Tottenham's Son Heung-min looking to build off successful season

Tottenham Hotspur's offensive star Son Heung-min will kick off the new Premier League season, looking to build off a successful campaign, in which he joined a select company of attacking aces. Tottenham's 2020-2021 season will begin against Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (local time), or 12:30 a.m. Monday in South Korea. Son set a new career high in attacking points, with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in league play, and 18 goals and 12 assists for

SoccerSept. 11, 2020

Bunched-up table setting up wild final stretch in K League football

It has mostly been a two-horse race for the South Korean club football title in 2020, but there are intriguing battles elsewhere on the bunched-up table. Ulsan Hyundai FC are at the top of the K League 1 with 46 points through 19 matches. With eight contests remaining, they lead Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, three-time defending champions, by five points. Sangju Sangmu are in third place, seven points back. Below them, the middle of the table in the 12-club league gets crowded. Pohang Steelers trai

SoccerSept. 10, 2020

'Nervous' Park Sung-hyun among dozen S. Koreans in field for LPGA season's 2nd major

World No. 4 Park Sung-hyun will headline a contingent of 12 South Korean players at the second major championship of the 2020 LPGA season this week. Park will make her season debut at the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, starting Thursday. She will tee off with Nasa Hataoka at 1:18 p.m. Thursday local time, or 5:18 a.m. Friday in Seoul. The 2020 season began in January with two tournaments in Florida. The tour moved to Australia for two more events,

GolfSept. 9, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun back pitching at home park while recovering from kidney ailment

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun is back throwing in his home stadium as he recovers from a kidney ailment that left him hospitalized over the weekend in Chicago. St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday (US local time) that Kim has thrown at Busch Stadium in St. Louis over the past two days and that the left-handed pitcher will meet with the medical staff in the coming days to see how far he has come along. The club is hoping Kim will be able to throw a bullpen s

BaseballSept. 9, 2020

Rangers' Choo Shin-soo leaves game with sprained wrist

A trying season has taken a turn for the worse for Choo Shin-soo. The South Korean designated hitter for the Texas Rangers sprained his right wrist in a slide during the fourth inning of an -4 loss to the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Monday (local time). Choo suffered the injury sliding into home plate, as he tried to score from first on Joey Gallo's double. He was safe at the plate as he got around catcher Luis Torrens' tag, but jammed his right hand into the ground on the

BaseballSept. 8, 2020

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin touched for 3 home runs vs. Yankees

Once again, Ryu Hyun-jin couldn't solve the New York Yankees. The South Korean starter for the Toronto Blue Jays was roughed up for three home runs against the Bronx Bombers at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Monday (local time), and was pulled after five innings with the Blue Jays trailing 5-2. Ryu was charged with five earned runs in five innings. Three of the six hits he gave up went over the fence, including back-to-back jacks by Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks in the top of the first. He

BaseballSept. 8, 2020

Im Sung-jae barely misses top 10 in PGA Tour season finale

South Korean youngster Im Sung-jae has wrapped up his second PGA Tour season with an up-and-down round. Im shot an even-par 70 for a four-round total of 10-under 274 at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Sunday (local time). He had been in second place halfway through the tournament before fading away over the final two rounds with 72-70. Im recorded six birdies against four bogeys and a double bogey Sunday. He started the round in sixth place and came up just a strok

GolfSept. 8, 2020

DWG stomps DRX to win LCK, sets their eyes on Worlds

Damwon Gaming hoisted the LCK trophy for the first time in its history, sweeping DRX in three games in the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Finals on Saturday. Matches were played online from each team‘s own facility because of COVID-19. Although most analysts and experts had predicted Damwon Gaming’s victory with the team having had an undefeated run in the second half of the regular season, Damwon’s performance Saturday exceeded expectations and was a loud state

More SportsSept. 7, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun back in St. Louis, doing better after bout of kidney ailment

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun is back in the club's home city after a bout with a kidney ailment had him hospitalized in Chicago over the weekend. Cardinals' manager Mike Shildt told reporters on Sunday (local time) that Kim is tired but feeling better. Kim will be re-evaluated on Monday. Kim suffered abdominal pain Friday morning while in Chicago with the rest of the team for a road trip and was taken to the emergency room at a local hospital, where he was diag

BaseballSept. 7, 2020

KBO manager falls ill at stadium for 2nd time this season

SK Wyverns' manager Youm Kyoung-youb has fallen ill at a ballpark for the second time this season, just five days after returning from more than two months on the sidelines. Youm was taken to the emergency room at Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul on Sunday before a Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) regular season game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The Wyverns said Youm had not been feeling well since the morning. He still came to the ballpark late in the morning fo

BaseballSept. 6, 2020

Pandemic Olympics: Japan starts virus countermeasure talks

     TOKYO (AFP) --Japanese officials and Tokyo 2020 organizers began talks Friday on the mammoth task of how to hold the postponed Olympics safely while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.    The Games were postponed earlier this year in a historic decision as the scale of the coronavirus crisis became clear.    But with less than a year until the new opening date on July 23, 2021, many questions remain -- from how border controls will affect the mov

Olympic GamesSept. 4, 2020

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism draws up standard contract for esports

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released standard contracts for esports on Thursday, addressing last year‘s online petition that requested action for fair contracts between players and organizations. Although South Korea has been hailed as the birthplace of esports with the Starcraft league established in 1999, there has been few mechanisms to protect esports players from unfair contracts.  The case of Kanavi, the current jungler for LPL’s JD Gaming, last year bro

More SportsSept. 4, 2020

ShowMaker sweeps LCK Awards

With only the finals on Saturday remaining for League of Legends Champions Korea Summer before the World Championships, Riot Games announced the winners of the LCK Awards on Thursday. The LCK Awards was launched this spring in order to commend players and coaching staff that showed an outstanding performance during the season. The six awards are All-LCK Team, Young Player, Best Coach, Regular Season MVP, Player Of the Split and Finals MVP. Player Of the Split went to Gen. G’s Bdd

More SportsSept. 4, 2020

World No. 1 Ko Jin-young decides not to defend LPGA major title in California

Citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, Ko Jin-young, the world No. 1 in women's golf from South Korea, has decided not to defend an LPGA major championship in California this month. SEMA Sports Marketing, Ko's Seoul-based agency, announced Friday that Ko will not compete at the ANA Inspiration, which opens Sept. 10 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The tournament is usually held in late March or early April but has been pushed back this year because of the CO

GolfSept. 4, 2020

Cardinals' Kim Kwang-hyun enjoying string of luck in rookie MLB season

What is it they say about luck? That you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good? Kim Kwang-hyun, the South Korean rookie starter for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been riding the wave of some good fortune this season, as he has put together some impressive numbers. His basic statistics are outstanding. He's 2-0 in five games, including four starts, with a 0.83 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. It's the lowest in Major League Baseball (MLB) among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. As a s

BaseballSept. 4, 2020

2nd minor league baseball player tests positive for COVID-19

A second South Korean minor league baseball player tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, about 24 hours after his teammate was infected. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced that a member of the Hanwha Eagles' minor league affiliate tested positive for COVID-19, joining his teammate, pitcher Shin Jung-rak. Shin became the first South Korean professional athlete to be infected with the virus. The identity of the second player is being withheld. The KBO only said the

SportsSept. 1, 2020

Messi fails to attend coronavirus test: sources

BARCELONA (AFP) -- Lionel Messi missed a coronavirus test at Barcelona's training ground on Sunday morning, club sources have confirmed to AFP, raising the possibility he will now boycott preseason to force a transfer. Without passing a coronavirus test, Messi will be unable to join teammates for new coach Ronald Koeman's first training session on Monday, with the start of the La Liga season less than two weeks away. Messi was due to report for testing at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday but according t

SoccerAug. 30, 2020

Riot Games announces preferred bidders for LCK franchise

Riot Games Korea on Friday announced the 10 preferred bidders for negotiating for LoL Champions Korea franchises next year, along with five teams that have the next priority, should negotiations with any of the 10 teams fail. The 10 preferred bidders included nine current LCK teams and hyFresh Blade in the Challengers Korea league. The nine current LCK teams selected as preferred bidders in the LCK franchise negotiations are Afreeca Freecs, Damwon Gaming, DRX, Gen. G, T1, Team Dynamics, Sandbo

More SportsAug. 30, 2020

ERA for Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin lowered following scoring change

Toronto Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin has a sub-3.00 ERA after all. Following an official Major League Baseball (MLB) scoring change Saturday (US local time), Ryu's ERA for the season was lowered from 3.16 to 2.92. The South Korean left-hander was initially charged with two earned runs in six innings against the Baltimore Orioles at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Friday. Both runs were scored in the top of the sixth inning when third baseman Travis Shaw, after fielding a grounder by Ryan Mou

BaseballAug. 30, 2020

KBO's NC Dinos drop recent draft pick over abuse history

  The South Korean baseball club NC Dinos announced Thursday they will not sign their recent draft pick due to his history of abuse against a middle school teammate. The Dinos selected Gimhae High School pitcher Kim Yoo-seong with their territorial pick in Monday's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) draft. In the days leading up to the draft and soon after Kim's selection, charges of physical and verbal abuse by Kim against a junior teammate on his middle school team surfaced in cyberspace.

BaseballAug. 27, 2020