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…
Category: sports
SOUTH KOREA: WHERE THE COVID BUST HAS CREATED A GOLF BOOM
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…
JAPAN: HOCKEY? NEVER HEARD OF IT
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…
TAIWAN: LINSANITY AND THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION
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…
CHINA: ARE INVESTORS DROPPING THE BALL ON EUROPEAN SOCCER?
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…
SOUTH KOREA: HOW GOLF BECOMES A PRESSURE COOKER — PART II
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…
SOUTH KOREA: WHY KOREAN WOMEN DOMINATE THE LPGA — PART I
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…
JAPAN: NAOMI OSAKA, THE TENNIS SUPERSTAR WITH A HEART AS BIG AS HER SERVE
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…
QATAR: FIFA WORLD CUP 2020 MIGRANT WORKER RED CARDS
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…
“TO US, HE WAS SUPERMAN.” A KOBE BRYANT TRIBUTE
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.…