Japan pulls off upset of Germany July 9, 2011, 8:29 PM ET Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
WOLFSBURG Germany -- Japan knocked two-time defending champion Germany out of the Women's World Cup on Saturday, advancing to the semifinals with a 1-0 win when substitute Karina Maruyama outran the defense and scored on an angled shot in extra time.
Japan absorbed relentless pressure during the match, gaining its first World Cup semifinal and handing Germany its first loss in the tournament in a dozen years.
Standout midfielder Homare Sawa spotted Maruyama's deep run in the 108th minute, served her perfectly and Maruyama slipped it past goalie Nadine Angerer to silence the sellout crowd of 26,067 and an expectant nation.
"I saw her running, I saw the gap in the defense and I gave the assist," Sawa said.
The 32-year-old's field vision and precision passing earned her player of the match award.
"I take my hat off to her," said Germany coach Silvia Neid. "It is her fifth World Cup and she still plays so well."
Germany threw everything forward in the final dozen minutes, but it didn't matter. As throughout the tension-filled match, the bounces didn't go the hosts' way.
"I am so happy. We all fought together until the end," Maruyama said. "It was not my success, but that of the whole team."
(Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)Japanese players celebrate their 1-0 victory over host Germany on Saturday. With the win, Japan advances to the semifinals.
Germany's fear of elimination appeared to douse its creativity and the quarterfinal turned into a test of survival. In the end it was the "Japanese game" that coach Norio Sasaki promised that made the difference -- one precision pass and lightness of feet outdid two hours of grinding and pushing by the hosts.
Germany had not lost a World Cup game going back to a quarterfinal defeat to the United States in 1999.
The loss also meant the likely end of the World Cup career of Birgit Prinz, Germany's best player and the tournament's all-time leading scorer. After two disappointing games, she was benched for the last group game and again in the quarterfinal. She came off to shake hands.
After the game, the Japanese players united behind a Japanese banner saying, "To our friends around the world -- Thank you for your support," recognizing the global aid in the wake of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March.
"Our playing is to be an encouragement for the victims of the disaster," Sasaki said.
Germany's tactical plans had already gone awry after four minutes when midfielder Kim Kulig hurt her right knee as she was going for a header that just went over. Neid was counting on Kulig's ball-winning skills, but instead immediately had to replace her.
"It was a shock for us," Neid said.
Germany was piling early pressure with high balls, yet after 20 minutes, things slowly started to turn.
The fervor went out of the capacity crowd and Japan got a foothold in midfield.
Unlike its loss to England in the last group game, Japan was able to deal with the physical pressure Germany was throwing at it and their defenders put a foot in as often as the Germans did.
Early in the second half, Germany threatened again when Yukari Kinga kicked a ball off the line after Simone Laudehr's header. Yet Japan refused to crack under the pressure, even if it was forced to concede two yellow cards.
Sawa kept her team composed and set up chances for attack with a close control game and precision passing.
Soon, the mighty Germans were kicking the ball out of their penalty area in panic and with 15 minutes to go, the quarterfinal was anyone's match with two tired teams chasing each and every ball.
"Our players were forced to be patient and wait for their opportunity," Sasaki said.
World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations and held every two years. The upcoming event will be held in the city of Daegu.
Event title : IAAF World Championships, Daegu 2011- International Association of Athletics Federations
www.iaaf.org/
Date : August 27 ~ September 4, 2011 (9 days)
Event size : 212 countries, 6,000 athletes (plus 3,500 officers and
2,500 reporters) 47 events (24 for male, 23 for female)
Location : Daegu Stadium
米大リーグ：うっそ〜。アルバート・プーホーがエンジェルス!! a 10-year deal for at least $250 million. 年俸の桁が違う。まだ所属チーム・カージナルズの契約金との折り合い次第であり、最終決定ではないことがＥＳＰＮのニュースでわかる。いつものことだが打線が湿り勝ちなエンゼルス打線には、彼は即戦力として期待が持てる。だが今まで隠れファンとしてゲームを追っていると、多分バッティングコーチに責任があるのだろうと思える。他チームに移籍した元エンジェル選手が打線で活躍するケースが際立っているからだ。たとえばテキサスレインジャーに昨年移ったキャッチー、マイク・ナポリ (Mike Napoli) が今シーズンＭＶＰ級に活躍したのが良い例。だからアルバート・プジョーの打率その他の成績がエンゼルス入団して突然に、極端に落ちなければ良いが。余談だがアルバート・プホルスという書き方は間違い。アルバート・プーホーが発音に近い。
****
エンゼルスがプホルス獲得 ＭＶＰ３度の強打者
2011/12/9 1:46
ダービッシュの大リーグへのラブコールと米スカウト側の目
Yu Darvish wants to play in majors
ESPN.com news services
TOKYO -- Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish ended months of speculation Thursday by saying he intends to make a move to Major League Baseball.
The 25-year-old right-hander, considered the best pitcher in the Japanese professional leagues, wrote on his blog that he had decided to use the posting system, which allows MLB teams to bid for the negotiating rights to Japanese players who have yet to become free agents.
"I have decided to use the posting system," he said. "I wanted to tell my fans directly, so that is why I am posting this on my blog."
Darvish, the son of an Iranian father and a Japanese mother, went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA this season for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. He had 276 strikeouts to lead the Pacific League.
The Fighters had given him approval to negotiate with a major league club through the posting system. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Ichiro Suzuki went to the major leagues under the system.
"I owe a lot of thanks to my team," Darvish said, adding he would provide more details at an upcoming news conference.
Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was a member of the Japanese national team that won the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
The 6-foot-5 Darvish has superb control and throws seven effective pitches, including a two-seam fastball introduced during the 2010 season. It's expected he would make a top-of-the-rotation major league starter.
"Darvish is the No. 1 pitcher in Japan, but we want him to become the ace of the world," Nippon Ham team representative Toshimasa Shimada said.
Yu Darvish, 25, went 18-6 with a league-leading 1.44 ERA this season for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. His 276 strikeouts led the Pacific League.
Darvish turned pro in 2005 at 18. His pro career got off to a rocky start when he was caught smoking in a pachinko parlor on an off day during his first spring training, despite not being old enough to legally smoke or gamble at the time.
After going 5-5 with a 3.53 ERA in his rookie season with the Fighters, Darvish had a breakout year in 2006, going 12-5 with a 2.89 ERA and 115 strikeouts.
In 2007, Darvish won the Eiji Sawamura Award presented to the top pitcher in Japanese professional baseball after posting a 15-5 record with a 1.82 ERA and a league-leading 210 strikeouts.
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Once posted by the Fighters, MLB clubs can submit sealed bids for the right to negotiate with Darvish. If the Fighters accept the highest bid, the MLB club that placed that bid will have 30 days to finalize a contract with the player. If no deal is reached, Darvish returns to the Fighters for another season and the Fighters must return the posting fee to the MLB club.
The Texas Rangers certainly will be one team with interest. They've scouted Darvish in the past and generak manager Jon Daniels has seen him pitch in person.
The New York Yankees also are expected to make a bid, but have been coy about their intentions after their bad experiences with Kei Igawa, who failed to make an impact in the majors.
Before leaving the winter meetings, Boston Red Sox GM Ben Cherington indicated that the Red Sox are unlikely to participate in the posting process for Darvish.
"I'm not sure the timing of this offseason puts us in a position to be the most aggressive team," Cherington said. "But he's a good pitcher. We have a lot of respect for him. We certainly will discuss it. We've got to figure out if a post makes sense.
"We've got a lot of commitment to the starting rotation, as you guys know. We feel pretty good about the front end of our rotation. Certainly if a team is going to be posting and trying to sign him, it's going to be part of the front end of the rotation. We feel pretty good about that part of our team."
In 2006, former Seibu Lions pitcher Matsuzaka drew a $51.1 million posting fee from the Red Sox, who signed him to a six-year, $52 million contract, taking the total package to more than $100 million.
The Yankees won the negotiating rights to shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima of the Lions on Wednesday. The posting fee for the 29-year-old was $2.5 million.
Information from ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett, ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand, ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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米大リーグ：エンゼルスが野球界を衝撃。タイトルが凄い。
-アルバート・プーホーとＣ．Ｊ．ウィルソン獲得で
****
Angels shock the baseball world
L.A. commits more than $325 million to land Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson
DALLAS -- It takes a lot to shock the citizens of Planet Baseball. A lot of dollars. A lot of years. A lot of courage.
But the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have pulled it off. On an unforgettable Thursday morning at baseball's 2011 winter meetings, they stunned their sport and changed their world, all in one dramatic swoop.
All it took was signing the great Albert Pujols, not to mention the $77.5 million and five years they gave to free-agent starter C.J. Wilson.
All it took was 10 years and more than $250 million, and Sir Albert was a Cardinals icon no more. He's an Angel now. Wait. Check that. He's THE Angel now.
He's the face of a franchise that hadn't even been connected with his name until 24 hours earlier. And that means he hasn't just transformed the Angels. He has left his indelible imprint on his entire sport -- on the team he is leaving behind, on the team he's joining, on the NL Central and the AL West, on landmark baseball contracts past and future.
It all came crashing down on one earth-rattling morning at the winter meetings, as news of Pujols' shocking decision rippled through the Hilton Anatole hotel and all the baseball movers and shakers who were still trying to fathom what just happened.
"If he's going to the American League, I'm a happy camper," said Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
"From my standpoint, it's great," said Mets GM Sandy Alderson. "We've got two wild cards and no Albert Pujols."
"I'll miss seeing him," said Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who once, in a previous life, was the general manager who had brought Pujols to the big leagues in St. Louis. "But I won't miss facing him."
Asked whether life in the American League West had just gotten a little more fun, Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine retorted: "How liberal is your definition of the word 'fun?'
"We just saw him for seven games [in the World Series]," Levine went on. "I think it's safe to say we haven't exactly figured him out yet."
Pujols' contract will go down in history as the biggest to a man who was not named Alex Rodriguez. Amazingly, his deal got done in the same hotel where the Texas Rangers once signed A-Rod for 10 years and 252 million of Tom Hicks' well-intentioned dollars.
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Asked Thursday whether there must be something about this hotel that inspired monstrous contracts, Alderson quipped: "There must be a strain of Legionnaires' disease here."
"Maybe 'Anatole' means 'U.S. Mint' in another language," joked another GM who wished to remain nameless.
But for the sport of baseball, this was no joking matter. The Angels are a different franchise now than they were a week ago. They have tied themselves to the face, the bat and the aura of the Best Player in Baseball -- for the next decade, anyway. And we'll never be able to view them quite the same way again, no matter how this turns out.
The immediate reaction of the masses will be to torch this decision -- based solely on the completely sensible premise that it's absurd to believe that a 10-year contract for any player in his early 30s is a good idea.
But that isn't how the Angels view this. For them, this is more than merely a baseball contract. This is a decision based not just on what Pujols is about to do for them on the field. It's also based on what he's about to do for the franchise.
"There's no question that branding comes into play," said Alderson, who worked in the commissioner's office sorting through deals like this in a previous professional incarnation. "There's no question that the television dynamic is probably a factor."
So to think that any other player -- whether it's Prince Fielder today or Bryce Harper in 2017 -- can take this contract and use it to rake in a quarter-billion dollars of his own is missing the point. This isn't just any player. It's Albert Pujols.
"Deals of this length and this magnitude are extremely rare for a reason," one National League executive said. "There's only one Albert Pujols. He's the best player of his generation. When you do any contract, you're always looking for comparables. Well, who's comparable to him? There are only a handful of guys who have ever played who are comparable to Albert Pujols."
And that's what the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were buying here -- not merely a first baseman, not merely a No. 3 hitter, but a legend who alters everything about them.
Was that worth $250 million? We're about to find out.
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. His latest book, "Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies," was published by Triumph Books and is available in a new paperback edition, in bookstores and online. Click here to order a copy.
