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P/SUNNY
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s private disco featured not only aspiring showgirls performing striptease acts as sexy nuns and nurses, but one woman dressed up as President Barack Obama and a prominent Milan prosecutor whom the billionaire media mogul has accused of persecuting him, ...
Tonkatsu is comfort food, gourmand grub — not a gourmet delicacy. So what are those hearty, unpretentious deep-fried breaded pork cutlets doing in an elegant little bar-style restaurant above one of Ginza’s temples to high-end consumption? Katsuzen has come a long way from its ...
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
It is a tricky deal being an authorized biographer. Charles Moore’s big advantage over those who have previously tackled Margaret Thatcher is that he has been provided with material denied to them. Of the arrangement that he was offered by his subject, he writes: ...
Unbelievable energy. Splendid self confidence. Never-wavering faith in his abilities or his teammates. Those are ingredients to success for Draelon Burns, the Yokohama B-Corsairs’ super substitute. Burns buried a remarkable three buzzer-beating shots to close out the three final quarters, and his team needed ...
Yomiuri Giants outfielder Yoshiyuki Kamei made one thing clear with his two-homer day against the Hiroshima Carp on Tuesday in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. There’s no more room in the Yomiuri outfield. It was reported Monday that oft-injured star right fielder Yoshinobu Takahashi has aspirations of ...
A few seasons ago, Chunichi Dragons third baseman Masahiko Morino earned the nickname “Mr. Three Run” for his uncanny penchant for hitting three-run homers. A new moniker might be in order soon because recently — no matter how many men are on base — ...
During Hanshin Tigers first baseman Craig Brazell’s recent stint with the independent league St. Paul (Min.) Saints, he got used to teaching and doling out advice to the team’s younger players. More importantly, he learned a little bit about the game himself. Back in ...
While high school players usually get most attention as professional baseball’s potential stars of tomorrow, the college kids took their turn in the limelight in front of fans and pro scouts this week. Japan’s top college players showed what they can do against their ...
The Chunichi Dragons have had some rough beginnings this year, but as their pitching staff rounds into form, Hiromitsu Ochiai’s team is setting itself up to make some noise in the Central League pennant race. The Dragons have been one of Japanese baseball’s hottest ...
Funny as it seems, being passed over for the major leagues might have been the best thing that could have happened to Atsunori Inaba. In the years since attempting to test the MLB waters, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder has established himself as ...
The Central League probably couldn’t get rid of Fukuoka Softbank Hawks pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi fast enough by the end of the 2009 interleague season. Sugiuchi was brilliant against the CL during the Koryusen schedule and was rewarded for his efforts on Wednesday by being ...
No tiebreakers needed this year, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks stand alone. Softbank wrapped up the 2009 interleague crown on Tuesday with three games to spare after Satoru Morimoto’s go-ahead single in the 10th inning against the Chunichi Dragons in a 4-3 victory that clinched ...
Hokkaido Nippon Ham ace Yu Darvish and Tohoku Rakuten fireballer Masahiro Tanaka have — and deservedly so — dominated most of the headlines regarding Pacific League pitchers this season. But while unassuming Seibu Lions pitcher Takayuki Kishi can’t compete in media attention, he’s more ...
Michihiro Ogasawara left the Pacific League to join the Yomiuri Giants in 2007. Two years later, PL pitchers are still glad he’s gone. The Giants slugger has torched PL pitching during this year’s interleague season, harkening back to the years he spent in the ...
Masahiro Tanaka was electrifying during his Pacific League Rookie of the Year season in 2007. In 2008 his numbers dipped while he took a back seat to teammate Hisashi Iwakuma, who embarked on a Sawamura Award-winning 21-4 campaign. In 2009, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles ...
The NPB kicked off koryusen (interleague season) this week with the first round of games taking place in Pacific League stadiums on Tuesday and Wednesday. Interleague play is in its fifth season in Japanese baseball and the Pacific League is looking to go 5-for-5 ...