Ayaka Furue Earns Third-Place Finish at Portland Classic

In June, Rogers replaced Postecoglou after the latter's departure to take over as English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspurs' new manager. Furuhashi said he is confident Rogers will be a successful leader for Celtic. "I am looking forward to getting started and working with Brendan," Furuhashi was quoted as saying in the team's news release.…

Izumiya, who has won six of seven races he's participated in this year, is scheduled to compete in the 2023 World Athletics Championships (August 19-27) in Budapest. Launched in 2010, the Diamond League is the premier series of international track and field meets each year. The circuit gives a glimpse of what to expect among top competitors at the…

A fifth-place finisher at the 2022 Men's Volleyball Nations League, Japan returns to competition in Week 3 for the next phase of pool play on July 4 against China in Pasay, the Philippines. That duel is followed by matches there against the Netherlands (July 7), Italy (July 8) and Poland (July 9). Will Japan qualify for the quarterfinals in Gdansk,…

Divina (Mirco Demuro), the 15th favorite, was the fastest sprinter over the final three furlongs (33.1 seconds) and earned a fourth-place finish, one length behind Stars on Earth. How did the winning jockey feel about his horse's performance on Sunday? "Though we had to race further back and inward than planned, we were able to race in good…

Nobody can diminish or ridicule what Pele achieved during his playing days. It's impossible to downplay his accomplishments. Start with his Guinness World Records-recognized 1279 goals in 1363 matches (including friendlies) in a glistening career for Brazil's Santos FC (1956-74) and the New York Cosmos (1975-77). On November 10, 1969, Pele notched…

Veteran outfielder Masataka Yoshida has accepted a five-year contract offer from the Boston Red Sox, according to published reports. The deal is worth $90 million USD (¥12.34 billion JPY), according to MLB, which announced the deal on Wednesday, December 7. According to MLB.com, the Red Sox will also pay a $15.4 million USD (¥2.1 billion JPY)…

Japan's Takehiro Tomiyasu (left) and Croatia's Ivan Perisic vie for the ball in the first half of a 2022 FIFA World Cup match at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar. (Dylan Martinez/REUTERS) Croatia, the 2018 FIFA World Cup runner-up, kept alive its hopes of reaching the championship match again by beating Japan 3-1 in a penalty shootout in a…

In the aftermath of Japan's 2-1 upset victory over Germany, followed by a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I was reminded of poignant quotes from two famous American coaches. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, "You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either…

Danon Beluga (right), one of Heart's Cry's offspring, competes in the G3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) at Tokyo Racecourse on February 13. (ⒸSANKEI) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. It's easy to forget most horse race results due to the bevy of activity and busy year-round schedules at…

Japan national team manager Hajime Moriyasu announces the roster for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup on November 1 in Tokyo. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. In selecting Japan's 2022 FIFA World Cup roster, men's national team manager Hajime Moriyasu assembled a squad that…

Yokohama FC's Koki Ogawa scores his second goal against Roasso Kumamoto on October 23. (KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Remarkable achievements happen throughout the year. And one of the most enjoyable aspects of being a columnist is discovering, researching and writing about such things…

Mina Sato competes in the women's keirin final at the 2022 UCI Track Cycling World Championships on October 16 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (Japan Keirin Association/via KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Decades ago, the American comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello weighed in on a…

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani (AP, KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Here's something everybody can agree on: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are two of Planet Baseball's most electrifying players. And any short list of the game's current…

Japan's Kie Tamai carries the ball as Canada's Mikiela Nelson attempts to make a tackle in a Women's Rugby World Cup match on October 9 in Whangarei, New Zealand. (Courtesy of World Rugby/via SANKEI) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Global tournaments are important testing grounds for individual…

This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Two rising American tennis stars renewed their rivalry in the men's singles final at the Rakuten Japan Open on Sunday, October 9. World No. 11 Taylor Fritz and 19th-ranked Frances Tiafoe went all-out in pursuit of every point in just under 1 hour and 57 minutes of…

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani gets ready for the team's game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, California, on October 4. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. The second full season of Shohei Ohtani's one-of-a-kind role as a full-time starting…

Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani rounds second on a single hit by Taylor Ward during the first inning against the Texas Rangers in Anaheim, California, on October 2. (Ashley Landis/AP) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Shohei Ohtani is having another MVP-caliber season for the Los…

Alpinista holds off Vadeni to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris on October 2. (AP/via KYODO) This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website. Alpinista won the 2022 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, outracing a field of 19 other thoroughbreds in heavy rain on Sunday afternoon, October 2. Japanese…

Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 31, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Karl B DeBlaker/AP) As the new captain of the Montreal Canadiens, Nick Suzuki will fill a key leadership position for the NHL franchise. This visible role in the hockey-obsessed nation puts Suzuki in the…

San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 2. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY SPORTS) When Yu Darvish made his NPB debut for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2005, nobody predicted that he'd have 3000 career strikeouts 17 years later. But we can look at the totality of Darvish's…

Japan point guard Yuki Kawamura runs the offense against Kazakhstan in a 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifier on August 30 at Okinawa Arena. (FIBA.BASKETBALL) Balanced scoring and a strong all-around effort in the second half ignited Japan to a 73-48 triumph over Kazakhstan in a 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifier on Tuesday, August 30. Japan…