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Pope Francis’ fascination with the devil took on remarkable new twists Tuesday, with a well-known exorcist insisting Francis helped “liberate” a Mexican man possessed by four different demons despite the Vatican’s insistence that no such papal exorcism took place. The case concerns a 43-year-old ...
Kazuhiro Shiraishi, 66, is a guest-house manager in the Izu-kogen Highlands, a famous resort area on the Izu Peninsula of Shizuoka Prefecture. Looking out onto the Pacific Ocean, and just 90 minutes by train from Tokyo, Izu has a warm climate all year round ...
“I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, ...
Guitarist Dustin Wong hesitates for a split second. It’s a pause that would go unnoticed during most other sets, but Wong has spent the last 40 minutes seemingly in a trance while playing guitar and looping the notes via an array of pedals in ...
Tim Duncan saves the day as the Spurs hold off the Grizzlies in overtime
Now that the calendar has flipped to 2010, Japanese baseball teams will soon begin preparing for the upcoming season. Before spring training begins, here are a few players worth keeping an eye on: Yoshiyuki Kamei Yomiuri Giants There might be better hitters and more ...
Former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Shugo Fujii is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The NPB doesn’t seem to want him, but its rules are preventing him from finding a job elsewhere. The 10-year veteran, who helped the Fighters reach the ...
New Hanshin Tigers catcher Kenji Johjima’s return to Japanese baseball was lauded by many in the NPB community. Just not by Katsuya Nomura, perhaps Japan’s best ever at the position. Recently asked about Johjima’s return, the outspoken Nomura was ready to stoke the flames ...
One year ago, outfielder Tetsuya Matsumoto appeared in just three games for the Yomiuri Giants. Pitcher Wirfin Obispo wasn’t even a real member of the team. Yet both played a big role in the club’s most recent Japan Series victory, rising from relative obscurity ...
Now that the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have taken care of the pennant, it’s time to take care of Yu Darvish. Darvish hasn’t pitched for the Fighters since Sept. 20 and was taken off the active roster on Sept. 23 with a strained lower ...
Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara almost got choked up after his club clinched the Central League pennant on Wednesday. Hara would do well to keep the waterworks on hold. Because there might be a lot of winning left to do. The Kyojin skipper is ...
Before Kimiyasu Kudo was reduced to mop-up duty on the worst team in Japanese pro baseball, he was one of the aces on a dynasty. The glory appear to be gone for good, however, after the Yokohama BayStars announced on Tuesday their intentions to ...
The race for the Central League title seems to be all but over with the Yomiuri Giants coasting with a 7 1/2-game lead over the Chunichi Dragons. The competition for second is pretty much done as well, with the Dragons 11 games ahead of ...
A tired shoulder has sidelined Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitcher Yu Darvish since Aug. 22, following his worst outing of the season against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Darvish gave up six runs in eight innings of that loss and has since spent some time ...
Earlier this year reigning Central League MVP Alex Ramirez insisted the best he had to offer in 2009 was still yet to come. As he showed in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, “Big Daddy” has gotten his swagger back. Ramirez put himself among 103 other ...
Tohoku Rakuten pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is up to his old tricks in August and helping to shake up the race for the Pacific League Climax Series in the process. Iwakuma threw a complete game on the road against the first-place Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters ...
If September is as good to Jamie D’Antona as July was, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows might be playing baseball in late October. The slugger has been a huge addition for Yakult since being acquired in the offseason, but will miss the next three weeks ...