Month: December 2016

The Japan Times newsroom selected these sports stories as the most important of 2016. 1. Going for gold: Japanese athletes brought home 12 gold medals, and 41 overall, from the Rio Olympics. The victories included a historic triumph by wrestler Kaori Icho, who became the first woman in any sport to capture individual golds at […]

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Fallen Japanese baseball star Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who was handed a suspended term for possessing, using and purchasing illegal drugs earlier this year, has admitted using different drugs during his playing days. The 49-year-old Kiyohara, speaking during a program aired on TBS on Thursday night, said he used greenies, an amphetamine that helps increase focus. Kiyohara, […]

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Sapporo will have the full backing of Asia should the city formally bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said in an interview with Kyodo News. Sapporo, which will host the Asian Winter Games for a third time in February and held the 1972 Winter Olympics, […]

The post OCA head would back Sapporo bid for 2024 Games appeared first on The Japan Times.

Success is hard won in the world of elite motorcycle racing, something rider Hikari Okubo learned the hard way on his path to one of the world’s premier production bike categories. Despite having no race wins to show from his first year in the Supersport World Championship, Okubo learned that riding for the love of […]

The post Okubo races past obstacles in hopes of achieving dream appeared first on The Japan Times.

One of the attractions of football is the inability to understand how the near impossible happens. The best coaches, the leading pundits, the most experienced observers and the club’s fans could not really explain how or why Leicester City won the Premier League last season. You still think you should check before writing “Champion Leicester.” […]

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are among the hottest teams ever in the NHL. They’ll make history in their next game just by showing up. Alexander Wennberg had two goals and Brandon Saad also scored, helping Columbus beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Thursday night to extend its franchise-record winning streak to 14 games. The run […]

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LeBron James accepted “Happy Birthday” wishes as he walked out of Cleveland’s locker room. He was in no mood to party after his final game as a 31-year-old. “I was horrible,” he said. Kyrie Irving scored 32 points and made two critical layups before leaving with a hamstring issue and Kevin Love scored 30, helping […]

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World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has turned down the chance to leave Real Madrid for an unnamed Chinese club for a transfer fee of €300 million ($315.24 million), his agent said on Thursday. Speaking to Sky Italia at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, Jorge Mendes said the deal would have been worth […]

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