Hyundai Oilbank CEO named new head of pro soccer league

Kwon Oh-gap, the chief executive of the local oil refiner Hyundai Oilbank, was named Thursday as the new commissioner of the K League.Kwon, 62, will serve as the pro soccer chief for three years.He succeeds Chung Mong-gyu, who stepped down last month with one year left in his term and later became the new chairman of the Korea Football Association, the sport’s national governing body.Kwon had been serving as the commissioner of the Korea National League, which governs semi-pro football, since 20

SoccerFeb. 21, 2013

‘Taiwan, Cuba not to be feared’

DOU LIOU CITY, Taiwan (Yonhap News) ― Cuba and Taiwan, seen as South Korea’s two rivals at the upcoming World Baseball Classic, don’t appear to be as strong as scouts had earlier feared, a former South Korean national team manager said Wednesday.Kim In-sik, who managed South Korea at the first two WBCs in 2006 and 2009, said he has watched Taiwan and Cuba once each in practice games. Kim, currently a technical director for the Korea Baseball Organization, admitted his sample size was small, but

BaseballFeb. 20, 2013

Lakers owner Buss dies

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers owner who transformed the team into the glamour franchise of a revitalized NBA, died on Monday at the age of 80.Cedars-Sinai Medical Center spokeswoman Sally Stewart said Buss died at 5:55 a.m. He had been reported to be in hospital last week fighting an undisclosed form of cancer.Buss made the Lakers one of the biggest draws in Los Angeles with a combination of shrewd personnel moves on and off the court and a feel for show business glamour

More SportsFeb. 19, 2013

Nadal wins 1st title since injury

SAO PAULO (AP) ― The last time Rafael Nadal won in Brazil, it was at the very start of the most dominant clay-court career tennis has ever seen.Eight years later, Nadal hopes his second title here will mark the restart.Nadal beat David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Brazil Open on Sunday, his first trophy since returning from a seven-month layoff to treat his left knee.While this indoor clay-court tournament is much more low-priofile than those he has grown used to winning, Nadal thrust

More SportsFeb. 18, 2013

Chelsea, City, Wigan bag 4-goal wins

LONDON (AP) ― The FA Cup produced goals rather than shocks, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Wigan scoring four times each Sunday to knock out lower-league opponents.Held to a 2-2 tie by third-tier Brentford three weeks ago, Chelsea got second-half goals from Juan Mata, Oscar, Frank Lampard and John Terry to win its fourth-round replay 4-0. Lampard’s goal was his 199th for the Blues, three behind the club record set by Bobby Tambling from 1959-70.Chelsea will play at Middlesbrough on Feb. 27 to

SoccerFeb. 18, 2013

Danica Patrick first woman to win 500 pole

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP) ― Danica Patrick has made history before ― as a woman and a racer, in Indianapolis and Japan.The spotlight is nothing new. But never has it been this bright before.Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole Sunday, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any race in NASCAR’s premier circuit. It’s by far the biggest achievement of her stock-car career. “I was brought up to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl,” she said. “That was instilled in me from very you

More SportsFeb. 18, 2013

Center of attention

GOODYEAR, Arizona (AP) ― Choo Shin-soo has made 10 starts in center field over eight seasons in the majors. He’ll get a chance to win the job during his first spring training with the Cincinnati Reds.If that doesn’t work out, the defending NL Central champions will have to do some rearranging.The Reds traded incumbent center fielder Drew Stubbs to Cleveland for Choo in the offseason, looking for a stronger bat at the top of the lineup. They haven’t had a consistent leadoff hitter for years.They’

BaseballFeb. 18, 2013

Shin Ji-yai rises to No.6

South Korean golfer Shin Ji-yai climbed up to No. 6 on the latest world rankings released Monday after her win at the LPGA Tour's season-opening event.Shin moved up two spots after her two-shot victory over world No. 1 Yani Tseng at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open on Sunday.Tseng, from Taiwan, stayed at No. 1 for the 106th week. The rest of the top five remained the same as the previous week, with Choi Na-yeon of South Korea, Stacy Lewis of the U.S., Park In-bee of South Korea and Feng Sh

GolfFeb. 18, 2013

Choo not about to change style on new club

GOODYEAR, Arizona (Yonhap News) ― Having joined a new team in Major League Baseball during the offseason, South Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo said he will not change his style of play regardless of his position on the field or in the batting order.Choo was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Cincinnati Reds in December. The Reds, the reigning National League Central Division champs, acquired the 30-year-old to bolster their offense at the top of the lineup and have him patrol center field

BaseballFeb. 17, 2013

Messi rallies Barca with goals 300, 301

BARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi scored twice to pass 300 goals for his career, extending his record-setting Spanish league scoring streak to 14 games as Barcelona rallied for a 2-1 win at Granada.Odion Ighalo put the host ahead in the 26th minute, and Messi tied it in the 50th when he scored on a rebound of Cesc Fabregas’ shot, Messi’s 300th competitive goal for Barcelona. Messi curled in a free kick in the 73rd for his 17th multigoal game of the season and needs two goals to reach 50 for the thir

SoccerFeb. 17, 2013

Aussie conquest

South Korean Shin Ji-yai captured the first LPGA Tour event of 2013 in Australia on Sunday, holding off the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer and a hot-shot amateur with a dramatic late birdie in an up-and-down final round.Shin claimed the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at par-73 Royal Canberra Golf Club with the four-round total of 18-under 274 to beat the world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan by two shots. It was Shin’s 11th career LPGA Tour win.Lydia Ko, a South Korean-born resident of New Zealand a

GolfFeb. 17, 2013