The Korea Herald

Ryu aware of sophomore slump talk

GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) ― Ryu Hyun-jin begins his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers confronted by a question that is inevitable for any pitcher coming off a good rookie year.As in, can the left-hander avoid the so-called sophomore slump?Excuse Ryu if he doesn’t sound too worried. Slumps are possible anywhere.“There is a sophomore slump in Korea, too,” Ryu said Tuesday through an interpreter after throwing batting practice for the first time in camp.Ryu didn’t suffer one then and doesn’t

BaseballFeb. 19, 2014

Barca beats Manchester City

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― Barcelona took a commanding position in its Champions League second-round matchup with Manchester City, winning the first leg 2-0 Tuesday night on goals by Lionel Messi and Dani Alves.Messi converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute after he was fouled by fellow Argentine Martin Demichelis, his 25th goal in 27 games this season. Demichelis received a red card, but the four-time European champions couldn’t score again until Alves slotted home in the 90th.In the night’s

SoccerFeb. 19, 2014

Yoon wants to start for Orioles

SARASOTA, Florida (AP) ― A day after he officially signed a three-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles, Yoon Suk-min said his goal in coming to the major leagues was to be a starting pitcher.The 27-year-old South Korean will have to compete for a spot on the Orioles’ suddenly competitive staff. With Ubaldo Jimenez in camp for a physical, Baltimore’s starters look to be Jimenez, Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez and Bud Norris.Yoon may be sent to the bullpen.Jimenez agreed to a fou

BaseballFeb. 19, 2014

Olympic day of politics and power on slopes

SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― The politics got a little hotter. The slopes got a lot slushier.On a day when the mountain courses seemed better suited for the crawl or butterfly but posed no obstacle to Tina Maze, the Sochi Olympics took a more overt political turn.Two members of the punk group Pussy Riot ― Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina ― were among nine people detained Tuesday while walking in downtown Sochi. All were later released and no charges were filed.The two group members burst from t

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2014

Kim Yu-na opens figure skating title defense

Kim Yu-na will begin her quest to repeat as the Olympic figure skating champion on Wednesday, as the ladies' short program takes place at Iceberg Skating Palace.Kim captured the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics with a record score of 228.56 points. She took an extended hiatus from competition afterward, apparently mulling retirement, but returned with a bang by winning her second world championship in March last year.Last September, she suffered a foot injury that threatened to d

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2014

(Olympics) Medal standings

Below are the medal standings for the top 10 countries at the Sochi Winter Olympics through Tuesday.Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Germany 8 3 4 15 2 Norway 7 4 7 18 3 Netherlands 6 6 8 20 4 United States 6 4 10 20 5 Russia 5 8 6

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2014

Introduced as Oriole, pitcher Yoon Suk-min vows not to back down

As he was formally introduced as a member of the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min said he will not back down from challenges in Major League Baseball.The Orioles held a press conference in Sarasota, the site of their spring training, to unveil the right-hander as its newest member. Yoon signed a three-year contract worth $5.75 million. The deal was first reported last week but the club waited until Yoon passed the physical before making the acquisition official on

BaseballFeb. 19, 2014

Women's relay team puts together golden race in short track

With three laps to go in the women's 3,000-meter short track relay on Tuesday, South Korea trailed China by a substantial margin and seemed headed toward an inevitable second place.That's when Shim Suk-hee went to work.The 17-year-old anchor for the relay team reached deep and conjured up every bit of energy in her lithe, 173-centimeter frame. She zipped past Li Jianrou on the outer side of the track in the final lap, a daring move that stunned the Chinese in a nail-biting finish.Shim and her th

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2014

Speed skater Lee Seung-hoon finishes fourth in men's 10,000 meters

South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon finished fourth in the men's 10,000 meters on Tuesday at the Sochi Winter Games, falling short of defending his Olympic gold in the distance.Lee clocked at 13:11.68 in the 25-lap race at Adler Arena Skating Center, more than 27 seconds behind the champion, Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands.The Dutch skater set an Olympic record time of 12:44.45, shattering Lee's previous mark, set in Vancouver, by more than 14 seconds. He led the fourth Dutch sweep of the

Olympic GamesFeb. 19, 2014

Speed skater Lee Seung-hoon finishes fourth in men's 10,000 meters

Figure skater Kim Yu-na 'can't wait' for competition to start

On the eve of the start of her Olympic title defense in the ladies' singles figure skating, South Korean star Kim Yu-na said she could hardly wait to get on the ice."I've prepared hard and I can't wait for the day of the competition to arrive," Kim told reporters after completing her practice at Iceberg Skating Palace, where the ladies' short program is scheduled to open on Wednesday. It will be followed by the free skating on Thursday."I think my preparation has been perfect," Kim said. "But fi

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2014

Figure skater Kim Yu-na 'can't wait' for competition to start

Korea wins gold in women's short track relay

With a breathtaking finish, South Korea captured the gold medal in the women's 3,000-meter relay short track at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Tuesday.The team of Cho Ha-ri, Kim A-lang, Park Seung-hi and Shim Suk-hee claimed South Korea's first short track gold medal in Sochi, and its second gold overall. They finished the 27-lap race in 4:09.498.Canada took the silver in 4:10.641 and Italy earned the bronze in 4:14.014. China finished the relay in second place but received a penalty for interfere

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2014

Korea wins gold in women's short track relay

As NBA resumes, next James-Durant matchup nears

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ― LeBron James won’t assume the eventual date with Indiana that so many others expect.He definitely has another one with Kevin Durant ― in just a few days.The NBA’s two best players went their separate ways after the East’s 163-155 victory over the West in Sunday’s NBA All-Star game, but only temporarily. They will be back on the same floor Thursday in Oklahoma City, perhaps even joined by Russell Westbrook.Less than two months will remain in the regular season when play resumes

More SportsFeb. 18, 2014

Dodgers legend likes what he sees in club

GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) ― Sandy Koufax wasn’t wearing a Dodgers uniform when he walked around the practice fields Monday at the team’s spring training camp.“That’s not my job,” he said.Even without the famed No. 32 on his back, players and fans alike knew who he was. At 78, the Hall of Famer is the face of Dodger tradition and represents what Clayton Kershaw, Yasiel Puig and their current Los Angeles teammates hope to achieve.In his second year as a special adviser to team chairman Mark Walter, K

BaseballFeb. 18, 2014

Dodgers legend likes what he sees in club

Yoon, Orioles finalize $5.6m, three-year deal

SARASOTA, Florida (AP) ― South Korean right-hander Yoon Suk-min and the Baltimore Orioles have finalized a three-year contract for $5,575,000, a deal that could escalate to $13,075,000 if the pitcher starts 26 or more games each season.The 27-year-old was 73-59 with a 3.19 ERA in nine seasons with the KIA Tigers in the Korea Baseball Organization.Yoon is expected to compete for a spot in Baltimore’s starting rotation.Yoon gets a $675,000 signing bonus under the agreement announced Monday, payabl

BaseballFeb. 18, 2014

Brazil’s worst nightmare: Argentina wins World Cup

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ― For Brazilians, not winning the World Cup would be bad enough.Even worse would be rival Argentina winning in Brazil where 200 million locals are expecting to celebrate.“This would be every Brazilians worst nightmare,” said Newton Cesar Santos, the Brazilian author of a 600-page history of the Brazil-Argentina rivalry ― Brazil X Argentina: Stories of the Biggest Classic in World Football.“Let anybody win, but not Argentina.”There are many intense soccer matchups: Netherlands

SoccerFeb. 18, 2014

Davis, White of U.S. win ice dance

SOCHI, Russia (AP) ― Through 17 years of grueling practices, of defeats and victories, Meryl Davis and Charlie White insist they’ve never considered parting ways.A perfect pairing, they were nearly flawless at the Sochi Olympics, and on Monday they became the first Americans to win an ice dance gold medal.“The closest we came to breaking up, I can’t pinpoint one because there hasn’t been one,” Davis, 27, said. “Certainly there have been struggles. It hasn’t been easy to get where we are. ... It’

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2014

S. Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min officially signs with Baltimore Orioles

South Korean pitcher Yoon Suk-min has officially signed a multiyear contract with the Baltimore Orioles after passing his physical, the Major League Baseball (MLB) club announced Tuesday (Korean time).The Orioles said they will formally introduce Yoon at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Sarasota, Fla., the site of the O's spring training camp.Yoon's deal is worth $5.75 million for three years, and the value could hit around $13 million with performance-based incentives. According to th

BaseballFeb. 18, 2014

Korea chasing first short track gold in Sochi in women's relay

South Korea is the only nation to have won at least one short track gold medal at every Winter Olympics, and the women's 3,000ｍ relay team will try to keep that streak alive on Tuesday.South Korea leads all nations with 19 gold medals in short track since it became a medal sport in 1992, but has not captured one so far in Sochi. Shim Suk-hee won the silver in the women's 1,500ｍ and Park Seung-hi bagged the bronze in the women's 500ｍ, while the men have been shut out of medals so far.South Korea

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2014

Korea chasing first short track gold in Sochi in women's relay

Bobsledders set sight on future; curlers eliminated from first Olympics

They didn't come all that close to winning a medal on Monday, but the South Korean bobsleigh tandem of Won Yun-jong and Seo Young-woo said they left no regrets on the track.The pilot-brakeman duo finished the two-man competition at Sanki Sliding Center in 18th place, third from the bottom, with a combined time of 3:49.27 after four races. They were nearly four full seconds behind the champions from Russia, Alexey Voevoda and Alexander Zubkov, but the finish was still the highest-ever by South Ko

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2014

In Sochi, Olympic security increasingly uneven

Hotel guests are walking, unchecked, past unused metal detectors. Security guards are no longer poking around at the pockets and ankles of every single person entering Olympic facilities. Tangerines and bottles of Coke are making it through security barriers that banned them two weeks ago.For all the warnings that security in Sochi would be invasive and aggressive, it's appearing more and more uneven, and in places almost relaxed.No attacks have been reported since the Olympics started Feb. 7, a

Olympic GamesFeb. 18, 2014