Another DRAW??? Qatar holds Japan… (Asian Cup Football)

A balmy night in My Dinh National Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City… and certainly not the result the current Asia Cup holders (Japan) were looking for, but after a 2nd half strike by Naohiro Takahara, Qatar came back and equalised with a late goal by the Uruguayan-born Sebastián Quintana.  And that was that… a fantastic result for Qatar, and a result that will ensure the Japanese daily papers are aflutter tomorrow.

So with 4 games down, that’s 3 1-1 draws (Thailand vs Iraq, Australia vs Oman, Japan vs Qatar). All three could be considered ‘upsets’ of a sort, as Iraq, Australia & Japan are all considered ‘Asian Powers’ in the footballing fraternity, and especially the Australian team (who only just lost to eventual winners Italy in last year’s World Cup), and Japan, who currently hold the Asian Cup title.

The only team to have actually won a game thus far is Vietnam, who defeated the more-highly-touted UAE, 2-0.

Tomorrow brings us the following games:

• Indonesia vs Bahrain, in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta (Indonesia)
• Malaysia vs China, in National Stadium Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

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Blog-sifting… the week that was

Keep it up folks, some excellent stuff being written

1. Signal To Noise lets us know about Roger Goodell’s latest conquest…
2. Larry Brown Sports thinks Barry should be in the HR Derby…
3. An excellent interview with BallHype’s Jason Gurney from Bugs & Cranks…
4. We Rite Good gives us both patriotic moments in sport, and the least patriotic moments in sport!
5. 100% Injury Rate is unimpressed with ESPN…
6. Deuce of Davenport lets us know what Marcus Fizer’s up to…
7. Deadspin take us up close & personal to the Hot Dog Eating Championships…

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More Japan loves Cute!

Japan’s obsession with all things ‘Kawaii’ has not lessened at all over the last few weeks, that’s for sure. ’90s Japanese adult-movie star Ai Iijima (now a mainstream celebrity) is in the news for having ‘found true love’… new ‘idols’ (cute celebrities) seem to spring up almost daily, and the sports-world is no different…

So just a quick update on one of Japan’s favorite idols at the moment, the 15 year old Ryo Ishikawa – nicknamed “hanikami oji” (bashful prince) who is in Nagoya to play in the Japan Amateur Championships, which started Tuesday. Normally a fairly quiet affair, the Aichi country club has had to triple the amount of security it normally employs for the event. A course official stated that normally they only have to do this for pro-events, and even then, only when a really famous golfer is playing.

Ishikawa is expected to have a following of perhaps 4,000 fans, but his aims are being kept realistic: “I want to aim at finishing first if I can get through the elimination rounds,” Ishikawa said.

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[source: Mainichi Shimbun]

Strawberries & Cream… Wimbledon updates…

• Tim Henman gone. Beaten by Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 2-6, 6-1
• Rafael Nadal breezes through in 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 against Werner Eschauer
• Federer through 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 versus Juan Martin Del Potro
• Hewitt defeats Simone Bolelli in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
• James Blake wins 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 against Pavel
• Journeyman Aussie Wayne Arthurs defeats 11th seed Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3
• Sharapova wins 6-0, 6-3 over Severine Bremond
• Venus proves too much for Hana Sromova winning 6-2, 6-2
• Amelie Mauresmo wins 6-1, 6-2 over Yvonne Meusburger
• Dinara Safina is upset by Akiko Morigami losing 4-6, 5-7

Bizarre Japanese Sports… #3

Is aerobics a sport? I’m working on the assumption that it is. And man… this concept is pure gold. Sports, AND education!!!

For your enjoyment… follow along, and you can get fit whilst you watch!

Another episode, for those in need of more entertainment at the expense of a 80s Japanese TV show exercise…

(my wife found these gems for me…)