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Dave Wiggins
Former longtime Japan resident Dave Wiggins, who was a sports columnist and television analyst in Tokyo, is now a sports writer based in Vero Beach, Florida. He contributes a bi-monthly column on the North American sports scene to The Japan Times. Wiggins, who was a TV sportscaster in Hawaii for several years prior to his time in Japan, is known for his keen observations and acerbic wit. In 2006 he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Foreign Sportswriters Association of Japan.
For Dave Wiggins's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Oct 22, 2014
Mississippi enjoying moment as center of college football landscape
On one history-making Saturday recently, the state of Mississippi became the center of the college football universe.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Oct 7, 2014
ACLU should be outspoken advocate of Peterson's right to due process
Where is the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) when you REALLY need it?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Sep 23, 2014
Williams won't allow Nationals to baby their players
What a difference a day makes.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Sep 9, 2014
Brewers enjoying turnaround despite recent struggles
Darn those woebegone Chicago Cubs!
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Aug 26, 2014
New NCAA playoff system filled with complex issues
As homespun ex-Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden might say, this U.S. college football season promises to be pretty "dad gum" interesting.
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Aug 12, 2014
Baseball Hall of Fame selection process needs change
It took a highly successful NCAA basketball coach, Tom Crean of Indiana University, to put into words what MAS learned long ago as a head high school football coach.
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jul 29, 2014
All-Star contests need to get serious or give it up
The recent MLB All-Star Game was — as usual — hard fought and exciting.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jul 15, 2014
CFL has been court of last resort for many over years
The Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League are like a mix of the Statue of Liberty, the Oakland Raiders and Walmart.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jul 1, 2014
Gomez enthralls with Jekyll-and-Hyde personas
Carlos Gomez, star Milwaukee center fielder, is a classic study in contradictions.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jun 17, 2014
McGehee continuing to benefit from playing in Japan
In baseball parlance, feared Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton is a beast.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jun 3, 2014
'Million Dollar Arm' details search for Indian prospects
Exiting the theater after viewing "Million Dollar Arm," MAS had a strange urge to break out in song — in this case, "It's a Small World," the melody they play on the Disneyland kiddie ride of the same name.
BASKETBALL / NBA / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
May 27, 2014
Playoffs filled with great action, interesting story lines
Cue DJ-style NBA public address announcer: In for-r-r Sa-a-a-a-m Smith this-s-s week, M-A-A-A-A-S!
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
May 20, 2014
Outlook for Nationals reliant upon health of DC3
How many times in sports have you heard it: As so-and-so goes, so goes team such-and-such?
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
May 7, 2014
Most NFL draft experts as clueless as the rest of us
Few things make MAS chuckle — and also irritate him — the way "NFL draft gurus" on TV do.
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Apr 22, 2014
Ex-NFL star Johnson happy for new shot with CFL
Don't you just love serendipitous dovetailing?
BASKETBALL / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Apr 8, 2014
Smaller conferences prove they can play with big boys
"Now it’s a disco, but not for Lola . . .
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Mar 25, 2014
The buzz is gone, but Matsuzaka continues to battle on
Under a cloudless sky the color of his old powder-blue Seibu Lions uniform, Daisuke Matsuzaka and his fellow New York Mets pitchers are being put through their spring training paces here.
BASEBALL / MLB / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Mar 11, 2014
Florida a better base for watching or playing in spring
Is big league spring training best held in arid Arizona or humid Florida?
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Feb 25, 2014
Sports world races to make over Mt. Rushmore
Honest Abe, Teddy the Trust Buster, Big Daddy George and Constitutional Penman Tom —whose noble visages grace Mt. Rushmore — all must be spinning in their graves about now.
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jan 28, 2014
Reaction to Sherman's rant completely over the top
What would a Super Bowl be without a mountain being made of out a molehill?

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree