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Secretasianman

Monday - 3/31/08

Fukudome Impressive in MLB Debut - Japanese baseball star Kosuke Fukudome dazzled the crowd at Wrigley Field today going 3 for 3 and hitting a tying three-run homer in the ninth inning. The newly acquired import doubled on his first pitch, then singled, walked and homered to the delight of the Chicago fans who gave him multiple ovations throughout the game. All in all a fantastic day for Fukudome even though his Cubs lost the game 3-4 to the Milwaukee Brewers.

 Fukudome looks like the Real Deal in his pro debut.

Sunday - 3/30/08

Cung Le's Cunning. - Vietnamese-American Cung Le was victorious over Frank Shamrock last night, winning the Strikeforce middleweight championship. Le is a master of San Shou kickboxing and has competed successfully in K-1 competitions and also in MMA (mixed martial arts). In fact he was currently undefeated going into last nights match and was facing his biggest test in MMA legend Frank Shamrock. Shamrock had promised to stand and strike against Le even though Le is the more accomplished striker and Shamrock is better taking the fight to the ground. Mano-a-mano against Cung is dangerous as Frank found out last night losing his belt and getting his arm broken by Le's strikes. Congratulations to Cung Le, the guy is a beast!

Kuroda Dominant in Final Spring Game - Dodgers Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda pitched an impressive four hitless innings against the Red Sox this afternoon while striking out six on the way to a lopsided 8-0 victory. The 33 year old right hander was 2-1 with a 4.18 ERA in seven starts this spring and has struggled but it seems he has finally acclimated himself and is ready to start the regular season in style.

Friday - 3/28/08

Matsui Gets Hitched - Hideki Matsui got married secretly last week and won a bet made with his teammates Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu about who would get married first. The bet was made at the beginning of spring training, and Matsui knew that Jeter and Abreu could not make the 6 month timetable so it was easy money for him. Derek Jeter was really surprised and felt duped so he threatened to reveal her name to reporters if Matsui did not pay him. No word on who will win out in this wacky situation but its not like either man is hurting for the money.

It was hard for his teammates to believe Matsui got married because he was a notorious ladies man who once was reported to have up to 3 to 4 girlfriends (out in the open) at the same time. He was also known to have a large collection of Japanese AV (Adult Video) films so the man was the picture of bachelorhood. It must have taken a really special woman to win Matsui's heart but unfortunately I could not find any pictures of her on the internet except one. You can judge on your own how she compares to the wives of Matsuzaka, Okajima, and Ichiro.

 Matsui protects his new wifey from the crazy Japanese & American media.

 Tomoyo Shibata happily took a roll of the Dice-K.

Yuka Kurihara was "Oki-Doki" with a life with Hideki Okajima.

Yumiko Fukushima & Ichiro in a nice family picture with their son Ikky.

Tuesday - 3/25/08

Chinese + Japanese = Baseballnese - Major League Baseball was preaching their gossip in China and Japan this past week surely with their sights on winning the hearts and minds of Asian youth. The Dodgers and Padres were on hand last weekend in Beijing, China playing a two-day series at the Wukesong Sports Center baseball field, the future home of the Olympics baseball competition. The teams tied 3-3 in the first game on Saturday and the Padres won 6-3 on Sunday. Jet Li was there to throw the ceremonial first pitch and tossed a perfect strike. All in all the series was purely a marketing gimmick no doubt but it still sounded like a lot of fun.  

If the Chinese were the non-believers, then the Japanese are surely the choir cause I think that baseball has probably overtaken sumo as the most revered sport in the Land of the Rising Sun. DiceK-mania was in full effect today in the Opening day start of Daisuke Matsuzaka as the World Champion Red Sox played the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo. Dice-k struggled early (who wouldn't with their entire country watching?) His combined five walks with two hits allowing two runs over five innings performance was a clear indication that he needs to work more on control of his pitches. Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon held off the A's in the 9th and 10th innings and Manny Ramirez hit a two-run double in the end to give the Sox a 6-5 victory at the Tokyo Dome.

Jet Li's Wushu form helped him pitch a perfect strike on the first toss.

Sunday - 3/23/08

Japanese MLB Rookie Updates - Chicago Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome has been struggling a bit in spring training batting .229. He was 2-for-4 with a walk on Saturday's 8-8 tie against the White Sox. He is not worried about the numbers though and is more focused on working at quality at bats. "I'm not concerned about the numbers, and if I'm able to do what I can do in one particular at-bat, I feel satisfied," Fukudome said.

Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda must know how Fukudome feels as he too struggled in a previous start giving up six runs over three innings. Still Kuroda redeemed himself last week with a one run, three hits performance over five innings that was very impressive. At one point he retired 11 Marlins in a row and overall he needed just 62 pitches to finish his afternoon.

Weekend Tidbits

- China's Zi Yan & Jie Zheng made it all the way to the finals of the Pacific Life Tennis tournament at Indian Wells only to lose 6-1, 1-6, 10-8 to Dinara Safina & Elena Vesnina.

- Yankees announced Friday at Chien-Ming Wang will be the Opening Day Starter against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 31st which is coincidentally Wang's 28th birthday.

- Tiger Woods is five shots back from Geoff Ogilvy the leader midway through the final round at the World Golf Championships. Play was suspended due to darkness but it looks like Tiger's winning streak is about to be broken.

Friday - 3/21/08

Pacquiao vs Marquez III - The somewhat controversial victory Manny Pacquiao earned over Juan Manuel Marquez last Saturday is leading to speculation that they will do it again real soon. However there is other business to attend to first as Pacquiao wants to move up to 135 to fight the lightweight champion David Diaz. After that fight, Manny's camp says that they would be willing to give Marquez a third fight in that weight class. Marquez is game saying, "I'll fight him in whatever weight he wants to fight."

So it looks like we may have another trilogy for the Pac-man to wrap up this business once and for all. Pacquiao himself saw a lost opportunity on Saturday to end his saga with Marquez. He has stated that he was ready to apply the finishing touches of a knockout he had scored earlier but that the bell rang and saved Marquez. Well that is just back luck but is also part of the boxing game. I'm sure Manny has loads of respect for Marquez's chin and heart as very few fighters have ever come back so valiantly from his knockdowns. 

Wednesday - 3/19/08

Dice Pitches Minors, Okajima Struggles -  The Red Sox had a brief dispute over payment of stipends to their coaches and staff this afternoon and the delay forced new daddy Daisuke Matsuzaka to pitch at the team's minor league complex. He went six innings against Minnesota's Triple-A squad giving up a run on six hits and striking out eight. He was pleased with his performance stating, "My spring training is finished, and it was better than last year. My confidence is better." The same probably couldn't be said for his teammate Hideki Okajima however. With the earlier dispute resolved (coaches and staff will receive the $40,000 stipends for trip to Tokyo) David Aardsma started for Dice-K against the Toronto Blue Jays taking the team to a 3-0 lead in the third. In the eighth Okajima retired two batters before giving up a double, a walk, a RBI single and another single to load the bases. Okajima was replaced by another pitcher who gave up a three-run double. The Jays went on to win the game 4-3. Boston will hop on a plane tonight for Tokyo where Dice-K will get the opening game next week against the A's.     

Fans get a look at the Japanese phenom Dice-K.

Sunday - 3/16/08

Pacquiao Delivers Thrilling Win. Manny Pacquiao showed the heart of a champion last night as he fought 12 long hard rounds against a determined Juan Manuel Marquez. This was their  highly anticipated rematch and they did not disappoint. Just like their first meeting, Manny showed his power by knocking down Marquez early in the fight. But like the first fight Marquez showed his resiliency by getting back up, weathering the storm and taking it right back to the Pacman. The fight went back and forth with Marquez backing & boxing and Pacquiao charging forward trying to mix it up. With both fighters cut and bleeding but on their feet, the match went to the judges which gave Pacquiao the win on a split-decision. Will there be a third fight no one knows. The fans definitely will demand it but Manny is intent on moving up in weight to fight David Diaz for the WBC lightweight title. I think a move up in weight may be a bad idea and would prefer to see Pacquiao and Marquez do it one more time. This fight was very close and for many there is still no closure in it's decision even though Pacquiao does deserve the win.   

Streaks Alive! The Houston Rockets improves upon their historic winning streak adding victory number 22 today by beating the Lakers 104-92. To put it into perspective, they have won 26 of their last 27 games and 31 of their last 34 games. Their last 10 wins of the streak were without Yao Ming and some have started to question if they are better without him on the floor. I would say absolutely NOT! They started the streak with Yao in the lineup when Tracy was on the sidelines and the fact the Houston can win with just one superstar on the court is a testament to the greatest of this year's team. Teamwork, defense and hard work is what is driving this incredible run.

Speaking of impressive streaks, Tiger Woods continued his own today by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and extending his USPGA Tour win streak to five consecutive tournaments. He shot a final round four under 66 to reach 10-under 270 overall to win by one stroke over fellow American Bart Bryant. Woods has actually won six straight times worldwide as he was the victor in the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year. One thing that has impressed me about Tiger over the past 2 years is his new form. I'm actually taking about his physique. The guy is super buff now! Just check out those guns.

Thursday - 3/13/08

MLB Stars Finding their Groove.  The hitless streak is over for the king of swing Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro was 0-21 in March meaning he did not have a single hit in 21 official at-bats. His infield single today ended that streak much to his dismay. "Today, my feeling is kind of sad. Part of me wishes it (the hitless streak) would have gone on a little longer." Nicely put Ichiro, but had your hitless streak lasted any longer and their would have been a lot more streaks to pass around. Like the underwear variety, from your teammates, coach and Mariner fans.

Chien-Ming Wang must know how Ichiro feels as he too had shown signs of rust giving up six earned runs to the Reds in two-thirds of an inning in his last start. It was the shortest start he had ever had since the minor leagues in 2003. Wang went to the tapes with his pitching coach and made the adjustments to pitch 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays on Tuesday for a 6-1 Yankee victory. It was meaning start for Wang and the Yankees as the Jays were a team that Wang many problems last seasons. Hopefully he will have continued success incorporating his new pitches to compliment his bread & butter sinker.

Hideki Matsui is another guy that is being watched closely by the Yankee nation. Matsui had arthroscopic knee surgery on his right knee in November and the jury was still out on the success of that operation. Matsui's first real test came today as he raced into the corner in left field to flag down a fly ball. He passed with flying colors recording the final out of the second inning without showing any signs of his leg injury. That is great news for Matsui who is the Asian centennial man as he is the first Asian player in MLB to hit 100 home runs. I hope he can recapture the great form he had displayed before getting injured.

Monday - 3/10/08

Liu Xiang Wins Gold. Liu Xiang was his usual dominant self as he cruised to first place in the 60 meter hurdles on Saturday at the 12th World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain. His winning time of 7.46 seconds was enough to win the gold medal but it was his first in such an event. Liu is the world champion, world record holder and Olympic champion in the 110 meter hurdles not the 60 meter hurdles. I would think that the shorter distanced 60 meter competition would favor those with more explosive sprinting power whereas the 110 meters would favor those with better technique but either way Liu has proved that he has both in abundance. Definitely a good showing for Liu with the Olympics looming in the near distance. 

Liu could be China's Olympic torch lighter come August.

Saturday - 3/8/08

Yao's promise to China. Fresh off his successful foot surgery on Monday, Yao Ming has vowed to be ready to compete for his country in the Beijing Olympics. "My injury has made many of you worried and you expressed your concern and sympathy in many ways," Yao wrote. "You have always supported me and encouraged me at the lowest point of my career. And now I want to say thank you for your care and support. The surgery was very successful and I'll start physical recovery very soon. I'll do whatever I can to overcome the difficulty and play for China in Olympics and be in my best form." I'm glad Yao surgery was successful and hopefully they put in the screws that will make his foot stronger and more stable for the future. What about his Rockets? Well they are doing just fine as they won their 18th straight game becoming only the eighth team in NBA history to do so. Still not having Yao will probably prevent them from winning it all according to their old head coach Jeff Van Gundy. Frankly I would just be happy to see them get past the first round without Yao so T-Mac can exorcize his demons.

Yao must be very proud of the way his team has stepped up.

Boxing in the land of the Boxer Rebellion? It's coming if Zou Shiming has anything to say about it. The two-time amateur world boxing flyweight champion is one of the best China has to offer with a real shot at a gold medal in Beijing. Besides that China has long been a venue sought out by boxing promoters due to their gambling enclave Macau (aka Asia's Las Vegas). Plus this years Olympics will be a chance for their amateur boxing team to raise the sports profile for the positive. I'm sure the success of both Manny Pacquiao and David Tua will also serve as inspiration for boxing in China. Float like a butterfly, sting like Bruce Lee!

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