Your guide to the '06 World Baseball Classic.(FASTBALLS, FLAGS AND FAVORITES)

For all of the World Baseball (kind of) Classic's shortcomings--playing a "world championship" during spring training tops our list--there still are plenty of reasons to watch. Try Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki and Johan Santana. And Dontrelle Willis, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Beltran and Miguel Cabrera. Then there's the possibility of Team USA's Roger Clemens taking on the Cubans for the championship. If that's not enough to turn your goosebumps red, white and blue, perhaps you should hang on to the halfpipe or stick to the skeleton.

Things to know

* Team USA, which will be based in Phoenix, won't play east of Maricopa County, Ariz.

* Team USA's games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPN Deportes. The March 18 semifinals and March 20 championship will air on ESPN.

* Our top eight: 1. Venezuela; 2. Dominican Republic; 3. United States; 4. Cuba; 5. Japan; 6. Puerto Rico; 7. Mexico; 8. Canada.

* Rules: Pitch-count limits will be in effect (65 in the first round, 80 in the second and 95 in the semfinals and final). A pitcher, however, can exceed the limit to complete a batter's plate appearance. Mercy rules also will be used in the first two rounds--for 10-run leads after seven innings and 15-run leads after five.

* The top two teams from each pool will advance in the first and second rounds. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition; the second is fewest runs allowed per inning.