NEWSWORTHY
Versatile Trashaun Nixon impresses at running back as Frontiers down Pirates
The X League champion Fujitsu Frontiers lost two offensive weapons — MVP quarterback Colby Cameron and longtime ace running back Gino Gordon — after last year's national championship-winning season. About 3½ months later, the Frontiers may have found someone to fill the vacant starting running ...
Jerry Neuheisel reflects on playing in Japan
Jerry Neuheisel has professed that he would eventually take over the office that once belonged to his father, Rick, by becoming head coach for the UCLA football team. After a year serving as a graduate assistant as Texas A&M last year, the 25-year-old former ...
Former XFL player Shinzo Yamada optimistic about relaunch
Former linebacker and defensive back Shinzo Yamada says that he is fond of the plan to relaunch the XFL, because it could serve as a window for international players, including his compatriots. Last week, World Wrestling Entertainment chairman Vince McMahon announced that the football league ...
Frontiers overcome stingy Seagulls to reach Japan X Bowl
Fujitsu quarterback Colby Cameron ran for a touchdown just over two minutes into the game in his team's first drive of the day. But the two teams ended up making the rest of the game more like a defensive contest. The Frontiers struggled to add further ...
Obic Seagulls head coach Naoki Kosho had never experienced a game in which his team got eight turnovers. It happened in a favorable moment when the X League's knockout round started on Saturday. The Seagulls scored 20 points off five first-half turnovers and their defense ...
Former ekiden star Kashiwabara brings new fans to football
Ryuji Kashiwabara used to be called "God of the Mountain" when he starred in Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden from 2009 to 2012. It was a valuable experience. Nowadays, he uses his fame to build a bridge between two very different cultures — American football and otaku. A collaboration ...
Shirakami leads Deers to win over Silver Star
Yuki Shirakami carried 13 times for a season-high 189 yards and two touchdowns, guiding the Lixil Deers to a 37-7 triumph over the Asahi Beer Silver Star on Sunday at Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki. Shirakami, who joined the Deers (2-1) from the Asahi Soft Drinks Chargers ...
IBM BigBlue players and staff were ecstatic after the game and head coach Shinzo Yamada delightfully tapped their shoulders, thanking them for their effort. It was perhaps a little unusual for a football team after it earned just one win, but there was a reason. After ...
BigBlue edge Seagulls for first-ever triumph over X League rival
IBM defensive back Tatsuma Kobayashi's 98-yard interception return touchdown turned out to be the momentum-changer as the BigBlue defeated the Obic Seagulls 38-36 on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome. The BigBlue picked up their first victory over the Seagulls in the X League club's 40-year history ...
X League QB Gardner confident on field, comfortable living in Japan
For a man from the Mitten State, practicing in hot, sticky humid weather in the middle of August in central Japan might be a little daunting. Nonetheless, former University of Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner is in high spirits as he prepares for his second year ...
Patriots QB Brady wraps up tour of Asia with trip to Tokyo
In the span of six days, Tom Brady threw passes on the Great Wall of China, rubbed shoulders with a Korean pop star in Shanghai, and spent a morning in the company of sumo wrestlers in Tokyo. The New England Patriots quarterback also found the ...
Conference attempts to address key problems in Japanese football
Many individuals in Japanese football circles have long known there are key issues that need to be addressed, but didn't have a place where they could have open dialogue about the problems. They have one now. Last Saturday, the first-ever "football conference" was held, bringing together ...
