Tag - sports

 
 

SPORTS

Next year’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., will test whether America — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2025
The White House just kicked a World Cup own-goal
Next year’s FIFA World Cup will test whether the U.S. — with President Donald Trump pushing tariffs and tough immigration policies — can draw global fans or drive them away.
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 18, 2025
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player is at the peak of his stardom, and brands are rushing to cash in with huge sponsorship deals.
Participants experience para powerlifting during an event in Yokohama or March 22.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 17, 2025
P. United continues mission as para sports groups unite to face shared challenges
P. United remains optimistic about its mission in Year 3.
A joint study by the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Waseda University warns that, in the coming decades, nearly three-quarters of the country could face conditions in which intense physical outdoor activities should be suspended for months at a time.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 16, 2025
Rising temperatures could cancel most outdoor school sports in summer by 2060s
Six out of eight regions in Japan could see weekly sports cancellations due to dangerous heat by the 2060s.
French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane holds the torch during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 26, 2024.
OLYMPICS
Apr 14, 2025
Paris Olympic torches auctioned off along with other memorabilia
Money raised from the auction was handed over to three charities by the company in charge of the 2024 Olympics.
Shohei Ohtani jerseys displayed for sale at an MLB pop-up store in Tokyo on March 6.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2025
Dodgers' Ohtani has most popular jersey in MLB
The reigning National League MVP has led sales in the U.S., Japan and globally for 18 consecutive months
An advertisement featuring Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2025
Tokyo Series proves to be big business for MLB — and Japanese companies
The weeklong festival of all things baseball highlights how Shohei Ohtani has created myriad business opportunities on both sides of the Pacific.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani was the most popular player during MLB's Tokyo Series.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 21, 2025
Tokyo Series generates company-record $40 million in sales for Fanatics
According to the company, over 200,000 fans shopped at the official MLB stores operated by Fanatics
Shohei Ohtani gets a kiss from his dog Decoy at a game in August 2024. The Japanese slugger-pitcher’s return to his country to kick off the Major League Baseball season has sparked immense excitement, highlighting his unparalleled career and symbolic role as a national hero.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2025
Superstar Shohei Ohtani for prime minister
He’s unavoidable in Japan: His face adorns ads for cosmetics, mattresses, English conversation schools and, most recently, convenience store rice balls.
Japanese dentist Yusuke Kamimura poses for a photograph in front of a private collection dedicated to MLB player Shohei Ohtani, inside his dental clinic in Koshigaya, north of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2025.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2025
Japanese superfans turn dental clinic into Ohtani mini-museum
Lining the walls of the waiting room are glass-encased displays of gloves, helmets, autographed balls and jerseys, countless bobblehead dolls and much more.
Akwasi Frimpong competes during a skeleton heat at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Feb. 15, 2018.
OLYMPICS / Skeleton
Mar 6, 2025
Skeleton racer Akwasi Frimpong wants to open doors for more African athletes
The 39-year-old broke barriers in 2018 when he and Nigerian Simidele Adeagbo became the first African skeleton racers to compete at an Olympics.
Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) battle along the boards for a loose puck during a game in  Edmonton, Alberta, on Jan. 30.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2025
The NHL could’ve had a good year if not for tariffs
In 2016, the league denied an expansion franchise to Quebec, citing the "state and volatility of the Canadian dollar.”
Retired pro-boxer Mike Tyson and YouTuber/boxer Jake Paul fight during the heavyweight boxing bout in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 15. The fight highlights the need for a national boxing commission to enforce uniform safety standards and prevent exploitative matchups.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 22, 2024
Mike Tyson and Jake Paul's fight should have been illegal
Among major American sports, boxing is unique for its decentralized structure. There’s no annual schedule, season, commissioner or mandatory rulemaking body.
The anterior cruciate ligament can be damaged when people play sports such as soccer and basketball, and does not heal on its own, requiring reconstructive surgery.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 7, 2024
Clinical trial to use cow tendons for ligament reconstruction
The number of patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament surgery in Japan is about 19,000 annually, including many professional soccer players and sumo wrestlers.
Stadium workers paint the World Series logo on the field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, a day ahead of the start of the Fall Classic.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2024
Baseball’s biggest stars and biggest markets align for MLB broadcaster
As much as the history of the two franchises, the teams’ star players and league-leading records this season should help attract more casual baseball fans.
Since the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008, Manchester City has gone from a middling team to winning six of the last seven Premier League titles, an unprecedented success in over 130 years of English soccer.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024
Soccer needs to avoid a tyranny of the rich
A dispute between the Premier League and Manchester City has both sides claiming victory.
Over the past 10 years, the athletic performance of women in their 40s showed a decline in the total score as well as in individual categories, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 15, 2024
40% of Japanese women in their 30s and early 40s don't exercise at all
The trend reflects the fact that women in this age group tend to be busy with child rearing or work, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
Shohei Ohtani's success symbolizes a broader resurgence in Japanese sports, with contributing factors including increased investment in sports, modern coaching techniques and a generational shift in mindset.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2024
What baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s success says about Japan
The phenom has had what many are calling the greatest season ever. But his success is also a story of change in his home country.
Takayuki Suzuki won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal during the Paris Paralympics.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2024
Paralympic star Takayuki Suzuki hopes to raise visibility of people with disabilities
Takayuki Suzuki won four medals, including one gold, during the Paris Paralympics.
Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season on Sept. 19.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 27, 2024
Shohei Ohtani 50-50 ball heads to auction despite ownership dispute
A Florida man has filed a lawsuit claiming the souvenir was wrested from him by another who is now selling it via an auction house.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.