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. Tuesday in Los Angeles, it is 7 a.m. Wednesday in Sydney, Australia.

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 on only the old, large C-band satellite-dish systems.

ON TV

NBC

* 10 a.m.-noon: Softball, gold-medal game, U.S. vs. Japan.

* 7 p.m.-midnight: Men’s beach volleyball, gold-medal game, U.S. vs. Brazil; women’s cycling, road race; gymnastics, champions’ gala; men’s diving, springboard final; men’s weightlifting, super-heavyweight final; synchronized swimming, duet final.

* 12:41 a.m.-2:11 a.m.: Men’s water polo, U.S. vs. Hungary; women’s volleyball quarterfinal, U.S. vs. South Korea.

MSNBC

* 10 a.m.-5 p.m.: Men’s tennis semifinals; men’s soccer semifinal, U.S. vs. Spain; men’s beach volleyball, gold-medal match; baseball semifinal, U.S. vs. South Korea; men’s diving, springboard.

CNBC

* 5-9 p.m.: Boxing quarterfinals; men’s soccer semifinal, Chile vs. Cameroon; wrestling, Greco-Roman finals.