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 / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 25, 2011
Sendai, Saitama players catching on with other teams
The Sendai 89ers are a symbol of Tohoku region and their fierce loyalty to the locals reflects that fighting spirit.
BASKETBALL
Mar 21, 2011
Golden Kings hold off late charge from Magic
Two games were decided by a total of four points in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, over the weekend. Talk about tight competition.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 20, 2011
Oita fires coach Hepp after American players leave
L.J. Hepp wanted to set the record straight about his unexpected departure from the Oita HeatDevils.
BASKETBALL
Mar 20, 2011
Evessa, Lakestars lift fans' spirits
The Osaka Evessa returned to the court on Saturday and did what comes natural to them: win.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 20, 2011
Actions of Apache, Broncos unacceptable
It's understandable that the Sendai 89ers, whose home region was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, won't continue play this season. But the Tokyo Apache and Saitama Broncos, Sendai's Eastern Conference rivals in the bj-league, appear to have not thought things through or come up with...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 18, 2011
Regular-season play begins again for bj-league
Nearly a week after the devastating destruction in Tohoku due to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed several thousand people, followed by the Fukushima nuclear plant's ongoing radiation crisis, the bj-league has decided to resume competition this weekend to lift people's spirits.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 17, 2011
Apache's foreign players prepare to leave country
The Tokyo Apache's season isn't officially over, but the team's American players and head coach, Bob Hill, were busy making plans to leave the country as soon as possible, The Japan Times has learned.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 16, 2011
Season hangs in the balance
By all accounts, this is how to sum up the bj-league's current situation: a season in limbo.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 14, 2011
Hamaguchi's steady hand on tiller steers 89ers in right direction
KASUKABE, Saitama Pref. — It's no shock that the Sendai 89ers are once again one of the most consistent, quality clubs in the bj-league. Above all, it begins with good coaching.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 13, 2011
Sendai squad split in quake's aftermath
As expected, Sendai 89ers players, coaches and team staff left Sendai early Friday afternoon for a road trip to face the host and Eastern Conference rival Niigata Albirex BB.
BASKETBALL
Mar 12, 2011
Henry's 42 carry Akita past Tokyo in 2OT thriller
Few games can be considered an instant classic, but that's what Wednesday's Tokyo Apache-Akita Northern Happinets double-overtime clash became.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 11, 2011
Tyler raising his game as season progresses
Jeremy Tyler, still a few months shy of his 20th birthday, is no stranger to NBA talent evaluators. Though he's playing halfway around the world, the Tokyo Apache's highly touted 210-cm prospect is being closely watched.
BASKETBALL
Mar 11, 2011
Hill shuffles pack to guide Apache past Happinets
Coaches don't sleep particularly well after a fourth straight loss, but that was the situation the Tokyo Apache's Bob Hill faced on Wednesday after his team's two-point, double-overtime setback to the Akita Northern Happinets.
BASKETBALL
Mar 10, 2011
Akita edges Tokyo in close game
Playing their third game in five days, the Tokyo Apache and Akita Northern Happinets both faced a formidable challenge to be the aggressor, the tone-setting club when it mattered most. The team with more energy for longer spurts has greater odds of winning the bj-league series opener, conventional wisdom...
BASKETBALL
Mar 7, 2011
Hopson's steady hand leads 89ers past Broncos
KASUKABE, Saitama Pref. — The best location to shoot a basketball is from the free-throw line, as smart coaches will tell you, emphasizing the word "free" and reminding you that defenders can't challenge your shot when the clock is stopped and you're at the line.
BASKETBALL
Mar 6, 2011
Sojourner says JBL superiority just a myth
The ongoing debate about how to improve Japan's basketball, from the elementary school level to the professional ranks, has produced a number of different viewpoints. The one thing that most people agree on is that the current approach isn't working to create a powerful national team and a number of...
BASKETBALL
Mar 6, 2011
Yonamine sets tone for high-scoring Golden Kings
Ryukyu Golden Kings point guard Tsubasa Yonamine, one of the bj-league's most cerebral floor leaders, is playing at a high level these days. He has dished out 35 assists in the past four games, including nine on Saturday as coach Dai Oketani's club defeated the visiting Rizing Fukuoka 106-95 to collect...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 6, 2011
Japanese players grow in bj-league, stagnate in JBL
The simplistic, elitist viewpoint that JBL squads would dominate against bj-league foes is a flawed argument because of the differences in the way the two leagues operate. The JBL's one-foreigner quota and the bj-league's three-imports-on-the-court rule present stark contrasts in their styles of play....
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 4, 2011
Playoff battle intense in competitive West
A gripping drama is about to commence in March and April as the bj-league's top seven Western Conference teams vie for six playoff spots. What's more, the seven teams are within seven games of each other in the standings.
BASKETBALL
Feb 28, 2011
Phoenix rout Shining Suns to clinch playoff berth
It's not supposed to be this easy.

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