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Tuesday - 7/31/07

Matsui Leads Yankee Rout, Homers Twice to Crush Chicago White Sox

Hideki Matsui homered twice today in a game where the Yanks could do no wrong as fellow teammates Damon, Posada, Abreu, Cabrera, Cano, and Duncan all hit solo homer runs to defeat the the White Sox in a 16-3 rout. Everyone was hammering away except for A-Rod who was 0-5 ironically sitting on 499 homers with fans cheering madly on his every swing. But Matsui was the man tonight as he continues on a blistering hitting streak that has seen him tally 13 homers in July alone and 21 overall for the season. The Yankees incidentally tied their franchise record for homers at 8 home runs and pulled within three games of Cleveland, the AL wild-card leader.

 Matsui blasts 2 powerful homers in win

Monday - 7/30/07

Jeong Jang loses in Evian Masters Playoff to Natalie Gulbis

South Korean Jeong Jang finished the final round of the Evian Masters tied at 4-under-par 284 with American Natalie Gulbis. Jang was the 2005 Women's British Open champion and had birdied three of her last four holes to tie Gulbis but finished with an even-par 72 to Gulbis' 2-under 70 in the final round. Gulbis was the Anna Kournikova of golf and was more famous for her good looks and market-ability over any real accomplishments on the course but with this win Maria Sharapova would be a better comparison. While it pays to be blonde and pretty in America, Gulbis now has proven that there is substance as she definitely has game. On the topic of money and hype, Michelle Wie finished with a final-round 76, tied for 69th out of 72 golfers with a 16-over 304. Baby steps Michelle, baby steps. I'm starting to think that eventually her poor performances may help her in the long run. Once the media stops focusing on her, Michelle can finally focus on recovering her game without all the pressure and stress.   

Sunday - 7/29/07

Weekend Summary

Dice-K pitched well today and took a six-hit shutout into the seventh before being taken deep by a Dioner Navarro homer and a one out single to John Wilson. Matsuzaka (12-8) was charged with two runs and eight hits in another game where he had little support from the Red Sox batters as they lost 2-5 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. How miserable are the Soxs when Dice-K is on the mound? They have scored two runs or fewer in 10 of his last 12 starts. Matsuzaka was diplomatic stating, "When our lineup is unable to produce runs, my job is to hold the other team to zero runs." Can't argue there with the money Dice is being paid but come on, the guy can't do it all by himself!

Asian baseball was also in the house in Baltimore as the Yankees defeated the Orioles today 10-6 on the heroics of Matsui, Wang, and Damon. Chien-Ming Wang was his usual dominant self as he improves to 12-5 winning his ninth game in his last 12 starts. Hideki Matsui is still having one of his best season as he hit sacrifice flies in the first and seventh innings and finished with 3 RBIs increasing his season total to 71 -- second best on the Yankees. But it was the play of Johnny Damon which was must captivating as he made a great impact at plate and also in left field, hitting his first two double plays of the season on Saturday night and then going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and four runs on Sunday, including an RBI double in the eighth. Damon who is half-Thai from his mother's side has been struggling this season and its good to see him picking it up.

And yet another milestone today for Ichiro Suzuki as he reached 1,500 Major League hits in the third-fastest amount of time after hitting a single to center in a 14-10 victory over the A's. Ichiro has recorded 200 hits in each of his six-seasons with the Mariners including his record-setting season in 2004 when he set the big league record by recording 262 hits. He had 1,278 hits from his nine seasons in Japan and combined has 2,778 hits in his professional baseball career. This article compares Ichiro's achievements when compared to top MLB players of history. The guy is just the total package and one of the best ball strikers of all time! Nuff said.

Thursday - 7/26/07

Korea & Japan Both Fell in Asia Cup Semifinal Matchups

Both South Korea and Japan lost yesterday despite being heavily favored to meet in the finals of the Asia Cup soccer championships. Korea lost to Iraq 3-4 and Japan the two-time defending champion lost to Saudi Arabia 2-3. I am sure that the Japanese and Korean fans are devastated as they are some really hardcore soccer fans but upsets are a part of the game. Now they will have to face each other to fight for a chance to salvage third place this coming Saturday.

Hideki Matsui shows why they still call him Godzilla

At 6' 2 and 210 lbs, Matsui is probably just averaged sized in the steroid fueled world of modern day sports and not what you would expect with a nickname like Godzilla. However his results and talent do merit that tag. The strong & lean Matsui is not questionably bulky like many power hitters in MLB but he still has plenty of power as he has displayed this past month as he has hit 10 homers in July alone. Matsui hit at least 34 homers in each of his last 7 seasons in Japan but has only exceeded 23 homers once in 5 seasons with the Yankees. With 18 home runs his year and the way he is seeing the ball, Matsui may be on his way to his personal best this season. Watch out, Godzilla is back and he is on a tear!   

Korean Phenoms Populate the grounds of France

There are a lot of talented Asian female golfers on the tour these days as evidenced by the scoreboard at the Evian Masters at Evian-Les-Bains, France. South Korean Ji Eun-Hee has a share of the lead and Bae Kyeong, Hon Jin Joo, and Christina Kim were all a shot behind after the first round. Still the big news is that Michelle Wie was back in action from her wrist injury. She shot a disappointing 1-over-par 73 but did show some signs of the brilliance that helped her finish second at the tournament for the past 2 years. While she doesn't seem to truly trust her form just yet, she does seem to be in positive spirits. Says Wie, "I had one bad shot, but I feel I'm on the road to regaining more control. The wrist is getting stronger and growing in confidence." Best of luck to you Michelle but please stay away from the Men and stick to Ladies golf!

  Baby steps Michelle, baby steps

Tuesday - 7/24/07

Wang and Matsuzaka Both Win But In Different Fashion

Both Chien-Ming Wang and Daisuke Matsuzaka recorded wins tonight but Wang had more support from the sizzling bats of his Yankee teammates. The Yanks bullied the Royals pitching staff in their 9-4 victory as Jorge Posada and Bobby Abreu both drove in two runs and Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui scored twice each. Wang was not really at his best as he held Kansas City to four runs and seven hits over six innings, walking tow and striking out three. But America's Team has been dominant of late as they have put up 63 runs in their last five games and won 10 of 12 since the All-Star Break. Wang improves to 11-5 leading all Yankee pitchers and has won 8 of his last 9 decisions.

Dice-K who has seen some recent shaky starts really needed to redeem himself and he did so tonight as he turned in a strong performance to help the Red Sox win 1-0 over the Cleveland Indians. Matsuzaka pitched 7 shutout innings giving up four hits while walking three and striking out five before the Soxs sent our Okajima and Papelbon to finish the job. Dice-K had to outduel the massive C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland's 6' 7, 290lb ace who himself was trying to be the first pitcher to 14 wins. Talk about an intimidating opponent but he got the job done. Dice-K improves to 12-7 and becomes the first Red Sox rookie to win 12 games since Mike Nagy in 1969. Nice, but I'm hoping now that he will be the first pitcher to 14 wins!

Sunday - 7/22/07

Weekend Summary

It has been a rather poor showing for Asian athletes this past week. Dice-K issued a career-high six walks this past Thursday night as his Red Soxs lost 4-2 to the White Sox. He allowed only 2 hits in five-plus innings, but he walked two in the first inning allowing a run on a single by A.J. Pierzynski, then walked the bases loaded with gone out in the 6th before Pierzysnki hit off him again with as single that scored two more runs. Matsuzaka seems to be having trouble with the control issues that had hurt him earlier in the season. Chien-Ming Wang also lost on Thursday despite grounding the Toronto Blue Jays for most of the day until the 7th inning where they broke loose to score three runs to win over the Yankess 3-2. Wang had won his past seven straight decisions but not this time. In golf today, KJ Choi finished tied for eight place, shooting a final round of even par 71 to finish on 3-under-par 281 at the British Golf Open. Choi had been trying to become the first Asian born player to win a Major and it will come eventually but not today. Tiger couldn't get it going and wound up tied for 12th, 5 shots back of the winning pace with a 2-under 282 total. Congratulations to Padraig Harrington for edging out Sergio Garcia to become the first Irishman to win the claret jug in 60 years.

Thursday - 7/19/07

Ichiro = 90 Million Dollar Man & Dog Lover

Ichiro Suzuki will remain a Mariner as he gets an impressive $90 million dollar contract extension. The Seattle Mariners will defer $25 million and will be paying Suzuki for at least a quarter century until at least 2032. Ichiro will get a $5 million signing bonus and annual salaries of $17 million from 2008 to 2112. Man if only I could hit a baseball, but Ichiro deserves it being the best of the best. The funny thing is when asked whose counsel he valued most during contract negotiations, Ichiro said, "Ikky, my dog. He said 'Ruff, ruff, ruff'. That means, Stay, stay, stay" Good to hear such a cute story at a time like this when Michael Vick's nasty dog fighting scandal dominates the headlines.

Newcomer Jerry Yang Captures World Series of Poker in Las Vegas

Not that I really consider gambling a real sport but it does take smarts, guts and a big pair of you know what to compete at this level and Hmong immigrant Jerry Yang has plenty of all three. The diminutive 5'3 father of six started playing poker just 2 years ago but you wouldn't be able to tell the way he used his dominant position to knock out seven challengers and win the $8.25 million top prize yesterday. The strategy for this 39 year old psychologist from Temecula, California was to read opponents for weakness and to be aggressive from the very beginning and it worked. At the end of the day, Yang was the last man standing out of a field of 6,358 players.

Yang has vowed to donate 10 percent of his winnings to charities which is a very noble gesture indeed. Tuan Lam, a 40 year old professional poker player finished second earning $4.8 million. While I am happy for these guys, I don't think either can be considered a good role model for young Asians considering the rampant gambling addiction that is so destructive to our communities. Just say NO to gambling kids!

Wednesday - 7/18/07

Yao, Yi and Crappy Chinese Sports Association

Man, I am really tired of those idiots who run the Chinese Sports Association. They have just publicly criticized Yao Ming for reporting late to their national team training. Their newspaper was quoted as saying, "No matter how lofty public welfare activities are, they can't be allowed to take place in a player's life. No matter how sweet personal life is, it can't be compared to the exultation of capturing glory for one's nation." I guess they are saying that Yao shouldn't spend time on charity or with his fiancée before their wedding because the most important thing in life is national team basketball?

What a bunch of jerks but we already knew that didn't we? I mean just look at what they are doing to poor Yi Jianlian. I mean the guy has stated on numerous occasions that he just wants to play in the NBA period but his handlers have made a big stink by trying to play hard ball against the Bucks who drafted him. Now the owner of the Guangdong Tigers, Yi's former team comes out and says Yi definitely will not sign with Milwaukee and will head back to the Chinese Basketball Association if need be. What the hell is wrong with these idiots? Going back to Chinese basketball is worse thing that can happen to Yi and now with all the bickering, Yi's reputation is taking a hit stateside even though he hasn't said or done anything. This thing is getting out of control and they better realize soon that they better comply or risk losing out big time on time and money.

Yi vs Oden? Please don't muck it up China!

Chinese Sports Officials Want to Control Everything, Even Weather!

As if controlling 7 foot giants is not a hard enough task, China also wants to manipulate Mother Nature herself. Beijing is moving ahead with plans to fire rockets to disperse rain clouds so that they can secure sunshine for the 2008 Olympics. Based on history, there is a 50 percent chance that it will rain on both the opening and closing ceremonies. I can understand that they don't want it to rain on their very expensive parade but it still sounds quite silly. Their top official also admitted that cloud dispersal technology is still in the experimental stage and is an immature technology. If they do succeed with the technology, Wimbledon should definitely be their first customer.

Sunday - 7/15/07

Wang, Matsui, & Abreu Lift Yankees to Win

Chien-Ming Wang won his 7th straight decision on Saturday to lead the NY Yankees 6-4 over Tampa Bay Devil Rays. When an Asian reporter asked Joe Torre if Wang was their staff ace, Joe was diplomatically correct and only acknowledged that Wang was very good. But he did not want to give him that label yet because of their other two big name pitchers in Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Joe is too smart to be baited into this, but we all know that Wang is the top guy this year. He has twice as many victories as Pettitte and Clemens doesn't even register on the radar at this point. Hideki Matsui had a double and hit his 13th home run of the season and his fifth homer in the last eight games. Bobby Abreu of Venezuela also homered and drove in 5 runs overall.

Saturday - 7/14/07

Dice K gets Lucky as Big Papi comes to his rescue

The Dice-man just didn't have it on Saturday as he faced the Toronto Blue Jays. Matsuzaka gave up four runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out two in six innings. He has given up 10 runs in his last two starts after allowing a total of six runs in his six starts before that. Still he got the win thanks to homers from David Ortiz, Eric Hinske, and Jason Varitek. Dice-K summed up his performance best by stating, "I was disappointed from beginning to end."

Wednesday - 7/11/07

Liu Xiang Hits Hurdles in Paris but Cruises to Win in Switzerland

Olympic champion and world record holder Liu Xiang won the 110 hurdles at the Athletissima Grand Prix yesterday and ran the 3rd best time this season with a 13.01 seconds. It was a tough contest for all as the race time temperature was a chilling 52 Fahrenheit. This was a great race for Liu who had lost to Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles in Paris on Friday coming in third place. Liu was not able to avenge his loss because Dayron didn't run in this race. The guy is smart and being from Cuba you know he doesn't like to run in these types of cold environments. Congrats to Liu for the quick comeback and for winning under such difficult conditions!

Tuesday - 7/10/07

Ichiro Hits Home Run & Named All Star Game's MVP!

Ichiro Suzuki helped the American League win the All Star game 5-4 by hitting an inside-the-park home run, the first in the game's history. Suzuki ended the game with 3 hits and was named the game's MVP. He is also currently in talks with the Seattle Mariner's over a contract extension reported worth 100 million for five years. Ichiro is the MAN!

Animal Unleashed!  Dave Batista's Routine For Ripped Muscles

Filipino/Greek WWE former heavyweight champion Dave Batista is featured in the July issue of Maximum Fitness magazine and discusses his fat busting workout. Excuse me while I check the magnifying glass cause I don't see any fat on the man's body. He is ripped and shredded! At 6'6 290 lbs, Dave may throw people for a loop when they find out he is part Asian. Batista however is a proud Asian man who sports a tattoo of the Filipino & Greek flags merged on his arm along with other Asian tattoos. He has recently challenged another massive Asian wrestler in the Great Khali (Indian bodybuilder Dalip Singh Rana) to a match at WWE's Great American Bash on July 22. With a autobiography coming out in October, Batista is one busy man. I have watched some of his matches and he comes across as a classy guy in spite of the silly theatrics of the WWE. With the recent news of Chris Benoit (RIP) it has become obvious that the lifestyle of a wrestler is absolutely brutal and I wish him and Khali a safe and healthy career.

Monday - 7/9/07

Yi Jianlian is Clutch Leading Team China to Victory Over Cavs

Team China got its first victory last night as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 85-84 on the heroics of my boy Yi Jianlian. Yi's buzzer beating jump shot with 0.4 seconds on the clock came as Team China set up a pick and roll with Yi to create a mismatch which then allowed him to score the winning basket to seal the victory. A fitting ending to a stellar 4th quarter in which Yi dropped a flurry of points to make up for his inactivity throughout most of the game. He finished with 17 points in the 4th and a team high 20 points overall.

If his current play is any indication, Yi will probably never be called on his stamina because he seems to come on stronger late in the game and if anything takes a while to get into his rhythm. But being Asian he will probably have to deal with more criticism and take more verbal jabs than most rookies. When Yao Ming was blocked last year by Nate Robinson it made all the sports & news networks as well as Youtube and the haters all came out in droves. It didn't matter that Nate was a former NBA slam-dunk champion or that he fouled Yao in the block, it was just great fodder for all the Yao bashers out there. Yi was dunked on a couple of days ago by Rudy Gay and it is all over the net too. But what you probably won't see or hear about was that Yi dunked on him right back. But never fear, that is why Asiannext is here. Enjoy.

Boston's Hazel Mae is One Hot Sportscaster

I have never really heard of her until now but it seems sportscaster Hazel Mae is a favorite with Bostonians and Red Sox fans and it's easy to see why. Hazel can be seen nightly covering Red Sox and Bruins Games on Sports Desk and was listed first on Se7en magazine's list of 7 hottest sportscasters over such well known names as Leeann Tweeden, Jillian Barberie, and Lisa Guerrero. Not too shabby.

Sunday - 7/8/07

MLB Sunday -Wang & Matsui Solid as a Rock, Dice-K gets Rocked

The New York Yankees demolished the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels beating them 12-0 at Yankee Stadium. Chien-Ming Wang delivered again as he has all season long, allowing just five hits over 6 1/3 innings and wins his sixth straight improving to a 9-4 record.  The 6'3 Wang was never in much trouble once he got his sinker working today. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wang has not given up an unearned run in in his last 39 starts, the longest such string by a Yankees pitcher since the AL began charting unearned runs in 1913. The man has just been a rock for the Yankees since 2006! Today he got plenty of help too as teammates Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, and Robinson Cano all hit three-run homers. A-Rod hit his league leading 30th home run, also his 494th career home run putting him into 22nd place on the career list.

While Yankee engines where firing on all cylinders today, gyroball maestro Dice-K was running on fumes. The Detroit Tigers tagged him for six runs over five innings to beat the Red Soxs 6-5 completing a 3-game series sweep. It was the first time Matsuzaka has allowed three homers in a game and matched the shortest outing of this career. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Lightning Choi Strikes Again, This Time at Tiger Woods' Tournament

Just five weeks after winning the Memorial and receiving the trophy from his golf idol Jack Nicklaus, K.J. Choi has done it again winning the inaugural AT&T National at Congressional today over another very impressive field. This event was hosted by Tiger Woods and the South Korean was rewarded to a trophy presentation from Tiger himself. Choi shot a final-round 68 for a 9-under 271 total to win the $1.08 million first-place check. It is his sixth win on the PGA tour making him the most successful Asian-born player ever. The 37 year old Choi was cheered on by local Korean-Americans with one fan holding up a sign reading "Go Tank" in reference to Choi's nickname as a 13 year old, 95-pound youth when he power-lifted 350 pounds. That is pretty impressive both his win and his former power-lifting achievements. I wouldn't be surprised if one day we see guys with arms like Rafael Nadal playing professional golf.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Roger Federer and Nadal for giving us one of the most exciting and highly contested tennis matches in recent history. Federer beat Nadal to win his 5th consecutive Wimbledon title today matching the great Bjorn Borg's grass court accomplishment. Still with the improvements Nadal makes every year, I can seriously see him ending Roger's streak even as soon as next year. The guy is an absolute beast! But let's see how Nadal does at the US Open first.

Other News...

♦Taiwan's Chin-Lung Hu had a pair of RBI hits and stole a base to lead the World team to a 7-2 victory over the U.S. Team in the All-Star Futures Game. ♦Johnny Chan busted early on Day 1A at the 2007 World Series of Poker. ♦Ichiro Suzuki is shoved by Athletics pitcher Joe Blanton and benches clear.     

Saturday - 7/7/07

Yi Meets with Bucks Brass, Shines on the Court

Yi Jianlian finally met with the Bucks on Friday and was presented with a mini collection of Bucks gear and jerseys. They then watched their #6 draft pick drop 23 points against the Memphis Grizzlies in Summer League play in a losing effort (86-77 loss) for Team China. This was Yi's third game in the States and his best. He previously had scored 15 points against the U.S. under 19 national team and more recently posted 11 points in an exhibition match against the Dallas Mavericks' summer league. Not good numbers but it was just Yi's second game after missing 3 months and the rust showed. By his 3rd game against the Grizzlies, Yi's talent finally made it through Customs. He finished with 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting and 9-for-12 free-throw shooting.

So what was the general consensus about Yi's performance? Says Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni, "He made the game look easy. I think he's going to be more physical than people think. And you definitely have to scheme him [defensively]." Bucks general manager Larry Harris added, "Defensively, he's a quick jumper and he can get out on pick-and-rolls. He's got great hands, he's got quick feet on the offensive end. He's got a post game; he can shoot it right-handed or left-handed. He can step out and make shots. He's got a great sense for the game. He's a true power forward." Second-year Memphis forward Rudy Gay had nice things to say as well even though he posterized Yi with a monster dunk during the game. "He's definitely going to be a good player in the future," Gay said. "Defensively, he can get a little better, but offensively, he's got it all."

On Friday Yi's mojo finally cleared customs

Greg Oden and Kevin Durant also made their pro debuts on Friday to more modest results. Oden finished with only 6 points and 2 rebounds in 20 minutes before going out with 10 fouls as his Blazers lost 74-66 to the Celtics. Durant scored 18 points but missed 12 of 17 shots, adding only 1 rebound and 0 assists in 30 minutes of play. Like Yi, I think these two have immense expectations heaped upon them but all three need time to adjust and find their games. At their age, time is on their side.

Pacquiao vs Barrera II scheduled for October 6

The recent settlement between Bob Arum's Top Rank and De La Hoya's Golden Boy promotions over the rights to Manny Pacquiao is good news for Pacman fans around the world. It clears and sets up the rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera for October 6th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Pacquiao had previously defeated the Mexican boxing champion via TKO in the 11th round. "Manny will have to make Barrera work every second of the fight", said trainer Freddie Roach. "If you allow Barrera to dictate the phase of the fight, he's gonna pick you apart."

I am a big fan of Manny 'The Destroyer' Pacquiao. He single handedly defeated two legendary fighters in Barrera and Erik 'El Terrible' Morales, crushing the latter in their rubber match last November. With his incredible hand speed, power and tenacity, Pacquiao is simply one of the most exciting and dynamic fighters in boxing today. The guy is like Tom Cruise, Elvis, & Michael Jordan all rolled into one in his native Philippines. A bigger than life superstar. I predict a mid to late round knockout for Pacman come October.

Thursday - 7/5/07

Yao Ming the Sportsman, Mentor and Olympic Symbol of China

Yao has really come into his own. Besides fighting through extreme adversity to power himself into the mantle of most dominant center in the NBA, Yao has also matured into an outspoken and mature leader of the Chinese people. No longer reclusive and shy, Yao has openly called on the Chinese Olympic committee to honor the tradition of having a basketball player, namely himself to bear the flag at the opening ceremony in Beijing. This is due to the challenge of popular hurdler and gold medalist Liu Xiang who is also a national icon and candidate for flag bearer. "Yes, we've got serious challenges from other teams and players. Top challengers will be Liu Xiang and players from the women's volleyball team," Yao said. I can understand Liu but female volleyball players? No offense to the ladies, but to me this gig belongs to Yao and Yao alone, without question.

Yao is also watching out for Yi Jianlian his former teammate and new AWOL NBA Bucks power forward. Yi was drafted 6th by the Bucks but has not contacted the team hoping for a trade to another team with a larger Asian market. Yao as a senior diplomat of Chinese hoops is urging Yi to hold talks with Milwaukee and to work things out. I agree with Yao, Yi may have vast potential but he is playing a dangerous game right now especially as an unproven commodity. If the Bucks don't bend, what is he going to do go back to China. He needs to get with the program. The bucks have added a nifty flash animation to their homepage of Yi by the way. Check it out here Bucks.

Lastly, Yao has expressed that he wants to win a medal at the Olympics so badly that he would be willingly to risk his health. Now that is a bit extreme to me but it just goes to show the heart and spirit of the great big man, YAO MING!

Matsui Homers, Okajima gets All Star Nod, & Kim Handles Padres

Alex Rodriquez took the night off to nurse a strained hamstring and Hideki Matsui was more than capable in picking up the slack. Matsui batted from the cleanup spot and crushed a two-run homer in the 8th inning to lead the Yankees 7-6 over the Minnesota Twins. Kei Igawa was not as fortunate, getting roughed up and surrendering two run in the first and  three runs in the fourth inning. A-Rod is scheduled to have a magnetic resonance imaging exam and could miss the All-Star game.

Hideki Okajima received 4.3 million votes from online balloting to win the 32nd spot on the American League All-Star roster. The Red Sox reliever has been having a fantastic season and will be joined by his teammates Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, Manny Ramirez, Jonathan Papelbon, and David Ortiz. He is just the sixth native of Japan to be selected to the All-Star Game, preceded by Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Hideki Matsui, Hideo Nomo, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Ichiro Suzuki.

Remember Byung-Hyun Kim? He was the infamous South Korean pitcher that gave up 2 homers to the Yankees in Games 4 & 5 of the 2001 World Series and nearly cost the Arizona Diamondbacks the World Championship. Well he is still pitching and today he went head to head against the San Diego Padre's All-Star Jake Peavy and stifled their hitters over 6 1/3 strong innings to help the Florida Marlins win 3-2. Kim (4-4) gave up two runs on three hits and stuck out seven. It's good to see that he still has game but unfortunately most people will always remember him as that guy who almost single-handedly cost the Diamondbacks the World Championship.

Wednesday, 7/4/07 - HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Chestnut Defeats Kobayashi to become New King of Gluttony

American couch potatoes rejoice! Joey Chestnut has brought the mustard belt back to Old Glory as he soundly defeated Japanese 6-time hotdog champ Takeru Kobayashi by eating a world record 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Kobayashi wolfed down 63 which was good enough to have been a world record too until Chestnut overtook him down the final stretch. Since we Americans do consume and waste more food than anyone else in the world, I think it is kinda fitting that an American owns this title but I feel for Kobayashi who wanted to win it for his late mother.

That camera man is asking for trouble.

If I was Kobayashi, I would want to challenge Chestnut to a sushi-eating contest and hold it in Tokyo. Let's see how much raw fish Joey can take in 12 minutes, hmmm? Better yet, they also have to down a teaspoon of wasabi with each piece! To drink? Soy sauce of course! Haha, now that would be entertainment.

Tiger, Tiger & More Tiger Woods

New father Tiger Woods recently received a miniature ping-pong table from fellow golfer Phil Mickelson for his newborn daughter Sam Alexis Woods. Apparently these two top American golfers have enjoyed a small rivalry in table tennis from past time shared during Ryder & Presidents Cups. Says Mickelson, "Our kids have had a little headstart on Sam Alexis and expect them to continue the Mickelson domination over the Woods in pong. But we thought we should give Sam Alexis a chance to jump-start her own game." Yeah right Phil. More like let's get Sam Alexis into ping-pong so she will take up Tennis in the future and not continue the Woods family domination of the Mickelson clan in golf for the next hundred years.

Tiger told reporters on Tuesday that his wife Elin had been admitted to a hospital four days before Sam Alexis was born while Woods was playing the first round of the US Open. Explained Woods, "She had some complications. We talked all the time. Everything was all right. I mean it wasn't life-threatening or anything, but she just had a few problems and had to be admitted. It was not easy because I wanted to be there. And the doctor and Elin said there is nothing you can do. So go out and just get a W. Came close. But that night was infinitely more rewarding than any W ever could have been." Man that must have been on Tiger's mind during the US Open not that I am making excuses for him coming in second place. Sports is show business and the show must go on regardless of the circumstances so athletes are expected to perform under extreme pressure and conditions. No one handles it better than Tiger and luckily everything ended up just fine.

Tiger Woods is also on the cover of the latest issues of Men's Fitness where he reveals the workout regimen that allowed him to put on 30 lbs of quality muscle since he first joined the PGA tour. Tiger was a natural athlete who ran track and cross country in high school and has always treated golf as a "sport" not hobby. Tiger's regimen consists of 6 days a week workouts that focus on proper posture, form, and symmetry using submaximal weights with high repetitions. Special emphasis is put on the back, shoulders and legs but Tiger also does bench presses even though he doesn't like them. It makes sense cause big powerful pectoral muscles probably get in the way of the golf swing and doesn't really have too much benefit. Tiger is looking buff in these pictures and definitely like an athlete unlike most of the golfers in the past. I always wondered how he would have done if he had gone into tennis not golf, but I digress. Tiger is a great athlete period.

Tuesday - 7/3/07

Asian Pitchers Keep Rolling Despite All Star Snubs

Pitching phenoms Daisuke Matsuzaka and Chien-Ming Wang both had stellar starts today to lead the Red Sox & Yankees to victory.

Dice-K fired eight innings of four-hit shutout baseball while striking out nine using his full arsenal of pitches to defeat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4-1. Matsuzaka improves to to 10-5 and has given up just six earned runs over his last six starts while totaling 51 strikeouts over 42 innings. If his performance in June is any indication, I think Dice-K is finally settling in and getting the kind of consistency he needs to show the world the dominant pitcher that he can truly be.

Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang won his 5th consecutive decision throwing for a commanding seven inning shutout to help NY crush the Minnesota Twins 8-0. Wang (8-4) scattered four hits, walked four and fanned three to remain undefeated in his last seven starts. He has been the most successful Yankee pitcher this year and is clearly their ace when the going gets tough. A-Rod, their most productive hitter was hitless tonight but luckily was alright after giving the Yankees a scare leaving the previous game with a hamstring injury. Good news for a poor season, the Yanks need all the luck they can get.

Monday - 7/2/07

Daily Summary

Two Asian baseball players Ichiro Suzuki & Takashi Saito are going to the MLB All Star game in San Francisco on July 10th. Dice-K, Chien-Ming Wang, & Hideki Matsui did not make the roster but will have plenty of other opportunities in upcoming years no doubt. Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox still has a chance so everyone should go to MLB.com and vote for him if you have some time.

At Wimbledon, Akiko Morigami had 3-time champion Venus Williams on the ropes but could not deliver as Venus won the match 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 and moves forward into the fourth round to meet Maria Sharapova. Lee Hyung-Taik of South Korea also lost in the 3rd round to No. 7th ranked Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3). Lee & Morigami both put up a good fight. No shame in losing to a higher seeds in this manner. Roger Federer cruised into the quarterfinals as his opponent Tommy Hass pulled out with a stomach injury. Rafael Nadal's match was suspended in the 5th set with Nadal holding a 2-0 lead. I really hope Nadal wins this cause I would love to see him take the challenge to Federer in the finals of Wimbledon again this year. Vamos!

Sunday - 7/1/07

Michelle Kwan Juggles School, Diplomacy & Skating with Grace

At 27 years old, Michelle Kwan's schedule is busier than ever. She just finished her first year at the University of Denver majoring in political science and still has time to travel the world as a "Public Diplomacy Envoy" representative for the United States. Rubbing elbows with college freshman, Chinese President Hu Jintao, & Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is just one of the perks when you have been one of the most celebrated female athletes in the past decade. White House dinners, speaking engagements at the State Department and diplomatic trips to China & Russia, the girl is in charge! And let's not forget she has never ruled out another shot at that elusive gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Regardless of Olympic gold, Michelle remains one of the the most successful and enduring faces ever to compete in the Winter Olympics.

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