The first batch of players named to South Korean men's national football team reported to their training camp on Tuesday as they prepared to host five-time World Cup champion Brazil.South Korea, ranked 58th, will host the world No. 8 Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Players from leagues in Europe, China and Japan were the first to join the camp set up at the National Football Center here in Paju, north of Seoul. They will later be joined by players based in the domestic K

SoccerOct. 8, 2013

South Korean slugger Lee Dae-ho has wrapped up his second successful season in Japan, with his immediate future hanging in the balance.The Orix Buffaloes first baseman played his last game of the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season at home on Monday. The Buffaloes have three road games remaining against the Rakuten Golden Eagles, but already well out of the postseason contention, 14 games back of the Pacific League-leading Rakuten, they allowed Lee to leave the team early.Lee, 31, has

BaseballOct. 8, 2013

SHANGHAI -- Roger Federer and his teammate Zhang Ze, China’s top male singles player, dominated center court Monday night at the Shanghai Rolex Masters to defeat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson and Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov in a swift, high-intensity first-round doubles match that ended 6-2, 6-1.In just 47 minutes, the clear fan favorites showcased the prowess of the 17-time Grand Slam-winning Swiss legend and the 23-year-old Chinese rising star, who held his own from the first shot to the last.Zha

More SportsOct. 8, 2013

Alex Rodriguez's lawsuit claiming Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bud Selig went on a “witch hunt” to force him from the sport has been moved from state to federal court.Major League Baseball filed a notice of removal Monday, saying claims by the New York Yankees third baseman are governed by federal law.The lawsuit, originally filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, was assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, who joined the bench in December, and U.S. Magistrat

BaseballOct. 8, 2013

SHANGHAI ― By the end of day one, China’s chances for one of its countrymen to go deep in the Shanghai Rolex Masters were narrowed down to just two players. All six Chinese singles players in the qualifiers, including four wild card picks, were defeated Saturday. The next day, world No. 243 Wu Di, the first of China’s three main-draw wild cards to play, fell to Florian Mayer of Germany, 6-3, 6-3, in the first round on center court at Qi Zhong Stadium.In the 68-minute match, Wu never had a break

More SportsOct. 7, 2013

South Korean footballer Ki Sung-yueng, heavily criticized over writing derisive online comments toward his former national team head coach, vowed on Monday to make a personal apology.The midfielder for Sunderland in English Premier League arrived at Incheon International Airport Monday to join the national team's training camp this week. South Korea is scheduled to host Brazil on Saturday and Mali on Oct. 15.Ki, once a fixture on the national team, is back on the squad for the first time under t

SoccerOct. 7, 2013

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers got a no-decision in his first Major League Baseball (MLB) playoff start here on Sunday.Facing the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) at Dodger Stadium, Ryu was yanked out of the game with two outs in the third inning for pinch hitter Michael Young, with the Dodgers ahead 6-4.Ryu allowed four earned runs on six hits and a walk in three innings for his shortest outing of the year, including the regular season. Ryu became

BaseballOct. 7, 2013

Pedro Alvarez hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in best-of-five NL division series.Alvarez pulled a grounder into right field that scored pinch-runner Josh Harrison from second base. Russell Martin followed with a sharp RBI single against reliever Kevin Siegrist, who took over after Carlos Martinez (0-1) faltered.The go-ahead single was the latest big hit by Alvarez. He homered in the first two ga

BaseballOct. 7, 2013

Fred Couples, the coolest guy in golf, never really looked that way until he stood on the edge of the 18th fairway Sunday and saw everything going his way.The Americans needed only one more point to win the Presidents Cup.And there was Tiger Woods, who has a history of delivering the winning point, in the middle of the fairway at Muirfield Village, where he has won a record five times.The Presidents Cup ended just the way it always does.Woods found the green and two-putted for par and a 1-up vic

GolfOct. 7, 2013

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel's relentless push toward a seemingly inevitable fourth-straight Formula One drivers' championship continued with a victory at the Korean Grand Prix on Sunday.Even two safety-car periods, the emergence of a truck on the circuit mid-race and the incineration of his teammate's car were not enough to put off the German, who made it a hat-trick of wins in Korea, and a fourth successive victory overall.The Red Bull ace led throughout to win by 4.2 seconds ahead of the

More SportsOct. 7, 2013

In the domestic equivalent of the "Subway Series," two Seoul-based clubs will go toe-to-toe in the opening round of the South Korean professional baseball playoffs starting on Tuesday.The Nexen Heroes will host the Doosan Bears to start the best-of-five first round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) playoff series at Mokdong Stadium in western Seoul at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. It will be the first-ever postseason clash between the two clubs.The Heroes, who finished third in the regular season, w

BaseballOct. 7, 2013

SHANGHAI ― He has finally clawed his way back to the top, and Rafael Nadal is riding the momentum of his newly reclaimed status as the world’s No. 1 tennis player into the Shanghai Rolex Masters series this week. Rafa returns Monday to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time since July 2011, after he prevailed in the China Open semifinal in Beijing on Saturday as Tomas Berdych retired in the first set with a back injury. The Spaniard’s crown was secure regardless of the outcome of the fin

More SportsOct. 6, 2013

BOSTON (AP) ― David Ortiz homered twice, the second shot chasing David Price in the eighth inning on Saturday night, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 to take a 2-0 lead in the AL division series.It was the first two-homer postseason game for the Red Sox designated hitter, who was a star for the 2004 Boston team that won the franchise’s first World Series title in 86 years and is the only player remaining from that club.“When he hits two home runs, things are going to revolve ar

BaseballOct. 6, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Belgian teenager Adnan Januzaj scored twice in his first start for Manchester United, rallying the Red Devils to a 2-1 win at last-place Sunderland on Saturday that avoided their first three-game Premier League losing streak since December 2001.After losses against Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion, United fell behind in the fifth minute when Nemanja Vidic’s poor clearance attempt went into the path of Craig Gardner, who beat goalkeeper David De Gea.The 18-year-old Januzaj s

SoccerOct. 6, 2013

Teenager Kim A-lang gave South Korea its first title at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track on home ice on Saturday.At Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, Kim claimed the women's 1,500-meter title at 2:23.400, beating teammate Shim Suk-hee and Valerie Maltais of Canada.This is the second leg of the four-event World Cup series. In the first leg held in Shanghai last month, South Koreans combined for four titles.Kim, 18, earned two gold medals at the junior world championships held

More SportsOct. 6, 2013

YEONGAM (AP) ― Korean Grand Prix organizers say there needs to be a significant reduction in the race’s hosting fee if it is to continue beyond this year, with the local promoter saying the chances of Formula One returning in 2014 are “50-50.’’The Korean GP has been included on a provisional basis in the draft calendar of 22 races in 2014, albeit in April rather than its regular date in October.However, acting promoter Park Won-hwa told the Associated Press it will be difficult for the event to

More SportsOct. 4, 2013