Toyama Grouses coach Bob Nash guided his team to its first winning season, and that's something the franchise, which began play in the fall of 2006, can consider a major accomplishment.
Call it a big step in the right direction.
The Grouses, who went 35-17 in Nash's first season at the helm, showed determination and poise by beating the Yokohama B-Corsairs in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last Saturday to force a mini-game tiebreaker at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium. Yokohama defeated 19-14 in the tiebreaker to wrap up the series.