February 21st, 2013 at 5:44 am » Comments (1)

What better way to drum up interest in the WBC than having an espionage scandal? According to the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the South Korean governing body of pro baseball, four Taiwanese advance scouts posed as umpire trainees to gain entrance to a practice game at Dou Liou Stadium between the South Korean national team and a South Korea pro club, the NC Dinos. [NBC Sports]

January 17th, 2013 at 11:57 pm » Comments (11)

I just cannot see someone from a country like Kenya being naturalized just so Korea has someone competitive in marathons, but I guess we will see what happens: South Korea’s athletics chief is open to naturalizing foreign athletes to lift marathon’s standard in the Asian country, local media reported on Wednesday. Hwang Young-cho won the marathon gold for the country in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics while Lee Bong-ju bagged silver four years later in Atlanta. However, in recent years South Korean athletes have failed to replicate that success, prompting the
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November 20th, 2012 at 11:34 am » Comments (4)

I’ve heard the people in Toronto are nuts about the NHL, now I believe it. If the NHL decides to flush the rest of the season, Toronto Maple Leafs fan Jim Vigmond is ready. The Ontario lawyer purchased a toilet from the home dressing room of Maple Leaf Gardens for $5,300 at an auction, according to the Toronto Star. Vigmond had been trying to score a 1967 Stanley Cup banner but he said the bidding became too steep, so he went for the toilet. And he was willing to go
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August 9th, 2012 at 5:16 pm » Comments (5)

Here is a good story about a Korean Olympic Gold Medalist who’s success was able to lead to a new home for his parents: A construction company on Tuesday promised an apartment to gymnast Yang Hak-seon, who endured grueling poverty and won Korea’s first gymnastics gold medal at the London Summer Olympics on Tuesday. Yang told reporters in London that he would like to buy a house for his parents using the money he would receive as rewards from the government and sport organizations.  [Chosun Ilbo] You can read more
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August 4th, 2012 at 4:45 am » Comments (6)

Via Japan Probe comes news that Japan first ever medalist in women’s archery is in fact a naturalized Korean: Japan‘s Ren Hayakawa wanted to do well against South Korean Ki Bo-bae in the last 16 of the London Olympics archery competition for many reasons, but their countries’ bitter ancient rivalry was not one of them. Born ‘Um Hye-ryeon’ to South Korean parents in Anyang, south of Seoul, Hayakawa battled to break into the Korean national team for years. She was good, just not good enough to win a spot on
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August 1st, 2012 at 1:00 pm » Comments (46)

Via Buzz Feed. By the way the Marmot’s Hole has the Playboy pics of the German that defeated here.

August 1st, 2012 at 8:50 am » Comments (13)

I don’t think incompetent or bad refereeing is exclusive to the London Olympics or focused on South Korean athletes but Yonhap seems to think so: Refereeing errors have marred the London Olympic Games which opened last week. Most of the crucial errors have been concentrated on South Korean athletes. Female fencer Shin A-lam lost her bid for an epee gold medal Monday following a loss in controversial semifinals round which was due to human error or malfunctioning timing equipment. Britta Heidemann of Germany edged Shin 6-5 in extra time with
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June 13th, 2012 at 1:07 pm » Comments (1)

June 11th, 2012 at 3:33 am » Comments (4)

How come I think North Korea’s boasting about winning a record number of medals during the London Olympics is about as likely to happen as them actually putting a satellite into orbit? North Korea said Friday it would send 49 athletes to compete in 11 sports in this summer’s London Olympics and is seeking a record number of medals. The country “aims to clinch more medals than before in the upcoming London Olympics”, the state news agency quoted an unidentified sports expert as saying. The North is pinning its hopes especially on weightlifting and wrestling while
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June 9th, 2012 at 1:07 pm » Comments (0)