston Astros. (ESPN) Football: FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifying Qatar 2 – 3 Iran Thailand 3 – 0 United Arab Emirates Singapore 2 – 0 India Hong Kong 2 – 0 Malaysia Tajikistan 2 – 1 Kyrgyzstan Kuwait 1 – 0 China PR Oman 0 – 1 Japan Maldives 3 – 0 Vietnam North Korea 2 – 1 Yemen Iraq 1 – 2 Uzbekistan Laos 2 – 3 Jordan Syria 2 – 2 Bahrain Lebanon 1