If you think the 26-week MLB regular season is too long, or maybe the 8-month grind of the NHL (including playoffs) is a bit stretched, you won't be a fan of soccer. Particularly the J League. The 2009 season started back on March 7th and is just finishing up this coming Saturday, for a total of 39 weeks. That's the same length of time it takes to have a child and I'm not sure which is more difficult to endure.OK, I'm exaggerating a bit. I've seen some good soccer games this season. And the schedule is stretched due to international matches, Nabisco...
Monday, 30 November 2009
Friday, 27 November 2009
When I do a sports road trip, I like to see a game every day if possible. But in the winter, there's really only hockey and basketball to rely on, and with only 3 games a week per team, it's tough to keep busy in one area. That's where the minor leagues and college games can really help. So I'm always on the lookout for new sports leagues that increase the chances of seeing a game in some far-flung locale. I've mentioned that I'll be taking a big trip in January - I'll post separately on that once tickets are booked but I've put in on my 2010 schedule...
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
It was a long weekend in Japan, so I ventured off to Guam for 3 days of beach and ESPN. Guam is only a 3.5 hour flight south of Tokyo but a world away when it comes to sports. First of all, it's part of the United States; their motto is "Where America's Day Begins". It's certainly disconcerting though, because it means that your evening sports are in the early morning. It's much the same as here in Japan (Guam is only an hour ahead) but the difference...
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
The Emperor's Cup 4th round matches were held this past weekend, and Kawasaki Frontale defated the Yokohama F Marinos 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals against Vegalta Sendai. What's slightly interesting about the quarter finals is that the sites are not determined in advance - I guess they have a draw once the teams are known.I was hoping that there'd be a game in Kawasaki on December 12th, but when the sites were announced yesterday, the game was set for Sendai, a city about 2 hours north of Tokyo that is home to the Pacific League's Rakuten...
Sunday, 15 November 2009
With the end of the baseball season, my weekend mornings were suddenly devoid of sports. Yeah, I could watch GameCasts on ESPN.com, but it isn't quite the same. When I woke up Saturday morning, I noticed that Toronto was visiting Chicago in NHL action (Friday night back home). I looked for this game on several sports streaming sites, but couldn't find a decent feed to watch it.I knew that NHL.com offered a GameCenter Live (GCL) package which allowed you to watch all NHL games live on your computer. It was much like the MLB.TV package that I had...
Sunday, 8 November 2009
With the end of the soccer season approaching and Kawasaki Frontale barely holding on to their lead atop the J1 standings, I thought I'd revisit Todoroki Stadium on a sunny day to see them take on JEF United Chiba.There's not much background to give here. I've seen both teams already this season; Chiba has had a terrible season and lies 17th out of 18 teams, while Kawasaki is hoping to rebound from their Nabisco Cup loss. Before I get to the game,...
Saturday, 7 November 2009
I've written about the Asian Champions League before, so I won't go into the details again here. The final was set for Tokyo's National Stadium, likely in anticipation that one of the two finalists would be from the J League. Although all 4 Japanese teams made the knockout tournament, the draws were not favorable to them. First Kawasaki knocked off Gamba Osaka only to face Nagoya in the quarters. With Kashima losing to FC Seoul in the round of 16,...
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Game times in the playoffsI've been posting about game times in Japanese baseball over the past few months, mainly in relation to NPB's effort to shorten overly long games. The average game time this season came in at 3:13, which was 21 minutes longer than the average MLB game in 2009. Doesn't sound like much (only 1 minute every half inning) but I find the pace entirely different here and it's what drove me away from the game years ago.I also made note of how the playoffs in baseball haven't been that exciting recently. But now I realize that...
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Today was Culture Day in Japan and you're supposed to celebrate by doing something cultural or artistic. Well, the J League is certainly a cultural experience in Japan, so I headed off to National Stadium to see if I could find a ticket to the Nabisco Cup Final game between F.C. Tokyo and Kawasaki Frontale. Outside the StadiumThe Nabisco CupMost soccer leagues have a cup competition to supplement the regular season games. In Japan, this is known...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
