Basketball: Schools linked with professional league to open in April
January 27, 2006Japan's first schools for training professional basketball players will open in April, in partnerships with three teams of the newly launched pro basketball league, known as the bj league, school operators said Friday. The three schools -- Human Academy Co.'s Basketball College, Kyushu Sogo Sports College and Apple Sports College -- will start training courses in tie-ups with the Osaka Evessa, Oita Heatdevils and Niigata Albirex, respectively, they said. The professional league opened its inaugural season last November, with six teams participating.
Soccer: Japan to play 9 games before World Cup
January 27, 2006Japan will play nine games in the run-up to the World Cup finals in Germany kicking off on June 9, the Japan Football Association announced Friday. Japan will open their 2006 schedule on Feb. 10 with a friendly against the United States in San Francisco, followed by a friendly at home to Finland in Shizuoka on Feb. 18 and an Asian Cup qualifier against India in Yokohama on Feb. 22.
Motor Racing: Super Aguri F1 team secures place for 2006
January 27, 2006The International Automobile Federation said Thursday it has accepted the entry of Japan's Super Aguri Formula One team to the 2006 world championship. In a brief official statement, the FIA said, ''Following receipt of the necessary financial guarantee and with the unanimous support of the competing teams, the FIA has accepted the late entry of the Super Aguri F1 Team to the 2006 Formula One World Championship.''