TMCnet News
Kyodo sports news summary+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, March 27_(Kyodo) _ ---------- Tennis: Wimbledon legend Borg retracts plan to sell off trophies LONDON - Five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg has decided not to sell off his replica All-England trophies and a couple of the tennis rackets that helped make him a tennis legend, auction house Bonhams confirmed Monday. The tennis star had announced earlier in the month that he was to auction his five Wimbledon trophies awarded for record consecutive championship wins in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 but changed his mind because of the worldwide reaction the plan drew and the loyalty of his fans. ---------- Figure skating: Sendai people greet Arakawa in homecoming SENDAI - About 73,000 people lined the streets of Sendai to greet Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa, who made a triumphant return to her hometown a month after winning the women's figure skating gold medal in Turin. Wearing a black suit, Arakawa rode in a convertible parading alongside local junior skaters through the main streets of the Miyagi Prefecture capital, with the gold medal hanging from her neck. ---------- Speed skating: Shimizu to carry on with competitive career TOKYO - Two-time Olympic medalist Hiroyasu Shimizu, whose campaign at the Turin Games ended in disappointment, said Monday he will continue with his career as a competitive speed skater at least for another season. "I earlier planned to end my skating career at age 32, but the defeat in Turin was a big factor behind this decision. It took quite a long time for me to make up my mind," Shimizu told reporters. ---------- Skiing: Yokoyama wins 30-km freestyle at cross country nationals OTOINEPPU, Japan - Sumiko Yokoyama claimed the women's 30-kilometer freestyle title at the national cross country skiing championships Monday, two days after winning the 10-km classical. Yokoyama, who made her fourth Olympic appearance last month, earned her second 30-km national crown and first in four years with a time of 1 hour, 14 minutes, 50.2 seconds at the Chiseneshiri cross country course in Hokkaido. ---------- H.K. says bird flu outbreak could scuttle Olympic equestrian events HONG KONG - Equestrian events to be held in Hong Kong as part of the 2008 Olympic Games could be canceled in the event of a bird flu outbreak, the city's health chief said Monday. Health, Food and Welfare Secretary York Chow told a press conference that so far there is no evidence that the horses could contract the bird flu virus. ---------- Baseball: Tozawa ties RBI record, Maeda fans 16 in PL win at Koshien NISHINOMIYA, Japan - First baseman Kazuki Tozawa drove in a record-tying seven runs and hard-throwing right-hander Kenta Maeda struck out 16 Monday as PL Gakuen trounced Mooka Kogyo 9-1 in the national high school baseball invitational tournament. Tozawa hit three doubles in four at-bats and cleared the bases in the first and fifth innings en route to matching the tournament's record for RBIs in a single game shared by New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, Yomiuri Giants pitcher Masumi Kuwata, PL Gakuen's ace in 1983-85, and two others. ---------- Baseball: Nomo to start season in minors, Iguchi goes 2-for-4 TUCSON, Arizona - Hideo Nomo had a rough outing in his third preseason start for the Chicago White Sox in a game against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday and is slated to begin the season in the minor leagues. The Japanese right-hander gave up three runs on seven hits in three innings of the White Sox's 9-7 win over the Royals, prompting Triple-A Charlotte pitching coach Juan Nieves to say Nomo's next outing will be at Triple-A, with the rotation already set for the 2005 World Series champions. |