author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 30, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Rob Smaal
For Rob Smaal's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
MORE SPORTS
Feb 1, 2002
Anna's pal Rios just 'having a little fun'
Much has been written on these pages over the past few days about the comments by Marcelo Rios regarding the current state of women's tennis. Rios, the former No. 1-ranked men's player in the world, put himself in the firing line by saying at last week's Australian Open that women's early-round matches were so uncompetitive and one-sided that they were a "joke."
Japan Times
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 24, 2002
Don't get him started
Being in the sports journalism field, people often want to discuss their favorite teams, recent trades, latest NFL domestic-abuse cases, etc.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 15, 2002
Oji Paper claims ice hockey championship
Oji Paper got goals from five different players Monday afternoon as they skated to a 5-2 victory over the Kokudo Bunnies in the final of the All-Japan Ice Hockey Championship at Tokyo's Yoyogi Arena.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 13, 2001
Mario, Mike and miscellaneous madness
Some recent observations from the world of sports:
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 1, 2001
Meet Bob: The man fish fear
Can it still be called "sport" if the object of the exercise is to kill -- quite literally -- your opponent?
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 22, 2001
Buffaloes blast back
OSAKA -- Tuffy Rhodes finally got that elusive 56th home run -- and not a moment too soon for the Kintetsu Buffaloes.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 21, 2001
Yakult captures Japan Series opener 7-0
OSAKA -- Yakult pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii, playing in what may be his final season in Japan, completely silenced the big guns of the Buffaloes on Saturday night and Alex Ramirez delivered on offense as the Swallows jumped all over Kintetsu for a 7-0 victory in Game 1 of the Japan Series.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 20, 2001
Honoring victims never easy to do
It was a refreshing change to get back to covering sports again this week. You know the stuff: Mariners top White Sox, 'Niners stuff Pats, Habs ice Leafs, and so on.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 30, 2001
Ichiro prefers to let his bat do the talking
He may be the ultimate Mariner, but when it comes to dealing with the media, baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki can act more like a clam.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jun 28, 2001
Tuffy enjoying a hair-raising season
It's Opening Day 1994 at venerable Wrigley Field in Chicago. You're playing for the hometown Cubs and facing Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets, one of the premier power pitchers in Major League Baseball. By the end of the day, you'll have have homered in your first three at-bats of the season and added a single for good measure.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 31, 2001
Drop your drawers and give me 20 (ml, that is)
Mark Heppelle is a 37-year-old Canadian currently living in Japan with his wife and two kids where he runs a small English school. But that's not his only source of income. Heppelle also has a rather unique sports-related job, the results of which can be seen almost daily on sports pages across the globe. He explains:
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 26, 2001
Japan looking for a little respect at hockey World Championships
Call them cannon-fodder if you like, but Japan's national ice hockey team doesn't plan on just rolling over at the IIHF World Championships.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 15, 2001
Time for NHL to quit whining and get the red out!
The National Hockey League general managers wrapped up their annual meetings in the California desert last week. As usual, one major topic of conversation was how to speed up the game and increase the flow of play.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 22, 2001
Interview with a hooligan
This past Thursday, 10 supporters of English soccer club Liverpool were stabbed while in Italy to watch their club take on AS Roma in a UEFA Cup clash.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 11, 2001
Ichiro already a hit with fans in Seattle
It's great to see Major League Baseball teams and fans embrace their new Japanese signings. When I was in Seattle last summer, reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki's mug seemed to be everywhere, from the cover of the club's fan magazine to T-shirts being hawked on the streets to huge banners adorning the outside of Safeco Field.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 12, 2000
Hoost king of K-1 roost
Dutch fighter Ernesto Hoost claimed his third K-1 Grand Prix title Sunday at a packed Tokyo Dome when he won the final by judges' decision over New Zealand's Ray Sefo.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Dec 7, 2000
Yahata keeps the Bunnies hopping
You might say Shin Yahata is the Tom Jones of the Japan Ice Hockey League. And while he has yet to experience women tossing their underwear at him as he tools around the ice for the Kokudo Bunnies, it may only be a matter of time.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 14, 2000
MLB stars leave Japan on winning note
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants cranked out a solo home run in the sixth inning Sunday afternoon as a touring team of Major League Baseball All-Stars scored a 5-4 win in the eighth and final game of a goodwill series against their Japanese counterparts.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 9, 2000
Mets' Payton feels right at home in Japan
"Japan's been very, very good to me," New York Mets center fielder Jay Payton says with a laugh, doing his best impression of Chico Esquela of Saturday Night Live fame. "It's nice because I started the season here and I'm finishing up here."
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 29, 2000
Giants dethrone Hawks for Japan Series title
Hideki Matsui provided much of the offense and Darrell May pitched in with a stellar performance on the mound Saturday night at the Tokyo Dome as the Yomiuri Giants claimed their 19th Japan Series title in emphatic style, blowing out the defending champion Daiei Hawks 9-3 in Game 6.
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
'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.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
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.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
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.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER