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PLAN | | Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
| By
Fred Varcoe
Tigers roar back
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| Hanshin Tigers Manager
Senishi Hoshino flashes a rare smile for the camera |
One of the great things about playing for a baseball club
in Japan (or, indeed, anywhere else) is that no matter how
bad your team is, you'll always be back in the league
next season. In other words, baseball, unlike soccer, has
no relegation system. There are six teams in each league and,
effectively, they never change.
So if you're a Hanshin Tigers fan, your team will always
be in contention on the first day of the season. Unfortunately,
in recent years that's invariably been the only day
they've been in the running. Even the arrival of manager
Katsuya Nomura couldn't turn things around during his
tenure from 1999-2001, despite the legendary ex-catcher's
success coaching the Yakult Swallows. But then along came
firebrand manager Senichi Hoshino, previously a Central League-winning
coach with the Chunichi Dragons, and now Tigermania is sweeping
Japan as the Hyogo-based club heads for its first Japan Series
in 18 years.
To say that their success this year was a shock is an understatement.
The Tigers of 1985 had the legendary clout of triple-crown
winner Randy Bass, but since then Hanshin has been short of
stars, and the team's been the doormat of the league.
Before Hoshino took over, the Tigers had finished dead last
four years in a row. While they remained the pride of Osaka,
the Tigers lived in the shadow of the hated (Tokyo) Yomiuri
Giants, who were champions seven times in the intervening
years. The Tigers' title this year was also a victory
for all those who hate the Giants.
But Hoshino, 56, is not without his critics. Like Nomura,
he rules by fear and intimidation. While those who know him
personally have been quick to reveal that he has a heart of
gold, those who fail to meet his high standards of dedication
suffer his wrath and temper. It's a method that doesn't
meet universal approval.
"Hoshino's style is something I really don't
agree with," Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman
says. "I relate it to [New York Yankees owner] George
Steinbrenner." Hillman says the shoving of umpires-a
Hoshino trademark-"is totally unacceptable."
Orix BlueWave coach Leon Lee, who played for 10 years in Japan,
believes that Hoshino-who won the Central League twice
with the Dragons, but failed both times in the Japan Series-is
all front. "He was a real hard player," says
Lee, who is the brother of former Japan hand Leron and father
of Florida Marlins star Derrek. "But I think he's
really just the front man for the Tigers. He's got
a great coaching staff at Hanshin, especially [Ikuo] Shimano.
His job as manager is to find out what motivates players."
And, in a nutshell, that's what Hoshino has done. Whether
it's by fear, skill or having the right coaching staff,
the coach has taken a gaggle of losers and turned them into
a team. Hell, even ex-Yankee Hideki Irabu looks like he's
playing hard for the team. Now the former "Fat Toad"
(as Steinbrenner famously called him) has the chance to become
the first Japanese to win a World Series ring and a Japan
Series title.
Where Steinbrenner and Nomura failed, Hoshino has succeeded.
Tigers rule!
Photo courtesy of Yuji Yoshitomi
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