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spring training with the los angeles dodgers and japanese pitcher hiroki kuroda... felipe aguilar puts chile on the european tour map... and it's back to the front for motogp world champion casey stoner at official practice in spain. baseball dodgers *no access usa. japan's hiroki kuroda is one of the players currently working out at the los angeles dodgers' spring training camp in florida, in preparation for the new major league baseball season. the right-handed pitcher rejected offers from the arizona diamondbacks, seattle mariners and kansas city royals to sign a 35.3 million dollar free-agent contract with the dodgers. kuroda says his move to america's major league, leaving behind a solid career in japan with the hiroshima toyo carp, was because of his desire to challenge himself at the top level of the sport. also still at joe torre's multi-cultural dodgers this season is taiwanese pitcher hong-chih kuo - having had his career in la severely hampered by injury, the dodgers hope this is the season when kuo lives up to his impressive potential. golf indonesia south africa's james kamte was in the hunt for his first european tour title at the indonesian open in jakarta. as was thailand's prom meesawat. despite his nickname the 'big dolphin' is very much not at home in the water - this wayward shot at 16 meant meesawat would have to settle for a share of third with kamte, both players finishing 16 under par. it came down to a straight shoot out between india's jeev milka singh, the 2006 asian tour of merit winner. and the surprise overnight leader felipe aguilar of chile, his challenge made possible by a stunning 62 on friday. and it all came down to the final hole. aguilar's birdie meant singh had to make his par putt to take the players to a playoff. but no, dismay for the indian as his putt lipped. and an air of disbelief for aguilar as he claimed chile's first tournament win on the european tour. miotogp jerez sunday's first official practice session at spain's jerez circuit was the first time that fans had seen the world's top motogp riders in action in 2008. when the field finally got onto the rain-soaked track, it was reigning world champion casey stoner of australia who resumed his dominance. riding a ducati, he posted a super-fast one minute 49.263 seconds on an early lap of the 40-minute session. next best was five-time motogp champion valentino rossi on a yamaha. the italian posted a one minute 50.580 on the new but unfamiliar bridgestone qualifying tyres, more than a second behind the australian. 2006 motogp champion, american nicky hayden, completed the top three. the 'kentucky kid' is looking to bounce back in 2008 after finishing a disappointing eighth in 2007. wet weather specialist and motogp debutant anthony west of australia capitalised on the constant drizzle from the nearby andalucian hills, posting the fourth best time in one minute 50.799 seconds. west, who will ride for kawasaki, edged out honda riders andrea dovisioso and shinya nakano, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively. the opening practice session is being held ahead of the season-opener in the qatari capital, doha early next month. the eighteen-race campaign will end back in spain with the valencia grand prix in late october. snowboard korea china secured its first-ever f.i.s. snowboard world cup victory on saturday, when jiayu liu won the women's half-pipe final in sungwoo, south korea. liu's previous best result was second in calgary last season. the 17-year-old went one better with a controlled display of difficult moves. her score of 40.6 proved too much for japan's soko yamaoka, who finished runner-up. 22-year-old american lindsey jacobellis, who was runner-up in friday's snowboardcross event, came third. reigning half-pipe world cup title holder ryoh aono stole the show in the men's event. the japanese 'boarder secured his second win of the season following his success in the opening meeting in new zealand. the usa's gregory betz and iouri podladtchikov of switzerland finished second and third respectively.