For those diehard faithfuls who want to see their favorite baseball icons play one last time before next season, this weekend's exhibition games between the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) All Stars and the Taiwan National Team will be the perfect opportunity.
In preparation for the upcoming Asian Championship, to be held in Sapporo, Japan next month, the league has invited the foreign pitchers from the Brother Elephants and the Sinon Bulls to join local All Stars who will not be competing in Sapporo to play a pair of tune-up games against the national team, that is made up of primarily local CPBL players.
Game 1, to be held at Hsinchuang County Stadium, will begin at 6:35pm tonight. Game 2 will be played in Tienmu on Sunday and will begin at 2:05pm.
"We all know how important this tournament is to Taiwan, so we will do our part to make sure that the national team will be ready to face the South Koreans and the Japanese," Elephants right-hander Jonathan Hurst of the US said.
The top two winners from Sapporo will represent Asia in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Hurst will join his teammates, Yokota Hisanori and Nakagomi Sin of Japan, and the three foreign pitchers from the Bulls -- Jeff Andra, Osvaldo Martinez, and Ramon Morel -- plus Elephants greats Chen Chih-yuan (
Despite the late withdrawal of Tsao Chin-hui (
Heroes of the national squad that won the Bronze Medal in the 2001 World Cup Tournament, Chang Chih-jia (張誌家) and Hsu Ming-jeh (許明傑) of the Seibu Lions and Wang Chien-ming (王建民) of the New York Yankee AA affiliate, will lead a pitching staff that looks to avenge a loss to Japan in Seoul, Korea four years ago that denied Taiwan a chance to play in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"As long as we can build momentum going into Sapporo, it's anybody's game, even if we don't matchup particularly well against the other two teams at every position," pitching coach of the Chinatrust Whales and head coach for the national team Hsu Sheng-ming (
This year's Japanese team will feature an All-Star lineup from the Nippon Professional Baseball League, while the South Koreans assemble their best possible club from the eight professional teams in their Korean Baseball Organization.
Nineteen wickets fell yesterday on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test, with England’s attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172. A rampaging Mitchell Starc took 7-58 to put England on the back foot after Stokes won the toss on a fine day at a packed Perth Stadium and chose to bat. Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the only resistance as they crumbled after lunch, but England’s elite fast bowlers, led by an exceptional Stokes with 5-23, fought back to reduce the hosts
France’s Kevin Aymoz snatched the men’s title at Skate America on Saturday, winning his first grand prix title with a battling free skate, while short program leader Kazuki Tomono faltered. It was an emotional triumph for Aymoz, who made his grand prix level debut in 2017, with seven prior podium finishes, but no gold. He had struggled with a painful foot injury since a disappointing 10th-place finish at Skate Canada last month. “It was so difficult,” the 28-year-old said. “After Skate Canada I wanted to give up so much and today I’m here and it’s so beautiful to be with my friends competing
Nigeria’s soccer coach has accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) of practicing “voodoo” after his squad’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out loss in the African playoff final. DR Congo and Nigeria drew 1-1 after extra-time in the tie in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday and the central Africans won 4-3 on penalties to book a place in inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March next year. In his post-match remarks to journalists, coach Eric Chelle said a member of the DR Congo team “did some voodoo, every time, every time, every time.” “That
Houston’s Calen Bullock on Thursday intercepted reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen twice and the league’s top defensive unit powered the Texans over Buffalo 23-19. Allen was sacked eight times, his most in any game, for 70 lost yards and Bullock’s final pickoff killed the Bills’ last desperate drive with 18 seconds remaining. The Texans, who have allowed the NFL’s fewest points and fewest yards a game this season, shut down Allen, who produced six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay just four days earlier. “The defense stayed disciplined,” Houston’s Danielle Hunter said. “We had a game plan to keep him
RSS