Ed Odeven covers primarily basketball for The Japan Times. He reported on a wide range of sports from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Summer Games for this newspaper. A native of the Bronx, N.Y., Odeven is a graduate of Arizona State University. He previously worked for the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, Ariz., reporting on high school, collegiate, professional and Olympic sports (Flagstaff is a major international Olympic training site due to its high elevation) and writing a weekly column. His articles have appeared in Venezuela Online News, The Gleaner (Jamaica), the Monitor (Uganda), The Moscow Times, Swimming World Magazine and numerous other publications.
For Ed Odeven's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Like countless sports fans, Mitsuaki Ono can pinpoint a formative period in his life that cemented his fandom. The Kawasaki native was living in Rochester, Minnesota, during the 1989-90 school year because IBM assigned his father, Koji, to work in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. As ...
Franchise cornerstone Nick Fazekas delivered a big, bold reminder about his importance to the Kawasaki Brave Thunders on Sunday afternoon. It was, however, far from a one-man show for the B. League Central Division club. Fazekas, a former league MVP, and his teammates thrived in unison ...
The Tochigi Brex didn't have a single player carrying the offense on Saturday. Instead, it was an across-the-board effort that produced a 91-71 victory over the Sunrockers Shibuya at Brex Arena Utsunomiya. Hironori Watanabe (22 points), Jeff Gibbs (18 points) and Ryan Rossiter (11 points) score ...
The Akita Northern Happinets know their limitations. But that hasn't stopped second-year head coach Josep "Pep" Claros from pushing his charges to play an up-tempo game and exert energy from start to finish every time. The Northern Happinets, last season's second-division regular-season champions (54-6), have faced ...
With star forward Ryan Kelly given the day off to rest after games on Wednesday and Saturday, the Sunrockers Shibuya relied on the contributions of Faye Samba and Markhuri Sanders-Frison to fill the void on Sunday afternoon. Sure, Sunrockers coach Tsutomu Isa's team could have ...
There are times when the obvious top scoring option for the SeaHorses Mikawa is this: Give Kosuke Kanamaru the ball and get out of the way. Saturday was one of those days. Kanamaru, a splendid scorer when he's at the top of his game, made basket ...
The San-en NeoPhoenix built a cushion in the third quarter and cruised past the Yokohama B-Corsairs in Friday's series opener, winning 80-69. San-en outscored the hosts 21-11 in the pivotal third quarter in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. The NeoPhoenix (17-20) also sank 13 of 17 free throws; ...
Rookie Yuta Watanabe has exhibited veteran poise throughout his first season as a pro basketball player. With a two-way contract that splits his time between the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League, there's been no shortage of opportunities for the ...
Coping with a slew of injuries and inconsistent play, the Osaka Evessa face an uphill battle to make the playoffs. It won't be easy. The Evessa (14-22) have lost five straight. The have five fewer victories than the Kyoto Hannaryz and SeaHorses Mikawa (both teams are ...
Jawad Williams scored his team's first basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the right corner. It was a good omen for the defending B. League champions. A sign of things to come. Williams finished with a game-high 31 points, including 5 of 8 from 3-point ...
