TODAY IN AUSTRALIA

In 18-hour time difference means that events ending by late afternoon in Sydney will appear inthe same day’s paper in L.A.

When it is 1 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles, it is 7 a.m. Friday in Sydney, Australia.

DELAY OF GAMES

Sydney is 18 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time, meaning it will be midday in Australia when The Times goes to press daily. The Times, with a staff of 16 in Sydney, will be uniquely positioned to report on many events on a same-day basis--and often ahead of those events appearing on television. NBC, which owns U.S. broadcast rights, has decided to show all events on tape delay over its network and cable affiliates. Live coverage on the Canadian Broadcast Co. (CBC) is available only on the old, large C-band satellite-dish systems.

ON TV

NBC

* Noon-6 p.m.: Men’s basketball, U.S. vs. New Zealand; track and field; men’s gymnastics, trampoline final; women’s diving, synchronized springboard.

* 7 p.m.-midnight: Track and field, women’s 100 semifinal and final, men’s 100 semifinal and final, men’s 400 second round, men’s javelin final, women’s pole vault qualifying; swimming finals: women’s 50 freestyle, men’s 1,500 freestyle, women’s 400 medley relay, men’s 400 medley relay; women’s cycling, mountain bike final.

* 12:30 a.m.-2 a.m.: Men’s volleyball, U.S. vs. South Korea; men’s weightlifting final.

MSNBC

* 9 a.m.-4 p.m.: Baseball, U.S. vs. Cuba; women’s water polo, gold medal match, U.S. vs. Australia; men’s soccer quarterfinal; softball, U.S. vs. Italy.

CNBC

* 4-9 p.m.: Men’s water polo, U.S. vs. Croatia; boxing; men’s soccer quarterfinal, U.S. vs. Japan; sailing.

For complete coverage of the Sydney Olympics, including audio commentary from Times columnist Bill Plaschke, photo galleries and up-to-the-minute stories and results, go to https://www.latimes.com/olympics.