author

 
 
Ed Odeven
Ed Odeven covers primarily basketball for The Japan Times. He reported on a wide range of sports from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Summer Games for this newspaper. A native of the Bronx, N.Y., Odeven is a graduate of Arizona State University. He previously worked for the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, Ariz., reporting on high school, collegiate, professional and Olympic sports (Flagstaff is a major international Olympic training site due to its high elevation) and writing a weekly column. His articles have appeared in Venezuela Online News, The Gleaner (Jamaica), the Monitor (Uganda), The Moscow Times, Swimming World Magazine and numerous other publications.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Oct 6, 2012
Newton confident Ryukyu will contend for another title
The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Jeff Newton of the Ryukyu Golden Kings is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 5, 2012
Nash hungry to build off Grouses' success last season
Bob Nash has been around the game long enough to know that he doesn't need to go out of his way to complicate things.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 30, 2012
Panasonic helped bring foreign players to Japan
Just as the Japan Basketball League is preparing to re-brand itself as the National Basketball League (NBL) for 2013-14, it is also coping with the planned loss of one of Japan's most successful basketball clubs, the Panasonic Trians.
BASKETBALL
Sep 29, 2012
Peppers back with Rizing Fukuoka
High-scoring forward Josh Peppers has returned to the Rizing Fukuoka, the bj-league team he played for during the Kyushu franchise's inaugural season. The announcement was made on Thursday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Sep 29, 2012
Former Evessa star Washington claims he is 'blackballed' despite exoneration
The Osaka Evessa and bj-league office claimed that Lynn Washington, one of the league's original superstars, retired on April 9 after he was exonerated of all charges following his arrest and 18 days in Osaka Prefectural Police custody.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 28, 2012
Parker not expecting to win fifth straight scoring title
Shimane Susanoo Magic forward Michael Parker, the four-time reigning scoring champion, predicted on Monday he won't win the scoring title this season.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Sep 26, 2012
Kreckovic facing huge rebuilding task in Osaka
The Japan Times periodically features interviews with personalities in the bj-league. Coach Zoran Kreckovic of the Osaka Evessa is the subject of this week's profile.
BASKETBALL
Sep 24, 2012
Cinq Reves struggle in exhibition play
The expansion Tokyo Cinq Reves fell to 0-4 in exhibition play on Sunday, losing 86-69 to the Sendai 89ers in the second day of the Tohoku Cup in Akita.
BASKETBALL
Sep 23, 2012
Veteran star Arnold joins Lakestars
Sharpshooter Wayne Arnold, one of the top all-around performers for the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix during the past three seasons, has joined the Shiga Lakestars. The move became official late Saturday night.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Sep 22, 2012
Evessa GM Nomamoto fired after team's rocky preseason start: sources
Hirotaro Nomamoto, the Osaka Evessa general manager since the team entered the bj-league in 2005, was relieved of his duties on Wednesday, sources familiar with the situation told The Japan Times.
OLYMPICS
Sep 21, 2012
Taiwanese IOC member assures Tokyo over vote
Relations between Japan, China and Taiwan have spiraled out of control over the past week, but a longtime Taiwanese International Olympic Committee member is not using that as a pretext for his vote for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 21, 2012
Preseason tournament gives teams valuable tuneup
For Ryuji Kawai, his second season at the helm has the same aspiration as the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix's daily message throughout the 2011-12 season: A championship is the only goal. And the high-profile team will aim for that target as a first-year member of the Western Conference after spending...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 14, 2012
Ex-referee says bj-league made wrong call with Yuzuki
Kunio Kurata, the bj-league's director of officials since its establishment in 2005, has quietly retired. That shouldn't come as a big surprise; after all, the Shizuoka Prefecture native will turn 61 on Nov. 27, so he reached the mandatory retirement age early in the 2011-12 season.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / ANALYSIS
Sep 12, 2012
Island disputes could cost Tokyo 2020 Olympics
With the vote to determine the host of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games less than one year away, Tokyo's chances of landing the global extravaganza could slip away in the wake of Japan's ongoing involvement in island disputes with South Korea, China, Russia and Taiwan.
BASKETBALL
Sep 9, 2012
Jets sign ex-Georgia Tech guard Bell
Former Georgia Tech guard D'Andre Bell has joined the Chiba Jets for the 2012-13 season, the bj-league team announced on Saturday.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 7, 2012
Players take Greek offers
The Greek economy is in horrible shape. The eurozone has been on shaky ground for years. And, yes, the Greek League is barely surviving.
BASKETBALL
Sep 1, 2012
Chiba Jets sign pair of veteran forwards
If the current rate of signings keeps up, don't be surprised if a Cameroon basketball fan club is soon established in Japan.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 31, 2012
Preseason contests signal start of league's eighth season
After another offseason of major changes, the bj-league is entering year eight of its curious existence.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 24, 2012
Ashby makes Rizing Fukuoka fifth team in Japan career
Another season, another team for Julius Ashby.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 19, 2012
Taking a look back at the spectacular London Games
Before boarding the plane on Wednesday to return to Japan, here are items I scribbled down on paper from the Olympics extravaganza of the past few weeks, days that will always remain in my memory.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?