Olympics: Kamino hit by hard luck, Japan disqualified in relay
February 15, 2006Yuka Kamino nearly crashed out of a race and the men's relay team was denied a spot in the final with disqualification as Japan had another miserable day in short track speed skating at the Turin Olympics on Wednesday. Only veteran skater Satoru Terao gave Japan a glimpse of hope after managing a second-place finish in his 1,000-meter heat to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals at the Palavela ice arena.
Olympics: Japan rides on luck to reach women's pursuit semis
February 15, 2006Japan got lucky breaks to earn an unexpected place in the semifinals of the women's speed skating team pursuit at the Turin Winter Olympic Games on Wednesday. Japan appeared headed for elimination when Eriko Ishino, Hiromi Otsu and Maki Tabata trailed Norway by nearly two seconds with two laps to go before a Norwegian skater tripped over and failed to complete the 2,400-meter quarterfinal race.
Olympics: Team pursuit gets lucky break, Terao makes q'finals
February 15, 2006The Japanese women got a fortuitous break in the speed skating team pursuit and Satoru Terao burst into the quarterfinals of the men's 1,000-meter short track event, giving Japan a glimpse of hope to medal at the Turin Olympics on Wednesday. Japan, which won just two medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, failed to made the podium in the women's freestyle moguls and the men's and women's 500-meter speed skating events -- two of its strongest Olympic sports -- and is quickly running out of chances to reach its target of five medals in Turin after five days of competition.
Soccer: Zico to switch shape for Finland friendly
February 15, 2006Japan coach Zico said Wednesday he will scrap his 3-6-1 formation for this weekend's friendly at home to Finland after Japan were outclassed by the United States in Saturday's 3-2 defeat in San Francisco. Zico started Tatsuhiko Kubo as a lone striker against the U.S. but his plan backfired as Japan's six-man midfield were run ragged for over an hour at SBC Park.
Olympics: Japan rides on luck to reach women's pursuit semis
February 15, 2006Japan got lucky breaks to earn an unexpected place in the semifinals of the women's speed skating team pursuit at the Turin Winter Olympic Games on Wednesday. Japan appeared headed for elimination when Eriko Ishino, Hiromi Otsu and Maki Tabata trailed Norway by nearly two seconds with two laps to go before a Norwegian skater tripped over and failed to complete the 2,400-meter quarterfinal race.
Olympics: Ueno fails to medal in men's moguls
February 15, 2006Japanese freestyle skier Osamu Ueno missed out on his shot at glory with a lackluster performance in the men's moguls final at the Turin Olympics on Wednesday. Ueno, who came 15th in qualification, paid for two costly errors as he tried to negotiate the moguls under the floodlights at Sauze d'Oulx, leaving him with a sub-par score of 19.54 to finish last in the 20-man field.
Olympics: High winds force cancellation of Nordic combined event
February 15, 2006The Nordic combined team event at the Turin Winter Olympics was postponed on Wednesday because of strong winds in the ski jumping leg in the Italian Alps. The German team of Jens Gaiser, Bjoern Kircheisen, Ronny Ackermann and Georg Hettich led after the first round of jumps but none of the results will stand and the competition will start from the beginning on another day.
Baseball: H. Matsui returns to U.S. ready for action
February 15, 2006New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui returned to the United States on Wednesday in top condition and looking forward to the new season. ''I have made good preparations again this year and am really looking forward to the new season,'' Matsui told reporters before leaving Narita airport.