March 26, 2009
Women's History Month Profile: Emily Cross
emilycross.jpg
I realize that Emily Cross' superpower would be more useful to the Scarlet Pimpernel or the Three Musketeers than to the constituents of Iron Man or Watchmen. But that's what makes her so cool.

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Posted by Claire at 1:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

December 16, 2008
Few Asian Americans in College Sports
A story in the San Francisco Chronicle points out the obvious but backs it up with numbers and anecdotes: There aren't many Asian Americans playing collegiate sports. Harvard basketball player Jeremy Lin says in the story, "It's a sport for white and black people. You don't get respect for being an Asian American basketball player in the US."

Continue reading "Few Asian Americans in College Sports"

Posted by Harry at 2:28 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

November 19, 2008
Golf Announcer Mistakes Anthony Kim for 'All Those Chinese People'
Live television is great because if you harbor un-PC views, it's hard to hide it. Here are some gems from Richard Boxall and Bruce Critchley on Sky TV:

"With all these Chinese people around, I'm not sure if I bumped into him [Kim] in the hotel reception last night," Boxall said. "I'm not sure if it was him."

Not to be outdone, Critchley added his own cringe-worthy moment. After Kim's approach shot landed well past the pin, the British announcer described Kim as wearing a look of "oriental surprise," according to the Irish Independent.
If you want to know more, here is the article link. Here is another, older article about another announcer calling a golfer 'the Chinaman'. Here is another article with reader comments on today's incident below.

Posted by Alvin at 5:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Seattle Mariners Hire First Asian American Manager

This is excellent news for Asian Americans in sports. Looking around, there aren't any other Asian American coaches or general managers, though Kim Ng has come close a few times in baseball. In football we haven't had an Asian American head coach or GM in the pros or in college sports, though Norm Chow has been offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans. To my knowledge there are no strong candidates in basketball either.

Article excerpt:

SEATTLE -- Don Wakamatsu became the first Asian American manager in major league baseball history when he was hired Wednesday by the Seattle Mariners. The 14th manager in Mariners history, Wakamatsu was bench coach for the Oakland Athletics last season. Before that he spent five years with the Texas Rangers. The 45-year-old was among a field of seven candidates interviewed by Mariners general manager Jack Zdurencik. None of the seven had previous major league managerial experience.

Posted by Alvin at 10:18 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

October 5, 2008
What's the New Black? Shifting Sands of Race
Earlier, we mentioned Jeff Yang's musings that Obama might be categorically Asian American in a way that transcends biological race.

In interesting counterpoint to that is a conversation I recently had with a friend who speculated that Vijay Singh -- and not Tiger Woods -- may be professional golf's "colored person," if by that we mean a category that renders invisible, unwelcome, or second-class those who are tarred with it. Singh has been cast as an uppity and hypermasculine threat to a gentleman's game; he gets a fraction of the press he deserves, and seems to be the guy that the establishment would love to watch fall on his face. So, pointed out my friend Sameer, might it be said that Singh is categorically Black in a way that also transcends biological race?

See here for Sameer's recent, deftly measured article on Singh for SI's golf issue. And come back if you'd like to comment on the shifting meanings of race in a world that "postmodern" seems almost too quaint a term to describe anymore. It's not that race has disappeared or become null and void; but the categories are certainly more supple now, in ways that both give us a lot more freedom of movement, and make it incredibly hard for us to tell where the sand-traps ahead of us lie.

Posted by erin at 12:18 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

September 15, 2008
15% Off Sporty Night with Hyphen Peeps
Football season is here and if you're like me, between watching the games and adjusting fantasy lineups, you get biceps-envy. Don't be disgusted; I know I'm not an anomaly. However, if biceps are not your fancy (and the fancy of your loved ones), there are many other body-tuning options you can pursue -- and Hyphen can help.

Join all your favorite Hyphen peeps at Sports Basement on Wednesday, September 17, from 6 pm - 8pm! Not only are the food and drinks FREE, you get 15% off all sports gear that night! 5% of your purchase will go to Hyphen so we will appreciate you, large biceps or not.

If you haven't heard of Sports Basement before, it is a close-out sporting goods store that offers gear and apparel for snowboarding, hiking, biking, swimming, yoga, running, team sports and tri gear at 30%-60% below retail. They also have a full service bike shop, Art Gallery and much much more. Brands include The North Face, Burton, Salomon, Asics, Adidas, Hind and many more.

Join us!

Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: Sports Basement
1590 Bryant Street (Between 15th and 16th)
San Francisco, CA 94103

Posted by Pai at 9:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

September 5, 2008
Update: LPGA Reverses Itself on English rule
Feeling the heat from criticism, the LPGA today backed off its new policy of suspending international players who do not learn to speak English.

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Posted by Harry at 5:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

August 27, 2008
LPGA English Rule Seems to Target South Korean Players
For all of you who want some serious posts, it seems LPGA is forcing its players to learn English or risk suspension from the women's pro golf tour. The new rule looks to be aimed at players from South Korea, who make up the largest international contingent.

Continue reading "LPGA English Rule Seems to Target South Korean Players"

Posted by Harry at 10:24 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

August 20, 2008
"The Chinese Olympics Committee is shitting on the sweat and blood of energetic youth."
Screw Michael "Douchebag" Phelps. I'm interested in the mundane aspects of the Beijing Olympics.

Continue reading ""The Chinese Olympics Committee is shitting on the sweat and blood of energetic youth.""

Posted by LisaMac at 1:52 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

August 14, 2008
Spain Strikes Again with Them Slanty Eyed Poses
In my sincere opinion, Spain has some serious, serious educational and cultural sensitivity issues.

Apparently, the embarrassing let-me-pull-back-my-eyelids-to-pay-respects-to-my-Asian-friend ad featuring the Spanish Olympic basketball team was quite popular, so much so that their 2008 Federation Cup Tennis Team also wanted to try it out and share the spotlight.

Well, here it is, courtesy of the Spanish Tennis Federation site and good old Gawker:

spantennis.jpeg
I think Gawker's onto something, "maybe Asia-mocking is actually a favorite pastime of all Spanish athletes." How pathetic.


Posted by LisaLee at 6:11 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)

August 13, 2008
Asian Spotting: Swimmer Natalie Coughlin Is Part Filipino
Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, who's added a bronze, silver and gold medal to her collection so far in Beijing, is a quarter Filipino, something that with all the media coverage of her, probably isn't that well known.

Continue reading "Asian Spotting: Swimmer Natalie Coughlin Is Part Filipino"

Posted by Harry at 11:19 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

August 12, 2008
Slanty Eyes Finally Making its Way onto the Olympics Scene
Today was supposed to be one of those good Tuesdays, until I saw a link to this in my inbox:

spanishbasketballteam.jpg
Oh hellz no! What are we, 5 years old running around on a playground taunting each other with childish nursery rhymes?

What you're looking at is not a joke, or "satire" for that matter. It is in fact, Spain's Olympic basketball team posing for a pre-game ad for a courier company. This advertisement took up a full page in the sports daily Marca, which according to the Guardian UK, is "the country's best-selling newspaper."Amongst the team members is our very own Pau Gasol from the Los Angeles Lakers. Apparently, this was all very amusing to the people being photographed.

Continue reading "Slanty Eyes Finally Making its Way onto the Olympics Scene"

Posted by LisaLee at 5:50 PM | Comments (21) | TrackBack (0)

August 5, 2008
Chinese American Reaction to Olympics
The news media likes to do "reaction" stories, especially if there's a tie to a particular race or ethnicity. With the Olympics starting on Friday in Beijing, a natural story is finding out how Chinese Americans feel about the games being hosted in the "homeland."

Continue reading "Chinese American Reaction to Olympics"

Posted by Harry at 12:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

July 31, 2008
Asian Spotting: Filipinos Geno Espineli, Tim Lincecum Play for Giants
San Francisco Giants pitcher Geno Espineli is reportedly the first full-blooded Filipino to play Major League Baseball and I read today (see very end of story) that teammate Tim Lincecum's mother is Filipina.

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Posted by Harry at 1:03 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

July 16, 2008
Anthony Kim: The Next Tiger Woods?
The L.A. Times did an interesting piece called "Twenty-three items about Anthony Kim," the L.A.-born Korean American golfer who is being touted as the next Tiger Woods. It's a nice glimpse into the life of an Asian American athlete who is dedicated - at 16, Kim moved by himself to La Quinta, CA from his parents' Los Angeles home to take advantage of the golf courses there - but also not devoid of a personality:

"In addition to telling Sports Illustrated in May he wants to 'help kids,' reach No. 1 and 'be the baddest person on the planet,' he confessed that in his misguided rookie year of 2007 before he righted his thinking last fall and winter, he sometimes played with a hangover or with 45 minutes' sleep."

Continue reading "Anthony Kim: The Next Tiger Woods?"

Posted by Sylvie at 12:18 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

May 18, 2008
Holy cow, offensive Fukudome shirts still for sale
3537_1.JPGVendors outside Wrigley Field and on eBay are still selling shirts that have "Horry Kow" on the front and Japanese ball player Kosuke Fukudome's name and number on the back. The shirts poke fun at Japanese accents using the familiar "holy cow" that the late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray used to always use.

Continue reading "Holy cow, offensive Fukudome shirts still for sale"

Posted by Harry at 2:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

April 18, 2008
Fukudome doesn't find racist T-shirts in Wrigleyville funny
What is so key is that he took a stand and said it wasn't funny, which is different from so many Uncle Tom Asians who will do the opposite.  I am tired of hearing Asian Americans defending '21', Abercrombie t-shirts, 'ching chong', and loads of other stuff just because they want to fit in or be a model minority.

Continue reading "Fukudome doesn't find racist T-shirts in Wrigleyville funny"

Posted by Alvin at 4:32 PM | Comments (15) | TrackBack (0)

April 8, 2008
They Might Not Be Giants -- Olympic Torch Conundrums

I loves me a good protest.

When it was clear that it was only a matter of days before the current Iraq war became official, I made sure that my boss and co-workers knew that I would not be coming into work. And when it was, I yelled my way through the early morning to midnight.

When I get swept up into a random march, my pulse races.

I cry at footage of mai '68.

And yet, there's something about the news of the Olympics protests in London and Paris that makes me... sad. Though my affection for the sports extravaganza has not gone beyond gymnastics circa 1984, and for all the revelations of performance-enhancing drugs shattering the athlete mythos, the fact that the torch has to hide out on a bus, extinguished, is an epic bummer.

Continue reading "They Might Not Be Giants -- Olympic Torch Conundrums"

Posted by Rebecca at 5:22 PM | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)

April 4, 2008
Baseball in Japan Not a Hit for Atlanta columnist
Even with all the talk of new media and the Internet, there's still some dinosaur-like thinking out there in the journalism world. A good example is a sports column by Furman Bisher of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who laments about Major League Baseball playing games in Tokyo, "you know the guys who gave us Pearl Harbor."

Continue reading "Baseball in Japan Not a Hit for Atlanta columnist"

Posted by Harry at 2:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

March 24, 2008
Ichiro On Cover of ESPN The Magazine's 10th Anniversary Issue

ichiro.jpg

This month's issue of ESPN The Magazine is its Special 10th Anniversary Issue, and it features Ichiro on the cover with the text: “For Making Singles Sexy and Taking Baseball Global, Ichiro is a Perfect 10”. Here is a link to a previous 8-page ESPN special feature on Ichiro. He is one of only a few people in all of sports who uses his first name on the back of his uniform, and why not? The man is simply amazing, a baseball living legend in Japan and in the United States. Here is a breakdown of some of his greatest feats since entering the league.

Continue reading "Ichiro On Cover of ESPN The Magazine's 10th Anniversary Issue"

Posted by Alvin at 7:15 PM | Comments (4)

February 18, 2008
Wakamatsu could become baseball's first Asian American manager

New Oakland A's coach Don Wakamatsu is highly regarded and may become the first Asian American manager in Major League Baseball.

Continue reading "Wakamatsu could become baseball's first Asian American manager"

Posted by Harry at 9:56 AM | Comments (3)

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