Zhang Cal Bears article from the Merc

Cal basketball players Jerome Randle and Max Zhang are far from home but not far from family

By Jeff Faraudo

jfaraudo@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 12/24/2009 09:19:43 PM PST
Updated: 12/24/2009 11:18:13 PM PST



Cal basketball player Max Zhang sits down for lunch with mom Lixin Gong for
lunch with mom Lixin Gong for a home cooked meal in Berkeley, Calif., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Lixin Gong is spending several months living with Max, helping him eat right and take care of himself so he can improve his weight and strength for basketaball.... (KRISTOPHER SKINNER)

In the vernacular of sports, teams often refer to themselves as families. For Cal basketball players Jerome Randle and Max Zhang, the definition goes beyond hyperbole.

Randle, a 5-foot-10 senior guard from Chicago, and Zhang, a 7-foot-2 sophomore center from China, each has each brought a piece of home to Berkeley.

Randle, 22, plucked his brother Jeremy, 19, from the perils of Chicago's South Side, and the two have lived together off campus since July 2008.

Zhang is enjoying the company — and home cooking — of his mother, Lixin Gong, who is in the midst of a three-month stay with her son for the second year in a row.

"We're best friends," Jerome Randle said of the relationship he has with his brother. "It's been good. I don't think I could have made a better decision."

Zhang's mother misses her husband but has no doubts about the commitment she has made to her son's development.

"In Chinese culture, it doesn't matter how big, how old you get, your parents see you as a little kid all the time," Zhang, 22, said, interpreting his mother's Chinese words.

It was Zhang's father who last year suggested that his wife come to the United States for a prolonged visit with their only child. Zhang arrived on campus in the fall of 2007 carrying just 208 pounds on the tallest frame ever to wear a Cal basketball uniform. He needed to gain weight and strength.

"I didn't really take care of myself very well in terms
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of food," Zhang said of living in the dorms during his freshman year. "I'm pretty skinny. She knows what I like to eat and she knows the nutrition part. She thinks if I want to gain weight, I need to eat the meals she cooks."

Coach Mike Montgomery wrote a letter to the U.S. Embassy in the summer of 2008, seeking a visitor visa for Zhang's mother so she could cook for her son.

Gong spent three months here last season and will complete a similar visit in early January before returning home. She plans to return the next two seasons.

Max tries to eat four or five meals a day, many prepared by his mother. Asked if she can see a physical difference in her son, Gong said, "A little bit."

In fact, Zhang's weight is now 245.

"I think it helps," said Zhang, who wants to gain 15 more pounds over the next two years.

Zhang's mother speaks virtually no English but spends her days reading or chatting online with friends in China. She also has friends here with roots in China, and they spend time together.

One thing she hasn't done during this visit is attend any of her son's games.

"I said to Max last year, 'I'd like to meet your mom. Is she coming to a game?' " Montgomery recalled. "He said, 'No, she's afraid she'll make me nervous.' Max is getting older now, and he's probably not as nervous anymore."

Try selling that to his mother.

"She thinks if she shows up I'll try to do more than I can do or get nervous,'' Max confirmed.

But with Zhang starting and becoming more comfortable, Mom is planning to visit Haas Pavilion on game night soon, perhaps for Monday's Golden Bear Classic.

Balling the ABA Shark Way

Balling the ABA Shark Way

Posted By ngunji On December 16, 2009 @ 4:11 pm In English, Sports | No Comments
Omura shows flashes of brilliance during his sporadic playing time with the Compton Cobras. Kid is lightning quick. (Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo) [1]

Omura shows flashes of brilliance during his sporadic playing time with the Compton Cobras. Kid is lightning quick. (Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo)

By JORDAN IKEDA

Rafu Sports Editor

===

For those who read my writing, you know that I am a basketball junkie. So when I received an email from the Compton Cobras of the ABA telling me about a 5’6” Japa­nese point guard who was averaging 20 points and five assists per game, I naturally had to check it out.

Now, when I say ABA, I’m not talking about the league that made Dr. J famous (or vice versa) and was later absorbed into the current NBA. I’m talking about the new ABA, the one formed in 1999, that features around 50 teams from Pikeville, Kentucky to Elmira, New York, to Folsom, California and everywhere in between. A league with teams named the Whirlwind and the Beach Ballers and Pegasus and Fuel.

The only thing that remains the same is the red, white and blue ball.

The Cobras, Compton’s first and only professional basketball team, was a part of the 2009/2010 ABA expansion. In they’re first game of the season, the Cobras played at Grant High School near my apartment, so I figured I’d go check out this high-scoring, starting guard from Japan.

The guard in question is Jangki Che Omura, who everyone associated with the team calls Shouki (“The Shark”). He hails from Saga near Kyushu and attended Osaka College. He just turned 24 on Dec. 8.

Grant’s gym was nearly half full, most likely because the Cobras were playing the L.A. Slam, a team that fea­tures popular westcoast rapper The Game as its starting small forward.

While I was quite certain there was no way a player shorter than me could be averaging 20 and 5 against semi-pro athletes, I reserved hope that he was lightning quick and great at distributing the ball.

I should have tempered my expectations even more. While Omura is quick and plays harassing defense, he’s really small and got overpowered by the bigger, and in all honesty, blacker athletes. He saw maybe two minutes of game time, during which he turned the ball over twice and didn’t shoot. Needless to say, I was quite disap­pointed.

In all honesty, the new ABA is not a stable enterprise. Two years ago, 20 teams folded within the first five weeks. Last year, the league’s most successful franchise by attendance, the Halifax Rainmen, left the ABA because too many teams didn’t show up for games.

Case in point, the league’s official website has been expired and the stats page has been shut down due to a financial dispute.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t value there. While the two games I went to watch were reffed about as differently as humanly possible, basketball is basketball in all of its flawed forms. ABA basketball is all about scoring. Teams like to toss up threes early in the shot clock and fast break at every opportunity. Defense can and will extend the full length of the court, but rarely continues once one’s man gets by him. Games can get chaotic, but it is within this chaos that viewers can find gems of beauty.
Omura works extra hard on the defensive end to make up for a lack of size and strength. [2]

Omura works extra hard on the defensive end to make up for a lack of size and strength.

Guys talking trash. A sweet dime. A shooter catching fire and hitting five triples in a row. The crowd getting hostile. And of course, the novelty of a 5’6” Japanese guard trying his damndest to fight through screens and defend players nearly a foot taller than him.

“The difference is size and power,” Shouki told the Rafu Shimpo. “Japanese style is more pass, pass, move. Here, it’s more one-on-one. I will never have size, but I just have to run more than anybody.”

Omura lifts weights every day and trains on the beach with Yuta Imada, the strength and conditioning coach for the Cobras. He puts in the hard work because he already has his sights set on loftier goals.

Next year, he wants to try for the NBDL (NBA Development League), and then, like all aspiring basketball players, this “shark” dares to dream about the NBA.

And while unlikely is the first word that springs to mind, I reserve the right, as does Shouki, to dream big. With the changing of the hand check rules in the NBA, and the sud­den rise of quick point guards who can pass or athletic combo guards who can score, who knows what the future has in store?

After all, beauty can also be found in the form of accomplishment.

“My dream was to play profes­sional basketball here in the States,” Shouki said.

Omura’s doing just that, living his dream and he’s doing it in the ABA.

Article printed from Rafu Shimpo: http://rafu.com/news

URL to article: http://rafu.com/news/?p=7708

A three-point shot by Brendon Galipon with 3 minutes, 5 seconds remaining brought the Eagles to within a basket at 51-49,

Bullpups hold on
By Richard de Give
rdegive@HanfordSentinel.com

If you could say one thing about Washington High School after Wednesday's game, it's this: They didn't leave their hearts - or their game - in San Francisco.

After traveling much of the day, the Eagles hung with the Hanford High most of the night before falling 59-53 to conclude the first night of action in the Hanford Rotational tournament.

Wednesday also marked the first of four days for the Eagles in Hanford, where they'll be housed with members of the Bullpup basketball team for the duration.

They'll also attend classes at HHS as well as visit a dairy farm, the Adventure Park amusement complex and, of course, Superior Dairy Products Co.

"It's good for us to see some different styles of play and it's a cultural experince for us," said Washington coach Jolinko Lassiter, who recalls playing in this tournament in his day as one of the highlights of the year.








For Hanford coach Brad Felder, whose team improved to 3-0 on the season, it may as well have been a nightmare.

"I didn't think we played well tonight," he said. "We moved forward the first two games, but in this one we stood still or fell back."

The Bullpups led most of the way, taking the lead for good midway through the second quarter on a 3-point shot by Joseph Yarbrough, but were never were able to shake Washington, either.

Hanford led 26-22 at intermission and built the lead as high as 11 midway through the third quarter, only to see Washington close the gap again.

A three-point shot by Brendon Galipon with 3 minutes, 5 seconds remaining brought the Eagles to within a basket at 51-49, but Washington managed just three points, all from the line by Johnny Fu, the rest of the way.

Kiefer Rose led Hanford with 20 points. He was joined in double figures by Evan Austin with 12 points.

Beau Felder had eight rebounds and Brad Simas seven. Rose also had five steals.

Hanford was 17-of-29 from the free throw line.

Galipon led Washington with 18 points and Byron Jones added 10.

In other games, Clovis defeated Delano and Central beat Bullard 77-69.

A schedule change has been made to accommodate Bullard, whose football team plays for the Central Section Division I title Friday night. Today, Washington plays Delano at 4:30 p.m., Clovis plays Central at 6 p.m. and Hanford meets Bullard at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, it's Bullard-Washington at 4:30 p.m., Delano-Central at 6 p.m and Hanford-Clovis at 7:30 p.m.

Immigrant dream plays out through son

Brian Pohorylo/Icon SMI
Want athleticism? How about leaping high into the sky to block a shot by UConn's Jerome Dyson.










AP Photo/Fred Beckham In a close loss to UConn on Sunday, Jeremy Lin scored 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.








Thursday, December 10, 2009
Immigrant dream plays out through son
By Dana O'Neil
ESPN.com

STORRS, Conn. -- The jump hook he used to score his first bucket of the game? That came from Kareem.

Jeremy Lin
In a close loss to UConn on Sunday, Jeremy Lin scored 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

The perfect form on his jumper? Larry Bird deserves credit for that.

The power end-to-end drive with a dunk to finish? Vintage Dr. J.

The sweet dribble penetration and kickout? Score one for Magic.

As Jeremy Lin dissected and bisected Connecticut to the tune of 30 points Sunday afternoon, his father sat in front of a computer screen on the other side of the country, watching his videotape library of NBA greats come to life in the form of his son.

All those years Gie-Ming Lin spent rewinding his tapes so he could teach himself how to play a game he never even saw until he was an adult? All those hours spent in the local Y with his boys, schooling them in fundamentals over and over, building muscle memory without even knowing what the term meant? That silly dream, the one in which his children would fall in love with basketball as much as he had?

There it was, borne out in a gym in Storrs, Conn.

"Every time he did something good, they'd play it over and over again," Gie-Ming said from his home in Palo Alto, Calif. "I kept watching, and they kept showing him."

Soon the rest of the college basketball world might be turning its collective eye toward Jeremy Lin. Think about what the senior has done just this week for Harvard, which is off to its best start (7-2) in 25 years.

In keeping his team in the game right to the end, Lin scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 9 boards in a 79-73 loss to No. 12 UConn. Then, in the Crimson's 74-67 upset at Boston College on Wednesday -- the second straight season Harvard has beaten BC -- Lin contributed 25 points.

So in two games against New England's annual NCAA tournament participants, Lin scored 55 points and shot 64 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.

He boasts an all-around repertoire rarely on display. Last season Lin was the only player in the nation to rank among the top 10 players in his conference in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point percentage.

This year? He is merely second in the Ivy League in scoring (18.6 points), 10th in rebounding (5.3), fifth in field goal percentage (51.6 percent), third in assists (4.6), second in steals (2.4), sixth in blocked shots (1.2) and top of the pile in turning the heads of esteemed basketball minds, including Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun.

Jeremy Lin
Want athleticism? How about leaping high into the sky to block a shot by UConn's Jerome Dyson.

"I've seen a lot of teams come through here, and he could play for any of them," the longtime UConn coach said of Lin. "He's got great, great composure on the court. He knows how to play."

And he learned how to play thanks to his father's determination.

Jeremy is not the product of some Marv Marinovich in high-tops, desperate to cultivate the perfect basketball player, but rather a 5-foot-6 immigrant who long ago fell in love with a game and realized that in that game, his own children could gain entry into mainstream America.

Gie-Ming Lin was born in Taiwan, where academics were stressed and athletics ignored. He caught an occasional glimpse of basketball and, for reasons he can't explain, was immediately smitten with the game.

He dreamed of coming to the United States for two reasons: to complete his Ph.D. and "to watch the NBA."

That happened in 1977 when Gie-Ming enrolled at Purdue University for his doctorate in computer engineering. He flipped on the television, and there it was: the NBA in all its late-1970s glory. Kareem, Moses and Dr. J, with Jordan, Bird and Magic waiting in the wings.

"My dad," Jeremy said, "is a complete basketball junkie."

Gie-Ming's first job took him to Los Angeles, where the grueling demands and long hours had him searching for some sort of athletic release.

"I thought it would be great to play basketball," Gie-Ming said.

Only problem? He didn't have the slightest idea how. He had never picked up a ball in his life.

So he turned his attention back to those gripping NBA games. Armed with videotapes of his favorite players, Gie-Ming studied the game with the same fervor he studied for his Ph.D.

"I would just imitate them over and over; I got my hook shot from Kareem," Gie-Ming said, laughing.

It took him years to feel comfortable enough to play in a pickup game, and as he bided his time he decided then -- long before he even had children -- that his own kids would grow up knowing the game from an early age.

When first-born Joshua turned 5, Gie-Ming carted him to the local Y to begin teaching him those valuable skills stored on his videotapes.

Jeremy followed, and then youngest brother Joseph joined in what became a three-nights-a-week routine. The boys would finish their homework and around 8:30 head to the Y with their father for 90 minutes of drills or mini-games.

Forget that all of the players on those videos had long since retired, that the guy with Kareem's hook shot wouldn't hit Abdul-Jabbar's armpit. Gie-Ming recognized what so many other youth coaches have forgotten over time: The foundation for success is the basics.

"I realized if I brought them from a young age it would be like second nature for them," Gie-Ming said. "If they had the fundamentals, the rest would be easy."

Jeremy Lin Family
Jeremy, top right, and his brothers Joshua and Joseph grew up in a hoops-loving family.

His passion soon became their passion, and as the boys grew up, those 90-minute sessions would turn into wee-hour wars, with the boys scrounging for whatever gym they could find to play.

Joshua would star at Henry M. Gunn High School. Jeremy would enroll at rival Palo Alto High, where Joseph is now a senior.

Jeremy was special. He had his father's passion, his own inner motivation and a frame that would sprout to 6-foot-3. A good enough scorer to play 2-guard, Jeremy also was a savvy enough playmaker -- thanks to his dad and Magic -- to play the point. He's a solid outside shooter, but his dad, Julius and Kareem conspired to give him a reliable game around the rim.

In other words, he was otherworldly, a kid so talented that his freshman coach stood up at the team banquet and declared, "Jeremy has a better skill set than anyone I've ever seen at his age."

Named to the varsity as a freshman, Jeremy would earn honors as sophomore of the year and two-time most valuable player in his league.

Immersed in the game as he was, Jeremy never thought he was anything but a normal kid who liked basketball.

Until, that is, the insults came at him, the taunts to go back to China or open his eyes.

He was an Asian-American basketball player, an oddity and a curiosity in the cruel world of high school, where nothing is safer than being like everyone else.

"It was definitely a lot tougher for me growing up," he said. "There was just an overall lack of respect. People didn't think I could play."

His father offered sage advice.

"I told him people are going to say things to him, but he had to stay calm and not get excited by these words; they are only words," Gie-Ming said. "I told him to just win the game for your school and people will respect you."

Once more, Gie-Ming was right. In his senior season Jeremy averaged 15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals, leading Palo Alto to a 32-1 record and a stunning 51-47 victory over nationally ranked Mater Dei in the CIF Division II state championship game.

Along the way, he converted some of the people who had mocked him. When Palo Alto played Mater Dei, students from both Jeremy's high school and rival Henry M. Gunn High crowded a local pizza joint to cheer for Jeremy and his team.

Converting people outside Northern California was more difficult. By his senior season, Lin was the runaway choice for player of the year by virtually every California publication. Yet he didn't receive a single Division I scholarship offer.

Lin doesn't know why, but believes his ethnicity played a part.

Asian-Americans make up just 0.4 percent of Division I basketball rosters, according to the latest NCAA numbers. That equates to 20 players out of 5,051.

Jeremy Lin
In back-to-back wins over Boston College, Lin has scored a combined 52 points on 18-of-26 shooting.

Harvard offered an education with a hefty price tag. (The Ivy League offers no athletic scholarships.) But it also offered the chance to play Division I ball. So Lin went without hesitation.

Four extremely successful years into his college career, he now finds himself packaged into an uncomfortable box. Lin is at once proud and frustrated with his place as the flag-bearer for Asian-American basketball players.

The Harvard uniform, the Asian background, it all still makes Jeremy something of a novelty. What he longs for most of all is to be a basketball player.

Not an Asian-American basketball player, just a basketball player.

"Jeremy has been one of the better players in the country for a while now," said Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, who, as a Duke graduate and former head coach at both Seton Hall and Michigan, knows a thing or two about talent. "He's as consistent as anyone in the game. People who haven't seen him are wowed by what they see, but we aren't. What you see is who he is."

But stereotypes die hard and remain propagated by the ignorant. At UConn, as Jeremy stepped to the free throw line for the first time, one disgraceful student chanted, "Won-ton soup."

"I do get tired of it; I just want to play," Lin said. "But I've also come to accept it and embrace it. If I help other kids, than it's worth it."

In their 109-year history, the Crimson have never won an Ivy League title and have managed only three second-place finishes. They have had just one league player of the year -- Joe Carrabino in 1984.

The last Harvard man to suit up in the NBA? Ed Smith in 1953.

Lin could change all of that, a thought that boggles the mind of the man who fell in love with a sport so many years ago.

"All this time he was growing up, I never thought about Jeremy playing in college or professionally," Gie-Ming said. "I just enjoyed watching him play. I'm just so proud of him and so happy for him. I told him my dream already has come true."

Dana O'Neil covers college basketball for ESPN.com and can be reached at espnoneil@live.com.

WII soldiers reunite, thank heroes

WWII soldiers reunite, thank heroes A group dubbed the "lost battalion" reunited with the combat team that saved them.
David Ono
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- On this Veterans Day, we take you back 65 years to a World War II battle so fierce that the U.S. Army places it among its top ten in history. Soldiers involved in that battle recently held a reunion.

It's a remarkable story of tremendous sacrifice from a group of heroes who could have turned their backs on this country but instead used their mistreatment as resolve to prove their loyalty.

We know them today as the Japanese Americans of the 442nd Infantry who bravely rescued the lost battalion.

Their story begins exactly 65 years ago. In the dense forest of the Vosges Mountains in France, the 200 soldiers of the 141st Texas regiment found themselves surrounded by the Nazis, outnumbered and outgunned.

They were trapped by 6,000 fresh German troops under direct orders from Hilter to hold their ground.

The press dubbed them as "The Lost Battalion."

They dug into the mud and fought off one German attack after another.

Bruce Estes was 19 years old at the time and says the fighting was only part of the problem.

"We went five days without food. I could stick my finger through my navel and rub my backbone," recalls Estes.

In a desperate effort to get the Texans food, Army officials ordered artillery shells to be stuffed with chocolate. They then fired them over the thick trees, landing right on top of the Americans.

"The first thing they did, they tried to shoot some chocolate bars into us and right away they got on the radio and said stop that, because we took some casualties from that hard chocolate. It sounds crazy but it happened," said Jack Wilson as he described what it was like being part of the "Lost Battalion."

Two separate fighting units were deployed to try to reach the "Lost Battalion," but were viciously fought back.

The U.S. Army had one hope left in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a unit made up entirely of Japanese Americans, many of whom spent the early part of the war imprisoned in internment camps.

The U.S. labeled them "enemy aliens" even though they were born and raised in the United States.

The prejudice they endured is one of the darkest chapters in American history, yet these young men were desperate to fight for their country and prove their loyalty. They got their chance with the 442nd team.

In a matter of months, they became the most decorated unit in American military history.

Now it was their job to rescue the "Lost Battalion."

"Honor, duty, and as our parents would say, don't bring shame to the family," said Lawson Sakai, a graduate of Montebello High School.

There's a famous quote that reads, "The tragedy of war is that it uses man's best to do man's worst."

Sakai lived that quote. He vividly recalls fighting his way towards the "Lost Battalion."

It was his 21st birthday and almost his last.

"Machine guns are firing at us, and all of the sudden this German popped up in front of me and shot me point blank," recalled Sakai. He described how the German soldier had missed, and they struggled in a violent fist fight. Sakai recalls that when the soldier's helmet fell off, he realized that he was just a 14- or 15-year-old boy. He died in Sakai's arms.

Days of brutal fighting followed. Each tree in the forest had to be earned, and the violence was beyond description.

"Artillery shells screaming at you coming in, exploding. It's the noisiest thing you can imagine, and it's hard to describe, and then bodies flying apart. People being killed in front of you. You can't describe it," said Sakai.

"It's hard to tell young people what it was like when the whole world was at war," explained Sakai.

It took five days, but they made it.

Jack Wilson remembers when the first member of the 442nd unit appeared. They almost shot him thinking it was a German trick.

"I raised that rifle up again and was just about ready to shoot, and all at once this guy raised up his hand and said, 'Hey you guys need any cigarettes?'" Wilson recalled.

Newsreel cameras captured the "Lost Battalion" coming out of the forest, owing their lives to the Japanese American unit who sacrificed dearly to reach them.

The 442nd suffered more than 800 casualties. The K Company, which started with 186 men, had 17 left. The I company, which started with 185 men, had eight men left.

The Texans promised to never forget the 442nd team, and they certainly kept that promise. They held a reunion in Houston, Texas, 65 years later, still saying thank you.

"I think they are the finest bunch of boys there ever was. They had something to prove and as far as I'm concerned, they more than proved it," said Wilson.

Former President Bill Clinton once said, "Rarely has a nation been so well served by a people so ill-treated."

The 442nd earned 21 medals of honor during World War II.

Link: Go For Broke National Education Center

Cal Bears and Max Zhang

The Bears didn't do much inside, as starting center Markhuri Sanders-Frison was 1 of 2 for two points and 7-foot-3 backup Max Zhang - often matched against 6-7 Will Alston - was 1-for-5 for two points.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/24/SP4C1AQ11M.DTL#ixzz0XtC72HNo

Max Zhang did not get into the game until 2minutes to go in the 1st half. Looked a little weak in body as he was being moved around by the Jacksonville big men. Reminded me of Bill Cartwright when he first came to USF but Big Bill had a nice offensive game just was a little light up top

Crimson’s Jeremy Lin forges new hoop path for Asian players De-dunking the myth

Crimson’s Jeremy Lin forges new hoop path for Asian players
De-dunking the myth
By Dan Duggan | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | College Basketball


Photo
Photo by Matthew West

Jeremy Lin has heard every Asian stereotype and joke, and that’s just from his teammates.

As one of only a handful of Asian Americans playing Division 1 basketball - and easily the most accomplished - Lin takes the ribbing from his Harvard teammates in stride. During road games, the senior guard has heard just about every taunt imaginable and he’s mostly been able to laugh them off.

But there was one time, in a road game last season, when the crowd crossed the line and Lin lost his cool.

“The only one that’s really gotten to me is when I was called a (racial epithet),” Lin said.

Upset by the slur, Lin had one of his worst games of the season.

Lin’s parents met after they emigrated from Taiwan to the U.S. They both attended Purdue University and eventually settled in Palo Alto, Calif.

Lin grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, copying the superstar’s moves in his backyard. When he began playing organized basketball, Lin encountered preconceptions about his ability based on his ethnicity.

“That first happened when I was growing up,” Lin said. “It happened a lot in AAU tournaments when we were going to other places and everyone on the other team always wanted to guard me.”

Lin learned to channel the disrespect from opponents in a positive way.

“That’s something that I’ve kind of embraced,” Lin said. “I play with a chip on my shoulder because of that. At this point, I’ve embraced it and I enjoy it and I expect it.”

Teammate Oliver McNally has been impressed with the way Lin handles the slights.

“He has been hated on and discriminated against in the basketball world for his entire life, all the way up until he got here,” McNally said. “(If) you’re black or you’re white, you don’t really deal with a whole lot of racial stuff during games in this day and age. But he experiences it every big game. It’s pretty cool that he really feeds off that.”

Lin has consistently excelled in big games, capping his high school career by leading Palo Alto High over powerhouse Mater Dei in the California Div. 2 state championship game. Facing a team with future ACC and Pac-10 players, Lin scored 17 points and hit a late 3-pointer to secure a 51-47 upset.

The game finished a season that saw Lin named the Northern California Div. 2 player of the year. It would seem colleges would be lining up to land a player with such credentials, but Lin didn’t receive a single Div. 1 scholarship offer.

“I can’t believe that,” said McNally, who is also from Northern California and first saw Lin play in the state championship game. “That I really attribute to him being Asian, to be honest.”

Lin thinks his size - he was 6-foot-2, 170 pounds as a senior - scared off some schools, but he acknowledges there were other factors working against him.

“I think the Asian American stereotype was definitely there,” Lin said, “but at the same time, it wasn’t the whole story.”

Whatever the reason, the bigger programs that passed on Lin certainly regret the decision. Now 6-foot-3 and a solid 200 pounds, Lin has blossomed into a star for the Crimson.

“I’m glad that I’m here at Harvard,” Lin said. “I couldn’t ask for a better situation basketball-wise. It was a blessing in disguise for me.”

Last season, Lin was the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 in his conference in every statistical category.

The highlight of the season came on Jan. 7, when Lin had 27 points, eight assists and six steals to lead the Crimson to an 82-70 upset at Boston College.

Lin hasn’t missed a beat during Harvard’s 2-0 start to this season, averaging 21.5 points and eight assists.

Lin’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer from just inside half court gave Harvard an 87-85 triple-overtime win over William & Mary on Sunday. The shot was the No. 3 play of the day on SportsCenter, but Lin was unfazed.

“The shot was really lucky, obviously. I just kind of threw it up there and it went in,” Lin said, before directing the conversation to the play of his teammates.

Lin is uncomfortable with the spotlight that comes with his accomplishments. When he saw that his photo was featured on the cover of this year’s media guide, Lin went to his coaches and asked if it could be changed to include the rest of the team’s seniors.

“I think it’s quite obvious if you just look at numbers and stats, you would probably recognize his importance,” coach Tommy Amaker said. “But even beyond that, he’s incredibly humble, he’s a great teammate, he’s the hardest worker. He embodies all the things that you want in a young man, not just a good basketball player.”

Lin has big goals for the future. He’ll sit down with Amaker after the season and weigh his options, but there’s no question Lin is talented enough to play professionally at some level. When his playing days are done, Lin plans on becoming a pastor and working in an urban community.

But all of that can wait a few months. Lin’s immediate focus is on leading Harvard to its first Ivy League title, which will be a tall task with Cornell returning most of its core from last year’s Ivy League champion team.

“They have a great program going over there and they’ve won the league two years in a row,” Lin said. “They’re on the right step in terms of becoming a powerhouse and we would love to take them down.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/basketball/view.bg?articleid=1213295

Nakamura breaks ankle on opening kickoff

Ravens notebook: Nakamura breaks ankle on opening kickoff
By Aaron Wilson, Times Staff Writer Tuesday, November 17, 2009

CLEVELAND -- Baltimore Ravens reserve safety and special-teams contributor Haruki Nakamura gruesomely broke his right ankle during the opening kickoff of Monday night's 16-0 win over the Cleveland Browns.

Because of the nature and timing of the injury, it's expected that Nakamura is out for the remainder of the season and will likely require surgery to repair the damage.

His leg crumpled awkwardly underneath the weight of Browns kick returner and wide receiver Joshua Cribbs, who was inadvertently blocked into Nakamura by tight end L.J. Smith.

Nakamura immediately grabbed his ankle and was clearly in agony while being carted off the field.

"It was pretty stunning,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “It didn’t look good and he was in pain out there. We were excited about the way we returned the kick, but that was a little bit of a shocker right there.”

Nakamura is a Cleveland native who was an all-state selection at St. Edward High School in Cleveland.

Nakamura had several family members attending the game as his guests, including his mother, Karen. She visited with him after he suffered the injury.

Nakamura was slated to return with the team. His leg is in a cast.

harvard's jeremy lin hits it on the buzzer

This is from the Angry Asian man's blog


They're calling it the best buzzer-beater of the year (so far)... On Saturday night, Harvard guard Jeremy Lin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in triple overtime, sealing the Crimson's 87-85 win over William & Mary: Harvard defeats William & Mary 87-85 in triple OT.

Watch the video here. It's pretty fuzzy, but it's all there. You see him nail it on the buzzer, and the crowd goes crazy. Pretty damn exciting finish. More here: Harvard guard hits game-winner of the year (so far).

Lin finished with 19 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals for Harvard. Last season, he was the only player in college basketball to rank among the top 10 players in his conference in every statistical category. Top that.
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College Basketball Preview Pt 2: The Consistent Coach

This is from the Rafu Shimpo online, click on the title above to go to the original article


Jeff Hironaka, center, is an assistant coach for Washington State University and the highest ranking Japanese American coach in the country. But outside of basketball, he's just one of the guys. Jeff with his friends "the Bobs." Bob Kroenze, left and Bob Fujii, right, are diehard basketball and baseball fanatics and have been following Jeff's career for nearly 20 years. (JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo)
By JORDAN IKEDA

Sports Editor

A good coach is a rare commodity because in order to be considered good, one has to be consistently good. The coaching profession is a fickle entity. One year you’re the toast of the town, the next you’re cleaning out your desk. Ask former Hornets coach Byron Scott, NBA coach of the year two seasons ago, or perhaps chat up Charlie Weis over at Notre Dame.

To be good at coaching, it not only takes a wealth of basketball knowledge, communication skills and obsessive dedication, it also takes a great deal of faith in your system, faith in your players, and a whole hell of a lot of luck.

Jeff Hironaka, thus far, has been able to find the right mixture of all of these elements. In April, the former head coach of Seattle Pacific University took on an assistant coaching position to Ken Bone (who he worked with at SPU) at Washington State University. Entering into the Pac-10, Hironaka now finds himself as the highest-ranking Japanese American coach in the nation.

“I never thought about it much until people asked me about it,” Hironaka told the Rafu Shimpo in regards to his place in the coaching heirarchy. “What would I like to do with it? I’d like to be a head Division I coach somewhere. Would I like to be a Pac-10 head coach? Sure. Is that realistic? Ehhhh, I don’t know. Low D-I, if we do well. If we don’t do well, we’re all done anyway.”

Hironaka, who looks part mad scientist (it’s the hair), part astrophysicist (it’s the glasses) and full time basketball coach (it’s the warm-ups) has a sly, somewhat self-deprecating humor about him that bubbles up through all the basketball jargon and his stream-of-consciousness chatter. But don’t be fooled by his exterior.

His hesitation at projecting a move up the coaching ladder to D-I does not come from a lack of a resume.

During his 18 years at SPU, including 11 years serving as Bone’s chief aide, the Falcons amassed a 370-154 record, earned seven conference championships and qualified for NCAA Division II Tournament berths 13 of the last 16 years.

As the head coach of SPU the past seven seasons, Hironaka’s teams have gone 134-67 highlighted by seven consecutive winning seasons and five consecutive appearances in the NCAA D-II Tournament. In 2006, Hironaka’s Falcons won 26 games and matched the school’s best NCAA Tournament result, reaching the final four and capturing the first of back-to-back conference championships. Of course, with the winning have come awards as well. Hironaka is a two-time GNAC Coach of the Year and was named the 2006 NABC West Region Coach of the Year.


Hironaka hopes to be a big part of the future success of the WSU .
As one can readily see, the resume is about as sparkling as a person can ever hope to achieve—a Phil Jacksonesque winning percentage and a whole closet full of hardware to show for it. So it’s not the lack of a resume.

Nor is it a lack of drive.

“I think he and Kobe (Bryant) would get along very well because of their work ethic,” Bob Kroenze, a friend of Hironaka’s and former teacher, told the Rafu.

“He’s so conscientious about his job that he thinks that he shouldn’t be going to a movie or a ball game,” said Bob Fujii, another close friend who has opened up his house for Hironaka over the past 18 years when the coach is out recruiting in the greater Los Angeles area. “It bothers him that he’s not doing recruiting work or watching film. He overdoes that…He’s taken maybe three total days of vacation. He’s that type of person.”

There is no lack of drive, not from a man who hasn’t missed a single day of early morning running over the past five years.

Instead, the lack of hope for upward movement, that hesitation in Hironaka’s expectations, comes more from what he is not.

“I mean you try to name a Japanese coach in the Pac-10,” he said. “I mean, Rex Walters, he’s a hapa at the University of San Francisco and that’s really it. Other than Bill Fujikawa at Arizona State back in the 50s, other than him, there’s nobody. Dave Yanai was very successful at Cal State L.A. and I was fortunate enough to be fairly successful at SPU. But as an Asian male, you’re not much of a commodity because there aren’t any Asian players that are high caliber talent. So you don’t bring a lot to the table that way. If you look at the coaches in the NCAA, you’ve got a lot of African American players, so you need African American coaches or assistants because you need someone on the staff who can identify with the players you’re recruiting.”

If that assessment sounds harsh, it’s because it rings truth. In fact, harshness has been a lifelong companion to Hironaka, and being able to deal with that reality and make adjustments has made him an excellent coach.

“Nobody ever gave me anything,” he said, more in a matter-of-fact tone than one of grouse. “I’ve had to bust my hump, making no money working small colleges. There were a lot of years of sacrificing. No marriage, no family. None of that stuff. I don’t recommend that to most…But I’m pretty stubborn.”

Hironaka’s family relocated to Weiser, Idaho after being released from the internment camps back in the 40s. Weiser became the Sansei’s home where he played hoops from first grade on. He was an All-Snake River Conference guard in high school before going on to Eastern Oregon where he was a three-year varsity letterman.

“I was a scrub college player,” he said, again with the self-deprecating humor. “So I always got to sit on the bench and just watch. I got interested in it. When you’re sitting on the bench and watching you think, ‘Hey, I kind of want to do this.’”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in secondary education, he moved back to his hometown and did it, taking a job coaching junior high basketball. Over a 5-year period, he moved up to J.V. then to varsity, before taking a job in Eastern Idaho.

“We won zero games. They weren’t very good. But that’s the kind of jobs you’re going to get,” Hironaka said. “After that, I went to interview for another job at a small high school and got it. So I went from a team that didn’t win any games to another team that didn’t win any games. My first year, we won four games at the small school. That’s four more than they won the year before, so they thought I was king.”

From there, he coached at a large high school before getting recognized by the head coach at Idaho State who was watching his son play against Hironaka’s team. He then became the assistant at Idaho State where he stayed for three years. That last season, the team wasn’t very good, so the staff was released.

Hironaka’s job hunting brought him out to California in the Santa Clarita Valley, where he took a coaching job at Master’s College from 1990-91. After that, he was offered the assistant coaching position under Bone at SBU.

Eighteen years later, Bone and Hironaka are once again reunited with a team that features eight freshman and seven sophomores, and in the Pac-10 no less.

“Jeff will be an outstanding addition to our staff here at Washington State,” Bone told the media back in April. “Jeff brings a wealth of coaching experience as both an assistant and head coach where he has had a tremendous amount of success. His energy and passion for the game are second to none.”

“The goal right now this first year,” Hironaka said, “is to incorporate the new system. Get the players to grasp the system, believe in the system. Because if they don’t it’s not going to work. It’s based on guys doing their job and everybody buying into playing as a team. I don’t need the best players, I need the best team. And that’s what you need to sell. The best team can beat the most talent.”

If his words sound familiar, perhaps it’s because, like countless other coaches across the U.S., Hironaka admires John Wooden whom he met and had a five-hour chat with several years ago.

“John Wooden did it with all types of characters, all types of people. Tall teams, short teams, fast teams, slow teams. It didn’t matter the team he had. He was always able to figure the best way to win. The system was always the same for the most part. He made the right adjustment. He said the right things. Half the battle is saying the right things to your players to get them to believe that they can do it. I admire what he was able to do.”

Hironaka has a long way to go to reach the Wizard of Westwood, but he’s on the right path. His goal is to always be more prepared than the opposition, and he works tirelessly towards that goal.

“My philosophy,” he said, “is that if you work hard and do the right things and you hopefully know what you’re doing, then it will pay off somewhere down the line.”

At the heart of that philosophy?

Why consistency of course…

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

For those who want to check out Jeff in action, the WSU Cougars come to L.A. to play the USC Trojans at the Galen Center on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010. They then play the UCLA Bruins at Poly Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 23.

Matsui vrs Ichiro

Sun Spots: “Matsui vs. Ichiro”

From Jordan Ikeda


Faithful Rafu reader George Nakagawa has been giving me tips on players to check out in Japan, but recently called me to tell me that he had never heard about the Ichiro/Matsui non-friendship I wrote about in last week’s J-Slanted. Here’s several links on background info on Ichiro and his history with Matsui.

Keizo Konishi a special writer to The Seattle Times talks in depth about Ichiro in a 2005 piece: “I’ve been covering Ichiro since 1994, and from my experience I can say one thing for certain: Ichiro loves Seattle, and is extremely grateful to the fans here who have been supporting him. To really understand this, you need to look at the tough times he went through when he played in Japan. During the last three years before he came to Seattle, when Ichiro was playing for the Orix Blue Wave in Kobe, Japan, there were so few fans in the stands that you could look out from the press box in Green Stadium and count them. For six years, starting in 1995, Ichiro received the most votes for the Japanese All-Star team, 1.6 times as many votes as Hideki Matsui, now with the Yankees. If you consider that Orix was the least popular of the 12 Japanese professional teams, and that the Tokyo Giants, Matsui’s team at the time, was far and away the most popular, it should give you an idea of how phenomenal Ichiro’s popularity was.”

Jim Caple of ESPN write in 2003 of the possible birth of a rivalry: “Hideki Matsui tells a revealing story. He’s a year younger than Ichiro and when he was a junior, his Seiryo high school team traveled to play Ichiro’s Aikoudai Meiden high school. In Japan, teams frequently take communal baths after games and because Matsui’s team was the guest, they went into the bath first. When Ichiro arrived and found Matsui in the bath, he considered it a serious breach of etiquette. Ichiro was a senior and the first bath is reserved strictly for seniors. Ichiro never forgot the perceived affront. When the two were on a TV show a dozen years later after they had both reached the majors, Ichiro had an important question for Matsui. ‘Why did you take the first bath?’”

Caple further explains this rivalry in another piece from 2003: “The two players also are very different. Ichiro is guarded with reporters—like Bonds, he traveled with his own p.r. people during last year’s major-league tour of Japan—while Matsui is much more open and outgoing. Ichiro is a slap hitter and superb outfielder. Matsui is a power hitter and an average outfielder. There already is a rivalry growing between the two players. Back when both played in Japan, Ichiro once grumbled that ‘I could hit .400 and still Matsui would get more attention.’ And despite the gracious words expressed recently, Matsui and Ichiro appear to be, as gossip columnist Walter Winchell used to say, ‘Don’t invite ‘ems.’ In other words, they’re not the biggest fans of each other.”

Christian Red of Daily Sports News in a 2003 article: “Before Ichiro entered the batting cage to take a few practice swings, Seattle GM Pat Gillick showed the Seattle right fielder a copy of Tuesday’s Daily News, in which a cartoon Godzilla foot dwarfs an Ichiro caricature. Ichiro burst into a loud cackle and said (without the help of an interpreter), “That’s good, that’s good.” Before walking toward the plate, he was asked if it’s accurate to call him “cranky” with the press. Ichiro smiled and shook his head.

John M. Glionna of Los Angeles Times: “Ichiro is the stoic media-shy obsessive with the Seattle Mariners, who toiled in the obscurity of the smaller of his country’s two leagues before becoming the first Japanese position player to dominate in MLB. Matsui of the fabled Yomiuri Giants of Tokyo, is the one who famously cried on national TV when announcing his decision to leave for the Yankees, and who was swiftly forgiven at home as he shattered the perception that Japanese players couldn’t hit the long ball in the American game. If it was a rivalry for popularity in Japan, it wasn’t really close. For years after leaving Japan, Matsui grabbed the headlines and the big endorsement deals back home. He stroked the media entourage that shadowed him, his personality as big as the town he played in. Ichiro did his best to ignore the media. Racking up records but playing on a non-contender, the Mariners’ outfielder came to be seen as moody, even petulant. Then came the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, and the baton was passed.”

Enter the Cosmo

College Preview Pt 1: Enter the Cosmo


Cosmo Morabbi hopes to bring Citadel fans to their feet this year with his lights out shooting.

By JORDAN IKEDA
Orignially from the Rafu Shimpo, click on the link to see article
Sports Editor

Coaches and analysts like to talk about how defense wins championships. Scouts like to rave about athleticism and quickness. General managers look at potential upside. But when it comes right down to the bare bones reality of it, basketball is all about putting the ball in the hoop.

“My specialty is shooting,” Cosmo Morabbi told the Rafu Shimpo. “I’ve always been a shooter since I was little.”

Morabbi, a half-Japanese, half-Persian American from Beverly Hills plays shooting guard for the Citadel, a military school in Charleston, SC. Last year, he played his way into a rotation that went 20-13 and made the first postseason appearance in school history.

As a freshman, Morabbi averaged 18.8 minutes and 4.5 points per game, a far cry from his high school senior season at Beverly Hills High where he averaged 28 points and 8 rebounds.

“It’s completely different,” Morabbi said. “High school to college is a big step, but to D1 was a major step. The first ten games last year, I had a lot of trouble adjusting. But after that, you get used to it. Because everybody is athletic and has size, it’s a completely different game than high school.”

Adjustments, however, have been a way of life for the 6-2 guard. His father, Ali, is Iranian and his mother, Junko, is Japanese. This unique union has been a blessing in disguise for him.

“I get to see two different cultures,” Morabbi said in his smooth, laid-back tone. “I also get taught by two different cultures. I have a Japanese side—the discipline and all that. And then I also have the Persian side—where you’re always trying to get things done. It’s weird just having both because I feel like I get a little extra more than somebody else might.”

His combination of cultures has helped him adjust to the two completely different lifestyles of the ritzy, Hollywood-driven pizzazz of Beverly Hills and the relaxed, southern charm of Charleston. It’s also aided him in making the necessary adjustments in his basketball game.

Despite starting off his freshman campaign hitting only 9-43 threes, he finished the season at a 36 percent clip nailing 19-52 after a breakout game against Wofford where he hit 4-6. The Bulldogs lost that game, but then went on an 11-game winning streak, the longest in school history.

So far, this pre-season has been exhausting for Morabbi. In addition to studying for 18 units of school work, Morabbi has also been rehabbing a bruised kneecap, a deep thigh contusion, and a sprained pinky (just like the injury Kobe Bryant has). All of that in addition to the 3-4 hours of daily practice. But he says he makes sure he gets enough sleep so he is alert and ready to practice hard.


Morabbi
“As a team we’re way far ahead of where we were at the same time last year,” he said, “Because we have so many returning, our coach has been really tough on the little things. Like where our eyes should be looking and each step we take on the defensive end. He likes using the term no ‘false steps.’”

Morabbi’s expectations for this season are much higher than one might expect from a sophomore sitting behind two junior guards on the depth chart, both of whom also happen to be the captains of the team.

Morabbi believes that last year’s record 20 wins as well as the Southern Conference is theirs for the taking, especially for a team returning all but one of its players.

On a personal level, Morabbi really wants to start, but his main goal this season is to shoot 40 percent from beyond the arc.

In order to reach this goal, he’s been spending 30 minutes a day one-hand form shooting so that the ball feels perfect on his release. Realistically, he sees about 20-25 minutes a game this season and the occasional 20-point explosion throughout the season if he can get to the rim consistently and finish.

He has bigger aspirations as well. Goals that will demand he muster every last drop of his Japanese discipline and every ounce of his Persian drive.

“A little part of me still dreams about the NBA,” Morabbi said. “I’m trying for that, that’s my number one goal. If I don’t get that, then hopefully there’s somewhere else that I can go.”

To dismiss this dream would be foolhardy. After all, Morabbi’s brother, Abe, widely considered the best “Persian basketball player on the planet” currently plays pro ball in Japan under the guise Ken Tanaka. And Morabbi has pretty much followed his brother in all aspects since he was a young buck playing on five teams at once.

“When I grew up in the Asian leagues, I was typically the biggest one on the court,” he said. “But I still tried to work on my guard skills because my brother kept telling me that I’m not going to be 6-8, 6-9, I’m going to be 6-2 so I’ve got to work on how to dribble the ball, shoot from the outside, things like that.

“I feel like I have been blessed to play for a school that plays really smart basketball. So you really have to know what’s going on, on the court. We know what the other team is going to run and all that. You want to have a good coach. You want to find a good coach somewhere where you can actually learn the game. Because not everyone is going to be blessed with athleticism—you can work hard to improve that. But if you can play smart basketball and find a way. That’s my main thing.

Morabbi has been working hard to improve his admittedly average athleticism. He’s really into weight lifting and speed work and has been searching for different ways every year to try something new. This year, he found Optical Sports and has been working with large rubber bands doing resistance training to increase his quickness.

“I heard an NBA scout talking and he said you only need to be great at one thing to make it. I believe I can shoot. If I can do that and just add mediocre NBA talent in speed, dribbling ability and passing, defense, I’ll be able to make it.”

Making it to Division 1, let alone the NBA, takes more than just natural talent. It takes hard work, dedication, commitment, pain, and smarts. Clichéd though these attributes may sound, truth rings behind each and every one.

That’s why not too many people make it, especially Japanese American males.

Morabbi is looking to change this reality.

“I think me playing will open the doors and help little kids see that it’s possible because a lot of people don’t believe. There’s a way. There’s always a way. There’s always a chance.

You have to keep believing in yourself.”

Japanese fans celebrate Hideki Matsui's MVP performance in World Series

Japanese fans celebrate Hideki Matsui's MVP performance in World Series
Jim Armstrong, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nov 5, 8:45 am EST


Printable View
Return to Original Buzz up! 2 PrintTOKYO - Japan nearly came to a standstill as millions watched on TV while Hideki Matsui(notes), the man they know as Godzilla, stomped around New York to lead the Yankees to the World Series title.

Matsui became the first Japanese-born player to receive the trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the World Series with a record-tying six RBIs in the clincher to lead the Yankees over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 on Wednesday.

Matsui homered, doubled and singled in Game 6, highlighting a series in which he hit .615 with three home runs and eight RBIs.

Japanese businessmen crammed into downtown electronics stores to watch the final few innings on giant TVs. The game ended just before 2 p.m. local time Thursday, giving office workers an excuse to take an extended lunch break.

"All the news recently has been about Ichiro Suzuki(notes)," said office worker Hiroyuki Takeuchi, who took the morning off to watch the game. "But Matsui's presence is huge. He overcame injuries and came through with the performance of a lifetime. As a Japanese, I'm very proud today."

Matsui was a three-time MVP for the Yomiuri Giants in the regular season in 1996, 2000 and 2002, his last year in Japan. He also won the MVP award in the 2000 Japan Series, Japan's version of the World Series.

Earning the nickname "Godzilla," Matsui hit 50 home runs in 2002. The No. 55 on his uniform is a tribute to Sadaharu Oh's single-season home run record.

"As the first Japanese to win an MVP in the World Series, this is a great accomplishment for Matsui and will have a huge impact," said former San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese player to play in the major leagues, who watched at his Tokyo home.

Matsui always has been popular in Japan, but his decision not to play in the World Baseball Classic drew criticism from some fans. Matsui always said he was passing over the WBC to prepare for the season with the Yankees.

The 35-year-old designated hitter is in the final year of a US$52-million, four-year contract. And every baseball fan across Japan wants to know this: What will the Yankees do with Matsui?

"He's a very hard worker and is serious about his career," Murakami said. "I hope he stays with the Yankees. I know he wants to stay, and the Japanese fans want him to stay."

Japanese sports dailies have speculated about his future, some even saying he might return to Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers, the fierce Central League rivals of the Giants.

"I hope he stays in New York," Takeuchi said. "He looks good in pinstripes."

Updated Nov 5, 8:45 am EST
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MLB Ramirez returning to Dodgers next season
Lidge, Ibanez, Eyre to have surgery
Report: Lincecum has deal on drug charge
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‘Ruki Was a Steal

Haruki Nakamura wasn’t expected to offer much as a rookie, but he exceeded those thoughts. by Mike Duffy
Apr 20, 2009, 5:34PM

In the days leading up to the NFL Draft, BaltimoreRavens.com takes a look at some of the successes from the Ravens’ scouting department. Sunday kicked off the series with undrafted free agent Jameel McClain.


In the sixth round, Baltimore found a gem in safety Haruki Nakamura, who was an unheralded player out of the University of Cincinnati.


It has only been one year since Haruki Nakamura’s name was called out on draft day, but the Ravens don’t need any more convincing that he is worth a sixth-round pick.


In fact, they believe they walked away with a steal.


Not much was publicly known about Nakamura heading into the draft. Even though he was a first-team All-Big East honoree as a senior, it wasn’t like Cincinnati was a college football powerhouse.


Nakamura posted a career-high 95 tackles, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries, but he wasn’t even invited to the annual NFL Scouting Combine.


Had he attended that event, he would have been given the opportunity to speak with all 32 teams across the league. Instead, Nakamura just continued to fly under the radar - which was a dream scenario for Baltimore.


“We actually started talking with Haruki when he was at the Hula Bowl,” said Ravens director of college scouting Joe Hortiz, who noted that the initial conversation was sparked by player personnel assistant Mark Azevedo. “Then, he earned the Defensive Most Valuable Player for the game with a pick, a fumble recovery and pass breakup. We knew we had to keep an eye on him.”


Further delving into Nakamura’s game tape, the Ravens’ interest was piqued even more.


At 5-foot-10, 205 pounds, Nakamura was never the biggest or strongest guy on the football field. He typically wasn’t the fastest either.


Nakamura made up for what some would perceive as shortcomings with hard work and desire. Rare was a moment when Nakamura was not in the thick of the action. After playing mostly special teams as a freshman, Nakamura went on to start 36 consecutive contests, racking up an impressive 237 tackles along the way.


“The first thing you saw with Haruki was his playmaking ability in college,” Hortiz said. “He was always very active, no matter what, he was always ready to make things happen, whether it was picking balls off, coming up on tackles, forcing fumbles, recovering fumbles. He was just constantly around the ball.


“He did it at Cincinnati, and he did it at the Hula Bowl.”


Nakamura has been a welcome addition to the locker room. Always quick with a joke and a laugh, Nakamura’s wide smile belies the fire of a fierce competitor.


“The intelligence comes across, and then you notice his charisma and passion for the game,” Hortiz explained. “He’s an outgoing person, and when we brought him here for a meeting, you got more of the same.”


From the beginning, Nakamura’s intelligence showed up during offseason minicamps and training camp. He seemed to intercept a pass in every other practice, prompting surprised thoughts that this sixth-rounder might make the active roster as a special teamer - not an easy feat.


As the season unfolded, however, no one in Baltimore was surprised to see Nakamura contributing not only on special teams, but on defense.


Nakamura finished third on the team with 14 special teams stops and was a regular contributor on former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan’s seven-defensive back alignment.


“With a lot of those late-round guys, you’re just looking for him to contribute on teams,” said Hortiz. “You anticipated a guy that would make it because of his toughness and attitude, but he kind of grew into that role as a blitzer and a guy that would help in certain run situations.


“With Haruki, we needed him to step up late in the season to help us win games. He did a fine job for us, and that’s really just a testament to him and the way he plays the game.”


Stay tuned tomorrow for a scout’s look at fifth-round draft pick Dawan Landry!










































































































































































































































Mike Duffy
Content Writer

Andrew Nakamura is a senior running back/linebacker for Piedmont High School

This originally came from the Rafu Shimpo
here is the link

Andrew Nakamura is a senior running back/linebacker for Piedmont High School. In his last game against Albany (a 53-3 beatdown), Andrew rushed for 20 yards on four carries and had a touchdown. Piedmont High School has become known for inventing a unique offensive style that is quickly spreading across the nation and has received pub in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Denver Post, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle, ESPN the Magazine, and Coaching Management.

“The A-11 is a brand new offense that utilizes all players on the field to catch the ball,” Andrew told the Rafu Shimpo via Facebook. “The offense comes out of a spread formation that features six receivers, three linemen, and two quarterbacks, or a QB and running back in the backfield. This formation allows us to have many options when throwing the ball and our team is able to utilize the entire field, which spreads out the defense, opening up the weak points in many of our opponents’ defenses.”

For more info on the A-11 offense, visit the Piedmont football website.

As for Andrew, he began playing football his freshman year because he thought it would be fun to play and that it would challenge him to be able to push himself and become a better athlete.

“What I like about football,” he said, “is the feeling of playing under the lights on a friday night, the atmosphere of the stadium and its fans, and being able to be a part of something special that will last for the rest of my life, especially since I scored a touchdown.”

Next year, Andrew plans to head to UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara and study zoology. He enjoys drawing and playing music. His favorite players are Jahvid Best who is the star running back of Cal and the sweetness of HOFer Walter Payton.

Happy birthday to Ichiro, who turns 36 today!

This is from Disgrasion.com
and Ichiro is a Issei technically
Thursday, October 22, 2009


BIRTHDAY CELEBRASIAN! Ichiro Suzuki

Happy birthday to Ichiro, who turns 36 today!


2009 was a huge year for the mononymous outfielder: he set a major league-record of nine straight seasons with 200 or more hits, finished the season with a league-leading 225 hits, hit his first career walk-off home run (against the Yankees' Mariano Rivera, no less), and even drew his first career ejection for arguing a called third strike.
But hey, we're talking about a dude who's single-handedly proven to Americans that Asians can bring it on the baseball diamond, small ball can be just as captivating as long ball, and pokey ears can be weirdly hot, so Ichiro defying expectations is nothing new.

Speaking of defying expectations, here he is from a few years back telling Bob Costas what his favorite American expression is:



TRANSLASIAN: "August in Kansas City, it's hotter than two rats in a fucking wool sock."

Source

Posted by jen at 8:18 AM|PERMALINK Links to this post

Labels: Asian Baseball Players, Ballers, Baseball Players, Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese Athletes, Japanese Ballers, MLB, Records, The Seattle Mariners

CSUDH Celebrates the Legacy of Yanai's Success

CSUDH Celebrates the Legacy of Yanai's Success
10/5/2009 2:02:28 PM

(L-R): UCLA AD Dan Guerrero, honoree Dave Yanai, ESPN Analyst Steve Lavin, CSUDH AD Patrick Guillen & ABC-7 Sports Anchor/Dinner Emcee Rob FukuzakiView Dinner Photo Gallery


LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The world famous Los Angeles Athletic Club, founded in 1880 and home to the annual Wooden Awards Ceremony, witnessed yet another prestigious event last Sunday as it hosted the "Dave Yanai Tribute Dinner and Silent Auction," honoring the former men's basketball head coach of Cal State Dominguez Hills.

"Tonight was a very special evening for a very special man, as evidenced by the love, admiration, gratitude and respect felt in the capacity-filled room," said CSUDH Athletics Director Patrick Guillen, reflecting on a tremendous night.

"Tonight's incredible event was the culmination of hundreds of hours of work, and I would like to express my deep appreciation to those who worked so tirelessly on this campaign, especially our co-chairs in Henry Ota, John Nojima, Dan Guerrero and Sam Lagana for their leadership, as well as to emcee Rob Fukuzaki, who offered his time and talent in helping make the night one to remember."

Emceed by KABC-7's sports anchor Fukuzaki, with speakers including UCLA Athletics Director Guerrero and ESPN/ABC analyst Steve Lavin, the event gave glimpses into coach Yanai's storied and award-filled coaching history, where guests including family, friends, colleagues, former players and co-workers filled the room with anecdotes about the man who many referred to as "so much more than just a coach."

Beginning with a cocktail hour featuring a vast array of silent auction items, the evening's dinner commenced with Guillen giving a warm welcome, followed by CSUDH VP Sue Borrego saying a few words on behalf of CSUDH President Mildred García, who gave way to Fukuzaki.

The southern California sports anchor icon then proceeded to introduce Lavin, former Toro Nojima and Guerrero, who each gave his personal account of the man who helped teach, mentor and inspire them, with composure, honesty, and caring emerging as common denominators.

Fukuzaki and Guillen followed suit, with Pepperdine's Associate Vice Chancellor and former CSUDH administrator Lagana interjecting with tremendous live auction items, before coach Yanai took the podium.

After thanking Guillen, who spearheaded this night and January 9, the date of the court unveiling, his wife and kids, and parents, Yanai named five individuals who served as mentors in brother Frank, Mas Fukai, Nojima's father, the night's honorary chairman John R. Wooden and Pete Newell, before giving credit and showing appreciation to the guest speakers, as well as his former assistants, trainers and players, many of whom were in the audience.

"Obviously it's a great honor and I'm really humbled by this whole affair," began Yanai, before the dinner. "The main thing for me is my thoughts for the scholarships this night may grant, but I’m so honored about the court naming.

"There are so many players, assistant coaches, boosters, administrators, and people who were my colleagues at CSUDH all these many years, and everyone of them has a piece of this wonderful honor, and when they see my name on the floor, I hope they feel like it’s their name because they all have a piece of it.

"I retired four years ago, and you just want to get onto other things that you’ve put on hold for a number of years like enjoying the grandkids, taking trips with one's wife, golfing and assorted other things. I’m an avid reader and now I can do it at my leisure and am getting the chance to do all the things that I love.

"And I also get a chance to do a little basketball activity," he continued, never quite being able to leave the game that's been so good to him. "I’ve gone to practices of various college coaching friends of mine and had a chance to critique and see some things that might help them.

"But this is something that I didn’t expect and to be honest, I’m really shy about these kinds of things. All I can say is that I’m humbled and honored to have this wonderful thing happen to me, and it's a tremendous honor."

Yanai spent 19 seasons as head coach at CSUDH, where his Toro teams advanced to the 1981, 1987 and 1989 NCAA Tournaments. In addition, he guided the Toros to the 1979 NAIA National Championship Elite EIght after winning the NAIA District III Championship in only his second year in Carson.

Individually, he claimed the 1979 District Coach of the Year, the 1987 NCAA West Region Coach of the Year and two-consecutive CCAA Coach of the Year Awards (1987 and 1988). Yanai also coached 34 All-CCAA Conference, two CCAA Athletes of the Year, eight NCAA All-West Region, two NCAA All-Americans and one NCAA Division II Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in Nojima, ending his coaching career at CSUDH with 287 of his 401 total wins, the winningest coach in CSUDH men's basketball history.


Part II of the “Dave Yanai” tribute will take place on Saturday, January 9, at 7:00 pm, when the Torodome court will be unveiled in his honor.

Thanking the Thankful a dinner gala to honor basketball coaching legend Dave Yanai.

Thanking the Thankful
Faces from his past attend a dinner gala to honor basketball coaching legend Dave Yanai.


Coach Dave Yanai, center, poses with former players and assistant coaches during a gala dinner in his honor at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in Downtown on Sunday evening. (Photos by JORDAN IKEDA/Rafu Shimpo)
By JORDAN IKEDA

Rafu Sports Editor

===

Sunday evening at the Los Angeles Athletic Club in the heart of Downtown former players, coaches (both peers and assistants), former athletic directors, school faculty, friends, family, media members, officials—a wide spectrum of people from all over the country—gathered together to pay tribute and celebrate a man that has influenced, changed and touched their lives.

David Yanai was honored with a dinner gala for not only his 28 years of exceptional coaching, but more notably for a lifetime of being himself.

“Even more indelible are the literally thousands of lives he’s touched coaching, and we’re all better people because of you David,” said ABC 7 sports guy, Rob Fukuzaki, who emceed the event.

The dinner gala featured key­note speaker UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, as well as former UCLA head coach and current ESPN analyst Steve Lavin and former Cal State Dominguez Hills NCAA Div. II male scholar athlete of the year John Nojima all gave a unique aspect to the scope of Coach Yanai’s influence.

“You are certainly deserving of this tribute because of what you’ve achieved,” Guerrero told Yanai at the end of his speech. “Not just what you achieved as a coach, but what you’ve achieved as a person…I’ve learned as much from you about those things that are important in life as anyone whom I’ve ever met.”


Coach Yanai and his wife Sae.
It was obvious from the diversity of those in attendance that Coach Yanai’s teaching extends far beyond the awards and accolades and success on the court. Despite the 401 wins, the pair of CCAA coach of the year awards, the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year award and the District Coach of the Year award, the true reward, according to Coach Yanai, was found in the players.

“‘The gift to a coach,’” Nojima said, quoting Coach Yanai’s own words, “‘the championships for a coach, are always the players. It’s not about the wins or the championships. You guys are the wins and you guys are the championships. And don’t you ever forget it.’”

When it was finally his turn to speak, Coach Yanai made his way to the front amidst a standing ovation.

“This is really like a Lou Gehrig moment,” he said as he took the podium. “I feel like the luckiest person alive. I should be on the other end thanking all of you folks.”

True to form and his word, exemplifying why so many people love and support him, Coach Yanai did his best to do just that, thanking each and every one in turn.

He was supposed to talk for 10 minutes, but ended up going nearly 40 thanking his wife Sae and acknowledging that she deserves as much credit for his success. Thanking Guerrero and sharing his wish for him to become the next NCAA president. Thank­ing Lavin for his friendship and the two-way street of teaching.

Sharing stories about players, like Nojima’s penchant to help tutor his teammates. Thanking all of his former players, staff trainers, assistant coaches, rival coaches, referees, friends, and family and even the media, like long time Rafu writer George “Horse” Yoshinaga.


From left, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, former Cal State, Dominguez Hills head basketball coach Dave Yanai, former UCLA head coach and current ESPN analyst Steve Lavin, CSUDH athletic director Patrick Guillen and ABC 7 sports anchor Rob Fukuzaki pose for a picture during a gala dinner in honor of Yanai Sunday evening.
He also made it a point to acknowledge and thank five mentors who helped shape and mold him. Frank Yanai, his brother who he said ran interference for him. Mas Fukai who got him excited about sports and formed the FOR club with him. Sho Nojima, John Nojima’s father, who was a calming and intellectual influence. And of course two legends of the game in John Wooden and Pete Newell who offered their own coaching guidance and teaching wisdom, much in the same manner that he does now to others.

The gala included a silent auction, an effort to raise the necessary funds to see through the vision of current CSUDH athletic director Pat Guillen, who envisioned barely a year ago the idea of honoring Coach Yanai with a scholarship in his name as well as that name being forever associated with the CSUDH basketball court.

That vision will be realized Jan. 10 with a special unveiling.

Sponsors who donated time, money and auction prizes included Steve Morikawa of American Honda, Nancy Matsui of American Airlines and long time Dave Yanai friend, Tetsu Tanimoto.

Lavin read an e-mail from Coach Yanai that really resounded throughout the entire evening and was a lesson that everyone in the room was able to take away and apply to their own lives.

The e-mail read, “Stevie, remember that time is the most important commodity you have. You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. Once today is gone, it is gone forever. Always spend your time wisely.”

Everyone in attendance Sunday evening would agree that their choice to attend, much like Coach Yanai himself, was the epitome of wisdom.


For those who would like to donate to the Dave Yanai Scholarship Fund, visit www.gotoros.com/custompages/ yanai/giving.html or mail pledges to CSUDH Development Office: Dave Yanai Scholarship, 1000 E. Victoria St. Carson, CA 90747

This first one is an interesting account of a Japanese player for Maryville back in the mid 1880s

College Football Traditions in Tennessee
by B.B. Branton
posted August 31, 2009

MARYVILLE COLLEGE: College football in East Tennessee has its beginning at Maryville College by Kin Takahashi, a Japanese student who evidently played the sport in California in the mid-1880s.

Research shows that MC's inaugural football game was New Year's Eve, 1890 against a victorious Knoxville squad.

The first college game in the state was played 34 days earlier as Vanderbilt defeated Nashville, 40-0, on Thanksgiving Day.

Takahashi was player/coach and guided the Orange and Garnet in its first collegiate game on Oct. 15, 1892, but fell 25-0 to the visiting University of Tennessee.

MC alumni honor the former student each June with a Kin Takahashi Week which includes fund raising and volunteer maintenance work on campus.

The current Maryville team carries on the sport's foundation established by Takahashi as the Fighting Scot players stand as one after each home win and sing the school's alma mater in front of the home fans at Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium, while the victory bell at Anderson Hall is sounded.

Prior to kickoff, the players participate in the "March of the Scots" from Cooper Athletic Center down Donald W. Story Captain's Walk to the stadium.

Asian pioneer Murakami recalls pitching...and FBI protection

Asian pioneer Murakami recalls pitching...and FBI protection

By Shigemi Sato (AFP) – Sep 7, 2009

TOKYO — Despite requiring FBI protection and witnessing black teammates suffer widespread discrimination, Masanori "Mashi" Murakami insists US baseball in the 1960s was a golden age.

Now 65, Japanese pitcher Murakami, the first native Asian to star in the major leagues, vividly remembers the hate mail and seeing black teammate Willie Mays prevented from living in a white residential neighbourhood.

"If I was given another chance, I'd still prefer to play in the major leagues of 45 years ago," Murakami told AFP.

"The players were fair and there was no such problem as drugs."

Murakami was speaking on the anniversary of his major league debut as a 20-year-old relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in September, 1964.

Murakami's MLB stint lasted only two years before his Japanese club Nankai Hawks, keen to take advantage of the left-hander's growing reputation, called him home.

It took another 30 years before strikeout star Hideo Nomo signed up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 to pave the way for a drain of talent across the Pacific from Japan as well as neighbouring South Korea and Taiwan.

Some two dozens of native Asians, including 18 Japanese, are currently plying there trade in MLB this season.

Among them are Seattle Mariners lead-off man Ichiro Suzuki, New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui and Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka, who will turn 29 on Sunday, signed a six-year, 52 million-dollar contract with the Red Sox in 2006.

Suzuki and Matsuzaka helped Japan retain the World Baseball Classic title, the sport's answer to the football World Cup, last March.

"I didn't expect Japanese players to make such an impact," Murakami said. "The players nowadays are very privileged."

In 1964, a year after joining the Nankai Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, Murakami and two teammates were sent to play for the San Francisco Giants' single-A affiliate Fresno.

In August that year, Murakami was raised to full Giants status to become the first native Asian MLB player. On his majors debut, Murakami appeared in the eighth inning and held the New York Mets scoreless.

In his two seasons with the Giants, he struck out 100 batters over 89 innings, racking up a 3.43 earned run average (ERA), with his best pitch being a sharp screwball.

The 1.83m (six-foot) pitcher had five wins, one loss and nine saves in 54 games, becoming a hero in San Francisco and the pride of the huge Japanese-American community in the Californian city.

But there was a dark side to fame with Murakami recalling how Giants manager Herman Franks received death threats for using a Japanese player.

"The FBI protected me for about a week," explained Murakami. "It was because I was Japanese. The sender might have been someone whose family had suffered because of World War II."

When he returned home, Murakami won more than 100 games over 17 years with three Japanese teams before retiring in 1982.

He then served as an Asian scouting coordinator for the Giants, a newspaper columnist and an MLB commentator for the public broadcaster NHK.

Murakami has encouraged more Japanese players to seek a career in MLB which he called "the best place for a baseball player to be".

He claims the domestic leagues are dogged by poor working conditions with limited bonuses for championship series appearances and minimal pensions.

"I think they should go - to put it bluntly - when they can sell themselves at high prices," he told the anniversary dinner. "This is business."

Maybe Ishikawa can quit holding his breath now

Maybe Ishikawa can quit holding his breath now
By Andrew Baggarly


abaggarly@mercurynews.com

Posted: 07/22/2009 08:26:43 PM PDT
Updated: 07/22/2009 08:26:44 PM PDT


Maybe Ishikawa can quit holding his breath now

ATLANTA — Last weekend in Pittsburgh, Travis Ishikawa reached on a fielder's choice and struck up a conversation with Pirates first baseman Adam LaRoche.

LaRoche was among the Giants' rumored trade targets, and because the two men play the same position, it could have made for an awkward moment. But Ishikawa said they talked about less juicy topics.

"You know, 'How was your break; what did you do?' " Ishikawa said. "The usual stuff."

The Pirates dealt LaRoche on Wednesday, but not to the Giants and not for a large sum. The Boston Red Sox parted with two of their less-heralded prospects — a deal that wouldn't have been tough for the Giants to top.

The Giants didn't consider LaRoche enough of an upgrade to warrant the added cost in salary (almost $3 million) and minor league talent. But they remain watchful for a corner infielder, with third baseman Pablo Sandoval able to float as needed.

Could Ishikawa interpret the Giants' taking a pass on LaRoche as a vote of confidence?

"I guess every day in the lineup is a vote of confidence," Ishikawa said. "I'll just take it as a blessing. I can't worry about what the organization will or won't do. I've got to prepare to play hard and hope the numbers keep me in the lineup each day."

Those numbers are much better at home. Ishikawa is hitting .353 at AT&T Park and .144 on the road. In


a smaller sample last year, the opposite was true: A .143 home average and .350 on the road.

"Naw, there's no rhyme or reason for that," said Giants Manager Bruce Bochy, who mentioned Ishikawa's glove as a factor keeping him in the lineup. "I don't think he changes his approach. But it's a pretty significant split, I know."