With the Sydney Olympics now history, let's take a look at what happened in Japanese pro baseball while most of the sports world focused its attention on Australia and the Summer Games.
The Yomiuri Giants clinched the Central League pennant in a most thrilling way, coming back from a 4-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth and winning their final home game 5-4 on Sept. 24. The Giants loaded the bases and took a super-dramatic "sayonara" victory over the Chunichi Dragons and the league's best reliever, Eddie Gaillard, when Akira Eto belted a grand slam and Tomohiro Nioka followed with a pennant-winning solo homer.
I was there, and I'll tell you, nothing was going to stop the Kyojin from that come-from-behind victory and deny them that last chance to toss manager Shigeo Nagashima in the air before the home fans at Tokyo Dome. The Giants broadcaster, NTV, just had to catch the flag-winning scene. Had the Giants not won that night, the clincher would have come on the road, televised by a rival station. Besides, the beer was on ice and the party scene set for the victory celebration at the adjacent Tokyo Dome Hotel.