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May 02, 2024
 

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Sam Smith

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Sam Smith
Sam Smith covered the Chicago Bulls for the Chicago Tribune for nearly 25 years, including all six of the team's NBA titles with Michael Jordan. He is the author of the bestselling book "The Jordan Rules" and now writes for bulls.com. He was honored with the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award for lifetime achievement earlier this year.
For Sam Smith's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 27, 2015
Spurs hope Aldridge will continue cycle of greatness
It seems like the last time San Antonio was a destination was about 180 years ago when an adventurer and one-time United States congressman named Davy Crockett tried to help local settlers protect an old mission called the Alamo against the Mexican army.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jul 7, 2015
NBA treasure Pollack saw it all in his nearly 70 years in the league
This was early in the exciting career of Derrick Rose as he was driving toward the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 9, 2015
Blatt getting little credit, respect despite background
It's been a heck of a year for David Blatt, hired in an unprecedented move by the Cleveland Cavaliers after two decades as the premier coach in international basketball, suddenly becoming the coach of superstar LeBron James, who elected to return to the Cavaliers after four years in Miami and then coaching the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 26, 2015
Coaching change may be only move Bulls will make
Well, that was a lost opportunity for the Chicago Bulls.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 12, 2015
Grizzlies making noise in playoffs old-school style
Sitting on a bluff above the mighty Mississippi River is Memphis, a sleepy southern United States city known for not much more than its savory barbecue meats, being the home of famous rock and roll singer Elvis Presley and for the blues, the music celebrated in the city's history and on downtown Beale Street, a small strip of neon bars and hustlers.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 28, 2015
Wizards surprise Raptors, rest of league with sweep
Let's not overstate the change in the Washington Wizards that enabled the Wizards to pull off the first-round playoff upset and sweep the favored Toronto Raptors.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 14, 2015
Kerr employing Jackson's philosophy with Warriors
Sometimes the basketball congnoscenti will mock the Phil Jackson coaching tree as a withered oak in winter, assistants like Jim Cleamons, Kurt Rambis and most recently Brian Shaw with short head coaching tenures.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 31, 2015
Bulls were nearly broken up before making NBA Finals for first time
This is the ninth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 3, 2015
Jordan tried to toughen up teammates by playing rough in practice
This is the eighth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 17, 2015
Jordan blocked out coaching soap opera involving Collins, Jackson
This is the seventh installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 3, 2015
Opponents left in awe by Jordan's combination of talent, confidence
This is the sixth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 20, 2015
Jordan's competitive drive still legendary today
This is the fifth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 8, 2015
Jordan's epic playoff effort against Celtics still resonates nearly 30 years later
This is the fourth installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 23, 2014
First Air Jordans were banned by NBA for clashing with team colors
This is the third installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 9, 2014
Jordan could have begun career with different team
This is the second installment from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan."
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 25, 2014
Jordan's global impact transcended racial, economic boundaries
The Japan Times will be running excerpts from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan" over the next few months. This marks the first installment.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 24, 2014
Spurs set example for rest of league with consistency
The great American sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote a poem, "Alumnus Football," that ended like this:
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 10, 2014
Love in demand despite never making the playoffs
So what's the big fuss about a player who in six seasons as his team's best player never has played for a team with a .500 record, never has made the playoffs, has averaged missing 20 games per season with injuries and in his five full seasons (a 66-game lockout shortened season in the other) his team has averaged 25 wins?
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 13, 2014
Cavs fire Brown again, move into position for LeBron
I don't know about hiring Mike Brown to be your basketball coach. Well, I do know. Don't do it. He's awful.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 29, 2014
Kerr qualified to coach Knicks but may pass on chance
When Steve Kerr was a star senior guard at the University of Arizona in 1988, students at a game at rival Arizona State shouted, "PLO, PLO," and "Go back to Beirut" at Kerr.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Did Japan intervene to prop up the yen? Analysts think it did.
A man walks past an electronic board displaying the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar (right) in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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