The Korea Herald

One and counting

CINCINNATI (AP) ― Joey Votto? One single in 10 at-bats. Jay Bruce? One double in 13 at-bats with seven strikeouts.Cincinnati’s top run producers barely got the bat on the ball, yet the Reds managed to win the major leagues’ first interleague series to open a season. Credit those other guys who don’t normally do the heavy lifting.Choo Shin-soo homered on Joe Blanton’s first pitch of the game Thursday, the first of Cincinnati’s three homers off the right-hander, and the Reds won 5-4 over the Los A

BaseballApril 5, 2013

Choi shares Kraft Nabisco lead

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) ― Suzann Pettersen and Choi Na-yeon pushed each other to the top of the leaderboard in perfect morning conditions in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.Jodi Ewart Shadoff matched them late Thursday afternoon with a scrambling par on the par-5 18th after her drive went to the right and found the deep rough behind a tall tree.“There were two options,” said Ewart Shadoff, the 25-year-old Englishwoman in her second full year on the LPGA Tour. “Punch fade it around the tree

GolfApril 5, 2013

NBA: Mavericks’ owners say he may draft female player

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently said he is mulling whether he should draft Brittney Griner in next year’s NBA draft.According to ESPN, Cuban said he will take the female college superstar from Baylor University in the second round of 2013 draft if she is “the best on board.”“Would I do it? Right know, I’d lean toward yes,” Cuban was quoted as saying. He added that he will pick Griner only if she can play, saying he is “not going to carry her just to carry her.”Griner welcomed the oppo

More SportsApril 5, 2013

Lance Armstrong to compete again - as a swimmer

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Disgraced US cyclist Lance Armstrong, who is banned for life from most competitive sports for doping, will compete in a regional swimming championship, a Texas newspaper reported Thursday.The Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championship is not under the umbrella of the US anti-doping agency, which stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories and banned him for life from its events, the Austin-American Statesman newspaper reported.Armstrong, 41 will swim over t

More SportsApril 4, 2013

Baseball still lacks MLB guarantee for Olympic bid

ROME (AP) ― Baseball and softball’s joint bid for Olympic reinstatement is still lacking a guarantee that major league stars would be available to play ahead of a key presentation to the IOC next month.International Baseball Federation President Riccardo Fraccari is holding out hope that Major League Baseball will commit its players for at least the semifinals and finals of the proposed Olympic tournament, but he told the Associated Press on Wednesday that “we have to be realistic.”Baseball and

BaseballApril 4, 2013

Anthony, Knicks win 10th straight

ATLANTA (AP) ― Carmelo Anthony put on another scoring show, though he didn’t have to do it alone.Anthony scored 40 points and the Knicks got key contributions from J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton during a 19-5 fourth-quarter run that sparked New York to its 10th straight victory, 95-82 over Atlanta on Wednesday night.“Melo is smart enough to know that if he’s doubled, he’ll sacrifice the ball,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “And we’ve got enough shooters around him that are making big shots. Tha

More SportsApril 4, 2013

Tseng relaxed, set for Kraft Nabisco

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) ― Yani Tseng lost the No. 1 spot in the world to Stacy Lewis three weeks ago in Phoenix, then was booted out of the Kia Classic a few days later when she overslept and missed her pro-am tee time.Winless in more than a year, the 24-year-old Taiwanese star enters the Kraft Nabisco Championship in a far different position and frame of mind than she did last season.“I’m totally fine,” Tseng said Wednesday, a day before the start of play at Mission Hills. “It takes a lo

GolfApril 4, 2013

Ronaldo, Real trounce Galatasaray

MADRID (AP) ― With a dominant display, Real Madrid put itself in prime position to reach the Champions League semifinals.Cristiano Ronaldo scored nine minutes in, and Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain added goals in a 3-0 win over Galatasaray on Wednesday night in the first leg of their quarterfinal.Ronaldo put the nine-time champions ahead with when he split defenders Emmanuel Eboue and Semih Kaya, ran onto a perfectly weighted through-pass from Mesut Oezil and chipped goalkeeper Fernando Musle

SoccerApril 4, 2013

Kia Tigers deal with Kim’s injury

The Kia Tigers will be tested over the next month or so in the Korea Baseball Organization as they will be forced to play without their biggest offensive sparkplug.The Tigers, the trendy preseason pick to win it all in 2013, have lost outfielder Kim Joo-chan for up to six weeks. Kim took a pitch to his left hand in a game against the Hanwha Eagles on Wednesday and X-rays revealed a broken wrist. The team said he is scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday.Kim remained in the game after taking th

BaseballApril 4, 2013

Choo scores winning run for Cincinnati

CINCINNATI (AP) ― Joey Votto’s first hit of the season wasn’t all that pretty, but the timing and placement were perfect. Votto’s hard grounder deflected off the glove of first baseman Albert Pujols and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.Brandon Phillips hit a three-run homer in his new role as Cincinnati’s cleanup hitter, and Votto provided the clincher with his first hit after an 0

BaseballApril 4, 2013

Korean wins overshadowed by one humiliating loss

Three South Korean football clubs notched victories in their AFC Champions League group stage matches this week, but their success was mostly overshadowed by one other South Korean team’s humiliating loss.All four K League Classic teams took on Japanese opponents this week in the continent’s premier club competition. On Wednesday, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors poured in three second-half goals to defeat Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 in Group F. The victory followed two wins from Tuesday, when FC Seoul beat Ve

SoccerApril 4, 2013

Korean wins overshadowed by one humiliating loss

Swimmer Park feels career not finished

At the ripe age of 23, South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan has already heard the whispers that his career may be done. Park has won two world titles, four Olympic medals and 14 Asian Games medals, and doubters have said that he can’t possibly do much more down the road.Such reservations were the basis of the decision by his long-time agency, the sports management wing of the mobile giant SK Telecom, not to re-sign Park after their four-year contract ran out last September. Park has since lo

More SportsApril 4, 2013

Ax kick

The ax kick uses the force of gravity to hit the target with the heel or sole of the foot by dropping the foot from top to bottom.The first picture shows the opponent crouching in to grab his target but the woman lifts her leg and drops it on the opponent’s shoulder.Ax kicks consist of a straight leg with the foot raised up in the air. From there, the leg is dropped with the heel of the foot aiming to hit the face or body of an opponent.This kick is recommended for opponents who are approaching

More SportsApril 3, 2013

Without Crosby, Penguins’ win streak snapped

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Good periods. Bad ones. It didn’t matter much to the Pittsburgh Penguins during their perfect 15-game run through March. In the end, they always found a way.April might be a little tougher, particularly without star Sidney Crosby.Outplayed on both ends of the ice for long stretches by rebuilding Buffalo, Pittsburgh fell 4-1 on Tuesday night to lose for the first time in more than a month.“We just didn’t have much of an answer,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “Things weren’t goi

More SportsApril 3, 2013

McIlroy still sees big picture

HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ― When the scrutiny becomes suffocating, it’s a good time for Rory McIlroy to get as far away as he can.So he went to a practice range on a public course.Imagine the surprise of the paying customer at Miami Municipal Golf Course a few weeks ago who looked over to his left and saw McIlroy, still at No. 1 in the world and a two-time major champion, plop down a carry bag with a Manchester United logo.“Why was that such a big deal?” McIlroy asked with a mixture of amazement and be

GolfApril 3, 2013

NC manager sees hope despite losing first game

CHANGWON (Yonhap News) ― The NC Dinos, the newest member of the Korea Baseball Organization, lost their inaugural game against the Lotte Giants on Tuesday, but the Dinos’ manager Kim Kyung-moon said he still sees hope for his team.The Dinos, the league’s ninth club, played their first-ever KBO game before a sellout crowd of 14,200 at Masan Stadium here in Changwon, about 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in South Gyeongsang Province. The Giants, though, spoiled the party by blanking the Dinos 4

BaseballApril 3, 2013

NC manager sees hope despite losing first game

Welcome to The Show

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Madison Bumgarner pitched two-hit ball over eight innings, giving the San Francisco Giants a 3-0 win against the Dodgers while overshadowing the major league debut of high-priced Los Angeles pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin on Tuesday night.Bumgarner (1-0) struck out six and walked none in the second straight gem at Dodger Stadium. The only hits were a pair of doubles by Andre Ethier and A.J. Ellis. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw homered and pitched a four-hit shutout in the Dodgers’ 4-0 vic

BaseballApril 3, 2013

PSG jolts Barca with late goal

PARIS (AP) ― Lionel Messi helped Barcelona gain a slight edge in its Champions League quarterfinal with Paris Saint-Germain, then limped off after injuring a hamstring.Blaise Matuidi scored on the last kick of the game, giving PSG a 2-2 tie Tuesday night in the first leg of the total-goals series.Messi, the four-time FIFA Player of the Year, scored his 57th goal of the season in the 38th minute, then favored his right leg in the final minutes of the first half and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas a

SoccerApril 3, 2013

Cha Du-ri files for divorce

South Korean footballer Cha Du-ri has filed for divorce from his wife, legal sources said Wednesday.The 33-year-old defender for FC Seoul applied for divorce mediation with the Seoul family court on March 12 against Shin Hye-seong, his wife of five years. In divorce mediation, two parties will cooperate with a neutral third party to amicably settle issues such as child custody and financial support. When the parties fail to reach an agreement, a formal divorce trial can take place.Cha, a former

SoccerApril 3, 2013

Anthony scores 50 as Knicks beat Heat 102-90

Carmelo Anthony equaled his best ever score with 50 points as the New York Knicks won their ninth straight game with a 102-90 victory over the injury-depleted Miami Heat on Wednesday.Anthony sank 18 of 26 attempts from the field, reaching 50 on a jump shot with 16.9 seconds remaining. J.R. Smith scored 14 and Raymond Felton added 10 for New York.Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which played without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers, all held out with injuries not believed to be

More SportsApril 3, 2013