GREGORY BENNETT WRITES – By now, we are all accustomed to watching sporting events with cardboard cutouts of faces in the stands and the sounds of exciting, virtual crowds blasting from stadium speakers. But is it really as exciting as an in-person experience? Will these teams be able to support…
Full Article ASIAN SPORTS: SOME THINGS JUST CAN’T THRIVE VIRTUALLY
MELANIE MARGARYAN WRITES — Armenians have always rooted for their country and their people. Through several wars and devastating natural disasters, they have joined together with a passionate sense of national pride. This year, they have yet another reason to be proud. The Armenian national soccer team, currently in the…
Full Article SPORTS: ARMENIA HOPES TO MAKE HISTORY IN THE FIFA WORLD CUP
SHAE KUROKAWA WRITES — The Tokyo Summer Olympics is quickly approaching, with less than 100 days before its expected commencement on July 23. But the world is starting to question whether the long-anticipated games will be able to proceed on schedule as COVID-19 cases are on the rise. Talk of…
Full Article JAPAN: WILL THE TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPICS SURVIVE THE PANDEMIC?
MILES WHITTINGHAM WRITES — Baseball, widely regarded as America’s favorite pastime, has seen a definite upswing in several Asian countries over the years. First brought to Japan by Horace Wilson- an English teacher at the Kaisei Academy in Tokyo in 1873- a couple of other Asian countries have shown great…
Full Article ASIAN SPORTS: BASEBALL’S TURN AT BAT ON THE CONTINENT
GREGORY BENNETT WRITES — Declining popularity, teams that fold and a lack of funds are common barriers to ice hockey in Asia. Today, the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH) is the only national league in Asia with eight different teams. Five of these teams are located in Japan, two are…
Full Article ASIAN SPORTS: A WORK IN PROGRESS
NICOLAS PAPA WRITES — It has been almost three years, but Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani is starting to show glimpses of the two-way talent that had previously made him one of the most anticipated players in the history of Major League Baseball. The Los Angeles Angels player had sent…
Full Article JAPAN: BASEBALL STAR SHOHEI OHTANI IS BACK IN THE GAME
CRISTINA PEDLER WRITES — The pandemic has forced South Koreans to look within the country for their golf fix. South Koreans are avid sports and outdoors enthusiasts. Their golfing population has continually been on the rise, despite declines in other golfing countries like the United States. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has strained the…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: WHERE THE COVID BUST HAS CREATED A GOLF BOOM
GREGORY BENNETT WRITES — Hockey, in Japan? Never heard of it. Until now, the sports scene in Japan has been mainly dominated by baseball and soccer. Yet with the possibility of an NHL star being drafted to the top junior league in the United States, ice hockey in Japan is…
Full Article JAPAN: HOCKEY? NEVER HEARD OF IT
ANDREW DAHI WRITES – Jeremy Lin. Five foot three. A freshman in high school. And a dream. A dream to play basketball at the highest level, on the biggest stage in the world, the NBA. By the time Lin, a Taiwanese-American, was a senior in high school, he had grown…
Full Article TAIWAN: LINSANITY AND THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION
NICOLAS PAPA WRITES — The European footballing landscape, or soccer, as we Americans call it, is undoubtedly the pinnacle of competition for the world’s most popular sport. The greatest players from around the world congregate in Western Europe to play against the best of the best, while some of the…
Full Article CHINA: ARE INVESTORS DROPPING THE BALL ON EUROPEAN SOCCER?
MATEO VALLES QUINTANA WRITES — In the previous article SOUTH KOREA: WHY KOREAN WOMEN DOMINATE THE LPGA, I explained how the cultural and structural aspects of South Korean society have created a national junior golf system that produces professional players (gets results). However, their golf system is not perfect and…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: HOW GOLF BECOMES A PRESSURE COOKER — PART II
MATEO VALLES QUINTANA WRITES — Since the early 2000’s South Korean female professional golfers have been a dominant force on the LPGA tour and are repeatedly found at the top of the money list. In 2017, South Korean nationals Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu were first and second…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: WHY KOREAN WOMEN DOMINATE THE LPGA — PART I
MATEO VALLES QUINTANA WRITES — No one can question her athletic achievements, but her actions off the court have brought her even more media attention. Naomi Osaka, the 22-year-old Black and Japanese athlete who quickly became one of the top tennis players in the world, has a remarkable WTA player…
Full Article JAPAN: NAOMI OSAKA, THE TENNIS SUPERSTAR WITH A HEART AS BIG AS HER SERVE
NICHOLAS WILCOX WRITES – Since FIFA, the international governing body of football, awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, more than a few eyebrows were raised as to just how the Persian Gulf nation secured the games. Rumors of bribery and corruption surfaced. So did stories about the exceptionally poor…
Full Article QATAR: FIFA WORLD CUP 2020 MIGRANT WORKER RED CARDS
JOSEPH LITTAUA WRITES – It’s 2006, the last season when the legendary Kobe Bryant will wear #8. Game 4 of the 1st round of the NBA playoffs is between the 2nd seed Phoenix Suns and the 7th seed Los Angeles Lakers. It’s overtime, with 6 seconds left on the clock.…
Full Article “TO US, HE WAS SUPERMAN.” A KOBE BRYANT TRIBUTE