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Japan celebrates world baseball tournament victory over US

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EPA

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) final between Japan and the US delivered on many fronts: sporting prowess, drama and for Japan’s fans, a long-awaited victory.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning Japan time, the Samurai Japan team beat the US defending champions in a thrilling 3-2 win in Miami.

It is the third WBC championship for the baseball-crazed nation- but just its first since 2009.

In the end, it came down to a nail-biter between the team captains.

It was the match-up baseball fans had been salivating over for months: Japanese power player Shohei Othani up against US All-Star Mike Trout.

The two are among the best players in the US Major League Baseball competition – and normally don’t clash because they both play for the Los Angeles Angels.

So the last-innings showdown was the stuff of fantasies.

“It would have been be cheesy if it were movie, but it was amazing because it was real life,” said CBS sports commentator Mike Axisa.

And in real life, Ohtani won out. Pitching to Trout at the batter’s box, he pelted 100-miles deliveries, striking the US hitter out on the sixth ball.

Japanese fans watching at home erupted in celebration.

In Ohtani’s home city of Oshu, footage showed young children jumping to their feet after his winning pitch.

People watching in sports bars, in parks, or on their phones celebrated.

 

Exuberant young male fans with their faces painted red and white react to the winning pitch in Tokyo

EPA

I felt the mood lift around me in Tokyo. It was the only thing anyone was talking about in the hours that followed the game.

Japan, a baseball powerhouse, had waited more than a decade for this moment.

“I’m going to work extra early to watch the game,” one colleague had told me before the game.

The country had finally clinched victory after 14 years. Having won the first two editions of the tournament in 2006 and 2009, the 2023 victory now marks their third.

And it was all the more sweeter for being a victory over the US – the country which introduced baseball to Japan – and a country whose team was stacked with All-Star players.

Japan media reported that in the pre-game pep talk, Ohtani told teammates to not be intimidated by the star power.

“Looking at the great line-up of players … obviously, we have respect,” he told them.

“[But] forget about admiration for the stars today. We came here to do one thing: win.”

Many have commented about the team spirit of Samurai Japan; and how the players – each stars in their own right in Japan’s top league- came together in the two week tournament for an unbeaten 7-0 match run.

And yet Ohtani was the stand-out. He is a two-way baseball sensation, both a gifted hitter and pitcher. His rare talents have gained him nick names like ‘Shotime’ and “Baseball’s unicorn”.

He was already a national hero in Japan – celebrated as the designated hitter and pitcher throughout the tournament.

But now he has cemented his status as arguably the greatest baseball player in the world right now.

“[Ohtani] was better than any animation or manga. He was astonishingly cool,” said one exuberant fan on Twitter.

He was awarded the tournament’s most valuable player award and in Japan his name rivalled #JapanBaseball and #SamuraiJapan in the rush of celebratory online commentary.

“My dream has come true,” Ohtani he said after the match.

“It was such a relief I was able to close out the game. But it’s sad this tournament is over,” he told reporters.

 

Shohei Ohtani is lifted up by his teammates in celebration after the game

Reuters

One fan in a rowdy sports bar told a local TV station: “I will never forget the moment Ohtani struck out. I was so excited – I celebrated with the strangers around me.”

Japan’s victory led all domestic news bulletins on Wednesday, relegating Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to Ukraine to second tier.

It also dominated Thursday’s front pages – with three different newspapers – the Mainichi , Yomiuri and Asahi – printing the headline: “Samurai takes back World No. 1”.

The US may have brought baseball to Japan more than 150 years ago – but this victory is a reminder of how baseball has become Japan’s national sport, pipping even football.

It will go down as one of the most memorable days in Japan’s sporting history. And crucially, it’s brought the country together for a much-needed moment of national pride and cheer.

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Flames re-sign defenceman Ilya Solovyov, centre Cole Schwindt

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CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.

Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.

Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.

The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.

Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.

The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.

Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Oman holds on to edge Nepal with one ball to spare in cricket thriller

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KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.

Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.

Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.

Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.

Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.

Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.

The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.

The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.

Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).

Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.

Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.

The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024

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Vancouver Canucks will miss Demko, Joshua, others to start training camp

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PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.

The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.

“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.

“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”

The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.

Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.

“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.

“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”

Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.

Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.

“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.

Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.

The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.

Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”

Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.

Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.

“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”

The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.

Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.

The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.

Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.

“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”

A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.

Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.

“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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