Category: Sports Related

I am sure the Korean government will get this worked out because I see no way that they will not host the 2018 Games.  It seems to me this is a national effort and a small province like Gangwon should not be expected to provide so much funding for this international event:

The 2018 PyeongChang Olympics may be in limbo, with the government and Gangwon Province locking horns over who will cover the 11.1-trillion-won cost for the quadrennial event, especially the cost of building the Olympic stadium.

The Gangwon Provincial Council recently threatened that if the government does not provide sufficient financial support for the Olympics, it will “readily give up the right to host the event.”

When asked about its stance over this threat, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said last week it “will not speculate on hypothetical situations,” adding that it believes Korea and PyeongChang will show their commitment by solving the problem.

“Since the candidature phase, a number of options have been looked at for the ceremony’s stadiums and the IOC remains very flexible in discussing any proposals from the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee,” Rachel Rominger, an IOC representative, said in an e-mail reply to The Korea Times.

On Monday, Council members of Gangwon Province and other cities and counties where the various Olympic sporting events will be held visited the National Assembly and urged the government to increase its financial support in order to avoid controversy.

“The event is an international one and will be held on our soil for the first time, but the government focuses only on the economic aspects and refrains from giving due support,” an official at the Gangwon Provincial Assembly said.

Their harsh remarks came shortly after the government’s recent decision regarding the construction of the new Olympic stadium at Hoenggye-ri in PyeongChang County. The government decided to cover only 50 percent of the cost, while Gangwon Province and the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) would shoulder the other 50 percent.

However, the province wants the government to cover 75 percent of the costs.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but if the South Koreans cannot get this work out I know someone who is willing to help.

Via the Marmot’s Hole comes this interesting story about a Korean superfan who has become the face of the fanbase for the Kansas City Royals baseball team that will take on the San Francisco Giants in the World Series:

The Irish have the Blarney Stone, the Chinese rub Buddha’s belly and the Kansas City Royals have Lee Sung-woo.

They have who, what, huh?

Okay, so the story goes that in the middle of the American major league baseball season the Kansas City Royals were just an average team in a small market with average talent, having yet another ho-hum average season in their bland 45 year history (playoff-less in the last 28 of those 45 years).  That was until a foreigner named Sung-woo Lee from far away South Korea came on the scene.  Through social media, Sung-woo was a regular fixture on Royals’ fan sites and blogs and exhorted Royals’ fans to persevere, which helped to inject much needed enthusiasm into the traditional fan base.  Interestingly enough, Sung-woo’s online participation started as an attempt to learn English by consistently conversing with American baseball fans. [Marmot’s Hole]

You can read more at the Marmot’s Hole link, but if they win the World Series this is a Disney feel good story in the making.  In fact a filmmaker is already making a movie about Lee:

That would be OK, but… what if SungWoo could come back for the World Series in Kansas City?

It appears to be happening. Due to a viral effort by bloggers and a filmmaker named Josh Swade – who is in Korea right now — wants to document the story, several people close to the situation are reporting that Lee will be returning for the first Fall Classic in Kansas City since 1985. Andy McCullough in the Kansas City Star reports that Swade is talking with Lee’s employer in South Korea to make it possible for him to get away. Announcements have been made elsewhere.   [Yahoo Sports]

Guess who's coming to game 1?! #SungWooSeries @30for30 @Royals @MLB pic.twitter.com/lKiofQKFr7

— Josh Swade (@JoshSwade) October 17, 2014

You can read more at the link, but what an incredible story.

Via a reader tip comes news that many nations are unhappy with what they believe is cheating that is going on at the Asian Games in favor of host South Korea:

The 2014 Asian Games ends Oct. 4, Saturday in Incheon, South Korea and it appears to close on a low as rampant cheating allegations have been levied against hosts. Fans of different athletes and teams from other Asian nations are up in arms online and elsewhere for questionable and controversial results in the quadrennial event with most outcomes favouring South Korea.

The most blatant alleged cheating happened in the sport of boxing involving women fighters from India (Sarita Devi) and South Korea (Park Jina).

The South Korean won the semifinal match in the lightweight division despite the Indian boxer dominating the fight. Devi made his stand during the medal awarding ceremony refusing to receive the bronze medal and even giving it to the Korean.

“It was a protest for all the sportsmen and women of the world against injustice in sport. There should be fair play in sport,” the Indian boxer Devi said to the press about her actions at the podium.

Aside from the India vs. South Korea controversy, other countries like Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and a few other countries felt slighted by the results in some other matches although there were no formal protests filed. [International Business Times]

You can read more at the link, but it seems hosts being able to cheat during international competitions has become standard practice now a days.

According to this quite detailed post over at the Marmot’s Hole the Incheon Asian Games has moved well passed just being a fiasco:

 1.Stadiums getting blackouts
2. Athlete’s lunch boxes found with salmonella
3. Volunteers asking for athletes signatures and making them late to their events – because they got 1 hour of training 1 week before the Games started.
4. 20% of interpreters quitting (because they had to pay for their own transport to and from the Games),
5. Athletes’ rooms not having fans or A/C,
6. Athletes’ rooms crammed with three beds and cramming athletes in them because they don’t have enough rooms
7. No mosquito screens for the rooms, subpar quality food for the athletes – partially caused by the fact that the majority of the cooks are college kids majoring in food science
8. Beach volleyball site doesn’t have changing rooms
9. Badminton stadium has A/C with strong wind that got the complaints of all athletes including Korean ones
10. Thailand baseball team had to practice in the dark because the lights weren’t on

You can read more about the issues the Asian Games are having at the link, but it appears the fiasco will continue all the way through the closing ceremony:

Organizers of the Incheon Asian Games face a daunting challenge ― bringing Asia’s biggest sporting event to a close in a way that makes people forget the opening ceremony many believe was the worst ever.

“We have noted the criticism we received after the opening ceremony and applied it to the direction of the closing ceremony,” Jang Jin, artistic director of the ceremony, said during a news conference at the Main Press Center in Incheon, Tuesday.

But he seems to have few options available due to his limited budget and other problems.

Jang said because of the athletic events at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium that will run until the end of the Games, “We will not be able to push through with the final rehearsal that had been scheduled for Friday. We ask for your understanding.”

According to Jang and chief organizer Im Kwon-taek, the closing ceremony will include performances by the National Dance Company of Korea and the National Gugak Center, a countdown using filmed shots of athletes’ shirt numbers and AD cards, a taekwondo performance and a concert by boy band Big Bang.

But most people remain unconvinced that the closing ceremony will be an improvement from the opening ceremony, which was likened by the public and foreign media to a hallyu (Korean wave) concert or film festival, featuring more celebrities than sports stars.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the opening ceremony had famed Korean actress Lee Young-ae light the cauldron which is really odd considering usually famous athletes usually light it.  Now for those who attend the closing ceremony they will be subject to a Big Bang concert.

The Incheon Asian Games cost only $2 billion to put on compared to $20 billion the Chinese paid in 2010 to host them in Guangzou.  So obviously the Koreans are getting what they paid for.  I would think for the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics that the Koreans will be reaching much deeper into their pockets to put on a better event since the whole world will be watching.

This is probably the first time I have heard of Koreans unhappy with one of its national teams winning a gold medal:

The South Korean baseball team Sunday clinched the gold at the Incheon Asian Games, but a lot of people here seem to have more reasons to mock their achievement than celebrate or be proud of it.

They think players will enjoy greater benefits than they deserve — exemption from the country’s mandatory two years of military service. Ironically, their gold has also led to fierce discussion about abolishing such rewards to athletes.

“I wish they lost the game,” 29-year-old baseball fan Park Tae-yang said. “I do not understand why Korea, in the 21st century, still has to give military exemption for athletes on the grounds that they help promote the country.”

Such harsh feelings against the national team are also based on the fact that South Korea is the only country that sent professional baseball players, who appeared desperate for a military exemption, and let them compete against teams consisting mostly of amateur players.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it does seem kind unfair to all the other males in Korea that they have to do their mandatory service obligation while these professional athletes now will get out of it because they blew out a bunch of Asian amateur baseball teams.

The South Koreans have unwittingly been dragged into this whole Muslim discrimination issue due to hosting the Asian Games and having to enforce the ban on headscarves during basketball competitions:

The motto of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, is “Diversity Shines Here,” but basketball’s governing body is not bending any rules to live up to the creed.

Prior to their first game on Wednesday, members of the Qatari women’s basketball team were told they had to remove their white headscarves, which they wear in observance of their Islamic faith, because International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules do not allow “headgear, hair accessories, and jewelry.”

The women chose to forfeit the game instead. On Thursday, they officially withdrew from the tournament prior to their second scheduled game. The competition is the world’s second-largest multi-sport competion, with about 9,500 athletes representing 45 countries.  [Yahoo Sports]

You can read more at the link, but FIBA says the headscarves are unsafe to wear during competition which I am not sure what the safety issue is?  Maybe some getting their fingers caught in the scarf during play and injuring themselves?

Via a reader tip comes the below YouTube video that shows how the Korean professional baseball team, the Hanwha Eagles have developed “Fanbots” to allow people who cannot physically be at the stadium to attend the game and cheer on the team.  It is kind of cool and creepy at the same time:

This is probably at least a moral victory for North Korea:

Blood streaming from a gash on the top of her head, Abby Wambach came off the field. For 10 minutes, the United States played short-handed while she got stitches.

North Korea didn’t waste its chance.

The United States allowed a pair of goals while Wambach was off the field — one on a blunder by goalkeeper Hope Solo — then rallied for a 2-2 tie Tuesday in its opener at the Women’s World Cup. [AP]

Will the third time be charm for Pyeongchang?

Kim Byung-hyun must live in an RV the way he gets shipped around the Major League:

South Korean star pitcher Kim Byung-hyun re-signed with Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins on Saturday.

The Marlins inked the righthander, who has been with three clubs this season. He is in his second stint with Florida.

The 28-year-old Kim is 6-6 with a 5.23 ERA in 19 games – 16 starts – with the Colorado Rockies, Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks this season. He made only two starts in Arizona, posting an inflated 23.63 ERA before being released.

And why the Marlins think he will do any better in Florida is anybody’s guess.