Consumption tax raise misdirected

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirms that the government will raise the sales tax from 5 to 8 percent beginning in April. But will the tax hike lead to an economic downturn

Pirates roar past Reds

Pirates roar past Reds

Francisco Liriano showed up at PNC Park on Tuesday afternoon in a suit with his suitcase packed for a trip St. Louis. The message reverberated through the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse. After 21 years away from the playoffs, it was time for the best story ...

Pirates roar past Reds

Pirates roar past Reds

Francisco Liriano showed up at PNC Park on Tuesday afternoon in a suit with his suitcase packed for a trip St. Louis. The message reverberated through the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse. After 21 years away from the playoffs, it was time for the best story ...

Del Potro rolls through Berlocq in straight sets; Soeda loses

Del Potro rolls through Berlocq in straight sets; Soeda loses

No. 1 seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina strolled past countryman Carlos Berlocq in straight sets to reach the Japan Open quarterfinals Wednesday. In their first career meeting, seventh-ranked del Potro made efficient work of Berlocq in slightly over an hour, going through ...

Jordan: I would beat LeBron 1-on-1

Jordan: I would beat LeBron 1-on-1

NBA legend Michael Jordan believes he could beat LeBron James in a one-on-one basketball game when he was in his prime. He’s not sure about Kobe Bryant. In a video promoting the NBA 2K14 video game that was released Tuesday, Jordan said there’s a ...

Soccer

Chelsea picks up first CL win

Chelsea picks up first CL win

Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea recovered from poor starts in the Champions League by winning their first group matches on Tuesday, while Barcelona beat 10-man Celtic 1-0 to avoid a second consecutive loss at Celtic Park. Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Dortmund, last-season’s runnerup, ...

Baseball

Matsuoka tosses shutout against Giants

Matsuoka tosses shutout against Giants

Ninth-year right-hander Kenichi Matsuoka threw his first-career shutout, Tetsuto Yamada homered and the last-place Tokyo Yakult Swallows blanked the Central League-winning Yomiuri Giants 1-0 on Wednesday night. Matsuoka (3-3) retired the first 11 batters he faced before issuing a two-out walk to Hayato Sakamoto ...

Basketball

Reigning two-time NBA MVP James 'got better'

Reigning two-time NBA MVP James 'got better'

LeBron James is not saying much of anything about next season. The second edition of “The Decision” is still nine months away, and the four-time NBA MVP is all too aware of the already-incessant buzz about what uniform he will be wearing a year ...

Sumo

Figure Skating

Oda captures Nebelhorn Trophy title

Oda captures Nebelhorn Trophy title

Nobunari Oda won his second straight title at the Nebelhorn Trophy on Saturday, easily beating junior world silver medalist Jason Brown. Oda finished with 262.98 points, more than 34 in front of the American. Jeremy Ten of Canada, who has been battling injuries for ...

More Sports

Uchimura dominates; Kato moves into third

Uchimura dominates; Kato moves into third

Kohei Uchimura showed he is the overwhelming favorite to win a record fourth all-around world gymnastics championship by qualifying for Thursday’s final by a big margin. Uchimura also qualified for the weekend floor exercise, high bar and parallel bar finals on Tuesday. The Olympic ...