Suguri, Arakawa, Ando, Takahashi clinch Turin figure skating berths
December 25, 2005Fumie Suguri clinched a spot for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin after coming from behind to win her fifth title and first in three years at the figure skating national championships Sunday, edging teenage sensation Mao Asada with a solid free skat...
Zhang, Ryu capture Aioi Toyota Cup singles titles
December 25, 2005Chinese world champion Zhang Yining won the women's singles without dropping a game at the Aioi Toyota Cup table tennis tournament Sunday, while Athens Olympic gold medalist Ryu Seung Min of South Korea edged Japan's Kaii Yoshida in the men's final. ...
Harada takes women's singles
December 25, 2005Madoka Harada all but secured a spot in the upcoming Turin Olympics when she won her third straight women's singles title at the national luge championships on Sunday. Harada posted a combined time of 1 minute, 42.856 seconds after two runs at the...
Heart's Cry upsets Deep Impact before 160,000 fans at Arima Kinen
December 25, 2005Heart's Cry stole the show from triple crown winner Deep Impact before a crowd of 160,000 on Sunday with a superb tactical ride by French jockey Christophe Lemaire, handing the overwhelming favorite his first defeat in eight career starts at the Arim...
Nagai wins national Nordic combined crown
December 25, 2005Yoichi Nagai overtook 14 skiers with a strong cross country run to win the Nordic combined national championship on Sunday. Nagai, who was 15th after the ski jumping portion Saturday, posted the fastest time in the 15-kilometer cross country race...
Takahashi wins men's program, Arakawa tops women's event
December 25, 2005Daisuke Takahashi won his first national title at senior level after the men's free skate on Saturday, edging out Nobunari Oda in a twist of fate brought about by a judging mistake. Takahashi had an anxious wait for about an hour after skating offici...
Softbank pitcher Saito signs 3-year, Y750 mil deal
December 25, 2005Softbank Hawks right-hander Kazumi Saito signed Saturday with the Pacific League club a three-year contract which is worth an estimated 750 million yen plus performance-based incentives. Saito's annual salary expands to 250 million yen from his cu...