Doosan Bears sign US right-hander Josh Lindblom, part ways with veteran

The South Korean baseball club Doosan Bears announced their signing of American right-hander Josh Lindblom on Monday, parting ways with long-time ace Dustin Nippert in the process.The Korea Baseball Organization team said Lindblom agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.45 million. The 30-year-old will be entering his fourth KBO season; he'd spent the first three with the Lotte Giants.The contract talks between Lindblom and the Giants fell through last week. And only hours before the Bears made their

BaseballDec. 11, 2017

After contract talks fall through, American pitcher slams Korean club for 'dishonesty'

After his contract talks with the South Korean baseball club Lotte Giants fell through, American pitcher Josh Lindblom slammed the team for "a long history of dishonesty and unprofessionalism" on Monday.In a message tweeted both in English and Korean, the 30-year-old right-hander thanked fans of the Busan-based Korea Baseball Organization club for their support and said those fans deserve honesty.The Giants announced last Saturday that they weren't able to come to terms with Lindblom for his fou

BaseballDec. 11, 2017

MLB clubs increasingly relying on analytics to generate revenue: club executive

Major League Baseball teams are increasingly relying on analytics to help generate revenue while faced with a myriad of challenges, a club executive said Monday.Joe Januszewski, executive vice president and chief revenue and marketing officer for the Texas Rangers, gave a presentation titled "Working in Major League Baseball: Building a Winner on and Off the Field" at the start of the annual Korea Baseball Organization  Winter Meeting in Seoul.Januszewski laid out primary revenue streams for big

BaseballDec. 11, 2017

Ex-Prime Minister Chung Un-chan named new head of professional baseball

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan was named the new head of South Korean professional baseball Monday.Chung will serve as the commissioner of the Korea Baseball Organization for three years starting in early 2018, after earning more than 75 percent of support from the owners of 10 clubs.Chung, 70, was nominated by the KBO's board of directors -- made up of 10 club presidents, current KBO Commissioner Koo Bon-neung and its Secretary-General Yang Hae-young -- on Nov. 29.  The board unanimously a

BaseballDec. 11, 2017

US to send full delegation of athletes to PyeongChang Olympics: envoy

WASHINGTON -- The United States will send its full delegation of athletes to next year's Winter Olympics in South Korea's PyeongChang, an envoy said Sunday, amid confusion over US participation.US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said last week it was an "open question" whether the US would send its athletes to the February games, citing safety concerns sparked by increased military tensions with North Korea.Asked again Sunday whether the US would send its full team, Haley said, "Yes

More SportsDec. 11, 2017

Japan beats North Korea 1-0 amid tense backdrop

Japan beat North Korea 1-0 Saturday with a 93rd-minute goal in the East Asian Championship amid a backdrop of serious tensions between the two nations. There were doubts the game could even go ahead with North Korean nationals currently banned from entering Japan as part of the sanctions against Pyongyang.Special visas were issued at the Japanese embassy in Beijing earlier in the week.North Korean soccer players in red jerseys (Yonhap)Pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans cheer for the North Korean natio

SportsDec. 10, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Naturalized hockey forward thrives under weight of expectations

JINCHEON -- In an effort to boost its competitiveness in its Winter Olympic hockey debut in 2018, South Korea has fast-tracked a few Canadian-born players to Korean citizenship. Michael Swift, a skilled forward hailing from Peterborough, Ontario, is one of them.The 30-year-old understands the naturalization comes with the weight of expectations -- after all, the government wouldn't have issued these players new passports unless it felt they could help the national team at the 2018 PyeongChang Wi

Olympic GamesDec. 10, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] PyeongChang 2018's top organizer 'respects' IOC's ban on Russia, seeks clean competition

INCHEON -- The 2018 Winter Games host city of PyeongChang fully respects the recent International Olympic Committee decision to ban Russia over doping, as both parties firmly believe in the value of clean and fair competition, the event's top organizer said.Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics organizing committee, told Yonhap News Agency on Friday that PyeongChang has never wavered in its commitment to running a clean Olympic Games."We're of the stance that the Olympic Games mu

Olympic GamesDec. 10, 2017

IOC President met with N. Korean Olympic chief in Switzerland: VOA

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has met with North Korea's Olympic body chief in Switzerland, a U.S. broadcaster said Saturday. Bach had a meeting with North Korea's Olympic Committee President Kim Il-guk at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday, according to Voice of America (VOA). VOA was citing an e-mail from the IOC's public affairs office. The IOC, however, didn't elaborate on what the two officials discussed, VOA said, adding that it was a mee

SportsDec. 9, 2017

Yun Sung-bin wins 3rd straight skeleton World Cup gold

South Korean skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin has captured his third straight World Cup gold medal of the season in Germany. Yun won the fourth leg of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup in Winterberg, Germany, on Friday (local time) with a time of 56.62 seconds, beating his rival Martins Dukurs of Latvia by 0.06. Dave Greszczyszyn was third with 56.88. Originally, winners were to be determined after two runs, but due to heavy snow, IBSF decided not to race the second h

Olympic GamesDec. 9, 2017

S. Korean women lose 3-2 to Japan in regional football tournament opener

CHIBA, Japan -- The South Korea women's national football team lost 3-2 to Japan at a regional tournament here Friday.South Korea conceded the winner to Mana Iwabuchi late in the second half in their opening match of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship at Soga Sports Park in Chiba, Japan.(Yonhap)The four-nation tournament also features North Korea and China.Earlier in the day, North Korea beat China 2-0, thanks to Kim Yun-mi's double.South Korea, led by head coach

SoccerDec. 8, 2017

N. Korea women's football coach: We're not playing for money

CHIBA, Japan -- North Korea women's national football head coach Kim Kwang-min said Friday his players are not competing for money at a regional tournament that kicked off earlier in the day in Japan.Both North Korea men's and women's team are participating in the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship, where they will compete against South Korea, Japan and China. Kim's team defeated China 2-0 to open the women's tournament Friday. (Yonhap)The EAFF awards US$250,000 to t

SoccerDec. 8, 2017

Park Ji-sung vows to develop S. Korea's youth football with European experience

SUWON, South Korea -- South Korean football icon Park Ji-sung said Friday that he will devote himself to his new job as the chief of the country's youth football program with his European experience. Park was named the Korea Football Association's youth strategy department chief last month. It was the first time the 36-year-old took an official position within the KFA. "The KFA had been asking me to work together, but I wasn't able to accept its offer back then because of my situation," Park tol

SoccerDec. 8, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Men's national hockey team to head to Russia for key pre-Olympic tournament

The South Korean men's national hockey team will head to Russia next week for a key pre-Olympic tournament.The Korea Ice Hockey Association said the national team will wrap up its training camp at Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday, and will depart for Moscow next Monday for the Channel One Cup.The annual event will be the last international competition for South Korea, coached by former National Hockey League rearguard Jim Paek, before the P

More SportsDec. 8, 2017

US team still planning for Olympics despite confusion

Members of the Trump administration surprised the US Olympic Committee by suggesting the nation's participation at the upcoming Pyeongchang Games in South Korea was "an open question," and the USOC responded by saying it has no plans on pulling out. The confusion began when UN ambassador Nikki Haley, in response to a question in a Fox News interview, said "There's an open question" about whether the US team would travel to South Korea, where tensions have grown high after a series of missile tes

SportsDec. 8, 2017

Midfielder eyes regional football title ahead of military service

TOKYO -- South Korean midfielder Ju Se-jong said Thursday he wants to lift the trophy of the top East Asian football competition before he starts his military service.Ju is a member of the South Korea national football team that will compete against Japan, China and North Korea at the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship. The men's competition will be staged at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo from Saturday to Dec. 16.Ju, who has one goal in six international appearances, was on th

SoccerDec. 7, 2017

Baseball league MVP receives top accolade from retired players

Reigning South Korean baseball league MVP Yang Hyeon-jong was chosen by retired players as the top performer of the season Thursday.Yang, voted the regular season MVP in the Korea Baseball Organization last month, received the Player of the Year accolade by the Korea Professional Baseball Alumni Association. The KPBAA, an organization founded to help retired baseball players, created the awards in 2014. His latest honor follows the award given by active players in the KBO. On Tuesday, he was vot

BaseballDec. 7, 2017

Korea football coach confident of East Asian title defense

TOKYO -- South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong on Wednesday said his side is ready to achieve a successful title defense at the upcoming regional tournament. South Korea will compete against Japan, China and North Korea at the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship. The men's competition will be staged at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo from Saturday to Dec. 16.The E-1 Football Championship, formerly called the East Asian Cup, started in 2003, and this will be its seventh edition

SoccerDec. 7, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Korea encourages Russians to compete in PyeongChang as neutrals

South Korea on Thursday encouraged Russian athletes to compete in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as neutral individuals, amid a ban on Russia competing over its state-sponsored doping.The International Olympic Committee's Executive Board announced in Lausanne, Switzerland, this week that it would suspend the Russian Olympic Committee with "immediate effect." The board acted on recommendations by a commission led by former Swiss President Samuel Schmid, who confirmed "the systemic manipulat

More SportsDec. 7, 2017

Korea ranks 8th in GDP terms among 32 2018 FIFA World Cup participants: data

South Korea ranks eighth in terms of gross domestic product among the 32 countries which qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, government data showed Thursday.South Korea, whose FIFA ranking is 59th, had a GDP of $1.41 trillion last year, according to the data by Statistics Korea.Japan topped the GDP list among the 32 participants in the 2018 FIFA World Cup with $4.93 trillion.The United States and China, the world's biggest economies, failed to reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. T

SoccerDec. 7, 2017