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Kyodo sports news summary+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Feb. 5_(Kyodo) _ ---------- Baseball: Right-hander Saito to sign minor league deal with Dodgers TOKYO - Japanese right-handed pitcher Takashi Saito is likely to sign a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers shortly, baseball sources said Sunday. "Saito has been invited to major league spring training camp. Details of the contract have not been finalized, but we've been holding talks toward signing a minor league contract," said Shigeyuki Mito, Saito's agent. ---------- Sumo: Asashoryu wins one-day tournament TOKYO - Yokozuna Asashoryu, whose record streak of winning seven Grand Sumo Tournaments snapped last month, beat foreign rivals in succession to win a mini one-day tourney on Sunday. Asashoryu shoved out Georgian Kokkai in the semifinals before sending fellow Mongolian Hakuho walking out of the ring from behind in the final at Ryogoku Kokugikan, earning 2.5 million yen in top prize. ---------- Golf: Moromizato ends 25th, Miyazato 49th at ANZ Ladies Masters GOLD COAST, Australia - Shinobu Moromizato carded a final-round 70 and edged into a tie for 25th place at the ANZ Ladies Masters on Sunday, while Japanese compatriot Ai Miyazato had a 72 for a disappointing 49th finish. Moromizato finished at 4-under 284 at Royal Pines Resort and Miyazato at 1-over 289 as both ended the week without being in title contention in their first appearances in an individual tournament this year. ---------- Rugby: Toshiba Fuchu wins 2nd straight Microsoft Cup TOKYO - Toshiba Fuchu scored four tries in the first half and went on to beat Suntory 33-18 in the Microsoft Cup final on Sunday, completing a league and cup double for the second straight year. Toshiaki Hirose, Nicholas Holten, Scott McLeod and Teppei Tomioka touched down for tries as Top League champions Toshiba Fuchu raced to a 28-6 halftime lead before second-row forward Tsuneo Yokoyama added a try early in the second half at Prince Chichibu Memorial Ground. ---------- Marathon: South African Thys wins Beppu-Oita Mainichi race OITA, Japan - Gert Thys of South Africa ran alone comfortably in the final 12 kilometers to win the Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon on Sunday for the second time and first in 10 years. Thys, who won the 1996 race in a meet record, pulled away shortly after the 30-kilometer mark and came home with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 45 seconds, finishing 2:01 ahead of runner-up Tomoyuki Sato of Japan. ---------- Ski jumping: Higashi wins 3rd straight TVh Cup title SAPPORO - Akira Higashi had a pair of solid jumps to claim his third straight title at the TVh Cup ski jumping meet Sunday. Higashi leaped 129 meters on his first jump and followed it up with a 133-meter effort on the K-120 Okurayama hill in Sapporo, collecting a total of 273.1 points. ---------- Tennis: Hingis falls to Dementieva in Toray Pan Pacific final TOKYO - Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland was overpowered 6-2, 6-0 by Russian second-seed Elena Dementieva in the final at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Sunday. Hingis, playing as a wild card, had the backing of the capacity crowd at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium but world No. 9 Dementieva dictated the match with powerful serves to win her first title at the Tokyo meet. ---------- Half-marathon: Fukushi sets national record MARUGAME, Japan - Kayoko Fukushi set a national record in winning the women's race at the Marugame half-marathon on Sunday, breaking the mark held by Athens Olympic marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi. Fukushi crossed the finish line at Marugame municipal stadium in Kagawa Prefecture in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 26 seconds. Noguchi came second in 1:07.43 in her first competitive race since winning the Berlin Marathon in a national record last September. ---------- Ski jumping: Japan's Ito 4th in World Cup meet WILLINGEN, Germany - Japanese ski jumper Daiki Ito missed out on a place on the podium with a fourth-place finish at a World Cup meet on Saturday, the last stop before the Olympic Games. Ito placed second after a 136-meter jump in the first round and added an effort of 135 meters on his second attempt for a total of 252.3 points, 21.4 behind winner Andreas Kofler, who had jumps of 143 and 138.5 meters. |