71.   Off the field, an official from the International Baseball Association told several reporters that two Cuban baseball players had defected.

72.   On Monday night, small groups of elated Cuban baseball fans gathered along the famous Malecon seawall and in parks to celebrate the victory.

73.   One member of the Cuban baseball team defected earlier this month.

74.   Orlando Hernandez had been banned for life from Cuban baseball after helping Livan Hernandez defect.

75.   Other players have retired early from Cuban baseball to try their luck, with official blessing in Japan or Latin American leagues.

76.   President Fidel Castro and hundreds of screaming children greeted the victorious Cuban baseball team as it returned home Tuesday after beating the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

77.   Private talks with Cuban sports officials were planned for Saturday, and the delegation was tentatively scheduled to attend a Cuban baseball game on Sunday, authorities here said.

78.   Refugees who have waited months in a Bahamian detention center watched as a group of Cuban baseball stars moved to the head of the line toward freedom.

79.   Several Cubans from Miami were outside the detention center to protest that their jailed relatives are not given the preferential treatment accorded such celebrities as the Cuban baseball players.

80.   The broadcast report was based on information from Rene Guim, spokesman for sports agent Joe Cubas, who represents several high-profile defecting Cuban baseball players.