[Graphic News] Ohtani’s Dodgers jersey tops 2024 MLB merchandise sales

According to MLB.com, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new superstar Shohei Ohtani topped merchandise sales this season, with his No. 17 jersey being the most popular. Ohtani, in his debut season with the Dodgers, made history by becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. This year, he recorded a .310 batting average, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs scored and 59 stolen bases, positioning him as a frontrunner for his third MVP title. Trailing Ohtani in

BaseballOct. 9, 2024

Twins outlast Wiz to reach verge of KBO postseason series win

Powered by a pair of homers and a dominant relief outing from a young hurler, the LG Twins outlasted the KT Wiz 6-5 on Tuesday to move within a win of reaching the next round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason. Austin Dean slugged a three-run homer off starter Wes Benjamin in the fifth to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul, after Park Dong-won had opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second. Starter-turned-reliever Son Ju-young twirl

BaseballOct. 8, 2024

Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'

Barcelona are hoping to return to their legendary Camp Nou stadium, currently undergoing modernisation and expansion work, "by the end of the year," club spokesperson Elena Fort said on Monday. The Catalan giants' construction roadmap was presented to the press on Monday, with officials insisting the club was "actively working" to return to the Camp Nou "by the end of the year" with an initial 62,000 capacity, instead of the 105,000 planned at the end of the wo

SoccerOct. 7, 2024

[Graphic News] Chelsea tops transfer spending, surpassing $1.3b

Chelsea Football Club has been named the most expensive soccer team in the world, according to the CIES Football Observatory, a Swiss research center. In its latest report, Chelsea ranked first among the top 100 clubs for spending the most on transfer fees. Since American businessman Todd Boehly acquired the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022, Chelsea has invested approximately $1.39 billion on player transfers. Despite this heavy expenditure, the club finished 12th in the 2022-23 Premier Leag

SoccerOct. 7, 2024

Ulsan extend K League 1 lead with victory over rival club

Two-time champions Ulsan HD FC extended their lead at the top of the K League 1 table with a come-from-behind win over second-place Gimcheon Sangmu FC on Sunday. Yago Cariello scored the tiebreaking goal in the 80th minute to lift Ulsan to a 2-1 victory at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in the teams' final match of the first phase of the season. With 33 matches in the books, the 12 teams have been split into two tiers: the top six in Final A and the

SoccerOct. 6, 2024

Twins beat Wiz to even KBO postseason series

The LG Twins erased an early deficit to defeat the KT Wiz 7-2 on Sunday to even up their Korea Baseball Organization postseason series at one game apiece. Light-hitting infielder Shin Min-jae drove in three runs for the Twins, while the bottom third of their lineup contributed four hits, five runs, two RBIs and two steals on this rainy afternoon at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. Twins starter Im Chan-kyu went 5 1/3 solid innings for his second career postseason victory in front of a sellout c

BaseballOct. 6, 2024

Sidearmer, slugger team up for another postseason win

It was deja vu all over again for the KT Wiz pitcher Ko Young-pyo and first baseman Moon Sang-chul on Saturday. The last time these two played in the same postseason game in the Korea Baseball Organization, the Wiz defeated the LG Twins 3-2 in Game 1 of the Korean Series last November. Moon hit an RBI double in the top of the ninth, after Ko threw six solid innings in a no-decision at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. On Saturday, Moon smoked a two-run home run in the top second, and Ko tossed f

BaseballOct. 5, 2024

Wiz edge out Twins to open KBO postseason series

The KT Wiz scored early and hung on for dear life to defeat the LG Twins 3-2 on Saturday to begin their South Korean baseball postseason series. Moon Sang-chul smoked a two-run home run in the top of the second inning at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, and No. 9 hitter Sim Woo-jun delivered an RBI double in the fifth for the narrow Game 1 victory in the first round. Before a sellout crowd of 23,750 fans, Wiz starter Ko Young-pyo tossed four innings of one-run ball just two days after making a

BaseballOct. 5, 2024

Reigning Korean Series MVP wants another taste of championship; opponent seeks revenge

After helping his LG Twins end a 29-year title drought in South Korean baseball last year, shortstop Oh Ji-hwan wants nothing more than another taste of the championship this year. With the Twins set to face the KT Wiz in the first round of the Korea Baseball Organization postseason Saturday afternoon, Oh said the pressure may be off the shoulders of the Twins players. But that doesn't mean there is any less drive or motivation. "I want to keep winning," Oh said at Jamsil Baseball

BaseballOct. 5, 2024

Opposing managers taking contrasting pitching plans into KBO postseason series

With his bullpen considerably weaker than the team's title run from a year ago, LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb said Saturday he will need his starters to munch up innings. In ending a 29-year title drought in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2023, the Twins leaned heavily on their bullpen. But gone is the closer from that season, Go Woo-suk, who signed with the San Diego Padres in January. Setup man Jung Woo-young just had his worst regular season of his career, and not many reli

BaseballOct. 5, 2024

Injured captain Son Heung-min dropped from nat'l team for World Cup qualifiers

South Korea captain Son Heung-min will not play in two World Cup qualifying matches later this month due to a left hamstring injury, the national football federation announced Friday. The Korea Football Association said the national team staff had decided to drop Son from the 26-man squad to "protect the player's health," after Son sustained his injury during a UEFA Europa League match for Tottenham Hotspur against Qarabag on Sept. 26 in London. Son has since missed two matches --

SoccerOct. 4, 2024

FIFA warns S. Korean football body of possible sanctions due to investigation by sports ministry

FIFA has warned the Korea Football Association (KFA) of possible sanctions for violating its obligation to operate independently, in light of an ongoing probe by the sports ministry. A FIFA official confirmed to Yonhap News Agency on Thursday that the global football body had sent a letter to the KFA, referring the South Korean member association to "its statutory obligation to manage its affairs independently and to ensure that its own affairs are not unduly influenced by any third parties

SoccerOct. 3, 2024

[Herald Interview] Hanwha Life Esports aims high with 2024 LoL Worlds

Hanwha Life Esports completed its David-and-Goliath story and shocked many spectators by defeating Gen.G in the League of Legends Champions Korea Summer finals, winning the title for the first time in September. Not only did HLE upset the team expected to win gold this year, but its victory ended T1 and Gen.G's dominance in the LCK finals, with the two teams having enjoyed a total of five consecutive championship victories since 2022. But Choi “Dandy” In-gyu, the head coach for

More SportsOct. 2, 2024

Ministry confirms irregularities in national soccer coach hiring

The South Korean soccer association violated multiple regulations in hiring the current and former national team coaches, the Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism confirmed Wednesday. The ministry, however, said that it remained unclear whether the violations would invalidate the contract of Hong Myung-bo, the current coach who replaced Juergen Klinsmann. "The Korea Football Association had said that all regulations were met in hiring the national team coach, but the probe revealed inap

SoccerOct. 2, 2024

SF Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo back home after injury-shortened rookie season

The San Francisco Giants' outfielder Lee Jung-hoo returned home Tuesday following a rookie season cut short by a shoulder injury in May. Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the Giants in December but only played in 37 games in 2024, after suffering a left shoulder injury on May 12. He crashed into the outfield wall at Oracle Park in San Francisco while trying to make a leaping catch in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He was initially diagnosed with a left shoulder dislocat

BaseballOct. 1, 2024

Hanwha Eagles lose final home game at oldest KBO stadium

The Hanwha Eagles lost their final home game at the oldest stadium in the South Korean professional baseball league Sunday. The Eagles fell to the NC Dinos 7-2 at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, some 140 kilometers south of Seoul, to finish off their 2024 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season at 66-76-2 (wins-losses-ties). Opened in 1964, the stadium had been the oldest ballpark in the KBO and also the smallest in the league with a capacity of 12,000. The KBO had its first season in 1982,

BaseballSept. 29, 2024

LG Twins breaks KBO single-season attendance record

The defending South Korean baseball champions LG Twins broke the single-season attendance record Thursday. The Twins drew 21,593 fans for their home game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Thursday. With that, the Twins reached 1,397,499 fans for the season, surpassing the previous record of 1,380,018 fans drawn by the Lotte Giants in 2009. The Twins lead the 10-team Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in attendance this season. They are one of six teams to have attra

BaseballSept. 26, 2024

Bears defeat Dinos to move closer to KBO postseason spot

The Doosan Bears smacked three home runs, including a pair by No. 8 hitter Kang Seung-ho, as they defeated the NC Dinos 10-5 at home to step closer to a postseason berth in the Korea Baseball Organization on Tuesday. Kang slapped a go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the second inning at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in the capital city, before delivering a two-run shot that extended the Bears' lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning. Jared Young added a two-run homer of his own in the three-run f

BaseballSept. 24, 2024

Natl. football head coach rejects claims of preferential treatment in hiring process

Hong Myung-bo, the beleaguered head coach of the South Korean men's national football team, said Tuesday he doesn't think he was given any preferential treatment when he was hired for the job this summer. Hong also defied calls for his resignation over the issue. Hong made these comments during the questioning session by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly. The coach was among witnesses summoned by the committee, whose lawmakers grilled Hong, Korea Footba

SoccerSept. 24, 2024

KFA Chair denies unfair hiring of national coach

Korea Football Association chief Chung Mong-gyu on Tuesday denied any attempts to plot a “scheme or cover up the truth,” in the hiring of men’s national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo, which has been under suspicion of irregularities. He was summoned to testify before the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee on the allegations that the KFA hired the 55-year-old star football player-turned-coach in July as the head coach of the men’s squ

PoliticsSept. 24, 2024