A roundup of the week August 21-August 27

BASEBALL—Chao-Min Pan struck out 13 to lead Taiwan to an 11-1 victory over Danville, Calif. and its second straight Little League World Series title, its seventh in 10 years, at Williamsport, Pa.

BOWLING—LARRY LAUB of San Francisco averaged 212 for 42 games to win the $60,000 Buffalo Open. He defeated Pete McCordic of Houston by 25 pins.

BOXING—ANTONIO (KID BAMBELE) CERVANTES of Colombia retained his WBA junior welterweight championship with a ninth-round TKO of South Africa's Norman (Pangaman) Sekgapane, in Mmabatho, Bophuthatswana.

CHESS—World champion ANATOLY KARPOV forced Viktor Korchnoi to resign on the 39th move of the 17th game to take a 4-1 lead in the world championships at Baguio City, the Philippines. Karpov needs two more victories to win the $350,000 first prize.

GOLF—TOM WATSON survived, among other things, a second-round 63 by Hale Irwin to win the $250,000 Hall of Fame Classic at Pinehurst, N.C. by one stroke. His 277 was seven under par.

Shelley Hamlin shot a final-round four-under-par 69 for a 208 total, one stroke better than runner-up Kathy Whitworth, in the $75,000 Patty Berg LPGA Classic in St. Paul.

HARNESS RACING—SPEEDY SOMOLLI ($4.40), driven by Howard Beissinger, won the $233,594 Yonkers Trot, the first leg of trotting's Triple Crown, by two lengths over Doublemint in 1:59[3/5].

HORSE RACING—GENERAL ASSEMBLY ($2.60), ridden by Darrel McHargue, won the $81,000 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga by 6¾ lengths over Exuberant. The 2-year-old son of Secretariat covered 6½ furlongs in 1:16[2/5].

Medley glass ($8.60), a 3-year-old filly with Jerry Nicodemus up, won the $674,004 All-American Quarter Horse Derby at Ruidoso Downs, N. Mex. by a nose over Town Policy, the horse that reappeared after a mysterious disappearance (SI, Aug. 21, 1978). Medley Glass, timed in 21.78 for 440 yards, earned $288,847; Town Policy, $120,419.

MOTOR SPORTS—CALE YARBOROUGH, driving an Oldsmobile, averaged 88.628 mph on the Bristol (Tenn.) International Raceway track to win the $82,530 Volunteer 500 for the third straight year.

Mario Andretti took a 12-point lead in the World Driver Championship standings over Swedish teammate Ronnie Peterson when he won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort (page 22).

Don Vesco of El Cajon, Calif. broke his own world land-speed record for motorcycles when he crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats at an average speed of 314.355 mph, almost 11 mph faster than the mark he set in 1975.

SOCCER—NASL: Before a record Soccer Bowl crowd of 74,901 in Giants Stadium at East Rutherford, N.J., the Cosmos defeated the Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1 to take their second straight NASL title (page 18). Dennis Tueart scored two goals for the Cosmos, and Giorgio Chinaglia one. The Cosmos advanced to the championship game by defeating the Portland Timbers 5-0 in the second and deciding game of the National Conference finals. Tueart had one goal and two assists, and Goalkeeper Jack Brand registered his sixth career playoff shutout. Tampa Bay, which lost the first game of the American Conference finals, earned a berth by defeating Fort Lauderdale 3-1 in Tampa and, after a scoreless 30-minute minigame, winning a shootout. Rodney Marsh fired the decisive shot past Goalkeeper Ian Turner on the 10th kick of the shootout.

ASL: Jim Rolland scored several important goals for the Los Angeles Skyhawks this season, but none more so than his last. His goal in the final game of the season gave Los Angeles a 1-0 victory over Sacramento and clinched the Western Division title and a first-round playoff bye for the Skyhawks. Second-place California will play third-place Southern California in a one-game elimination for the right to face Los Angeles. Rolland offset a late spree by Jose Neto of New Jersey and won the league scoring title with 44 points. Neto scored five goals and had two assists as New Jersey eliminated the New York Eagles from playoff consideration with a sweep of a home-and-home series. He had a hat trick and an assist as the Americans won at home 5-1, then scored twice more and had another assist as New Jersey defeated the Eagles 6-1 and clinched second place behind the Eastern champion, New York Apollo. The Americans will host the third-place Indy Daredevils in the first round of the Eastern Division playoffs. Earlier, the Apollo defeated Connecticut 6-0. Mike Mancini scored his 17th goal, which tied him with Neto and Rolland for the league goal-scoring lead.

SWIMMING—TRACY CAULKINS set two world records, tied another and altogether won five gold medals at the World Aquatic Championships in West Berlin (page 26). She set records in the 200-meter individual medley (2:14.07) and the 400-meter individual medley (4:40.83). Others who swam to world records for the U.S. were LINDA JEZEK, 200-meter backstroke (2:11.93); CYNTHIA WOODHEAD, 200-meter freestyle (1:58.53); JESSE VASSALLO, men's 400-meter individual medley (4:20.05); the women's 400-meter relay team (3:43.43); the men's 400-meter relay team (3:19.74); the men's 800-meter relay team (7:20.82).

TENNIS—WTT: The best-of-five championship series, which begins after a break for the U.S. Open, could not be more evenly matched. Not only will the Boston Lobsters and Los Angeles Strings face each other for the title, but Boston's Martina Navratilova, the league's top singles player, and the Strings' Chris Evert, who had the second-best singles record in the league, will renew their rivalry. The Lobsters advanced to the finals with a two-game sweep of the Seattle Cascades, while Los Angeles beat defending champion New York, also in two straight. Boston had to win in overtime to defeat Seattle 30-27 in the opening match. The second match was a bit easier, with Navratilova and Tony Roche starring in a 27-22 victory. In the other semifinal, Evert was overpowering for the Strings against the Apples, who were seeking their third straight championship. She took just 14 minutes to beat JoAnne Russell 6-0, then teamed with Anne Kiyomura to beat Russell and Billie Jean King 6-2 in doubles as the Strings won the opener 28-20. Player-coach Ilie Nastase, who lost to Vitas Gerulaitis 6-3 in men's singles, was ejected from the match for using foul language and making obscene hand gestures despite two warnings from Referee Ken Farrar. The Strings won the clincher at home 26-16, with Evert defeating Russell 6-2 in singles and Nastase teaming with Kiyomura for a 6-0 victory over Ray Ruffels and King.

VOLLEYBALL—El Paso-Juarez won three straight at home and clinched the International Volleyball Association's final playoff berth. Tucson, Santa Barbara and Orange County also qualified for the playoffs.

MILEPOSTS—TRADED: By the Baltimore Colts, Running Back LYDELL MITCHELL, 29, to the San Diego Chargers, for Running Back JOE WASHINGTON, 24, and a future draft choice. Mitchell, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, had been in a contract dispute with the Colts.