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Friday - 5/30/08

Michael Chang on Nadal, Borg & French Open 08 - USA Today caught up with former French Open champion Michael Chang to get his thoughts in a Q&A session with readers. With the French Open currently in full swing, some questions naturally focused on fellow clay court legends Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg. Asked how the two would match up in their primes, Chang dodged the question by praising Nadal and pondering about his own chances against Borg. Michael said he wished he had a chance to compete against Borg before he retired. This revelation will come as no surprise to Chang fans as we know him to be one of the most competitive tennis players ever. He is too busy measuring his own game against Borg and Nadal's and that shows he has the courage and heart of a warrior. He may not be as accomplished as them but he relishes the chance to play the best, win or lose. Chang also talks about the unique challenges of playing on clay and why many tennis legends failed to win on the red stuff. Read the full article here. 

Thursday - 5/29/08

Johnny Damon Has Asian Pride! - As many people may not know, Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon is part Thai from his mother's side. I used to think he was Native-American for some reason but didn't think he was Asian-American. You wouldn't know it from the media either as they never mention it probably because he speaks perfect English, thus he gets treated as just a normal guy which is cool. This would make particular sense in Yankee nation where they already have two big-name Asians in Hideki Matsui and Chien Ming Wang. And they are old school "mother-country" Asians too.

“Most of my makeup is Asian and I'm very proud of it,” says Damon. “I believe in a lot of it. My mother always believed in Buddha. Growing up I really didn't understand it until I got a bit older and now I'm like wow, this is really powerful stuff.” Damon goes on to say that he would like to be a role model for Asians to believe in themselves and have the courage and confidence to be more outspoken and pursue athletics. That's great stuff coming from a good Asian role model and community leader.

Damon, Wang & Matsui are members of an unique club inside Yankees Nation.

Monday - 5/26/08

Asian MMA Fighters Impressive at UFC 84 -  BJ Penn retained his lightweight championship by stopping Sean Sherk in the third round on Saturday. Sherk a wrestler tried to take down Penn but failed repeatedly and was caught by punches and a flying knee in the 3rd round. He was unable to recover and the referee jumped in to stop the fight giving Penn his third consecutive win. The Hawaiian, half Korean, part Malay, Filipino & Spanish Penn now improves his record to 13-4-1 and looks to move up in weight class to challenge current welterweight champion Geroges St. Pierre for that title.

Japanese-Brazilian Lyoto Machida looked equally impressive in defeating former light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz in their fight. The 29 year old Machida is a Shotokan Karate expert from Brazil, and he used his tactical defensive skills to take it to Ortiz winning all three rounds on the judges score cards. He improves to a 13-0-0 perfect record.

BJ Penn & Lyoto Machida are two MMA fighters to keep an eye on.

Sunday - 5/25/08

Chinese Athletes Give Back - It's been almost two weeks since the horrible earthquake that hit China and destroyed so many innocent lives. The world has been great in reaching out and supporting the victims and so has the Chinese people. Stories coming out of this tragedy show that compassion and brotherhood is alive and well in China and that even the communist government has done an admirable job in providing care and comfort. Chinese athletes are also doing their part donating time and money to help their countrymen.

Yao Ming donated 2 million yuan ($280,000 USD) to the earthquake stricken areas and called upon the world to join the relief efforts. However he has taken criticism from some online that the amount he donated was too little compared to what he is worth. While I too think that Yao could donate more, I don't think anyone has the right to judge him on his contribution. The guy is entitled to help out in any way that he sees fit and $280K is no small chunk of change even for him. You have to consider that half of his salary is taken by the Chinese sports authorities and he also has a new wife to answer to as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he does donate more of his time or money in the future, but for now he is doing what is right by sitting back and letting the government and humanitarian groups do their job. Yao needs to concentrate on getting his foot better so that he can be ready for the Olympics to give the Chinese people a morale boost in what is turning out to be a very difficult year. Anyone who wants to help out please consider donating to the China Earthquake or Myanmar Cyclone Red Cross disaster funds.   

Tuesday - 5/20/08

Congratulations to Kristi Yamaguchi for winning Dancing With The Stars.  She is the first female winner in 3 years and second straight Japanese-American winner after Apolo Anton Ohno who won season 4, last year. Now all we need for a trifecta would be to see Michelle Kwan in next year's competition!

Miwa Asao's Missed Olympic Opportunity - Japanese volleyball player Miwa Asao will probably not make the Beijing Olympics this summer. The attractive 22 year old is currently ranked number 44th in the world with her teammate, but only the top 24 will be allowed to compete in the Olympics. Asao does have a few more tournaments left to work on improving her chances but it is probably too little too late. Her popularity and commercial success was actually her downfall as she has been too busy doing commercials and photo shoots to focus properly on training. So like Anna Kournikova, she will be left wondering "What If?" for the rest of her life even as she continues to cash in on her looks and popularity.

Too bad though, cause Miwa could have had her cake and eat it too had she focused more on volleyball. Maria Sharapova is proof that it is possible to juggle a celebrity lifestyle with athletic achievement.

Miwa gets two pictures posted here, showing my personal favoritism too.

Sunday - 5/17/08

Weekend Summary

-Daisuke Matsuzaka was masterful in 5-3 win over the Brewers on Saturday. He improves to a 7-0 record. When asked if he was starting to take over the role of ace for Boston, Dice-K was very diplomatic saying, "I think that Boston's ace is Josh Beckett." Last year for sure Beckett was the ace, but this year is another story. Only time will tell who deserves that title this year.

-Chien-Ming Wang was roughed up by the Mets in a 11-2 loss on Sunday. This is bad news for the struggling Yankees as their usually dependable ace has lost 3 straight starts. Wang falls to 6-2 record.

-Ichiro Suzuki steals his way to a 25 year old Mariners' stolen-bases record on Sunday. He now has 291 stolen bases which is a number that will continue to grow no doubt.

-Ryuji Imada believes in destiny after winning the AT&T Golf Classic today after his opponent's ball rolled into the water. Imada had done the same thing in losing a playoff at this same tournament just one year ago. It was his first PGA Tour victory after having been a runner-up three times on tour. Like the old saying goes, 'It's better to be lucky than good'. On this day, the 31 year old Imada was both lucky and good.    

One year later, Ryuji Imada finally gets redemption.

Saturday - 5/17/08

Chien-Ming Wang Clutches Himself a Pepsi - New York's own Wanger was the recipient of the "Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month" award presented by Pepsi. The award honors the player who performed the best under pressure for the month of April and was decided by online fan voting. With that in mind, I'm sure a lot of people are wondering if Wang got a ton of votes from his fellow Taiwanese just as they suspect Yao Ming makes the All-Star game every year from his 1.3 billion Chinese fans. 

First of all, it is ridiculous to assume that everyone in China loves and follows basketball OKAY! I mean we are not exactly talking about ping-pong, kung-fu, or fortune cookies here. Secondly, Chinese fans love all the major superstars which explains why Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady's jerseys out sells Yao Ming's jersey. Third and finally, to assume that a majority of NBA fans in the United States are too stupid or racist to appreciate Yao's talent and effort is a big slap in the face of all Americans. The truth is, Yao Ming is still arguably the most dominant center in the league and deserves the spot. I know Dwight Howard is a beast, but he still has a lot of maturing to do.

Anyway, back to Chien-Ming Wang's performance in April. The guy was tied for most wins in the American league with a perfect 5-0 record in six starts for the month of April. In four of those starts, he went at least six innings and allowed two runs or less. He pitched a two-hit complete game for a 4-1 victory over their rival Boston Red Sox. Wang then out-dueled 2007 Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia in a classic pitching clinic which saw a slim 1-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. So does he deserve the award or was he just lucky he was Made in Taiwan?

Wang makes Made in Taiwan look damn good!

Thursday - 5/15/08

Yamaguchi Makes Her Pitch - Former figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi hasn't really surprised anyone with her success in Dancing with the Stars. I mean with all the movement and choreography that is involved in her former sport, dancing must be like second nature to her. It would be like asking a tennis player to play badminton, not a very steep learning curve at all. So with the finals coming up next week, it will all be on her dancing shoes to win or lose it. It will be interesting to see if she can join fellow Japanese-American skating sensation Apollo Anton Ono as the Dancing with the stars champion. Win or lose, it has probably been great fun for her to be back in the spotlight after so long. She even got to throw out the first pitch at Dodger stadium to which she threw a strike. No figure-skating background advantage there, just all natural talent. 

Please vote for me! Yamaguchi is used to having judges vote her to victory.

Wednesday - 5/14/08

Yu Darvish - Next Great Japanese Import? - Arguably the best pitcher in Japan, 21 year old Yu Darvish has it all. The tall, talented pretty boy looks as comfortable on a fashion magazine cover as he does on the baseball mound and is married to a famous actress. But don't let the looks fool you cause the boy has game, so much game that ESPN did an article on him titled "Dice-K 2.0" with the headline "Your team might spend $75 million just to talk to him". Darvish who is of Japanese-Iranian descent has filled a void for Japanese baseball after the departure of superstar pitcher Dice-K. He is eligible for free agency in five years unless he is posted earlier by his team the Nippon Ham Fighters. The article talks a good bit about the dangers of too much top talent leaving Japanese baseball to play in MLB and about the business side of baseball in Japan. I'm sure Darvish is happy playing in Japan for now. I mean it's not everyone who has the honor of being called a Ham Fighter.

Why did the Ham Fighter cross the ocean? Cause he wanted to make more bacon!

Monday - 5/12/08

Kuroda Loses No-Hitter in 7th - Yesterday's ballgame must have been bitter sweet for Hiroki Kuroda. The Dodger right-hander went into the seventh inning with a no-hitter, throwing his heart out against the dangerous Houston Astro lineup. It was clearly his best start in the majors but the joy was short lived. Giving up a single in the seventh, Kuroda was taken out of the game. The Dodgers bullpen took over and that was the end of that. Normally reliable Jonathan Broxton was battered for six hits and six runs in the eighth. With the damage already done, Hong-Chih Kuo came in and gave up a two run double before getting out of the inning. In the end the Astros beat LA 8-5 to complete the series sweep in front of a stunned 40K fans at Dodger stadium.

Kuroda probably made this face after the game as well. A tough loss for LA.

Sunday - 5/11/08

Yao Aims High, By Aiming Low -  Yao Ming is still recovering from this foot surgery but he is already focusing on the road ahead. With the Olympic games still three months away, Yao is looking towards the unenviable task of facing Team USA in the first game and then trying to secure a top eight finish overall. "We have a very clear goal, which is we have to at least get into the top eight," Yao said. While it seems pretty lame for Yao to mention just a top-8 finish, it is also because he knows how hard the task ahead is going to be. His Chinese squad would have to finish in the top four of their six-team group in Beijing just to move on, and unfortunately their group includes Team USA and defending world champions Spain along with three other teams. Besides he said he wants "at least" a top eight finish so the low-balling leaves plenty of room for improvement.

What about his NBA team the Houston Rockets? What does he think they will need next year to get over the 1st round playoff hump? Yao thinks they need to avoid injuries and they need more size on the team. "Look at all the teams that are contending and they all have a lot of size and they play very strong defense," said Yao. He went on to predict a final between the Lakers and Celtics, with Boston winning it all this year.

Team China will need to scale Mount Yao to do well in the Olympics. 

Another Race, Another Win - It's easy to start taking Liu Xiang's victories for granted the more he racks up the wins in his 110 meters hurdles. This weekend's victory at the Osaka Grand Prix was not as competitive for Liu since his top rivals did not compete, however it was still a tough test given the rainy, cold conditions at the stadium. Like a Tiger Woods or Roger Federer, Liu is not only expected to win but to do so convincingly which spells pressure for any athlete. In golf and tennis, you get to hit stroke after stroke to try to work things out to get a win. In a race, you got only one shot and it's all over in 14 seconds. That's PRESSURE! So far Liu has been the ice-man when faced with adversity running his best races when they mattered and nothing says Beijing will be any different. Still with the human-like results of Tiger and Federer this year, lets hope pressure and age doesn't get the best of him in the most important race of all in Beijing.

Neither rain, sleet nor snow can stop Liu Xiang.

Saturday - 5/10/08

Miss World Zhang Zilin, A Former Athlete - It must have been a total thrill for Chinese beauty Zhang Zilin to have carried the Olympic torch last week. It appears that besides brains and beauty, Ms. Zhang was also a decorated athlete, an inter-city champion in the 100-meter hurdles and triple jump in her school years. She obviously had a bit of height advantage over her competitors since she is 6 feet tall but that is still impressive. This girl just has it all and yet seems very natural, sweet and down to earth. I am very happy for her success and her fairly tale life. She had a Cinderella like win at last year's Ms. Worlds, and I'm not calling her an ugly duckling but boy did she grow up well. Hopefully we will get to see more of her during the Olympics coverage this summer.

Wednesday - 5/7/08

Olympics Torch Makes Its Way into China -  The Olympic torch made its way into Sanya, South China over the weekend to thunderous applause from the locals. Along to enjoy the festivities were famous celebrities, sports icons and beauty queens taking part in the Olympic relay. The torch had been on a month-long, five continent overseas odyssey which was met with both excitement and protest but now it is in China and will cover Chinese 113 cities in 31 provinces before arriving for the games on August 8. Among the torchbearers were NBA Milwaukee Bucks Yi Jianlian, actress Zhang Ziyi and 2007 Miss World Zhang Zilin. Oh and Jackie Chan was there too but he is at practically every event so no surprise there.  

Lucky Yi Jianlian got to carry the torch and mingle with some beautiful women!

Sunday - 5/4/08

Anthony Kim, Remember the Name. - What was a missed opportunity for one Asian-American golfer became the coming out party for another one. Anthony Kim at 22 years-old became the youngest winner on a PGA Tour in six years today when he shot a 3-under 69 to win the Wachovia Championship by five shots. Sure Tiger Woods was not in the field to defend his championship title here because of knee surgery but it doesn't make the victory any less impressive. This was a loaded field with top golfers including Phil Mickelson, Vijah Singh and Jim Furyk but the day belonged to the young fella who played like a tour veteran. Kim finished with a 16-under par 272 total, three shots better than the previous tournament record held by you guessed it, Tiger Woods. Congrats to Kim, and I'm sure we will be hearing a lot more from this young man in the years ahead.

Don't let the babyface fool you, Anthony Kim's got a mature game.

A Wacky Japanese Tradition to Cry For - What's a good way to stimulate young babies towards good health and growth? Most people think sights, sounds, music and lots of positive human interaction. For some Japanese, nothing is better than having baby scared poop-less by 300+ lb fat men wearing diapers. Okay to be fair the eighty families and babies were taking part this past April in an event at a temple to pray for their babies' health and well being. But somewhere along the line amateur sumo wrestlers were brought in and a baby crying contest was started. Fat grown men wearing diapers making faces at hysterical fat babies to see who can cry the loudest? Gotta be the Japanese!

And we wonder why they are obsessed with a 100 foot tall fire breathing lizard.

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